T H E M Y S T I C A L B O D Y OF C H R I S T By REV. L. E. BELLANTI, S.J. R e v i s e d E d i t i o n w i t h D i s c u s s i o n Club Q u e s t i o n n a i r e by R e v . G e r a l d C. T r e a c y , S.J. T H E P A U L I S T P R E S S 4 0 1 W E S T S 9 T H STREET N E W Y O R K , N . Y . Imprimi Potest: Nihil Obstat: Imprimatur: New York, April 2, 1942. J A M E S P . S W E E N E Y , S . J . , Provincial, Maryland-New York. A R T H U R J . S C A N L A N , S . T . D . , Censor; Librorum. © F R A N C I S J . S P E L L M A N , D . D . , Archbishop of New York. C O P Y R I G H T , 1 9 4 2 , BY T H E M I S S I O N A R Y SOCIETY OF S T . P A U L T H E A P O S T L E I N T H E STATE O P N E W Y O R K PRINTED AND PUBLISHED I N T H E U . S. A. BY T H E PAULIST PRESS, N E W YORK, N . Y . O E A C F C F F R E D T H E M Y S T I C A L BODY OF C H R I S T r P H E Mystical Body of Christ is a fact. It is also a Mystery. So it is called mystical. I t is a fact of divine revelation. God has revealed it through H i s D i v i n e Son. I a m the vine, y o u are the branches; h e that abideth in Me, and I i n h i m , the same bear- eth m u c h fruit, f o r without Me you can do nothing. 1 This means a life, our life in Christ. We are in- corporated with Him in His Mystical Body. This is a fundamental truth of our f a i t h ; it rests on the firm basis of revelation; it is intimately connected with our service of God and with our outlook on the spiritual life. To refuse to consider the meaning of Incorporation with Christ, or to follow out this truth in its various implications would at least betoken some timidity and want of faith in God, seeing that, what He has revealed, and what the living voice of the Church commands, and what has been preached by the greatest Saints to simple and learned alike, cannot be a snare or a pitfall to us. Man's Nature I t will not be amiss to recapitulate the main facts on which our life is built, both in the order of nature and in that of grace. Man is made up of body and soul. He is conscious of the gravitating tendency of the flesh and of the buoyant impulse of the spirit. He is aware of contradictory elements in his composition, of discordant principles at war within him. Yet all along there is a dominant con- viction that he is a single unit, an individual, a per- son alone and a p a r t ; and that it is for him to rule his higher and lower natures, the beast and the bird of paradise that have been so astonishingly caged together in his clay. As St. Augustine once told his congregation at Hippo: it was free to them to be beasts or angels; beasts, if they followed the in- stincts of their blood; angels, if they guided their lives by the dictates of conscience. Moreover, from the very outset of his attempts at self-analysis, man is faced by the inexplicable mystery of life. More actually than his reflection stares back at him through the mirror, he stares at the spiritual, in- dwelling substance of his soul, and finds himself compelled to bow down before the mystery which his own f r a m e enshrines. "Now," he says quite simply and humbly, "if the energy I feel within me, if the light in my eyes and the thrill in my veins pass my understanding, if my natural life must be a mystery to me, how can I hope to measure or comprehend that life of grace of which Christ speaks, that divine Life which is His Life and which His Church im- parts?" Heaven may "stand about us in our in- fancy," but certainly "shades of the prison-house" are not calculated to dispel the mysteries that gloom thicker with our growth; and the clearer our mental vision becomes, the more we see how true it is that "abyss calleth unto abyss." Yet, as Bishop Hedley has well said: "Though belief in a spiritual soul does not solve the problem of the supernatural, or take us out of the land of mystery, it enables us in some measure to understand how the God on Whom life and movement, intelligence and free-will all depend, has designed to use the mystery of life and spirit in the natural order as a starting-point f o r a scale of marvelous life whose lower end may be on earth, [ P A G E 4 ] but the top of which is hidden in the heavens, f a r out of the sight of men or angels."2 Nature and Grace Working up then to the first half of a great truth, we are led to admit a dualism in our nature. Not only are we, as men, made up of body and soul, but as Christians we live by a double life of nature and of grace. We have in fact two elements and live two lives. This is one side of our proposed equation or identity. Formulating the other side, which is its counterpart, we say that to every Christian the Church presents herself with a similar dualism in her nature. She bases the whole strength of her appeal for his allegiance and his love on the grounds of a common identity. She as much as says to h i m : "You have perhaps been used to think of me as a divinely ordered system, with a sevenfold hierarchy, and seven sacraments, and devotions, and a calendar of feasts and fasts, the guardian of God's revelation and the pledge of His continued presence among His children—and you are right—I am all this; but I am more. I am like yourself both body and spirit; like you I am an external organism, yet nourished by an inward and supernatural life; like you I am both human and divine." Outward and Inward Life I t will be our primary purpose to justify the literal truth of these bold assertions, and then briefly to suggest something of their import. St. Augus- tine, St. Cyril of Jerusalem and St. Anselm contin- ually insisted upon these proofs of the Church's out- 2 The Light of Life. By the Most Rev. J o h n Hed'.ey, Bishop of New- p o r t , p . 