Fundamentals of Faith III

LESSON 2

The Holy Catholic Church

PRELIMINARIES

The word "Church" comes from the Latin: ecclesia and the Greek: ek-ka-lein
Literally, to ―call out of,‖ means a convocation or an assembly.

It designates the assemblies of the people, usually for a religious purpose.

Ekklesia - used frequently in the Greek Old Testament for the assembly of the
Chosen People before God on Mount Sinai where Israel received the Law and was established
by God as his holy people.

By calling itself ―Church,‖ the first community of Christian believers recognized itself as heir to
that assembly.

In the Church, God is ―calling together‖ his people from all the ends of the earth.

The equivalent Greek term Kyriake, from which the English word Church and the German
Kirche are derived, means ―what belongs to the Lord.‖

***

THE ORIGIN OF THE CHURCH – HOLY TRINITY

1. God the Father: Creation as Preparation for the Church

 God created humans to share in his own divine life.

 This ―family of God‖ is gradually formed and takes shape during the stages of human
history, in keeping with the Father's plan.
 God created the world for the sake of human beings – for their communion or
participation with God‘s divine life.
 God‘s will: For everything to be created.
 God‘s intention: for us to become Church
 Church = people sharing the Divine Life.
 The gathering together of the People of God began at the moment when sin destroyed
the communion of men with God, and that of men among themselves.
 The gathering together of the Church is, as it were, God's reaction to the chaos
provoked by sin.
 The gathering of the People of God begins when he calls Abraham and promises that he
will become the father of a great people.
 The church‘s immediate preparation begins with Israel's election as the People of God.
By this election, Israel is to be the sign of the future gathering of all nations.
 But the prophets accuse Israel of breaking the covenant. They announce a new and
eternal covenant: THE COVENANT IN CHRIST
2. God the Son: Church’s Institution

 It was the Son's task to accomplish the Father's plan of salvation in the fullness of time.
Its accomplishment was the reason for his being sent.
 The Lord Jesus inaugurated his Church by preaching the Good News, that is, the
coming of the Reign of God, promised over the ages in the Scriptures.
 To fulfill the Father's will, Christ ushered in the Kingdom of heaven on earth. The Church
is ―the Reign of Christ already present in mystery.‖
 The Church is born primarily of Christ's total self-giving for our salvation, anticipated in
the institution of the Eucharist, and fulfilled on the cross.
 As Eve was formed from the sleeping Adam's side, so the Church was born from the
pierced heart of Christ hanging dead on the cross.
 For it was from the side of Christ as he slept the sleep of death upon the cross that there
came forth the ―wondrous sacrament of the whole Church.‖ It is for this Church that he
give his life for.

3. God the Holy Spirit: Church’s Revelation

 When the work which the Father gave the Son to do on earth was accomplished, the
Holy Spirit was sent on the day of Pentecost in order that he might continually sanctify
the Church
 So that the Church can fulfill her mission, the Holy Spirit bestows upon the Church
varied hierarchic and charismatic gifts, and in this way directs and perfects the Church
towards the final fulfillment when the Kingdom of God is fully established.

RECAPITULATION:
This Church was:
1. prepared- beginning at creation and continues with the Children of Israel
2. then instituted by Jesus and;
3. established in the ‗last age‘ marked by the outpouring of the Spirit (at Pentecost). Will
finally find its fulfillment at the very end.

THE MYSTERY OF THE CHURCH

1. The Church is both visible and spiritual.

o The Church is the visible community through which God communicates truth and
grace to all men.
o Just as the human person is both body and spirit, the Church is both:
 human and divine
 visible and endowed with invisible realities
 action and contemplation
 visible society and spiritual community
 organizational and mystical
 earthly and heavenly

2. The Church: Our Union with God

o There is love that never ends between Christ and the Church.
o The Church is Christ‘s Bride.
 o It is in the Church that Christ fulfills and reveals his own mystery as the purpose
of God's plan: ―to unite all things in him.‖
o St. Paul calls the nuptial union of Christ and the Church ―a great mystery.‖
Because she is united to Christ as to her bridegroom, she becomes a mystery in
her turn.
o The sole purpose that ties the Church with Christ is the union of love with him,
the Church‘s Groom. Our holiness is measured by the extent to which we tie
ourselves in love with our God.

