Eternity is Always Timely

Audrey Sanders

Modes of Inquiry: Four Marks

Dr. Osheim

December 12, 2018

to clarify beliefs that are both true and timely. It exists to address errors and common

misunderstandings throughout history. The Church has convened many councils to define our

beliefs and their application to contemporary situations and the creed has undergone many

modifications, while still embracing the same inherent truths of the faith.1 In a world that is so

easily distracted from the most important things of life, it is more important than ever for the

Church to focus on its eternal nature and eternal mission. Not only is it true that the Church is

eternal, but an increasingly secularized world needs to be called to turn back toward what is most

essential in life. In recognizing and living by this eternal calling of the Church, we find our

ultimate meaning and purpose.

The Church is eternal with and in the celebration of the Mass. The Eucharist is the source

and summit of Christian life.2 The Mass stands outside of time and it is through the Eucharist

that we participate in the one sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Every time we celebrate the

sacrament of the Eucharist, we are celebrating the sacrifice of Christ at Calvary. We are not re-

sacrificing Christ. The Mass is participating, in a timeless way, in the one sacrifice of Christ.

Jesus Christ offered himself up on the cross and it is by the means of this sacrifice, which we

celebrate in the Eucharist that we receive eternal redemption.3 When we celebrate the Eucharist,

we become one with Jesus and it is through this that we experience his immortality and divinity.

1
George Luas, “The Blessed Trinity,” accessed December 12, 2018,
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04478a.htm.
2
Austin Flanner, “Lumen Gentium,” in The Basic Sixteen Documents: Vatican Council II;
Constitutions, Decrees, Declarations (Northport, NY: Costello, 1996), 11.
3
The Council of Trent, “On the Sacrifice of the Mass,” Accessed June 28, 2018,
http://www.thecounciloftrent.com/ch22.htm.
“The divine sacrifice of the Eucharist is the outstanding means whereby the faithful may express

in their lives, and manifest to others, the mystery of Christ and the real nature of the true

Church.”4

“It is of the essence of the Church that she be both human and divine, visible and yet

invisibly equipped, eager to act and yet intent on contemplation, present in this world and yet not

at home in it; and she is all these things in such wise that in her the human is directed and

subordinated to the divine, the visible likewise to the invisible, action to contemplation, and this

present world to that city yet to come, which we seek.”5 The Church is not just here on earth, but

it is a divine institution. It is both human and divine.6 The Church was established by Christ.

“For the Church is both human and divine, visible but endowed with invisible realities, zealous

in action and dedicated to contemplation, present in the world, yet a migrant, so constituted that

in it the human is directed toward and subordinated to the divine, the visible to the invisible,

action to contemplation, and this present world to that city yet to come, the object of our quest.”7

The mission of the Church will not be over when the world is. There exists behind the visible

Church invisible realities, realities that are eternal in their very nature. The Church is rooted in

the reality beyond this world. Ultimately it is rooted in God and God is outside of time. God is

eternal. There is still more to come of the Church and we will see the Church manifested when

Christ comes again. The Church will receive its perfection in the glory of heaven. She exists

4
Austin Flannery, “Sacrosanctum Concilium,” in The Basic Sixteen Documents: Vatican
Council II; Constitutions, Decrees, Declarations, (Northport, NY: Costello, 1996), 2.
5
Flannery, “Sacrosanctum Concilium,” 2.
6
Flannery, “Sacrosanctum Concilium,” 2.
7
Flannery, “Sacrosanctum Concilium,” 2.
beyond this world and she will be perfected beyond this world. When time is no longer, there

will be renewal. There will be a new Heaven and there will be a new earth. We cannot possibly

know what that looks like, but what we do know is that the Church will be part of that reality.

The Church is how God chose to commune with mankind and although we can never

fully understand it, it is a means through which God establishes a relationship with humanity and

that relationship is eternal. We are called to have a relationship with each other and with God

that is inseparable. The nature of God himself is relationship. He is the Trinity and has never

been without relationship. God the Father loves God the Son fully, wholly, and completely and

God the Son reciprocates that love. From that love comes the Holy Spirit. The whole essence of

God is relationship and something like that exists between God himself and humanity. All men

are called to enter into this communion.8 The Church was created to facilitate that union and the

depths of God’s love runs so deep that that communion will never end. Our relationship with

God and with each other will be perfected in Heaven when the Church is perfected.9

The Church also has an eternal mission to build up the Kingdom of God, starting here

and now. We were called to go out and make disciples of all nations.10 “The divine mission,

which was committed by Christ to the apostles, is destined to last until the end of the world,

since the Gospel which they were obliged to hand on is in the principle of all the Church’s life

8
CCC 850 Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition. (United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops, 2016), 850.
9
George Joyce, “The Blessed Trinity,” accessed December 12, 2018,
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15047a.htm.
10
New American Bible. (New York: Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1992). Matthew 28:19.
for all time.”11 Just as the Church does not end with time, neither does the mission of the Church.

