…If we establish that God is “being itself”, and that Jesus is God, that descended into heaven, what does that mean for all of us? Is the Catholic Church a society or fan club or the follower of a wise man? No. It is so much more than that, as you will see… Jesus is joined to his Church, and we are joined to him in a most amazing way.
The Living, Breathing Body of Christ
The Catholic Church is the living, breathing body of Christ on earth until he comes again. Let’s take this one step at a time. So the term “Catholic” is most often prescribed to mean that it is the “universal” Church open to all peoples around the world. However, the word is more accurately translated as “according to the totality” or “in keeping with the whole.” So, to believe in this Catholic faith, you adjoin yourself not only to the “universal” Church of the whole world but also to a faith that is “intact fully” to Christ. It is the whole faith, with nothing missing.
Now, this does not mean that the Church is some sort of uniform, monolithic blob. On the contrary, it contains a wide variety of members as diverse as the world itself. Moreover, its members form what is referred to as the “Mystical Body.” The simple description of this is summed up by Pius XII, and in his Encyclical on the Mystical Body, as he said it is “the society of those who have been baptized, and who profess the faith of Christ, and who are governed by their bishops under the visible head, the Pope, the Bishop of Rome.”
Let’s move on from what a Pope says to what scripture says. Here, St. Paul talks about Jesus as the head of the Church:
He is the head of the body, the church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
Colossians 1:18
Then, not much after this, he expanded on speaking of the members of this body:
Let no one disqualify you, delighting in self-abasement and worship of angels, taking his stand on visions, inflated without reason by his fleshly mind,
and not holding closely to the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and bonds, achieves the growth that comes from God.
If you died with Christ to the elemental powers of the world, why do you submit to regulations as if you were still living in the world?
Colossians 2:18-20
Again, St. Paul, whom you remember had a direct encounter with Jesus, continues on with this description of Jesus and the body of his Church:
And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,
which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.
Ephesians 1:22-23
The Church began when Christ died on the Cross, but it was fully launched on Pentecost when He fulfilled His promise to send the Holy Spirit. St. Paul is speaking to the first Christians and stating that all of them are parts of Christ, and together they make up the [Mystical] Body.
And if this weren’t clear enough, St. Paul further describes this “body” in Romans:
For as in one body we have many parts, and all the parts do not have the same function,
so we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually parts of one another.
Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them: if prophecy, in proportion to the faith.
Romans 12:4-6
Where did Paul originally receive this concept of the Church being the Body of Christ? From Jesus Himself. Remember on the road to Damascus, when Paul (Saul then) was confronted by Jesus? Jesus had already been crucified, died, rose from the dead, and then ascended into heaven. Saul was going after early believers and putting them in jail, most likely to die. Jesus, in physical form, was not on the earth. But look at the wording Jesus uses… he doesn’t ask, “Why are you persecuting my believers.” Instead, he says:
He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
He said, “Who are you, sir?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”
Acts 9:4-5
Jesus here now explicitly refers to His Church on earth as Himself in person. So, as it has been said, what is critical for you to understand is that when you join the Catholic Church, you are not so much joining an “Organization” as you are joining an “Organism”.
Jesus Marries the Church – The Wedding Feast at Cana
The idea of Jesus as the mystical body is fully understood with a story of a wedding. Jesus essentially begins his public ministry at the story of the Wedding Feast at Cana. This might seem strange, but there is a very important reason behind it. Let’s start with the Old Testament, which sets up the stage for this wedding feast. Here we see an absolutely amazing and world-changing statement, about how God, wants to “marry” his people:
For as a young man marries a virgin,
your Builder shall marry you;
And as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride
so shall your God rejoice in you.
Isaiah 62:5
How is this marriage manifested? Well, first Jesus is the ultimate marriage- God and humanity married as one. Jesus, now coming onto the scene in this story of the wedding, now is the bridegroom and the Church becomes his bride.
Before we get into the Wedding Feast at Cana, specifically, let’s look at scripture for specific mentions of Jesus as “marrying” His Church:
Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?” As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.
But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.
Mark 2:19-20
And then in John, in the voice of John the Baptist:
The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete.
John 3:29
So, let’s start with the first words of the story of the Wedding at Cana from the Gospel of John: “On the third day.” Right there from the start, it is telling us that this story is about the Resurrection and resurrected life found in Jesus. Where is this story? In Galilee. Where does Jesus tell his disciples he is going after the Resurrection? Galilee. Furthermore, the start of the story next tells us who is there: His mother Mary, and His disciples. What does that constitute at that moment in time? The whole of the Church.