3. The Church is the Universal Sacrament of Salvation

o The Church is a sacrament.
sacramentum - visible manifestation of an invisible reality
o She is taken up by Christ also as the instrument for the salvation of all

THE FOUR MARKS OF THE CHURCH

 One
 Holy
 Catholic
 Apostolic

1. The Church is One

- Because of her founder Jesus Christ who reconciled all human beings to God by the
cross (CCC 813).
- One faith, one in sacraments, one Lord.
- ―God is one and Christ is one: there is one Church and one chair founded, by the
Lord‘s authority, on Peter.‖ – St. Cyprian
- One because of the unity of her faith; the unity of the children under her bosom.

2. The Church is Holy

- Because it has the fullness of the means of salvation
- It is through the Church that we acquire holiness by the grace of God
- Because Jesus Christ, the founder and head of the Church, is the Holy One of God.
- Jesus continuously sends the Holy Spirit to teach and strengthen the members of the
Church in holiness.
- The holiness of the Church seeks to transform sinners enabling them to become
saints.

3. The Church is Catholic

- Because Christ is present in her
- Because she has the fullness of the means of salvation.
- She has correct and complete confession of faith; encompasses all times.
- Because she has been sent out by Christ on a mission to the whole human race
- God extends his love to all nations. The Church therefore is universal in its mission.
- Universal = Katholikos (first used by St. Ignatius of Antioch)

4. The Church is Apostolic

- Because she was and remains built on the foundation of the Apostles
- The current Church is governed by the lawful successors of the Apostles who can
trace their historical origin to the time when Christ called the apostles and appointed
Saint Peter as head among them.
 - The Apostles are Christ‘s emissaries
(Greek - apostoloi)
- The members of the Church are called to do apostolate, in keeping with the Apostles‘
mission.
- The fruitfulness of our apostolate depends on our vital union with Christ.

MODELS OF THE CHURCH

1. Church as Institution
2. Church called together as People of God (Communion-in-Mission)
3. Church as Prophet/Herald
4. Church as Servant to the World
5. Church as School of Discipleship
6. Church as Sacrament of Christ

American Jesuit Avery Robert Cardinal Dulles, S.J. described the Church in terms of various
models (or ideal types). The models capture different aspects of the Church and are not
mutually exclusive to one another.

1. Church as Institution
- Considered as a visible, hierarchical structure emphasizing authority, rights, and
power of its office.
- Hierarchy = from Greek hieros and arche – ―holy origin‖: the gradated structure of the
Church under Christ.
- The Church is not a democratic organization because democracy operates on the
principle that all power comes from the people. In the Church, however, all power
comes from Christ.
- The Church teaches, sanctifies, and rules.
- The authority of the Church expresses love, service and truth, not domination.
- Christ is the invisible Head of the Church.
- The clerics are responsible for the laity.
- Christ set up various offices for the good of the whole body.
- The holders of the office are invested with a sacred power to promote the interests of
the brethren so that the People of God may attain salvation.

Pope

Bishops

Priests

Deacons

Consecrated Persons

Laity

- The Ordained Ministry refers to the ministerial activities in the Church that arise from
the sacrament of Holy Orders
- The ordained ministers are the bishops, priests, and deacons.
What is the role of the Holy Father, the Pope?
 The Pope (Roman Pontiff or Holy Father) is the successor of St. Peter the Apostle.
 Pope = from the Greek pappas meaning ―father‖

Background of the Papacy

 Jesus Christ made Simon the ―rock‖ (from the Latin ―Petra‖) on whom He would build
his Church. He gave him the keys of His Church and instituted him shepherd of the
whole flock. (Mt 16:18-19; Jn 21:15-17).
 Peter‘s successor, the Pope, who is also the ―Bishop of Rome‖ is the perpetual and
visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole
company of the faithful. (CCC 882)
 By reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor of the entire Church, the
Pope has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which
he can always exercise unhindered (Lumen Gentium 22).

Bishop
 Comes from the Greek episkopos which means ―overseer‖
 A successor of the Apostles
 Receiving the highest of the Holy Orders
 Invested with the authority to govern a diocese where he undertakes Christ‘s own
role as Teacher, Shepherd, and High Priest and act in Christ‘s own person.

Duties of a Bishop
 To teach or guard the purity of doctrine and see that it is given to others
 To guard the morals of the faithful under his care
 To maintain discipline
 To provide that the faithful receive the sacraments and to ensure divine worship
 To reside in his jurisdiction
 To visit parishes of his diocese regularly

The Episcopal College or College of Bishops

 The College of Bishops is a collective body of the successors of the Apostles. They
are the bishops from all parts of the world who are in full communion with the Pope
and which is always headed by the Pope.
 The college of bishops exercises power over the universal Church in a solemn
manner in an ecumenical council (CCC 884).
 But an ecumenical council must always be confirmed or at least recognized by the
Pope (LG 22).

