Vatican City, Jun 6, 2018 / 03:19 am
Pope Francis Wednesday said that the sacrament of Confirmation is a gift meant to be shared with other people, both inside and outside of the Church, which he stressed is not only the hierarchy, but is made up of all baptized faithful.
In his June 6 general audience speech, the pope said the sacrament of Confirmation unites candidates more closely to the Church, and gives them a stronger identity as "a living member of the mystical body of Christ."
"The mission of the Church in the world proceeds through the contribution of those who are a part of it," he said, noting in off-the-cuff comments that when it comes to how the Church is understood, "some think that there are only bishops, the bosses, and then there are the workers."
"No, the Church is all of us, everyone, each person has their role in the Church, but we are all the Church," he said, adding that "we must think of the Church as a living organism, composed of people who we know and with whom we walk, and not as an abstract and distant reality."