REED
manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s work in
In the previous subject REED 102, we
talked about God as ONE and
Trinitarian. God is one of three divine
persons, the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit. These three divine persons
are consubstantial and co-eternal. This
faith that we have in God is best
described in the twelve (12) articles of
faith which are contained in the
Nicene Apostles Creed.
Our God is a Father who is One, Living,
Faithful and Merciful. He is an Almighty
God who is universal, loving, and
mysterious to us. He is our Creator. He
created us with his wisdom and love. He
is always present and continually
sustains what he created.
The Son, is our Lord, the proclaimer of
the Kingdom of God and our savior. He
suffered, died, and was buried.
However, on the third day, He rose
again from the dead, ascended into
heaven, and is now seated at the right
hand of the Father. He will come again
to judge all of us, both the living and the
dead.
The Holy Spirit, on the other hand,
continues to perform three (3)
roles in the church namely 1) to give
life,
2) to unify the church, and
3) to move the whole Body of Christ.
The Spirit’s Activity in the Church
The Pentecost event is a clear
the church. The Church is inaugurated
with the spectacular outpouring of
the Holy Spirit. “All were filled with
the Holy Spirit”
(Acts 2:4). At Pentecost the large
crowd was much confused upon
hearing the eleven expressing
themselves in foreign tongues and
making bold proclamations as the
Spirit prompted them (Acts 2:4).
Since then, Peter and John were no
longer afraid to face the Sanhedrin who
reprimanded them for preaching
about Jesus suffering, death, and
resurrection (Acts 4:1-22). Stephen,
whom Saul ordered arrested and later
on stoned to death, gladly offered his
life for Jesus and His Church (Acts
7:54-60).
Thus it was the Holy Spirit, sent by the
Father and the Risen Christ, that gave
birth to the first Christian community, the
apostolic Church. The Holy Spirit
continues to exercise three functions
until today: to give life to, to unify, and to
move the whole Body of Christ (cf. LG
7).
1. The Spirit Gives Life
The role of the Spirit is to vivify creation.
It belongs to the Holy Spirit to rule,
sanctify, and animate creation. Power
over life pertains to the Spirit, for being
God he preserves creation in the Father
through the Son (CCC 703)
 Through the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit, God will gather his children
scattered abroad (CCC 706). Even the
Church’s practical pastoral decisions
were made under such influence of the
Spirit that the apostles could write: “It is
the decision of the Holy Spirit, and ours
too, not to lay on you any burden
beyond what is necessary” (Acts 15:28).
2. The Spirit Unifies
The Spirit unifies the Church by uniting
its members with Christ and with one
another. The Spirit makes Christ present
through the sacraments that make us
commune with one another and with the
Triune God.
3. The Spirit Moves the whole Body
of Christ
The Spirit leads the Church toward its
mission and ministry. The Spirit moves
the faithful to purification and renews
also that the sign of Christ may shine
more brightly over the face of the
Church (GS 43).
The Spirit inspires new “movements” in
the Church and empowers us with new
unsuspected strengths to grapple with
the problems and challenges of daily
life. It was the Spirit that inspired the
1986 non-violent but militant and yet
prayerful mass movement that
manifested the solidarity of Filipinos at a
time of national crisis, popularly known
as the “EDSA experience.”
Lesson 1: The Etymology of the Word
“Ecclesiology”
Ecclesiology comes from the Greek
“ekklesia” which is a translation of the
Hebrew “qahal”. Another Greek term
synonymous with “ekklesia” is
“kyriake”. The Greek “ekklesia” is
translated to Latin “ecclesia” which
means a gathering or assembly. The
Greek “kyriake” is translated into
German “Kirche” and English
“Church”. The Church is an assembly
of the people of God (CCC 777).
Ecclesiology is the study of the
Church.
A. Two Ways of Viewing the Church
There are two ways of looking at the
church.
First, by her very NATURE as the
church of Christ (Ecclesiology). This
manner of viewing the church tries to
answer the question: WHAT IS THE
CHURCH?
Second, by her MISSION and function
as a church (Mission – Evangelization),
this answers the question:
WHAT IS THE CHURCH FOR? In this
subject, will we be focusing on the
nature and the mission of the Church.
