One, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church

Stations of the Cross, tonight, 7 pm, SAA Church, with Eucharistic Adoration to follow. All are invited!!
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“Another question regarding the Creed- I’ve seen the Creed written with the words ‘Catholic’ and ‘catholic.’ Which is correct?”

At Mass, we profess the Nicene Creed (from the Council of Nicea, 325 A.D.) in which we say, “We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church”. These are the four marks (attributes) of the Church: one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. When used as a mark of the Church, “catholic” is correct. When used as a reference to the Catholic Church in general, “Catholic” is correct.

This can get confusing, but Vatican II has helped to clarify. In “Lumen Gentium”, it states that:


Hence the universal Church is seen to be “a people brought into unity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”. (#4)

The one mediator, Christ, established and ever sustains here on earth his holy Church…(#8)

This is the sole Church of Christ which in the Creed we profess to be one, holy, catholic, and apostolic… (#8)

This Church, constituted and organized as a society in the present world, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in communion with him. (#8)


LG explains that the universal (catholic) Church is “a race made up of Jews and Gentiles which would be one, not according to the flesh, but in the Spirit, and this race would be the new People of God” (#9). So, the “catholic Church” refers to the new People of God. “All men are called to belong to the new People of God” (#13). This is the Church that Christ established. It is the Church based in the new covenant. It is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.

“This Church…subsists in the Catholic Church”.

The best way to put this is that the Church that Christ established subsists (exists) FULLY in the Catholic Church. LG does acknowledge that “many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside its visible confines” (#8). Christ’s Spirit dwells in other Christian denominations, but the fullness of the Spirit – the fullness of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church – is found in the Catholic Church. LG is hopeful that these gifts of the Spirit will bring non-Catholic Christians into the fullness of Christ and His Church: “Since these are gifts belonging to the Church of Christ, they are forces impelling towards Catholic unity” (#8).

The following are excerpts from an article from catholic.com which include descriptions of the four marks of the Church. Please click on today’s title for the full article.


FOUR MARKS OF THE TRUE CHURCH

If we wish to locate the Church founded by Jesus, we need to locate the one that has the four chief marks or qualities of his Church. The Church we seek must be one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.

The Church Is One (Rom. 12:5, 1 Cor. 10:17, 12:13, CCC 813–822)

Jesus established only one Church, not a collection of differing churches (Lutheran, Baptist, Anglican, and so on). The Bible says the Church is the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:23–32). Jesus can have but one spouse, and his spouse is the Catholic Church.

His Church also teaches just one set of doctrines, which must be the same as those taught by the apostles (Jude 3). This is the unity of belief to which Scripture calls us (Phil. 1:27, 2:2).

Although some Catholics dissent from officially-taught doctrines, the Church’s official teachers—the pope and the bishops united with him—have never changed any doctrine. Over the centuries, as doctrines are examined more fully, the Church comes to understand them more deeply (John 16:12–13), but it never understands them to mean the opposite of what they once meant.

The Church Is Holy (Eph. 5:25–27, Rev. 19:7–8, CCC 823–829)

By his grace Jesus makes the Church holy, just as he is holy. This doesn’t mean that each member is always holy. Jesus said there would be both good and bad members in the Church (John 6:70), and not all the members would go to heaven (Matt. 7:21–23).

But the Church itself is holy because it is the source of holiness and is the guardian of the special means of grace Jesus established, the sacraments (cf. Eph. 5:26).

The Church Is Catholic (Matt. 28:19–20, Rev. 5:9–10, CCC 830–856)

Jesus’ Church is called catholic ("universal" in Greek) because it is his gift to all people. He told his apostles to go throughout the world and make disciples of "all nations" (Matt. 28:19–20).

For 2,000 years the Catholic Church has carried out this mission, preaching the good news that Christ died for all men and that he wants all of us to be members of his universal family (Gal. 3:28).

Nowadays the Catholic Church is found in every country of the world and is still sending out missionaries to "make disciples of all nations" (Matt. 28:19).

The Church Jesus established was known by its most common title, "the Catholic Church," at least as early as the year 107, when Ignatius of Antioch used that title to describe the one Church Jesus founded. The title apparently was old in Ignatius’s time, which means it probably went all the way back to the time of the apostles.

The Church Is Apostolic (Eph. 2:19–20, CCC 857–865)

The Church Jesus founded is apostolic because he appointed the apostles to be the first leaders of the Church, and their successors were to be its future leaders. The apostles were the first bishops, and, since the first century, there has been an unbroken line of Catholic bishops faithfully handing on what the apostles taught the first Christians in Scripture and oral Tradition (2 Tim. 2:2).

These beliefs include the bodily Resurrection of Jesus, the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, the sacrificial nature of the Mass, the forgiveness of sins through a priest, baptismal regeneration, the existence of purgatory, Mary’s special role, and much more —even the doctrine of apostolic succession itself.

Early Christian writings prove the first Christians were thoroughly Catholic in belief and practice and looked to the successors of the apostles as their leaders. What these first Christians believed is still believed by the Catholic Church. No other Church can make that claim.