REED 203 LESSON 5
The Church possesses four essential features
as follows:
Unit 1: The Church is One;
Unit 2: The Church is Holy;
Unit 3: The Church is Catholic;
Unit 4: The Church is Apostolic.
These four features, inseparably linked with
each other, indicate essential characteristics of the
Church and her mission. It is Christ who, through
the Holy Spirit, makes his Church one, holy,
catholic, and apostolic, and it is he who calls her to
realize each of these qualities (CCC 811).
A. The Oneness of the Church
What makes the Church one?
1) The Triune God:
- The Church is one because of her source
which is the Triune God (CCC 813). The
highest exemplar and source of this
mystery is the unity in the Trinity of Persons
of one God: the Father and the Son in the
Holy Spirit.
- The Triune God is bound together by love
that is inclusive rather than exclusive. This
a kind of love that cannot be kept by the
persons of the Holy Trinity within
themselves but it is meant to be shared.
The Church is the concrete expression of
the sharing of this love.
2) Jesus Christ:
- The Church is one because of her founder
Jesus Christ: the Word made flesh, the
prince of peace who reconciled all men to
God by the cross and restored the unity of
all as one people and one body. (Lk. 22:34
Forgiveness on the Cross)
3) The Holy Spirit:
- The Church is one because of her soul- the
Holy Spirit who is dwelling in those who
believe and pervading and ruling over the
entire Church; bringing about that
wonderful communion of the faithful and
joins them together so intimately in Christ
who is the principle of unity.
B. Three bonds of Unity
1
The bonds of unity that sustains the oneness of
the Church are the following (CCC 815):
1. The profession of one faith received from the
Apostles (The Nicene Creed);
2. The common celebration of divine worship,
especially of the sacraments;
3. The apostolic succession through the sacrament of
Holy Orders (Matt. 16:18).
Jesus Christ received his mandate from the
Father which he then shared to his apostles through the
leadership of Peter. Peter and the apostles shared this
mandate to their successors through the sacrament of
Holy Orders. This is called apostolic succession. The
apostolic succession maintains the fraternal concord of
God's family.
C. Diversity within the Unity
Diversity means differences in various ways.
The people of God is diverse and yet one (Eph 4:2-6).
The following are the marks of unity in diversity of the
Church (CCC 814):
1. Within the unity of the People of God,
there is a multiplicity of people’s and
culture which enhances the meaning of
togetherness.
2. Among the Church's members, there
are different gifts, offices, conditions,
and ways of life which help provide for
each other’s needs.
3. The universal Church is composed of
particular Churches that retain their
own traditions which enrich the variety
of faith expressions.
D. “Subsist in” (From Peter to the last Pope)
Jesus founded the Church. He commissioned
Peter and the other apostles to extend and rule it. The
Church of Christ subsists today in the Catholic Church
which is governed by the successor of Peter (the pope)
and by the bishops in communion with the pope (CCC
816). Peter became the first pope. When the pope dies
or retires, bishops of the Catholic Church who have
been elevated to the rank of Cardinals would gather
from all over the world and elect from among them the
next pope.
Summary
REED 203 LESSON 5
1) The oneness of the Church is brought about by
the unity of the persons in the triune God. The
Triune God is bound together by love that is
inclusive rather than exclusive. The Church is
the concrete inclusion of this love.
2) The Church is one because all her members
have been reconciled by Jesus Christ to one
another and to God.
3) The Church is one because she has only one
soul the Holy Spirit which is the principle of
unity.
4) The oneness of the Church is bonded by the
profession of one faith, the celebration of divine
worship, and the apostolic succession in the
leadership.
5) Amidst the Church’s unity, the Church is also
diverse in terms of culture and tradition,
giftedness, ways of living. All these, when
harnessed positively makes the Church
enriching. Faith is expressed uniquely but
genuinely and lively.
A) Wounds of Unity
1. Rifts and dissensions
Rifts and serious dissensions happened and
separated particular churches from full communion with
the Catholic Church (CCC 817). The following are the
divisions in the Church:
a) Some members of the Christian faith
separated into non-Christian faith.
b) Within the Christian Church, there was
a split into: (1) The Western Church
(also known as the Latin Church or
the Roman Church), and (2) The
Eastern Church (also known as the
Orthodox Church).
c) The Eastern Church split further into
two groups: (1) One group continues
