What Do We Mean by “The Life of the Church”?
The Church is not just an institution—it’s a living mystery, animated by grace, nourished by the Eucharist, and made visible in her saints.
When we talk about “the life of the Church,” we don’t mean the latest parish potluck or bingo night (though those are special in their own way). We’re talking about something much deeper and much more alive.
I’ve been coming across the term “Life of the Church” a lot lately, most notably from something Pope Leo XIV said about ordaining women. I can’t find the quote now but it was essentially:
‘Women in the world today have careers alongside men, but it’s different in the life of the Church, and it’s should be different in the life of the Church...’
That “life of the Church” part keeps coming up and I wonder if most Catholics understand what it really means. Is it simply, how life is lived in parish or Church culture? Not quite. It’s more than that. It’s the life of the Church herself, as well as the life of grace within the church (the members). It’s the Church as a “who” not a “what”. Let’s look at what the masters have had to say about it.
continues below
Follow me on: TikTok | Instagram | Catholic Experience Podcast
🧬 Not a Machine, But a Body
The Church is alive because Christ is alive in her.
-Pope Benedict XVI
The Church is alive! Someone should tell that to the folks who want to shover her in a box, like you’d do to a dead body. But also the people are part of that living Church. St. Paul makes this strikingly clear:
“Now you are the Body of Christ and individually members of it.”
— 1 Corinthians 12:27
And Pope Pius XII deepens it:
“If we would define and describe this true Church… we shall find no expression more noble, more sublime, or more divine than the phrase, ‘the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ.’”
Mystici Corporis Christi
So “the life of the Church” refers to the living presence of Christ in His Body—the Church.
🌿 Grace Is the Lifeblood
What animates this Body? What circulates through her veins? Grace! And most especially through the sacraments. Grace is what sustains the members as they contribute to the life of the Church. And at the center of it all is the Holy Eucharist.
“The Church draws her life from the Eucharist.”
— Pope St. John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia1
This isn’t fluffy talk. Without the Eucharist, the Church doesn’t just weaken, she withers. The sacraments aren’t just rituals; they’re deeply personal and dynamic interactions with the power of God, and with God himself. The sacraments are how life begins again.
✨ Saints: The Church with Skin On
Want to see the Church alive? Look at the saints. When I was more involved in debate and discourse I always heard people criticize the violence in the Bible and the corruptions that sprouted up across the Church’s 2000 year history. But my response was always, “That’s not what Catholicism is!” If you want to see Catholicism—or Catholic life—in its perfection, look to the saints.
From St. Augustine’s intellect to St. Francis’ joy, from St. Teresa of Calcutta’s love for the poor to St. Thérèse’s “little way” the saints show us what the Church looks like when she’s fully alive.
“The glory of God is man fully alive, and the life of man is the vision of God.”
— St. Irenaeus
They didn’t just belong to the Church, but lived her life.
🕯️ Worship, Truth, and Love
The Church is alive in her threefold mission:
Worship - particularly the liturgy
Doctrine - The truth she teaches
Charity - Love through action, because Love is an action
The liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows.”
-Sacrosanctum Concilium, Second Vatican Council
The life of the Church is uniquely visible in the life of the faithful. It’s seen in the baptismal font, the confessional, a hospital bedside, or at your dinner table when grace is said. The Church doesn’t live in ideas, she lives in grace-filled action.
🔥 Why It Matters
Because if the Church is truly alive, and if we’re all part of her, then we shouldn’t be bystanders; we’re each a vital cell in the Body. Prayer, service, the sacramental life—these aren’t private hobbies, they’re a participation in the living mystery of Christ’s Church. They’re how the Church is alive in. Never settle for being spectators. We already have enough of those.
How do you see “the life of the Church” around you? Drop a comment or share a story of where you’ve witnessed her alive and moving. And please tap Like if you enjoyed this even a little bit. It helps my distribution!
Ave Maria, Virgo Fidelis