The ultimate goal is to bring all people into eternal communion with God and with each other. In

doing so we must promote a common good.12 We are striving to reach Eschaton, the fulfillment

of all time when all are one in God.13

There are many distractions that people in this day and age have that are not good. The

inordinate pursuit of possessions, money, and wealth are not consistent with our eternal calling

and they are not good for us here on earth. Ultimately it is what prepares us for eternity that

brings happiness in both this life and the next life. Our culture has lost sight of some old truths.

We live in an extremely fast paced society that does not take the time to slow down and look at

the bigger picture. Modern society, especially in regards to younger generations, has become

consumed with the “here and now.” It has become all about instant gratification. We think little

of what has happened in the past and we think little of what will happen beyond our present. Our

world is very materialistic. Too much importance is placed on the objects of this world that do

nothing to help us reach our ultimate goal of a perfected Church, of eternal perfect union with

God and with each other.

Often we forget what our real goal is in life, our deeper meaning and purpose. The

ultimate gratification and fulfillment that we seek in material things, in actuality cannot come

from this world. We will only find this in something that is beyond this world, in something that

Austin Flannery, “Lumen Gentium,” in The Basic Sixteen Documents: Vatican Council II;
11

Constitutions, Decrees, Declarations, (Northport, NY: Costello, 1996), 20.

Austin Flannery, “Gaudium et Spes,” in The Basic Sixteen Documents: Vatican Council II;
12

Constitutions, Decrees, Declarations, (Northport, NY: Costello, 1996), 30.

Austin Flannery, “Lumen Gentium,” in The Basic Sixteen Documents: Vatican Council II;
13

Constitutions, Decrees, Declarations, (Northport, NY: Costello, 1996), 3.

eternal unity with God and with each other that we will find our deepest fulfilment and it is

through the mission of the Church as the one Body of Christ, present in this world and persisting

thereafter, that we can achieve our goal.

Most people are not going to raise their hands and object to the idea that materialism is a

bad way of living life which negatively affects our relationships with God and with each other,

or that it distorts our perceptions of the meaning of life. But many may question how we could

possibly focus on the eternal nature of the Church when there are so many legitimate needs and

concerns within the Church and within the world that are here and now that need to be met and

taken care of. If we are so focused on salvation and eternity, how could we possibly take care of

the poor, the environment, creation, and social justice? We cannot even begin to think about the

eternal Church when we have such serious problems at hand that need addressed. Of course our

culture is stuck in the present, the reasoning goes, because how could anyone focus on anything

beyond the present, or anything even beyond this world, when this world is such a messed up

place filled with so many injustices and inequalities? Did not Jesus call us to take care of the

poor?

These are all very valid concerns and Jesus is not suggesting that the poor are

unimportant or that we do not have an obligation to help them. We should be concerned with

these social justice issues and we should be striving for peace and justice here on this earth. But

emphasizing the eternal mission of the Church is not mutually exclusive with pursuing these just

goals here on earth. We can do both. The Church’s focus on eternal salvation does not ignore

concerns here on Earth. If we are building up the Kingdom of God and fulfilling the eternal

mission of the Church- which is ultimately the salvation of souls- will not instilling these virtues
in people help the cause of justice? Will not keeping in mind our ultimate purpose and goal give

us the right attitude toward creation? Might focusing on the eternal nature of the Church, of our

relationship with God and each other, give us a better and more holy attitude toward the poor, the

dispossessed, and the suffering? Jesus says it does. We will be judged based on this. Jesus will

separate the sheep and the goats. At the final judgement, he will look back on how we treated the

poor, the ill, the suffering, and the imprisoned. Jesus says, “Amen, I say to you, what you did not

do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.”14 We are here earth to build up the

Kingdom of God through service for the poor and suffering.

However, if we focus on these social justice concerns to the exclusion of a relationship

with God, we begin putting lesser goods before a greater good. There arise two dangers in

placing the goods of social justice above the higher good of loving God. Firstly, priorities are

backwards. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, as prefect for the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of

the Faith wrote in Instruction on Certain Aspects of the “Theology of Liberation”:

A radical politicization of faith's affirmations and of theological judgments follows

inevitably from this new conception. The question no longer has to do with simply

drawing attention to the consequences and political implications of the truths of faith,

which are respected beforehand for their transcendent value. In this new system, every

affirmation of faith or of theology is subordinated to a political criterion, which in turn

depends on the class struggle, the driving force of history.15

14
New American Bible. (New York: Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1992). Matthew 25:45.
15
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, “Instructions on the Certain Aspects of the Theology of
Liberation,” Accesssed December 12, 2018,
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_1984080
6_theology-liberation_en.html
The problem that arises is the extreme application of liberation theology prioritizing political

action over eternal salvation and over our eternal relationship with God and each other through

the Church. Secondly, these political solutions are often separated from a God-centered

worldview. Political considerations get mixed with Atheistic-Marxism. Again, Cardinal

Ratzinger:

Let us recall the fact that atheism and denial of the human person, his liberty and rights,

are at the core of the Marxist theory. This theory, then, contains errors which directly

threaten the truths of the faith regarding the eternal destiny of individual persons.