to recognize the authority of the pope
as its highest leader. This is
composed of the following Churches
as follows: Chaldean, Syrian,
Maronite, Coptic, Armenian, and
Byzantine. (2) Another group refuses
to consider the pope as its highest
leader. The famous example of this is
2
the English Orthodox Church who
swears loyalty to the king or queen of
England rather than to the pope. The
Western Church or the Roman Church
split further into: (1) The Protestant
Church which declared separation
from the Latin/Roman Church and
refused to recognize the authority of
the Pope; and (2) The Roman
Catholic Church which recognizes the
Pope as her highest leader.
2. The sins that destroys unity
Amidst the quest for unity, the Church
recognizes the divisions as sinful acts. It humbly
accepts that everyone share part of the blame. The
break-up from communion with the Church are
classified as follows: Heresy; Apostasy; and Schism
(CCC 817) and Idolatry.
a) Heresy is the obstinate denial or doubt
by baptized of a truth which must be
delivered by divine and Catholic faith.
b) Apostasy, the total repudiation of the
Christian faith; and
c) Schism is the withdrawal of submission
to the Supreme Pontiff (pope) or from
communion with the members of the
Church (CIC can. 751; CCC817).
d) Idolatry happens when the believer
considers secular resources like
money, gun, power and the like as
God.
“Where there are sins,
there are also divisions,
schisms, heresies, and
disputes (Gal 5:20). Where
there is virtue, however,
there also are harmony and
unity, from which arise the
one heart and one soul of
all believers” (CCC 817).
B) Vestiges of Truth and Holiness outside the
Church
1. No one can charge with the sin of the
separation those who at present are born into
these communities [that resulted from
such separation] and in them are brought up in
the faith of Christ; The Catholic Church
REED 203 LESSON 5
accepts them with respect and affection as
brothers/sisters (CCC 818).
2. The Church recognizes that there are many
elements of sanctification and of truth that are
found outside the visible confines of the
Catholic Church such as:
a) the written Word of God;
b) the life of grace;
c) faith, hope, and charity (also CCC
819);
d) the gifts of the Holy Spirit such as truth
and goodness.
3. Amidst our differences, Pope Paul VI reminds
us of the following (Nostra Aetate #1):
a) There is only one community of all
peoples, one their origin and one
in their final goal which is union
with the one God;
b) This one God has only one saving
design extended to all men.
C) Recovering Our Lost Unity
1) What are the ways to recover unity?
The desire to recover the unity of all Christians
is a gift of Christ and a call of the Holy Spirit (CCC 820).
Certain things are required in order to respond
adequately to this call:
a) Permanent renewal.
- The Church is called to renew
herself permanently from the
iniquities that caused the split and
to be faithful to her vocation to
search for unity.
b) Personal conversion.
- The faithful try to live holier lives
according to the Gospel. The
infidelity of the faithful to the
Church causes division.
c) Dialogue of faith.
1) Goal:
- The goal of the dialogue of faith is
to restore unity.
2) Procedure:
- People of different religions
3
(a) share together the common
elements of their faith through
prayer in common, fraternal
knowledge of each other, and
lifestyle; and
(b) respect each other’s
differences.
3) Kinds of Dialogue
i) Ecumenism
Ecumenism is the dialogue of faith among
different Churches within the Christian religion. The
dialogue is done in view ofrestoring unity of the
Christian Churches. Ecumenical efforts include fair and
respectful dialogue, praying together and working
together on projects for the common good (UR 4; CCC
820 – 822).
Unfortunately, ecumenism in the Philippines
requires a great deal of pastoral discernment, due to the
virulent attacks and aggressive proselytizing of many
non-Catholic fundamentalist groups (cf. PCP II 218 -28;
NCDP 233).
ii) Interreligious dialogue
Interreligious dialogue is the dialogue of faith of
the Christian religion with the non-Christians.
All nations form but one community (CCC 842).
The Church aims to reunite all his children scattered
and led astray by sin (CCC 845). Through the
instrumentality of the Church, the humanity may
rediscover its unity and salvation.
Summary
1) Rifts and dissensions disrupted the oneness in
the Church. Some members moved out from
the faith. The Church split into the East and
West. The East split further into two groups with
one group continuing to recognize the
leadership of the Pope. The West split further
into the Roman Catholic Church and protestant.
2) Rifts and dissensions are caused by the sins of
heresy, apostasy, schism and idolatry.
3) The Church does not claim monopoly of the
means to salvation. There are vestiges of truth
