A lot of Catholics like to use t-shirts like the one above to say, "Our Church - founded by Christ Himself!" Why 33 AD? Because tradition holds that Jesus was crucified at around that age, which meant that He established the Church at Pentecost shortly thereafter, and hence 33 AD.
But is that really when we all began?
In listening to Father's homily this morning at the Mass for the Feat of the Immaculate Conception, he mentioned that the story of our salvation really started . . . with Mary's conception. I thought about that. Before you can have a Resurrection, you have to have a Crucifixion. Before you can have a Crucifixion, you have to have an Incarnation. Before you can have an Incarnation, you have to have a vessel ready . . .
So maybe we should be standing proud and saying, "The Catholic Church - established 15 BC!"
(And it occurs to me - we acknowledge that the Catholic priesthood was initated at the Last Supper. But the priesthood of . . . what? While we call Pentecost the birthday of the Chuch, it seems illogical to have the priesthood precede the start of the Church. If pressed to answer, who was the fist Catholic or Christian? - how can you not answer, "Mary!"
(And it occurs to me - we acknowledge that the Catholic priesthood was initated at the Last Supper. But the priesthood of . . . what? While we call Pentecost the birthday of the Chuch, it seems illogical to have the priesthood precede the start of the Church. If pressed to answer, who was the fist Catholic or Christian? - how can you not answer, "Mary!"
3 comments:
Henri de Lubac's Splendor of the Church has a chapter on this. He asserts (and I don't have the book with me to consult, so am grossly oversimplifying) that the Church has existed from all eternity, and all through history, though not always visibly until Christ; and all the elect since the beginning of time belong to the Church.
Oh, Anita, I will need to read that book!
Holy Cow-Wow, catechism on FB!
Does Rome know 'bout this!
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