History is made up of millions of small moments and individual decisions, but looking back, specific turning points can be identified.
The Catholic Church has seen a lot in its 2,000+-year history. In “Catholic Central: Church History in 5 Moments,” Kai and Libby look at 5 key moments in history that helped shape the Church into what it is today.
Diving Deeper
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Can you change but still stay the same? As the Body of Christ on Earth, how has the Church’s ability to “change but still same the same” helped her to respond to the changing needs of humanity through the last two millennia?
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How do Scripture, Tradition, and reason work together to help the Catholic Church address contemporary issues and stay close to her mission? What might happen to the Church’s decision-making ability if she were missing Tradition (wisdom from history, guided by the Holy Spirit, a living chain stretching back to Jesus)? What might happen to the Church’s decision-making ability if she were missing reason (a God-given ability to use our minds to make logical sense of the world around us)?
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What are some new issues in our time to which the Church might need to respond?
Activity
Research a saint or Catholic leader from a moment of great change in the Church: Post-Resurrection (33 A.D. - 350 A.D.), Post-Constantine (313 A.D. - 1400 A.D.), Post-Reformation (1519 A.D. - 1700 A.D.), Post-Enlightenment (1620 A.D. - 1815 A.D.), or The Contemporary Church (1959 A.D. - Today). What was their motivation? How did they move the Church closer to her mission? How were they perceived by others at the time of their work? How are they seen today? What can we learn from their work in the Church and in the world?
Reflection by Father Vince Kuna, C.S.C.
Both saints and sinners mark the Catholic Church, now well into its third millennium. St. Paul wrote in his second letter to the community in Corinth (4:7) that the Church holds these truth in “earthen vessels,” stating God’s truth is mediated through fallen humanity, that is, however depraved the personal sins of some clerics who proclaim the Gospel message, the Gospel nevertheless remains true. Meditate upon this passage. Take solace in the passage that if and when another Church scandal should break, the sins in and of themselves do not invalidate God’s saving truth.
