CH Final Study Guide

UNIT 1: WHAT IS THE CHURCH?

TERMS

CONCEPTS

• Original Sin- the fallen state of human nature into which all humanity is now born

• Covenant- the oath of love between God and human beings

• Disciple- followers of christ; someone who learns from and follows Jesus 

• Apostles- the 12 whom Jesus chose to help him in his ministry

• Paschal Mystery- Jesus’ suffering, death, resurrection and ascension

• Pentecost- the day the HS descended upon the apostles 

• Ekklesia- to call out

• Ecclesiology- the study of the church

• What is good in creation? EVERYTHING What does God say is not good? Man being alone

• “The Church is a sacrament, the sign and instrument of …” communion with God and of unity among all men

• What is broken because of the Fall? Loss of communion with God and with others How does the Church work to specifically heal what is broken by sin? Through salvation history 

• Original justice is broken; there is a loss of communion w God and w others

• God calls the Church together through salvation history to restore the unity that was broken

→ This begins w covenants

• Why was the world created? For love and communion

• How is the Church born? Out of Christ’s self giving love on the cross: shown by the blood and water that come from Jesus’ side symbolizing baptism and the eucharist, sacraments of initiation

• What is a mystery? Something that is infinitely knowable 

—> church is a mystery because she is created by God (who is a mystery)

• Who instituted the Church? Jesus “You are Petre, and upon this rock i will build my Church” 

• What is the Church’s mission? (3 parts) 

1. Make disciples 

2. Baptize them 

3. Teach them 

• When does Jesus give the Church Her mission? Before his Ascension at the Great Commission 

• What did the Spirit enable the disciples to do at Pentecost? Speak and understand other tongues How does this demonstrate the purpose of the Church? Undoes the tower of babel, they can all preach to each other and understand each other: this is the revelation of the Church to the world 

• The Holy Spirit—what is the relationship of the Spirit to the Father and Son?  

• Father: lover

• Son: beloved

• Spirit: love in between

• Common theme across all the images of the Church 

1. God's relationship to his people 

2. The peoples relationship to God 

3. Our relationship with each other 

• Images of the Church- how we come to better understand Her identity

  • Body of Christ, Bride of Christ, Flock, Vine and Vineyard, Kingdom of God, Temple of the Holy Spirit, People of God, Family of God 

• We DON'T pray to the saints because they can perform miracles in our lives

UNIT 2: HOW DID THE CHURCH BEGIN?

TERMS

CONCEPTS

PEOPLE

• Martyr- witness comes from greek work “martyr”: Someone who dies for their faith→ jesus says all His followers are to martyrs of the gospel  

→ “You will me my witness in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and even to the ends of the Earth”

• Edict of Milan- christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire

• Antioch- new center of the christian movement—> the first place where believers are called “christians”

• Deacon- one who would do charity to assist the apostles (first priests/bishops)

• Catechumenate- the process of preparation before baptism

• Why does Jesus spend 40 days with His Apostles after His Resurrection? He spent the same amount of time preparing for His own mission when he fasted and prayed in the desert

→ now he gives the apostles that amount of time to prepare for their mission as the church

• Stephen’s speech and Stephen’s martyrdom (what was the BIG reason that Stephen got martyred?) Stephen is arrested and brought before the Jewish council 

→ false witnesses claim that he is speaking blasphemy 

• After his accusation he gives a long speech retelling the covenants, proving that he isn’t blasphemous 

• He is stoned to death 

• Protomartyr: the first martyr 

• A young man named Saul from Tarsus oversees Stephen’s murder

• What was the discussion/issue at the Council of Jerusalem and what was their final decision? Discuss how the gentiles should be incorporated into the Chrustian community 

• Core discussion: Which parts of the Jewish faith do the gentiles need to follow/practice?   

