UNIT III: Church: Nature and Mission

Lesson 9. The Church in God’s Plan

Introduction

The Catholic Church, is an integral part of God's plan for the salvation of
humanity. The Church teaches that God desires to save all people and has
revealed Himself in various ways throughout human history. In the fullness
of time, God sent His Son Jesus Christ to become human and to save
humanity from sin and death through His life, death, and resurrection.

The Catholic Church believes that Jesus Christ established the Church as
a visible sign and instrument of salvation in the world. The Church is
the community of believers united in faith and worship, guided by the Holy
Spirit, and entrusted with the mission of spreading the Good News of
salvation to all people.

The Church is considered to be the Body of Christ, with Christ as the head
and the members as different parts of the body. The Church is also
described as a sacrament, a visible sign of God's presence and grace in
the world. Through the Church's sacraments and teachings, believers can
encounter God and grow in their relationship with Him.

According to the Catholic Church, the Church is universal, with a mission

to proclaim the Gospel to all nations and peoples. The Church is also
hierarchical, with bishops as successors to the apostles, and the Pope
as the visible head of the Church on earth. The Church is both visible,
with its structures and institutions, and invisible, with its spiritual realities
and graces.

Overall, the Catholic Church views the Church as an essential part of God's
plan for salvation, providing a visible and tangible expression of God's love
and mercy for humanity.

A. Origin and Foundation of the Church

1.The Catholic Church traces its origins and foundation to the life and
teachings of Jesus Christ, who founded the Church during his ministry on
earth. According to Catholic belief, Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came
into the world to save humanity from sin and death through his death and
resurrection.
 2.After his death and resurrection, Jesus Christ entrusted his message
and mission to his apostles, whom he had chosen and trained during his
ministry. The apostles then went out and proclaimed the Good News of
salvation to others, establishing communities of believers that eventually
became the Church.
3.The Catholic Church also believes that the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus
promised to send to his disciples, guides and sustains the Church in its
mission. The Holy Spirit helps the Church to understand and interpret the
teachings of Jesus Christ, to discern the truth and to respond to the
challenges of the world.
4.Over the centuries, the Catholic Church has developed its teachings and
practices, drawing on the wisdom and insights of its members and leaders.
The Church has also faced many challenges and struggles, including
persecution, division, and reform.
5.Despite these challenges, the Catholic Church has continued to
proclaim the Gospel and to serve the needs of people around the world.
Today, the Catholic Church is the largest Christian denomination, with over
1.3 billion members around the world.

B. Mystery of the Church

1.The Church is a mystery because it is a divine reality that cannot be fully

understood or explained by human reason alone.
2.The Church is a sacrament, a visible sign of God's grace and presence in
the world.
3.The Church is the Body of Christ, with Christ as the head and believers as
the members.
 4.The Church is both human and divine, with its visible structures and
institutions and its invisible spiritual realities and graces.
5.The Church is universal, with a mission to proclaim the Gospel to all
nations and peoples.

6.The Church is hierarchical, with bishops as successors to the apostles and

the Pope as the visible head of the Church on earth.
7.The Church is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic, as affirmed in the Nicene
Creed.

8.The Church is a communion of saints, including those who are on earth, in

purgatory, and in heaven.

9.The Church is the means of salvation, through which believers can

encounter God and receive the graces needed for eternal life.

