The Church is One
One body and one spirit, as you are called in one hope of your calling.
One Lord, one faith, one Baptism.--Eph. iv, 4, 5.
St. Paul wrote this Epistle to the Ephesians is from his prison in Rome. Fearing that there might be disagreements and dissensions among them, the Apostle calls to their minds the unity and harmony of the Christian faith they have received and the Baptism by which they have been regenerated. As there is only one Lord, only one true faith and one true Baptism, there is no room for discord or disagreement among the Christian--they should be one in peace and charity as they must be one in faith. This unity of authority, of doctrine, and of worship to which St. Paul refers as characteristic of the Apostolic Church, is found also today in the Catholic Church, and in it alone; it is therefore a clear indication that the Catholic Church is the same as the Church of the Apostles, and as such, is the one true Church of Christ.
I. "One Lord,"--unity in authority. 1. There is but one invisible head of the Church, namely, Christ, whom the Eternal Father "hath made head over all the Church, which is His body" (Eph. i. 22, 23). 2. There is but one visible head over all the Church, namely, the Vicar of Christ, the Pope of Rome, the successor of St. Peter--"thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church--to thee I will give the keys of the Kingdom of heaven" (Matt. xvi. 18, 19); "feed my lambs, feed my sheep" (John xxi. 15-17). 3. The supremacy of Peter, the first Pope, was recognized from the beginning even by the Apostles. Peter presided at the election of Matthias and at the Council of Jerusalem, his name heads all the lists of the Apostles, in the New Testament, etc. 4. The supremacy of the Bishop of Rome, Peter's successor, has always been acknowledged, as the unanimous consent of the Fathers proves. 5. As it is necessary in the State, and in every society, to have one supreme head, so it is in the Church, the most perfect of all societies.
II. "One faith,"--unity in belief. In all countries, in all times, and by all the members of the true Church one and the same teaching in faith and morals has been accepted.
III. "One baptism,"--unity in worship. Throughout the world we find in the true Church the same sacrifice, the same Sacraments, the same observances of feasts and fasts, the same devotions--all substantially alike, though they may sometimes differ in details.
Moreover, the Apostle, writing to the Corinthians, tells them that there is but one and the same Spirit who imparts grace to the faithful, as the soul communicates life to the members of the body.(1 Cor. xii. 11, 12.) Exhorting the Ephesians to preserve this unity, he says: "Be careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."( Eph. iv. 3, 4) As the human body consists of many members, animated by one soul, which gives sight to the eyes, hearing to the ears, and to the other senses the power of discharging their respective functions, so the mystical body of Christ, which is the Church, is composed of many faithful. The hope, to which we are called, is also one, as the Apostle tells us in the same place;"(Eph. iv. 4.) or we all hope for the same consummation, eternal life. Finally, the faith which all are bound to believe and to profess is one: "Let there be no schisms amongst you" (Cor. i. 10.) and Baptism, which is the seal of our solemn initiation into the Christian faith, is also one.
Conclusion:
Although the members of the Church are from every nationality and may have different interests and positions in life, yet as members of Christ's mystical body they should all strive to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, as St. Paul recommends and as our Lord commands in the Gospel, "thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
#unity
One body and one spirit, as you are called in one hope of your calling.
One Lord, one faith, one Baptism.--Eph. iv, 4, 5.
St. Paul wrote this Epistle to the Ephesians is from his prison in Rome. Fearing that there might be disagreements and dissensions among them, the Apostle calls to their minds the unity and harmony of the Christian faith they have received and the Baptism by which they have been regenerated. As there is only one Lord, only one true faith and one true Baptism, there is no room for discord or disagreement among the Christian--they should be one in peace and charity as they must be one in faith. This unity of authority, of doctrine, and of worship to which St. Paul refers as characteristic of the Apostolic Church, is found also today in the Catholic Church, and in it alone; it is therefore a clear indication that the Catholic Church is the same as the Church of the Apostles, and as such, is the one true Church of Christ.
I. "One Lord,"--unity in authority. 1. There is but one invisible head of the Church, namely, Christ, whom the Eternal Father "hath made head over all the Church, which is His body" (Eph. i. 22, 23). 2. There is but one visible head over all the Church, namely, the Vicar of Christ, the Pope of Rome, the successor of St. Peter--"thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church--to thee I will give the keys of the Kingdom of heaven" (Matt. xvi. 18, 19); "feed my lambs, feed my sheep" (John xxi. 15-17). 3. The supremacy of Peter, the first Pope, was recognized from the beginning even by the Apostles. Peter presided at the election of Matthias and at the Council of Jerusalem, his name heads all the lists of the Apostles, in the New Testament, etc. 4. The supremacy of the Bishop of Rome, Peter's successor, has always been acknowledged, as the unanimous consent of the Fathers proves. 5. As it is necessary in the State, and in every society, to have one supreme head, so it is in the Church, the most perfect of all societies.
II. "One faith,"--unity in belief. In all countries, in all times, and by all the members of the true Church one and the same teaching in faith and morals has been accepted.
III. "One baptism,"--unity in worship. Throughout the world we find in the true Church the same sacrifice, the same Sacraments, the same observances of feasts and fasts, the same devotions--all substantially alike, though they may sometimes differ in details.
Moreover, the Apostle, writing to the Corinthians, tells them that there is but one and the same Spirit who imparts grace to the faithful, as the soul communicates life to the members of the body.(1 Cor. xii. 11, 12.) Exhorting the Ephesians to preserve this unity, he says: "Be careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."( Eph. iv. 3, 4) As the human body consists of many members, animated by one soul, which gives sight to the eyes, hearing to the ears, and to the other senses the power of discharging their respective functions, so the mystical body of Christ, which is the Church, is composed of many faithful. The hope, to which we are called, is also one, as the Apostle tells us in the same place;"(Eph. iv. 4.) or we all hope for the same consummation, eternal life. Finally, the faith which all are bound to believe and to profess is one: "Let there be no schisms amongst you" (Cor. i. 10.) and Baptism, which is the seal of our solemn initiation into the Christian faith, is also one.
Conclusion:
Although the members of the Church are from every nationality and may have different interests and positions in life, yet as members of Christ's mystical body they should all strive to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, as St. Paul recommends and as our Lord commands in the Gospel, "thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
#unity
Ecce Verbum
The Church is One One body and one spirit, as you are called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one Baptism.--Eph. iv, 4, 5. St. Paul wrote this Epistle to the Ephesians is from his prison in Rome. Fearing that there might be disagreements…
On The Promotion of True Religious Unity
Pope Pius XI (1922-1939)
"When the question of promoting unity among Christians is under consideration many are easily deceived by the semblance of good.Yet beneath the coaxing words there is concealed an error so great that it would destroy utterly the foundations of the Catholic Faith."