B. The Church, A Divine, and Human
Reality
The Church is a mystery composed of
human and divine elements. This is
compared to the mystery of Jesus Christ
which is both human and divine. The
human and the divine are substantially
united. Part of its divine dimension is
its being an invisible society. Part of
the human dimension of the Church is
its being a visible society. As a visible
society, the Church is structured with
hierarchical organs and functions (LG
8). In the Church, the human is directed
toward and subordinated to the divine,
the visible to the invisible, action to
contemplation, and this present world to
that city yet to come, the object of our
quest (SC 2).
Lesson 2: The Church in God's Plan
A. Names and Images of the Church
(CCC 751)
The word "Church" comes from the
Greek phrase “ekkalein” which literally
means to call out or the nouns
“Ekklesia” and “Kyriake”. Ekklesia refers
to the assembly of the chosen people
before God. The Greek “Ekklesia” is
translated to Latin “Ecclesia”. The Greek
“Kyriake” is translated to the German
“Kirche” which means "what belongs to
the Lord." The German “Kirche” is
translated to English “Church”. By
calling itself "Church," the first
community of Christian
believers recognized itself as heir to that
assembly. In the Church, God is "calling
together" his people from all the ends of
the earth.
B. The Three Meanings of the Church
(CCC 752)
In Christian usage, the church is:
● a liturgical assembly,
● a local community, and
● the whole universal community
of believers.
These three meanings are inseparable.
"The Church" is the People that God
gathers in the whole world. She exists in
local communities and is made real as a
liturgical, above all a Eucharistic,
assembly. She draws her life from the
Word and the Body of Christ and so she
herself becomes Christ's Body.
C. Symbols of the Church (CCC
753-757)
1. The Church is a sheepfold. It is the
flock of which God himself foretold that
he would be the shepherd, and whose
sheep, even though governed by human
shepherds, are unfailingly nourished
and led by Christ himself, the Good
Shepherd and Prince of Shepherds,
who gave his life for his sheep.
2. The Church is a cultivated field, the
tillage of God. On that land, the ancient
olive tree grows whose holy roots were
the prophets and in which the
reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles has
been brought about and will be brought
about again. That land, like a choice
vineyard, has been planted by the
heavenly cultivator. Yet the true vine is
Christ who gives life and fruitfulness to
the branches, that is, to us, who through
the Church remain in Christ, without
whom we can do nothing
3. The Church is called the building of
God. The Lord compared himself to the
stone which the builders rejected, but
which was made into the comer-stone.
On this foundation, the Church is built
by the apostles and from it, the Church
receives solidity and unity.
4. The Church is the spotless spouse of
the spotless lamb. It is she whom Christ
'loved and for whom he delivered
himself up that he might sanctify her. It
is she whom he unites to himself by an
unbreakable alliance, and whom he
constantly nourishes and cherishes.
MODULE 2: The Holy Catholic
Church
UNIT 1 – The Church Origin,
Foundation and
Mission
Lesson 1: The Church Origin
The Trinity’s Plan for the Church
God the Father through His Wisdom and
Goodness created the universe and
chose human beings to share in His
divinity through His Son, Jesus Christ.
He willed to gather together in a holy
Church the believers of Jesus Christ.
This Church gradually developed and
took form as human history unfolded.
The formation of the Church began in
the history of Israel and will be
completed at the end time through the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit. (CCC759)
B) The Father’s Family
The Church originated from the very
nature of the Holy Trinity itself, the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The
Father begets the Son and breathes the
Spirit, the Son was begotten of the
Father and also breathes the Spirit and
the Holy Spirit the Breath of the Father
and the Son. All three are equal in
divinity and share a perfect life of
communion with each other in a
dynamic community of love. This
communitarian Love of the Blessed
Trinity in its perfection cannot have
access to Him through Christ, in the
Holy Spirit thus become sharers in the
divine nature (CCC 51) The Father
wants to adopt human beings as His
sons in His only begotten Son. (CCC
52) He manifested Himself to our first
parents and invited them to
be intimate and be one with Him. (CCC
54)
C) The Goal of Creation
The World was created for the Glory of
God. St. Bonaventure said that God
made all things not to augment His glory
but to share it. (CCC293) St. Iranaeus
said “The glory of God is a man fully
alive…” God created human beings to
be His children through Jesus Christ
according to the purpose of His will.
