Ecclesiology

Ecclesiology, the theology of the church, is a subject I have been teaching in one form or another since 1981. I teach it for a lay person’s point of view and try to demonstrate how everything Christians do is related to what God is up to in the universe. In the words of Roy Campbell, “Church is a verb.”

The documents on this page are ones I distribute to my students to help them understand ecclesiology. Please feel free to use the documents that have my copyright but please respect my copyright.

On the left, the image of the Church, the new Eve, emerging from the side of Christ, the new Adam, with the Father as midwife and the Spirit providing shelter, is my very favorite image of the Church. I first saw it in the New Catholic Encyclopedia under “Church, Images of.” It is from the Bible Moralisée Codex 1179, folio 3v, which is owned by the National Library of Austria, in Vienna. I purchased permission to display it here but the image is owned by the National Library. The provenence is “Bilarchiv. d ÖNB, Vienna.” Please respect their copyright.

On the right, the image of the Church, “Roma Locuta Causa Finita” (“Rome has spoken, the case is closed”), is my least favorite image of the Church. It is painted on the ceiling of the chapel of the Archbishop’s House, the home built on the grounds of St. John Seminary by Archbishop John Cantwell for his retirement. It encapsulatres in one image the ecclesiology of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in the late 1930’s.

If you click on either image, you will be able to see a larger version of either.

 

 

Description File
As the dedication of a cathedral or a church is the ecclesiological event of once-in-many-lifetimes, the annual Chrism Mass is the ecclesiological event of the year for a diocese. I have compiled for study and meditation all the texts to be read and sung at this Mass. See also my meditation on this Mass which was published in English and Spanish in the worship aid for the 2003 Chrism Mass in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. 74Kb
My own ecclesiology is sketched in an essay I wrote (for the magazine of our archdiocesan office worship), “A Place for Everyone.” Borrowing a theme from the television program “Cheers,” I try to see Church from the perspective of the person in the pew at Sunday Mass and suggest ways for making Sunday Mass more important in the spiritual life of that person.
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I have been influenced in my understanding of the Church by the outline of St. Thomas Aquinas’s sermons on the creed. Here is my chart in which I develop his ideas on the last five articles of the Apostles’ Creed, including the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, and Mary is icon of the Church. See also “Creeds as Keys,” below.
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Most Catholics are not aware that their baptism and confirmation entitle them to bless. Here is my ecclesiology of the Book of Blessings as an overview of the Introduction to the Book of Blessings that I was asked to write for The Liturgy Documents, Volume II (Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications)
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For me there is no more beautiful image of the Church than this from the Bible Moralisee, Vienna 1179, the New Eve being drawn forth from the side of the New Adam by the Father, the gardener/midwife, under the power of the Holy Spirit.
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In “Creeds as Keys” I lay out the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed side by side, under the insight of G. K. Chesterton about how the Creed is the Key (from The Everlasting Man; see the extract below).
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I have permission from the Catholic Truth Society of England to reprint this magnificent distillation of Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church. Please respect their copyright.
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If you are looking for English versions of four of the ancient chants for the dedication of a church (the responsorial psalm, the song for the entombment of the relics, the song for the incensation of the altar and the church, and the song for the covering of the altar and the lighting of the church, here are my versions.
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Here is my outline of the Rite of the Dedication of a Church. This is the rite of the church that has the richest ecclesiology. See also the Prayer of Dedication and the Preface of Dedication (below) and my essay, “How a Church Becomes a Catholic.”
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There is a rich ecclesiology in “the Prayer of the Faithful” or “General Intercessions,” whose better name is “the Universal Prayer.” Here is the essay I wrote (for the magazine of our archdiocesan office worship), “Let My People Pray.”
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Here is the insight of G. K. Chesterton (from The Everlasting Man) about how the Creed is the Key.
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The person and work of the Holy Spirit is the key to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Here is my outline. See also my “‘The Lord who is the Spirit be with you’—‘And may the Spirit be also with you’: Some Pre-Pentecost Ponderings.”
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Here is the essay I wrote (for the magazine of our archdiocesan office worship), “How a Church Becomes a Catholic.”
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One of the great passages of Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is article 25, on the effort we must all make to run in step with our bishops (especially the bishop of Rome) as they teach us.
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Sunday is or ought to be the heart of Catholic life. It certainly was in the life of a group of early North African Martyrs, Sts. Saturninus, Emeritus, and Companions, the Martyrs of Sunday. Pope John Paul II refers to them in his marvelous letter, “Dies Domini.”
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A student in one of my ecclesiology courses created this cartoon.
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“‘The Lord who is the Spirit be with you’—‘And may the Spirit be also with you’: Some Pre-Pentecost Ponderings” is an essay I wrote for AIM: Liturgy Resources (Chicago, J. S. Paluch/World Library Publications).
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This is the Prayer of the Dedication of a Church and the Preface of the Dedication of a Church.
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“Selling Beer in Rosemead” is a much-reprinted article I wrote for our archdiocesan newspaper about the connection between what we do for a living and what God is up to in the universe. It is inspired by the ecclesiology and soteriology of Msgr. James O’Reilly.
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St Dominic was converted into an apostle of finding common theological ground by his experience of spending the night in conversation with his Albigensian landlord. I use this story to teach what I call the Dominican method of dealing with hot topics, controversial issues, in the Church today.
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