UNIT ONE

What is Church?
I Believe And Profess…

 Allthat the Holy Catholic

Church believes, teaches, and
proclaims to be revealed by
God.
Faith and the Church are
Connected
 Christianfaith 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.

Acall to faith, a call to be

Church.
What is faith?
 PopeJohn 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
 Toabandon ourselves to
Christ

 Toallow 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.

 Itis 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
 Itis 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
 TheChurch 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.

 In381 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
 TheChurch 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.
Unity is not uniformity
 Seven non-Roman ecclesial
traditions in union with Rome

West Syrian

Maronite

Armenian
Unity is not uniformity

East Syrian (Chaldean)

Ethiopian

Byzantine

Coptic
The Church is Holy
because
 It
is the body of Christ – The
Holy One of God

 The Holy Spirit dwells within it

 Ofits 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 Clarifies practical aspects
of the of living
Church Certain attitudes and
behaviors are
unacceptable
2.) Evangelical Stand apart from
Counsels 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

Counsels Temptation
Poverty Material wealth
Chastity Physical pleasure

Obedience Power
The Church is Catholic

 It is for all people

 Itis 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

 Theteachings of all of the

apostles

 Theunderstanding 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
Apostolic Nature of Church

• Accepts continued guidance of

apostles through their
successors, Peter’s successor
– the Pope, and the bishops.
Apostolic Succession in
History
 Importantto prove
connection with apostles.

 Localchurch 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.

 Theteachings 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.
Roles of Pope

 To remember that there are certain

Church teachings which cannot
be adapted to suit the local
culture.
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.