the church

The Church

TheChurch

What is the Church?

Christ handing the keys to St Peter by Pietro Perugino

What is the Church? (1)

What is the Church?

The Church is the mystical body of

Christ, established by God on earth to gather humanity to

divine life in heaven.

KEY DEFINITION


What is the Church?

God desires all the faithful to be a single family, united to him and to one another in one ‘mystical body’.

This assembly is the Church, the body of Christ, which God has established as:

“the instrument for the salvation of all” (Lumen Gentium

9§2, ccc. 776).


What is the Church?


What is the Church?

This picture symbolises the founding event of the Church on earth.

Keys of the Kingdom

given by Christ to St Peter, symbol of the supreme

authority of Peter and of his

successors, the Popes.

The Twelve Apostles

were also given the power to bind and loose when united with Peter,

their head.Jesus

Peter


The Church in the Creed

Pentecost by Duccio di BuoninsegnaThis descent of the Holy Spirit was the beginning of the Church’s

mission to the world.

The Church in the Creed (1)


THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHURCH“I believe in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church”

ONEShe is one because she has one founder, God. She is also one because her members are united in one faith, sharing the same sacraments under one head, Christ, and the Pope, his vicar on earth.




HOLYShe is holy because she is founded by God, and because her members are the baptised.Through her ministry sinners receive Christ’s forgiveness and become holy.




CATHOLICShe is Catholic, which means ‘universal’, because she is for all races and nations in all ages. All salvation comes through her.




APOSTOLICShe is apostolic because her faith and practices have come to her from the apostles. Her leaders, the bishops, are successors of the apostles. She is also apostolic in that she is ‘sent out’ to preach the Gospel to all creation.


The foundation of the Church by Christ

Christ Teaches his Disciples by Duccio di Buoninsegna. This picture reminds us that Jesus founded his Church on his twelve

apostles, whose successors are the bishops.

The foundation of the Church by Christ (1)

The foundation of the Church by Christ

Jesus Christ established a group of followers under twelve leaders he called ‘Apostles’. He gave one of them, Simon Peter, overall authority.“You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Mt 16:18-19


The foundation of the Church by ChristHe gave his disciples his teaching to pass on to all peoples under the direction of the Holy Spirit who came at Pentecost. This teaching is found in Scripture and Tradition, and is interpreted by the Church with the authority of Christ.

He also established the sacraments to enable his saving power to be present through the ministry of the Church.

“Do this in remembrance of me” (Lk 22:19).


Mistakes about the Church

The Ordination of Saint Lawrence by Fra Angelico. The ordination of St Lawrence by Pope St Sixtus II reminds us that the Church is essentially hierarchical and united around

the successor of St Peter, the Pope.

Mistakes about the Church (1)

MISTAKES ABOUT THE CHURCH

An invisible church

The denial that Christ founded a visible institution; the claim that the present structures of Catholic leadership are a human invention.



MISTAKES ABOUT THE CHURCH

A church without a Pope

The denial of the true hierarchical structure of the Church with bishops united to, and under the authority of, the Pope, the successor of St Peter.



SummaryQuestions

to reinforcekey points

Discussionquestions

Practicalactivities

Presentation Part II

Summary Activities I

Please select an activity or go immediately to part II of the presentation

Summary Activities I

Summary

Activities Menu Presentation Part II

• The Church is the mystical body of Christ, the faithful united in the true worship of God.

• The Church is one, holy, catholic and apostolic.

• Jesus Christ founded the Church. He gave his apostles the power to govern, teach and sanctify the Church, beginning at Pentecost. Their successors are the bishops.

• Jesus Christ gave overall authority to St Peter to shepherd his people on earth. The Popes are St Peter’s successors.

Summary I

Questions to reinforce key points

One

Holy

Catholic

Apostolic

What are the four marks of the Church?


12

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answers

34

Questions to reinforce key points I

Discussion questions


• Discuss how the four marks of the Church (one, holy, catholic and apostolic) are manifested today.

• Discuss why the Church is not merely a human invention.

Select one or more of the following:

Discussion questions I

Practical activities


• Read the Compendium of the Catechism questions 147-176.

• Visit a church and pray for the intentions of the Holy Father and the local bishop.


Practical activities I

Where is the Church?

San Marco Altarpiece by Fra Angelico

Where is the Church? (1)


The Church in glory in heaven.

The saints Their distinct clothing and symbols show how

they preserve their identity and enjoy their

own proper glory in heaven.

Jesus

Mary

Ss Cosmas and Damian These are two of the many saints who

intercede for the Church on earth and invite us to join the Church in heaven.

The evergreensremind us that the Church will last forever in heaven.


The Church on earth

The Seven Sacraments by Weyden. The primary mission of the Church on earth is to sanctify and save her members,

particularly through the sacraments.

The Church on earth (1)

The Church on earthSt Paul calls the Church the ‘body of Christ’ (Eph 1:22-23). As a body, she has an ordered structure and a visible unity. As Christ’s body, she is both a divine and human reality (ccc. 771).

