THE P RTAL
September 2014
Page 6
The A - Z of the Catholic Faith
U is for…
The Unity
of the Church
In the Nicene Creed, Christians profess their faith
in a Church that is ‘one, holy, Catholic and apostolic’.
The unity of the Church is a gift that can never be
taken away; it is a work of the Holy Spirit. It reflects
the unity of God’s Trinitarian life, and the unity of all
people with God and with each other that Christ has
restored through his work of redemption.
This unity is preserved in its fullness in the life of the
Catholic Church in each generation, governed by the
Pope and the bishops in communion with him, where
there is one faith, one sacramental life, one apostolic
succession, one hope, and one charity binding people
together in love. Only here can we receive ‘the fullness
of the means of salvation’ (Vatican II).
How can this be true when the Church is full of
sinners, and her history includes its share of schism,
disunity and scandal? There are two answers.
On the one hand, there is a fundamental unity that is
preserved in the Catholic Church despite the failures
of her members, who are nevertheless united in a
common faith and sacramental life.
On the other hand, even when there is disunity
between Christians, this is only a partial disunity, and
there are still degrees of communion that exist between
separated Christian churches and communities.
Christ unites these communities with each other and
with the Catholic Church in different ways. And the
Orthodox Churches have a special closeness with the
Catholic Church because of their common faith and
sacramental practice.
Many elements of sanctification and truth are found
outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church,
not least the sacrament of baptism which incorporates
someone into Christ, and reverence for the Word of
God contained in the Old and New Testaments.
All Christians are called to deepen their unity with
each other, and to achieve a fullness of communion
that still respects their legitimate cultural, spiritual
and theological traditions.
This is the work of ecumenism, which is pursued by
prayer, fellowship, dialogue, a conversion of heart to
overcome prejudices and unhealthy fears, and a joint
mission to serve others when this can be done without
compromising one’s beliefs.
contents page
The Universal call
to Holiness
The fundamental human vocation is the
call to holiness, the call to be a saint; to follow in the
footsteps of the Virgin Mary and all the saints, as they
show us how to follow Christ in every walk of life.
Christ gave his life in order to sanctify the Church and
make her a source of sanctification for her members
and for the whole world. This holiness is a gift of the
Holy Spirit.
The saints are not just heroic people who live in
history books. They are ordinary Christians who have
tried to live their faith without holding anything back
– to love God with their whole hearts, to love those
around them withou Ё