CFE MODULE 1
Church in adoring God and venerating the
CHURCH
Church: The People of God
We are not just members of the Church but
rather we ourselves are the Church
‒ The people of God gathered together in faith
in the Risen Lord, in order to preach, serve
and give witness to the Kingdom, which she
believes has been inaugurated in Jesus,
whose mission they share and continue.
The Church is a Sacrament of Christ
‒ Continues the mission of Christ
‒ The mission is to establish the KOG
‒ The Church is sacrament of the Kingdom
(LG 1).
‒ Visible sign of Salvation.
‒ Makes possible the encounter with Christ.
‒ Manifests encounter with God.
MISSION OF THE CHURCH
1. Continue the mission of Christ
2. Threefold Mission
a. Prophet
b. Priest
c. King
‒ kerygma, diakonia, koinonia
‒ Formation, Worship, Service
NOTE: These threefold aspects cannot be
separated from one another.
‒ Jesus' service was priestly, prophetic
and kingly. The Church continues his
mission, and our faith demands that
each have to contribute in his own way
to that mission.
The apostolate of the Church is threefold:
Evangelization, Social Action, and Worship.
 Evangelization is the process of bringing
the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others thus it
includes; Catechesis, Preaching, Seminars,
Print and Broadcast media and the like.
 Social Action is an emulation of Jesus'
extra-ordinary compassion for the poor, the
oppressed, the sick, the sorrowful, the weak,
the prisoners, the needy etc.
 Worship includes all the activities of the
Saints. The third area is just one but does
not exhaust the whole activity of the Church
(as some might thought it to be).
We are called to be disciples of Jesus -
disciples attentive at all times to the voice of
God’s love that invites generous response. But
how can we keep listening to this voice in a
world which does its best to distract us and get
our attention for seemingly more urgent
matters?
How then do we respond as Church?
The Disciples’ response and Our response
Mk 1, 16 – 20
As Jesus walked by Lake Galilee, he saw two
fishermen, Simon, and his brother Andrew,
catching fish in the lake with a net. Jesus said to
them, “Come with me and I will teach you to
catch men.” At once they left their nets and went
with him.
He went a little farther on and saw two other
brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee.
They were in their boat getting their nets ready.
As soon as Jesus saw them, he called them; so
they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the
hired men and went with Jesus
Four Stages
 Saw
 Called
 Left
 Followed
There are stages in how we are called
MISSION The mission statement is a declaration of an
organization’s “reason for being.”
The Ecclesio-centric and the Theo-centric
Understanding of Mission Mission statements

Integral part of Cristianity’s self-  Sometimes called a creed statement, a

understanding
 Engaged in witnessing for the faith and
communicating the message of the faith.
Growth and understanding the faith: Change
in how the Church conceived and did mission.
statement of purpose, a statement of
philosophy, a statement of beliefs, a
statement of business principles, or a
statement “defining our business,” a mission
statement reveals what an organization
wants to be and whom it wants to serve. All
organizations have a reason for being, even
if strategists have not consciously
transformed this reason into writing.

 Mission statements are “enduring

statements of purpose that distinguish one
business from other similar firms. A mission
statement identifies the scope of a firm’s
operations in product and market terms.”

 A clear mission statement describes the

values and priorities of an organization.

 Developing a mission statement compels

strategists to think about the nature and
scope of present operations and to assess
the potential attractiveness of future markets
and activities.

 A mission statement broadly charts the

future direction of an organization.

 A mission statement is a constant reminder

Drucker says that asking the question “What
is our business?” is synonymous with
asking the question “What is our mission?”
WHAT IS OUR BUSINESS?
 A business mission is the foundation for
• Defines the current boundaries
• Defines the business position
• ’Who are we?’
to its employees of why the organization
exists and what the founders envisioned
when they put their fame and fortune at risk
to breathe life into their dreams.
priorities, strategies, plans, and work
assignments. It is the starting point for the
design of managerial jobs and, above all, for
the design of managerial structures.

• ‘What do we do?’