"They, therefore, who profess themselves Christians cannot, We think, but believe in Christ's establishment of one Church and only one. Yet when one asks what that Church by the will of its Founder ought to be, then not all agree. Indeed a great many deny, for example, that Christ's Church ought to be visible - at least in the sense that it should stand forth as one body of faithful united in one identical doctrine and under one authority and rule. On the contrary, by a visible Church they understand nothing but a society formed by various Christian communities, even though these adhere to different and even mutually contradictory doctrines."
"And here there is presented the opportunity to set forth and remove a falsity upon which, it seems, this whole question hinges, and from which is drawn the multiple effort of the non-Christians who strive, as We have said, for the confederation of the Christian churches.
The authors of this plan are in the habit of quoting the words of Christ: That ye all may be one.There shall be one fold and one shepherd, (John 17, 21; 10, 16), yet in the sense that these words express a desire and a prayer of Jesus Christ which thus far has lacked all effect. They contend that the unity of faith and governance which is the sign of the true and one Church of Christ, has almost never existed up to this time, and does not exist today; that it can be wished for and perhaps sometime be obtained through common submission of the will, but meanwhile it must be considered a fiction.
They say, moreover, that the Church by its very nature is divided into parts; that it consists of many churches or particular communities which are separated among themselves and, although they have certain points of doctrine in common, differ in others; and that at most the Church was the one Church and only Church between the Apostolic Era and the first Ecumenical Councils.
Therefore, they say, the controversies and old differences of opinion, which to this day divide the Christian name, should be put aside, and with the remaining doctrines there should be formulated and proposed a common rule of faith, in the profession of which all can know and feel themselves brothers. United by some sort of universal covenant, the multitude of churches or communities will then be in a position to oppose fruitfully and effectively the progress of unbelief. This, Venerable Brethren, is the more general opinion.
There are, however, some among them who assume and grant that Protestantism, as they call it, has rejected very inadvisedly certain articles of faith and certain rites of external worship that are fully acceptable and useful, which the Roman Church still preserves. But they add immediately that the Church has corrupted the early religion by adding to it and proposing for belief certain doctrines that are not only foreign to, but are opposed to, the Gospel - among which they bring forth chiefly that of the primacy of jurisdiction assigned to Peter and his successors of the Roman See."
[Mortalium Animos, January 6, 1928.]
#unity
Pope Pius XI (1922-1939)
"When the question of promoting unity among Christians is under consideration many are easily deceived by the semblance of good.Yet beneath the coaxing words there is concealed an error so great that it would destroy utterly the foundations of the Catholic Faith."
"They, therefore, who profess themselves Christians cannot, We think, but believe in Christ's establishment of one Church and only one. Yet when one asks what that Church by the will of its Founder ought to be, then not all agree. Indeed a great many deny, for example, that Christ's Church ought to be visible - at least in the sense that it should stand forth as one body of faithful united in one identical doctrine and under one authority and rule. On the contrary, by a visible Church they understand nothing but a society formed by various Christian communities, even though these adhere to different and even mutually contradictory doctrines."
"And here there is presented the opportunity to set forth and remove a falsity upon which, it seems, this whole question hinges, and from which is drawn the multiple effort of the non-Christians who strive, as We have said, for the confederation of the Christian churches.
The authors of this plan are in the habit of quoting the words of Christ: That ye all may be one.There shall be one fold and one shepherd, (John 17, 21; 10, 16), yet in the sense that these words express a desire and a prayer of Jesus Christ which thus far has lacked all effect. They contend that the unity of faith and governance which is the sign of the true and one Church of Christ, has almost never existed up to this time, and does not exist today; that it can be wished for and perhaps sometime be obtained through common submission of the will, but meanwhile it must be considered a fiction.
They say, moreover, that the Church by its very nature is divided into parts; that it consists of many churches or particular communities which are separated among themselves and, although they have certain points of doctrine in common, differ in others; and that at most the Church was the one Church and only Church between the Apostolic Era and the first Ecumenical Councils.
Therefore, they say, the controversies and old differences of opinion, which to this day divide the Christian name, should be put aside, and with the remaining doctrines there should be formulated and proposed a common rule of faith, in the profession of which all can know and feel themselves brothers. United by some sort of universal covenant, the multitude of churches or communities will then be in a position to oppose fruitfully and effectively the progress of unbelief. This, Venerable Brethren, is the more general opinion.
There are, however, some among them who assume and grant that Protestantism, as they call it, has rejected very inadvisedly certain articles of faith and certain rites of external worship that are fully acceptable and useful, which the Roman Church still preserves. But they add immediately that the Church has corrupted the early religion by adding to it and proposing for belief certain doctrines that are not only foreign to, but are opposed to, the Gospel - among which they bring forth chiefly that of the primacy of jurisdiction assigned to Peter and his successors of the Roman See."
[Mortalium Animos, January 6, 1928.]
#unity
Ecce Verbum
The Church is One One body and one spirit, as you are called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one Baptism.--Eph. iv, 4, 5. St. Paul wrote this Epistle to the Ephesians is from his prison in Rome. Fearing that there might be disagreements…
Treatise I: On the Unity of the Church : St. Cyprian of Carthage
An essay from an Early Christian (200-253 AD) bishop and martyr on the spiritual importance of unity in the Church. It stresses the importance of holding the same doctrine, but also the vital need for love and harmony within and among all Christians.