→ in order not to cause scandal to the Jews in the Church in Antioch, gentiles have to keep some jewish customs

• Final decision: gentile in antioch do not need to be circumcised but they do have to practice food purity laws and be chaste

• How did Peter die? Crucified upside down in Rome

• Peter’s Vision—what did he see, what did it mean, and what was the result of the vision?  God tell peter “what God has made clean you are not to call profane” 

• Result: peter gives a speech about how God shows no partiality, rather in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him 

—> The Holy Spirit then descends upon all the Gentiles that Peter is gathered with and they get baptized.

—> Jesus came as the Jewish Messiah because the Jews were God’s Chosen People, but He came to save ALL of humanity.

God promised Abraham that his descendents would be a blessing for all nations –> fulfilled in Jesus! 

—> When Peter gets back to Jerusalem, he gets criticized by some people who think Peter shouldn’t be associating with Gentiles

• “If God chose to give [the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles], who was I to hinder God?” (11:17)

• 4 parts (pillars?) of life in the Church (just what are they; no need to know additional information about them) 

1. Teaching of the Apostles (Creed) 

2. Breaking of the Bread (Sacraments) 

3. Fellowship (Morality) 

4. Prayers

• Peter- apostle to Jesus: first pope 

• Saul Paulus of Tarsus- one of the biggest persecutors, oversees stephen’s murder, roman citizen, well trained in greek and philosophy, a pharisee (jewish), trained under gamaliel, goes on the road to damascus→ is blended and encounters God, changes his ways (saul to paul), chosen instrument of God

• Stephen- protomartyr= first martyr

• Ananias- restored saul’s sight to him after three days of wandering to damascus 

UNIT 3: THE CHURCH IS ONE 

TERMS

CONCEPTS

• Heresy- persistent and deliberate denial of one of the truths of the faith by someone who has been baptized

• Schism- refusal by one who has been baptized of unity with the pope and communion with the members of the church

• Apostasy- the total rejection of Christian faith by a baptized person

• Hypostatic Union- union of the human and divine natures in the person of Jesus Christ

• Ecumenical Councils- 

• Nicea- condemned arianism 

• Constantinople- condemned further trinitarian heresies and apollinarism 

• Ephesus- condemned nestorianism 

• Chalcedon- condemned monophysitism 

• Protestant Reformation- a series of interrelated schism that led to many Christians being seperated from communion with the catholic church

• Ecumenism- the movement to seek the unity of all christian religions

• Interreligious Dialogue- the conversations and search for truth that takes places among christians and those who do not believe Christ to be the savior 

• Oriental Orthodox Churches- monophysite heresy broke away and formed this church

• Eastern Orthodox Churches- not in communion with the catholic church

• Eastern Rite Catholic Churches- fully catholic, in communion with the Roman catholic church (Armenian, Antiochene, Alexandrian, Chaldean, Byzantine) 

• Counter Reformation- renewal of religious fervor within the catholic church, particularly in Europe 

• Indulgence- asking for forgiveness

• What are the four marks of the Church?- They are the 4 essential characteristics/attributes of the Church and her mission that are inseparably linked together. 

1. One 

2. Holy 

3. Catholic 

4. Apostolic 

• WHY is the Church one? (3 reasons) 

1. Her source the trinity is a perfect unity of the three persons in ONE God 

→ if God is one than the church must be one 

2. Her founder, Jesus Christ, reconciled all humankind through the Cross 

3. Her “soul” the HS unites all believes 

• HOW is the Church one? (3 reasons) 

1. In our creed and teachings 

2. In the celebration of the Sacraments 

3. In the Hierarchical structure based on Apostolic succession, handed on through the Sacrament of Holy Orders 

• What are the names/titles for the Church on Earth, in Purgatory, and in Heaven? 

On earth→ Church militant/Pilgrim 

In Purgatory- Church suffering 

In Heaven- Church triumphant 

• “The Church is one but also diverse.” 

• Can a non-Christian be a heretic, schismatic, or apostate? Why or why not? 