MISSION AND CHURCH TEACHINGS

1. Who is being sent, and who is sending?

2. What are the things supposed to be done by
PRESENT those who are being sent?
3. What ideas about the mission are present
in the text?
 Jesus sending the Seventy-Two
(Luke 10:1-24)
 Sending is an integral part of the Christian
idea of mission. When we go on a mission,
we do so because somebody sends us.
 The mission does not belong to us. We are
mere collaborators of the one sending us.
 Where to go on a mission and how the
mission is done depends not on us but also
on sending us.
Missionaries as workers are tasked to gather
people into fellowship with God.
Lambs are never safe in a pack of wolves. The
wolves will devour the lambs!
To be a Christian missionary meant to live a
dangerous life.
NO MONEYBAG, NO SANSANDALS, NO
KNAPSACK AND GREET NO ONE ON THE
ROAD…….
The first part of the instruction about not taking
along moneybags, or knapsacks, or sandals is
related to the second part about not wasting
time. A moneybag, a knapsack, or a pair of
sandals may become a burden or a distraction
to the missionary who is supposed to be
concerned only with the mission. He always has
to carry and protect his money or bag or repair
his sandals or look for another pair if they get
worn out. His focus is no longer the mission that
is urgent and the only important thing for the
missionary. These things are the least of his
concerns.
ESSENTIAL THINGS ABOUT THE CHRISTIAN
AS A MISSIONARY
1. The missionary is not to be cluttered up with
material things; he is to travel light.
2. The missionary concentrates on his task; he
is to “greet no man on the way.”
3. The missionary must not work for what he
can get out of it; he eats what is put before
him and does not move from house to
house, seeking better and more comfortable
quarters.
To have heard God's word is a great
responsibility.
 Knowing something is a privilege. As is
usually said, it is also power. But knowing as
a form of privilege and power is also a
responsibility.
If we know the truth and do not speak up at
the cost of letting lies reign, we do not do
our responsibility.
 This is a challenge for us today, especially
for the younger generation, because a good
part of your world is the world of the web,
where false news can quickly multiply. To
state and defend the truth when you know it
is a crucial part of the missionary and the
human in you.
The mission is the proclamation of God’s
kingdom.
The kingdom refers to total human well-
being, which includes the significant
experience of healing from all forms of
illness.
 In Biblical anthropology, healing includes
non-physical restoration like healing
relationships, emotional healing, and others
The Church document “Ad Gentes” gives us
more insights into the Church’smission and how
it is to be done. In these two sections of the
document, we are instructed about living as
missionaries in present society.
Emphasis of the missionary agenda at the
beginning of the Church
During the early days of Christianity and up to
the present, missionaries are sent to other
places to convert people to the Christian faith.
Greatest missionary
of his time. He went
from one place to
another within the
Roman Empire,
preaching about
Jesus and starting
new Christian
communities.
Emphasis of the Church’s understanding of
mission after Paul
 Stress on missionary conversion as can be
deduced from the accounts of the New
Testament, especially in the Acts of the
Apostles and in the Letters of Paul.
 That situation the Church found itself
brought about particular ways of
understanding mission, one of which is what
missiologists today describe as eccleo-
centric.
Eccleo-centric
 “Church-centered.”
 Mission as primarily belonging to the
Church.
 The Church is the center of mission alone.
 The gathering of the faithful in the structural
church is highly emphasized.
 Exclusive salvation is dominant.
 God as the origin and source of mission is
not emphasized.
 Excludes others outside the Church in the
doing of mission.
‒ You have to be a member of the Church
to do the mission. Since mission
belongs to the Church, doing mission is
appropriately the work of Church
leaders and members and not outsiders.
 Mission=Converting others (to become
members of the church)
‒ Evangelization= Proselytizing
 Number of converts
‒ Basis or gauge for a successful
missionary activity.
‒ The number of converts, indicated by
baptismal records, was an essential
gauge of the mission's success.
Result:
 Insensitive attitude towards indigenous
views and practices in mission territories
(that were sometimes seen as inferior to or
against the missionaries' culture's practices
and way of life).
Theo-centric
 The concept of mission and salvation is
encompassing even to those who are
incapable of knowing Christ in all respect.
 Salvation could also be achieved even
outside the Church.
 The concept of Church is now directed to
people of all walks of life
a) God's redemptive mission
 - the source – The source of the Church's
mission is the work of God in redeeming
creation.
The source of the Church’s mission is God's work in
redeeming all human beings, including the rest of creation.
God always takes the initiative to reach out to all peoples
and cultures. God calls people to him in a relationship of
love. The call is honored by human beings when their
loving relationship with God shapes their relationship with
others.
b) Jesus:
- the embodiment of God's mission
GOD’S MISSION IS CONCRETIZED IN THE
PERSON AND MINISTRY OF JESUS
For Christians, the embodiment of God’s mission of
redemption is concretized in the person and ministry of
Jesus. When we are asked the question, “How do we do
mission?” we answer by pointing to the way Jesus lived his
life.The core spirit that shaped the life of Jesus and how he
related with others is compassion. He felt for other people.
He had a passion for others such that he thought and acted
in solidarity with them, especially with the marginalized and
the suffering.
c) Holy Spirit:
- the Power for the mission.
The successful doing, or more fittingly, living
the mission requires dependence on the
guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Holy Spirit: The Power for the mission – In the Gospels and
in the Acts, Jesus and the disciples' mission is always
inspired and directed by God's Spirit, so the Church must
be open to this inspiration and guidance in her mission.
d) Church:
- An instrument for the mission
Church does not own the mission. Therefore,
the Church needs and has to discern God’s
will.
The Church participates in the mission of redemption,
helping make the kingdom of God a reality in society. As
the Church does not own the mission, it always has to
discern as a community the will of God in every concrete
situation. As the Gospel says, the Church has to “read the
signs of the times,” which implies that the Church
mustunderstand the situation properly and respond
accordingly.
e) Cultures:
- the context of the mission
Be active participants in God’s redemptive
action in the world and the whole of creation.
In the theocentric view of mission, understanding the
different cultures where the mission is lived is necessary.
Culture is an essential facet of being human. It is the
product of the human community’s struggle to create
meaning. Hence, missionaries must consider this truth and
learn to appreciate the many good things in culture while
striving to help transform elements in the culture that may
not be life-giving.
MISSIONARY RESPONSE
Be active participants in God’s redemptive
action in the world and the whole of creation.
RESSURECTION – Jesus’ event that
enlightened the apostles to understand what
Jesus said and did.
PENTECOST – It s through this event that the
apostles were empowered to witness Jesus
courageously and boldly amidst persecution and
threat.
KINGDOM OF GOD/SALVATION – It is the
total human well-being, which includes the
significant experience of healing from all forms
of illness.

