Homilies and Reflections

What does St. Paul, the Churchs First Theologian,

Mean by "The Church"?
Father Alfred McBride, O.Praem.
Milwaukee Archdiocese
Pallium Lecture
I thank Archbishop Timothy Dolan for the honor of presenting this Pallium Lecture on St. Pauls meaning of "The Church."
Thank you, Bishop Callahan for your warm welcome.
I appreciate the help Ive received from Connie Bach and Gillian Lester George for helping me with the details of this meeting.
I thank all of you who have come here this evening. I pray that St. Paul will be spiritually present tonight so that I will represent his teachings
as he would wish.
I join all of you in praising God for the ordination of six new priests in your cathedral on May 23. I was reading the story on Whispers in the
Loggia. Rocco Palmo wrote: "Six seminarians were ordained before an overflow crowd or more than 1500 who hugged, wept and shook the
cathedrals colonnades with applause. This is the renewal of the priesthood started by Archbishop Dolan. And with 41 seminarians now in
training at St. Francis this is a cause for rejoicing.
Congratulations to the rector Father Donald Hying and to the families who provided the faith from which the priesthood grows.
Pauls Spiritual Development
We gather here this evening to reflect on St. Pauls understanding of the Church. I think its helpful to look briefly at Pauls spiritual
development as an introduction to his vision of the Church. Lets begin with the process of his conversion.
As we all know, his historic trip to Damascus ended when a blinding light threw him to the ground. He heard a voice saying to him, "Saul,
Saul, why are you persecuting me?" "Who are you, sir?" "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting." (Acts 9:4-5) Jesus did not say, "Why are
you persecuting my Church?" No, he said, "Why are you persecuting me?" Any study of what Paul means about Church begins with Jesus.
He never separated Christ from Church.
The same principle is true when examining Pauls conversion. The best explanation of Pauls conversion may be found in his own words:
"I was "baptized into the death of Christ and buried with him then to rise with him and walk in the newness of life." (Rom 6:3-4) To
paraphrase Paul: "I would relive the paschal mystery of Christ for the rest of my life."
Like many people I tended to think Pauls conversion story was basically the Damascus event and his baptism. Then he would roll up his
sleeves and begin evangelizing. In fact his conversion was a contemplative process that lasted a number of years.
Preacher to the papal court, Father Rainero Cantalamesa states that after being baptized by Ananias, Paul withdrew to the desert around
Damascus. Cantalamesa says, "Exegetes estimate there were some seven to ten years of silence in Pauls life between the Damascus
event and the start of his public mission. His conversion did not last a few minutes. These years of solitude were his kenosis. In this
deprivation and silence he accumulated the bursting energy and light that would pour over the world." (Advent Sermon Dec 5, 2008)
However, after three years Paul did break his silence briefly when he went to Jerusalem to meet Peter and James and introduce
himself. (Gal 1:18-19; Acts 9:26-29). So the giants of Christianity met one another. Paul the wiry and zealous rabbinical student and Peter,
the rough-hewn fisherman. They took measure of one another, accepted each other as brothers and spent fifteen days together in
Jerusalem.
If I were filming their meeting I would imagine this visit as a pilgrimage. As a rabbinical student Paul knew Jerusalem like the back of his
hand. But Peter showed him the Jerusalem sanctified by Jesus. I picture Peter bringing Paul to the places made memorable by the deeds of
Jesus: the place where Jesus saved the woman taken in adultery, the Upper Room where Jesus instituted the Eucharist, and the Temple
that Jesus cleansed. They stood before the house of Caiphas, the Praetorium of Pilate and the pillar of the scourging. They walked the Via
Dolorosa and knelt at Calvary. They prayed at the tomb of the Resurrection.
In turn Paul shared with Peter and the others his encounter with Christ on the Damascus road, his years in the desert. Their faith sharing
bound them so closely that they wound up together as martyrs in Rome. The Church celebrates their feasts together on the same day, June