(CCC294) Thus to be fully human and to
be fully alive one has to be open and
receptive to God’s manifestation and
communication of His goodness for
which this world was made.
Creation has its own goodness but God
did not make it complete. All of creation
is in a state of journeying, a becoming
towards the ultimate perfection to which
God has destined it. God, however,
guides creation to its destination and
this act of God is called “Divine
Providence”.(CCC302)
God’s Providence protects, leads, and
governs the entire creation from all ends
of the earth including even the those
that are yet to come, ordering them well
through the free cooperation of
creatures. (Vatican Council I, Dei Filius)
While God is the Master Planner, He
needs the free cooperation of His
creatures to carry out His plan. This free
cooperation from Human beings and
other creatures is allowed by God
because He gives every creature the
dignity to act on its own. Specific to
Human Beings, God gives intelligence
and freedom in order to
complete creation. In this case, the
human being becomes the secondary
cause to the realization of the Master
Plan of the Primary Cause who is God.
Human Beings are God’s co-workers in
the actualization of His plan for the
attainment of the goal of creation.
(CCC307)
Summary
1. The Blessed Trinity is One God
consisting of three divine
persons: the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit.
2. The Trinity’s plan for the Church
is for her to share in His Divine
Life and to make all faithful
members of this Church His
adopted children.
3. The goal of creation is to glorify
God by freely sharing in His
Goodness.
4. All of creation is in a state of
journey towards perfection.
5. God as the primary cause of
things, needs the free
cooperation of creation as the
secondary cause to realize His
plan.
6. The free cooperation of human
persons in the realization of
God’s plan is allowed by God
because He gives every human
 being the dignity to decide and
act independently.
Lesson 2:
The Church’s Foundation
Jesus Ushers In the Kingdom
After He heard of John the Baptist’s
arrest, Jesus went to Galilee preaching
the gospel of God saying: ”The time is
fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at
hand: repent, and believe in the gospel.”
(Mark 1:14-15) The perfection of the
Reign of God or the Kingdom of God
lies ahead of us. When Jesus Christ ,
the Second person in the Trinity became
one of us (the Word Incarnate), He
brought near to us the Kingdom of God
that was proclaimed throughout the
whole Gospel and has come in Christ’s
death and resurrection. (CCC2816)
This is the reason for His Incarnation. It
was Christ’s task to actualize the
Father’s plan to save. To realize His
Father’s will, He began this task by
preaching the Good News which is the
coming of God’s Reign promised for
ages in the Old Testament. Thus, Christ
ushered in the Kingdom of Heaven to
us. (CCC763) The Church “is the reign
of Christ already present in the mystery.”
(LG2) To the words of St. Cyrprian: “It
may even be … that the Kingdom of
God means Christ Himself …For as He
is our resurrection, since in Him we rise,
so He can also be understood as the
Kingdom of God, for in Him we shall
reign.”
B) Jesus Gives the Church a Structure
Jesus Christ made the Kingdom felt
through His words, works and presence.
There were those who heard and
experienced Him, followed Him, and
formed the “Little Flock” whose
shepherd He was. This “Little Flock” is
the seed, the beginning of the Kingdom.
They consisted of Jesus’ true family to
whom He taught a new way of acting
and praying. (CCC764) Later, The Lord
Jesus gave this “Little Flock” with a
structure that will stay until the Kingdom
is fully achieved. Here, the Twelve were
chosen with Peter as their leader. These
Twelve were reminiscent of the Twelve
tribes of Israel in the Old Testament but
now the twelve become the foundation
stones of the New Jerusalem.
They along with the other disciples
share in Jesus’ mission, power, and lot.
(CCC765)
C) The Spirit Displays the Church
In the prayer that Jesus taught us
(Lord’s Prayer), God’s Kingdom refers to
the final coming of the reign of God
through Christ’s return. The Churchsince
its birth at Pentecost committed herself
to continue Christ’s task through the
work of the Holy Spirit who completes
Christ’s work on earth and brings us to
the fullness of grace when the Kingdom
comes in glory in that time when Christ
hands it over to His Father. (CCC2818)
When the task from the Father was
finally accomplished by the Son, the
Holy Spirit was sent down to continue to
sanctify the Church.