216. [ P A G E 5 ] ward and inward life in their familiar homilies. St. John Chrysostom ranges over every implication of this doctrine with a sublimity of thought and a sim- plicity of speech and occasional outbursts of spon- taneous eloquence that leave our hearts burning within us. But why recall the Doctors of the Church when this truth is at the root of all spirituality and so dominates the mind and heart of St. Paul, that, without it, his inspired writings become furious exaggerations, wildly incoherent in the very inten- sity of their appeal. Our Lord Himself gathers up into this message of identity the moral teaching of His whole life and His last calm and collected prayer on earth is that this sweet mystery of union with Him may be verified in ourselves: that we may all be one, as T h o u Father in Me, and I in Thee. 3 The Physical and Mystical Christ The significance of the statements in the Fourth Gospel and in the Pauline Epistles will not be grasped unless the two senses in which our Lord speaks of Himself, and is spoken of by the Apostle, are carefully taken into account. Jesus Christ, Who was born of the Virgin Mary and lived and died for us, was true Man and true God. As Man He is in heaven and in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. As Man He is the physical Christ. He is still the same physical Christ when He comes to us under the i m a g e of the Vine, of which we are the branches, of the Bridegroom forming one body with His elect bride the Church, of the Head of that body to which we belong as members, but with this difference: that here we form part of Him- 3 J o h n xvii. 21. [ PAGE 6 ] self, living with His Life, submerged in His Per- sonality, identified with Him. Hence the impor- tance of distinguishing between the physical and the mystical Christ.4 The physical Christ took flesh from Mary's womb; the mystical Christ extended the benefits of His Incarnation and Humanity to our living bodies, summoning us all into one body of which He is the Head ; the physical Christ died for us; the mystical Christ lives in us; the physical Christ reconciled us to His Eternal Father ; the mys- tical Christ makes us one with Him. In a word, the mystical Christ is the absorption of the Church into Christ in such a way that the Church completes her Chief and is completed by Him. Difference Between Physical and Mystical Christ Further, the term mystical is not introduced here to cover a far-fetched metaphor or to detract from the living and vital functions of t h a t body. It simply serves to stress the differences between the living body—which is Christ and His Church—and the physical body which was born of Mary; and is born again on our altars at every Mass. The word mystical also denotes functions in the mystical Body which do not come under the category of sense, and so saves us from attempting to press the concrete aspect of the image. I t equally forbids the other extreme view which would regard the bond that unites us to Christ as a mere moral tie. The familiar use of the terms body and mem- bers to denote any group of men bound together by some common purpose or interest or accidental cir- cumstance—such as a club or parliament or confra- i F a t h e r P r a t , S.J., carefully works out this distinction, La Théologie de S. Paul, vol. i., p . 419. [ P A G E 7 ] ternity—is very misleading in this connection. Be- tween such a moral unit and the mystical Christ the difference is not merely one of degree, it is actually a difference of kind. The mystical Body of Christ is essentially different from all other so-called bodies, in that it is a living body. Other moral bodies draw their metaphorical life from without. This real and living body — Christ's Mystical Body, the living Church—draws its life from within. It lives with the life of Christ. Growth of the Vine From the first throb of our Lord's human life in Mary's womb, He has always been with the children of men. In due time He was born and grew in wis- dom and age and grace, and in His growth we see the growth of that Vine with which we are later to be identified. We see the first outstretching of those frail tendrils which shall continue to spread f u r t h e r and yet f u r t h e r to the end of time. In this respect —to quote a favorite saying of Father Joseph Rick- aby—"the Church is simply the extension of the In- carnation." Effect of the First Mass Gradually our Lord gathered together His Apos- tles and disciples—potential channels through which His inexhaustible Life would flow f o r the vivification of mankind. On the night before He died, we see these elect members present at the first Mass, in which our Lord as Priest and Victim offers up the Eucharistic Sacrifice, and unites His members to Himself in the Communion of His Body and Blood. Now that He and His Church are one, He reveals that which He has effected. The deep calm of that [ P A G E 8 ] solemn, postcommunion hour is chosen by Himself to explain the change that elevates and transforms and identifies these faithful few with Himself. In describing this life we shall limit ourselves to our Lord's word applying to them, as commentary, the inspired writings of St. Paul. Oneness of Christ and the Church To Paul, indeed, our identity with Christ was the supreme revelation, even as it was the first lesson that came to him from the lips of Christ. For the Apostle first learned that Christ and His Church were one when amid a binding flash our Saviour said t o h i m , I a m Jesus W h o m thou persecutest.5 I a m the V i n e ; you the branches; t h a t is, "I"— no longer the physical but the mystical Christ—am the Church; "You" are the members of the Church. I am the living whole, and you are parts living with the life of the whole—vine-branches living with the Vine's life. This deep truth will be best expressed in Monsignor Benson's words: "The branches are not an imitation of the Vine, or representatives of the Vine; they are not merely attached to it, as can- dles to a Christmas tree; they are its expression, its result, the sharers of its life. The two are in the most direct sense identical. The Vine gives unity to the branches, the branches give expression and effectiveness to the energy of the Vine; they are nothing without i t ; it remains merely a Divine idea without them."6 5 Acts ix. 5. 