Opening Prayer• Breathe in us, O Holy Spirit, that our

thoughts may be holy.

• Act in us, O Holy Spirit, that our work, too, may be holy.

• Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that we love only what is holy.

• Guard us then, O Holy Spirit, that we always may be holy.

Topic 5:THE ESSENTIAL MARKS / TASKS OF THE CHURCH

• Lessons: • The Church is One

• The Church is Holy

• The Church is Catholic

• The Church is Apostolic

Main Objective:

D: Understand that the Church is called forth to be united in Christ in doing His mission

Topic 5:THE ESSENTIAL MARKS / TASKS OF THE CHURCH

Lessons:

The Church is One

Activity:

Deepening of ones characteristics

Each of us always yearns for peace and unity in our midst. But because of sin and its consequences, we struggle hard to attain them. Jesus knows this that is why, in the Gospels, He has prayed that we may have the unity that exists in the Trinity.

SACRED SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 4:1-6• “ I urge you to live in a manner worthy of the

call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace:

• one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

• The Church is one, unified, because she springs from her source, the One Living God in three divine Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

• There is one body and one Spirit, just as we have been called with one hope of our calling. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in all (Eph 4:5).

• Christ is the head and the Church is the body.

• This oneness is founded on a common love of Christ and of every part for the other.

• In this one body, the Church, the vitalizing breath or soul is the Spirit of Christ.

• There is only one mission and there is one hope in our calling.

• We are all proceeding towards the same goal.

• This is the great secret of the unity of Christians.

• PCP II 821• (1) a permanent renewal of

the Church in greater fidelity to her vocation,

• (2) a conversion of heart,

• (3) prayer in common,

• (4) fraternal knowledge of one another,

• (5) ecumenical formation and dialogue,

• (6) collaboration among Christians.

• CFC 1394 Divisions among Christians

• (a) heresy, the obstinate denial or doubt by baptized person of truth which must be believed by divine and Catholic faith;

• (b) apostasy, the total repudiation of the Christian faith; and

• (c) schism, the withdrawal of submission to the Pope or from communion with the members of the Church subject to him .

• Ecumenism (concerns with unity of the Christian Churches)

• Vatican II recognizes non-Catholic Christians, for “all who are justified in faith through Baptism are incorporated into Christ and, therefore, have a right to be called Christians and with good reason are accepted as brothers and sisters by the children of the Catholic Church” (UR 3).

• However, this unity can be achieved only from a radical “change of heart, new attitudes of mind, from self-denial and unstinted love” (cf. UR 7). However, this unity can be achieved only from a

• “radical change of heart, new attitudes of mind, from self-denial and unstinted love” (cf. UR 7).

CHURCH TEACHING: CFC1391

• “The Church is one, first from her very source, the One living God in three Persons, second, the Church is one in her founder, Jesus Christ.”

• (1) Source: the Triune God, the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit,

• (2) Founder: Jesus Christ, the Risen Incarnate Son, and

• (3) "Soul": the Holy Spirit, dwelling in the believers, penetrating and ruling over the entire Church.

Doctrine:

• The Church is the people called forth by the Triune God to be united under Christ as one.

• How can the Church, as a people called forth by the Triune God, be united as one?

Morals:

All are called to act morally and spread the Gospel, both as individual persons and as Church members. Christ calls the Church to be united as one. The Second Plenary Council of the Philippines gives us hints to respond to this call.

• As members of the Church, how would you specifically heed this call of Jesus?

Worship:

Christ has given unity as a mark of His Church, the members of the Church have the task to always pray and work to maintain, reinforce, and perfect the unity that Christ wills for His Church. We pray as one people to the Father through the Risen Incarnate Son in the Holy Spirit. Compose your own prayer for unity.

Module 5:THE ESSENTIAL MARKS / TASKS OF THE CHURCH

Lessons:

The Church is Holy

SACRED SCRIPTURE: John 15:5-10• “I am the vine, you are the branches.

Whoever remains in Me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without Me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in Me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned.

SACRED SCRIPTURE: John 15:5-10• If you remain in Me and My words remain in

you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become My disciples. As the Father loves Me, so I also love you. Remain in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and remain in His love.”

• Holiness, therefore, is sharing Christ’s life, living in His presence and with His love. Holiness is doing normal things for and with God.

• Being holy means being in love with God and expressing that love of God through love for all creation and all people. Holiness that comes from love shows in our actions.

• CHURCH TEACHING: CFC#1397

• “We believe the Church is holy, first, because "Christ loved the Church as His Bride and gave Himself up for her, to make her holy. Uniting her to Himself as His body, He endowed her with the gift of the Holy Spirit" (LG 39). Second, because the Holy Spirit graces her with the fullness of the means of salvation and holiness.”

• Church is the Body of Christ, the holiness of the Church comes from Christ. The Church is holy because the Holy Spirit gives us life and lives within us, guiding us both as individuals and as a community.

