By Very Rev. THOMAS S. PRESTON, V.G.,
3. The catholicity of the Church is also another consequence of her supernatural life. Being the temple of the Spirit, she is for the world which Christ redeemed, and so for all times and places. The Jewish Church was indeed the Church of God, but it was not the temple of the Holy Ghost ; whatever graces its members received, they were not the brethren of the Incarnate Word nor the children of the regeneration. The eternal Paraclete had not come in His fullness, nor was He united to the Jewish theocracy, which had a national and not a corporate life, as He is now united to the body of believers who are baptized into one Christ. Hence the grand economy of the Old Law did not pass the bounds of the national unity; and even from that unity tribe after tribe became apostate. But the Christian Church, animated by the almighty Spirit, can be bound by no laws of race or nation. By its own vitality it passes from land to land, from east to west and from north to south. There is no limit to the prolific energy of the Holy Ghost. It is for all times, all tribes and tongues. The church could not be one, unless she were at the same time Catholic; since the salvation of Christ is for all men, and the pity of the Trinity is extended towards all who have sinned. " Going therefore," said the risen and ascending Lord to His apostles, "teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things which I have commanded you: and behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world."(St. Matt, xxviii. 19, 20) This commission is perpetual, and by its power the church extends like a fruitful vine to bless the earth. ~No power can quench its life, and no force prevent its living growth. It is in every age the city of God, illumined by the divine presence; always and everywhere the temple of the Holy Ghost. No body or aggregation of men which has not this quality can lay any claim to the participation in the gift of Pentecost, or the indwelling of the Spirit. The church of Jesus Christ is Catholic by the necessity of her being; and by this note she alone vindicates her claim to be the tabernacle of God upon earth, and the organ of His grace. " The faith which we rehearse," says St. Cyril of Jerusalem, u contains in order the following: 6 And into one baptism for the remission of sins, and into one holy, Catholic Church.' Now, it is called Catholic because it is throughout the world, from one end of the earth to the other; and because it teaches universally all the doctrines which ought to come to men's knowledge. . . . And if ever thou art sojourning in any city, inquire not simply where the Lord's house is (for the sects also attempt to call their own meeting-places houses of the Lord), nor merely where is the church, but where is the Catholic church ? For this is the peculiar name of the holy mother of us all, which is indeed the spouse of our Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God." (St. Cyril, Catech. xviii.) The name signifies a reality, and no heretical sect has ever been able to keep the name or show a pretence of its truth. This fact alone is a proof of the divinity of the true church. So says St. Augustine: "The agreement of peoples and of nations keeps me ; an authority begun with miracles, nourished with hope, increased with charity, confirmed by antiquity, keeps me ; the succession of priests from the chair itself of the Apostle Peter, unto whom the Lord, after His resurrection, committed His sheep to be fed, down even to the present bishop, keeps me; finally, the name itself of the Catholic Church keeps me—a name which, in the midst of so many heresies, this church alone has held possession of." (viii. Contra Ep.Manichai.) The catholicity of the church is not an accident, but a necessity of its life through the Holy Ghost, and its union to the humanity of Jesus Christ. The body which is not catholic has no claims to the Holy Ghost, or to the gifts of His presence. Whatever life it may have is human and temporary. It cannot be divine and permanent.