29.
At the end of this two week visit, one might think Paul was ready to conquer the world. Anointed from heaven and confirmed by Peter what
other preparation did he need? But Paul still had an edge. In a hot debate he so enraged a group of Greek speaking Jews that they
threatened to kill him (Acts 9:29). Peter judged that Paul needed much more tempering. Pauls boiling ardor would move things too fast.
Hence Peter advised Paul to go to Tarsus and await a call from the leadership. The Holy Spirit had more to teach Paul and draw him into
a closer relationship with Christ. Most likely Paul retired to the Taurus mountains overlooking Tarsus where he could be a shepherd and
continue his solitary life. He was learning Gods wisdom. 1C2:7-16.
The man who became our greatest missionary was asked by the apostolic leaders to accept a "ministry of silence" for four more years.
He saw the community moving on without him. In faith and obedience he contained his monumental energies and offered his prayer and
silence for blessings on others mission.
Pauline scholar, Father Joseph Fitzmyer judges that during this Tarsus period Paul had another stunning revelation from God which he
writes about in 2 Corinthians 12:1-6: "I will go onto visions and revelations of the Lord. I know someone in Christ, who fourteen years ago
was caught up into the third heavencaught up into Paradise and heard ineffable things which no one may utter." It was also the time when
Paul began to suffer his "thorn in the flesh." He pleaded with God to deliver him from this torment. God said no. "My grace is sufficient for
you for power is made perfect in weakness." (12:9) (Cf Fitzmyer, JBC 46:22)
Paul accepted this curb on his missionary appetite. "I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and constraints, for
the sake of Christ. When I am weak then I am strong." (12:10).
In thinking of Pauls years of prayerful union with Christ, I read recently a description of Pope John Paul IIs deep contemplative life by
Cardinal Suenens:
"The day of John Pauls inauguration was a great day indeed. The pope exudes an air of faith and power. I feel that God himself has
chosen him for usHe will need to be strong at the helm and very weak in prayer before God. One of his fellow students in Rome, Paul de
Haes, used to say the intensity of his prayer is enough to make you jealous.
He prays with his whole body. He is an incarnation of prayer. In those moments he looks years older. He bows deeply, bending close to
the ground. In the Sistine Chapel, during his prayer of thanksgiving, he looked as though he had collapsed. I feared he was sick. But as
soon as he stood up straight and smiled, he looked amazingly young."
After four years in Tarsus, Paul was called by Barnabas to come to Antioch and begin his public ministry. "For a whole year they met with
the church and taught a large number of people. cf. Acts 11:25-26)
Pauls Use of the Word Church
It has often been said that theology is learned on ones knees. The study of God always begins with faith and Prayer. Our Heavenly
Father calls the theologian to prayer. The Son who is incarnate Wisdom is the reservoir of theology. The Holy Spirit is the interior teacher of
the theologian. St. Paul is billed as the "Churchs first theologian." But in what sense? Let me give you two quotes from Pauline scholars
about Paul the theologian:
"For Paul, Christology was not an abstract science or detached theological speculation. It was what made him tick." Daniel Harrington, S.J.
Author of Meeting St Paul Today
In other words Pauls training under Gamaliel was intensely scriptural. His tutorial by the Holy Spirit after Damascus was intensely
revelational, rooted in faith and prayer. Paul was more like Isaiah than Plato. Paul was more a prophet than a philosopher, though he was
well trained in Greek oratory and rhetoric.
Second quote: "Most of what Paul wrote was composed ad hoc for the handling of concrete situations by letter."
Joseph Fitzmyer, S.J.
In other words, Pauls theology was pieced together like a mosaic in which Christ becomes the unifying presence of all Pauls insights. Paul
was at once both a missionary planting faith communities everywhere and a pastor responding to questions and needs of his people. In
many ways Pauls approach is what I would callpastoral theology. He is a born shepherd. A few samples from his writings:

1. May I buy meat previously offered to idols?

- Yes, so long as you dont scandalize anyone. (1 Cor 8)
2. How can we interpret the gift of tongues?
- Appoint an interpreter.(1 Cor 14)
3. May a widow remarry?
- It is better to marry than to burn. (1 Cor 7:9)
4. If the world is ending should I quit my job?
- If you are unwilling work, you shouldnt eat. (2 Thess 3:10)
5. Im a gentile. Must I be circumcised and obey Jewish food rules?
- No. But be sensitive to Jewish converts. Acts 15
6. How shall we deal with abuses during Eucharist?
- Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unwor thily eats and drinks judgment on himself. 1 Cor 11: 17ff
7. Who should we follow: Apollos, Peter, Christ, Paul?
-Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? (1Cor 1:10-17)
With this in mind I proceed to consider 6 major ways in which Paul spoke about the Church. I treat them separately but in Paul they are
woven together like a tapestry.
1. The Church is the People of God
Paul would use the word Church 60 times in describing the community of faith planned by the Father, founded by Christ and
manifested and sustained by the Holy Spirit. He was well aware of the Jewish meaning of the term church and how it applied to the faith of
Israel.
The word Church ekklesia in Greek - is a translation of the Hebrew qahal which means an assembly of people called into existence by
God. (Cf. Exodus 19:3-6; I Peter 2:9-10.) God the Father formed Israel into his people through the covenant at Sinai. Through Christ and in
the Spirit, the Church is called to be the universal assembly of Gods people. The Church comes into existence not by the consent of the
governed, but by the call and grace of God.
We tend to think of church as a building. In Pauls time there were no Christian church buildings as we know them, no cathedrals, no
basilicas no spires with crosses, no bells ringing to call the faithful, no visible to the public eye of a place of worship. Paul often preached in
synagogues but Christians had no such public meeting halls.
When Christians assembled they did so in each others homes, usually in ones large enough for a house liturgy. Churches were thought
of as households of the faith. The Roman empires suspicion and hostility to Christianity was the main reason for this.
The term church was people oriented. Yet Paul does use building images as in First Corinthians: "Like a wise master builder, I laid a
foundationbut each one must be careful how he builds upon it, other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ." (Cf. 1Cor 3: 916).
2. The Church is the Body of Christ
"Christ is the head of the body, the Church." (Col 1:18)
St. Pauls conversion began with a profound religious experience of Jesus Christ, our risen Lord and Savior. St. Paul uses the
expression "In Christ" 165 times in his writings, most frequently with the title Kyrios or Lord. Paul is saturated with Christ Jesus. He spent
over seven years of solitude and prayer growing in union with Christ. No wonder he could say with immense conviction:
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers,
nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us

