The Catholic Church:
The Church is mystery by reason of:
Nature and Mission
Catholic Church traces its origin back to the Old
Testament “qahal” and the New Testament “ekklesia.”
Both terms mean “the people of God called together,” or
an “assembly convoked by God.”
The Church claims to be a faith-assembly whose root
cause is God’s free call to all to share His divine
goodness and love in Christ.
A. The Church as Mystery
A mystery is not something we cannot know nor
understand, but rather a reality we can never fully grasp
because there is always more to learn (cf. NCDP 200)
a. The Church is a mystery simply means it is “a
reality imbued with the hidden presence of God . . .
always open to new and greater exploration”.
(Paul VI at the Opening of the Second Session of
Vatican II).
b. It has a unique relation to God Himself, and
therefore also with all of us who are called to
salvation precisely as a people.
What is a “unique relationship with God?”
The Church is related to each Person of the
Blessed Trinity.
First, to the eternal Father who “resolved to
assemble all those who believe in Christ in the holy
Church.”
In the Father’s plan, the Church was:
•prefigured from the beginning of the world
•prepared wonderfully in the history of Israel
•instituted finally in these last times
•manifested in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
•to be brought to completion at the end of time
Second, to the Incarnate Son, Jesus Christ
“Christ, the one Mediator, established and
ceaselessly sustains here on earth his holy Church”.
The Church originated and grew from Christ.
“From the side of Christ as He slept the sleep of
death upon the Cross came forth the wondrous
sacrament of the whole Church”
Like the Incarnate Son, the Church is both
visible and invisible, human and divine. As the Son
of God “became flesh” to save us from our sins, so
the spiritual community of the Church takes on
visible social structure to serve its mission.
Third, to the Holy Spirit who dwells in the Church
and in the hearts of the faithful as in a temple (cf.
1 Cor 3:16), and bears witness to their adoptive
sonship (cf. Gal 4:6).
The Spirit guides the Church into the fullness of
truth (cf. Jn 16:13), gives her a unity of fellowship
and service, and constantly renews and leads her to
perfect union with her Spouse, Christ.
•its origin in the Father’s plan of salvation
•its ongoing life in the Risen Christ and the
Spirit
•its ultimate goal in the fully achieved
Kingdom of God.
Church is basically a mystery of communion.
It is this living and life-giving communion that makes
us belong not to ourselves but to Christ and to his
Church, the community of the disciples of Christ (cf. PCP
II 87,).
This communion is the ‘integrating aspect,’ and
the central content of the Church as mystery (cf. CL 19).
The model and source of our communion as
Christians with Jesus and with one another is God’s own
Trinitarian communion __ of the Son with the Father in
the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The Church is mystery because of its relationship to
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It manifests the Blessed
Trinity by both its nature and mission.
First, by its origin the Church arose from the saving
design of the Father, the redemptive mission of the Son
and the sanctifying work of the Spirit.
Second, in structure: just as the Trinity is a
community, the communion of love of Father, Son and
Holy Spirit, so too the Church is a community, a
communion of believers drawn together by Christ in the
power of the Holy Spirit.
Third, the mission of the Church originates “from the
mission of the Son and the mission of the Holy Spirit, in
accordance with the decree of God the Father”.
Fourth, the destiny of the Church is the full
realization of this communion in the Kingdom of God. We
are pilgrims, we have not yet appeared with Christ in the
state of glory in which we shall be like God since we shall
see Him as He is”.
The Trinitarian view of the Church is actually quite close
to the ordinary religious experience of Catholic Filipinos.
For it is in the Church, especially in communal worship at
Mass, when we most often:
•experience God as “our Father” and feel ourselves
as children in His divine hands;
•come to know Christ as our personal Savior, and
what it means to be His disciples in service of others
•judge true, authentic experiences of the Holy Spirit,
among our fellow disciples of Christ, and under the
guidance and leadership of Church authorities.
PCP II expressed this briefly in noting that “in the
Liturgy we assemble and pray in the name of our Lord
through whom ‘we have access in one Spirit to the
Father’ ” (Eph 2:18; PCP II 77).
Salvation
The Fullness of Salvation
Is it true that most people will go to Heaven,
regardless of their religion?
God loves all people, and his will is for
everyone to be saved. Jesus Christ is the one true
path to salvation.
The Catholic Church is the only Church with the
fullness of the four Marks of the Church:
It is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic.
It alone has retained the fullness of the means of
salvation.
The Church Is Necessary for Salvation
 Christ is the one path to salvation, and he is present
to us in the Church.