St. Cyprian begins his treatise by reminding the Carthaginians to be wary of the wiles of the devil, because the danger facing Christians is not only the persecution that comes from outside the Church, but more subtly by the deceptions that come from within, that is, from persons who seem to be allies and who seem to have the truth. Satan, seeing that his idols have been cast down by the Church, devises a new fraud, and under the very title of the Christian name sets out to deceive the incautious:
"[He invents] heresies and schisms, whereby he might subvert the faith, might corrupt the truth, might divide the unity. Those whom he cannot keep in the darkness of the old way, he circumvents and deceives by the error of a new way. He snatches men from the Church itself; and while they seem to themselves to have already approached to the light, and to have escaped the night of the world, he pours over them again, in their unconsciousness, new darkness; so that, although they do not stand firm with the Gospel of Christ, and with the observation and law of Christ, they still call themselves Christians, and, walking in darkness, they think that they have the light, while the adversary is flattering and deceiving, who, according to the apostle’s word, transforms himself into an angel of light, and equips his ministers as if they were the ministers of righteousness, who maintain night instead of day, death for salvation, despair under the offer of hope, perfidy under the pretext of faith, antichrist under the name of Christ; so that, while they feign things like the truth, they make void the truth by their subtlety." (De catholicae ecclesiae unitate, 3)
When Maximus and Nicostratus were seduced by the Novatian faction in Rome, St. Cyprian wrote to them the following:
"For it weighs me down and saddens me, and the intolerable grief of a smitten, almost prostrate, spirit seizes me, when I find that you there, contrary to ecclesiastical order, contrary to evangelical law, contrary to the unity of the Catholic institution, had consented that another bishop should be made. That is what is neither right nor allowable to be done; that another church should be set up; that Christ’s members should be torn asunder; that the one mind and body of the Lord’s flock should be lacerated by a divided emulation. I entreat that in you, at all events, that unlawful rending of our brotherhood may not continue; but remembering both your confession and the divine tradition, you may return to the Mother whence you have gone forth; whence you came to the glory of confession with the rejoicing of the same Mother. And think not that you are thus maintaining the Gospel of Christ when you separate yourselves from the flock of Christ, and from His peace and concord; since it is more fitting for glorious and good soldiers to sit down within their own camp, and so placed within to manage and provide for those things which are to be dealt with in common. For as our unanimity and concord ought by no means to be divided, and because we cannot forsake the Church and go outside her to come to you, we beg and entreat you with what exhortations we can, rather to return to the Church your Mother, and to our brotherhood." (Epistle 43)
sources :
summary with quotes (article)
audiobook
read online
pdf version
historical context (Christian History Institute )
Commentary by Dan Graves:
personal notes
Christian History Institute
further reading :
Cyprian: His Life, His Times, His Work. Macmillan, 1897
The Theology of St. Cyprian of Carthage: The Unity of the Church and the Role of the Bishop (article)
#unity #audiobook
An essay from an Early Christian (200-253 AD) bishop and martyr on the spiritual importance of unity in the Church. It stresses the importance of holding the same doctrine, but also the vital need for love and harmony within and among all Christians.
St. Cyprian begins his treatise by reminding the Carthaginians to be wary of the wiles of the devil, because the danger facing Christians is not only the persecution that comes from outside the Church, but more subtly by the deceptions that come from within, that is, from persons who seem to be allies and who seem to have the truth. Satan, seeing that his idols have been cast down by the Church, devises a new fraud, and under the very title of the Christian name sets out to deceive the incautious:
"[He invents] heresies and schisms, whereby he might subvert the faith, might corrupt the truth, might divide the unity. Those whom he cannot keep in the darkness of the old way, he circumvents and deceives by the error of a new way. He snatches men from the Church itself; and while they seem to themselves to have already approached to the light, and to have escaped the night of the world, he pours over them again, in their unconsciousness, new darkness; so that, although they do not stand firm with the Gospel of Christ, and with the observation and law of Christ, they still call themselves Christians, and, walking in darkness, they think that they have the light, while the adversary is flattering and deceiving, who, according to the apostle’s word, transforms himself into an angel of light, and equips his ministers as if they were the ministers of righteousness, who maintain night instead of day, death for salvation, despair under the offer of hope, perfidy under the pretext of faith, antichrist under the name of Christ; so that, while they feign things like the truth, they make void the truth by their subtlety." (De catholicae ecclesiae unitate, 3)
When Maximus and Nicostratus were seduced by the Novatian faction in Rome, St. Cyprian wrote to them the following:
"For it weighs me down and saddens me, and the intolerable grief of a smitten, almost prostrate, spirit seizes me, when I find that you there, contrary to ecclesiastical order, contrary to evangelical law, contrary to the unity of the Catholic institution, had consented that another bishop should be made. That is what is neither right nor allowable to be done; that another church should be set up; that Christ’s members should be torn asunder; that the one mind and body of the Lord’s flock should be lacerated by a divided emulation. I entreat that in you, at all events, that unlawful rending of our brotherhood may not continue; but remembering both your confession and the divine tradition, you may return to the Mother whence you have gone forth; whence you came to the glory of confession with the rejoicing of the same Mother. And think not that you are thus maintaining the Gospel of Christ when you separate yourselves from the flock of Christ, and from His peace and concord; since it is more fitting for glorious and good soldiers to sit down within their own camp, and so placed within to manage and provide for those things which are to be dealt with in common. For as our unanimity and concord ought by no means to be divided, and because we cannot forsake the Church and go outside her to come to you, we beg and entreat you with what exhortations we can, rather to return to the Church your Mother, and to our brotherhood." (Epistle 43)
sources :
summary with quotes (article)
audiobook
read online
pdf version
historical context (Christian History Institute )
Commentary by Dan Graves:
personal notes
Christian History Institute
further reading :
Cyprian: His Life, His Times, His Work. Macmillan, 1897
The Theology of St. Cyprian of Carthage: The Unity of the Church and the Role of the Bishop (article)
#unity #audiobook
www.newadvent.org
CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Cyprian of Carthage
Long article on this bishop and martyr
cypriandonatism.pdf
352.6 KB
article
Cyprian, Augustine and the Donatist schism
The tendency toward Donatist separation from the Catholic Church was caused by a concern for personal holiness. The only true church was fundamentally made up of the "communion of saints." Genuine holiness in a church's communion was the overriding characteristic which made unity possible and binding. It was the contention of the Donatists that, "the church was defined as 'pure,' for if it was the only body in the world in which the Holy Spirit resided, how could its members fail to be pure?" The rise of imperial Christianity and the subsequent influx of 'common' Christians laid the foundation for the impetus to schism. It was the position of the Donatist church that the Catholic community was a "puppet of the secular government, an instrument of political ends, polluted by a consistent record of compromise with worldliness.
Donatists declared the church at large to be corrupt and themselves to be the only true church.
related post - St Cyprian
#unity
Cyprian, Augustine and the Donatist schism
The tendency toward Donatist separation from the Catholic Church was caused by a concern for personal holiness. The only true church was fundamentally made up of the "communion of saints." Genuine holiness in a church's communion was the overriding characteristic which made unity possible and binding. It was the contention of the Donatists that, "the church was defined as 'pure,' for if it was the only body in the world in which the Holy Spirit resided, how could its members fail to be pure?" The rise of imperial Christianity and the subsequent influx of 'common' Christians laid the foundation for the impetus to schism. It was the position of the Donatist church that the Catholic community was a "puppet of the secular government, an instrument of political ends, polluted by a consistent record of compromise with worldliness.
Donatists declared the church at large to be corrupt and themselves to be the only true church.
related post - St Cyprian
#unity
St. Benedict helped save Christian culture
Alasdair MacIntyre, at the end of his 1981 book After Virtue writes:
"A crucial turning point in that earlier history occurred when men and women of good will turned aside from the task of shoring up the Roman imperium and ceased to identify the continuation of civility and moral community with the maintenance of that imperium. What they set themselves to achieve instead...was the construction of new forms of community within which the moral life could be sustained so that both morality and civility might survive the coming ages of barbarism and darkness. If my account of our moral condition is correct, we ought also to conclude that for some time now we too have reached that turning point...This time, however, the barbarians are not waiting beyond the frontiers; they have already been governing us for quite some time. And it is our lack of consciousness of this that constitutes part of our predicament. We are waiting not for a Godot, but for another — doubtless quite different — St. Benedict."
