STUDIES OF RELIGION PRELIMINARY COURSEDEPTH STUDY 2: CHRISTIANITY

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

The Nature of God

1. Choose a photo that best describes for you the qualities that God possesses.

2. Share your photo in groups of four.

3. On butcher paper make a summary of your group’s findings.

4. Report your findings to the class.

God is a Mystery

God is transcendent – totally other than His creation; he is above and beyond it. Examples:

God is unique.

God is omnipotent – all powerful.

God is eternal.

God is immense.

God is immanent – in His creation, present to and joined to His creation.

God contains all things – all things are in Him.

God has established a personal relationship with his people, with creation.

God is omnipresent – He is everywhere.

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Focussing on Catholicism, students learn about the principal Christian beliefs about – The nature of God and the Trinity: creating, sanctifying and redeeming. The nature of humanity – created, fallen and redeemed through Jesus Christ. The paradox of evil and the place of suffering. Eschatology – heaven, hell, Christ’s return, final judgement.

Focussing on Catholicism, students learn about the devotional practices of Christianity and their relation to belief – Public Christian worship with reference to the place of corporate worship and

celebrations; features of worship, features of a church; communion, liturgies, rituals such as those for birth, reconciliation, initiation, marriage, ordination, anointing or death.

Private Christian worship with reference to meditation, personal Bible study, devotions and prayer, retreats.

Background to and celebrations of feasts, festivals, seasons and special days in the Christian liturgical calendar.

The influence of these devotional practices on the everyday life of people.

Students learn to explain the influences on everyday living of Christian beliefs and devotional practices.

Catholic Beliefs about the Trinity

God is a Trinity, three divine beings in the one divine nature. Ultimately the Trinity is a mystery beyond human comprehension.

We believe that our God is a father who loves us and will never forget us. He is our creator.

We believe that God is our saviour, Jesus Christ, who loved us so much that he gave up his life so that we can have eternal life.

We believe that God is a Spirit of love who dwells within us.

Catholic Beliefs about the Father

God is one, true, living, unique, omnipotent, eternal, immense being who contains all things.

God is above human understanding, a pure spirit, a thinking, absolutely loving being who is intimately concerned with His creation.

God has created all things in His image and likeness.

Catholic Beliefs about the Son

Because God loves us with no limits, no strings attached, and loved us for who we are, He sent His only Son who gave up his life for us.

Jesus has saved us.

Jesus teaches us how to live.

Jesus is our friend.

Jesus invites us to change so that we may find true life.

Catholic Beliefs about the Spirit

Images about the Spirit –

The Spirit is the power of love.

The Spirit is a life-giving breath.

The Spirit is a wind that creates and guides.

The Spirit is a fire that enables us to love.

The Spirit is life-giving water that brings growth.

The Spirit is tongues of fire that gives us courage to proclaim.

These images of the Holy Spirit remind us that God’s presence, sustaining our very lives, is a dynamic power of love.

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Catholic Beliefs

Creation and the Fall

Creation refers not only to the beginning of the world, but also to the continuing relationship between God and reality.

God is responsible for the creation of absolutely all things. God was completely free in creating the world.

All of creation is good and a bearer of God’s presence.

Humanity is created in God’s image and is destined for eternal life.

Having created the world as an act of divine self-giving and furnished it with living creatures, God gave stewardship over it to the first human beings. They were to care for the world and to ensure its welfare.

The first humans were created with free will, able to choose good or evil.

The story of Adam and Eve, who ate the forbidden fruit symbolises that the misuse of human freedom is the cause of sinfulness, and that sinfulness leads to evil and tragedy, as well as eventual physical death and spiritual separation from God. This original sin (that is, the tendency for us to sin) has been handed on from one generation to the next.

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Read the story of the Fall (Genesis Chapter 3). Present the story as a role play in a modern day setting.

The Person and Work of Jesus

Jesus is the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity. He existed from eternity and was involved in the act of creation.

In order to reconcile humanity with God, God’s only Son became human. This act is called the incarnation. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.

Jesus is both human and divine.

Like us, Jesus grew in wisdom and knowledge and experienced all human emotions, pain and death, but, unlike us, he did not sin.

Through his life, death, resurrection and ascension into heaven, Jesus Christ has conquered sin and death. As a result all people can gain salvation through Christ, but no person can gain it on his or her own.

Jesus’ life and teachings are universal and timeless. He taught us how we should live.