 Salvation comes from Christ, our Head, through the
Church, which is his Body.
 A sacrament is a visible sign of God’s invisible
grace.
 The Church is the sacrament
of salvation . . .
 both a sign and an instrument of the saving union
between God and humans.
Jesus is a Sacrament
 Jesus is called the first or primary sacrament.
 He, more than anyone, makes visible God’s
presence in the world.
 He is the mystery of salvation; his saving work made
visible through the Seven Sacraments.
 sacramentum-the visible sign of the hidden reality of
salvation.
 mysterium-the hidden reality of God’s plan of
salvation.
Salvation for Those outside the Church
Is it true that only Catholics can be saved? The answer is
no.
Salvation Is Offered to All People
 Through the ages, millions of people never had the
chance to join the Church.
 If the Church is necessary for salvation, how could
such people be saved?
Salvation is available to them through God’s
grace.
“extra ecclesiam nulla salus,”
“outside the Church there is no salvation.”
Catechism of the Catholic Church
CCC 846-848
CCC 830
1. There is no salvation apart from Christ and his One,
Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Again, this is
an infallible teaching and not up for debate among
Catholics.
2. Those who are “invincibly” ignorant concerning the
truth of #1 above will not be culpable for this lack of
knowledge before God.
3. Those in the category of #2 have the real possibility
of salvation even if they never come to an explicit
knowledge of Christ and/or his Church.
Saving Grace
Grace is available outside the visible boundaries of
the Church. It still comes from Christ, as a result of his
sacrifice. It is communicated by the Holy Spirit.
The Church’s Mission
The Church still has the sacred duty to preach the
Gospel to all people.
The mission regarding non-Catholic Christians
should lead us to Christian unity.
The mission regarding non-Christians involves
respectful dialogue.
Who needs Religion?
People sometimes say they have a right to worship
God in their own way.
How does God wish to be worshipped?
God wishes to be worshipped by people
joined together in communities, not just by
isolated individuals.
Our Social Nature
We are created to live in community, not in isolation.
We depend completely on Christ’s free gift of grace
for our salvation.
Christ distributes this gift through the community of
the Church.
Communal Worship
When we participate in the Mass, we are part of a
community on many levels:
- the liturgical assembly
- the local church or diocese
- the People of God throughout the world
- the worshippers in Heaven
Individual Worship
We also worship God through our individual
devotions.
Our personal worship should both draw us to
communal prayer . . .
and complement the communal worship of the
Church.
In Summary:
There are six key points that I believe we need to
remember here:
No one who knowingly and deliberately rejects
the truth will be saved. It doesn’t matter how good of
a Muslim, Jew, Baptist, or anything else he may be.
If anyone rejects the truth of Christ and his
Church—even one definitive teaching—they will be
lost.
Religions that have as tenants of their
respective faiths the rejection of Jesus and his
Church have no power to save anyone. It is “the
truth that makes us free” (cf. John 8:32), not
falsehood.
In the case of one who is ignorant of the truth of
the Catholic Faith, “through no fault of [his] own,” he
can be saved, if he is truly “invincibly ignorant, [is]
 given the supernatural virtue of faith and [has]
perfect charity in [his heart]” (cf. Instruction of Holy
Office of Dec. 20, 1949).
We must remember that we are not the judges
of salvation. God is the sole and final judge. We do
not know who is truly “invincibly ignorant” and who is
not. Therefore, we must be careful to “evangelize all
men” as the Catechism commands us and leave the
judging to God.
“Whatever good or truth is found amongst
[other world religions] is considered by the Church
to be ‘a preparation for the Gospel and given by him
who enlightens all men that they may at length have
life’” (Lumen Gentium 16). And if they seek the true
God, given the light they have received, they have
the possibility of salvation.
This does not mean they are not in need of the
Eucharist! Without the grace that comes from the
sacraments, one is at a decided disadvantage to get
to heaven. And if one has rejected the truth, then
there is no way he can merit heaven apart from
repentance and the acceptance of the truth. The
Church makes very clear: “The words bind and
loose mean: whomever you exclude from your
communion, will be excluded from communion with
God; whomever you receive anew into your
communion, God will welcome back into his.
Reconciliation with the Church is inseparable from
reconciliation with God” (CCC 1445).
If anyone makes it to heaven apart from what
the Church refers to as “the ordinary means of
sanctification that comes through the sacraments,”
or a “formal union with the Church,” they will only do
so through a salvific link with the Church that comes
via extraordinary means.