and holiness outside the Church which are
means of sanctification. Amidst this we must be
reminded that there is only one God with one
saving design extended to everyone.
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4) There are means within the Church to recover
the lost unity. Everyone is called to renew
himself from sinfulness that destroys oneness.
The Church must be open to dialogue with
other faith groups by sharing the common
elements of the faith and respecting the
differences.
A) The Church as Christ’s Bride
Christ loved the Church as his Bride. Christ
gave up himself up for the Church so as to sanctify her.
Christ joined the Church to himself as his body and
endowed the Church with the gift of the Holy Spirit for
the glory of God. In as much as Christ is hailed as holy,
the Church is called to be unfailingly holy.
B) The Church as sanctifying
The Church, united with Christ, is sanctified by
him (LG 39). Through Christ and with Christ, the Church
becomes sanctifying. All the activities of the Church are
directed to the sanctification of men the glorification of
God. By the grace of God, we acquire holiness through
the Church (CCC 824).
C) Charity, the Soul of Holiness
The highest expression of love is charity. The
true measure of charity is the act of giving which has
hurt the giver because he has given essentially part of
his being. The charitable act of giving necessarily
diminishes the being of the giver, as it essentially
enriches the being of the recipient.
The way to holiness is charity (CCC 286).
Charity governs, shapes, and perfects all the means of
sanctification. Jesus Christ is the perfect model of
charity when he gave his life for us. We are called to be
charitable.
Summary
1) Christ considered the Church as his bride. He
gave himself up for her. Christ is holy, he
sanctified the Church. The Church being a
community of sinners is also called to holiness.
She becomes an alter Christ who provides
sanctification to her members.
2) The way to holiness is to live charitably. We
become charitable when we commit our lives
for the welfare of the other. Christ is the perfect
model of charity when he gave his life for us.
4
A) Universal Call to Holiness
The Church as people of God, unlike her
founder is sinful. The faithful are called to holiness
(1Thess 4:3). They are called by the Lord through their
own ways to live perfectly in as much as the Father is
perfect (CCC 825).
B) Holy yet Gathering up Sinners
The Church is Holy. Jesus Christ put up the
Church to gather the sinners and make them holy. The
way to holiness is penance and self-renewal. Through
the Church, sinners are guided to do penance and self-
renewal regularly for sanctification (LG 8).
C) Canonizing Saints
The Church canonizes the faithful who have
practiced heroic virtues and lived in fidelity to God’s
grace as saints. The saints have always been the
source and origin of renewal of faith in the most difficult
moments in the Church's history. The saints are our
model and intercessors.
Summary
1) Everyone in the Church is called to rise up from
their sinfulness. Through their own charisms,
they are called to live perfectly in as much as
the Father is perfect.
2) The Church gathers sinners and leads them to
holiness. The Church does this by providing
avenues for penance and self-renewal. The
Church provides models and intercessors by
canonizing the faithful who practiced heroic
virtues and lived in fidelity to God’s grace.
Unit 3 The Church is Catholic
Lesson 1 Meaning of Catholicity
A. Catholic as “Universal”
Catholic means “universal” i.e., according to the
totality or in keeping with the whole.
Church is catholic because she has been sent
out by Christ on a mission to the whole of the human
race. (Acts 2:1-12)
REED 203 LESSON 5
B. Roman Catholic Church
The Roman Catholic Church refers to the
Universal Church headed by the pope.
It is composed of the faithful who profess the
Catholic faith in its entirety and have preserved unity or
communion with the pope being the successor of Peter.
The term “Roman” is inspired by the Roman
Primacy.
The Roman Primacy: The Roman Church
otherwise known as the Church of Rome is recognized
as the first organized Church founded by the two great
apostles Peter and Paul.
C. Particular and Universal Church
The phrase "particular church," is also known
as diocese.
The diocese is composed of parishes. It is headed by a
bishop who has been ordained in apostolic succession.
The diocese is also known as the local church,
and the bishop is known as the local ordinary.
The “Universal Church” is composed of
dioceses or local churches which are in communion
with the pope as their head.
The parish refers to a community of the
Christian faithful in communion of faith and sacraments
with their parish priest who has been ordained in
apostolic succession and who is in communion with the