from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Rom 8:37-39
The Church is the body "of Christ." The head Christ and the members of the body belong together. We may not say, I love Christ but I do
not need the Church. St. Paul would respond immediately, "We, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually parts of one another."
(Rom 12:5).
Those who want a Christ spirituality without the Church miss the teachings of Paul. "God gave Christ as head over all things to the
church, which is his body." (Eph 1:22-23) To want the head without the body is to contradict Christs purpose for us.
The result of being a member of Christs body is participation in the life of God. Listen to St. Pauls powerful opening to his letter to the
Ephesians: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessingIn love he
destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ." (Eph 1:3,5)
Blessed Abbot Marmion dwelt on that verse with prayer and faith for many years. He was inspired to write three spiritual classics based
on this text: Christ the Life of the SoulChrist the Ideal of the MonkChrist the Ideal of the Priest. Like a modern St. Paul he reclaimed the
power of Christ for the Church and for the proper understanding of Church as Christs saving presence in the world. Marmion showed us
again that Christs salvation was a matter of deliverance from sin, but also a resurrection to new life, a participation in the life of God.
Marmion encourages us to renew our faith in this truth about ourselves.
"Oh, if we had faith in these truths! If we understood what it
is for us to have entered by Baptism into the Church, to be
by grace, members of Christs body! Join St. Augustine who
says, Let us break forth into thanksgiving. Let us wonder and thrill
with gladness; we are become Christ. He the head, we the
members." Christ the Life of the Soul, p.101
On May 20th, we celebrated the memorial of St. Bernardine of Siena (1380-1444) who was a fiery preacher in the style of St. Paul. He
attributed his effectiveness to his emphasis on the name of Jesus. "The name of Jesus is the glory of preachers, because the shining
splendor of that name causes his words to be proclaimed and heardWhen a fire is lit to clear a field, it burns off all the dry and useless
weeds and thorns. When the sun rises and darkness is dispelled, robbers and night crawlers slink away. So when Paul preached about
Jesus, it was like a clap of thunder, a blazing fire carrying all before it." (LH Vol II, p.1829)
In finding different ways to describe the relationship of Christ and the Church St. Paul writes that Jesus is the bridegroom of the Church
and each of its members. Employing a marital image he says, "Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church." (Eph 5:25) Jesus
has joined the Church to himself as a spouse and never stops caring for her as his own body. (Cf Eph 5:29).
In this same spirit Paul enshrines two of the most exalted hymns of the early Church: In Philippians 2:1-11, Paul presents us with the divine
humility of Christ who empties himself of glory and dies for our salvation. "Therefore, God bestowed on him a name that is above every other
name." A popular hymn captures this: "Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord."
Colossians 1: 15-20 portrays Jesus as the wisdom of God - as the one in whom all was created and who made peace by the blood of the
Cross. "For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things for him." Paul tells us that authentic faith in
Christ means belonging to his body, the Church.
3. The Church is Eucharistic
St. Paul established an essential link between the Church as the Body of Christ and Church of the Eucharist. In his first letter to the
Corinthians he tells us: "The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a
participation in the body of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf."
(10:16-17)
Through Communion Jesus unites us with himself. But Jesus also unites us with everyone else at Communion. Christ and our neighbor
are inseparable. At Mass Jesus is making us one body in himself. A Eucharist without union with the community fails to live the truth of what
is happening. St. Paul clearly identifies the Eucharist with the Risen Lord and the Church as Christs Body. "We though many, are one body,
for we all partake of one loaf."
At Communion Jesus gives us his body and makes us his body.
When we eat ordinary bread we turn that into ourselves. When we consume the Body of Christ, we are changed into Christs risen body. The
Fathers of the Church composed the axiom, "The Body of Christ in the Eucharist builds up the Body of Christ in the Church." In Latin this is

concise, "Corpus Christi aedificat Corpus Christi."

St. Augustine imagines Jesus saying to us at Communion, "Eat the bread of the strong. You will not transform me into yourself, but I will
transform you into me." Therefore as members of the Body of Christ we are taken out of our closed selves and become members of one
another. To take Communion opens us to communicate with each other.
In chapter eleven of First Corinthians, St. Paul condemns the abuses occurring at celebrations of the Eucharist. "I hear that when you
meet as a church, there are divisions among youWhen you meet, it is not to eat the Lords supper, for in eating each one goes ahead with
his own supper, and one goes hungry while another gets drunk."(18, 21). A Eucharist without solidarity with others is an abuse of the
sacrament.
St. Paul then recites the words of Institution of the Eucharist and adds, "For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim
the death of the Lord until he comes." (26) They have fallen into divisions but it is necessary to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace. (Eph 4:3-4).
4. The Church is the Temple of the Holy Spirit
Just as we can never separate Christ from the Church, neither can we separate the Holy Spirit from the life of the Church. The Church is
the Temple of the Holy Spirit. The catechism says Jesus is head of the Body of the Church and the Holy Spirit is its Soul. (CCC 797)
We have just celebrated the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. St. Paul says clearly, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit
and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (1Cor 3:16) We are baptized in water and the Holy Spirit. At the Eucharist the priest prays for the
Holy Spirit to come and transform the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. In confession we hear the priest say, "May the Holy
Spirit give you pardon and peace." At ordinations we sing "Come Holy Spirit" as the bishop lays hands on the heads of the candidates.
The Holy Spirit sustains the Church in good times and bad, when issues are painful and when they give us joy. Blessed John XXIII knew
what this meant as one of his stories tells us. On the feast of St. Pauls conversion, January 25, 1959, Pope John XXIII went to the Church of
St. Paul to make an announcement. In his journal he recalls the occasion.
"I met with 17 cardinals in the choir chapel at 1:00pm. After a prayer service, I gave a brief talk that concluded with these words.
Venerable brothers, I put before you a double celebration, a diocesan Synod for Rome and a Council for the universal Church. I ask you to
pray for a happy outcome of these events
The cardinals responded with silence. No applause. No one arose to speak in joyful support for my plan. Maybe they were too stunned.
Humanly speaking I would have expected them to crowd around me expressing good wishes. But it was not a matter of my personal
feelings. I am embarked on the will of the Lord
45 months later on the evening of October 10, 1962, three hundred thousand people packed St. Peters Square. They carried lighted
candles. They came to open with joy the Second Vatican Council. The surge of the candles reminded me of the tongues of fire that
accompanied the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
I said, My dear children. My dear People of God. I hear your voices My voice is not an isolated one. Seeing you I know I am not alone.
Even the rose colored moon is contemplating our gathering. (cf. Fr. Alfred McBride, A Retreat with Pope John XXIII, pp 103, 109)
Many Gifts, One Spirit
The Spirit influences us with an abundance of gifts. Paul writes, "There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit. There are
different forms of service, but the same LordTo each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit." (I Cor 12: 4,7)
Three times, Paul addresses the diversity of roles within the Church and the unifying power of the Holy Spirit in Romans 12, First Corinthians
12 and Ephesians 4: 1-16.
He described the variety of talents, services and ministries in the church as gifts from the Holy Spirit. Different contributions are provided
by the Spirit for the benefit of all the members of the Body of Christ.
In this context Paul introduces his famous imagery of the diversity and unity of the human body as a picture of the Church as the body of
Christ. A foot cannot say it is not part of the body because it is not a hand. The eye cannot say it has no need of the hand, nor the head
claim it has no need of the feet. All the parts of the body should have concern for each other.