Individual Bishops
 The individual bishops are the visible source and foundation of unity in their own
particular Churches (CCC 886).
 Each bishop shares in the concern for all the Churches and they exercise this by
ruling well their own Churches as portions of the universal Church and extend it
especially to the poor, to those persecuted for the faith, as well as to missionaries
who are working throughout the world. (CCC 886; Gal. 2:10)
The Magisterium
 The authority to faithfully interpret the Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition
―belongs to the bishops all over the world in communion with the Pope. Together,
they comprise the Magisterium – the teaching authority of the Church – which is not
superior to the Word of God, but its servant (CCC 85-86).
 The present Pope and bishops hold that authority as successors of the apostles.
Christians therefore are obliged to listen to them for Christ, addressing the apostles,
says that ―he who hears you, hears me‖ (Lumen Gentium 10 and Luke 10:16).

Papal Infallibility
 The Pope, as head of the college of bishops, enjoys infallibility in virtue of his office,
when, as supreme pastor and teacher of all the faithful – who confirms his brethren
in the faith – he proclaims by a definitive act, a doctrine pertaining to faith or morals
(CCC 891).

Priests
 Etymology: From Latin presbyteros meaning ―elder‖ and sacerdos meaning one who
offers sacrifices.
 They share in the ministry of the Bishops.
 They are to preach the Gospel, shepherd the faithful, and celebrate divine worship

Duties of Priests
 Unite all faithful as one family and lead them effectively through Christ and in the
Holy Spirit to God the Father.
 Bring men and women into the people of God through Baptism, forgive sins in the
name of Christ and the Church, relieve and console the sick with holy oil; celebrate
the liturgy, and pray for the people of God

Deacons
 They serve the people of God in the service of the Liturgy, of the Gospel, and works
of charity. Read Acts 6:1-7
 ―Diakonia‖

Duties of Deacons
 Administering Baptism solemnly
 Being custodians and distributors of the Eucharist
 Assisting and blessing marriages
 Bringing Viaticum to the dying
 Reading the Sacred Scriptures to the faithful
 Instructing and exhorting the people
 Presiding over the worship and prayer of the faithful
 Administering sacramentals
 Officiating at funeral and burial services.

The Consecrated Life

 In the consecrated life, Christ's faithful, moved by the Holy Spirit, propose to follow
Christ more nearly, to give themselves to God who is loved above all and, pursuing
the perfection of charity in the service of the Kingdom, to signify and proclaim in the
Church the glory of the world to come. (CCC 916)
  They are those who enter the state of life which is constituted by the profession of
the evangelical counsels (chastity, poverty and obedience) for the sake of the
Kingdom, while not entering into the hierarchical structure of the Church (LG 44;
CCC 914-915).
o Poverty
– dependence on God alone
o Chastity
– living for God alone
o Obedience
– submission to God alone
 Expressions of the Consecrated Life
o Active – the consecrated person serves the Church in a particular ministry
(prison, hospital, school, dormitory, etc.)
o Contemplative – the consecrated person lives in a monastic life dedicated to
prayer for the Church; includes manual labor

The Laity
 The ―laity‖ includes all the baptized persons but excluding those who received holy
orders and the consecrated persons (nuns and brothers).
 They are incorporated into Christ by baptism and are ―made sharers in their
particular way in the priestly, prophetic, and kingly office of Christ, and have their
own part in the mission of the Church‖ (CCC 897).
 The vocation of the lay faithful to holiness implies… involvement in temporal affairs
and in their participation in earthly activities
 By uniting their forces, they can bring the world to the norms of justice and the
practice of virtue through their acts of kindness and therefore impregnate culture and
human works with a moral value (CCC 909).
 Parents share in the office of sanctifying ―by leading a conjugal life in the Christian
spirit and by seeing to the Christian education of their children.‖ (CCC 902)
 They are called to cooperate with their pastors in the service of the ecclesial
community through the exercise of different ministries according to the grace and
charisms which the Lord has been pleased to bestow on them. (CCC 910).

2. Church Called Together as People of God (Communion-in-Mission)

- Stresses the personal and interpersonal, the fellowship of persons with God and with
one another—a solidarity and fellowship of love with God and neighbor through the
Spirit of Christ.
- A worshipping community of believers who by their faith become a sign and
instrument of the unity of God and man.

