Day 269: Our Missionary Witness

Because they are members of the Body whose Head is Christ, Christians contribute to building up the Church by the constancy of their convictions and their moral lives. the Church increases, grows, and develops through the holiness of her faithful, until "we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." CCC 2045

Today's reading from the Catechism is very short, consisting of just three paragraphs on our missionary witness for Christ and an In Brief that reviews what has been covered over the past few days. The world is watching us, so how we conform to Christ (Rom 8:29) in our daily lives truly matters. We are His ambassadors to the world (2 Cor 5:20), expected to let our "light shine before men" so that through the example of how we live our lives, they may come to "give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Matt 5:16). We are called to give a defense "for the hope that is in you," yet in charity and respect for others (1 Pet 3:15).

The Catechism Compendium summarizes this as follows:

Because their lives are conformed to the Lord Jesus, Christians draw others to faith in the true God, build up the Church, inform the world with the spirit of the Gospel, and hasten the coming of the Kingdom of God. (#433)

The Catechism Companion Vol III has some good commentary on this:

We are called to be faithful. When we live faithfully, the mission of Christ is accomplished in the world... When we live in such a way that our lives have been transformed, we reveal the power of God. The fact that God is still working on us is a good thing because it reminds us that we still need his grace. We live out missionary witness when we show humility and perseverance and continue to ask the Lord for help in hope, even in the midst of our broken lives... It is not just our own salvation that is at stake. Our yes to the Lord also bears witness to the Lord's power, truth, goodness, and love to the world. The mission of the Church, which is the mission of Jesus Christ, is at stake. (p.54)

Pictured here are Missionaries of Charity religious sisters in Kolkata, India. The Catholic faithful are called to proclaim the Gospel and act with charity as members of the Church in day-to-day life (CCC 2044). (p. 55)

Day 268: The Precepts of the Church

The precepts of the Church are set in the context of a moral life bound to and nourished by liturgical life. The obligatory character of these positive laws decreed by the pastoral authorities is meant to guarantee to the faithful the indispensable minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort, in the growth in love of God and neighbor. CCC 2041

In today's reading, the Catechism discusses the precepts of the Church. These are the basic commandments in the Church for the faithful to follow for the "indispensable minimum" in our walk with Christ. Really, we should do more than these if we are able to and as God directs us, but these are a start. The barest of minimums, you could say.

The Catechism Compendium summarizes what the precepts of the Church are:

They are: 1) to attend Mass on Sundays and other holy days of obligation and to refrain from work and activities which could impede the sanctification of those days; 2) to confess one's sins, receiving the sacrament of Reconciliation at least once each year; 3) to receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season; 4) to abstain from eating meat and to observe the days of fasting established by the Church; and 5) to help to provide for the material needs of the Church, each according to his own ability. (#432)

Finally, Fr. Mark-Mary and Br. Michelangelo both speak about the 5 Precepts in this good video:

Day 267: The Church as Mother and Teacher

The Roman Pontiff and the bishops are "authentic teachers, that is, teachers endowed with the authority of Christ, who preach the faith to the people entrusted to them, the faith to be believed and put into practice." The ordinary and universal Magisterium of the Pope and the bishops in communion with him teach the faithful the truth to believe, the charity to practice, and the beatitude to hope for. CCC 2034

In today's reading, the Catechism discusses the Church as our Mother and Teacher. The Church is the "pillar and bulwark of the truth" (1 Tim 3:15). St. Peter is given unique authority (the keys) and is described as the rock on which the Church is built; he is the visible head on earth, or Vicar of Christ (Matt 16:18-19), with Jesus Christ being the ultimate Head (Col 1:18). The Pope is the Successor to St. Peter as the Bishop of Rome. Together with the bishops in communion with him, via the authority given through Apostolic Succession, they are elders and shepherds of the faithful in the Church (Acts 20:28). Therefore, guided by the Holy Spirit, they have a chief role in safeguarding the Deposit of Faith, including the moral teachings of the faith (Matt 28:19-20).