• NO, these are states only a baptized member of the church can posses 

• Catholic understanding of Jesus as ONE divine Person with TWO natures, human and divine, perfectly united, but never confused. 

• Christological Heresies:In an attempt to protect the divinity, they try to reduce or separate the unity of the divine with human 

  • Gnosticism- gnosis is greek for knowledge: you need a secret knowledge in order to be saved  

• 3 things Gnostics agreed on: 

1. The world is separated from the one supreme being 

2. The soul is perfect and is trapped in a physical body 

3. The soul must be freed to return home 

• Jesus is a guide 

• The creator god is EVIL 

• Most people are sleepwalkers  

• There are 2 Gods: The creator god who generated (the God of the Old Testament), And the good unknowable divine being/god (the God of the New Testament)

• Arianism- claimed Jesus is NOT God and Jesus is NOT equal to the Father 

• God the father created the son and gave the son authority over creation 

→ Son is just a creation of god, a “supreme creation” but not divine 

• Apollinarianism- teaches Jesus is true God (consubstantial with the father) and has a human body, but NOT HAVE HUMAN INTELLECT OR FW 

• Nestorianism- mary cannot be the mother of God or “theotokos” because God cannot be born  

• Rather mary was the mother of the human person of Jesus NOT the mother of the divine person the Son of God  

→ suggests Jesu as TWO SEPARATE persons 

• Monophysitism- monos is greek for “single,” physis means “nature” 

• There is only ONE NATURE in christ rather than 2 

• The human nature of Jesus “incorporated” into the divine nature, in the same way a drop of water is absorbed into the ocean 

• The one person of the Son has a new mixed nature 

• JESUS IS NEITHER HUMAN NOR DIVINE 

• Trinitarian Heresies: 

  • Partialism- the father, son, and HS, are “parts” of God (clover) 

• A part cannot be a whole 

• Father was ⅓ god, son was ⅓ god, and HS was ⅓ god 

• Modalism- god takes the form (or mode) of the father OR son OR HS 

• God cannot be father, son, and HS at the same time 

→ he can only morph from one form/mode to another 

• 1054 Schism: What is it and what were the reasons for it? 

• The pope in rome and the bishop of constantinople excommunicated each other 

→ created division between the roman catholic church and eastern orthodox church  

Reasons for it: 

1. Pope’s authority 

2. Theology about the HS 

3. Ecumenical Councils 

4. Rome as the Center of the Church

• Did the Church ever approve of selling indulgences? Why do some people think this? No they never did → misunderstandings or they believed they could actually sell it  

• What did Luther teach? (two big things) What is the traditional Catholic teaching? 

1. Luther teaches: “sola scriptura” (scripture alone) is the source of Divine Revelation 

→ catholic teaching: Scripture and tradition  

2. Luther teaches: “Solar gratia” we are saved by “grace alone” 

→ catholic teaching “grace through faith and good works”
→ we cannot save ourselves (we need grace) but we have to cooperate with that grace 

• Did the Protestant reformers all agree with each other? NO. 

• These new Christian communities found they disagreed: 

→ They have been limited generally to their country of origin or have continued to splinter 

→ Today there are over 30,000 different Protestant denominations

UNIT 4: THE CHURCH IS HOLY 

TERMS

CONCEPTS

• Universal Call to Holiness- we ALL are called to perfect holiness

• Fiat- “let it be”

• Sanctify- to make holy 

• What is holiness?  

• Holy comes from the word “halig” which means “whole” 

• To be in a state of goodness and free from sin is to be truly “whole” 

• holiness= if being exactly who God created us to be 

• Why do we say that the Church is holy? 

• Jesus loves the church as his bride

• God is holy→ Makes Jesus holy→ makes the CHURCH HOLY 

• What is the holiness of the Church referring to? What is it NOT referring to? 

• Referring to her Founder Jesus Christ and her mission 

• NOT the condition of Her members 

• What happens to the holiness of the Church when her individual members sin? Be able to explain this. 