Call to Holiness
Holiness
- A gift
- Rooted in Baptism
- Accessed through the sacraments
- Allowing God to act
Saint
The “holy one” who leads a life in union with God
through the grace of Christ and receives the reward of
eternal life. The Church is called the communion of
saints, of the holy ones. (CCC, glossary)
Magisterium - The official teaching authority of the
Church.
Jesus bestowed the right and power to teach in
his name on Peter and the Apostles and their
successors.
The authority of the Magisterium extends to
specific precepts of the natural law because
following these precepts is necessary for salvation.
Disciple
Jesus associated his disciples with his own life,
revealed the mystery of the Kingdom of God to [them],
and gave them a share in his mission, his joy, and his
sufferings.
Who are the Laity?
Married People
Married people procreate, raise, and educate
children. Married people live in the world by
consecrating their daily activities to God.
Single
Single people use their state of life, whether
chosen or not, to pursue their universal call to
holiness. Single people live in the world by
consecrating their daily activities to God.
Types of Religious Life and Consecrated Life
 Cloistered Orders: prayer, penance, support of
convent or monastery.
 Active Orders: Carry out their mission in the world
through their apostolate (teaching, missionary work,
preaching, ministry).
 Contemplative or Monastic Orders: prayer and
sacrifice, mostly live in silence.
 Lay Consecrated: remain a witness through
evangelical counsels in the world.
Law of Self Giving
The principle that encapsulates one’s call to
communion and self-donation with another. It means that
you can discover your true self only through a sincere gift
of self.
Pastoral Priorities for the new millennium according to
“Novo Millennio Ineunte”
1. Holiness
- There is a great desire in people to be holy.
- Holiness is attractive to people even in our times.
- The Church is holy because its goal is to make
people holy and she has the means to make people
holy.
- All the activities of the Church is to help promote
holiness.
- Bring out in people the desire to be saints, to be
what they really are.
- Present the Saints to the people as role models.
- People should see in us our striving to be holy
ourselves. We witness to this.
Wrong Ideas about Holiness
- It is only for some chosen few. It is rare
and very difficult, if not altogether impossible,
for ordinary people.
- One needs to be a priest or a nun who
will have the time and the training to be holy.
- It is corny. One has to be goody-goody,
with one’s feet off the ground.
- Holiness is of the past but not for us in
the modern world.
- Holiness can wait later on, perhaps when
one is already old and has no more cares about
the world.
- Holiness is not really that important. It is
good if one has it, but really one can get by
quite well without it.
 - To be holy is to be without sin. Our life is
already tainted by sin. WE have no chance for
it.
- One can be over holy. Baka makalampas
sa langit!
Call to Holiness from the Bible
 Leviticus 19, 2
Speak to all the congregation of the
people of Israel and say to them: You shall be
holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.
 Ephesians 1, 4
He chose us in Christ before the
foundation of the world to be holy and
blameless before him in love.
 1 Corinthians 1, 8
He will also strengthen you to the end, so
that you may be blameless (holy) on the day of
our Lord Jesus Christ.
 1 Thessalonians 4, 3 (life pleasing to God)
For this is the will of God, your
sanctification: that you will abstain from
fornication….
 2 Thessalonians 1, 11 (judgement at xt coming)
To this end we always pray for you, asking
that our God will make you worthy of his call
(which is holiness) and will fulfill by his power
every good resolve and work of faith.
What is Holiness?
Holiness is the high standard of ordinary
Christian living. (Novo Millennio Ineunte # 31)
Holiness is the perfection of charity.
Holiness is doing the will of God.
Holiness is oneness with God.
Holiness is closely following of Jesus.
* God is holy. We cannot approach God if we are not
holy.
* To be one with God then is to be holy.
* To be one with God is to love him.
* To love him is to keep his commandment.
* His commandment is that we love one another.(Jn 14 ,
15.2 1;15,9-10)
Jn. 14,15.21
‘If you love me, you will keep my
commandments…They who have my
commandments and keep them are those who
love me; and those who love me will be love by
my Father, and I will love them and reveal
myself to them.’
Jn. 15,9-10
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved
you; abide in my love. If you keep my
commandments, you will abide in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s
commandments and abide in his love.
We believe in one, holy, Catholic Church
The Catholic Church is holy because:
• Jesus, its root, is holy. He is the way to the
Father.
• It is capable to make people holy by the action of the
Holy Spirit.
•It has the means to make people holy. The saints are
proofs that holiness abounds in the Church.
Means to Holiness
1. Encounter with Jesus in the sacraments.
2. Praying
3. Word of God in the bible.
4. Faithfulness in the daily duties of our life.
5. Avoiding sin and temptation.
6. Doing good to others.
Priests’ specific journey to holiness
There are greater reasons that motivate a priest to
be holy:
1. That he may be worthy of the grace marked on
him to stand in persona Christi capitis.
