You know I have no
illusions that mine are the only words that can instruct or illuminate; on the contrary,
I am eager to share with you what illumination is to be found in the writings
of others, especially in the treasury of the early Church. I hope you will enjoy this reflection on the
Church from one of the great catechists of the late fourth century.
Monsignor Smith
The
Church is the bride of Christ.
The Catholic Church
is the distinctive name of this holy Church which is the mother of us all. She is the bride of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
only-begotten Son of God (for Scripture says: Christ loved the Church and
gave himself up for her). She is the type
and she bears the image of the Jerusalem above that is free and is the
mother of us all, that Jerusalem which once was barren but now has many
children.
The first assembly,
that is, the assembly of Israel, was rejected, and now in the second, that is,
in the Catholic Church, God has appointed first, apostles, second,
prophets, third, teachers then workers of miracles, then healers, helpers,
administrators and speakers in various tongues, as Paul says; and together with these is found every sort of
virtue -- wisdom and understanding, self-control and justice, mercy and
kindness, and invincible patience in persecution. This Church in earlier days, when persecution
and afflictions abounded, crowned her holy martyrs with the varied and
many-flowered wreaths of endurance. But
now when God has favored us with times of peace, she receives her due honor
from kings and men of high station, and from every condition and race of
mankind. And while the rulers of the
different nations have limits to their sovereignty, the holy Catholic Church
alone has a power without boundaries throughout the entire world. For Scripture
says: God has made peace her border.
Instructed in this
holy Catholic Church and bearing ourselves honorably, we shall gain the kingdom
of heaven and inherit eternal life. For
the sake of enjoying this at the Lord’s hands, we endure all things. The goal set before us is no trifling one; we
are striving for eternal life. In the Creed, therefore, after professing our
faith “in the resurrection of the body,” that is, of the dead, which I have
already discussed, we are taught to believe “in life everlasting,” and for this
as Christians we are struggling.
Now real and true
life is none other than the Father, who is the fountain of life and who pours
forth his heavenly gifts on all creatures through the Son in the Holy Spirit,
and the good things of eternal life are faithfully promised to us men also,
because of his love for us.
Cyril
Bishop of Jerusalem (+386)
