In regards to our reading for this week, the question is asked what it means to claim that the church is "indefectibly holy," what grounds there are for this claim, and how the church can be both "indefectibly holy" and "imperfectly holy" at the same time. Before reading... I pondered upon this question for a minute before continuing to seek out the answer for myself. What did you all think in reference to this question??
As I read within Lumen Gentium, I found that it simply sums up the answer to the question on page 62. "Accordingly, all Christians, in the conditions, duties and circumstances of their lives and through all these, will grow constantly in holiness if they receive all things with faith from the hand of the heavenly Father and cooperate with the divine will, making manifest in their ordinary work the love with which God has loved the world." Being faithful believers, we are invited and obligated to try to achieve holiness and the perfection of our own state of life. It is a free will that we must choose to partake in... a gift from Him. Part of my daily prayer are the repetitive words from deep within my heart... To be holy and acceptable in His sight. Within my further study of this question, I understand the term "holiness" as referring to the church, the bride of Christ.
I found Sullivan to be interesting when answering this question. He explains that the term "indefectibly" means holy in a way which can never fail. This made perfect sense to me and was such a powerful moment for me in my readings. Scripture reassures us of this by saying that the gates of hell shall not prevail over his church. For the church to ever cease being a holy people, a people of faith formed by love, would mean that the powers of evil had prevailed over it. Christ's church will always be a holy people. Sacraments are holy, they cannot be removed... for if they are removed, Christ is moved. A church as Holy is a church that is "imperfectly" holy in which all of the members are sinners, because no one can avoid all sin, for we all fall short. Keeping this in mind helps me to understand the church as both holy people and a sinful people, not only because some are holy and others are sinners, but because even the holy ones are also sinners. For example, Sullivan states that the fact that the same people can be both holy and sinners at the same time is manifested when we celebrate the Eucharist.
Holiness, then, is a church of "indefectibly, imperfectly" sinners "walking in love," (Eph 5:2) Sullivan states that, "All growth in holiness is a matter of striving for "the perfection of love."
So what do you think? Can we describe the church itself as both holy and sinful? If we consider the church as the substantial people and therefore consists of real people who are both holy and sinful, wouldn't we have to conclude that the church is both holy and sinful?
I could have written so much... It was hard to choose a few points to focus on as well as not write all that I am feeling in reference to Holiness. Be blessed and sorry for the delay. (I was hosting 3 friends from out of town for the Super bowl, which slightly delayed me with my school assignments.)
Again... I love pictures as visuals say a thousand words. This is a simple reflection of what "Marked with a Genuine Though Imperfect Holiness is. It also represents a Holiness that cannot ever be taken away.
Hi Carly - thank you for starting our conversation on this important topic. Holiness is a concept that is essential to Christan identity and to Christian vocabulary, but what does it actually look like? How do we know it when we see it? This is a good occasion for the "so-what" question.
ReplyDeleteI also appreciate the rich connection that you establish between the Eucharist and the fact that the Church is made up of saints who are at the same time sinners called to sanctification. I wonder what this might mean not only for our understanding of Eucharist, but out liturgical practice of it. If I am conscious of my own call and need for conversion, and I recognize the person next to me in the pew, or up front, as a person who is also both blessed and called to conversion, what does this mean for our sense of community as we worship?
Thank you for this great blog Carly. You brought up many points about the reading that I was also struck with, especially how Sullivan brought up the point that we as a people are both holy and sinful and this is manifested in the Eucharist. This was a very powerful point for me because in my understanding of the Eucharist, we come to receive Christ's body and blood and acknowledge that we are not worthy, that we are sinners, but in participating in the Eucharist, we also acknowledge that is our responsibility as Christians to become more like Christ, more holy, after receiving his body and blood. This is something I need to remind my myself of each Sunday at mass and throughout the week, that receiving the Eucharist means I have said "yes" to trying to become more like Christ in my words and actions towards others. I really appreciated that Sullivan stressed our role in becoming holy people. We are all holy because God has made us holy and set us apart to be holy, but we have to make the choice to live holy lives. (Sullivan 68). I appreciated how Sullivan described the formal elements of the Church and how God has given them to us to help us in living out holy lives. "For the church to be holy it is not enough that its formal elements are holy; it must be a holy people" (70). The way Sullivan described the different aspects of church that are holy helped me to realize that the church is really a gift. God knew we would need help in living holy lives and so we were given sacraments and the Word to aid us in living out God's call to holiness. I think also in examining the Word of God and the sacraments, I am able to see that holiness is not a lofty and unattainable goal only achieved by some...we are all made holy through baptism and the gifts God has given us and called to act out our holiness by loving others in the way that Jesus has shown us through the Gospels. It is comforting to know that we as a church are on a pilgrim journey as Sullivan says, and so our quest for holiness is imperfect. This is comforting because it helps me to see that each day I am called to examine my life and to make sure I am living out the Gospel and my baptized mission. It is a gift to always have the chance to start anew.