6 Christ in the Chvrch. By R. H . Be-ison, p. 12. The almost intuitive g r a s p of t h i s vital doctrine of identity invests Monsignor Benson's work with a singular charm. I t was indeed an essential element of his s p i r i t u a l genius, seen a t its best, p e r h a p s , in such books as Richard Baynal, Christ in the Church, a n d The Friendship of Christ. [ PAGE 9 ] Organic Union With Christ H e that abideth in Me and I in h i m , the same beareth m u c h fruit, f o r without Me y o u can d o noth- ing. . . . If anyone abide not in Me, h e shall b e cast forth as a branch and shall wither. T h e b r a n c h e s and the Vine grow together—one principle of life diffuses its vitalizing properties through root, stem, branch, leaf and tendril. Cut off the flow of sap and they wither even as the fig tree withered under the curse of God. Briefly, the substance of Christ's teaching here is t h a t organic union with Christ means life, severance means death. Many Form One Body St. Paul reaffirms this teaching under the image of Christ's mystical body — nor yet under a mere image, f o r in the face of the inadequacies and limita- tions of human speech, it is the truest possible ac- c o u n t of a s u p e r n a t u r a l f a c t . W e b e i n g m a n y are o n e body i n Christ, and all m e m b e r s o n e of an- other.7 As the body is o n e and hath m a n y m e m b e r s and all the members of the body m a n y as they are, f o r m o n e body, so also is it with Christ ( t h a t is, w i t h the Church which is Christ). To the Galatians he says, You are all one—one man—one person—in Christ Jesus.8 T h i s t h e n is t h e m e a n i n g of o u r I n - corporation with Christ. Jesus Christ and we are one body. "He again is the Head of the Body, the Church,"9 while we "are together, the Body of Christ and severally His members."10 To Paul (in 7 Bom. xii. 6. 8 Gal. iii. 28. 9 Col. i. 18. 10 1 Cor. xii. 27. [ P A G E 1 0 ] Father Rickaby's words),11 "the Incarnation is an alliance contracted, not with that soul and that body- only which was united in the unity of one Person with the Word made flesh, but likewise with all man- kind by their entrance into the Church, in which that Word has dwelt amongst us.12 Head Unifies the Church H e n c e we are m e m b e r s of His Body, of His f l e s h , and of His bones,13 and He and we together form the Church. So, too, the Church is a living body, a warm, throbbing organism, pulsating with an in- tense vitality, composed of a variety of members with a diversity of structure and different functions, yet co-ordinated in their action by one common prin- ciple of movement and of life. In the Apostle's eyes it is the head that gives unity to the body, and ad- justs and correlates the action of the parts. He in- sists on these relations between the members and the head, through which the body grows into the f u l l stature of Christ;1 4 in o t h e r w o r d s , f r o m C h r i s t o u r H e a d , the whole body, nourished and knit to- gether by m e a n s of the joints and ligaments, doth grow with a growth that is of God.15 Members Depend on the Head Consequently our dependence as members on Christ, our Head, is absolute f o r from the Head we derive our unity, our growth and development and 11 Notes on St. Paul. By Joseph Rickaby, S.J., 1 Cor. vi. 15. The bold and striking reading in E p h . v. 30—derived f r o m Gen. ii. 23—con- firms and clinches our point. 12 J o h n i. 14. 13 E p h . v. 30. 14 E p h . iv. 13. 15 Col. ii. 19. [ P A G E 1 1 ] the whole inflow of Divine vitality. Severed from the head the members are but mutilated fragments. The converse of this proposition is equally true in the sense that the Head as such cannot exist with- out its bodily complement, nor can thé Incarnation of the Son of God attain its full significance without the mystical Body. Each, apart, is incomplete. How can the head—which focuses and defines all sensa- tion and directs all movement — possibly exercise these vital acts unless it is substantially united to an organism? Rather is it the principle that con- stitutes the organism's being, the center and source of personality, radiating throughout the members the steady flow of conscious life. Even these bare outlines of Paul's doctrine of incorporation may en- able us to see how closely the Apostle treads in his Master's footsteps. The sum of their teachings is one and the same. Organic union with Christ is life, its severance is death. Christ Prayed for Unity of Members A n d Jesus lifting u p His eyes to heaven said: Holy Father k e e p them in Thy n a m e w h o m T h o u hast given Me that they may be o n e as W e also are . . . that they all may b e o n e as T h o u Father in Me and I in T h e e ; that they also may be o n e i n Us . . . that they may b e o n e as W e also are one. I i n t h e m and T h o u in Me, that they may b e m a d e perfect in o n e . . . that the love wherewith T h o u hast loved Me may be in them and I in them. Our Lord's human body and soul are about to undergo the extremes of phys- ical and mental anguish. No limb will be without its pain, no sense without its torture. Yet His prayer is not that His natural body may be saved [ P A G E 1 2 ] the agony of ropes and scourges and thorns and shameful