<P> The word holy means set apart for a special purpose by and for God . It does not imply that the members of the Church are free from sin, nor that the institution of the Church cannot sin . Christ's Church is holy because it is Christ's Church: "...upon this rock, I will build my Church ." Jesus founded his Church to continue his redemptive and sanctifying work in the world . Christians understand the holiness of the universal Church to derive from Christ's holiness . And the Church is holy because God is Holy and the Church shares in God's very own life and holiness . </P> <P> Jesus drew near and said to them, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth . Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you . And I will be with you always, to the end of the age ." </P> <P> The word "catholic" is derived from the Greek adjective καθολικός (katholikos), meaning "general", "universal". It is associated with the Greek adverb καθόλου (katholou), meaning "according to the whole", "entirely", or "in general", a combination of the preposition κατά meaning "according to" and the adjective ὅλος meaning "whole". </P> <P> Applied to the church, the adjective "catholic" means that in the church the wholeness of the Christian faith, full and complete, all - embracing, and with nothing lacking, is proclaimed to all people without excluding any part of the faith or any class or group of people . The adjective can be applied not only to the church as spread throughout the world but also to each local manifestation of the church, in each of which nothing essential is lacking for it to be the genuine Church of Christ . </P>

Four marks of the church and their meaning