*Read Fulgens Radiatur. Part of those "new forms of community" must be the reunion of Christians, in the face of surrounding darkness and decay.
#culture #unity
Alasdair MacIntyre, at the end of his 1981 book After Virtue writes:
"A crucial turning point in that earlier history occurred when men and women of good will turned aside from the task of shoring up the Roman imperium and ceased to identify the continuation of civility and moral community with the maintenance of that imperium. What they set themselves to achieve instead...was the construction of new forms of community within which the moral life could be sustained so that both morality and civility might survive the coming ages of barbarism and darkness. If my account of our moral condition is correct, we ought also to conclude that for some time now we too have reached that turning point...This time, however, the barbarians are not waiting beyond the frontiers; they have already been governing us for quite some time. And it is our lack of consciousness of this that constitutes part of our predicament. We are waiting not for a Godot, but for another — doubtless quite different — St. Benedict."
*Read Fulgens Radiatur. Part of those "new forms of community" must be the reunion of Christians, in the face of surrounding darkness and decay.
#culture #unity
www.vatican.va
Fulgens Radiatur (March 21, 1947) | PIUS XII
Encyclical Fulgens Radiatur of Pius XII, 21 March 1947
Ecce Verbum
Treatise I: On the Unity of the Church : St. Cyprian of Carthage An essay from an Early Christian (200-253 AD) bishop and martyr on the spiritual importance of unity in the Church. It stresses the importance of holding the same doctrine, but also the vital…
St. Augustine on unity under one Shepherd
🔗Sermo 46 page 283
Small wonder that pride gives birth to division, and love to unity. But our catholic mother is herself a shepherd; she seeks the straying sheep everywhere, strengthens the weak, heals the sick, and binds up the injured.
Thus she is like a vine that is spread out everywhere in its growth. The straying sheep are like useless branches which because of their sterility are deservedly cut off, not to destroy the vine but to prune it. When these branches were cut down, they were left lying there. But the vine grew and flourished, and it knew both the branches that remained upon it and those that had been cut off and left lying beside it. She calls the stray sheep back, however, because the Apostle said in reference to the broken branches: God has the power to graft them on again. Call them sheep straying from the flock or branches cut off from the vine, God is equally capable of calling back the sheep or of grafting the branches on again, for he is equally the chief shepherd and the true farmer.
My sheep, he says, hear my voice and follow me. All good shepherds are one in the one shepherd. It is not that good shepherds are lacking; they are there in the one shepherd. When we speak of "many" we refer to those who are divided from each other. Here only one is spoken of, because in this passage unity is commended. The reason why shepherds are not mentioned here, but only one shepherd, is not because the Lord has failed to find anyone to whom to entrust his sheep; he entrusted the sheep to Peter because he had found Peter.
Indeed, in the case of Peter he also commended the unity of the flock. There were many apostles, and yet to one only did he say: Feed my sheep. When he entrusted his sheep to Peter as one person to another, Christ chose to make Peter one with himself. He wanted to entrust him with the sheep in such a way that he himself might be the head and Peter might represent the body, that is, the Church. As bridegroom and bride, Christ and the Church were to be two in one flesh.
Accordingly, what does he say before he entrusts the sheep to Peter as to someone who is not separate from himself? Peter, do you love me? He answered: I love you. And again: Do you love me? He answered: I love you. And a third time: Do you love me? He answered: I love you. He receives an assurance of love in order to establish unity.
So he, the one shepherd, feeds his sheep in these others, and they do so in this one. And about shepherds there is silence, and yet there is not silence. The shepherds boast, but he that boasts, let him boast in the Lord (2 Cor 10:17). This is feeding Christ, this is feeding for Christ, this is feeding in Christ, not feeding oneself apart from Christ.
There isn't really a dearth of shepherds, as thought the prophet were foretelling these bad times to come when he said, "/ will feed my sheep (Ez 34:15), I have no one I can commend them to." Even when Peter was there, and when the apostles were still in the flesh and in this life, even then that one, in which one all are one, said, / have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them too, so that there may be one flock and one shepherd (Jn 10:16).
So let them all be in the one shepherd, and speak with the one voice of the shepherd which the sheep may hear and follow their shepherd, not this or that shepherd, but the one shepherd. And in him let them all speak with one voice, not with conflicting voices. / beseech you, brothers, that you shouldall say the same thing, and that there should be no schisms among you (1 Cor 1:10).71 Let the sheep hear this voice strained of all schism, purged of all heresy, and follow their shepherd who says, Those that are my sheep hear my voice and follow me (Jn 10:27)
#unity #pope
🔗Sermo 46 page 283
Small wonder that pride gives birth to division, and love to unity. But our catholic mother is herself a shepherd; she seeks the straying sheep everywhere, strengthens the weak, heals the sick, and binds up the injured.
Thus she is like a vine that is spread out everywhere in its growth. The straying sheep are like useless branches which because of their sterility are deservedly cut off, not to destroy the vine but to prune it. When these branches were cut down, they were left lying there. But the vine grew and flourished, and it knew both the branches that remained upon it and those that had been cut off and left lying beside it. She calls the stray sheep back, however, because the Apostle said in reference to the broken branches: God has the power to graft them on again. Call them sheep straying from the flock or branches cut off from the vine, God is equally capable of calling back the sheep or of grafting the branches on again, for he is equally the chief shepherd and the true farmer.
My sheep, he says, hear my voice and follow me. All good shepherds are one in the one shepherd. It is not that good shepherds are lacking; they are there in the one shepherd. When we speak of "many" we refer to those who are divided from each other. Here only one is spoken of, because in this passage unity is commended. The reason why shepherds are not mentioned here, but only one shepherd, is not because the Lord has failed to find anyone to whom to entrust his sheep; he entrusted the sheep to Peter because he had found Peter.
Indeed, in the case of Peter he also commended the unity of the flock. There were many apostles, and yet to one only did he say: Feed my sheep. When he entrusted his sheep to Peter as one person to another, Christ chose to make Peter one with himself. He wanted to entrust him with the sheep in such a way that he himself might be the head and Peter might represent the body, that is, the Church. As bridegroom and bride, Christ and the Church were to be two in one flesh.
Accordingly, what does he say before he entrusts the sheep to Peter as to someone who is not separate from himself? Peter, do you love me? He answered: I love you. And again: Do you love me? He answered: I love you. And a third time: Do you love me? He answered: I love you. He receives an assurance of love in order to establish unity.