defilement, but that His Mystical Body may be spared ; that His seamless garment may not be divided, that His members may not be torn from Him to be the prey of the devourer. We Share in the Divine Nature He prays that His love, nay that He Himself, may be in them. His divine vision sees them in their untold variety of age and sex and character and condition, yet, transcending the differences of cen- turies and continents. He prays that they may be all one, "as Thou Father in Me and I in Thee." God the Father and God the Son are one God by virtue of the one nature of God. Even so much all Chris- tians become, in some mysterious sense, sharers of that Divine nature, being "made perfect in one" by their elevation and absorption into the Divine Be- ing. The secret of Christian perfection lies in this indescribable transformation. Its efficient cause is the sanctity of Christ operating towards the sancti- fication of His members. In His holiness they are m a d e holy. For them do I sanctify Myself that they also may be sanctified in truth . . . and n o t f o r t h e m only do I pray, but f o r them also who through their word shall believe i n Me. Results of Incorporation in Christ F a r from being limited to His own immediate following, our Lord's prayer embraces the believ- ers and the converts of all ages. Moreover, the Apostles and their successors are to preach Christ to the nations, that so the Church may grow and develop to its full term and completion. The sum [ P A G E 1 3 ] then of Christ's desires is that in spite of our diver- sity, union with Him should make us all one, that it should make us perfect in one, and that it should embrace all who may come to believe in Him; or— more briefly — Christ's prayer is that union with Him may lead to the assimilation of all human dif- ferences, the sanctification of human lives, and the salvation of mankind and as "Cor Christi Cor Pauli est" so, too, these effects follow, in the Apostle's teaching, as a natural consequence of our incorpora- tion with Christ. One Body and One Spirit Towards His members our Lord feels an ex- quisite sympathy and tenderness—such also in its measure should be the bond of fellow-feeling unit- ing the members among themselves in their union with Christ their Head. In the physical body how deftly the eyelid shields the eye, how firmly does the hand guard the head, and the foot" save the body lest i t s t u m b l e . And the eye cannot say to the h a n d : I have n o n e e d of thee, or again the head to the feet, I have n o need of y o u . . . and if o n e m e m b e r suf- fereth, all the m e m b e r s s u f f e r therewith; if a mem- ber be honored all the m e m b e r s rejoice therewith.16 Now, St. Paul goes on, You are together the body of Christ and severally His m e m b e r s . . . I exhort you, therefore, I, the prisoner in the Lord, to walk worthy of the calling wherewith you were called . . . care- f u l to k e e p the unity of the Spirit i n the b o n d of peace; o n e body and o n e Spirit as also ye were called in o n e h o p e . . . o n e Lord, o n e faith, o n e b a p t i s m ; o n e God and Father of all, W h o is above all and 16 1 Cor. xii. 21. [ P A G E 1 4 ] throughout all and all i n all.17 So t h a t there is neither Jew n o r Greek, there is n e i t h e r bond n o r f r e e , there is neither male nor female. For y o u are all o n e i n Christ Jesus.18 The Beauty and Glory of the Body It is noteworthy that while driving home the les- son of our incorporation in Christ, the Apostle lays stress on the diversity of the members, the human differences of nation, sex and condition. Corre- sponding to this diversity of members is a diversity of functions, a different measure of gifts and graces, a variety of qualities and endowments whose har- monious combination goes to make up the beauty and glory of the Mystical Body, even as a similar variety of gifts and graces in the physical and moral order lends a distinct attractiveness to each person- ality. Almost invariably the Apostle is leading up to the familiar lesson of concord, with an obvious reference to the quarrelsome section of his audience. Let us have no sedition, no jealousies nor divisions amongst us. If we are to work in harmony we must be content with our place in the divine organism. Sanctification of Human Lives Incorporation i n t o the harmonious common- wealth of the Mystical Body leads not only to the assimilation of human differences, but also to the sanctification of human lives. The Christ-life finds its natural outlet in the whole-hearted practice of the moral virtues. Once we are possessed of this l i f e , W e shall be n o longer children, n o r tossed o n the waves and carried around by every wind of doc- 17 E p h . iv. I f f . 18 Gal. Hi. 26-28. [ PAGE I S ] trine. . . . Rather we shall h o l d the truth i n charity and grow in all things into H i m , W h o is the Head, Christ. From H i m the whole Body welded and com- pacted together throughout every joint of the sys- t e m — p a r t working in harmony with p a r t — f r o m Him the Body draweih its increase into the building of itself in charity.19 Avoidance of Sin The first and negative consequence of this par- ticipation in the life of Christ is the avoidance of sin. By sin the loved member cruelly wounds the living body amid a horrible wrench of nerve and fiber and flesh and bone; by sin we not only inflict a grievous wound on the mystical Christ, we even crucify again to ourselves the Son of God, m a k i n g Him a mockery.2 0 . . . Know y o u n o t that your bodies are members of Christ? A m I then to take the mem- bers of Christ and m a k e t h e m m e m b e r s of a harlot? God forbid.2 1 Constant Conflict The avoidance of sin and the subjugation of our debased nature involves a continuous struggle, but our help is from within us. I see another law in my members fighting against the law of m i n d and cap- tivating m e in the law of sin that is in m y m e m b e r s . Unhappy m a n that I am who shall deliver m e f r o m the body of this death? T h e grace of God by Jesus Christ our Lord.22 Thanks b e to God through our Lord Jesus Christ. T h e law of the spirit of life, in Christ Jesus, hath delivered thee f r o m the law of sin and death.23 Here then we have mention of the 19 E p h . iv. 14-16. 