Moreover, to attempt to integrate into theology an analysis whose criterion of

interpretation depends on this atheistic conception is to involve oneself in terrible

contradictions. What is more, this misunderstanding of the spiritual nature of the person

leads to a total subordination of the person to the collectivity, and thus to the denial of the

principles of a social and political life which is in keeping with human dignity.16

The application of this Atheistic-Marxist view to social justice concerns will not work in

building the eternal Kingdom of God, in succeeding in the eternal mission of the Church.

Marxism holds that God is nonexistent and completely unnecessary. It leaves out any kind of

transformation that can happen from God. Any plan for society that leaves God out of the

equation will fail. This is why we must keep our priorities straight. God and our relationship with

God must come before everything else, even the good of fighting for social justice issues in the

present world.

16
Ratzinger, “Instructions on the Certain Aspects of the Theology of Liberation.”
 Eternal life is the greater good and it is through the Eternal Church that we will be able to

achieve that greater good. Heaven and earth will eventually pass away.17 Eternity is forever and

ultimately what we are made for. Cardinal Ratzinger concludes his address on Liberation

Theology:

We profess our faith that the Kingdom of God, begun here below in the Church of Christ,

is not of this world, whose form in passing away, and that its own growth cannot be

confused with the progress of civilization, of science, and of human technology, but that

it consists in knowing ever more deeply the unfathomable riches of Christ, to hope ever

more strongly in things eternal, to respond ever more ardently to the love of God, to

spread ever more widely grace and holiness among men. But it is this very same love

which makes the Church constantly concerned for the true temporal good of mankind as

well.18

The Church calls us to respond to the love of God by spreading His love throughout the world.

The Church is very much concerned with the temporal good of mankind. It is not that those

social justice issues are unimportant, but the Church is more concerned with the eternal good for

mankind, our salvation. Jesus explicitly says in John chapter 12, verse 8, “The poor are always

with you.”19 The message in this is not that the poor should not be one of our greatest priorities,

but rather that the right relationship with Jesus is more important because that speaks to eternity.

A relationship with God is essential in working to solve the present problems of this world, and

without that relationship, we will not be able to succeed in working to build up the Kingdom of

God here and now. One could even look to the Motto of Loras College, “Pro Deo et Patria,” “For

17
Ratzinger, “Instructions on the Certain Aspects of the Theology of Liberation.”
18
Ratzinger, “Instructions on the Certain Aspects of the Theology of Liberation.”
19
New American Bible. (New York: Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1992). John 12:8.
God and Country.” What is important in this is that it is God first, and then country, or the world

in which we live. Both are great priorities, but the right and proper order is putting God first and

in doing so, we can better serve this world here and now.

People are losing sight of eternity, whether for selfish materialistic reasons and

distractions from sin, or because they are trying to bring justice to society without a right

relationship with God. Society is becoming increasingly more secularized. Many are trying to

solve these social injustices without God and in doing so, they lose sight of our ultimate purpose.

Emphasizing eternity does not mean people should not care about the injustices of the world. By

re-focusing on eternity and our ultimate purpose, our society can go about trying to solve the

issues of the here and now in the best way possible. Indeed, losing sight of eternal relationship

with God and with each other is causing more turmoil and it is for this reason that the fifth mark

of the Church should be “eternal.”

Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition. (United States Conference of

Catholic Bishops, 2016).

Flannery, Austin. The Basic Sixteen Documents: Vatican Council II; Constitutions, Decrees,

Declarations. Northport, NY: Costello, 1996.

Joyce, George. "The Blessed Trinity." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York:

Robert Appleton Company, 1912. Accessed December 12, 2018

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15047a.htm.

Luas, George. “Creed.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton

Company, 1908. Accessed December 12, 2018.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04478a.htm.

New American Bible. (New York: Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1992).

Ratzinger, Joseph Cardinal. “Instructions on the Certain Aspects of the Theology of Liberation.”

The Vatican. Accessed December 12, 2018.

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_1

9840806_theology-liberation_en.html

The Council of Trent. “On the Sacrifice of the Mass.” Accessed June 28, 2018.

http://www.thecounciloftrent.com/ch22.htm.