Thoughts on: 'The Church in the Life of the Faithful'

This will not be an ordinary post about saints or specific aspects of the Church in full detail. This will be a post explaining my thoughts on  'The Church in the Life of the Faithful' and all that I believe it entails.

The first few things to come to mind are the following: how does the Church affect the life of the faithful, how do the people respond the Church, how can Christians grow closer to being faithful, etc. Another thing would to actually define the word 'Church' in this case. Does it mean the body of members or does it mean the teaching authority given by Christ.

First off, I would say that this title probably refers to how Christians are called to serve. It is one thing to go to Mass, but it is another to spread the Word of God and follow the words "Ite, missa est" (literally:"Go, it is sent" or commonly known as "Go, the Mass has ended"). Just as the Church has the important role of being the instrument of salvation, it is just as important that the members of the faith grow in holiness and actually spread the faith instead of just going through the motions.

This is not to say that everyone has the same vocation. Even though we are called to holiness, each person also has a specific vocation whether they be a teacher, missionary, brother, sister, etc. Even though we all have a universal call, each person is different.

The title also implies something to do with how the Church celebrates the Mass. I would probably take that to mean the different Scriptures stated every three years through the liturgical years of A, B, and C. It would also imply how the Church celebrates specific Church holidays. Easter and Christmas automatically come to the forefront of my mind.

The last thing I would think would be about the Sacraments. The whole point of going to Church is to grow closer to God by receiving the graces necessary to be saved. I would say that would be an important part of how the Church affects the lives of the people.

Well, these are just my thoughts on the subject matter.