20 Heb. vi. 6. 2 1 1 Cor. vi. IS. 22 Rom. vii. 23-25. 23 Rom. viii. 2. [ PAGE 1 6 ] second and positive consequence of our incorpora- tion with Christ, that is, the maintenance and in- crease of Divine Grace within us by the practice of Christian virtues. With what energy and frequency does the Apostle enforce this lesson! To the Cor- inthians he says: You are not your own, for you have been bought at a price. Glorify God then in your body,2 4 t h a t is, glorify H i m by showing f o r t h your virtues as fruits of the Christ-life within you. . . . I beseech you, therefore, brethren, h e w r i t e s t o t h e R o m a n s , by the mercy of God that y o u present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto God . . . and b e n o t c o n f o r m e d to this w o r l d ; 25 rather, mold your lives into the likeness of Christ in Whom you live. He exhorts the Colossians:. Strip o f f the old m a n with his practices and put on the n e w — p u t o n then as God's elect, holy and well beloved, hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering. . . . But over all these put on charity, that is the b o n d of perfection. And in your hearts let the peace of God stand supreme, whereunto also ye are called as m e m b e r s of o n e body.26 Organic Growth of the Church From all this it is abundantly clear that to Paul, incorporation with Christ assimilates human differ- ences, and leads to the sanctification of human lives. The growth of the Church, by which we mean not only the aggregation of new peoples into the fold, but also the development of organization and the more explicit unfolding of dogmatic and moral teachings, is a f u r t h e r consequence of this doctrine. Growth is 24 1. Cor. vi. 20. 25 Rom. xii. 1-2. 26 Col. iii. 4-15. [ PAGE 1 7 ] essential to a living organism, in which every cell, while unfolding its own minute processes, contrib- utes to the extension and development of the life of the whole. The individual Christian is a living cell in the Mystical Body of Christ. In Him it hath pleased the Father that all the fullness should dwell, and through H i m to reconcile all things to Himself. 2 7 This then is the explanation of the Church's mis- sionary zeal. It is of her very nature to develop by the generation and absorption of new and living cells into her organism ; their multiplication is her growth. Even in his own day, reflecting on the abundant f r u i t s of the brief and checkered ministry, Paul could say to the Romans : Faith cometh by hear- ing, and hearing by the word of Christ. But I say: Have they not heard? Yes, verily, their sound hath gone forth into all the earth and their words u n t o the end of the whole world.28 All Men Saved by Identification With Christ Later on in the same epistle Paul speaks of this extension of the Church as a mystery or secret of God's providence and this secret design is f u r t h e r explained in the epistle sent from his Roman prison to the Ephesians : Unto me, he says, the least of all saints hath b e e n given this same grace, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ and to m a k e clear what is the dispensation touching the mystery which f r o m ages hath b e e n hidden i n God the Creator of all, in order that now through the Church b e m a d e k n o w n to the principalities and powers in heavenly places, the m a n i f o l d wisdom of 27 Col. i. 19. 20. 28 Rom. x. 17, 18. [ P A G E 1 8 ] God.29 These words come to the same thing. Briefly they denote the plan conceived by God from eter- nity, but revealed only in the Gospel, by which all men were to be saved—without distinction of race —by being identified with His well-beloved Son in the unity of the Mystical Body. Comprehensiveness of Divine Plon This note of comprehensiveness in the Divine scheme of salvation is so fundamental to the Cath- olic mind that we find some difficulty in conceiving it as a mystery revealed only in these latter days to the Apostles. Yet when we consider what a death- blow was dealt to Jewish hopes and aspirations by this flinging wide of the portals and recall the furies of passion, the tireless persecutions, the various at- tempts made on the life of the Apostle of the Gen- tiles, this revolutionary aspect of the Gospel mes- sage stands out more clearly. The extension of sal- vation to all mankind is the keynote of Paul's min- istry. It may be summed up in the Temple inci- dent. Paul's arrest at Jerusalem and his subsequent captivity at Cassarea and in Rome was in Jewish eyes justified on the count that he had violated the sanctity of the Temple by the introduction of a Gen- tile into its sacred precincts. He had not done that, but he had done something immeasurably more awful. He had opened the Church to the world. Personal Effect of Incorporation in Christ In conclusion, it may be profitable to consider this doctrine of our incorporation with Christ from a more intimate and personal point of view. Christ's 29 E p h . iii. 8-10. [ P A G E 1 9 ] life on earth in the beauty of His visible manhood is over. Since that Easter morning when His living and glorious form rose from the tomb, f u r t h e r change or growth or external perfection are impos- sible to Him. "In