The Catechism Compendium summarizes how the Church nourishes the moral lives of Christians:

The Church is the community in which the Christian receives the Word of God, the teachings of the “Law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2), and the grace of the sacraments. Christians are united to the Eucharistic sacrifice of Christ in such a way that their moral life is an act of spiritual worship; and they learn the example of holiness from the Virgin Mary and the lives of the Saints. (#429)

The Catechism Companion Vol III has some good commentary on this:

If the Church is our mother and teacher - and she is - then we have to allow her to care for us and teach us. We are made to have a personal relationship with Jesus, but not a private one. Each of us is called to be part of the Body of Christ... The Church is not our teacher and mother to lord it over us but to feed us and lead us and help us become holy. From the Church, we receive the sacraments... When we do God's will, give him our obedience, and live mercy and love, that is an act of worship to the Father. (p. 50)

Pictured here is the First Vatican Council (1869-1870). Ecumenical councils are an exercise of the Church extraordinary Magisterium or teaching authority (CCC 2033). (p. 51)

Day 266: The Gift of Grace

The grace of the Holy Spirit confers upon us the righteousness of God. Uniting us by faith and Baptism to the Passion and Resurrection of Christ, the Spirit makes us sharers in his life. CCC 2017

Today's reading from the Catechism consists entirely of an In Brief, summarizing what has been covered over the past few days. Fr. Schmitz is right: grace is central to almost every bullet point, or "nugget" as he calls them. Grace is not only central, it's the very heart of justification, sanctification, and final salvation because grace is unmerited and comes from God alone. As I wrote before:

• In short, justification in Catholic teaching is the process by which one is made righteous and brought into a right relationship with God. With justification, there is forgiveness of sins by the redemptive sacrifice of Christ (Rom 5:9), sanctification by the Holy Spirit (2 Thes 2:13), and by God's grace, divinization (2 Pet 1:4). (Day 261)
• Grace is a free gift from God, given to us not because we earn or deserve it (Eph 2:8-19), but comes from the loving and sacrificial redemption of Christ at Calvary (Gal 1:4). It precedes, prepares and justifies us, inviting our free response in cooperating with the grace given to us (1 Cor 15:10). Grace does not merely forgive but transforms us to live more like Christ (2 Pet 1:3-4). (Day 262)
• With grace, we are given the ability to freely respond to God's calling. It is through that grace that we can freely know God and love Him. Grace does not coerce; it enables. (Day 263)
• Without grace, everything else is in vain. The "initial grace of forgiveness and justification" is due to God alone, not man (Day 264).
• [The call to holiness] is both the path and the fruit of theosis (2 Pet 1:4). (Day 265)

The Catechism Companion Vol III has some good commentary on today's reading:

So much of Catholic theology is understood in light of grace. Grace is central to everything because what god has done for us is grace; it is his unmerited and free gift... God moves us by his grace, and we respond by the power of his grace in our free will. Justification is not through our own deeds but by the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit works by our Baptism and brings us into right relationship with the Father... God's grace does not overwhelm or eradicate our liberty but works with it and brings it to its fullness. Sin makes us slaves, making us less free to say no to sin and yes to grace. But grace sets us free - to say yes to the good and no to the bad... The honest truth is that the only good in us comes from the Lord God. (p. 48)

Finally, Fr. Schmitz has an excellent video on what we need to be saved:

Day 265: The Call to Holiness

The way of perfection passes by way of the Cross. There is no holiness without renunciation and spiritual battle. Spiritual progress entails the ascesis and mortification that gradually lead to living in the peace and joy of the Beatitudes: "He who climbs never stops going from beginning to beginning, through beginnings that have no end. He never stops desiring what he already knows." CCC 2015

Today's reading is short and focused on the call for us all to holiness. This is both the path and the fruit of theosis (2 Pet 1:4).

