2010-06-Ecclesiology-Part4

Slide 1: 

Loving and Living in the Catholic Church

Slide 2: 

Models of the Church

Avery Dulles’ Models of the Church : 

Avery Dulles’ Models of the Church “The one and true Church is the community of men brought together by profession of the same Christian faith and conjoined in the communion of the same sacraments, under the government of the legitimate pastors and especially the one vicar of Christ on earth, the Roman pontiff.” – St. Robert Bellarmine First, a definition…

Dulles’ Models of the Church : 

Dulles’ Models of the Church Five original models: Institution Mystical communion community of the Spirit Sacrament Herald assembly of believers Servant community of liberation ,,,and one later model: Discipleship (Communion)

The Institutional Model : 

The Institutional Model Dominant from about 1600 through the mid-20th century Sometimes called the “political society” model Necessary during and after the counter-reformation to establish Catholic identity

The Institutional Model : 

The Institutional Model Defines Church by its “visible” characteristics: sacraments, creedal beliefs, organizational structure, etc. Tends to under-emphasize the “mystery” dimension of the Church: the life of faith; Christian communion of faith, hope, love; abiding presence of Christ; gifts and assistance of the Spirit

The Mystical Communion Model : 

The Mystical Communion Model Also called the “Body of Christ” model Ancient model resurrected in 19th century by TÜbingen School and given prominence in the 1930s Stressed elements missing from institutional model: activity and gifts of the Spirit in all members and the dependence of all on the contributions of each

The Mystical Communion Model : 

The Mystical Communion Model Highlighted relationship between the mystical and the visible, between the supernatural community of grace in Christ and the visible society of very human beings -- perennial ecclesiological concern Stressing the mystical dimension of the spiritual communion can take an anti-institutional turn – common among Protestant theologians Taking the literal approach, ignoring the metaphor, can lead to biologism and divinization of the Church

The Sacrament Model : 

The Sacrament Model Prominent in 1940s (Henri de Lubac); the resurrection of an ancient model used by Cyprian, Augustine, Aquinas… Adopted and developed further by Rahner, Schillebeeckx, Congar, et al. Accepted into Vatican II (Lumen Gentium): "The Church is in Christ as a sacrament or sign and instrument of intimate union with God and of the unity of all mankind." Became a major theme of the Council.

The Sacrament Model : 

The Sacrament Model A sacrament is a sign, expressing in some sense the indescribable and inexpressible spiritual reality. The Church as sacrament expresses Christ ("the glory of Christ shines on its face"), and, as sacrament of salvation, the Church's community life expresses something of what salvation essentially consists in.

The Sacrament Model : 

The Sacrament Model A sacrament is an instrument, which effects what it signifies. The Church as a sacrament of Christ brings about the continuation of Christ's ministry and as sacrament of salvation builds a community of salvation in the world.

The Sacrament Model : 

The Sacrament Model Provides new impetus to Church’s missionary activity; stresses that the Church community is an effective sign as a light to the world, a beacon of hope, a community-building force at the heart of the world Theologians’ model – never popular outside theological circles

Vatican II on the Church : 

Vatican II on the Church “…the Church is in Christ like a sacrament or as a sign and instrument both of a very closely knit union with God and of the unity of the whole human race…” LG 1 …the Holy Spirit was sent on the day of Pentecost in order that he might continually sanctify the Church, and thus, all those who believe would have access through Christ in one Spirit to the Father…The Spirit dwells in the Church and in the hearts of the faithful as in a temple…” LG 4

The Pilgrim People Model : 

The Pilgrim People Model Also called “Herald” model and assembly of believers Dominant model of Vatican II – “Pilgrim People of God” Derived from a renewed sense in the Church of "sacred history", the gradual unfolding through history of God's plan to unite all people in Christ by means of a single people.

The Pilgrim People Model : 

The Pilgrim People Model A favored people, because it has hope, sees itself as vanguard of the pilgrim human race, specially graced to lead the rest on their pilgrimage to their ultimate destiny.

The Pilgrim People Model : 

The Pilgrim People Model Church no longer seen as an immobile, supra-terrestrial institution, unaffected by time, change and history Church as historical community on a pilgrimage which still has a long way to travel

The Pilgrim People Model : 

The Pilgrim People Model Not exempt from human problems of having to live with uncertainty and make its way tentatively, often by trial and error. But God travels with the pilgrim people and the providential guidance of the Spirit will always be with them.

The Human Community Model : 

The Human Community Model Church as best typified by simple prayer groups, “house” churches and charismatic gatherings Fulfills human need for personal style of Christian life Any limitations are to be overcome with the assistance of the Holy Spirit.

