7 Images of the Church in Gaudium et Spes

The Church lives in the society; it serves the people; it proclaims the Gospel to its citizens especially to the poor. It experiences the “joys and hopes” of the society in every period. The Church answers the quests of the hearts of the people: “what is man? What is this sense of sorrow, of evil, of death, which continues to exist despite so much progress? What purpose have these victories purchased at so high a cost? What can man offer to society, what can he expect from it? What follows this earthly life?”[1]

There are 7 major images of the Church we can find in Gaudium et Spes in relation to the Society. In other words, the mission of the Church is drawn from how the Church understands itself in the Society.

1) Expert of humanity. The Church is aware of herself as one who knows, leads, and serves humanity. She is aware of her duty in the midst of humanity. “Thus, the Church, at once “a visible association and a spiritual community,” goes forward together with humanity and experiences the same earthly lot which the world does. She serves as a leaven and as a kind of soul for human society as it is to be renewed in Christ and transformed into God's family.”[2] As an expert of humanity, the Church helps and joins man in seeking one of his most important longings: peace. The Church believes that “we are taught that God is preparing a new dwelling place and a new earth where justice will abide, and whose blessedness will answer and surpass all the longings for peace which spring up in the human heart.”[3]

2) Church of the Poor. The Church will always serve the poor for two major reasons. First, the Church imitates intimately the Founder, Jesus Christ who served the poor, the sick, the possessed, the homeless, the abandoned, the rejected and all those in pain and suffering; second, the Church lived and grew even from the beginning with the poor. The mission of the Church is the mission towards the poor. Thus, the Church is fully aware of “The joys and the hopes. the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these too are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts.”[4]

3) Reader of the Signs of the Times. Gaudium et Spes develops a twofold task namely: a) to scrutinize the signs of the times and, b) interpret them in the light of the Gospel. By this twofold task, the Church can live in every human context and it is also capable of responding to the needs of the people in every period of time. “Thus, in language intelligible to each generation, she can respond to the perennial questions which men ask about this present life and the life to come, and about the relationship of the one to the other.”[5]

4) Servant. The Church is a servant of the people and the society. It possesses a mission that is different from the direction and function of the state and from every secular institute. Both the institutional church and its members have to be a people of service. “As the firstborn of many brethren and by the giving of His Spirit, He founded after His death and resurrection a new brotherly community composed of all those who receive Him in faith and in love. This He did through His Body, which is the Church. There everyone, as members one of the other, would render mutual service according to the different gifts bestowed on each.”[6]

5) Teacher about Conscience. The Church teaches that conscience is: a) a law he must obey. The Church teaches that “man detects a law which he does not impose upon himself, but which holds him to obedience.” It is will be the measuring rod for God’s judgment on man. The document says: “for man has in his heart a law written by God; to obey it is the very dignity of man; according to it he will be judged. b) called to choose good over evil. It is a call to choose which is “always summoning him to love good and avoid evil;” c) a voice. It is an inner voice that speaks directly to the heart of man: “do this, shun that;” d) inner core and sanctuary of man. the Church teaches that conscience is the “most secret core” and “sanctuary of man” and “there he is alone with God, Whose voice echoes in his depths;” e) summons to love. It is conscience that dictates to the person to love God and neighbor because “in a wonderful manner conscience reveals that law which is fulfilled by love of God and neighbor;” f) search for the truth and the good. It is conscience that teaches man to search for the truth and for the good. It is conscience that draws people together in a collective search for the truth. Gaudium et Spes says that “in fidelity to conscience, Christians are joined with the rest of men in the search for truth, and for the genuine solution to the numerous problems which arise in the life of individuals from social relationships:” g) to be away from sin and to be guided by norms of morality. It is conscience that refrains man from being isolated and alienated from God and the rest of humanity in following the norms of morality. It is conscience that makes man submit and sacrifice himself for the common good and for the good of his body and soul. “Hence, the more right conscience holds sway, the more persons and groups turn aside from blind choice and strive to be guided by the objective norms of morality. Conscience frequently errs from invincible ignorance without losing its dignity.”[7]

6) Custodian and Steward of Goods. The Church remains a steward of creation and the custodian of earthly goods. By being a steward of human culture, the Church becomes also the steward of the goods both personal and societal. The Church is aware that “Man comes to a true and full humanity only through culture, that is through the cultivation of the goods and values of nature. Wherever human life is involved, therefore, nature and culture are quite intimately connected one with the other.”[8] The Church also upholds human labor as far greater than goods. As a steward of creation, the Church protects man as the subject of every earthly good. “Human labor which is expended in the production and exchange of goods or in the performance of economic services is superior to the other elements of economic life, for the latter have only the nature of tools.”[9]

7. Evangelizer of Culture. Though the Church is aware that by “virtue of her mission and nature she is bound to no particular form of human culture, nor to any political, economic or social system, the Church by her very universality can be a very close bond between diverse human communities and nations, provided this trust her and truly acknowledge her right to true freedom in fulfilling her mission.”[10] The Church is an evangelizer of culture because it is an evangelizer of man and desires him to be saved. The Church is interested in human culture because it is where “man develops and perfects his many bodily and spiritual qualities; he strives by his knowledge and his labor, to bring the world itself under his control. He renders social life more human both in the family and the civic community, through improvement of customs and institutions.”[11]

[1] Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World, December 7, 1965, no. 10.

[2] Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World, December 7, 1965, no. 40.

[3] Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World, December 7, 1965, no. 40.

[4] Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World, December 7, 1965, no. 1.

[5] Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World, December 7, 1965, no. 4.

[6] Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World, December 7, 1965, no. 32.

[7] All quotations in this paragraph: Cf. Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World, December 7, 1965, no. 16.

[8] Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World, December 7, 1965, no. 53.

[9] Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World, December 7, 1965, no. 67.

[10] Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World, December 7, 1965, no. 42.

[11] Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World, December 7, 1965, no. 53.