So he, the one shepherd, feeds his sheep in these others, and they do so in this one. And about shepherds there is silence, and yet there is not silence. The shepherds boast, but he that boasts, let him boast in the Lord (2 Cor 10:17). This is feeding Christ, this is feeding for Christ, this is feeding in Christ, not feeding oneself apart from Christ.
There isn't really a dearth of shepherds, as thought the prophet were foretelling these bad times to come when he said, "/ will feed my sheep (Ez 34:15), I have no one I can commend them to." Even when Peter was there, and when the apostles were still in the flesh and in this life, even then that one, in which one all are one, said, / have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them too, so that there may be one flock and one shepherd (Jn 10:16).
So let them all be in the one shepherd, and speak with the one voice of the shepherd which the sheep may hear and follow their shepherd, not this or that shepherd, but the one shepherd. And in him let them all speak with one voice, not with conflicting voices. / beseech you, brothers, that you shouldall say the same thing, and that there should be no schisms among you (1 Cor 1:10).71 Let the sheep hear this voice strained of all schism, purged of all heresy, and follow their shepherd who says, Those that are my sheep hear my voice and follow me (Jn 10:27)
#unity #pope
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St. Augustine on unity under one Shepherd 🔗Sermo 46 page 283 Small wonder that pride gives birth to division, and love to unity. But our catholic mother is herself a shepherd; she seeks the straying sheep everywhere, strengthens the weak, heals the sick…
The good is mixed with the bad in the world and within the Church
St. Augustine
Sermo 38, Sermo 46 🔗
*Within the Church there exists both good and bad, from the very beginning until the final separation.
*God is equally able to call back into the Church all those who separated themselves from the Vine and those who remained but are weak
“Brethren, we recognize what is expressed most plainly in other places of the sacred books, that there are within the Catholic Church both good and bad, as I often express it, wheat and chaff. Let no one leave the threshing floor before the time [Christ’s return]. Let him bear with the chaff in the time of threshing, let him bear with it in the floor. For in the barn [Heaven] he will have none of it to bear with. The Winnower will come, who shall divide the bad from the good. There will then be a bodily separation too, which a spiritual separation now precedes. In heart be always separated from the bad, in body be united with them for a time only with caution.”
"Not all heretics are to be found all over the face of the earth, but still heretics are to be found all over the face of the earth.Some here, others there, but there's no lack of them anywhere. They don't know each other: one sect in Africa, another heresy in the East, another in Egypt, another in Mesopotamia, for example. They are in different places; one mother, pride, bore them all, just as our one Catholic mother bore all faithful Christians spread out through the whole world. So it's not surprising if pride gives birth to division, charity to unity."
"And yet this Catholic mother, this shepherd within her, everywhere seeks the strays, strengthens the feeble, cares for the ill, bandages the fractured, some from this crowd, others from that which do not know each other. She, however, knows them all because she is spread all over with all of them. For example, in Africa there is the party of Donatus, there are no Eunomians in Africa, but together with the party of Donatus there is here the Catholic Church.In the East there are the Eunomians, no party of Donatus there, but with the Eunomians the Catholic Church is there. It is like a vine, spread everywhere just by growing; they are like useless twigs, cut off by the farmer's sickle because of their sterility, in order to prune the vine, not to lop it off altogether.
So where those twigs have been cut off, there they have remained. But the vine growing everywhere knows both its own twigs that have remained in it and those beside it that have been cut off. However, from them it calls back the strays, because about broken branches too the apostle says, For God has the power to graft them in again (Rom 1 1 :23).
Whether you call them sheep straying from the flock, whether you call them sticks cut from the vine, God is equally capable of calling back the sheep and grafting in the sticks again, because he is the chief shepherd, he is the true farmer.
And they were scattered over the whole face of the earth; and there was none to seek them, there was none to call them (Ez 34:6) — none among those bad shepherds; there was none, no man, that is, to seek them".
#unity
St. Augustine
Sermo 38, Sermo 46 🔗
*Within the Church there exists both good and bad, from the very beginning until the final separation.
*God is equally able to call back into the Church all those who separated themselves from the Vine and those who remained but are weak
“Brethren, we recognize what is expressed most plainly in other places of the sacred books, that there are within the Catholic Church both good and bad, as I often express it, wheat and chaff. Let no one leave the threshing floor before the time [Christ’s return]. Let him bear with the chaff in the time of threshing, let him bear with it in the floor. For in the barn [Heaven] he will have none of it to bear with. The Winnower will come, who shall divide the bad from the good. There will then be a bodily separation too, which a spiritual separation now precedes. In heart be always separated from the bad, in body be united with them for a time only with caution.”
"Not all heretics are to be found all over the face of the earth, but still heretics are to be found all over the face of the earth.Some here, others there, but there's no lack of them anywhere. They don't know each other: one sect in Africa, another heresy in the East, another in Egypt, another in Mesopotamia, for example. They are in different places; one mother, pride, bore them all, just as our one Catholic mother bore all faithful Christians spread out through the whole world. So it's not surprising if pride gives birth to division, charity to unity."
"And yet this Catholic mother, this shepherd within her, everywhere seeks the strays, strengthens the feeble, cares for the ill, bandages the fractured, some from this crowd, others from that which do not know each other. She, however, knows them all because she is spread all over with all of them. For example, in Africa there is the party of Donatus, there are no Eunomians in Africa, but together with the party of Donatus there is here the Catholic Church.In the East there are the Eunomians, no party of Donatus there, but with the Eunomians the Catholic Church is there. It is like a vine, spread everywhere just by growing; they are like useless twigs, cut off by the farmer's sickle because of their sterility, in order to prune the vine, not to lop it off altogether.
So where those twigs have been cut off, there they have remained. But the vine growing everywhere knows both its own twigs that have remained in it and those beside it that have been cut off. However, from them it calls back the strays, because about broken branches too the apostle says, For God has the power to graft them in again (Rom 1 1 :23).
Whether you call them sheep straying from the flock, whether you call them sticks cut from the vine, God is equally capable of calling back the sheep and grafting in the sticks again, because he is the chief shepherd, he is the true farmer.
And they were scattered over the whole face of the earth; and there was none to seek them, there was none to call them (Ez 34:6) — none among those bad shepherds; there was none, no man, that is, to seek them".
#unity
Ecce Verbum
St. Augustine on unity under one Shepherd 🔗Sermo 46 page 283 Small wonder that pride gives birth to division, and love to unity. But our catholic mother is herself a shepherd; she seeks the straying sheep everywhere, strengthens the weak, heals the sick…
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That Sacraments can be administered even by wicked ministers 🔗source / Of God And His Creatures: An Annotated Translation Of The Summa Contra Gentiles Of Saint Thomas Aquinas Do what they say, not what they do: "People who do bad things are of course thorns.…
Of the Episcopal Dignity, and that therein one Bishop is Supreme
🔗 source / Of God And His Creatures: An Annotated Translation Of The Summa Contra Gentiles Of Saint Thomas Aquinas
"Indeed, in the case of Peter he also commended the unity of the flock. There were many apostles, and yet to one only did he say: Feed my sheep. When he entrusted his sheep to Peter as one person to another, Christ chose to make Peter one with himself. He wanted to entrust him with the sheep in such a way that he himself might be the head and Peter might represent the body, that is, the Church. As bridegroom and bride, Christ and the Church were to be two in one flesh."
