Transcript TheChurchOurStory PowerPoint Unit 1.1

UNIT ONE
What 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.
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

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
2.) Evangelical
Counsels
3.) Sacraments
Clarifies practical aspects of
living
Certain attitudes and
behaviors are unacceptable
Stand apart from temptation,
give witness to love, justice
of kingdom
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

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
Apostolic Nature of Church
• Accepts continued guidance of
apostles through their
successors, Peter’s successor
– the Pope, and the bishops.
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.
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.