People of God
The People of God is marked by characteristics that clearly distinguish it from all other
religious, ethnic, political, or cultural groups found in history:
o God is not the property of any one people. But he acquired a people for himself
from those who previously were not a people: ―a chosen race, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation.‖ God doesn't belong to any particular people because He is the
one who calls us.
o Membership: We become members of this People not by a physical birth, but by
being ―born anew,‖ a birth ―of water and the Spirit,‖ that is, by faith in Christ, and
Baptism.
 o Head: This People has for its Head Jesus the Christ (the anointed, the Messiah).
Because the same anointing, the Holy Spirit, flows from the head into the body,
this is ―the messianic people.‖
o Status: The status of this people is that of the dignity and freedom of the sons of
God, in whose hearts the Holy Spirit dwells as in a temple.
o Law: The law is the new commandment to love as Christ loved us.
o Mission: Its mission is to be salt of the earth and light of the world. This people is
―a most sure seed of unity, hope, and salvation for the whole human race.‖ Being
the Church, being the People of God, means being God‘s leaven in this our
humanity.
o Destiny: Its destiny is union with God which was begun by God himself on earth
and which must be further extended until it has been brought to perfection by him
at the end of time

Church as Communion
John Paul II wrote Ecclesia in Asia ―Church in Asia‖; in this document, we read about
communion in the Church.

- ―At the heart of the mystery of the Church is the bond of communion which unites
Christ the Bridegroom to all the baptized.‖ (24)
o ―The Church's first purpose then is to be the sacrament of the inner union of
the human person with God, and, because people's communion with one
another is rooted in that union with God, the Church is also the sacrament
of the unity of the human race.‖
o The family is a communion of persons. It is the Domestic Church.
 The Christian family, like the Church as a whole, should be a place
where the truth of the Gospel is the rule of life and the gift which the
family members bring to the wider community.
 The family is not simply the object of the Church's pastoral care; it is
also one of the Church's most effective agents of evangelization. (EA,
46)
o Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs) are communion of families.
 The value of BECs as an effective way of promoting communion and
participation in parishes and Dioceses, and as a genuine force for
evangelization should be underlined.
 These small groups help the faithful to live as believing, praying and
loving communities like the early Christians (cf. Acts 2:44-47; 4:32-
35). They aim to help their members to live the Gospel in a spirit of
fraternal love and service.
 Church of the Poor
 This is the model of the Church that is not only for the poor but
also of the poor.
 The unity of Christ is not simply a unity of disciples; it is also a
unity, solidarity and fellowship with the oppressed, humiliated, and
the suffering.
 For your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might
become rich. (2 Cor 8:9)
 Solidarity with the Poor:
1. The poor should not be discriminated
 2. The poor should not be deprived of the right to receive
in abundance the help of the spiritual goods of the
Church.
3. The Church of the poor asks for the empowering of the
poor for the transformation of society, to be engaged in
integral evangelization. The poor are not just recipients
of charity but are active agents of change.
4. ―The Church encompasses with her love all those who
are afflicted by human misery and she recognizes in
those who are poor and who suffer the image of her
poor and suffering founder. She does all in her power
to relieve their need and in them she strives to serve
Christ‖ (Lumen Gentium # 8).
5. ―The ‗Church of the Poor‘ is one whose members and
leaders have a special love for the poor…. It is not an
exclusive or excluding love in such a way that there is
no room in a Christian‘s heart for those who are not
poor. For always, the Christian must love all
persons…. Christ was able to love well-to-do people
like Zacchaeus and the family of Martha, Mary, and
Lazarus‖ (JH Kroeger)
6. ―The ‗Church of the Poor‘ is one where the entire
community of disciples … will have such a love of
preference for the poor as to orient and tilt the center of
gravity of the entire community in favor of the
needy‖ (PCP II).
7. ―When the Church in the Philippines becomes truly this
Church of the Poor, the poor will feel at home in her,
and will participate actively, as equal to others, in her
life and mission. The Church will then become truly a
communion, a sign and instrument, for the unity of the
whole Filipino nation‖ (JM Kroeger quoting PCP II)

o The Parish is a communion of Basic Ecclesial Communities and other

ecclesial communities.
 The parish remains the ordinary place where the faithful gather to
grow in faith, to live the mystery of ecclesial communion and to take
part in the Church's mission.
 Pastors to devise new and effective ways of shepherding the faithful,
so that everyone, especially the poor, will feel truly a part of the parish
and of God's People as a whole.
o The Diocese is a communion of communities (parishes) gathered around the
Shepherd, where clergy, consecrated persons, and the laity are engaged in a
―dialogue of life and heart‖ sustained by the grace of the Holy Spirit.
 This local Church should become a ―participatory Church,‖ hence,
there is a need to foster greater involvement of the laity and
consecrated men and women in pastoral planning and decision-
making.
 o In the Universal Church, the universal authority of the Successor of Peter
shines forth more clearly, not primarily as juridical power over the local
Churches, but as a pastoral primacy at the service of the unity of faith and life
of the whole People of God.
 The Petrine office has a unique ministry in guaranteeing and
promoting the unity of the universal Church (EA, 25)

The Church as Communion

Universal Church

Diocese/Local Church

Parish Community

BECs

Family

Individuals

Being called in communion as People of God makes up the Body of Christ.

