Why is the Church considered “holy”? The Church is holy “because Christ, the Son of God, who with the Father and the Spirit is hailed as ‘alone holy,’ loves the Church as his Bride, giving himself up for her so as to sanctify her; he joined her to himself as his body and endowed her with the gift of the Holy Spirit for the glory of God.” [1] The Church is holy because God established the Church and works through her.
“United with Christ, the Church is sanctified by him; through him and with him she becomes sanctifying. All the activities of the Church are directed, as toward their end, to the sanctification of men in Christ and the glorification of God. It is in the Church that the fullness of the means of salvation has been deposited. It is in her that by the grace of God we acquire holiness.” [2]
What is the soul of holiness? “Charity is the soul of the holiness to which all are called: it ‘governs, shapes, and perfects all the means of sanctification.’” [3] St. Therese of Lisieux in her autobiography explains, “If the Church was a body composed of different members, it couldn’t lack the noblest of all; it must have a Heart, and a Heart BURNING WITH LOVE. And I realized that this love alone was the true motive force which enabled the other members of the Church to act; if it ceased to function, the Apostles would forget to preach the gospel, the Martyrs would refuse to shed their blood. LOVE, IN FACT, IS THE VOCATION WHICH INCLUDES ALL OTHERS; IT’S A UNIVERSE OF ITS OWN COMPRISING ALL TIME AND SPACE – IT’S ETERNAL!” [4]
If the Church is holy, why have there been bad things done in the name of the Church (i.e. inquisition, crusades, etc.)? As we spoke earlier, the Church is not like an institution or a political power. She is the spotless bride of Christ. While yes, people within the Church have done horrible things, this does not mean the Church Herself is sinful. To say the erroneously declare that Church is sinful would be to say that Christ is sinful. “Christ, ‘holy innocent, and undefiled,’ knew nothing of sin, but came only to expiate the sins of the people. The Church, however, clasping sinners to her bosom, at once holy and always in need of purification, follows constantly the path of penance and renewal.’ All members of the Church, including her ministers, must acknowledge that they are sinners. In everyone, the weeds of sin will still be mixed with the good wheat of the Gospel until the end of time.” [5] Pope Paul VI speaking on this topic said, “The Church is therefore holy, though having sinners in her midst, because she herself has no other life but the life of grace. If they live her life, her members are sanctified; if they move away from her life, they fall into sins and disorders that prevent the radiation of her sanctity. This is why she suffers and does penance for those offenses, of which she has the power to free her children through the blood of Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit.” [6]
We can look at other institutions, for example the MLB. There are many players in the MLB that we know who have taken steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. If a few MLB players do illegal things, does this mean the MLB has done an illegal thing? It is true that the players have given the MLB a bad name and hurt its reputation but the MLB itself as an institution cannot be charged with the crime because the institution did not commit the crime. Although many Catholics might give the Church a bad name or reputation, the Church remains what it is, one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic. Most people in the world are not rejecting the Church but rather they are rejecting the bad example of the members of the Church who sin in word, deed, or omission. “There are not over a hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions, however, who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church—which is, of course, quite a different thing.” [7]
Share you response, thoughts regarding the following quotes by Archbishop Fulton Sheen
No - I'm not comfortable with everything about the Catholic Faith. But absolute truth will cause discomfort to any honest person. It means I must accept just how truly short I am of the glory of God and acknowledge how much I depend on the mercy of Christ.
No - I don't like a lot of things that go on in the Catholic Church, but I know it was started by Jesus and he will forgive me just as I forgive the shortcomings of men. The Faith is pure.
No - I don't believe that people ignorant of the Catholic Faith and the Church founded by Christ are lost, but I am certain I would be lost outside the Catholic Church because it would require me to deny the very body and blood of Christ.
No - I don't believe people hate the Catholic Church. I believe they hate what they mistakenly believe about the Church. There are so many misconceptions and so much misinformation spread for dubious purposes that the ill-informed often speak out against the Church.
How does the Church purify herself? While there are many ways the Church purifies herself, one of the greatest ways the Church is purified and grows in holiness is through the canonization of saints. When the Church solemnly proclaims that a person practiced heroic virtue and lived in fidelity to God’s grace, “the Church recognizes the power of the Spirit of holiness within her and sustains the hope of believers by proposing the saints to them as models and intercessors. ‘The saints have always been the source and origin of renewal in the most difficult moments in the Church’s history.’ Indeed, ‘holiness is the hidden source and infallible measure of her apostolic activity and missionary zeal.’” [8]
[1] Lumen Gentium 39; cf. Ephesians 5:25-26
[2] CCC 824
[3] CCC 826
[4] St. Therese of Lisieux, Autobiography of a Saint, tr. Ronald Knox (London: Harvill, 1958) 235.
[5] CCC 827
[6] Paul VI, CPG 19.
[7] Archbishop Fulton Sheen
[8] CCC 828