Pilgrimage and the Stations of the cross

- A journey to a spiritual place – such as the life journey to heaven and everything you do gets you closer
or further away from God. The church is believed the be the pilgrim people of God.
- In the Stations of the Cross 14 images remind you of the suffering and events Jesus went through on his
journey. People take physical actions – DRAMATISED PRAYER – and join Jesus, share in his suffering
and help a person stay focused on prayer.

Pilgrimage to sacred places

- Jerusalem: where Jesus died, helps people share in Jesus’ life and suffering whilst renewing their
commitment to God and Jesus
- Rome: Centre of Catholicism and where Peter died. Shows commitment to the Church and Pope.
- Lourdes: Where Bernedette saw visions of Mary and she dig, and a spring appeared. Helps you be
healed spiritually and physically and feel stronger in mind and body by the water.
- Walsingham: Contains the shrine for England. A woman had visions of Mary’s house and rebuilt it, helps
people go on pilgrimage without much travel and to spend more time in prayer with Catholics

Mission and Evangelism in Drama

- Helps people show God’s love through actions – In Les Misérables, a bishop stops police from throwing
a theif into prison and his act of love and forgiveness helps the thief become a better person.
- Shows that having the right attitude is more important than blindly following God’s law – In Les
Misérables the thief saves his former Jailer, and his kind act ultimately saves him from imprisonment.
- Shows you require total commitment to God – In the Mission priests stay to protect the common people
despite the order of the bishops to save themselves.
- Mission in drama shows how values can inspire and encourage Christians to show the same values in
their lives and eventually preach the Gospel to others to help others.

The Lord’s Prayer and the Kingdom of God

- The kingdom of God began when Jesus was born and was established through his resurrection and the
coming of the Holy spirit. It is extended by Christians preaching the word of God on earth and will be
completed at the end of time when all people will enjoy heaven and sin will be destroyed.
- Our father... - Jesus wants us to call him their Father and have a trusting relationship with him
- Hallowed be... - God is Holy, God is important in our lives.
- Thy kingdom... - God’s kingdom must come to earth and people should accept God in their hearts.
- They will be … - Accepting God will be important to establish the Kingdom of Heaven.
- Give us... daily bread – Asking God for the bare minimum – bread – so we can focus on God
- Forgive us our... - People need to show forgiveness and accept God’s forgiveness.
- Deliver us from evil – Help us resist temptation of evil, so the kingdom will grow as sin will be defeated
Justice, Peace and Reconciliation

- Justice – ensures all people have rights to basic needs, recognises all people are created and loved by
God, respects the dignity of everyone, treats everyone with respect regardless of race, ethnicity etc.
- Peace – State of total trust, flows from justice, removes tensions and requires people to accept rights of
others.
- Reconciliation brings people back together who have been broken apart, restores damaged
relationships, requires people to learn from the past, relies on acceptance.

Hierarchy of the Catholic Church

- Pope -> Cardinals -> Bishops -> Priests -> Deacons -> Lay people
- The pope leads the church, and he has authority over the church.
- Second Vatican Council: Dei Verbum – importance of interpretation of Bible. Must not be literal
Lumen Gentium – deals with nature and structure of the church.
Sacro sanctum Consilium – Deals with liturgy, allowed mass to be heard
In own language.
Gaudium et spes – issues with modern society. Guides people how to live.

Mary and the Magnificat

- Mary shows humility: she recognises she is special because of what God has done for her.
- Mary praises God: Mary is aware that God shows his love for humanity by doing things for them.
- Mary shows acceptance: Mary willingly accepts the role of being Jesus’ mother – readiness to follow
God.
- Mary shows her trust – She could have been killed for adultery, but she trusted God who protected her.
- Magnificat can be controversial because there is a sense of revolution. Whereas most believe it shows
that God supports the weak and helpless.

The four marks of the Church

- One – The church is united; Jesus prays at the last supper his followers “may be one”
- Holy – Presence of God makes the church Holy; everyone is guided by the Holy Spirit.
- Catholic – The beliefs of the church are universal
- Apostolic – The church’s teachings are based on the apostles.
- Bishops and popes are successors to the apostles which passes down authority. Peter -> pope. This
combined authority is called the Magisterium.

The Conciliar and Pontifical nature of the church

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 - Conciliar – Councils update church teachings, The Pope discusses issues of the Church with members
which creates a sense of unity, councils express the voice of the church.
- Pontifical – The Pope is the leader and has the highest authority, authority is passed down from Peter,
the pope is representative of the church, the decisions of the council need to be approved by Pope.
- The church helps support the weakest so people can live equally. And the church is against economic
exploitation which leads to inequality

The church as the body of Christ.

- SVP – Local charity which provides help to individuals. They visit people in hospitals by offering support
and friendship. They also help with household needs and sometimes run bigger projects to help.
- CAFOD – Aims to help people living in poverty to become self-reliant. It provides emergency aid in
places with natural disasters. They also challenge international laws and policies which cause poverty
and provide legal assistance for those threatened by actions of international companies.

Kingdom values in Christian vocations.

- God wants people to show Kingdom values to live their best lives as Christians: humility, gentleness,
mercy, love, a desire for peace, a wish to serve God, obedience to God.
- Priests take a promise of celibacy to commit themselves to serve others and God, and they take a
promise of obedience to their bishop
- Love is a kingdom value which unites a family.
- Religious life – Monasteries take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience to live simple lives and serve
others whilst living in peace.

Kingdom values as a Catholic

- Justice – Pope Francis increased the number of priests working among the poor. He aims to inspire
others to live simply, and he criticises economic policies which lead to inequality and exploitation.
- Peace – He played a major role to restore relations between Cuba and the Usa, and he brought leaders
together who were at war by using public addresses to pray for peace.
- Reconciliation – Pope Francis goes to a local prison and washes the feet of 12 prisoners including
Muslims on Maundy Thursday. He resolves tension between Muslims, Jews and Christians.