Layout of a church: Difference between revisions
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** [[Catholic Mass]] | ** [[Catholic Mass]] | ||
** [[Priestly vestments]] | ** [[Priestly vestments]] | ||
* See "Where is the Liturgy Celebrated" starting [https://www.usccb.org/sites/default/files/flipbooks/catechism/306/ CCC 1179] | |||
== What is a Catholic Church? == | |||
Christian worship is not dependent upon a building or place of worship. | |||
The worship "in Spirit and in truth" of the New Covenant is not tied exclusively to any one place. The whole earth is sacred and entrusted to the children of men. What matters above all is that, when the faithful assemble in the same place, they are the "living stones," gathered to be "built into a spiritual house." For the Body of the risen Christ is the spiritual temple from which the source of living water springs forth: incorporated into Christ by the Holy Spirit, "we are the temple of the living God." ([https://www.usccb.org/sites/default/files/flipbooks/catechism/306/ CCC 1179]) | |||
Still, "Christians construct buildings for divine worship", which we call "churches". A church is "the dwelling of God with men reconciled and united in Christ", and thus a "house of prayer," a place of gathering, and a "house of God." ([https://www.usccb.org/sites/default/files/flipbooks/catechism/306/ CCC 1180-1181]) | |||
The Catechism importantly defines the Church as a "threshold" with "eschatalogical significance" -- i.e., the Church is an entranceway to God's realm: | |||
Finally, the church has an eschatological significance. To enter into the house of God, we must cross a ''threshold'', which symbolizes passing from the world wounded by sin to the world of the new Life to which all men are called. The visible church is a symbol of the Father's house toward which the People of God is journeying and where the Father "will wipe every tear from their eyes." Also for this reason, the Church is the house of all God's children, open and welcoming. ([https://www.usccb.org/sites/default/files/flipbooks/catechism/308/ CCC 1186]) | |||
== Parts of a Catholic Church == | == Parts of a Catholic Church == | ||