St Augustine, Sermo 46 🔗
#unity
🔗 source / Of God And His Creatures: An Annotated Translation Of The Summa Contra Gentiles Of Saint Thomas Aquinas
"Indeed, in the case of Peter he also commended the unity of the flock. There were many apostles, and yet to one only did he say: Feed my sheep. When he entrusted his sheep to Peter as one person to another, Christ chose to make Peter one with himself. He wanted to entrust him with the sheep in such a way that he himself might be the head and Peter might represent the body, that is, the Church. As bridegroom and bride, Christ and the Church were to be two in one flesh."
St Augustine, Sermo 46 🔗
#unity
Ecce Verbum
The good is mixed with the bad in the world and within the Church St. Augustine Sermo 38, Sermo 46 🔗 *Within the Church there exists both good and bad, from the very beginning until the final separation. *God is equally able to call back into the Church…
St Augustine on patiently bearing with bad shepherds
🔗 Letter 208 ( Augustine's "Letters" pdf)
🔗 Epistle 208 (Logos Library)
🔗 Epistle 208 (§§2-4, 6-7) (NA)
*from a letter of St. Augustine written in AD 423 to a consecrated virgin who was scandalized by the behavior of bishops in her own time.
(§2) I exhort you, therefore, not to be too much troubled by those offenses which for this very reason were foretold as destined to come, that when they came we might remember that they had been foretold, and not be greatly disconcerted by them. For the Lord Himself in His gospel foretold them, saying, “Woe unto the world because of offenses! For it must needs be that offenses come; but woe unto that man by whom the offense comes!” [Matt. 18:7] These are the men of whom the apostle said, “They seek their own, not the things that are Jesus Christ’s.” [Phil. 2:21] There are, therefore, some who hold the honorable office of shepherds in order that they may provide for the flock of Christ; others occupy that position that they may enjoy the temporal honors and secular advantages connected with the office. It must needs happen that these two kinds of pastors, some dying, others succeeding them, should continue in the Catholic Church even to the end of time, and the judgment of the Lord. If, then, in the times of the apostles there were men such that Paul, grieved by their conduct, enumerates among his trials, “perils among false brethren,” [1 Cor. 11:26] and yet he did not haughtily cast them out, but patiently bore with them, how much more must such arise in our times, since the Lord most plainly says concerning this age which is drawing to a close, “that because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold.” [Matt. 24:12-13] The word which follows, however, ought to console and exhort us, for He adds, “He that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved.” [Matt. 24:13]
(§3) Moreover, as there are good shepherds and bad shepherds, so also in flocks there are good and bad. The good are represented by the name of sheep, but the bad are called goats: they feed, nevertheless, side by side in the same pastures, until the Chief Shepherd, who is called the One Shepherd, shall come and separate them one from another according to His promise, “as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats.” [Matt. 25:32] On us He has laid the duty of gathering the flock; to Himself He has reserved the work of final separation, because it pertains properly to Him who cannot err. For those presumptuous servants, who have lightly ventured to separate before the time which the Lord has reserved in His own hand, have, instead of separating others, only been separated themselves from Catholic unity; for how could those have a clean flock who have by schism become unclean?
(§4) In order, therefore, that we may remain in the unity of the faith, and not, stumbling at the offenses occasioned by the chaff, desert the threshing-floor of the Lord, but rather remain as wheat till the final winnowing, [Matt. 3:12]
(§6) ... For there are both good and bad in the Catholic Church, which, unlike the Donatist sect, is extended and spread abroad, not in Africa only, but through all nations; as the apostle expresses it, “bringing forth fruit, and increasing in the whole world.” [Col. 1:6] But those who are separated from the Church, as long as they are opposed to it cannot be good; although an apparently praiseworthy conversation seems to prove some of them to be good, their separation from the Church itself renders them bad, according to the saying of the Lord: “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathers not with me scatters.” [Matt. 12:30]
(§7) ...Committing to Him your heart, your vow, and your sacred virginity, and your faith, hope, and charity, you will not be moved by offenses, which shall abound even to the end; but, by the unshaken strength of piety, shall be safe and shall triumph in the Lord, continuing in the unity of His body even to the end.
#unity
🔗 Letter 208 ( Augustine's "Letters" pdf)
🔗 Epistle 208 (Logos Library)
🔗 Epistle 208 (§§2-4, 6-7) (NA)
*from a letter of St. Augustine written in AD 423 to a consecrated virgin who was scandalized by the behavior of bishops in her own time.
(§2) I exhort you, therefore, not to be too much troubled by those offenses which for this very reason were foretold as destined to come, that when they came we might remember that they had been foretold, and not be greatly disconcerted by them. For the Lord Himself in His gospel foretold them, saying, “Woe unto the world because of offenses! For it must needs be that offenses come; but woe unto that man by whom the offense comes!” [Matt. 18:7] These are the men of whom the apostle said, “They seek their own, not the things that are Jesus Christ’s.” [Phil. 2:21] There are, therefore, some who hold the honorable office of shepherds in order that they may provide for the flock of Christ; others occupy that position that they may enjoy the temporal honors and secular advantages connected with the office. It must needs happen that these two kinds of pastors, some dying, others succeeding them, should continue in the Catholic Church even to the end of time, and the judgment of the Lord. If, then, in the times of the apostles there were men such that Paul, grieved by their conduct, enumerates among his trials, “perils among false brethren,” [1 Cor. 11:26] and yet he did not haughtily cast them out, but patiently bore with them, how much more must such arise in our times, since the Lord most plainly says concerning this age which is drawing to a close, “that because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold.” [Matt. 24:12-13] The word which follows, however, ought to console and exhort us, for He adds, “He that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved.” [Matt. 24:13]
(§3) Moreover, as there are good shepherds and bad shepherds, so also in flocks there are good and bad. The good are represented by the name of sheep, but the bad are called goats: they feed, nevertheless, side by side in the same pastures, until the Chief Shepherd, who is called the One Shepherd, shall come and separate them one from another according to His promise, “as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats.” [Matt. 25:32] On us He has laid the duty of gathering the flock; to Himself He has reserved the work of final separation, because it pertains properly to Him who cannot err. For those presumptuous servants, who have lightly ventured to separate before the time which the Lord has reserved in His own hand, have, instead of separating others, only been separated themselves from Catholic unity; for how could those have a clean flock who have by schism become unclean?