It was on the day of Pentecost that the
Holy Spirit openly displayed the Church
and the preaching, healing and the
spreading of the Good News among
nations began. It is the very nature of
this community of
Christ’s followers to be sent as
missionary to make disciples of those
who have not heard of Christ. (CCC
767) To accomplish this missionary task,
the Spirit of the Lord bestows in the
church many and different hierarchical
and charismatic gifts. With these gifts
coupled with the faithful observance of
Christ’s precepts, the Church receives
her mission of proclaiming and
establishing among nations the
Kingdom of Christ and of God as she
herself is the beginning of this Kingdom.
(CCC 768)
Summary
1. Jesus Christ through His words, work
and presence brought to us the
Kingdom of
God but it has yet to be completed and
perfected at the end time by the action
of
the Holy Spirit.
2. Jesus Christ organized His followers
by assigning Twelve Apostles with Peter
as their head. This indicates Christ’s
intention to put up a church who will stay
and share His mission until the Kingdom
is fully achieved guided and aided by
the Holy Spirit.
3. The Holy Spirit continues to deliver
the missionary task started by Jesus
Christ by
continually making the Church holy and
by giving the Church hierarchic and
charismatic gifts until her perfection at
the end time.
Lesson 3 The
Church’s Mission
A) The Church in the Old Testament
The gathering together of the People of
God began when sin destroyed the
harmony of relationships between
Human Beings and God and among
human beings themselves. Stories of
this Sin were narrated in the Book of
Genesis: Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel,
Noah and the Great Flood and the
Tower of Babel. God calling people
together in the church is His reaction to
these breaks of relationship and the
chaos caused by Sin. (CCC761) In the
Scriptures, we heard the stories of the
calling of Abraham to be the Father of a
Great People, Isaac and Jacob, the
liberating
leadership of Moses and the election of
Israel as “Qahal Yahweh” (People of
God).
These are Scriptural narrations of the
remote and proximate preparations of
the
Church to be instituted by Jesus Christ
in the New Covenant. (CCC762)
B) The Church instituted by Christ Jesus
The Father’s will is to raise up human
beings to share in His own divinity. He
does this by gathering humans around
His Son Jesus Christ already inserted
into a specific human Lsociety, culture,
period and geography. This gathering is
called the Church. (CCC541) Christ is at
the core of this gathering of human
creatures into the “Family of God”.
Through His words and works that
shows the reign of God and by sending
out His disciples to the ends of the world
Jesus calls all people around Him. At
best, in His great Paschal Mystery, His
crucifixion and death and in His
resurrection He brings forth the coming
of His Kingdom. “And I when lifted up
from the earth (crucifixion) will draw all
men to myself.” (Jn.12:32) Thus all
humans are called to be in union with
Jesus Christ, to be His body and Him as
the head.
(CCC542)
C) The Church Revealed by the Holy
Spirit
Since the time of Pentecost-the birth of
the Church, the Holy Spirit played a
major role in the
whole of the Church’s mission. It is the
main agent who leads the Church on
her missionary journey. It is he who
urges the Church to walk the road of
Christ, the way of poverty, obedience,
service and self-sacrifice so that in the
end the Church will emerge glorious as
Christ was victorious when He rose from
the dead. (CCC852) Since the Holy
Spirit is the principle of every essential
and genuinely saving action of the
Church, charisms are to be welcomed
and received as vital and concrete
manifestations that help build up the
Church. (CCC 800) However simple or
humble or at times extraordinary, these
are graces from the Holy Spirit which
directly or indirectly benefit the Church
to address her needs. (CCC 799) The
Holy Spirit therefore animates the
Church with His gifts and graces and
dwells in it making her His temple. It is
the Spirit of Jesus that challenges the
Church to be One, Holy, Catholic and
Apostolic.(CCC 811)
Summary
1. The coming of sin which destroys
relationships especially between human
persons
Land the Blessed Trinity, triggers God to
gather a chosen people which by now
we know as the Church
2. “Qahal Yahweh” of the Old Testament
period is the earliest image of the
church that Christ Jesus was
established in the New Testament times.
3. Jesus instituted the Church by His
words, works, presence and by
commissioning His disciples to the ends
of the earth to make converts.
4. Christ’s passion, crucifixion, death
and resurrection bring to us His
Kingdom.
5. The Holy Spirit animates, guides,
leads, protects, sustains and nourishes
the Church
towards her perfection until the second
coming of Christ.