So it should be in the Church. "For in one Spirit we were baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and
were all given to drink of the one Spirit." I Cor 12:13
"Now you are Christs body and individually part of it." (1Cor: 12:27) We cant all be apostles, prophets, teachers, healers, husbands,
wives, celibates or workers of mighty deeds. The Church is a team not a collection of isolated individualists. Paul advises the Ephesians to
maintain the "seven unities" that are essential for the Church (cf 4:1-6). (See also Ephesians 4:11-16)
5. The Church is an Icon of Love
In the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians, Paul offers us the the greatest solution to seeking unity amid the problems of life. It is the secret
of vitality in the Church. His poem about the gift of divine love (agape) upholds the ideals of the Body of Christ. This love comes from the
Holy Spirit. "The love of God is poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us." (Rom 5:5) Paul says we should
strive eagerly for this greatest of spiritual gifts. (cf. 12:31)
Paul begins by telling us that love is the soul of all the virtues. He applies this teaching to eloquence, faith, donations to the poor and
martyrdom.
He was an outstanding preacher, but even if he could preach like an angel but spoke without love, his words would be as empty as a
tinkling bell or a clashing cymbal. He devoted his letter to the Romans upholding the essential power of faith, but even if he had faith that
moved mountains yet had no love, he would fail.
If he gave all his money to the poor, but if he did that without love, he gained nothing. He endured all kinds of hardships beatings,
shipwrecks, imprisonments yet if he did so without love, it would have no meaning. He said, "If I should give my body to be burned but do it
without love, I gain nothing." He was beheaded as a martyr. Without love that would have been a meaningless act.
Then Paul proceeded to claim that love is the opposite of all the vices. Love is not jealous, rude, self seeking, prone to anger, brooding on
injuries or joyful about wrongdoing. Finally, Paul outlines virtues that express genuine love. Love is patient, kind, has no limits to its capacity
to be faithful, to be filled with hope, to endure all things.
In the process Paul calls us to grow up. Put aside childish things. Come to maturity "to the full stature of Christ, so that we may no longer
be infants, tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teachingLive the truth in love. Grow in every way into Christ our head." (Cf.
Eph 4:14-15)
Even with love we deal with mystery. We see indistinctly as in a mirror, but one day we shall see God face to face. "So faith, hope and
love remain, these three, but the greatest of these is love." (13:13)
Because the Church is the Temple of the Holy Spirit, it should be the household of love. The Church is at its best when love permeates the
members. ["See these Christians how they love one another." Tertulllian]
I will be love in the heart of the Church
In struggling to find her special calling in the Church, St. Therese of Lisieux discovered it in St. Pauls image of the Church as the body of
Christ and love as its beating heart. She embraced the ideal of love described by Paul in First Corinthians 13.
She wrote, "Love appeared to me to be the hinge of my vocation. I knew that the Church had a heart and that such a heart appeared to
be aflame with love. I knew that one love drove the members of the Church to action. If this love were extinguished, the apostles would have
proclaimed the Gospel no longer. The martyrs would have shed their blood no more. I saw and realized that love sets off the bounds of all
vocations, that love is everything
Then nearly ecstatic with the supreme joy in my soul, I proclaimed: O Jesus, my love, at last I have found my calling: my call is love. I
have found my place in the Church. You gave me that very place, my God. I will be love in the heart of the Church, my mother." (Liturgy of
the Hours, Vol IV, p. 1451).
I have offered you five aspects of Pauls meaning of Church: People of God, Body of Christ, Eucharistic, Temple of the Holy Spirit, and
Icon of Love. The common themes are unity, reconciliation, salvation.
I conclude with the story of a woman whom this Pauline vision of Church has produced. Every morning she goes to her parish church at 4
AM. She makes the stations, says the rosary and meditates before the Blessed Sacrament. After the 6 AM Mass, she gets some breakfast
and goes to work at Sharing and Caring Hands. She founded this center that feeds four thousand meals a week for the poor and homeless.