(§4) In order, therefore, that we may remain in the unity of the faith, and not, stumbling at the offenses occasioned by the chaff, desert the threshing-floor of the Lord, but rather remain as wheat till the final winnowing, [Matt. 3:12]
(§6) ... For there are both good and bad in the Catholic Church, which, unlike the Donatist sect, is extended and spread abroad, not in Africa only, but through all nations; as the apostle expresses it, “bringing forth fruit, and increasing in the whole world.” [Col. 1:6] But those who are separated from the Church, as long as they are opposed to it cannot be good; although an apparently praiseworthy conversation seems to prove some of them to be good, their separation from the Church itself renders them bad, according to the saying of the Lord: “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathers not with me scatters.” [Matt. 12:30]
(§7) ...Committing to Him your heart, your vow, and your sacred virginity, and your faith, hope, and charity, you will not be moved by offenses, which shall abound even to the end; but, by the unshaken strength of piety, shall be safe and shall triumph in the Lord, continuing in the unity of His body even to the end.
#unity
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Ought we to pray for others? "On Prayer and the Contemplative Life" by St. Thomas Aquinas S. James, in his Epistle, says : Pray for one another that ye may be saved. As we said above, we ought in prayer to ask for those things which we ought to desire. But…
St. Augustine on praying for those who don't share our Faith
Discourse on Psalm 32,29
"We entreat you, brothers, as earnestly as we are able, to have charity, not only for one another, but also for those who are outside the Church. Of these some are still pagans, who have not yet made an act of faith in Christ. Others are separated, insofar as they are joined with us in professing faith in Christ, our head, but are yet divided from the unity of His body. My friends, we must grieve over these as over our brothers. Whether they like it or not, they are our brothers; and they will only cease to be so when they no longer say our Father.
The prophet refers to some men saying: When they say to you: You are not our brothers, you are to tell them: You are our brothers. Consider whom he intended by these words. Were they the pagans? Hardly; for nowhere either in Scripture or in our traditional manner of speaking do we find them called our brothers. Nor could it refer to the Jews, who did not believe in Christ. Read Saint Paul and you will see that when he speaks of "brothers," without any qualification, he refers always to Christians. For example, he says: Why do you judge your brother or why do you despise your brother? And again: You perform iniquity and commit fraud, and this against your brothers.
Those then who tell us: You are not our brothers, are saying that we are pagans. That is why they want to baptize us again, claiming that we do not have what they can give. Hence their error of denying that we are their brothers. Why then did the prophet tell us: Say to them: You are our brothers? It is because we acknowledge in them that which we do not repeat. By not recognizing our baptism, they deny that we are their brothers; on the other hand, when we do not repeat their baptism but acknowledge it to be our own, we are saying to them: You are our brothers.
If they say, "Why do you seek us? What do you want of us?" we should reply: You are our brothers. They may say, "leave us alone. We have nothing to do with you." But we have everything to do with you, for we are one in our belief in Christ; and so we should be in one body, under one head.
And so, dear brothers, we entreat you on their behalf, in the name of the very source of our love, by whose milk we are nourished, and whose bread is our strength, in the name of Christ our Lord and His gentle love. For it is time now for us to show them great love and abundant compassion by praying to God for them. May He one day give them a clear mind to repent and to realize that they have nothing whatever to say against the truth; they have nothing now but the sickness of their hatred, and the stronger they think they are, the weaker they become. We entreat you then to pray for them, for they are weak, given to the wisdom of the flesh, to fleshly and carnal things, but yet they are our brothers. They celebrate the same sacraments as we, not indeed with us, but still the same. They respond with the same Amen, not with us, but still the same. And so pour out your hearts for them in prayer to God".
#mentalprayer #unity
Discourse on Psalm 32,29
"We entreat you, brothers, as earnestly as we are able, to have charity, not only for one another, but also for those who are outside the Church. Of these some are still pagans, who have not yet made an act of faith in Christ. Others are separated, insofar as they are joined with us in professing faith in Christ, our head, but are yet divided from the unity of His body. My friends, we must grieve over these as over our brothers. Whether they like it or not, they are our brothers; and they will only cease to be so when they no longer say our Father.
The prophet refers to some men saying: When they say to you: You are not our brothers, you are to tell them: You are our brothers. Consider whom he intended by these words. Were they the pagans? Hardly; for nowhere either in Scripture or in our traditional manner of speaking do we find them called our brothers. Nor could it refer to the Jews, who did not believe in Christ. Read Saint Paul and you will see that when he speaks of "brothers," without any qualification, he refers always to Christians. For example, he says: Why do you judge your brother or why do you despise your brother? And again: You perform iniquity and commit fraud, and this against your brothers.
Those then who tell us: You are not our brothers, are saying that we are pagans. That is why they want to baptize us again, claiming that we do not have what they can give. Hence their error of denying that we are their brothers. Why then did the prophet tell us: Say to them: You are our brothers? It is because we acknowledge in them that which we do not repeat. By not recognizing our baptism, they deny that we are their brothers; on the other hand, when we do not repeat their baptism but acknowledge it to be our own, we are saying to them: You are our brothers.
If they say, "Why do you seek us? What do you want of us?" we should reply: You are our brothers. They may say, "leave us alone. We have nothing to do with you." But we have everything to do with you, for we are one in our belief in Christ; and so we should be in one body, under one head.
And so, dear brothers, we entreat you on their behalf, in the name of the very source of our love, by whose milk we are nourished, and whose bread is our strength, in the name of Christ our Lord and His gentle love. For it is time now for us to show them great love and abundant compassion by praying to God for them. May He one day give them a clear mind to repent and to realize that they have nothing whatever to say against the truth; they have nothing now but the sickness of their hatred, and the stronger they think they are, the weaker they become. We entreat you then to pray for them, for they are weak, given to the wisdom of the flesh, to fleshly and carnal things, but yet they are our brothers. They celebrate the same sacraments as we, not indeed with us, but still the same. They respond with the same Amen, not with us, but still the same. And so pour out your hearts for them in prayer to God".
