244. Does the Church need places in order to celebrate the liturgy?
(Comp
244) The worship “in spirit and truth” (John 4:24) of the New Covenant is not
tied exclusively to any place because Christ is the true temple of God. Through
him Christians and the whole Church become temples of the living God by the
action of the Holy Spirit. Nonetheless, the people of God in their earthly
condition need places in which the community can gather to celebrate the
liturgy.
“In brief”
(CCC 1197) Christ is the true temple
of God, "the place where his glory dwells"; by the grace of God,
Christians also become the temples of the Holy Spirit, living stones out of
which the Church is built.
To deepen and explain
(CCC 1180) When the exercise of
religious liberty is not thwarted (Cf. DH 4), Christians construct buildings
for divine worship. These visible churches are not simply gathering places but
signify and make visible the Church living in this place, the dwelling of God
with men reconciled and united in Christ.
On reflection
(CCC 1179) The worship "in
Spirit and in truth" (Jn 4:24) of the New Covenant is not tied exclusively
to any one place. The whole earth is sacred and entrusted to the children of
men. What matters above all is that, when the faithful assemble in the same
place, they are the "living stones," gathered to be "built into
a spiritual house" (1 Pet 2:4-5). For the Body of the risen Christ is the
spiritual temple from which the source of living water springs forth:
incorporated into Christ by the Holy Spirit, "we are the temple of the
living God" (2 Cor 6:16).
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