Salvation

Salvation is the term used to describe the divine action of restoring humanity to the state from which it had fallen by the sin of Adam. Salvation, the free gift of God’s grace, is permanent union with God in communion with those who are saved.

God, in merciful kindness, has undertaken history of salvation, a series of interventions in world history intended to right what has become wrong. The culmination of God’s divine plan is in the incarnation of Jesus.

The communion of all those who have been saved will come to fulfilment in Christ’s Second Coming and the resurrection of the dead.

Salvation requires faith and good works.

It is faith – belief in Jesus and commitment to him – that enables humans to share the saving grace of Jesus. Through baptism, Christians enter into the community of faith and are enabled to imitate Jesus – dying with him to sinfulness and thereby finding the power to rise with him to a new life.

Since Vatican II the Church teaches that salvation can be attained by all people of good will, whether Catholic or not.

The Nature of the Church

The Church is the gathering of people by Jesus. It is a community of Christian believers – a community that was founded by Jesus himself.

The Church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, sees its role as continuing the work of Jesus. Its mission is to preach the good news of salvation to all the world. This task is the foremost duty of every member of the Church.

The Church continues to be faithful to the Word, witness and service of the apostles.

The authority and primacy of the Pope is the foundation of the unity of the Church.

The Church is one because of - its source in the oneness of God;

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Create a moving, human sculpture which shows that Jesus is truly human and truly divine.

The story of the Israelites escaping from slavery in Egypt (Exodus, Chapter 14) is an example of God’s intervention in world history. Present the story as a role play in a modern day setting.

- its founder Jesus Christ who unites all things in God;- the one Holy Spirit dwelling within it as a bond of unity.

The unity is expressed by the profession of one faith received from the Apostles, by common worship (especially the sacraments), and by apostolic succession through the sacrament of Holy Orders.

The Church is holy because of its relationship with Christ who calls its members to become holy. The holiness of the Church is still being perfected.

The Church is catholic, because it is universal, missionary and open to all.

The Church is apostolic, because it is built on the foundation of the apostles, missioned by Christ himself. It hand on the apostolic tradition. The bishops continue to teach, and guide it in succession to the apostles.

The word communion or koinonia in Greek, is used in the New Testament to refer to the fellowship that links all Christians, whether living or dead. What is being said is that the Church on earth is linked with the Church in heaven.

Before the Second Vatican Council, the Church was hierarchical, with authority being passed from the Pope to the Bishops to priests and religious down to the ordinary people. Today the Church has changed to become collegial.

Discipleship

A disciple is a generic term that identifies those who believe in Jesus and pattern their lives on his. The word “disciple” comes from the Greek word for learner, or one who follows the path of Jesus.

As disciples we are called to spread the good news of Jesus through word and action.

Authentic discipleship is carried out at work, in the home, in a specialised ministry, in high-profile jobs, in all walks of life.

Evil and Suffering

Suffering is the result of sin. God does not cause suffering.

Evil is the absence or distortion of what is good. Evil is acknowledged in the disasters of the natural world – earthquakes, famine, disease – and in the form of moral evil – hatred, war, murder.

Physical evil is simply part of the context in which human beings live their lives. The fact that Jesus suffered and died and then rose from the dead was intended to teach us that suffering can acquire meaning. Although it might be difficult to understand why there should be famine or plague or earthquake, Christians believe that there is some ultimate purpose behind God’s refusal to prevent such catastrophes.

Moral evil is explained by free will, people’s ability to choose good or evil. God could have made the first humans without free will but that would have made them less like himself, less capable of finding their full potential. It is for the greater good that God allows humans to do evil and cause suffering.

While people may find no reason in the cause of physical suffering, they can find meaning in their response to it.

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Draw a diagram on butcher paper to show how the structure of the Catholic Church has changed since the Second Vatican Council.

Read the story of Jesus calling his first disciples (Luke, Chapter 5:1-11). Present the story as a role play in a modern day setting.

Prepare a debate on the topic: evil and suffering is the result of sin.

Eschatology

At death the individual makes a particular judgement. This judgement is based on the individual’s relationship with God as lived throughout life. It either accepts or rejects the individual’s relationship with God.

Heaven is a state of eternal life with God and all those who share God’s life. It is a consequence of the acceptance of a relationship with God.

Purgatory is a state of final purification for the achievement of holiness necessary for the joy of heaven.

Hell is a state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and all who shares God’s life.

Jesus returned bodily to the Father. In some way he has resumed his position in the Trinity while retaining his human form. His resurrected body is spiritual, not necessarily recognisable as that which he possessed while on earth.