10.The Church is called to be a sign and instrument of unity, peace, and

love in the world, reflecting the love of God for all people.
CATECHISM FOR FILIPINO CATHOLICS: CHURCH
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
1444. What is the Catholic Church? The Catholic Church is the community of men
and women, united in Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit, under the leadership
of the successor of Peter and the Bishops in communion with him. As such, “they
press onward towards the Kingdom of the Father as bearers of the message of
salvation intended for all” (GS 1).
1445. How should we understand the Church? The Church is not merely a human
social organization, but “the People of God called together.” It consists of all who
are drawn to personal communion with Christ and with one another, and as
“united to the Son, in the Spirit’s bond of love, [are thus] united to the Father” (CL
18). The Church, then, is “mystery” __ a God-centered reality in its origin, ongoing
life and final goal.
1446. How is the Church related to the Trinity? The Church: • originates
according to the Father’s eternal plan, from the side of the Crucified Christ, and is
animated and united by the coming of the Holy Spirit; • structured as a
community of love modelled on the Trinity’s loving union of Father, Son and
Spirit; • missioned (sent) by the Father following the joint Mission of Son and
Spirit; • destined as a pilgrim people to journey toward perfect communion with
the Trinity in heaven.
1447. Do Catholics as Church members experience the Trinity? In practice,
Filipino Catholics experience the Trinity in their parish community. Without
consciously attending to it, they actually: • come to worship God as their Father, •
through their union with Jesus Christ, their Savior, • guided by the grace of the
Holy Spirit, and • under the leadership of their parish priests and the Bishops,
successors of the apostles.
1448. Why is the Church today called “sacrament”? The Church, like Christ
himself, is rightly called “sacrament” because it is a visible sign which makes
present a spiritual grace-filled reality. Specifically, the Church is the efficacious
symbol that unites us to God and to one another, and thus is the efficacious
symbol of our salvation.
1449. What advantages does thinking of the Church as “sacrament” offer?
Thinking of the Church as fundamental sacrament helps us • unite the visible
(institutional) and invisible (mystery) aspects of the Church; • relate the Church to
non-Catholics for whom it is called to be the “light” of the world and “salt” of the
earth; • link the Church with the Eucharist in its union with Christ; and • love the
Church, as our home.
1450. How does Scripture picture the Church? Among the many Scriptural
images of the Church, three stand out: “Kingdom of God,” “People of God,” and
“Body of Christ.”
1451. What is meant by the Church as “Kingdom of God”? The Church is the
“Kingdom of God in process,” that is: • the Good News preached to the poor, •
the seed quietly sown, and • the leaven in the dough, gradually raising all in the
pilgrimage to the Kingdom of the Father, through Christ in the power of the Holy
Spirit.
1452. How is the Church the new “People of God”? God saves us not merely as
individuals, but by calling us into a single people, united in faith, whose:
• Head is Christ the Lord;
• unifying soul is the indwelling Spirit;
• members are those who believe in Christ and are reborn through water and the
Spirit in Baptism;
• structure is the Christ-instituted hierarchy of apostles and their successors, the
Bishops, with the Roman Pontiff as head;
• law is Christ’s new commandment of Love;
• mission is loving service of neighbor, and
• final destiny is sharing in the perfect community of Love, of Father, Risen
Incarnate Son, and Spirit.
1453. How is the Church the “Body of Christ”? “By communicating his Spirit to his
brothers [and sisters], called together from all peoples, Christ made them
mystically into his own body” (LG 7). The Church is a real, living body whose
members are formed in Baptism into the likeness of Christ, fed in the Eucharist
with the very life of Christ their head, and animated and unified by his Spirit as its
soul. [Hence we see how “Christ’s body” can mean: a) his physical body while he
was on earth; b) his Eucharistic body, by which his glorified body/Person is
sacramentally present to us, and c) Mystical body of the Church formed by all his
disciples, united to him as Head and sharing his very life through his Spirit in the
visible society governed by the successors of the apostles.]
1454. What are the essential characteristics of the Church? Traditionally the
Church has been described by four basic characteristics, each of which as both gift
and task relates the Church directly to Christ. These characteristics are:
ONE, HOLY, CATH-OLIC, and APOSTOLIC.
