Apologeticae sive Theologiae Fundamentalis, Tomus II (Pars Altera): Demonstratio Catholica

The Church is called holy inasmuch as it is an institution essentially holy and inasmuch as it is an institution efficaciously sanctifying. That it is an institution essentially holy is evident, since by reason of its origin, end, head, and soul it is divine. But it must be shown that it is also an institution efficaciously sanctifying, i. e. that the divine element of the Church efficaciously promotes the holiness of the human element, and indeed holiness taken simply and holiness taken emphatically.

"Sanctity is said to be that by which the mind of man applies itself and its acts to God."¹ The Church, therefore, in order to be efficaciously holy, must apply the minds and acts of the faithful to God, i. e. it must conform their external and internal life to the divine will by fleeing sins and cultivating virtues. That the true Church is distinguished from the false by this holiness is made indubitable from the words of the Savior: "By their fruits you will know them … Every good tree bears good fruits: but the evil tree bears evil fruits."² A good tree has a fruit-bearing nature, exercises a fruit-bearing power, and actually bears good fruits. So too the Church of Christ should excel in holiness of doctrine, of means, and of members.

1. By holiness of doctrine. For Christ, holiness itself, without doubt preached a holy doctrine, i. e. such a one as impels men to moral holiness and shows them the way of perfection: "Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect."³ Hence also the Church of Christ obliges and leads men to holiness. But if any religious society does not form men to holiness, and much more, if it makes little of external good works or of the internal perfection of mind and heart, it cannot be the true Church of Christ.

2. By holiness of means. Christ, since He does not command impossibilities, also provided helps by which weak men might attain holiness: "As many as received him, he gave them power to become sons of God;"⁴ "Christ loved the Church and delivered himself up for her, that he might sanctify her;"⁵ "He gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity and cleanse for himself an acceptable people, a pursuer of good works."⁶ Therefore also the Church of Christ should take care to provide all those effective means and helps which are necessary, useful, and suitable for attaining holiness. But if a religious group cares little about these means or utterly neglects them, it is not the Church of Christ.

3. By holiness of members. Not indeed all members of the Church are holy. For we have already shown that sinners too are found in her. Nevertheless, besides sinners, holy members also always exist in her. For if there are tares in the field, the wheat is present at the same time; if in the banquet a man appears lacking the wedding garment, others are seen clothed with this garment; in the net, besides bad fish, good ones also are found; together with the foolish virgins, the prudent ones are also beheld. And although sometimes the wicked may be more numerous than the good in the Church, nevertheless, because the denomination is taken from the better and sounder part, the Church can be called holy without qualification. The apostles themselves therefore call Christians saints, because all are destined for holiness and at least many of them are truly holy. Thus Paul writes "to all that are at Rome, beloved of God, called saints"⁷; "to the Church of God that is at Corinth, sanctified in Christ Jesus"⁸; "to all the saints who are at Ephesus".⁹ From all these things we gather with certainty not only that holiness, simply so called, never fails the true Church, but we already further infer that holiness also, eminent or said with emphasis, always shines in her.

Holiness understood in the simple sense belongs to those faithful who at least abstain from grave sins, fulfil the grave precepts, and are accordingly in the state of sanctifying grace, by which they are inserted into Christ the head as living members. From this holiness one ascends through various degrees to extraordinary holiness, or holiness understood emphatically, which stands out by the heroicity of the virtues and the working of miracles, i. e., which consists in the heroicity of the virtues and is confirmed by the working of miracles.

1. By the heroicity of the virtues. Heroic Christian virtue is said to be that perfection and excellence of virtue "which makes a man, with regard to the matter of that virtue, operate above the common manner of operating of other men (namely, also of the just) and in this to be like God"¹. Indeed, given the height of this virtue and the infirmity of men, it is manifest that comparatively fewer faithful will attain to such extraordinary holiness. Yet that at all times at least some members illustrate the whole Church by the heroicity of the virtues is evident from the Church's very author, end, and nature. The author of the Church, Christ Jesus, not only shone with the example of the highest holiness, but expressly proposed His example to us for imitation. But it cannot come to pass that at least some disciples, imitating this example, should not be like the Master in the exercise of extraordinary virtue.² The end of the Church is that it preserve and exercise the whole Christian religion. But extraordinary holiness is the apex, the flower, the fruit of the whole Christian religion. For Christ "gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and cleanse for Himself a people acceptable, a pursuer of good works"³ "that we might be holy and unspotted in His sight in charity"⁴. The nature of the Church is extraordinarily holy, since the Church is the body of Christ⁵, the bride of Christ⁶, the fullness of Christ⁷, the mystic Christ. But this most holy nature of the Church will necessarily and efficaciously manifest itself in the acts of extraordinary holiness. Therefore at all times the Church will be conspicuous by the heroic virtue of some of its members. Nay more:

2. By the working of miracles. Indeed, Christ promised that miracles would be worked in the Church of all times, especially through the saints. For again He said: "And these signs shall follow them that believe: in my name they shall cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues, they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; upon the sick they shall lay their hands, and they shall recover… Amen, amen I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he also shall do, and greater than these shall he do."⁸

These words expressly declare that miracles will always be present in the Church, since they mention "signs (σημεῖα)" and "works (ἔργα)" as simply annexed to faith, while the faith of the Church will never fail. Moreover, that miracles will be wrought especially through the saints, the same words of the Savior indicate at least implicitly. For that not all the faithful are chosen to work miracles is evident both from the facts of history and from the end of miracles. From the facts of history it is clear that never, not even in the age of the apostles, did all believers possess the charism of miracles, but for the most part only those who devoted a more eminent care to the propagation and conservation of the faith by the ministry of the word and the example of their life. And indeed the end of miracles is chiefly this, that miraculous works be criteria and, as it were, seals of faith and holiness.⁹ Therefore miracles are fittingly and commonly worked through those who stand out among all by faith and holiness. These merit to be called "believers" by excellence, and accordingly the promise of Christ holds for them: "The works that I do, he also shall do, and greater than these shall he do."