UNIT ONEWhat is Church?

I Believe And Profess…

All that the Holy Catholic Church believes, teaches, and proclaims to be revealed by God.

Faith and the Church are Connected Christian faith cannot be

separated from a relationship with the Church because

– Where the Church is, God is.

– We cannot separate our response to God’s call from our relationship to the Church.

Church From Greek word “Ekklesia”

Means “to call out of”

When used in the New Testament it referred to the community called out of the world by God to live and act in a way that was different from others.

What is God’s call?

Call to be united with Christ, to be part of his body.

A call to faith, a call to be Church.

What is faith?

Pope John Paul II in his encyclical letter Redemptoris Mater says that faith is “contact with the mystery of God”.

A free gift from God

Faith is a human act

A response to God’s gift

A surrendering of ourselves to God

To believe in Christ means To abandon ourselves to

Christ

To allow ourselves to be shaped by Christ

To let go of those things which keep us from listening to and following him.

How does the gift of faith begin? Many different ways:

– Single life-changing event– Commitment of parents to raise

their children in way shaped by Jesus

– In a moment– Part of a longer process

Believing is not something that happens once and for all time.

We can sustain our faith by: Prayer Study Reflection Regular reception of the

sacraments Exercising it in loving

action. We must nourish our faith if

we are to remain committed to what we believe!

The need for Community A true disciple of Christ must

join with others.

Our faith must be communal as well as personal.

It is not easy for the individual or the community to surrender our lives to Christ.– But the Church believes we can

be united in faith.

The need for Community

It is only in the context of a community that we can really come to know and understand the God who “is love”.

The need for Community God has chosen to make his

love and fidelity known to us through one another when we gather in his name.

Our faith is deepened and fortified by the

community’s faith.

Faith is supported by Formal Structures The Church needs to develop

formal structures that help preserve essential truths.

Formal structures include:– Creeds– Doctrines– Rituals

Formal Structures Help both individuals and

communities establish, express, and maintain their identities as believers.

Make our communal relationship with God visible and tangible.

Are defined and interpreted by the Church’s magisterium.

Magisterium

Bishops in communion with the pope who is the successor of St. Peter.

Ecumenism

True ecumenism – the reconciliation of all Christians in the unity of the Church – involves the efforts of all.

The Marks of the Church One, holy, catholic and

apostolic

Certain specific characteristics that date back to early Christianity.

In 381 at the first council of Constantinople the words “one, holy, catholic and apostolic church” were officially added to the Nicene creed.

The Marks of the Church

Through the Holy Spirit, Christ makes the Church one, holy, catholic and apostolic.

The Church manifests these qualities in different ways at different times.

The Church is the first sacrament of Christ

The Church is a symbol and instrument of God’s presence on earth and movement through time.

The Church makes visible to people and provides a means by which they can come in contact with the Holy One.

The Church is One because…1.) Of the unity in the Trinity of

one God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Sprit

2.) Of its founder, Jesus Christ who came to restore unity among all people and between all people and the Father.

3.) Of the Holy Spirit who brings about the communion of the faithful and joins them in Christ.

The true Church of Christ

The Church which Christ entrusted to Saint Peter and the other apostles

Subsists in the Catholic Church

Formal structures that maintain the unity of the Church Profession of one faith

received from the Apostles

Common celebration of divine worship, especially the sacraments

Apostolic succession through the sacrament of Holy Orders.

Unity is not uniformity

Within the unity of the Church a multiplicity of people and cultures is gathered together.

Seven non-Roman ecclesial traditions in union with Rome

Unity is not uniformity

Armenian

West Syrian

Maronite

Unity is not uniformity

Coptic

Ethiopian

Byzantine

East Syrian (Chaldean)

The Church is Holy because It is the body of Christ – The

Holy One of God

The Holy Spirit dwells within it

Of its intimate connection to God.

Holiness means…

To be set apart

Set apart by God for a special purpose

The Church is the heir of the people of Israel

The Catholic Church is set apart to reveal that the One God has became incarnate in Jesus and is present in the Spirit.

Three ways the Church Supports Holiness

1.) Moral Teachings of the

Church

Clarifies practical aspects of livingCertain attitudes and behaviors are unacceptable

2.) Evangelical Counsels

Stand apart from temptation, give witness to love, justice of kingdom

3.) Sacraments Point to essence of life lived in holiness; Give us grace

Evangelical Counsels and their temptation

Poverty Material wealth

Chastity Physical pleasure

Obedience Power

Counsels Temptation

The Church is Catholic

It is for all people

It is the “universal sacrament of salvation”

Catholic means

Universal

In totality

In keeping with the whole

The Church is necessary for salvation The church is necessary for

the transformation of the world into the family of God

All who recognize and understand the necessity of the Church for salvation are obligated to be part of that church

Church teaching is based on the Whole of Revelation

All of scripture

The teachings of all of the apostles

The understanding and witness of Christians from all times, all places

Heresy of Gnosticism

Claimed special privileged knowledge of God and of God’s will. (Secret teachings of one of the 12 apostles)

Catholic Church says:– Teachings are based on the

testimony of all of Jesus’ apostles

The Church is Apostolic

Apostolic means “having been sent

The Church has been sent into the world by Christ

Apostolic Nature of Church

1. Built upon foundation of apostles appointed by Jesus.

1. Jesus is the source and focal point of all we do.

2. Follows guidance of Holy Spirit

1. Faithfully interprets lives and teaches what apostles taught

• Accepts continued guidance of apostles through their successors, Peter’s successor – the Pope, and the bishops.

Apostolic Nature of Church

Apostolic Succession in History

Important to prove connection with apostles.

Local church had to be able to demonstrate the bishop had not broken with fundamental teachings of the apostles.

Apostolic Succession Today Successors of apostles, the

bishops, in union with pope, are able to guarantee that the teachings of the Church will never be detached from the teachings of Christ.

The teachings of the Church will never threaten the true Revelation of God made known in Christ.

Pope: Source and sign of Unity

Without the Pope the unity of the Church would be severely threatened by local churches and bishops addressing competing national and cultural issues

Roles of Pope Gives voice to the universal

mission and vocation of the church.

Calls Catholics everywhere to remember their responsibility to all of God’s people.

To remember that there are certain Church teachings which

cannot be adapted to suit the local culture.

Roles of Pope

In Conclusion

Catholic Church offers:– Continuity with the past– Comfort and security in the

presence of the papacy.

Catholics are called through words and actions to say daily:– Profess faith in One God– Surrender self to Church that is

one, holy, catholic and apostolic.