On Sunday, 15th April, the fourth meeting of the “Power and Beauty of Faith” series was held in the hall of the Polish St. Stanislaw Church in Rome. The series constitute a preparation for the Year of Faith and describe the teaching of John Paul II’s about the Creed. Rev. prof. Łukasz Kamykowski of UPJPII in Krakow delivered the speech on “The Church of God in the Wednesdays catechesis of John Paul II.”
In the first part of the lecture, the speaker pointed out that John Paul II raised the issue of the Church in the catechesis on Jesus Christ who is Founder of the Church. This same issue was raised in the catechesis on the Holy Spirit who is “the soul of the Church”, the source of its holiness and dynamism. The lecturer briefly described the subject of the catechesis on the Church, delivered in 1991-1995, emphasizing that abundance of the issues raised is difficult to discuss in one evening. Fr. Kamykowski recalled that in the year of the Great Jubilee, 14th June, 2000 John Paul II gave a catechesis entitled “Glory to the Holy Trinity in the life of the Church,” which may be regarded as a synthesis of his teaching on the Church.
In the second part of the course, participants used the text of the catechism that appeared on the screen and followed the text of the papal teaching, whilst they listened to the professor’s commentary. In his meditation, John Paul II did not stop on the exterior, human dimension of the Church, on which the attention of the modern world often focuses, but rather answered the question, why it is worth to take part in the Church. The Church is a “people united by unity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” Thanks to God’s activity the people constitute a community of salvation, that is, one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
The speaker, referring to the thought of John Paul II, reminded us that the source of the unity of the Church is the Holy Trinity. The early Christians were able to give substantial expression to this truth in their daily life. After two millennia, Christianity is divided, but everyone realizes that the faith in the Holy Trinity requires continuous efforts for the unity of Christ’s disciples. The Holiness of the Church is a gift from God; He sanctifies us. The answer to His grace must be a holy life. In this manner the Church becomes a special sign of God’s action. The Church united and sanctified in Christ is sent to the world to preach the gospel of salvation. When we say that the Church is catholic, above all it indicates that it is its mission to bring people into the fullness of life with God and ensure that all areas of human activity have been permeated by the truth of God – said Fr. Kamykowski.
Fr. Kamykowski emphasized that the apostolic nature of the Church means its relationship with the Apostles. Often, when we use this expression we mean the hierarchy: the pope, bishops and priests. But it should be kept in mind that for the world the whole Church, that is every baptized person is an apostle and a witness. The lecture helped us to understand how important it is to be aware that as the Church we live in a Triune God. “Trinity is the reality of a life to a great degree” – said Fr. Kamykowski. John Paul II taught how to discover the work of God in the Church, which is the People of God, the body of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit at the same time.
After the lecture, a brief discussion took place. The question was whether that “missionary spring” which has not yet come is due to the fact that we do not quite know how to be Church The speaker pointed out that the knowledge of the Church is associated with a great effort for all of us, but we have to remember that “we are not the Church as single persons, but as a community.” All together we complement the body of Christ, the Church. To be the Church means that “all together and each in his own way,” we are witnesses to Christ in the world. The foundation and the “school” of life in the Church is the Eucharist.
The second question concerned the role of the lay people, which was so much emphasized by the Second Vatican Council. Fr. Kamykowski pointed out that what is most important in the Church we have by the power of baptism. The Church must be a “family”, which comprises a lot of family and community circles. Lay people have the great task of showing the world that the Church is for every man, that it is catholic, that it is for all. “We tell the Gospel of life”.
Organizers of the cycle: the Centre for Research and Documentation of the Pontificate and the Pastoral Staff of St. Stanislaus’ church in Rome invited to attend the next meeting on 6th May at 19.00, which will be dedicated to the topic “Mary in the faith of the Church”. (The) Lecture will be delivered by Rev. prof. Salvatore M. Perrella OSM, Rector of the Pontifical Faculty of Theology “Marianum” in Rome.
Rev. Andrzej Dobrzyński