• Doctrine

• The Holy Spirit empowers the Church with the fullness of the means of salvation and holiness.

• Morals

• All in the Church are called to holiness in word and deed. Christian love is lived in the concrete manner of love for one another and Jesus showed us the way.

• Worship

• We worship the Holy Triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Let us pray to the Holy Spirit who is within us, guiding us to holiness.

• The Holiness of the Church • (1) the doctrines, faith and morals,

• (2) the Liturgy and the Sacraments,

• (3) the instructions of those in ecclesiastical authority, and

• (4) the communion of saints that the Creed describes.

Module 5:THE ESSENTIAL MARKS / TASKS OF THE CHURCH

• Lesson: • The Church is Catholic Church is to

be Universal

• All of us are important in the eyes of God and all of us have particular roles to play. That is why Jesus gives us His friendship and salvation, for He wants to gather us all in His one fold in and through the Church.

• All of us are important in the eyes of God and all of us have particular roles to play. That is why Jesus gives us His friendship and salvation, for He wants to gather us all in His one fold in and through the Church.

• SACRED SCRIPTURE: Acts 1:8

• “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses to the ends of the earth."

• This text assures the disciples of Christ of the Advocate who will be with them as they witness and accomplish the task of their mission, that is, to continue Christ’s mission throughout all the earth till the end of time. Thus, the Church is catholic.

• The word "Catholic" means universal, complete, all-embracing.

“Catholic,” means to be welcoming, to be accepting, and to be bearers of wholeness. This is why Jesus in His ministry welcomed everyone, especially the outcasts of society and the sinners. In following Jesus, then, the Church is called to be “Catholic”, that is, all-embracing. Like the first Apostles, we have to spread the message.

• In other words, the Church is not exclusive, but inclusive of all those who believe in Jesus Christ as the Risen Incarnate Son of God, our Lord and Savior. "Catholicity" then is unanimity in love or the unity of truth - unity and truth that cannot be preserved except in love, the love of God poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

• According to a Church Father, the Church is "Catholic" because of five reasons: she

• [1] is spread throughout the world (cf. Acts 1:8),

• [2] possesses all saving truth (cf. Jn 16:13),

• [3] is sent to all peoples (cf. Mk 16:15),

• [4] can heal all kinds of sins (cf. Jn 20:23),

• [5] abounds in every kind of virtue and spiritual gift (Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture) (cf. CFC 1402).

• She was catholic on the day of Pentecost and will always be so until the end of time.

• Thus, the Church is universal by vocation and mission.

• Catholicity is basically not a question of number; for the Church was “Catholic” on the day of Pentecost and will still be “Catholic” even if, on the last day, she may only be a “little flock” (cf. Lk 12:32, 18:8).

CHURCH TEACHING: Vatican II, LG 13

“All are called to belong to the new People of God. This People, while remaining one and unique, is to be spread throughout the whole world for all ages… This universality is

that gift of the Lord whereby the Catholic Church strives energetically and constantly to bring all humanity with all its riches back to Christ the Head in the unity of His Spirit.”

Module 5:THE ESSENTIAL MARKS / TASKS OF THE CHURCH

• Lessons: • The Church is Apostolic

• How can your talents help you become a better follower of Christ?

• How can you use them as the apostles used their talents to continue Christ’s mission here on earth at the present time?

• React on this adage: “What you are is God’s gift to you; what you make of yourself with God’s grace is your gift to God.”

SACRED SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 2:19-20

• “…you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.

• This text is concerned with our union with God and with one another for now and all eternity.

• The Church is compared to a building, founded on the teachings of Christ, delivered by the prophets of the Old Testament, and the Apostles of the New Testament.

• Jesus is the cornerstone holding the entire structure together, creating a solid and unified “temple of the Lord” where the Spirit dwells.

• Today, God dwells in all believers and they become the temple of God under the Headship of Christ, through the working of the Holy Spirit.

• The Creed states that the Church is apostolic.

• This means the Church is built on the Apostles and we inherit our identity from them.

• Their authority is passed on to the Pope and bishops of the Church, who faithfully guard the truth of the Gospel.

• They make it known in every generation by leading, governing and providing for the sacramental life of the Church.

CHURCH TEACHING: Catechism for Filipino Catholics, 1407

• “The Church is "Apostolic" in three basic ways:

• first, because Jesus Christ grounded her permanently "on the foundation of the apostles" (Eph 2:20);

• second, because she guards and transmits their teaching and witness (cf. Mt 28:19-20);

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

• This Magisterium is composed of the Pope, and bishops in union with him, guided by the Holy Spirit.

• Particular Churches, or dioceses, are led by bishops, who appoint priests to be pastors and deacons to perform important works of service.

• The Magisterium authentically and faithfully interprets God’s Word as it is given to us in Scripture and Church Tradition.

• MY TALENTS

• HOW DO I USE THESE TALENTS?

• HOW DO I ENHANCE THESE TALENTS?