We have already discussed the Church Triumphant- the saints in heaven...and the Church Suffering- the holy souls in purgatory... today we will discuss the Church Militant- those of us on earth.
When we talk about the Church, we mean all Christians, not only the Catholic ones. Although there is a scandalous lack of unity among the followers of Christ, we remain ONE Church: Christ's Body and his Bride. Jesus told Peter, "You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, " (MT 16:18) Note, Jesus did not say he was building 30,000 different Christian denominations, but a Church - singular- which would stand the test of time.
All Christian Churches have their origin in the Catholic Church. Every one of them- because for 15 centuries, the ONLY Christian Church was the Catholic Church. Along the way, individuals decided they didn't like this or that...and left and started worshiping on their own. We can talk about that another time... the point I want to make here is that all Christianity has it's roots in the single Church referred to in scripture: the original Christian Church IS the Catholic Church, and everyone who professes Christ is, at the root, a Catholic Christian.
Are there sinners in the Church? Of course there are. But the Church does not lose her holiness because of the sins of its members...if she did, the gates of hell would prevail. The Church is a hospital for sinners, not a shrine for saints. As Tim Staples puts it, " You don't leave Peter because of Judas."
Has the church done despicable things? No. People within the Church have, not the Church herself.
The Church Triumphant, the Church Suffering, the Church Militant. We are the ones still running the race, fighting the fight. In Confirmation, we became soldiers for Christ, we are his army.
And just as an army needs unity of purpose, so do Christians.
We are the Church Militant. We must be unified if we are going to win souls for Jesus Christ.
We must be unified in love of the Lord and of our fellow man.
We must be unified in prayer for each other and for the holy souls and with the intercession of the saints.
We must see that the common ground we have in Christ is far more important than the differences we perceive.
Jesus prayed, "... that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me." (JN 17:21)
Unity. In the ONE Church he built on the rock of Peter.
The Church Triumphant, the Church Suffering, the Church Militant. We are all part of the Communion of Saints.
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