ReplyDeleteRose - I continue to think about the Eucharist that brings together the reality of our sinfulness and sanctity. From the earliest days of the Church, the basic pattern of Eucharistic prayer has included the acts of taking, blessing, breaking, and sharing: this applied to the bread and wine, but also by implication to the gifts and very selves of the people who gather around these. Keeping taking, blessing, breaking and sharing in mind I see some powerful themes emerging.
Delete1) Taking&Blessing: The liturgy has an intentional moment when the gifts of the community are gathered and processed as an offering to the altar. The gifts are the bread and wine to be consecrated, and sometimes are followed by the filled collection basked. Communities at times also include food for the poor, or produce and fruits of creation as part of this offertory act. This movement is symbolic of the people offering themselves to God. Our gifts are incomplete, imperfect, yet we venture forth with them to God and say take, bless, break and share these. To me, this speaks of God meeting us in our need for sanctification and accepting us, such as we are to transform us to be gifts for the world.
2) Breaking&Sharing: In the Eucharistic act, the bread is broken, evoking Christ's life giving sacrifice on the cross. Although Christ being sinless, the act of breaking and brokenness for me brings to mind the reality of sin and suffering in our world. That the gifts are broken brings to mind utter humility (there great orthodox iconography for this) and the burden of sin and suffering that we have all felt in our lives. Yet this same concept of sacrifice contains its own antidote: sacrifice literally means to make sacred, to do something sacred. The fact that the gifts are not only broken but shared imply that in their utter humility, they become life-giving for the world. Suffering moves to sanctity in this communal purpose, goal, mission.
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ReplyDeleteDear Class,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the outstanding exposition of Carly and the creative responses, which addressed such a contentious issue within the Church, the seemingly dichotomous idea of being both holy and sinful. This is elucidated in the thoughtful walk from Ephesians through Lumen Gentium into Sullivan’s “Grounds for belief that the Church is an indefectibly holy people.” With this as a backdrop, I further reflected upon the readings and was drawn toward this passage from LG 5 (64,65):
“Therefore all the faithful are invited and obliged to try to achieve holiness and the perfection of their own state of life. Accordingly, all of them must ensure that they keep emotions under proper control, lest they be hindered in their pursuit of perfect love by the use of worldly goods and by an attachment to riches which is contrary to the spirit of evangelical poverty, following the apostle’s advice: Let those who use this world not fix their abode in it, for the form of this world is passing away.”
I found it absolutely spellbinding that the Council advocates the Church to “achieve holiness” and “pursue love” not by works, rules, rituals or rubrics, but by an unequivocal call to non-materialism and non-attachment. This pronouncement is astonishing when contrasted with the prevailing American economic ideology and even more arresting in consideration of the Oxford Dictionary’s definition of oblige: (to make someone legally or morally bound to do something.)
In concert with the compliments of Rose and Sullivan with regard to the striking illustration of “The Pilgrim Church” found in LG 7, I was most taken with the unifying feeling of the final imagery: “all of us who are children of God…form one family in Christ.” This meditation spoke to me in terms true to the essence of the holy…to be whole.
On behalf of Moe:
ReplyDeleteHi Class,
Carly thanks for raising the question of the church being indefectibly holy and imperfectly holy in response to the readings for the week. As I consider this question myself, I am impressed with how Lumen Gentium addresses this seemingly impossible state of being. Though Sullivan does an excellent job of unpacking what this means for the Church and for the people of God, I wonder what people outside the Church think about this possibility?
The Eucharist was brought into the conversation and Rose I like your point, that receiving the Eucharist implicates responsibility to become more holy and Christ-like. At the same time we take on this charge, we know we will inevitably fail in our endeavor to be holy. Still, God accepts us and so does His Church, how is that for a mystery? God’s grace is truly beyond my comprehension.
Walter, I appreciate your point that the holiness also means a “call to non-materialism and non-attachment.” When I think of my own sinfulness, these habits come to mind. For me they become obstacles that stand in the way of my attempts to live out the holiness. To add to your point, I appreciate that Sullivan uses Scripture and Lumen Gentium to conclude that “holiness consists in the keeping of the two great commandments: of the love of God and the love of neighbor as oneself” (74). How would I have time to show my love and praise for God and demonstrate love for my neighbor if I am concerned with the things of this world in the material sense?