a sense," as Monsignor Benson points out,30 "we may close up with our Gospels the individual life of Christ and find in His words, 'It is consummated,' a proof that His human relations with men are over, His work of Redemption com- pleted ; but there is a sense in which that ending was but a beginning — an inauguration rather than a climax." For the Mystical Body which the Son of God fashioned in the womb of the Church, and of which He is the Head, is alive and growing with the growth of the ages, nor can it attain its full develop- ment till the end of time. He is indeed gone to His Father, but just as His physical body by its hypo- static union with the Word is in heaven and in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, so also is it united by a unique and organic bond to the members of His Mystical Body in heaven and on earth. We Relive the Life of Christ Still we are one with Him in His human nature, and can relive in Him the wonder and the tragedy of that human life, in all its rosary of mysteries joy- ful, sorrowful and glorious. And just as these mys- teries are contained in the written Gospel as in the record of a past life, so also do they recur in the Church which is His living embodiment, as in the living Gospel and record of a present life.31 Here "he looks through the lattice visible to all who have eyes—here he reproduces the events and crises of 30 Christ in the Church. By E . H . Benson, p . 9. 81 Ibid., r>. 11. [ PAGE 2 0 ] the life in Judea and in Galilee. Here he works out and fills upon the canvas of the world's history that outline laid down two thousand years ago," flashing its every detail as through the myriad fragments of a shattered mirror in the life of each one of us. In us He is born, lives, suffers, dies and eternally rises again. "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever." We Are Risen With Christ Does this last point seem somewhat forced—a presentation—imaginative and devotional it is true but hopelessly idealistic—of a belief which cannot be taken too literally or indeed too seriously? Yet it is precisely on this point that St. Paul's testi- mony is most convincing. We were dead in sin; with Christ we were buried in the fount of baptism. With Him we rose again, living now with a glori- fied life; with Him or more truly in Him we are seated at the right hand of God the Father. For God, W h o is rich in mercy by reason of the great love wherewith He hath loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought u s to life with Christ—by grace ye are s a v e d — a n d raised u s u p and seated u s in Christ Jesus in the heavenly places.32 We Make Up for Christ's Sufferings On the other hand, though we are raised from the dead and living in Christ, we are not yet wholly glorified, and Christ makes up by our sufferings what is wanting in His own Passion: "for," to take Father Rickaby's explanation,33 "there is a cross .52 E p h . ii. 4-6. 33 Waters That Go Softly. By Joseph Kickaby, S.J., p. 136. [ P A G E 2 1 ] and a Passion in His Mystical Body which He must endure till the day of judgment, and this He por- tions out age by age among His friends." Receiv- ing his portion with gladness St. Paul wrote: Now I rejoice i n m y s u f f e r i n g s ; . . . and m a k e u p i n m y f l e s h what is lacking to the s u f f e r i n g s of Christ, o n behalf of His Body which is the Church.34 A n d in so f a r as we are identified with Him, we must al- w a y s b e bearing about i n our body the mortifica- tion of Jesus, that the l i f e also of Jesus m a y b e m a d e manifest i n our mortal flesh.3 5 T h r o u g h e a c h o n e of us Christ is daily and hourly coming into His own, and so entering more fully into the possession of His final heritage. Our sorrows are His sor- rows; our joys His joys; the kindness done to us He takes as done to Himself; against our perse- cutors His voice rings out: I am Jesus Whom thou persecutest. We Are His Coheirs to Be And a f t e r we have lived with His life and ex- pressed in ourselves its joys and sorrows, we are also to be united with Him in His glory. To the E t e r n a l F a t h e r H e s a y s : T h e glory which T h o u hast given Me, I" have given to t h e m ; t o e a c h one of u s : Have a good heart, it is I! In hinting at this intimate recapitulation of the Christ-life in the life of every Christian, it has been impossible to do justice to the emphatic utterances of St. Paul.36 Summed up they state that with Christ we are born and live and suf- fer;37 with Him we rehearse the mysteries of the 34 Col. i. 24. 36 2 Cor. iv. 10. 36 See f o r t h i s F a t h e r Rickaby'&r Notes on St. Paul, passim; a n d espe- cially on 1 Cor. vi. 2. 37 Rom. vi. 3 : Gal. ii. 20. etc. [ PAGE 2 2 ] Crucifixion,38 Death,*9 Burial,40 Resurrection41 and Ascension.42 We are to be coheirs with Him, to be glorified with Him,43 to reign with Him, and with Him to judge the world.44 These are sublime prom- ises, but taken in their context they seem no more than the logical consequences of our Incorporation with Christ. Further, the mysteries of the Incar- nation and Redemption, our own justification and sanctification, the full purpose of our life on earth, the operation of the Sacraments in the unity of the Mystical Body, and our communion with the souls in purgatory and the Saints in heaven, are in the light of this doctrine invested with a fuller mean- ing and take a clearer place in the Divine scheme. Grace and the Mystical Body In conclusion, it may well be asked how does all this correspond to the usual teaching on sanctify- ing grace? Sanctifying grace holds the foremost place in the New Testament writing, and is, indeed, in the Apostle's eyes, that life which is communi- cated to the members by the Head and constitutes the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ. A Summary Comparison Briefly, we are taught that man is born in the state of sin. He becomes truly just by Baptism, or in the case of actual sin by having recourse to the Sacrament of Penance. The formal cause of this justification is the justness of God communicated to 88 Rom. vi. 6 : Gal. ii. 19. 