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The Holiness and Unity of the Catholic Church

Explore the deep connection between faith and the Church in this comprehensive guide. Understand the significance of community, formal structures, and the marks of the Church. Discover how the Catholic Church embodies holiness and unity in a diverse world.

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The Holiness and Unity of the Catholic Church

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  1. UNIT ONE What is Church?

  2. I Believe And Profess… • All that the Holy Catholic Church believes, teaches, and proclaims to be revealed by God.

  3. 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 God’s call from our relationship to the Church.

  4. 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.

  5. What is God’s call? • Call to be united with Christ, to be part of his body. • A call to faith, a call to be Church.

  6. 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

  7. Faith is a human act • A response to God’s gift • A surrendering of ourselves to God

  8. 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.

  9. 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.

  10. 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!

  11. 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.

  12. 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”.

  13. 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 community’s faith.

  14. Faith is supported by Formal Structures • The Church needs to develop formal structures that help preserve essential truths. • Formal structures include: • Creeds • Doctrines • Rituals

  15. 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 Church’s magisterium.

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

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

  18. 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.

  19. 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.

  20. The Church is the first sacrament of Christ • The Church is a symbol and instrument of God’s 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.

  21. 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.

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

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

  24. 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.

  25. Unity is not uniformity • Within the unity of the Church a multiplicity of people and cultures is gathered together.

  26. Unity is not uniformity • Seven non-Roman ecclesial traditions in union with Rome West Syrian Maronite Armenian

  27. Unity is not uniformity East Syrian (Chaldean) Ethiopian Byzantine Coptic

  28. 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.

  29. Holiness means… • To be set apart • Set apart by God for a special purpose

  30. 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.

  31. Three ways the Church Supports Holiness

  32. Evangelical Counsels and their temptation Counsels Temptation

  33. The Church is Catholic • It is for all people • It is the “universal sacrament of salvation”

  34. Catholic means • Universal • In totality • In keeping with the whole

  35. 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

  36. 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

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

  38. The Church is Apostolic • Apostolic means “having been sent • The Church has been sent into the world by Christ

  39. Apostolic Nature of Church • Built upon foundation of apostles appointed by Jesus. • Jesus is the source and focal point of all we do. • Follows guidance of Holy Spirit • Faithfully interprets lives and teaches what apostles taught

  40. Apostolic Nature of Church • Accepts continued guidance of apostles through their successors, Peter’s successor – the Pope, and the bishops.

  41. 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.

  42. 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.

  43. 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

  44. Roles of Pope • Gives voice to the universal mission and vocation of the church. • Calls Catholics everywhere to remember their responsibility to all of God’s people.

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

  46. 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.

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