The Servant Model : 

The Servant Model Human community model Found in Vatican II's pastoral constitution on the Church in the Modern World; official social documents that have followed the council have further developed and applied the model As Christ came to serve, the Church must carry on his mission of service to the whole world

The Servant Model : 

The Servant Model Teilhard de Chardin was largely responsible for model’s early development. Earliest clear formulation of the model found in Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Letters and Papers from Prison. After presenting Christ as the Man for Others, he calls on the Church to become a servant Church, sharing in the problems of human life, not dominating but helping and serving, after the example of Christ.

The Servant Model : 

The Servant Model Church is at times presented in this theology as an "exodus community" pioneering the world’s future. Having scrutinized the signs of the times and discerned the action of the Spirit in the world, the Church's task is to associate itself through its members and as an institution with all movements working for the values of peace, justice, liberation, development and reconciliation in the temporal order.

The Servant Model : 

The Servant Model This servant model has been a model for liberation theology, which too often turned into an amorphous mixture of religion and revolutionary politics colored by Marxist thought. This Marxist inspired version of liberation theology has consistently been condemned by the Church because of its incitement to hate and violence, and its tendency to substitute a worldly revolutionary success for God.

Dulles Adds 6th Model: Communion : 

Dulles Adds 6th Model: Communion Community of disciples “Discipleship is the common factor uniting all Christians with one another, for no one of them is anything but a follower and a learner in relation to Jesus Christ” Dulles believed that this model embraces and corrects the other five Embraced as well, and expanded, by both John Paul II & Benedict XVI

Discipleship (Communion) Model : 

Discipleship (Communion) Model Biblical basis: Acts 6:2, use of “disciples” to mean the Church Rooted in Jesus’ own discipleship: John 5:19-20, Matthew 11:27

Discipleship (Communion) Model : 

Discipleship (Communion) Model Fits with contemporary experience: hearing and responding to a call Not just accepting doctrines, but following Jesus in all things No sacraments, no New Testament, etc. without community of disciples Power should be vested only in mature and faithful disciples

The Church as Communion : 

The Church as Communion “The Church as Communion is our loving fellowship and union with Jesus and other baptized Christians in the Church, the Body of Christ, which has its source and summit in the celebration of the Eucharist by which we are joined in divine love to the communion of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit.” [CCC – Glossary] In this sense the Church is also the visible embodiment of the triune God. It is called by the Father to union with and in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Meaning of Church…and the Priesthood : 

The Meaning of Church…and the Priesthood “The word ecclesia, church, occurs for the first time in the Bible when Aaron is invested with the priestly office. Priesthood and the Church come to birth together and belong together indivisibly. To describe the Church is therefore at the same time to explain what is the heart and meaning of the priestly task: They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and the prayers.” [Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), God is Near Us, 2001]

Vatican II on the Church : 

Vatican II on the Church “This is the one Church of Christ which in the Creed is professed as one, holy, catholic and apostolic, which our Savior, after his resurrection, commissioned Peter to shepherd (Jn 21:17), and him and the other apostles to extend and direct with authority (cf. Mt 28:18:f.), which he erected for all ages as ‘the pillar and foundation of the truth’ (1 Tm 3:15).” [LG,8]

Vatican II on the Church : 

Vatican II on the Church “This Church, constituted and organized in the world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the Successor of Peter and by the bishops in communion with him, although many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside of its visible structure. These elements, as gifts belonging to the Church of Christ, are forces impelling toward catholic unity.” [LG,8]

Slide 30: 

Church Heralded by the Second Vatican Council - the World Church

Communio Ecclesiology : 

Communio Ecclesiology For Popes John Paul & Benedict it serves as a synthesis for all the essential elements of the ecclesiology of Vatican II. The starting point of communion is the encounter with the incarnate Son of God, Jesus Christ, who comes to us in the preaching and sacraments of the Church.

Communio Ecclesiology : 

Communio Ecclesiology “…the ecclesiology of communion is a central and fundamental concept in the conciliar [Vatican II] documents.” [Pope John Paul II] “The recovery of the ecclesiology of communion by the Magisterium and theologians in recent years has been one of the most significant developments in Catholic life and thought since the Second Vatican Council.” [Rev. Augustine DiNoia, O.P. (then Theologian to the US Bishops, now an Archbishop and Secretary, Congregation for Divine Worship)]

Communio Ecclesiology : 

Communio Ecclesiology “Fellowship with God is mediated by the fellowship of God with man which is Christ in person: the encounter with Christ brings about the fellowship with him and, thus, with the Father in the Holy Spirit; on this basis it unites men with one another. All of this is directed toward perfect joy: the Church bears within herself an eschatological impulse.” – Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), Pilgrim Fellowship of Faith, 2005 Ecclesial communion is, at root, Trinitarian communion.

