The Church Militant
The Church Triumphant
From the Catechism of Trent (Circa 1902-1907):
The Church consists principally of two parts, the one called the Church triumphant; the other, the Church
militant.
The Church triumphant is that most glorious and happy assemblage of blessed spirits, and of those who have triumphed over the world, the flesh, and the iniquity of Satan, and are now exempt and safe from the troubles of this life and enjoy everlasting bliss.
The Church militant is the society of all the faithful still dwelling on earth. It is called militant, because it wages eternal war with those implacable enemies, the world, the flesh and the devil.
We are not, however, to infer that there are two Churches. The Church triumphant and the Church militant are
two constituent parts of one Church; one part going before, and now in the possession of its heavenly country;
the other, following every day, until at length, united with our Saviour, it shall repose in endless felicity.
Why were these terms “cast off”? Was it an oversight? An intentional deletion? Politics? Something else?
How are Catholics expected to act, when they cannot even define themselves (or the church) according to traditional and (at least, previously) well recognized and universally accepted criterion?
I suggest you ask your local bishop to explain it for you.
In the mean time, it’s important to realize that while the Catechism of the Catholic Church is an excellent, well written document, it has already been subject to substantial revisions … so it’s not inherently without error.
Now that the most glaring errors in content have been corrected, it’s high time someone started correcting the ERRORS of OMISSION … which still remain … and are far more numerous.
*** More on this in future posts ***
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