The Catechism of the Catholic Church immediately instructs that the four characteristics of the Nicene Creed: one, holy, catholic, and apostolic are inseparably linked with each other. The Catechism also makes it very clear that the church does not possess these characteristics, but rather it is Christ who, through the Holy Spirit then makes the church home to these qualities.
For the purpose of this blog post I’m going to be focusing on the second of the four: The Church is Holy. The holiness of the church was rooted in Christs love. The Catechism notes how the church served as the bride of Christ (823) and how Christ gave himself up to sanctify the church through the glory of God. The article even mentions how the church is “the holy People of God” and that all of the churches members are called “saints”
From reading the paragraphs, the basic notion that I got was that the root goal of the church in all of its activities is the sanctification of men in Christ and the glorification of God. The church is pure. It is a symbol of Gods everlasting love and the members are working towards that perfect holiness. This perfect holiness is something that will most likely not be achieved by humans. The only one who has fully achieved this perfection of sanctity is the Father himself who is perfect. The church knows that we will not be able to achieve this, and it is okay. But it is our goal to work to get as close as possible.
From what I understand of the paragraphs, the church is almost regarded as a person. Like the church is a being, or something actually tangible. Paragraph 827 says that the church is holy, even though there are sinners within her midst. The church herself has no other life but the life of grace.
I must admit that this is a bit confusing. I think some of the language is hard to interpret and it feels like I read the same thing over and over. Nonetheless, I think that the church is ultimately holy and divine. The people that belong to the church might be sinful but it is important to stay optimistic and do your best to stay away from this sin.
I found it to be somewhat convincing. It is inevitable that people are going to sin. It’s just the reality of the world that we live in. Christ was divine and I guess that then by default the church is holy as well. The people who work for the church are holy and its their job to promote holiness across the globe.
Lucas' Blog 