Communio Ecclesiology : 

Communio Ecclesiology Jesus speaks of his Passion on the way to Jerusalem, but instead of listening, the disciples are talking about who among them is greatest. (Mt 9:33-37) “Is it not also the same today? While the Lord moves towards his Passion, while the Church is suffering, and he suffering in her, we are back on our favorite topic, on the question of our privileges. And if he were to enter into our midst and to ask us what we were talking about, then how we should have to blush and be silent!” – Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), Pilgrim Fellowship of Faith, 2005

Communio Ecclesiology : 

Communio Ecclesiology “…the Church as a whole, in her essential mystery, was a reality that ontologically and temporally preceded the individual particular churches. “…in the writings of the Fathers, the one and only Church precedes creation, and it is she who gives birth to the particular Churches. Here the Fathers are continuing a theme of rabbinic theology by which the Torah and Israel had been conceived of as being preexistent: creation was then conceived as a sphere for the exercise of God’s will; this will, however, was held to need a people who might live for God’s will and make it into the light of the world.” – Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) Pilgrim Fellowship of Faith, 2005

Understanding the Church : 

Understanding the Church Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of the Father, instituted the Church in order to accomplish the Father’s plan of salvation for all The Church is the kingdom of Christ already present in mystery The Church herself is the living witness to the Risen Lord, for her life and activity are a constant testimonial that Jesus lives The mission of Christ and the Holy Spirit is brought to completion in the Church, which is the Body of Christ and the Temple of the Holy Spirit.

Understanding the Church : 

Understanding the Church God’s self-revelation, given through his only Son in the Holy Spirit remains living and active in the Church Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture together are the Deposit of Faith, which is guarded and protected by the Magisterium because it was given to us by Christ and cannot change The Church, then, is a worshiping community of believers in the Lordship of Jesus Christ – believers who, through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, acknowledge their absolute dependence on God the Father

Understanding the Church : 

Understanding the Church The Church, the community of disciples, is, on earth, the seed and the beginning of that kingdom [the Kingdom of God] and is effectively and concretely at the service of the Kingdom It must always be taught clearly that Jesus Christ is the unique and universal Savior of the human family and that his Church is the universal sacrament of salvation

Mystery of the Church and the Role of Laity : 

Mystery of the Church and the Role of Laity

Vatican II and Mission : 

Vatican II and Mission Presence of bishops from all over the globe Inductive approach to theology; embrace of signs of the times Mystery of God’s plan for salvation through the Church Ad gentes made the Church “missionary by its very nature” and placed the Church’s mission within the life of the Trinity itself.

Final Thoughts for Catholics : 

Final Thoughts for Catholics The Church was and remains: One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. Any model of the Church must always incorporate these four marks. Affirmation of the fundamental goodness of human nature ought always be accompanied by a keen awareness of the paradoxical constitution of that nature and, consequently, of the limitations of reason and natural law. The imitation of Jesus (the Living Word of God) and the saints of the Church, and participation in the Church’s sacramental life, is the norm for Christian life and thought.

Final Thoughts for Catholics : 

Final Thoughts for Catholics The Holy Spirit – promised to Christ’s Church until the end of time – is always guiding and leading, but we must, through prayer, obedience and discernment, recognize and accept His guidance. The Church (and that’s all of us) must think through the consequences of being the pilgrim people of God, and what it truly means to me joined in Communion with God and each other. We must all take an active part in the Church’s missionary role. Evangelization is the mission Christ gave each one of us.

Final Thoughts for Catholics : 

Final Thoughts for Catholics Too many people today live their lives as if God didn’t exist. As Catholics we must bring the reality of God – His love and forgiveness - to them through word and example. This is the true work of the Church, and a special challenge issued by Vatican II to the lay faithful. “One of the roots of the hopelessness that assails many people today is…their inability to see themselves as sinners and to allow themselves to be forgiven, an inability often resulting from the isolation of those who, by living as if God did not exist, have no one from whom they can seek forgiveness.” [Pope John Paul II Ecclesia in Europa 2003]

Final Thoughts for Catholics : 

Final Thoughts for Catholics Ecclesiology is about the Church only as it brings people to God. The Church derives from adoration, from the task of glorifying God in the world. The Christian understanding of history must be apocalyptic rather than progressive. “The Church is not there for her own sake but should be the instrument of God for gathering men to him, so as to prepare for the moment when God shall be ‘everything to everyone.’” - Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger Pilgrim Fellowship of Faith (2005)