There is a pantry with all kinds of food, where the poor may take what they need. The center offers clean showers and rest rooms as well as
opportunities for medical, dental and eye care. This service is free, provided by volunteer doctors.
Across the street is Mary My Hope sports center for teens as well as a childrens activity center. Next to this are two beautiful apartment
buildings with 92 spacious apartments as transitional housing for homeless families as they look for homes of their own. All these buildings
and their furnishings are sturdy, modern and clean. This woman begs the money to make it run. The overhead is 7 percent. She has a
thousand volunteers.
Her childhood was a nightmare. He drunken father frequently punched her mother, beat her. "She said, I hid in a corner and prayed he
would stop. He told me that I would never amount to anything. But at a dance I met the right man. We fell in love and married and raised 12
children. After our 12th child was in school I began volunteering at Catholic Charities. When I started my vocation to the homeless, he gave
me his full support."
She generally meets everyone who arrives at her place every day. Thursday evenings she has a session with the parents of the little ones
who come. She advises the parents. "Watch your children. Pray with them. Give them goals." She also washes the feet of the homeless.
She posts a sign-up sheet for 20 customers each afternoon. She says, "The homeless are wary of being touched. Their feet are sore and
blistered. I kneel before each one with a fresh pan of warm, soapy water. Its connecting. I look up at them and think, I do not need to know
who they were or who they will be. I just want to love them as they are. To me they are Christ.
In the authentic spirit of St. Paul she says, "Our lives are shaped by those who love us or refuse to love usBe bread to be broken for
othersBe wine to be shared and poured out for othersTake Jesus hand and pray that all who see me today will look beyond and see
you." (Her name is Mary Jo Copeland of Minneapolis, MN.)
St. Paul pray for us.

Fr. Alfred McBride, O.Praem.,

was ordained in 1953. He has served as professor, novice master, university president and
was the founder and executive director of the department of religious education at the
National Catholic Educational Association. The U.S. Catholic bishops appointed him to write
the catechesis in preparation for the second pastoral visit of Pope John Paul II. Fr. McBride
has lectured and written widelywith 40 books and 200 articles having been published. He
currently serves on the USCCB Committee for Catechesis as well as the Board of Directors
for Our Sunday Visitor and the Board of Trustees of St. Norbert College. He lives at St.
Joseph Priory on the St. Norbert College campus where he continues his writing and

retreat/workshop ministries.