2. That he may be the living instrument of the work
of salvation.
ex opere operato
ex opere operantis
Our specific path
Holiness in and through ministry.
We not only sanctify others in our ministry. Our
ministry sanctifies us. By acting in persona
Christi we become close to him. We
ourselves become spiritually charged in our pastoral
work. Check this out in each activity that you do as
priests.
Holiness is not something a priest can attain by
himself or apart from the community of faith. The priest
becomes holy within the community by ministering to it
and leading it.
In acting as shepherd, the presbyter
experiences his own transformation in the image of
the One he represents. This is how he becomes
holy.
Important elements in the specific journey of the priest to
holiness.
a. A climate of proximity to Jesus, or friendship and
personal encounter with him.
b. The Blessed Virgin Mary.
c. Liturgy of the Hours.
Hence according to St. John Paul II,
“Spending time in intimate conversation with the
Good Shepherd in the Blessed Sacrament is a
pastoral priority far superior to any other.”
Correct ideas on Holiness
1. The objective gift of holiness is offered to all the
baptized. Baptism is a true entrance into the holiness of
God through incorporation into Christ and the indwelling
of his Spirit. By holiness we avoid a life of mediocrity, that
is, reducing Christianity to minimalistic ethics and
shallow religiosity.
2. Holiness is a call and a task for every Christian, not
just for a chosen few.
3. Holiness is achieved in the ordinary Christian living.
“Do your ordinary duties extraordinarily well.”
4. The ways of holiness are many, according to the
vocation and temperament of each individual.
5. There is a need for a genuine training in holiness.
6. To be holy is the most important thing in life. There is
only one sadness in life, that is, not to be holy!
Ultimately, what is holiness?
Holiness is
- Drawing close to God
- Perfection of love
- Doing the will of God
- Following Jesus Christ
Family: The Domestic Church
What is the Domestic Church?
“The Christian home is the place where children
receive the first proclamation of the faith. For this reason,
the family home is rightly called ‘the domestic Church,’ a
community of grace and prayer, a school of human
virtues and of Christian charity.”
Church Mission
The Church’s people share a common mission.
What is this mission?
To share the Good News of Jesus Christ.
The family is the place where children learn the
Good News.
Our Commission
“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe
all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19–20).
First Ideas
Pope Saint John Paul II repeatedly referred to the
Catholic family as “the domestic Church,” for it is within
family that we form our first ideas about life and love, and
about God and his Church.
Early Church
The early Church began in house churches, where
families were the heart of the communities. The Church
was formed from believers and their whole household.
New believers wanted their entire family to be saved.
Family Church
The family is the most intimate experience of
Church, the place where love, forgiveness, and trust
should first be encountered. This is the family Church,
whose members are called to embody Christ in everyday
life.
Dignity of Marriage
Vatican II recognized the dignity of Marriage by
declaring that families are genuinely “Church.”
The Council restored the ancient concept of
domestic Church as it declared:
“The parents are to be the first preachers of the
faith for their children, by word and example.”
Role in Salvation
The family was created to play a specific role in
God’s plan of salvation.
The family is deeply associated with the Church,
both in its nature and in its structure.
Family is Central
In the Old Testament, the family was so central that
without it, there simply was no covenant.
In the New Testament, the family reached its
fulfillment in Christ.
The family became the place where the Holy Spirit
works out the salvation of each member and provides
stability and structure for life’s journey.
Church in Miniature
The baptized family is the first place where essential
teaching in faith, prayer, and morality are carried out.
The Christian family is the Church in miniature,
sharing the nature of Christ.
Christ as Head
The true head of the Catholic home is Jesus, just as
he is head of the Church.
The family’s week should be centered on the Mass,
and faith growth in the family should continue in the
home.
Signs of the Domestic Church
- Bible
- Rosary beads
- Crucifix
- Pictures of saints
- Picture of Mary, Mother of God
- Holy cards
More Signs
- Bulletin from your parish
- Art with a Scripture verse on it
- Christian newspaper or magazine
- Books about Christian spirituality or history
- Baptismal candle
- Memorial of First Communion
- Nativity scene at Christmas
- Advent wreath
- Blessed palms from Palm Sunday
The Filipino Family
The basic units of Philippine society are the nuclear
family of the husband, wife, and children, and the
bilaterally extended family which includes the families of
the husband and wife.