Lesson 2: JESUS CHRIST: MISSION
source: Catechism for Filipino Catholics (CFC)
PRESUPPOSITIONS
A. To really know Jesus, Christ is a life-long
task.
It is life-long because to know Jesus is to
know the only one whom 'God has raised
up" (acts 2:32), who "take's away the sins of
the world" (Jn. 1:29), who is the "only son of
the Father, full of grace and truth" (Jn. 114)
B. Knowing Jesus is a living, changing, growing
and deepening experience knowing Jesus
means entering into personal relationship
with him. “Knowing him" animates and
liberates us in a like no other relationship
could possibly do.
C. The Jesus we come to Know is both the
historical earthly Jesus and the risen Christ
of faith One cannot separated from the
other:
D. To know Jesus means being committed to
following him, being his disciple. (PCP II 34).
There is no authentic "knowing Jesus'
outside of personal commitment to his
teaching and way of life.
Knowing Jesus must make a difference in
our lives.
E. We come to know who Jesus from what he
did, his salvific mission
Inspired Word
Luke 3:21-22 21
21 Now when all the people were baptized, and
when Jesus also had been baptized and was
praying, the heaven was opened, 22 and the
Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form,
as a dove, and a voice came from heaven,
"Thou art my beloved Son; with thee am well
pleased."
 First of all, it needs to be pointed out that
Jesus did not need the baptism of John.
John was baptizing as a call to and sign of
interior repentance. Jesus had no need to
repent. But, nonetheless, He went to John.
John resisted at first but Jesus insisted. Why
did He receive baptism?
 Second, it has been said that when Jesus
entered the waters of baptism, He was no
baptized by the waters, rather, His Baptism
was one in which all the created waters of
this world were, in a sense, "baptized" by
Him. By entering into the waters, Jesus
sanctified water and poured forth His grace
making all water the future source of
salvation.
 Third, the Baptism of Jesus was on
epiphany. It was a moment of manifestation.
As He emerged from the waters, "Heaven
was opened and the Holy Spirit descended
upon him in bodily form like a doye. And a
voice came from Heaven, ‘You are my
beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.'"
This manifestation of the son ship and
divinity of Jesus took place in a physical,
audible and visible form so that all present
would know, without question, that Jesus
was the Son of the Father. Thus, His
baptism is a way in which the Father
introduced His Son and His Son's mission to
the world.
The actual work or ministry of Jesus was
summed by Vat. Il in the following description:
"Jesus Christ speaks the words of God, and
accomplishes the saving work which the
Father gave him to do... He did this by the total
fact of his presence and self-manifestation-by
words and works, sign and inferences, but
above all by his death and resurrection from the
dead, and finally by sending the Holy Spirit (DV
4)."