Scripture and the Church

The Relationship between Holy Scripture and the Holy Church

God is the source of all truth. Jesus Christ is God. Jesus Christ is also the Bridegroom. The Church Christ founded is the Bride. Bride and Bridegroom are joined in sacramental marriage - the two become one flesh. What God has joined, no man may break asunder. Thus, the Church is the Body of Christ, and Christ is the Head of the Body - the source, the foundation, the living principle of His Body. Since the Church is the Body of Christ, the Church is the pillar and foundation of truth, in the same way that Christ is the pillar and foundation of truth. The word of God that is Holy Scripture is the wedding gift given by the Bridegroom to the Bride. Under the tender guidance of the Bridegroom, Scripture was written by the Bride, it was bound together by the Bride, and it is cherished by the Bride. The Bride alone truly understands the gift of love which the Bridegroom has given Her.

We obtain salvation through Jesus Christ alone, through His Body alone, hung on the Cross, resurrected from death, and living vibrantly in the Church. Salvation comes only through being joined to Christ, through becoming part of the Body of Christ. We are joined into the Body of Christ through the sacraments, which are the special charisms of the Bride given her by the Bridegroom. Through these sacraments, the healing ointments of grace administered by Christ through His Body to we who are ill, Christ brings us into union with Himself, making us truly sons and daughters of God. We are joined to the Godhead by virtue of Jesus Christ, His Body, Himself. He feeds us with His own Body, for He is the only true source of life. Thus, Jesus Christ truly is with us until the end of the world, healing the sick, forgiving sinners, and setting captives free.

The Catholic Church uses the phrase "Body of Christ" in three mystically interchangeable, absolutely literal, ways - the Body of Christ who walked in Galilee two millenia ago, touching and healing sinners, the Body of Christ who is the Church, the Bride without spot or blemish, and the Body of Christ who is the Eucharist, the resurrected Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ present in the sacrament of the altar, Him alone, pure and undefiled. The Body of Christ acts through the created world, allowing the grace of God to touch, cleanse, and sanctify all creation, so that it may truly be called "very good". The more you meditate on the three ways in which we can speak of the Body of Christ, the more you will understand what it means to be a Christian.