• The church’s holiness is not defiled by sinners, rather her holiness is what transforms sinners into saints if they live in her life. We are not the ones that make the Church holy, the Church is what makes us holy. 

• How are the Saints examples of holiness? 

• They are our intercessors 

• They point us to God 

→ we praise the life of a saint, and we praise GOD who made that saint holy by his grace (because all good comes from God. The good things that we do are a result of us cooperating with God’s goodness)

• How is Mary an example of holiness? 

• In saying “yes” to God’s will in his invitation to bear the Son of God at the Annunciation, Mary becomes a model of holiness for us→ she says yes to God as we should say yes to God 

• Steps to Canonization and the titles given to the person at each step 

1. Case for canonization→ servant of God 

2. Determination→ vulnerable 

3. Beatification→ blessed 

4. Canonization→ Saint

• Who do we worship? GOD= latria (adoration/worship) 

• What kind of honor do we give Mary? What about the Saints? 

• They are our powerful intercessors in heaven 

→ Mary= Hyperdulia (high honor) 

→ Saints= dulia (honor)

• Why should we never be afraid of loving Mary too much? b/c we can never love her more than Jesus did 

UNIT 5: THE CHURCH IS CATHOLIC 

TERMS

CONCEPTS

• Evangelization- to preach the gospel

• Proselytizing- pressure or coerce someone into our faith

• Inculturation- gradual acquisition of the culture and norms by another culture 

• Primary evangelization- preaching the gospel to those who have never heard about Jesus before 

• New evangelization- re-evangelizing/re-proposing the gospel to the de-christianized (sharing the faith that has been lost by secularization)

• Katholikos/Catholic- “universal” or “pertaining to the whole” 

• What allows the Church to be one, holy, catholic, and apostolic? The trinity

• Why is the Church catholic? She is whole and complete JUST AS THE TRINITY IS WHOLE AND COMPLETE 

• It exists for all people 

• It is the means of salvation for all people 

• Salvation comes from the church even for non-members 

• How does Pentecost show us that the Church is catholic?  At pentecost all the apostles were able to speak many languages→ the holy spirit descended upon the apostles allowing them to speak and understand one another: it signifies the message of Christ is for EVERYONE and launches the church’s mission to evangelize. 

• What is the problem with being spiritual but not religious? Ourselves become “god”--> we are not always right, we are not perfect 

• What is Moral Therapeutic Deism and what is the problem with it?  

• A way of thinking that says religion is about making people nice/be nice, religion provides comfort and that's it, God exists but doesn’t really have anything to do with our lives  

→ what wrong with it makes imperfect humans the root. 

It makes something that should be inherently outward (religion, and therefore, spirituality) turn inward

Sounds like “spiritual but not religious”

• Who shepherds a diocese? community in communion with their bishop (successor to the apostles)

• Who shepherds a parish? individual community within a diocese, led by a pastor (priest), where sacraments are celebrated and Christian life lived out

• Why is evangelization important? If we didn’t evangelize, Christianity would have died right after the apostles! And it is our universal mission 

UNIT 6: THE CHURCH IS APOSTOLIC 

TERMS

CONCEPTS

• Apostle- “one who has sent”-> missionary (Christ calls the Twelve and sends them out to continue His mission in the world) 

• Infallibility- the ability given by the HS to the Magisterium to teach without error in matters of faith and morals 

• Laity- the baptized faithful that have not received the sacrament of Holy orders and do not belong to  a religious order

• Magisterium- the living teaching office of the church

• Apostolic Succession- the unbroken line of Church leadership from the Apostles to our Bishops tdy

• Significance of the number 12 in Scripture 

Signifies maturity, totality, or perfection in government 

—> 

• The Apostles are the New Covenant fulfillment of what from the Old Testament? 

The 12 tribes of Israel (descending from the 12 sons of Jacob)

• Who replaced Judas? 

Matthias 

• When does the pope teach infallibly?

