the assembly of those whom God's Word "convokes," i.e.,
gathers to gather to from the people of God, and who
themselves, nourished with the Body of Christ, become the
Body of Christ.
The Church is both the means and the goal of God's plan:
prefigured in creation, prepared for the Old Covenant, founded
by the words and actions of Jesus Christ, fulfilled by
his redeeming cross and his Resurrection, the Church has been
manifested as the mystery of salvation by the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit. She will be perfected in the glory of heaven
as the assembly of all the redeemed of the earth (cf.Rev 14:4).
The Church is both visible and spiritual, a hierarchical
society and the Mystical Body of Christ. She is one, yet
formed of two componets, human and divine.
That is her mystery, which only faith can accept.
The Church in this world is the sacrament
of salvation, the sign and the instrument of the
communion of God and men.