local ordinary.
Lesson 2: Universal Call to Belong to the Catholic
Church
A. The Catholic Church and the Orthodox
Churches
Before the split, the faithful who came to belong
to this church were in full communion with the Roman
Catholic Church and their priests have been ordained in
apostolic succession.
While the baptism of the Orthodox Church is
recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, doctrinal
differences noticed among the two religions.
5
Nevertheless, although imperfect, the
communion of the Catholic Church with the Orthodox
Churches is so profound that its lacks a little to attain
the fullness of a common celebration of the Holy
Eucharist with the Roman Catholic Church (CCC838).
B. Church and the Non-Christians
1. The Relationship of the Church with the Jewish
People:
The Church considers its relationship
with the Jewish people, who has responded to
God’s revelation in the Old Covenant; who has
received the sonship of Yahweh and his
promises; from whose lineage belong the
patriarchy of the of the Son of God (CCC 839).
2. The Relationship of the Church with the
Muslims:
The Church considers her relationship
with the Muslims. The plan of salvation also
includes those who acknowledge the Creator,
in the first place amongst whom are the
Muslims. The Muslims professes to hold the
faith of Abraham, and together with us they
adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge
on the last day (CCC 841).
3. The Relationship of the Church with other
religions:
The Church recognizes in other
religions the search for all goodness and truth
as indicators of their search for God (CCC 843).
Truth and goodness are indicators of the
presence of God. God is absolute truth and
absolute goodness.
4. The Relationship of the Church with those who
do not yet accept the Gospel:
The missionary task of the Church
implies the conduct of respectful dialogue with
those who do not yet accept the Gospel (CCC
856). Despite their unbelief, there may be
elements of truth, grace and goodness in them
which reveals the secret presence of God.
REED 203 LESSON 5
C. “Outside the Church there is no Salvation” (“Extra
Ecclesiam Nulla Salus”)
The Church teaches that salvation comes from
Christ the head through the Church.
Outside the Church are those who know the
Catholic Church but would refuse either to enter it or
remain in it.
Among them are the heretics, the schismatics,
the apostates, and the idolatrous.
This affirmation is not aimed at those who,
through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his
Church. The Church then, has the obligation and the
sacred right to evangelize everyone.
Amidst this standpoint, the Church expresses
humane considerations to the Jewish people, the
Muslims, the believers of other religions, and even to
those who do not yet accept the Gospel.
Lesson 3: Mission and Catholicity
A. Missionary Mandate
Mt 28:19-20; Mt 16:15
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you. And surely I am
with you always, to the very end of the age.”
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I
am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the
Son of the living God.”
A requirement to the Church’s catholicity is
mission. The Church by virtue of her mission strives to
spread the love of the Triune God to everyone.
The Church is sent to witness the Gospel to the
whole universe. By witnessing the Gospel, the Church
becomes the universal sacrament of salvation (CCC
849).
6
B. Missionary Motivation
1 Tim 2:4
4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a
knowledge of the truth.
The cause and the end of the Church
missionary motivation is Truth.
CCC851: God wills the salvation of everyone
through the knowledge of the truth.
Salvation is found in the truth. Those who obey
the prompting of the Spirit of truth are already on the
way of salvation.
C. Missionary Paths
The mission takes the way of poverty and
obedience, of service and self-sacrifice even to death.
The sector of the society who is most deprived
of the truth is the poor. Christ made himself known first
and foremost to the poor (Lk 2:8-20).
The mission begins with the proclamation of the
Gospel to peoples and groups who do not yet believe in
Christ, continues with the establishment of Christian
communities, and leads to the foundation of local
churches.
This involves the process of inculturation. To
those who have accepted the faith, the Gospel is to take
flesh in each people’s culture. The believer expresses
the faith in the context on his culture.
The mission is towards Christian unity among
the baptized. It also involves respectful dialogue with
those who do not yet accept the Gospel.
UNIT 4 THE CHURCH IS APOSTOLIC
Lesson: 1 The Apostles’ Mission
A. Apostolic in Three Ways
1. The Church was and remains built on the
foundation of the Apostles (Eph. 2:20; Rev
REED 203 LESSON 5