• When the pope proclaims doctrines “ex cathedra” (from the chair of Saint Peter) by virtue of his officer as shepherd and teacher 

• From an ecumenical council that is proclaimed by the bishops and pope together 

• When a teaching for the world church is intended to be definitive and binding 

• Does the Church ‘invent’ or ‘make up’ new truths?  

• THE TRUTH DOES NOT CHANGE 

→ as time goes on, sometimes there is need for further interpretation and understanding of the truth 

• Development of Doctrine 

• The same truth, understood more fully 

• Why does the Magisterium have authority?  

• The magisterium’s authority is apostolic authority 

→ apostolic succession= the unbroken line of church leadership from the apostles to our bishops today 

• What does it mean to say there is a hierarchy of truths in the Church? 

• The principle of ordering church teaching/mysteries based on the way they build on one another 

→ these truths summarized in the creed 

→ the “hierarchy” does NOT mean some truth are unimportant but means certain truths are central/foundational to all others 

1. Blessed Trinity, 2. Christocentricity of salvation history, 3. Paschal mystery, 4. Sacraments

• What is the role of the laity? 

• To seek the kingdom of God by engaging in the world and sanctifying the world 

• To serve and witness to Jesus in the world including in the family, workplace, and community 

• Serves in Jesus’ priesthood by virtue of their baptism 

UNIT 7: LIFE IN THE CHURCH 

TERMS

CONCEPTS

• Vocation- a unique call from God that only YOU can fulfill

• Discernment- the process by which a person discovers the direction they should take regarding their vocation or state in life to do God’s will (discovering how God has created your soul)

• Primary Vocation- the primary vocation of every human person is holiness: the universal call to holiness: the become saints and bring clothes to heaven with us 

• Particular Vocation- the way God calls you to give yourself in a permanent relationship of love/ the way that God is calling you to totally lay down your life for a particular person/ community

• What is every person’s primary vocation? HOLINESS→ therefore every single person has a vocation

• How does our particular vocation  relate to our primary vocation? 

• Your vocation to holiness is God’s plan for your life 

→ since He created you, He knows what will make you happiest (even if you don’t) 

• Particular vocation: 

→ the way God calls you to give yourself in a permanent relationship of love.

→ the way that God is calling you to totally lay down your life for a particular person/community

• What is true of all particular vocations?  

1. Planned by God 

2. Meant to help others get to heaven 

3. Involve sacrificing oneself to serve God and others

4. Involve permanent commitment (are “spousal” relationships) 

• What is central to discernment? Prayer is central: in order to hear God’s call, you need to be familiar with His voice 

• What are the three evangelical counsels?  

1. Poverty 

2. Chastity 

3. Obedience 

• What are the three degrees of Holy Orders? What ability belongs to each degree? 

3rd degree- Diaconate (Deacon) 

• Able to baptize preach and anoint the sick 

• Called to be a “servant” helping with apostolic ministry 

• Can be permanent or transitional deacon  

2nd degree- Presbyterate (Priest) 

• Able to offer the sacrifice of the mass and to forgive sins in confession 

• Can be diocesan or religious order priest  

1st degree- Episcopacy (Bishop) 

• Fullness of Holy Orders 

• ABle to confirm and ordain- to pass the priesthood on to others in the sacrament of Holy orders 

• What needs to be involved to have a sacramental marriage? 

• The couple receives sacramental grace: enables them to love each other with a love similar to how Jesus loves the Church (with sacrifice) 

→ the couple enters into the mystery of Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5) 

• Marriage is not about YOU its about: imitating the Triune God’s love with your life 

→ being a gift to your spouse 

→ with your spouse, being a gift to the church

• How are all vocations “spousal?” all vocations involve permanent commitment (spousal)

• “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s hunger meet.” What is the meaning of this quote? To me, this quote means that the plan God has set for me is a plan in which will truly suffice the deep desires that only He may know. Its what he has called me to that will not only suffice what I need, but what the world needs OF me.