From my perspective, to define something as holy is to describe it as being associated with the Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I interpret the Holy Trinity to be the epitome of the divine; therefore in my opinion, any person, place, or thing that is blessed with its presence is considered to be holy. I also believe that sacraments are holy, both the community valued Seven Sacraments and the individual sacraments that we experience in our everyday lives. I think that these moments generate the awareness of such a holy presence that exists in our world and therefore, they are just as holy. They enable us to form a relationship between the secular and holy which is why they hold so much significance within our faith. As to whether or not something is holy, I believe it is the Church’s responsibility of determining its genuineness. I believe that it is the Church’s responsibility to determine whether or not something is holy comes along with the authority which God has granted the Church in guiding us through interpretation of the word. I think that through this authority, the Church is a more qualified candidate in making that decision.
What is resonant to me in the term apostolic is the reference to the apostle’s mission to spread the word of God. I think that this aspect of Catholicism emphasizes the model Christian way of life. As I mentioned in my last blog post, I don’t believe that God would reject an individual who declares their faith in Him. By this, I don’t mean to say that I don’t believe in the significance of Sabbath, but I believe that a person should foremost be actively engaged with the apostolic mission, whether it is by spreading the word or living according to it. The apostolic mission encourages each and every one of us to become active members within our Church which should be a priority. Faith is an activity; one is not truly engaged in it unless one is actively participating in it. Therefore, if one truly declares their faith in God, one is fully involved in the apostolic mission and its message. I think that the Church most represents the apostle’s mission through its teaching of God’s word. However, it also represents those that live according to the word of God because the Church is charitable in its teaching and promotes hospitability within it (which was something heavily emphasized within the Bible). Despite my opinion that one does not necessarily have to go to Sabbath to be part of the apostolic mission, I think that those that go demonstrate great dedication to the mission and contribute to its purpose.
Nice post, and your linking of holiness to the Trinity is important.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if you could clarify, however, what you mean by the church in that first paragraph. You refer to the Church's responsibility and its authority, but by this do you mean the bishops, the pope, lay people, the traditionally held beliefs and practices, etc? In other words, do you have a sense of what model of the church you reflectively think with?