Pope Leo XIV told pilgrims gathered in the Vatican that the Church’s human weaknesses and divine mission exist together in harmony, reminding the faithful that the Church is not an abstract ideal but the living Body of Christ present throughout history.
Speaking during his weekly General Audience, the Holy Father continued his reflection on Lumen gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church from the Second Vatican Council. According to Vatican News, the Pope explained that the document helps Catholics understand the mystery of the Church as both a visible community and a spiritual reality.
The Pope emphasized that the Church cannot be separated from the realities of human life. “An ideal and pure Church, separated from the earth, does not exist; only the one Church of Christ, embodied in history,” he said, according to Vatican News.
Reflecting on the teaching of Lumen gentium, Pope Leo XIV described the Church as a “complex reality” in which both the human and divine dimensions exist together. He explained that the Church is made up of ordinary people who experience both the joys and struggles of Christian life while proclaiming the Gospel to the world.
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“The Church is a well-organized body, in which the human and divine dimensions coexist without separation and without confusion,” the Pope said, according to Vatican News.
At the same time, he stressed that the divine nature of the Church does not come from the perfection of its members but from God’s plan fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The Church’s holiness, he said, is rooted in Christ Himself rather than in the flawless behavior of believers.
According to Vatican News, Pope Leo XIV explained that the Church “is at the same time an earthly community and the mystical body of Christ, a visible assembly and a spiritual mystery, a reality present in history and a people journeying towards heaven.”
To illustrate this unity of human and divine, the Pope pointed to the life of Jesus. Those who encountered Christ during His earthly ministry saw His humanity through His voice, gestures, and presence, yet those same encounters also revealed the presence of God.
“Christ’s flesh, His face, His gestures and His words visibly manifest the invisible God,” Pope Leo XIV said, according to Vatican News.
Looking at the Church through the example of Christ, the Pope noted that believers will inevitably see both beauty and weakness among its members. Yet these human limitations do not negate the Church’s divine mission.
According to Vatican News, the Holy Father said that the Church welcomes sinful people and leads them toward God, allowing Christ’s saving work to continue through the lives of ordinary believers.
The Pope also recalled the words of Pope Benedict XVI, who once told Swiss bishops that “there is no opposition between the Gospel and the institution.” According to Vatican News, Benedict explained that the Church’s structures help make the message of the Gospel concrete in the world.
Pope Leo XIV concluded by urging Catholics to build up the Church not only through its visible organization but also through deeper unity and charity among believers.
He called on the faithful to become authentic witnesses of Christ’s love so that others may recognize the charity that defines true Christian life and strengthens the Church.
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