"The reality of the Church goes far beyond the sociological images: it is the unity of all the baptised in Christ". It was said by the Pope, during the catechesis for today’s general audience, focussed on the concept of "church" (ecclesìa), a word that appeared for the very first time in a Christian written text, Saint Paul’s Letter to the Thessalonians. Lingering, in front of about 25 thousand devotees, on Paul’s "original concept" of the Church "as Christ’s body", Benedict XVI pointed out that there are "two interpretations" of it: one is "sociological", whereby the body is made up of its components and would not exist without them". In other words, according to Saint Paul, "all members are necessary for the body to be able to accomplish its organic unity: prophets, masters, ordinary people, all are necessary to build the unity of the Church". However, the Church "is not merely an organism, but it truly becomes Christ’s body in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, where we all receive His body, and, in receiving it, we really become His body, and thus the mystery of unity is accomplished". Because of the novelty of Paul’s concept, therefore, "God does not live in buildings made of stones, but the place of God’s presence in the world is the community of the believers: this is the temple in which God comes into the world". (continued)
