Father Cletus Bulletin Article

The Four Marks of the Church – One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic [ONE]

In the Nicene Creed, each member of the Church professes his or her faith by saying towards the end of the Creed: “I believe in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.” These are the essential marks of the Church. Today, we are reflecting on the meaning of the first mark, that the Church is one. The Church is one because of: her one source, the Trinity; her one founder, Jesus Christ; her one soul, the Holy Spirit (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #813). Just as the Church is one, all her members are one also. The evidence of this can be found in so many passages of the Bible. Saint Paul writes in one of his letters that “There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all” (Eph. 4:4-6). The presence of God in all of us unites us not only to Him but also to one another, making us one people of God.

Our oneness in Christ was further explained by Saint Paul using the liturgical celebration of the Holy Mass. He teaches that “Because there is one bread (Bread of Life – the Eucharist), we (all the people of God) who are many are one body, for we all partake of one bread” (1 Cor. 10:17). For this reason, Jesus, the Bread of Life (The Eucharist), unites all the members of the Church into one body (The Church is the Mystical Body of Christ) with Him (Christ) as the Head. On this, Saint Paul says that Jesus “is the head of the body, the Church...” (Col. 1:18)

Jesus knows how important it is that all the members of His Church are one. Hence, in His prayer for all of us before He left the world, He said: “I pray that they will all be one, just as you (Father) and I (Jesus) are one...” (Jn. 17:21). Jesus had promised from the very beginning that “there will be one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:16). We are the one flock of Christ, while He (Jesus) is the one Shepherd of us all. We are therefore called to pray and support one another, especially to help one another get to heaven. No one should be left out in our struggle to conquer sin, the greatest enemy of humanity. The kingdom of God is our homeland, and as one people of God, we shall all get there through the grace of God working in us as we pray and support one another.

Reverend Cletus Orji

Parochial Vicar