The Church is the Mystical Body of Christ

o This image of the Church as Christ‘s Body expresses an intimate bond between
Jesus and us. Not only is the Church gathered around him; the Church is united
in him, in his body.
o One Body - Believers who respond to God's word and become members of
Christ's Body, become intimately united with him.
o The body's unity does not do away with the diversity of its members.
o In the building up of Christ's Body there is engaged a diversity of members and
functions. There is only one Spirit who, according to his own richness and the
needs of the ministries, gives his different gifts for the welfare of the Church.
o Christ is the Head of the Body: He is the head, the leader, the one we pattern our
lives with. All his members must strive to resemble him, ―until Christ be formed‖
in them.
THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the
forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

1. Communion of the Church of Heaven and Earth

A. The Three States of the Church
B. Intercessions of the Saints
C. Communion with the Dead

Scriptural Foundations

1. But Ananias replied, ―Lord I have heard from many sources about this man, what evil
things he has done to your holy ones in Jerusalem.‖ (Acts 9:13)
 ―Your holy ones‖ literally means ―your saints‖

2. … to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy. (Romans 1:7)

 Even Paul himself often refers to the Christians as ―the holy ones‖ or ―the saints‖

3. With all prayer and supplication, pray at every opportunity in the Spirit. To that end, be
watchful with all perseverance and supplication for all the holy ones. (Ephesias 6:18)
 Paul exhorts them to be courageous and prayerful in order to be able to combat the
spiritual powers of evil.

The early Christians were synonymously called “saints.” The term “saint” loosely applies to the
Church, the people of God - all Christians, living and departed.

But there are “outstanding saints,” whom the Church recognizes as utmost examples of
holiness. They are canonized as Saints – by virtue of the power vested on the office of Peter.

The Three States of the Church

- These are the three states of the Mystical Body of Christ.
- Since all the faithful form one body, the good of each is communicated to the others…
we must therefore believe that there exists a communion of goods in the Church (CCC
947).

1. Church Militant
 We pilgrims, who are presently in this world, struggling against sin and the devil

2. Church Penitent
 Those who are presently purified in purgatory – in preparation for heaven

3. Church Triumphant
 Those who have gone before us in heaven, enjoying the beatific vision

The Intercession of the Saints

- Asking for the intercession of the saints has been a tradition of the early Church.
- The saints (and angels) in heaven are more closely united with Jesus.
 - They continue to pray for us and they can offer to us the merits they have acquired due
to their holy (earthly) life.
- Our relationship with them does not end in death.
- Being more closely united to Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church ore
firmly in holiness… they do not cease to intercede with the Father for us, as they proffer
the merits which they acquired on earth through the one mediator between God and
men, Christ Jesus… so by their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly helped (CCC
956).
- ―The smoke of the incense along with the prayers of the holy ones went up before God
from the hand of the angel‖ (Revelation 8:4).
- This perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity – this communion of life and love with the
Trinity, with the Virgin Mary, the angels, and all the blessed is called ―heaven.‖ Heaven is
the ultimate end and the fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme,
definitive happiness (CCC 1024).

Communion with the Dead

- Our tradition (which dates back to the earliest days of Christianity) of praying for the
dead is a sign of our communion with our departed brothers and sisters.
- All who die in God‘s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed
assured of their eternal salvation; but after death, they undergo purification, so as to
achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. The Church gives the name
Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the
punishment of the damned (CCC 1030-1031).
- Praying for the dead is actually biblical.
- We pray for the dead because they cannot help themselves.
- Those in purgatory are also praying for us in their sufferings / purification
- … the Church in its pilgrim members, from the very earliest days of the Christian religion,
has honored with great respect the memory of the dead; and because it is a holy and a
wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins, she
offers suffrages for them. Our prayer for them is capable not only of helping them, but
also of making their intercession for us effective (CCC 958).
- ―May the Lord grant mercy to the family of Onesiphorus because he often gave me new
heart and was not ashamed of my chains… May the Lord grant him to find mercy from
the Lord on that day…‖ (2 Timothy 16-18)
- ―…for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been superfluous
and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that
awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Thus he
made atonement for the dead that they might be absolved from their sins.‖