Mary is the “mother” of the Church, and His followers at this point are representative of Him gathering the twelve tribes of Israel. The prophecies are all starting to become fulfilled, including the one where God will marry his people, the Church. The Church is the new Israel. The Old Testament is the story of Israel. Now, the New Testament begins.
At this point is where it all comes together. Remember that “wine” in the Old Testament is representative of the “Divine Life”. This wedding represents the people of Israel / mankind that have run out of the Divine Life. They have nothing but water, which is essentially lifeless wine. But, here comes the Savior of His people, and he renews everything. The start of His mission has begun, and He has restored the Divine Life to the new Israel, His Church.
Mary’s role in this story is no accident. She represents everything right and well with the people of Israel. There has always been that longing for “right praise” with God, even as they fall short, they keep longing for that relationship with God to be good. She intervenes on behalf of the people, and tells her son so clearly, “They have no wine.”. Years ago, Mary, when told by the angel Gabriel that she will bear the Messiah, had a choice, and she said, Yes. So now how does she commence this mission now for her Son?- Mary says simply “Do whatever he tells you.” (Which is also the last words she speaks in the Bible.)
What is the key to obtaining this wine, the “Divine Life”? It is very simple: Do whatever Jesus tells you.
Finally, Jesus does not just wave his hands and wine appears. No, he has them bring Him six jars and has them fill them up with water. That is all of humanity, in all of our human endeavors. We are integral to this story. He wants to take all that we have, all that is natural, and lift it up to the divine. Every detail of the Wedding Feast at Cana is important.
The Church, You, and the Mystical Body
Jesus tells Peter that “upon this rock, I will build my church”. The word used here in Greek for Church is Ekklesia. This is rooted in two words that come together and mean “to call out from.” God does the calling. We are called from the world (hatred and sin). We are called into his Church, the Mystical Body of Christ. Christ married the Church. Christ died, was resurrected, and ascended into heaven. Through baptism, we join Jesus in the Mystical Body, the life of Christ.
Now, this is important- we live in the Life of Christ, in the Mystical Body, and are nourished by the Word and by the Eucharist and the other Sacraments, but we are not meant to stay hidden and protected in this world. We are also meant to be sent out into the world to transform hatred and sin. We are meant to be “Sent” just as the word “Apostle” means literally.
About Jesus Christ and the Church, I simply know they’re just one thing.
St. Joan of Arc
The Catholic Church went on mission as those who were “Sent” (what Apostle means) were consecrated by Jesus, Himself:
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.* And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.
Matthew 28:19-20
This “Apostolic” tradition has continued on from the Apostles to the Bishops they ordained, going down through the ages to this very day. Every Pope succeeds from Peter, and every single Bishop is also directly connected to the lineage of the Apostles.
All of this can be summed up with how we approach Mass. We come to church once a week, gathering together as a community. We get renewed and re-energized with the mission of Christ at Mass through the receiving of the Eucharist. Then, at the end of Mass, we are told to go out and proclaim the Good News. As Fulton Sheen said about the proper ordering of Christian life in this way: “First come, then go.” That is the life of a Catholic in the Mystical Body.
On a final note, there are three ways to get a point across: through the good, the truth, and through beauty. The “good” and the “truth” are previously covered in this topic, and to close this topic out, here is a representation of the mystical body of Christ translated through beauty:
Next up… The Bible did not just fall out of the sky, fully formed when Jesus ascended into heaven. First came the Catholic Church, then came the New Testament. The Bible is a library, not a book, and Catholics approach it in just that way.
Next Topic >> How Catholics Read the Bible
Synopsis
Scripture clearly speaks about Jesus marrying his Church, and the story of the Wedding Feast at Cana offers a rich tapestry of analogies to show us how this marriage renewed God’s relationship with His people. When Christ ascended into heaven, he became the head of the mystical body of His church, The Catholic Church.
Suggested Reading
“The Mystical Body of Christ” by Fulton Sheen
“A Journey with Jonah: The Spirituality of Bewilderment” by Paul Murray, Joseph Ratzinger
“Dei Verbum” by The Holy See
Top Image
The Conversion on the Way to Damascus (Conversione di San Paolo) depicts the event, which is described in Acts of the Apostles (9:3–9), in which Saul, a pharisee and known persecutor of Christians who had taken part in the stoning of Saint Stephen, was converted to Christianity after Christ appeared to him and spoke to him. This Damascene conversion was preceded by a period of tremendous religious ecstasy, which eventually led to him taking the name Paul and becoming an apostle. Immediately following Saul’s being thrown off of his horse, Caravaggio’s painting shows this scene.