RE L3-4

One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic

To distinguish itself from all other religious sects, the early Church used four criteria proclaimed in the Creed:

source

The Church is one first from her very ____, the One living God in three Persons

• came to redeem and unify the whole human race

• prayed to his Father “that all may be one even as you, Father, are in me and I in you”

• instituted the Eucharist which both signifies and effects the unity of the Church;

• united all by his new commandment of mutual love

• poured forth his Spirit through whom he calls the people of the New Covenant into a unity of faith, hope, and charity

the Church is one in her founder, Jesus Christ, who:

• in the confession of one faith received from the apostles

• the common celebration of divine worship, especially the sacraments

• the fraternal harmony of God’s family

the Church is one:

unity-in-diversity

But the Church is a ____, like the sheepfold of Jesus the Good Shepherd, who not only calls each of his own sheep by name and leads them out, but has “other sheep that do not belong to this fold.

1. heresy

2. apostasy

3. schism

Official breaks with Church communion include:

heresy

the obstinate denial or doubt by baptized person of a truth which must be believed by divine* and Catholic faith

apostasy

the total repudiation of the Christian faith

schism

the withdrawal of submission to the Supreme Pontiff or from communion with the members of the Church subject to him

Ecumenism

is concerned with restoring unity of the Christian Churches

holy

In faith we believe the Church is ___  in a way that can never fail

Paschal Pilgrimage

The Church’s holiness is a process of growing, a “_____,” not a static, guaranteed state

holiness

But this means that all in the Church are called to ____. This call comes from Christ: “The Lord Jesus, divine Teacher and Model of perfection, who stands as the Author and Finisher of all holiness, preached holiness of life to each and every one of his disciples, regardless of their situations”

Charity/Love

_____ is the center of holiness, uniting inseparably both worship of God and service of our fellow human persons.

Catholic

means universal, complete, all-embracing

Catholic

It applies to the Church in two different ways. First, the Church is world-wide, sent to all peoples. Second, being endowed with the “fullness of the means for salvation”

Pentecost

The Church was “Catholic” on the day of  _____ “when was foreshadowed the union of all peoples in the catholicity of the Faith achieved by the Church of the New Covenant

• is spread throughout the world

• possesses all saving truth

• is sent to all peoples

• can heal all kinds of sins

• abounds in every kind of virtue and spiritual gift

The Church is “Catholic” according to a Church Father because she:

apologetics

Traditionally, the Church’s “catholicity” as its external, visible universality, was used in _____ to distinguish the one true Church from all heretical and schismatic Christian sects and groups.

external

Traditionally, the Church’s “catholicity” as its ___, visible universality, was used in apologetics to distinguish the one true Church from all heretical and schismatic Christian sects and groups.

interior

Today, “catholicity” is also explained as the Church’s ____ capacity of exercising a universal ministry of reconciliation.

• because Jesus Christ grounded her permanently “on the foundation of the apostles”

• because she guards and transmits their teaching and witness

• she continues to be instructed, sanctified and guided by the apostles through their successors

The Church is “Apostolic” in three basic ways:

apostolic succession

The principal way the apostles “guide us still” is through the ____ of the bishops, assisted by the Holy Spirit

hierarchical community

the Church is a ____, whose unity in faith and communion are grounded in the successors of the apostles and especially of Peter, the chosen “rock” upon which Christ would build his Church

Petrine commission

_____ was confirmed when the Risen Christ, calling Peter to a threefold profession of atoning love, charged him thrice with the task of shepherding and leading the flock: “Feed my lambs”

Sacrament of salvation

the sign and instrument for achieving intimate union with God

Mark

_____ presents mission as “proclaiming the Gospel to lead others to the faith

Matthew’s

his mission stresses the teaching of the Christian community, the Church

Luke

_____ emphasizes the Gospel’s transforming power to work conversion to God’s merciful love, and liberation from the root of all evil, sin.

John’s

In ____ Gospel Jesus sends forth his disciples on mission, just as the Father sent him

Ministry

means “service,” and Christian ministry refers to “serving the people of God in a stable fashion.”

Ministry

This includes any public activity of a baptized disciple of Christ, animated by the grace [charism] of the Holy Spirit, performed on behalf of the Christian community, and in the service of the Kingdom of God

1. doing something

2. for God’s Kingdom

3. in public

4. on behalf of the Christian community

5. empowered by a gift of faith received in baptism, or ordination

6. identifiable within the diversity of ministerial activities

ministry is characterized by:

Sacrament of Orders

There are first of all the ordained ministries that arise from the ____

Ordained Ministry

These ministers receive the authority and power to serve the Church, acting in the person of Christ, the Head.

bishop, priest and deacon

three degrees of the Sacrament of Orders:

preaching the Gospel

The most important duty of the Bishop is ____

Bishops

____ are the “authentic teachers,” endowed with the authority of Christ, teaching in communion with the Roman Pontiff.

gift of infallibility

This gift preserves the Church from error in teaching what God has revealed in faith and morals

charism of infallibility

This simply means that Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life, through his Holy Spirit, will preserve his Church from error in its solemn, definitive teaching of the deposit of faith

charism of infallibility

This special charism of infallibility is enjoyed by the Roman Pontiff, in virtue of his office, when, as supreme pastor and teacher of all the faithful, he proclaims by a definitive act, a doctrine of faith or morals

the ministries of the lay faithful

they are founded in the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, and for a good many of them, in the Sacrament of Matrimony

monastic, eremitic, religious institutes, secular institutes

The Church recognizes various forms of consecrated life:

Basic Ecclesial Communities

which become centers for Christian formation and missionary outreach

Basic Ecclesial Communities

By incarnating the Gospel in the Filipino culture, these _____ also become means for effectively spreading Gospel values, and for bringing out the eschatological dimension of daily life.