Jesus will return to the world on the last day. On that day the world will come to an end and all humans – those who have died and those who have survived to that day – will be judged by God. On that day humanity will experience a bodily resurrection, like Christ’s spiritual body.

Scripture and Tradition

1. In pairs make two lists of everything that comes to your mind when you think about the words “Scripture” and “Tradition”.

2. Why do you think these two words are essential to our understanding of Catholic Christianity?

3. Why are they seen as equally important?

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Summarise the Church’s eschatological teachings in the form of a diagram.

Scripture Tradition

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Catholic Worship and Practice

Prayer

Prayer is a human response to God who calls us into relationship. In prayer the person attempts to gain a greater sense of wholeness in life. Prayer is a personal relationship, expressed in the mind and heart, with the living God. A recognition of the existence of God is therefore a prerequisite for prayer.

Prayer can be understood by considering why people pray. Prayer may be praise of God; it may be thanksgiving for gifts received; it may be sorrow for sin; or it may be intercession for things needed.

Prayer can be understood by its context. When people prayer alone, it is personal prayer. When prayer is prayed with others it is communal.

Prayer can be understood by the methods it uses:

Mental prayer may or may not use words.

Vocal prayer uses a set text, either spoken or sung.

Bodily gesture such as dance can be prayer.

Meditation is a reflective awareness of God’s presence.

Centring prayer often uses a mantra to focus on the presence of God. A mantra is a chant that is repeated continuously.

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Glossolalia is praying called “speaking in tongues”.

Jesus taught about prayer and gave a model for prayer: The Lord’s Prayer.

Use of imaging, icons, symbols, music, art and texts are effective supports for prayer.

Prayer has always been part of the experience of the Catholic tradition. It is Trinitarian – it is centred on Christ and enabled by the Holy Spirit (without the Holy Spirit, we cannot pray). It comes from the Church and is expressed within the Church. It is directed towards union with God at the end of time.

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Use the information above to complete the mind-map on page 2. Look up the following readings from the Bible, and match them with the correct context of reason why people pray.

Luke 1:46-55; Philippians 1:3-5; Psalm 108:3-4; Judges 10:10; 1 Kings 3:5-14; Ephesians 1:3

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WHY

CONTEXT

METHODS

Liturgy

The word “liturgy” means the participation of the People of God in the work of God. Within the context of worship, liturgy refers to communal prayer. Liturgy is formally celebrated in a church, or house of prayer, where God is present through Christ. Liturgy may also be celebrated in other locations.

Sketch of School Chapel

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Visit the school chapel. Draw an architect sketch of the chapel, including each of the following features: altar, lectern, chair of the priest, tabernacle, red lamp, crucifix, icons, baptismal font, pews.

Liturgy affirms one’s connection to God and the community. It is a community expression of faith through worship.

Liturgical celebrations comprise the Liturgy of the Word. The Liturgy of the Word has a basic structure which consists of –

Readings from the Old and New Testaments.

Human response to the readings (for example, the priest’s homily).

Prayer.

The liturgical celebration of the Eucharist is the high point of all liturgy. It consists of two parts –

The gathering, the Liturgy of the Word.

The Liturgy of the Eucharist.

The Liturgy of the Eucharist consists of –

The prayer of thanksgiving and consecration, when the bread and wine becomes the body and blood of Christ, respectively.

A memorial which calls to mind the death, resurrection and glorious return of Jesus Christ.

Intercessions, which indicate that the Eucharist is celebrated in communion with the whole Church in heaven and on earth, the living and the dead, and in communion with the clergy.

Communion, when believers receive the body and blood of Christ.

The Eucharist is the source and summit of Catholic life, because in the Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself. The Eucharist as thanksgiving and blessing recalls ways in which God in the past, present and future creates, redeems and sanctifies.

Historical Development of the Eucharist

Using the material on the following pages, write down one strength and one weakness for each “eucharistic era”.

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Advantage Disadvantage

Advantage Disadvantage

Advantage Disadvantage

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Advantage Disadvantage

The Sacraments

There are seven sacraments in the Catholic Church today.

Baptism

Baptism is the method by which one enters the Catholic Church family. It is usually of babies, but anyone who converts to Christianity and wants to become a Catholic and who has not been baptised before, may be baptised. People can only receive the sacrament of baptism once.