39 2 Tim. ii. 11. 40 Bom. vi. 4. 41 E p h . ii. 5 ; Col. ii. 13 and iii. 1. 42 E p h . ii. 6. 43 Rom. viii. 17. 44 2 Tim. ii. 12; 1 Cor. vi. 2. [ PAGE 2 3 ] man and permanently dwelling in his soul. ("Non qua Ipse justus est—sed qua nos juntos fadt.") Though this birth or renewal or internal change is an instantaneous event, its effects remain, just as resuscitation to life is the miracle of an instant and yet the restored life is permanent. This permanent quality is known as sanctifying grace, which by its very nature is so opposed to sin t h a t sanctifying grace and sin cannot by any possibility coexist. The Effects of Sanctifying Grace Sanctifying grace is best described in its effects. It establishes a unique bond of sympathy between the soul and God; it induces a likeness in the spir- itual order, beautifying the human soul with the beauty of Christ; as it imparts a supernatural birth, so it involves a sonship by which we are admitted into the family of God; it makes us partakers of the Divine nature of Him Who deigned to become a partaker of our humanity. Is not all this a re- capitulation in detail of the teaching of St. Paul? Sin is death—sanctifying grace is the life of Christ within us. Life and death cannot by any possibility coexist. The life of Christ establishes a unique bond of sympathy between us and Christ; it makes us one with Him, beautiful with His beauty, transformed into His own likeness, adopted into His Mystical Body by the extension of the Incarnation to our humanity. The Divine Plan In this divine scheme the Sacraments stand f o r t h as the main channels of a visible dispensation through which life is poured into the different mem- bers, while the Holy Eucharist sustains and aug- [ P A G E 2 4 ] ments that Divine Life. We are apt to regard these doctrines as more or less disjointed, or at any rate to miss their close connection. St. Paul saw in them aspects, implications, conclusions drawn from the one fundamental doctrine of our identification with Christ. To him, both in faith and in practice, the Christ-life sums up Christianity. Father Gerald Ellard, S.J., writing on the Litur- gical Movement remarks: "In every age and espe- cially at the turning points in history, the Church has fashioned its appeal to accord with the pressing needs of the day. The Holy Spirit, the Divine Guide of the Church, is Himself the Householder in the p a r a b l e , W h o b r i n g e t h f o r t h o u t o f H i s treasure n e w things and old.45 To meet the needs of the disrup- tive twentieth century, the Holy Spirit has brought forth something very, very old indeed, something that has slumbered in the general Christian con- sciousness for centuries, the doctrine of the Mystical Body. What are the basic notions of this doctrine? They are two: first that every Christian in virtue of Baptism becomes vitally attached to Christ; second, that every Christian in the State of Grace is perma- nently a living temple of the Godhead in such an intimate way, that he is caught up and associated with the actual life of God Himself. This extension of Christ in His brethren, this necessary comple- ment of Christ, without which He Himself would be imperfect, is the vast living organism called now the Church, now the Mystical Body of Christ. This in- dwelling of the Holy Spirit, an actual sharing in the 45 Matt. xiii. 52. [ PAGE 2 5 ] Divine Life, is the root notion of grace, merit, sancti- fication, salvation. What is the bond that links together all the members of Christ's Mystical Body? It is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I t is called nowa- days Christ-life, the constant flow of the vitality and fruitfulness of the Vine into the branches. The supernatural vitality, the participation of the life-forces of Christ, is t h a t life which Christ came that we might have and have more abundantly.46 And it is ours at every contact with the super- natural order, but pre-eminently ours in the mar- velous system of the sacraments, so many chan- nels to bring this life into every moment and need of our lives. By Baptism we are engrafted into Christ, regenerated in the supernatural order. When the Christ-life now pulsing through us becomes endan- gered at adolescence, it is confirmed (Confirmation) with the seal of the Spirit, Who in a special manner takes up His abode within the heart. If serious sin should stop the normal flow of Christ-life, this is restored by the Sacrament of Penance. For the spe- cial crisis of serious sickness, when the reception of Penance might be impossible, the same effect is made possible by the last anointing. Then there is the Holy Eucharist, called by the people of Hippo in St. Augustine's day, LIFE. Life indeed it is, the food, the sustenance of the soul, immediate contact with the Truth, the Life, in Whom dwells the God- head corporally.47 Then there is Orders f o r spir- itually propagating this Christ-life and Matrimony f o r propagating this Christ-life in the flesh, f o r be- 46 J o h n x. 10. 