UNIT ONE

1
UNIT ONE
What is Church?
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I Believe And Profess

• All that the Holy Catholic Church believes,
  teaches, and proclaims to be revealed by God.

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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 Gods call
  from our relationship to the Church.

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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.

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What is Gods call?

• Call to be united with Christ, to be part of his
  body.
• A call to faith, a call to be Church.

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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

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Faith is a human act

• A response to Gods gift
• A surrendering of ourselves to God

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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
  communitys faith.

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Faith is supported by Formal Structures

• The Church needs to develop formal structures
  that help preserve essential truths.
• Formal structures include
• Creeds
• Doctrines
• Rituals

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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 Churchs
  magisterium.

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Magisterium

• Bishops in communion with the pope who is the
  successor of St. Peter.

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Ecumenism

• True ecumenism the reconciliation of all
  Christians in the unity of the Church involves
  the efforts of all.

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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.

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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.

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The Church is the first sacrament of Christ

• The Church is a symbol and instrument of Gods
  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.

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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.
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3.) Of the Holy Spirit who brings about the
communion of the faithful and joins them in
Christ.
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The true Church of Christ

• The Church which Christ entrusted to Saint Peter
  and the other apostles
• Subsists in the Catholic Church

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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.

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Unity is not uniformity

• Within the unity of the Church a multiplicity of
  people and cultures is gathered together.

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Unity is not uniformity

• Seven non-Roman ecclesial traditions in union
  with Rome

West Syrian
Maronite
Armenian
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Unity is not uniformity
East Syrian (Chaldean)
Ethiopian
Byzantine
Coptic
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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.

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Holiness means

• To be set apart
• Set apart by God for a special purpose

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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.

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Three ways the Church Supports Holiness
1.) Moral Teachings of the Church Clarifies practical aspects of living Certain attitudes and behaviors are unacceptable
2.) Evangelical Counsels Stand apart from temptation, give witness to love, justice of kingdom
3.) Sacraments Point to essence of life lived in holiness Give us grace
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Evangelical Counsels and their temptation
Counsels
Temptation
Poverty Material wealth
Chastity Physical pleasure
Obedience Power
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The Church is Catholic

• It is for all people
• It is the universal sacrament of salvation

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Catholic means

• Universal
• In totality
• In keeping with the whole

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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

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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

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Heresy of Gnosticism

• Claimed special privileged knowledge of God and
  of Gods will. (Secret teachings of one of the 12
  apostles)
• Catholic Church says
• Teachings are based on the testimony of all of
  Jesus apostles

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The Church is Apostolic

• Apostolic means having been sent
• The Church has been sent into the world by Christ

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Apostolic Nature of Church

1. Built upon foundation of apostles appointed by
   Jesus.
2. Jesus is the source and focal point of all we do.
3. Follows guidance of Holy Spirit
4. Faithfully interprets lives and teaches what
   apostles taught

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Apostolic Nature of Church

• Accepts continued guidance of apostles through
  their successors, Peters successor the
  Pope, and the bishops.

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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.

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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.

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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

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Roles of Pope

• Gives voice to the universal mission and vocation
  of the church.
• Calls Catholics everywhere to remember their
  responsibility to all of Gods people.

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Roles of Pope

• To remember that there are certain Church
  teachings which cannot be adapted to suit the
  local culture.

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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.