The Catechism Compendium gives a summary of who is called to holiness:

All the faithful are called to Christian holiness. This is the fullness of Christian life and the perfection of charity and it is brought about by intimate union with Christ and, in him, with the most Holy Trinity. The path to holiness for a Christian goes by way of the cross and will come to its fulfillment in the final resurrection of the just, in which God will be all in all. (#428)

The Catechism Companion Vol III has some good commentary on this:

Every one of us is called to be a saint. Every one of us has been created by God for God. Every one of us has been redeemed by Jesus Christ, and God wants us to cooperate with that redemption and ultimately to be holy...The heart of holiness is to say yes to our Heavenly Father with the grace provided to us by Jesus. The Father just wants us to take the next step, the next yes. We can always begin again, through the grace of perseverance and fortitude... We are called to pray both for the grace to say yes right now and for the grace of final perseverance. (p. 46)

Finally, Dr. Brant Pitre has an excellent video on all of us being called to be saints:

Day 264: Man's Merit

Filial adoption, in making us partakers by grace in the divine nature, can bestow true merit on us as a result of God's gratuitous justice. This is our right by grace, the full right of love, making us "co-heirs" with Christ and worthy of obtaining "the promised inheritance of eternal life." The merits of our good works are gifts of the divine goodness. "Grace has gone before us; now we are given what is due.... Our merits are God's gifts." CCC 2009

In today's reading, the Catechism discusses merit in terms of our eternal salvation. This is perhaps one of the most misunderstood aspects of Catholic teaching, especially for some Protestants. We are not Pelagians trying to earn our way into heaven through our own efforts. Any "merit of good works" must be "attributed in the first place to the grace of God, then to the faithful". All merit by man "itself is due to God, for his good actions proceed in Christ, from the predispositions and assistance given by the Holy Spirit" (CCC 2008). God initiates, man cooperates.  Without grace, everything else is in vain. The "initial grace of forgiveness and justification" is due to God alone, not man, but "moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can then merit for ourselves and for others the graces needed for our sanctification, for the increase of grace and charity, and for the attainment of eternal life" (CCC 2010).

The Catechism Compendium provides a summary of what merit is:

In general, merit refers to the right to recompense for a good deed. With regard to God, we of ourselves are not able to merit anything, having received everything freely from him. However, God gives us the possibility of acquiring merit through union with the love of Christ, who is the source of our merits before God. The merits for good works, therefore, must be attributed in the first place to the grace of God and then to the free will of man. (#426)

The Catechism Companion Vol III has some good commentary on this:

Everything we have, everything we do, even the merit that we have, is a gift of God, for God works in us. God gives us grace and the opportunity and the ability to say yes to him and bear fruit... There is little in life that we could point to and just say we did it. Yet we can and do cooperate with God's grace all the time, in a free response. The only thing that we can point to in life and can say is truly ours is our sin. For every good work we have ever done, we have been collaborators with divine goodness. We have been adopted by God through Baptism and share in the divine nature. (p. 44) 

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, 15 April 1895

As St. Thérèse of Lisieux expressed, at the end we will approach God with "empty hands," for even "the merits of our good works are gifts of the divine goodness" (CCC 2009, 2011). (p. 45)

Day 263: Responding to Grace

God's free initiative demands man's free response, for God has created man in his image by conferring on him, along with freedom, the power to know him and love him. The soul only enters freely into the communion of love. God immediately touches and directly moves the heart of man. He has placed in man a longing for truth and goodness that only he can satisfy. the promises of "eternal life" respond, beyond all hope, to this desire. CCC 2002

Today's reading is short, basically finishing the section on grace, but focused on our response to the graces given. With grace, we are given the ability to freely respond to God's calling. It is through that grace that we can freely know God and love Him. Grace does not coerce; it enables. 

The Catechism Compendium summarizes the other kinds of graces there are:

Besides habitual grace, there are actual graces (gifts for specific circumstances), sacramental graces (gifts proper to each sacrament), special graces or charisms (gifts that are intended for the common good of the Church) among which are the graces of state that accompany the exercise of ecclesial ministries and the responsibilities of life. (#424)

The Catechism Companion Vol III has some good commentary on this:

All that God made is good, but we can treat God's created things as gods and idols in our lives, and they can keep us from God. We must use things wisely. The Holy Spirit makes us right with the Lord and makes us holy, like the Lord... The Council of Trent told us that "we cannot...rely on our feelings or our words to conclude that we are justified and saved" (CCC 2005). Jesus did say, however, that we will be known by our fruits. The way we bear fruit and bear witness to God's mercy will look different among different people. (p. 42)

Finally, Dr. Jenislawski of Christendom College has a great lecture called "Faith Alone?"  that is found over at Institute for the Catholic Culture.