21:14), the witnesses chosen and sent on The bishops taken the place of the apostles as
mission by Christ himself (Mt 28:16-20; Acts pastors whoever listens to them listens to Christ and
1:8; 1 Cor 9:1; 15:7-8; Gal 1:1); whoever despises them despises Christ and him who
sent Christ (LG 20 #2
2. With the help of the Spirit dwelling within, the
Church keeps and hands on the teaching (Acts
2:42), the "good deposit," the salutary words
she has heard from the apostles (2 Tim 1:13-
14); B. Bishops – Successors of the Apostles

3. The Church continues to be taught, sanctified,
and guided by the apostles until Christ's return,
through their successors in pastoral office: the
college of bishops, "assisted by priests, in union
with the successor of Peter, the Church's
supreme pastor.
C Mission to Baptize and Evangelize
Mt. 10:5-12
The Church earned her apostolic image
because her leadership is anchored on the mission of
the apostles. Jesus commissioned the twelve being
emissaries to continue his mission (CCC 858).
The apostles accordingly designated men of
integrity, gave then the function as sacred order of
bishops and then made the ruling that likewise on their
death other proven men should take over their ministry
(LG 20; Acts 20:28).
C. The Apostolate
The whole Church is apostolic (CCC 863):
1. She remains, through the successors of St.
Peter and the other apostles, in communion of
faith and life with her origin;

1. Jesus sent the apostles to preach in his behalf.
(mk. 3:13-14; jn 20:21; jn 13:20; jn 17:18)
2. The apostles' ministry is the continuation of
Jesus’s mission. (mt. 10:40; lk. 10:16)
2. She is "sent out" into the whole world.
3. All members of the Church share in this
mission, though various ways:

3. The ministry of the apostles is founded on

a) The hierarchy- according to their functions and
Jesus’s mission. (jn 5:19-,30; jn 15:5)
ministries

As "the Son can do nothing of his own accord," b) The laity- according to their involvement in the
but receives everything from the Father who sent him, temporal affairs.
so those whom Jesus sends can do nothing apart from
him from whom they received both the mandate for their
mission and the power to carry it out. The temporal affairs refer to the social, cultural,
economic and political realities which the faithful find
 
themselves in contact with.
Lesson 2 Apostolic Succession

A. The Duty to Pass on the Office

The divine mission entrusted by Jesus to the

apostles "will continue to the end of time, since the
Gospel they handed on is the lasting source of all life for
the Church.

Therefore, the apostles took care to appoint

successors (LG 20; Mt 28:19-20).