CCTD003 Very Real (The Church)
This conversation considers the interplay between the word church used for the building as well as the people. We look at two very real aspects of what we mean when we say “church”. First we talk about church as the “people of God” and then, second, we talk about “the mystery of the church.” This discussion extends the “Church Tour” session of the Catechumenate at St. Vincent de Paul parish in Holladay, Utah, for this year.
We spent Tuesday night on a “scavenger hunt” of sorts. Each of the Inquirers was given a color-coded list of objects and places that can be found in the liturgy space.
The color codes corresponded with sponsors who had been assigned one color. Inquirers had to find a sponsor with a certain color who could tell them about a particular object or place. In other words, as the Inquires went about learning about the liturgy space, they were actually meeting various sponsors. In both of these ways, the Inquirers were learning about the church — the people of God as well as the building.
The context of this conversation concerning two very real aspects of the church is the Trinity. Without getting into the theology of the Trinity, some of its characteristics are aligned with those of the church. We are able to suggest that the church is the Trinitarian love which saves us from slavery to sin. In this portion of our discussion we inseparably link the mystery of the Trinity with the mystery of the church.
We look more closely at the mystery of the people who, through the Holy Spirit, are in union with God and with one another, who form the mystical body of Christ, who are the “People of God.” One of the ways we describe the church is the people who try to live life so that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven; the people in whose midst is found the kingdom of heaven. These people follow Jesus’ message, the paschal mystery. This is the idea we started to discuss last time we talked and in this podcast moves further along as we discuss the mystery of the church. As our conversation progresses we are able to say the Church is how we give ourselves for the good of others, even at great cost, following Jesus’ way by the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Both of these very real aspects of “church” allow us to conclude that the people who “do this,” are called church, they are the people of God “the people in whose midst is found the kingdom of endless joy, peace and justice; the reign of love’s holiness, the kingdom of heaven. This is our faith!
Musical Interlude:
Under my Immaculate Mantle by Susan Bailey
Recommended Reading:
Built of Living Stones: Art, Architecture and Worship
Architecture in Communion: Implementing the Second Vatican Council Through Liturgy and Architecture
From Temple to Meeting House: The Phenomenology and Theology of Sacred Space
The community called church, (His A theology for artisans of a new humanity, v. 1)
2 Responses to 'CCTD003 Very Real (The Church)'
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
on October 25th, 2006 at 9:18 am
Wow! This is one of the best podcasts you have done so far. The three of you had great energy. I really like how you cover so much more material than we could possibly get through on Tuesday night. Where can I get a copy of the Prayer of Dedication you talked about?
on October 25th, 2006 at 9:20 am
Thanks for the affirmation. Everyone got a copy of the Prayer of Dedication who participated in the tour. If you didn’t get one or didn’t realize what you had, ask for another copy on Tuesday night.
Greg