THE THREE STATES OF THE CHURCH MILITANT TODAY

In my grade school days, most American Catholic children were taught the Faith by way of the Baltimore Catechism (a wonderful and useful tool for memorizing the essential doctrines of the Church).

I remember being taught that there are “three states of the Church”:  the Church Triumphant, the Church Suffering, and the Church Militant.

The Church Triumphant describes the Church in Heaven, the abode of all those who have attained the fullness of redemption in Christ.  The Church Triumphant will have its fullest expression at the end of time, when all of creation will be conformed to Christ and all reality will be one of Divine praise and glory.

The Church Suffering refers to the souls in Purgatory, the threshold, the antechamber of Heaven. In Purgatory, all those who have yet to attain the perfection of life in Christ are cleansed and purified by the fire of the Holy Spirit. The suffering of purgatory is not one of destruction, but the suffering that comes from leaving the old self behind and taking on the new.

The Church Militant refers to the Church on earth. The term "militant" can suggest an antagonistic relationship between the Church and the world. Nevertheless, it refers to an authentic reality: that the Church on earth works to overcome the imperfect and sinful dimensions of human existence.

The mission of the Church Militant is to transform a world wounded by sin by the preaching of the Gospel and by the power of the good works and example. 

Sadly, the Church abandoned the catechism as a teaching tool.  As a result, most Catholics today have no idea of any of the marvelous doctrine which is at the heart of their Faith.

I decided to use this catechism-understanding of the three states of the Church as a backdrop against which I wish to paint a picture of the three states which I believe characterize the Church at the present time.

It appears that the Church Militant here on earth is fractured and can be seen to consist of three broad groupings.

The first group consists of a “remnant”, a small minority deeply committed to the traditional proclamation and practice of the Faith.  This group insists that fidelity to the Church can only be expressed by way of ancient credal formulas, moral precepts and liturgies enunciated and celebrated in the Latin language, the Church’s “mother tongue”.

This group is fractious and reactionary, defensive to the point of being elitist.  They eagerly and willingly isolate themselves from the contemporary Catholicism and are most comfortable in being constantly battling a sinful world which they see in an apocalyptic struggle against the Divine Will for Creation and true teachings of Holy Mother Church.

For this group, all Church doctrine must be, by necessity and by nature itself, a capitulation of Revelation, perfect and complete with no further development or exposition possible after the death of the Last Apostle.  

They are uncompromising and admit to no divergence of thought or behavior on penalty of expulsion from the Body of Christ.  They tend to be scrupulous in their concern that any infraction of Church teaching amounts to a serious separation from the Grace of Christ leaving them vulnerable to eternal damnation.

The second group consists of those who regularly and frequently frequent the Sacraments and attend Mass diligently on the days prescribed.  These are mostly older Catholics whose practice of the Faith is largely nostalgic, drawing its motivation and encouragement out of a sense of loyalty to family traditions and customs.  

Members within this group are content with their elementary school understanding of Catholicism, unlikely to pursue further studies of the Scriptures or Church doctrine.  Their Catholicity is unshakable because it is a familiar and comfortable part of their personal and social identity.  With few exceptions, they generally accept what the Church says and does because they are willing to recognize and to the authority of their Sacred Pastors.  

Finally, although it seems somewhat contradictory to include them within the groupings of Church membership, there are those who have willfully rejected the Church and are hostile to its teachings.  

Unfortunately, a good number of this group remain within parochial communities but do so as agitators and malcontents, constantly challenging the authority of their Pastors and fomenting discontent within the parish.

Within this group can be found those Catholics who have an axe of whatever kind to grind, agenda driven members who insist that their voices be heard, oftentimes shrill and demanding voices.

These are the folks who insist that Church teaching be altered and adapted to accommodate the culture of death (abortion and euthanasia rights), homosexuality and same-sex marriage.

Their strategy is to often point to the failings and scandals which have beset the Church and so claim for themselves a moral superiority over their Pastors and their peers.

They constantly lament that the Church lacks compassion and understanding, is horribly judgmental and indifferent to those who struggle with the complex moral decisions that modern life demands.

To those who opine that a “modern schism” is about to take place, I suggest that a “quiet distancing” from Church teaching has already embedded itself into the Body of Christ.  It is nothing less than a continuation of a trend ignoring or rejecting Catholic teaching. 

Sadly, Bishops believe they can reassure the hearts and minds of the faithful with public statements that there is no crisis, that the Church has experienced widespread disillusion in the past, is suffering those same concerns now and will survive to see future generations struggle with the moral implications which arise from the proclamation of the Gospel.

The Bishops seem incapable of admitting that the Church has completely lost its moral voice as a result of successive scandals and the rush of Western Civilization toward secularism.

I do not pretend to know the answer to this problem, but until the Bishops and my brother-Priests are willing to admit it exists and begin seeking the guidance and the cooperation of the faithful, the Church will continue to be irrelevant and contribute little in preserving and protecting the moral values upon which future societies will depend.

And so, I continue to encourage all of us to pray for the Church, its people and its leaders, that the Grace of Christ and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit will fortify the Body of Christ, insure its unity and proclaim the Gospel which gives light, hope and meaning to our lives.