#mentalprayer #unity
Ecce Verbum
The position of Clement *Some falsely claim that there are gaps in the record of apostolic succession The very first extant list of of the first Bishops of Rome that we have is that of St. Irenaeus (Adv. Haer. 3.3.3): The blessed apostles, then, having…
St. Augustine on Apostolic Succession
“For if the lineal succession of bishops is to be taken into account, with how much more certainty and benefit to the Church do we reckon back till we reach Peter himself, to whom, as bearing in a figure the whole Church, the Lord said: ‘Upon this rock will I build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it !’ The successor of Peter was Linus, and his successors in unbroken continuity were these: — Clement, Anacletus, Evaristus, Alexander, Sixtus, Telesphorus, Iginus, Anicetus, Pius, Soter, Eleutherius, Victor, Zephirinus, Calixtus, Urbanus, Pontianus, Antherus, Fabianus, Cornelius, Lucius, Stephanus, Xystus, Dionysius, Felix, Eutychianus, Gaius, Marcellinus, Marcellus, Eusebius, Miltiades, Sylvester, Marcus, Julius, Liberius, Damasus, and Siricius, whose successor is the present Bishop Anastasius. In this order of succession no Donatist bishop is found. But, reversing the natural course of things, the Donatists sent to Rome from Africa an ordained bishop, who, putting himself at the head of a few Africans in the great metropolis, gave some notoriety to the name of “mountain men,” or Cutzupits, by which they were known.”
Augustine, To Generosus, Epistle 53:2 (A.D. 400)
*Augustine, here, describes what Apostolic Succession means. Its pretty clear which definition is a later invention intended to back into a presupposition.*
“In like manner as if there take place an ordination of clergy in order to form a congregation of people, although the congregation of people follow not, yet there remains in the ordained persons the Sacrament of Ordination; and if, for any fault, any be removed from his office, he will not be without the Sacrament of the Lord once for all set upon him, albeit continuing unto condemnation.”
Augustine, 🔗On the Good of Marriage, 24:32 (A.D. 401).
*The unity of the episcopate, based on the apostolic succession through the Sacrament of Holy Orders is one of the marks of unity of the Catholic Church.*
#unity
“For if the lineal succession of bishops is to be taken into account, with how much more certainty and benefit to the Church do we reckon back till we reach Peter himself, to whom, as bearing in a figure the whole Church, the Lord said: ‘Upon this rock will I build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it !’ The successor of Peter was Linus, and his successors in unbroken continuity were these: — Clement, Anacletus, Evaristus, Alexander, Sixtus, Telesphorus, Iginus, Anicetus, Pius, Soter, Eleutherius, Victor, Zephirinus, Calixtus, Urbanus, Pontianus, Antherus, Fabianus, Cornelius, Lucius, Stephanus, Xystus, Dionysius, Felix, Eutychianus, Gaius, Marcellinus, Marcellus, Eusebius, Miltiades, Sylvester, Marcus, Julius, Liberius, Damasus, and Siricius, whose successor is the present Bishop Anastasius. In this order of succession no Donatist bishop is found. But, reversing the natural course of things, the Donatists sent to Rome from Africa an ordained bishop, who, putting himself at the head of a few Africans in the great metropolis, gave some notoriety to the name of “mountain men,” or Cutzupits, by which they were known.”
Augustine, To Generosus, Epistle 53:2 (A.D. 400)
*Augustine, here, describes what Apostolic Succession means. Its pretty clear which definition is a later invention intended to back into a presupposition.*
“In like manner as if there take place an ordination of clergy in order to form a congregation of people, although the congregation of people follow not, yet there remains in the ordained persons the Sacrament of Ordination; and if, for any fault, any be removed from his office, he will not be without the Sacrament of the Lord once for all set upon him, albeit continuing unto condemnation.”
Augustine, 🔗On the Good of Marriage, 24:32 (A.D. 401).
*The unity of the episcopate, based on the apostolic succession through the Sacrament of Holy Orders is one of the marks of unity of the Catholic Church.*
#unity
Ecce Verbum
"When, after the Apostles, heresies burst forth and were striving under various names to tear apart and divide the Queen of God (the Church), did not the apostolic people require a name of their own to mark the unity of the people? If at last we must give…
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St. Augustine on unity under one Shepherd 🔗Sermo 46 page 283 Small wonder that pride gives birth to division, and love to unity. But our catholic mother is herself a shepherd; she seeks the straying sheep everywhere, strengthens the weak, heals the sick…
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Marks of the Church of Christ: unity, holiness, universality and apostolic character
Outline of Apologetics, Rev. Dr. Aleksander Pechnik, Warsaw 1913, pp. 152-159, Imprimatur
a) The unity of the Church.
Scripture speaks of only one Church of Christ. This unity is based on the teaching of the same articles of faith, on the celebration of the same Holy Sacraments and on the concentration of supreme authority in the hands of a single leader: "And there shall be one fold and one shepherd", said the Saviour about His Church (John 10:16). There must be one faith in the whole Church: "One Lord, one faith" (Eph 4:5). For since only one can be true, so also only one teaching about God and religion can be true, and all others must be rejected as false. It is not, therefore, evidence of a narrow-minded, fanatical exclusiveness when the Church excludes from the assembly of the faithful, anyone who persistently denies even one truth that belongs to the revealed truths. If anyone dares to undermine the authority of the teaching Church and refuses to accept as truth what she proclaims to be true, such person excludes himself from her fold, contradicting the will of God. The Church, on the other hand, does not wish to harm him in the least, neither does she wish to show him any dislike - on the contrary, she wants to save his soul and for this very reason she even resorts to the last resort, if admonitions have no effect. She only fulfils her duty when she leaves no one free to wander. She endures human frailties patiently, she does not deprive even the greatest sinners of her help, she does not allow harm to be done to dissenters, but she cannot tolerate falsehood.
🔗b) The holiness of the Church
🔗c) The universality of the Church
🔗d) Apostolic Character of the Church
#unity
Outline of Apologetics, Rev. Dr. Aleksander Pechnik, Warsaw 1913, pp. 152-159, Imprimatur
a) The unity of the Church.
Scripture speaks of only one Church of Christ. This unity is based on the teaching of the same articles of faith, on the celebration of the same Holy Sacraments and on the concentration of supreme authority in the hands of a single leader: "And there shall be one fold and one shepherd", said the Saviour about His Church (John 10:16). There must be one faith in the whole Church: "One Lord, one faith" (Eph 4:5). For since only one can be true, so also only one teaching about God and religion can be true, and all others must be rejected as false. It is not, therefore, evidence of a narrow-minded, fanatical exclusiveness when the Church excludes from the assembly of the faithful, anyone who persistently denies even one truth that belongs to the revealed truths. If anyone dares to undermine the authority of the teaching Church and refuses to accept as truth what she proclaims to be true, such person excludes himself from her fold, contradicting the will of God. The Church, on the other hand, does not wish to harm him in the least, neither does she wish to show him any dislike - on the contrary, she wants to save his soul and for this very reason she even resorts to the last resort, if admonitions have no effect. She only fulfils her duty when she leaves no one free to wander. She endures human frailties patiently, she does not deprive even the greatest sinners of her help, she does not allow harm to be done to dissenters, but she cannot tolerate falsehood.
🔗b) The holiness of the Church
🔗c) The universality of the Church
🔗d) Apostolic Character of the Church
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