I Believe In One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church
We have here the final “I believe” statement. It’s left for the end, because all the others deal with who we believe in, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, as well as some of the perfections they possess and the ministry they carry out in the world. Now we come to us. We are the hands and feet of the Father. We are the light of the Son in our darkened world. We are vessels the Holy Spirit flows through until all mankind comes to the knowledge of salvation. This final “I believe” statement confirms what that should look like to those who are watching us.
“’This is the sole Church of Christ, which in the Creed we profess to be one, holy, catholic and apostolic.’ These four characteristics, inseparably linked with each other, indicate essential features of the Church and her mission. The Church does not possess them of herself; it is Christ who, through the Holy Spirit, makes his Church one, holy, catholic and apostolic, and it is he who calls her to realize each of these qualities.” (CCC 811)
We Catholics call these the four marks of the Church. She is one. She is holy. She is catholic (note the lower case “c”, meaning she is universal). She is apostolic. Because each mark functions as part of the whole, first we are looking at the whole.
The four marks of the Church are what Christ has called us to be, as a body. He makes it so through the Holy Spirit. No, we haven’t always gotten it right, in terms of how those marks were lived out in the world. The Church is also made up of humans. And sometimes humans don’t do what they confess. We’re great at “do as I say, not as I do.” But in spite of that, the Church is still, and will always remain one, holy, catholic and apostolic.
The fact that it is, is both a great grace and a great challenge to anyone who bears the name of Christ. In our daily lives, do we truly treat fellow Christians as if they were part of the same Body? Do we treat them as if they were holy? As if they belonged to the universal family of God? Do we recognize that they read the same Holy Bible we do? That’s the challenge.
The grace is that, even when it’s in spite of us and not because of us, the Body of Christ is still the Body of Christ. Yes, our Body may have some problems, but we’re still family. We’re still the Body because we believe in One Lord, Jesus Christ. Through his grace, with the Holy Spirit to teach us and lead us into all truth, eventually, if we are faithful, one day the world will see that the Church truly is One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.