1455. What is meant by affirming the Church as “ONE”? Despite numerous
Christian sects and Churches, the Church is essentially ONE as Gift in its: a)
SOURCE, as a people made one with the unity of the Trinity and its founder, Jesus
Christ; b) LIFE, as one body and one Spirit in: • the confession of one Faith; •
common sacramental worship; • loving service of one another; • loving
obedience to the Vicar of Christ on earth.
1456. How is the Church’s oneness a “Task”? As followers of Christ and members
of his Body, the Church, we are called to a radical change of heart to overcome
the divisions rooted in heresy, apostasy and schism, and especially our own
factions, rivalries, and dissensions that fracture the visible communion of Christ’s
people.
1457. What is meant by the Church as “HOLY”? The Church is holy as a gift from
Christ who unites her to himself as his Body, and sends her his Holy Spirit.
Empowered by the Spirit, the Church sanctifies her members by her preaching,
loving service, sacramental life, and charismatic gifts.
1458. How is the Church’s holiness also a “Task”? Since the Church is “at the
same time holy and always in need of being purified” (LG 8), her holiness is a
process of growing into the full stature of Christ. “. . . Till we become one in faith
and in the knowledge God’s Son, and form that perfect man who is Christ come to
full stature . . . Let us profess the truth in love and grow to the full maturity of
Christ the head. Through him the whole body grows. . . and builds itself up in
love” (Eph 4:13-16). PCP II has stress ed that “all __
without exception __ are called to holiness. . . though all do not pursue the same
path” (PCP II 402; cf. LG 32).
1459. What does it mean to call the Church “CATHOLIC”? The Church is
“Catholic” or universal as a gift from the Lord because she is sent to bring all
peoples “to Christ the Head in the unity of his Spirit” (LG 13). But it is also a Task
since “all __ without exception are also called to mission, that is, to evangelize
(PCP II 402; cf. LG 33).
1460. What is meant by the Church as “APOSTOLIC”? As Gift, the Church is
apostolic because Christ built [her] upon “the foundation of the apostles” (Eph
2:20), thus linking her permanently with their witness (cf. Mt 28:19-20). This
apostolic charism is carried on through the apostolic succession of the Bishops. As
Task, the apostolic nature of the Church is exercised by all the faithful who carry
on the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles.
1461. What is the mission Christ entrusted to his Church? The Church received
the mission to proclaim and establish among all peoples the Kingdom of Christ
and of God (cf. LG 5). She is the “Universal Sacrament of salvation” for the whole
world. The Church is “missionary by her very nature, since she originates from the
mission of the Son and the mission the Spirit, according to the plan of God the
Father” (AG 2). Every member of the Church, therefore, shares in this mission,
i.e., “the obligation of spreading the faith” (LG 17).
1462. How is this mission applied to Filipino Catholics? Since the Church in the
Philippines is a “Church of the Poor,” PCP II stresses the thrust for justice and
liberation as an integral part of the renewed evangelizing mission of proclaiming
the Gospel. This mission is carried out in the various ordained ministries and the
ministries of the lay faithful who, through Baptism and Confirmation, share in
Christ’s triple role, as Priest, Prophet, and King.
1463. What is meant by the “Communion of Saints”? The “Communion of Saints”
can refer to the communion: • of Christ’s holy people: those on pilgrimage, those
being purified, and those already in glory __ as manifested concretely in Filipino
Catholics’ celebration of November 1-2; or • in holy things: like the Church’s
teaching, communal life, sacraments and charity (cf. Acts 2:42).
1464. How is the Virgin Mary Daughter and Mother of the Church? Mary is: •
Daughter of the Church as redeemed by, and the perfect disciple of, Jesus Christ;
• Mother of the Church because she is Mother of Jesus Christ and associate in his
saving work. As she consented to give birth to Jesus, her Son, so she cooperated
with love in bringing about the birth of the Church, whose faithful are united
under Christ their Head (cf. LG 53). As Mother of Christ, the Head of the Mystical
Body, Mary becomes the spiritual mother of all the disciples of Christ (cf. Jn
19:26f).
1465. How is the Virgin Mary “Model” of the Church? Mary is venerated as
Model of the Church because she is: • the first to be evangelized and redeemed:
the perfect disciple of Christ her Son, model of Faith as both virgin and mother,
blest among women, the handmaid of the Lord; and • the first evangelizer: with
Christ, she perfectly fulfilled — and is even now fulfilling — her role in God’s plan
of universal salvation