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.