The principal visible elements of this structure are the bishop of Rome (Pope), all the bishops of the world in communion with him, their priests and deacons, those in religious life and the lay faithful.


The Church on earth

The institution of the Church extends across all nations. The whole world is divided up into dioceses under the authority of bishops.

Dioceses are in turn divided into parishes under the direction of priests.


The Church on earth The Church also includes institutes of consecrated life following particular vocational paths. These include religious orders such as the Benedictines, Dominicans, Franciscans and Jesuits.

There are also secular institutes, societies of apostolic life and many lay associations. The majority of the Church’s members are lay people whose special calling is to personal holiness and the evangelisation and sanctification of the societies in which they live.

Dominicans in the San Marco Altarpiece by Fra

Angelico


The Church on earth

Baptism of the Neophytes by Masaccio

Baptism is the means of entry into the Catholic Church, but not all the baptised remain fully united with her. These include Protestant and Orthodox Christians.

The Catholic Church believes that her essential structures and teachings are divinely established. She recognises, however, all that is good and true in other Christian communions, for instance, the validity of all Orthodox sacraments. She is committed to the prayer and work for Christian unity which is called ecumenism.


The Church in purgatory

Detail from The Coronation of the Virgin by Quarton

The Church in purgatory (1)

The Church in purgatorySince those who have died and are in purgatory are also part of the Church, the Church is also found in purgatory.

This is why we in the Church on earth offer prayers and sacrifices for the purification and reparation of the holy souls of the dead.Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin.

2 Macc 12:45



This picture depicts how prayers by the Church on earth can aid the passage of

souls from purgatory to heaven.

A Carthusian praying

Christ on the cross

whose merits make possible the

purification of the imperfect after

death.

Angel helping the soul (of a pope) from purgatory


The Church in heaven

The Coronation of the Virgin by Quarton. The Church in heaven, the coronation of Mary, Mother of the Church, and the glory of all the

angels and saints.

The Church in heaven (1)

The Church in heaven The goal of the Church is to be united with God in the glory of heaven. Just as Christians on earth comprise a community, those in heaven also form a community.

This is the Church in glory, which the Apostles’ Creed calls ‘the communion of saints’.


The Church in heaven The word saint means ‘holy one’, a title of honour given to those who are now in the glory of heaven. Although most saints are unknown to us, the Church has recognised that certain men and women, from all ages and states of life, are definitely now in heaven.


The Church in heavenSome examples of saints are the apostles St Peter and St John; the martyrs St Agnes and St Thomas More; the virgins St Clare and St Edith Stein; and the pastors St John Vianney and St Philip Neri. The Church honours exemplary teachers, such as St Thomas Aquinas and St Teresa of Avila, with the title doctor of the Church.


The Church in heavenWe in the Church on earth are joined in prayer with the saints in heaven. We therefore honour them and pray for their intercession in our earthly pilgrimage.

In Scripture, the Church in glory is described as the ‘bride of Christ’ and the ‘new Jerusalem’.I saw a new heaven and a new earth ... And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Rev 21:1-2


SummaryQuestions

to reinforcekey points

Discussionquestions

Practicalactivities

Summary Activities IIPlease select an activity or go immediately

to the concluding prayer

Concluding Prayer

Summary Activities II

Summary

Activities Menu

• The Church is on earth, in purgatory and in heaven.

• The principal visible elements of the Church on earth are the bishop of Rome (Pope), all the bishops of the world in communion with him, their priests and deacons, those in religious life and the lay faithful.

• The Church on earth also offers prayers and sacrifices for the purification and reparation of the holy souls in purgatory.

• The Church on earth is also joined in prayer with the saints in heaven. We honour them and pray for their intercession in our earthly pilgrimage.

Concluding Prayer

Summary II

Questions to reinforce key points

On earth - militant

In purgatory - suffering

In heaven - triumphant


Activities Menu Concluding Prayer

123

Click on a box to reveal one of the

answers

Questions to reinforce key points II

Discussion questions

Activities Menu

• Discuss experiences of the visible elements of the Church on earth such as parishes, dioceses, religious orders and lay movements.

• Discuss some personal knowledge about some of the saints in heaven.


Concluding Prayer

Discussion questions II

Practical activities

Activities Menu

• Read the Compendium of the Catechism questions 177-195.

• Visit a church and find any symbols or images connected with the saints in heaven.


Concluding Prayer

Practical activities II

Final Prayer

From the hymn ‘Jerusalem the Golden’

Jerusalem the golden, with milk and honey blest,

Beneath thy contemplation sink heart and voice oppressed.

I know not, O I know not, what joys await us there,

What radiancy of glory, what bliss beyond compare.

O sweet and blessed country, the home of God’s elect!

O sweet and blessed country, that eager hearts expect!

Jesus, in mercy bring us to that dear land of rest,

Who art, with God the Father, and Spirit, ever blessed.

Amen.

Final Prayer

the church

Spiritual