Cathal BarryThe apostles gave their successors the duty of completing their work, writes Cathal Barry
The Church, according to the Catechism, is apostolic in three ways:
She is built on “the foundation of the Apostles”, witnesses chosen and sent on mission by Christ himself.
The Church hands on the teaching of the Apostles (the deposit of faith).
The Church is guided by the successors of the apostles, the bishops in union with the Pope. Jesus is “the eternal shepherd who never leaves his flock untended” (Preface of Apostles).
Jesus “named 12 as his companions whom he would send to preach the Good News” (Mk 3:14).
Apart from Jesus, the apostles could do nothing (Jn 5:19) for they had received from Christ their mandate and their power. They knew that they were “ambassadors of Christ” (2 Cor 6:4) and “stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Cor 4:1).
The original apostles were witnesses of Christ’s Resurrection and the foundation stones of the Church. They took care to appoint successors, because Jesus promised to remain with them until the end of time (Mt 28:20).
The apostles gave their successors the duty of completing their work and urged them to shepherd the Church of God (Acts 20:28). They also required that, when these successors died, other proven men should take over their ministry.
The whole Church is apostolic, in that she remains, through the successors of St Peter and the other apostles, in communion of faith and life with her origin: and in that she is “sent out” into the whole world. All members of the Church share in this mission, the Catechism states, though in various ways.
Because the Church is in communion with the apostles, all Church members share in this mission. Because Christ is the source of the Church’s apostolate, ordained ministers and lay people must be in a vital union with Christ. In keeping with their vocations, the demands of the times and the various gifts of the Holy Spirit, the apostolate assumes the most varied forms.
The Church is one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic because the kingdom of Heaven already exists in her. The Church teaches that this kingdom has come in Christ, grows within the hearts of believers, and will be fully manifested on the Last Day, when all are gathered into one People of God.
In Brief:
The Church is one: She acknowledges one Lord, confesses one faith, is born of one Baptism, forms only one body, is given life by the one spirit, for the sake of one hope, at whose fulfilment all divisions will be overcome.
The Church is holy: The Most Holy God is her author; Christ, her bridegroom, gave himself up to make her holy; the spirit of holiness gives her life.
The Church is Catholic: She proclaims the fullness of the Faith. She bears in herself and administers the totality of the means of salvation. She is sent out to all peoples. She speaks to all men. She encompasses all times.
The Church is apostolic: She is built on a lasting foundation. She is upheld infallibly in the truth; Christ governs her through Peter and the other apostles, who are present in their successors, the Pope and the college of bishops.