47 Col. ii. 9. [ P A G E 2 6 ] getting children f o r their place in the Mystical Body. The sacramental system is thus seen to be adequately planned for maintaining this Christ-life from the cradle to the grave." The Head of the Mystical Body is Christ. The Soul of the Mystical Body is the Holy Spirit. The Blood Stream of the Mystical Body is Sancti- fying Grace. The Cells of the Mystical Body, its members, are all who share in the Gift of Sanctifying Grace. [ P A G E 2 7 ] DISCUSSION CLUB QUESTIONNAIRE Questions LESSON I (Pages 3 - 5 ) Is the doctrine of the Mystical B o d y a theory or a fact? On what basis does it rest? W h y should I accept this doctrine? Are there contradictory elements in man's l i f e ? In examining his nature, what conclusion w i l l man reach? Quote St. A u g u s t i n e on man's nature. W h a t t w o lives does man enjoy? Are they mysteries? D o e s belief in a spiritual soul solve the problem of supernatural l i f e ? W h a t dual l i f e is the Christian conscious of? LESSON II (Pages 6 - 8 ) On what does the Church base her appeal to our loyalty? T h e Church says to man: "I am like yourself." E x - plain. Name the saints w h o taught so clearly the inward and outward l i f e of the Church. W h a t was our Lord's final prayer for H i s followers? Our Lord as Man is the P h y s i c a l Christ. Explain. [ PAGE 2 8 ] State the difference b e t w e e n the P h y s i c a l and Mys- tical Christ. T h e M y s t i c a l Christ is the absorption of the Church into Christ. E x p l a i n . I s our union w i t h Christ like our union w i t h our f e l - l o w c i t i z e n s ? • W h e n c e does the M y s t i c a l B o d y draw i t s - l i f e ? T h e Church is the e x t e n s i o n of the Incarnation. E x p l a i n . LESSON III (Pages 8 - 1 1 ) H o w did Christ explain the e f f e c t s of the F i r s t Mass on H i s A p o s t l e s ? W h a t was the first lesson learned by St. Paul f r o m Christ? "I am the V i n e , y o u are the branches." H o w does M o n s i g n o r B e n s o n explain this statement? W h a t is the meaning of organic union w i t h Christ? " W e being many are one body in Christ." Is this statement of St. Paul a figure or an image? W h a t does Incorporation in Christ mean? W h a t is the co-ordinating power that makes all the members of Christ's B o d y one? D o the members of the B o d y differ f r o m one another in t h e m s e l v e s and in their f u n c t i o n s ? T o what does St. Paul attribute the u n i t y of the Mystical B o d y ? H o w do the members depend upon the Head? [ P A G E 29 ] LESSON IV (Pages 1 1 - 1 5 ) W h a t is necessary that the Incarnation may attain its f u l l significance? W h a t radiates l i f e t h r o u g h the M y s t i c a l B o d y ? W h a t w a s the u n i t y that Christ prayed f o r at the Last Supper? H o w are men made sharers in the D i v i n e Nature? W h a t is the secret of h o l i n e s s ? W h a t causes h o l i n e s s in the members of the M y s t i c a l B o d y ? D i d our Lord's prayer for u n i t y apply o n l y to the A p o s t l e s ? W h a t is the sum of our Lord's desires expressed by t h i s prayer? In St. Paul's teaching what e f f e c t s f o l l o w f r o m our incorporation in Christ? W h a t should be the bond of f e l l o w - f e e l i n g among the members of the M y s t i c a l B o d y ? "If one member s u f f e r s all t h e members suffer." E x p l a i n . W h a t makes up the g l o r y and beauty of the M y s t i - cal B o d y ? LESSON V (Pages 1 5 - 1 9 ) W h a t l e s s o n does St. P a u l c o n s t a n t l y teach in ex- p l a i n i n g the M y s t i c a l B o d y ? W h a t t w o special e f f e c t s f o l l o w f r o m incorporation in Christ? [ P A G E 3 0 ] W h a t s p e c i a l v i r t u e d o e s t h e C h r i s t - l i f e b u i l d i n t o t h e M y s t i c a l B o d y ? S t a t e the first n e g a t i v e c o n s e q u e n c e of t h e C h r i s t - l i f e in the soul. W h a t i s it that "crucifies a g a i n t h e S o n of God"? H o w are w e h e l p e d t o c o n t r o l our diseased nature? W h a t d o e s St. P a u l m e a n b y t h e t w o l a w s that are in conflict? W h a t i s t h e s e c o n d and p o s i t i v e c o n s e q u e n c e of our i n c o r p o r a t i o n in Christ? W h a t i s the f u l l m e a n i n g of t h e g r o w t h of t h e Church? T h e i n d i v i d u a l is a l i v i n g c e l l in the M y s t i c a l B o d y . E x p l a i n . E x p l a i n t h e m i s s i o n a r y zeal of t h e Church in the t e r m s of t h e M y s t i c a l B o d y . LESSON VI (Pages 1 9 - 2 3 ) W h a t is t h e p l a n of God w h e r e b y all m e n are to be saved ? W h a t is meant by t h e "revolutionary aspect" of the G o s p e l m e s s a g e ? S t a t e t h e k e y n o t e of St. Paul's m i n i s t r y . H o w m a y it be said that the e n d i n g of Christ's l i f e w a s a b e g i n n i n g ? W h e n w i l l t h e M y s t i c a l B o d y attain its f u l l g r o w t h ? H o w do t h e m y s t e r i e s of Christ's l i f e recur in the l i f e of t h e Church? "In u s H e is born, lives, suffers, d i e s and e t e r n a l l y rises again." E x p l a i n . [ PAGE 3 1 ] H o w c o u l d St. P a u l s a y : " N o w I r e j o i c e in m y s u f - f e r i n g s " ? Our L o r d said t o St. P a u l : "I am J e s u s W h o m t h o u p e r s e c u t e s t . " E x p l a i n . W h a t d o e s t h e "recapitulation of C h r i s t - l i f e " mean? LESSON VII (Pages 2 3 - 2 7 ) W h a t r e l a t i o n d o e s s a n c t i f y i n g grace bear t o t h e M y s t i c a l B o d y ? H o w d o e s man b e c o m e justified? I s s a n c t i f y i n g grace a permanent or transient q u a l i t y in t h e soul? N a m e t h e e f f e c t s of s a n c t i f y i n g grace. W h a t is t h e f u n c t i o n of t h e sacraments in t h e d i v i n e plan? W h a t sacrament s u s t a i n s t h e d i v i n e l i f e of t h e s o u l ? H o w d o e s t h e H o l y S p i r i t act in m e e t i n g t h e n e e d s of t h e day? State t h e t w o basic n o t i o n s of t h e d o c t r i n e of t h e M y s t i c a l B o d y . [ PAGE 3 2 ]