The Task of The Living Church

Extract

The sublime fact of being members of the essentially living Church, bestowed upon us in Holy Baptism, implies a task with regard to our people. The Living World-Church wills, through us her living members, to build our German people into a living Church. There is very little sense to start by drawing up magnificent plans for the re-conquering of the de-christianized populations for the Church, although it goes without saying that this re-conquest remains an important task to be accomplished by us. But in order to achieve it successfully, another task is even more important, viz., the total Christianization of those who are still living in the Living Church. Re-christianization of the estranged population is only possible by means of total Christianization of the Christian community itself. In conferring together as to the method of building up our contemporary German people into a Living Church, ways and means will have to be discussed, and in the first place, how to make each one of us into a Living Member of the Church.

By far the most important element in this personal transformation into a Living Church will be the Life-preservation and the Life-intensification by means of the Holy Eucharist.