Christ's Mission Through the Church

To continue his mission in the world, Jesus gave us his Church, the one Body of Christ: “As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. . . . Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it” (1 Cor. 12:12,27). The collection of readings in Christ’s Mission Through the Church: A Primary Source Reader aims to help students learn more about the Church and how they can share in Christ’s mission as unique and valued members of the Body of Christ.

Within this reader you will find writings from:

• Saint Paul the Apostle
• Pope Benedict XVI / Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger
• Julian of Norwich
• The Second Vatican Council
• T. S. Eliot
• Dorothy Day
• Meister Eckhart
• Kurt Vonnegut
• Saint Ignatius of Antioch
• Simone Weil
• Saint Thomas Aquinas
• G. K. Chesterton
• Saint Peter Damian
• Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
• Blessed John Henry Newman

This text is the perfect complement to courses on the Church, including those that correspond to the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ high school curriculum framework course titled “Jesus Christ’s Mission Continues in the Church.”