Family is "a group of persons united by ties of
marriage, blood or adoption; constituting a single
household; interacting and communicating with each
other in their respective social roles of husband and wife,
mother and father, son and daughter, brother and sister;
and creating and maintaining a common culture".
The Non-Traditional Family Forms
1. Solo-parent family (has 5 Types)
a. widow or widower and his/her child/children
b. single man or woman and his/her adapted
child/children
c. separated parent and his/her child/children
d. unwed woman and her child/children
e. mistress and her child/children by a married
man
2. Step-families or blended families.
3. Formed by homosexuals
4. Childless couples
5. Composed of siblings who have been orphaned,
or those whose parents are away as OCWs.
The Family Code of the Philippines
Marriage is "a special contract of permanent
union between a man and a woman.entered into in
accordance with law for the establishment of
conjugal and family life. It is the foundation of the
family and an inviolable social institution whose
nature, consequences, and incidents are governed
by law and not subject to stipulation." (Art. 1)
Roles of the Filipino Family
 Role 1:
Faith Formation in the Filipino Family
“Filipino Catholic children receive from their
family an initial but very simple and scanty religious
education. It is because of the increasing break-up
of families and because parents, who are engrossed
in work, find no more time to catechize their
children.”
The Christian Family as the Domestic Church
Lumen Gentium 11: “The family is, so to
speak, the domestic Church. In it parents
should, by their word and example, be the first
heralds of the faith to the children.” (LG 11)
Christifideles Laici 62: The Christian
Family, as the ‘domestic Church’, also makes
up a natural and fundamental school for the
formation in the faith.
 Role 2:
Catholic Education
Catholic educational institutions have been making
a distinct contribution to the total well-being of the
country.” (PCP II 622)
Catholic education = a passport to better
opportunities for earning a living.
Gaudium et Spes 3: The family as “the principal
school of social virtues which is necessary to
every society.”
“One reason for inadequacy of parents and adults…
is the lack of continuing catechesis for them.”
(NNCDP 82)
Family Catechesis
The Catechetical Role of Parents
“The couples are ‘co-operators of grace and witness
of the faith’. They are the first to pass on the faith to
their children and to educate them in it.” (AA 11)
Triple Responsibility of parents (GDC 226):
1. That of silent witnessing of a faith that is authentically
lived daily.
2. That of accompanying their children in occasion of
particular events in their searching, and
3. That of interiorizing the more systematic catechesis
that the children receive in the community.
"Family catechesis precedes, accompanies and
enriches all forms of catechesis." (CT 68)
One Step
- It takes just one step to build a domestic Church.
- When the time comes to build your own family, remember this: If you invite Jesus
into your family, you will be domestic Church.
 Role 3:
Socialization in the Family
Within the family, socialization is an interactive
process between children and parents. The family is the
chief agent of socialization in the child’s life because it is
primarily in-charge of nurturing the child during the early
formative years.
 Role 4:
Teaching on morality
a. Risk Behaviors
Findings show a high and increasing pattern of
risk behaviors among young people which are
magnified by their tendency towards multiple
risk-taking: “adolescents who are exposed to
smoking, drinking or drug abuse are more likely to
be sexually active and that early sex is associated
with other risky sexual behaviors ...”
b. Premarital Sex
Some factors:
- The impact of changing family configuration.
- The increased mobility of both parents and
adolescents in recent years meant a decline in
direct supervision of parents on their children.
- The adolescents report the home to be the
most popular venue of the first sexual
encounter due to absentee parenting.
c. Discussion of Sex at Home
Study made by de Irala et al. in 2009:
Students reported that they obtained
information about love and sexuality mainly
from friends (57.5% for males and 69.6% for
females).
In the case of males, by the Internet and
youth magazines (27.1%); in the case of
females, by parents (30.7%). But generally, the
youth (especially girls) value parents’ opinion
more than friends’ in most topics.
The authoritative sources like priests and
teachers were not anymore in the top three
choices.
d. Parental Absenteeism
Parental absenteeism is a growing reality
among the lives of teens. Almost half (47%) do
not have either one or both parents around
most of the time with them.
Tasks of the Family (From Familiaris Consortio)
1. Forming a Community of Persons
2. Serving Life
The parents have two particular duties:
a. Transmission of Life: Procreation as the
transmission of the divine image from person to
person is the fundamental task of the family to serve
life. (FC 28)
b. Education: : Since parents have conferred life on
their children, they have a most solemn obligation to
educate their offspring...Hence, “the family is the
first school of those social virtues which every
society needs.” (GE 3)
3. Participating in the Development of the Society
4. Sharing in the Life and Mission of the Church