Eucharist

The term Eucharist comes from a Greek word meaning thanksgiving or being grateful. Communion is the act of consuming the elements of the Eucharist. Mass is the liturgy during which the Eucharist is celebrated. Mass consists of the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. If no Eucharist or Communion is served during a service, it is called a paraliturgy. Only an ordained priest may consecrate the bread and wine, but non-ordained people can assist in the serving of Communion. Only a baptised Catholic who has received the sacrament of the Eucharist are officially allowed to take Communion in a Catholic Mass. The sacrament of the Eucharist can be received many times.

Confirmation

Confirmation is the ceremony of a bishop laying his hands on the head of the person being confirmed. It means that baptised persons are admitted to the full enjoyment of Christian privileges. Sometimes confirmation is accompanied by a First Communion. Confirmation means that an individual personally takes on the promises about church membership which were made on their behalf when they were a baby. This sacrament can only be received once in a lifetime.

The sacraments of baptism, Eucharist and confirmation are known as sacraments of initiation.

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Reconciliation

Reconciliation is the restoring of union or friendship after relationships have become estranged or alienated through sin. In reconciliation, the person seeks absolution from a priest. Absolution is being forgiven and liberated from the usual penalties of sins. This sacrament can be received many times.

Matrimony

Matrimony is the state of being married for which the ceremony is a wedding. All Christian churches believe that the ideal marriage is permanent, exclusive and committed. Because marriage is a sacrament in the Catholic Church, marriage in the Catholic Church cannot be undone. Divorce is a procedure entered into with the legal system in any state. The Church cannot, therefore, stop its members from proceeding with a divorce. The Church does, however, have the power to stop those members who have divorced and have remarried from taking Communion – this is usually up to the priest.

Holy Orders

To ordain someone means to give them ministerial or priestly functions, that is to make them a priest. The Pope, cardinals, archbishops and bishops can administer this sacrament. No women may be ordained as a priest in the Catholic Church in any diocese in the world. In 1994 Pope John Paul II issued a statement that the Church had no authority to ordain women, and that henceforth all discussion on the matter should cease. This sacrament, like marriage, is permanent and can only be received once.

Anointing of the Sick

Anointing of the sick is a sacrament meant to comfort or sooth the sick person or performed when someone is on the point of death. It involves pouring, rubbing or smearing oil on the sick person. A person can receive this sacrament more than once.

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Use the information to complete the following mind maps.

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SACRAMENTS OF INITIATION

SACRAMENTS THAT CAN BE RECEIVED MORE THAN ONCE

SACRAMENTS THAT CAN BE RECEIVED ONCE ONLY

Vatican II

The Vatican is the home of the Pope, the world leader of the Catholic Church. Vatican City, although surrounded by the city of Rome and the country of Italy, is actually the smallest independent country in the world. It is the cluster of buildings or palace for Papal government. From 1869-1870, a Vatican Council met and this council put forward the doctrine of Papal supremacy or infallibility. This is the belief that when the Pope is speaking in his official capacity, on doctrine of faith or morals, he is absolutely trustworthy and never in error.

In 1959, Pope John the 23rd called for another world council of Catholic bishops. They met, with theologians and lay people as observers, in four sessions from 1962 to 1965. This series of meetings between Catholic bishops is referred to as Vatican II. The changes in the Catholic Church brought about by Vatican II were enormous. Pope John the 23rd died between the first and second sessions of Vatican II, and its work continued under the next Pope, Paul the 6th. The product of the Council’s four sessions was to put out sixteen statements. There was one statement each on revelation, the liturgy, the instruments of social communication, Ecumenism, the episcopate, religious life, the laity, missions, education, non-Christians, Eastern Churches, and religious freedom, two statements on the Catholic Church and two statements on priests.

Following Vatican II, responsibility for many decisions and choices was given back to national boards, regional dioceses, individual parishes or even the conscience of the individual Catholic. Prior to Vatican II the Church sought to remove itself from history, to be in the world, but not of the world. Today it is faced with the necessity to enter into the lives of people and their culture, both to give and to be changed by them. No longer are Catholics told by the clerics to win salvation by obeying a list of detailed rules and procedures; instead they are to make decisions for themselves in the light of the Gospel, the Church and the needs of the world. The Mass was to be said in the vernacular, the most commonly spoken local language. In Australia, this meant it is now mostly in English. Catholics were now encouraged to read the Bible.

