Christ and the Church Militant
The Church is the community of all the baptised. But there are three parts of the one Church. First, there is the Church Triumphant – that’s the saints in heaven. Then there’s the Church Suffering or Expectant – that’s the Church in Purgatory. Finally, there’s the Church Militant – that’s us. Every Catholic who is living and breathing in this world right now is the Church Militant. But why are we called “Militant”?
The Roman Catechism has a compelling answer. In the section on the “Parts of the Church” the Catechism says this:
It is called militant, because it wages eternal war with those implacable enemies, the world, the flesh and the devil.
So while the Church Triumphant and Suffering is done fighting, the Church Militant fights on against these enemies. These three enemies are the three sources of temptation in the spiritual life. The world (temptation from outside man), the flesh (temptation from inside him, his fallen nature) and the devil (Satan and his fallen angels).
So we are all the Church Militant because we wage “eternal war” against these temptations. But are we really the ones waging the war? In fact, it is the Lord Who is waging the war against these enemies through His Body, the Church. In fact, it was Our Lord Who was Himself first tempted by these three sources, and overcame each one already. St. Thomas identifies these three aspects of Our Lord’s temptation in the desert with the following words:
For at first [Satan] tempted Him to that which men desire, however spiritual they may be—namely, the support of the corporeal nature by food [the flesh].
Secondly, he advanced to that matter in which spiritual men are sometimes found wanting, inasmuch as they do certain things for show, which pertains to vainglory [the world].
Thirdly, he led the temptation on to that in which no spiritual men, but only carnal men, have a part—namely, to desire worldly riches and fame, to the extent of holding God in contempt [the devil] (III q41 a4).
So if Christ already faced these temptations and conquered, He can also face those temptations through us and conquer through us as well. The Church Militant is His Body, waging war against temptation and conquering the devil in every person. This is the essence of the spiritual life and the essence of the Church Militant. But in order to allow Christ to do this, we must know Him through the Sacraments. And here we see how the Lord fights His battles within our own persons.
Sacramentum, a Military Oath
Now in Greek, the word for Sacrament is mysterion. This is where we get the term “mystagogy” which means “to lead into the mystery,” i.e. the Sacrament. In Latin, the word that was used for this was sacramentum. This was the word that the ancient Romans used to describe a military oath ceremony for a Roman soldier. The soldier swore an oath of allegiance – a sacramentum – to the gods and to the empire. This was the word chosen by the early Christians to describe what is taking place in the mysteries.
We can see this in the Sacrament of Baptism, for the soul is freed from the dominion and allegiance to the devil, renounces him, and pledges his allegiance to the Holy Trinity. Henceforth the Baptized Christian is a member of the Kingdom of God, not the kingdom of Satan. This is the foundational military oath for every member of the Church Militant. Henceforth, Our Lord Jesus Christ fights the good fight from within that soul.
In many dioceses, the next Sacrament received is First Holy Communion. This is the intimate knowledge of Christ, so that Christ can dwell in our hearts and bodies, and fight these battles for us in our person. The Eucharist cleanses venial sins, and thus pushes out the kingdom of Satan to make room for the Kingdom of God in every part of us. Confession does the same, but in a deeper way, removing every mortal sin.
Confirmation: the Initiation of the Christian Soldier
But then there is a final Sacrament of initiation which also leaves an indelible mark on the soul. And that is the Sacrament which most clearly has a militant character: Confirmation. The Roman Catechism says that “a baptised person, when anointed with the sacred chrism by the Bishop, with the accompanying solemn words… becomes stronger with the strength of a new power, and thus begins to be a perfect soldier of Christ.” The same Catechism elaborates on this completion of Christian initiation in this way:
For those who have been made Christians by Baptism, still have in some sort the tenderness and softness, as it were, of new-born infants, and afterwards become, by means of the Sacrament of chrism, stronger to resist all the assaults of the world, the flesh and the devil, while their minds are fully confirmed in faith to confess and glorify the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.[1]
Thus Confirmation is the initiation of the Christian soldier when he becomes completely conformed, Sacramentally, to Christ. The word “christ” means “anointed,” and thus the matter of the Sacrament of Confirmation is the anointing chrism, which completes the sacramental union of a person to Christ, making him part of Christ.
And just as Christ was anointed with the Holy Spirit, Confirmation is an anointing with the Holy Spirit. Confirmation alone gives the fullness of the grace of the Holy Spirit and His Gifts: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety and Fear of the Lord. These Gifts of the Holy Spirit, together with all His operations, is the animating force of all spiritual formation for every person. By allowing the grace of the Holy Spirit to give us the fortitude to persevere in mental prayer, we can then receive the increase of grace from the reception of the Holy Eucharist, which ultimately perfects His grace in us, through the three ages of the interior life, producing the fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, continency, modesty, chastity.
Therefore since Confirmation is the Sacrament whereby the fullness of the Holy Spirit is received, it is the Sacrament of Christian adulthood. It is the Sacrament that completes the Christian initiation, so that every Christian is sealed with the Holy Spirit. Once the grace of Confirmation is received and embraced, a Christian is truly ready to go to war against the world, the flesh and the devil. But it is not we who fight, but Christ within us.
Not Graduation from the Faith
That is why it is so sad that many youth today experience Confirmation as a kind of “graduation ceremony” from the faith itself. After they are confirmed, they stop attending Holy Mass and leave the Faith to follow after the world, the flesh, and the devil. This is indeed the exact opposite of the whole goal of this Sacrament! It’s a great grace that many dioceses have formation programs for young adults preparing for Confirmation. But what about after Confirmation? What we need is a bridge program which helps youth receive their Confirmation grace, and then embrace it, helping them transition to adult Catholic life, growing up toward the type of formation that the Avila Institute provides for adults: “draw[ing] Christians worldwide into deeper union with Christ through mystagogically oriented spiritual education and formation.”
This is where Mary, Queen of the Home Academy fits into this. Back in 2023, I got hired by Dan Burke to develop a high school program for Avila. We’ve been growing the program since that time and we now have three teachers. What we aim to provide for young adults is what we might call “Post-Confirmation Formation.” It is necessary that spiritual formation guide souls to receive and embrace the grace of Confirmation. Hence, Mary, Queen of the Home Academy aims to be “Post-Confirmation Formation,” guiding students to receive and embrace their Confirmational graces, to allow Christ to be formed in them.
We’re developing this into a complete high school program – math, science, literature, etc. – but it all starts with our spiritual formation program which is meant to help young adults receive and embrace their Confirmation – develop a rule of life, understand the fundamentals of mental prayer, working to gain true self-knowledge and true repentance. If Confirmation is the military oath for the Church Militant, then we need to give youth a basic training so that they go into combat prepared. Then Christ can triumph in them. Fear not: stand and see the great wonders of the Lord, which he will do this day… The Lord will fight for you (Ex. xiv. 13-14).
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[1] Roman Catechism, the Sacrament of Confirmation
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