152. What does it mean to say that the Church is the universal sacrament of salvation?

152. What does it mean to say that the Church is the universal sacrament of salvation?

(Comp 152) This means that she is the sign and instrument both of the reconciliation and communion of all of humanity with God and of the unity of the entire human race.

“In brief”

(CCC 780) The Church in this world is the sacrament of salvation, the sign and the instrument of the communion of God and men. (CCC 770) The Church is in history, but at the same time she transcends it. It is only "with the eyes of faith" (Roman Catechism I, 10, 20) that one can see her in her visible reality and at the same time in her spiritual reality as bearer of divine life.

To deepen and explain

(CCC 774) The Greek word mysterion was translated into Latin by two terms: mysterium and sacramentum. In later usage the term sacramentum emphasizes the visible sign of the hidden reality of salvation which was indicated by the term mysterium. In this sense, Christ himself is the mystery of salvation: "For there is no other mystery of God, except Christ" (St. Augustine, Ep 187,11, 34: PL 33, 846). The saving work of his holy and sanctifying humanity is the sacrament of salvation, which is revealed and active in the Church's sacraments (which the Eastern Churches also call "the holy mysteries"). The seven sacraments are the signs and instruments by which the Holy Spirit spreads the grace of Christ the head throughout the Church which is his Body. The Church, then, both contains and communicates the invisible grace she signifies. It is in this analogical sense, that the Church is called a "sacrament."

On reflection

(CCC 775) "The Church, in Christ, is like a sacrament - a sign and instrument, that is, of communion with God and of unity among all men" (LG 1). The Church's first purpose is to be the sacrament of the inner union of men with God. Because men's communion with one another is rooted in that union with God, the Church is also the sacrament of the unity of the human race. In her, this unity is already begun, since she gathers men "from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues" (Rev 7:9); at the same time, the Church is the "sign and instrument" of the full realization of the unity yet to come. (CCC 776) As sacrament, the Church is Christ's instrument. "She is taken up by him also as the instrument for the salvation of all," "the universal sacrament of salvation," by which Christ is "at once manifesting and actualizing the mystery of God's love for men" (LG 9 § 2, 48 § 2; GS 45 § 1) The Church "is the visible plan of God's love for humanity," because God desires "that the whole human race may become one People of God, form one Body of Christ, and be built up into one temple of the Holy Spirit" (Paul VI, June 22, 1973; AG 7 § 2; cf. LG 17).

(Next question: Why is the Church the ‘people of God’?)