Precepts of the Church: Supporting the Church’s mission

This is the sixth and final installment of a series on the Precepts of the Church. As stated previously, these precepts are laws proposed by the Church that, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, are “meant to guarantee to the faithful the very necessary minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort” to ensure our growth in love of God and neighbor (CCC 2041). 

After writing about the importance of Mass and the sacraments, the disciplines of fasting and abstinence and other matters in earlier columns, I want to write about our duty to support the mission of the Church through its many apostolic works.

During his missionary journeys, Saint Paul appealed to the Christians in the communities he had established to come to the aid of the mother church in Jerusalem. Evidently, certain needs had arisen in Jerusalem that prompted Saint Paul to bring their dire situation to the attention of the other local churches. 

To that end, he established a collection and invited their generous participation. “Each one should give as much as he has decided on his own initiative, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. God is perfectly able to enrich you with every grace, so that you always have enough for every conceivable need, and your resources overflow in all kinds of good work” (2 Cor. 9:7-8). God is the source of all blessings, and we have a duty to use God’s blessings to enrich others without thereby impoverishing ourselves (2 Cor. 8:12-13). As stewards of God’s gifts, the way we use our God-given gifts ultimately ought to glorify God. 

This collection for the Jerusalem church was an opportunity for these Christians to put their faith into action, and to demonstrate in a practical way the charity that was the strength and binding force of their communion in the one Body of Christ.

Our communion (shared life) in the Body of Christ is the theological justification for the fifth precept of the Church: “You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church” (CCC 2043). According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, this precept means that the faithful are obliged to assist with the material needs of the Church, each according to his own ability. This is accomplished not only by sharing our financial resources, but also through the generous stewardship of our time and talent. 

The Code of Canon Law is more explicit and helps us understand the larger context of this precept. “The Christian faithful are obliged to assist with the needs of the Church so that the Church has what is necessary for divine worship, for the works of the apostolate and of charity, and for the decent support of ministers” (can. 222). In other words, the faithful have a duty to assist the Church to fulfill its mission. 

We live our faith and grow in holiness in communion with others, through the mediating influence of the Church, its sacraments and its apostolic works. Even as we have received our faith and hope of salvation through membership in the Church, we have a duty to participate actively in fostering the mission of the Church. We do this, at least in part, through our material and financial support of the Church, including our support of our parishes, our archdiocese and the works of the apostolate such as Catholic Charities and many others. This is included in what it means to be a disciple, to respond fully to the call of Christ. It advances the mission of evangelization, that is, our summons to “Go make disciples.”

Christ loves the Church as a bridegroom loves his bride. He loved her even to the point of laying down his life for her (Eph 5:25). We have received Christ’s Spirit and through our ongoing conversion we gradually put on the mind of Christ. As we do, we come to share his concerns, his values, his joys and sorrows. As we grow in love for Christ through a deeper communion in his Spirit, we necessarily grow in love for his Church. Ongoing conversion leads us to a deeper desire to generously share ourselves and our resources with Christ and actively support the mission of his Church. The fifth precept of the Church reminds us of this duty of charity and justice.