Catholicism For Dummies. Rev. Kenneth Brighenti

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       Militant refers to the Church’s living members on earth who are in a daily battle against the world, flesh, and devil; the war is against evil, not other religions.

       Suffering refers to the holy souls in purgatory, who died in the state of grace with no mortal sin on their souls but still had some attachments to their venial sins and to previously forgiven mortal sins. The soul realizes that it is in need of further purification before it can enter into the glories of heaven.

       Triumphant refers to the angels and saints in heaven around the banquet table of God. They were victorious in the good fight against sin and evil and are now experiencing the joys of paradise.

       One (unity): As we explain in the preceding section, the Church is one body with many members, each of whom plays a vital role, and all of whom are united. The Church is an organic unity and not artificial, synthetic, or man-made. The pope is the visible head of the global Church, which has more than 1 billion members worldwide. He appoints the local bishops, who in turn assign the local pastors and parish priests and deacons. The Church has one governing authority (hierarchy) and one teaching authority (Magisterium). The Church has one body of truths she teaches (found in the Catechism) and one body of divine worship (the seven sacraments).

       Holy (sanctity): The Church is holy because her founder is Jesus Christ, the Son of God and second person of the Holy Trinity. She is also the Bride of Christ and is considered the Mystical Body of Christ as well. That association and union with divinity itself makes the Church holy. But she also has been given by God Himself all the necessary divine revealed truths and all the necessary divine grace to save souls (help people get to heaven). This does not mean that members have it made and need to do nothing else except belong. It does mean that holiness is possible and promoted by the Church at the will and command of her founder, Jesus Christ. One becomes a saint through, with, and in the Church.

       Catholic (universality): The word Catholic derives from the Greek katholikos, which means “universal.” The Church’s mission is universal. It is to spread the Good News about Jesus (also called the Gospel) to all men and women all over the world. The Church is not confined to any one nation or country. That’s why it’s not called the Church of Italy, the Church of Spain, the Church of America, or the Church of Europe. It is the Catholic Church, which belongs to Christ and is found everywhere around the world. Embracing all languages, continents, cultures, and races, the Church is universal and promotes universality. Human beings belong to the same human race even though they live in different parts of the world and speak different tongues.

       Apostolic (continuity): The last mark refers to the fact that the Catholic Church can trace its foundations to Christ Himself and to the Twelve Apostles. Also, every deacon, priest, and bishop can trace his ordination lineage back to one of the original apostles; this is called apostolic succession. A verifiable and direct connection exists between the apostles whom Jesus handpicked and their direct successors, the bishops. Also, there is direct succession of all the popes, from Saint Peter to his 265th successor, Pope Francis.