In the years before Vatican II, if a Catholic person entered the church building of another denomination for an occasion such as a wedding, they had committed a sin. In his encyclical letter of 1959, Pope John the 23rd spoke again and again of the necessity of binding up the wounds caused by the Great Schism and the Reformation. Vatican II committed the Catholic Church to the ecumenical movement and today, a baptism in an Anglican, Uniting or Catholic church is recognised as official by all Uniting, Anglican or Catholic churches. If a wedding is between, say, a Uniting church person and a Catholic person, both a Uniting Church minister and a Catholic priest might take part in the service.

Vatican II took place when decreasing numbers of men and women were applying to become religious (brothers, nuns, priests). Vatican II recognised the decrease in numbers of people who wanted to become religious, and sought to redress the hierarchical imbalance brought about by the First Vatican Council’s decree regarding the supremacy and infallibility of the pope. It tried to give greater responsibility and freedom to lay people. Despite this, the Catholic is still centralised, and the ordination of women and married priesthood will not come about until the Pope wishes to bring it about.

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Some Changes Within the Church on Liturgy

Pre-Vatican II Post Vatican II

Emphasis on sacredness of liturgy as a means of salvation.

Care in keeping liturgy uniform.

Latin used throughout the world.

Priests perform, laity observe.

Liturgy is seen as celebration.

Vernacular language used.

All participate, allowing for diverse ministries: lay lectors, ministers of the Eucharist, etc.

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SWOT Analysis

S = strengths W = weaknesses O = opportunities T = threats

1. Draw up a SWOT analysis grid on butcher paper, like the one below.STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

THREATS OPPORTUNITIES

2. Carry out a SWOT analysis. Record your findings on the grid on the butcher paper. (There is no need to copy the questions onto the butcher paper.)

3. Share your findings with the class.

The Liturgical Calendar

Christians began ear-marking some days as special very early in their history. They had inherited the seven-day week from Judaism, but whereas the Jews kept the seventh day (Saturday) as their holy day or Sabbath, the Christians designated the first day of the week (Sunday) as the regular day to meet for worship. This was because –

Jesus rose on the first day of the week.

The first day symbolises the new beginning, or new life offered to people who believe in Jesus.

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What are the strengths of the changes brought about by Vatican II?

What are the weaknesses of the changes brought about by Vatican II?

What threats has Vatican II created in the Church?

What opportunities has Vatican II introduced?

The liturgical calendar or cycle is a fusion of two foundational cycles –

The Christmas cycle (centred on Christ’s birth). Advent is part of the Christmas cycle. It is a season of preparation for the coming of Jesus, both at Christmas and at the end of time.

The Easter cycle (centred on Christ’s death and resurrection). Lent is a forty-day preparation for Easter during which many believers prepare for baptism. The celebration of the Lord’s Supper (Holy Thursday) and of his death on Good Friday give way to the joy of Easter. Many Christian congregations light an Easter candle to symbolise Jesus as the light of the world. Christians go on to celebrate the Ascension and, after fifty days, Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Catholics also remember saints through the celebration of liturgy. The saints whose feast days are celebrated vary from denomination to denomination. In addition to these days, Catholics also celebrate other special days such the Holy Trinity, Christ the King and the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple.

In the weeks after Pentecost, prayer and worship focus on other aspects of the life and teaching of Jesus.

References

Apostolic Constitution. (1994). Catechism of the Catholic Church. Homebush: St Pauls.

Bartlett, T. (2000). New studies of religion: preliminary course depth study 2: Christianity.

Board of Studies. (1999). Stage 6 syllabus: studies of religion. Sydney: Board of Studies New South Wales.

Courtie, B., & Johnson, M. (1990). Christianity explored. Oxford: Lion Publishing plc.

Crotty, R. (2000). Christianity. In D. Parnham (Ed.), Exploring religion (2nd ed., pp. 53-94). South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

Good news bible. (1979). Canberra: The Bible Society in Australia Inc.

Klein, P. (2000). The Catholic source book (3rd ed.). Dubuque: Brown-Roa.

Lovat, T., & McGrath, J. (Eds.). (1999). New studies in religion. Katoomba: Social Science Press.

Morrissey, J., Mudge, P., Taylor, A., Bailey, G., Gregor, H., McGillion, C., O'Reilly, P., Magee, P., & Mills, L. (2001). Living religion (2nd ed.). Sydney: Longman.

Ryan, M. (1998). The Catholic Church in Australia. Katoomba: Social Science Press.

© Emmaus Publications (2003). Every effort has been made to trace and acknowledge all materials used. This material may be photocopied for educational use only.

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