In my last episode, I talked about the dichotomy of two churches. I’d like to share another one with you now; one that’s different from what I talked about in that episode.
One church is the mystical body of Christ. It transcends the ages. It’s decorated by countless Saints and their works.(acts and writings), 2000 years of ongoing daily prayer and the celebration of the holy sacrifice of the mass.
Another is the human institution. The ecclesial church. It is far from perfect, and sometimes it isn’t particularly beautiful. At least not as beautiful as what we know the mystical body of Christ to be.
Often our frustrations are caused by the apparent incongruence between the mystical body and the human institution. The latter often doesn’t match our image of the former. But it’s important to remember that that has been true for 2000 years.
There is no real separation between the mystical body and the human institution of the church. The church rises and sinks in the human and temporal manifestation of its true and eternal beauty. We have to stand with it, always, as two spouses stand with each other for richer or poorer. Have hope. God always wins. His church always rises again. It’s happening even now. Watch. Wait and see.
