Bukidnon Association of Catholic Schools (BUACS), Inc.

To be compiled Diocese
of Malaybalay

LOYOLA HIGH SCHOOL

Don Carlos, Bukidnon

GRADE 12 – CHURCH
1ST Semester-1st Quarter
S.Y. 2022-2023

LESSON 1: ORIGIN AND BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CHURCH

I.GOD’S MESSAGE
17
From that time Jesus began to preach his message: “Turn away from your
sins, because the Kingdom of heaven is near!” 23Jesus went all over Galilee,
teaching in the synagogues, preaching the Good News about the Kingdom, and
healing people who had all kinds of disease and sickness. 25Large crowds followed
him from Galilee and the Ten Towns, from Jerusalem, Judea, and the land on the
other side of the Jordan.
-Mt. 4: 17, 23, 25

II. EXPOSITION
A. Jesus’ mission was focused on the Reign of God. Right after
being baptized and after overcoming temptation in the desert (cf. Mt.
3:13-17; 4: 1-10), he started to proclaim that the Kingdom of God was at
hand – the rule of a Father who is rich in mercy and love. He also called on
people to change their ways if they wanted God to rule their lives. Since
this theme was not easy to grasp, he spoke in a language that his
audience could understand. He used parables to tell his audience that
https://bit.ly/2Mw7NEz God’s rule would mean fullness of life (a plentiful harvest), that it was an
undeserved gift but which asked for receptivity and joyful commitment
(parables of the wheat, pearl of great price, the treasure in the field), that it
would surely grow beyond what we could imagine (wheat growing secretly, mustard seed), and that God’s
transforming power, though unseen, would surely make things happen in the midst of human life (leaven in a dough).
B.He spoke of the Kingdom as God’s desire to make us enjoy fully the love that is ours as children of God who is
our Father. Jesus told his hearers to ask for God’s forgiveness, to pray without ceasing, addressing God as “Abba,
Father!” with the trust that he would answer their prayers. He told them to share and serve. God’s rule was a rule
of love where no one was found wanting, because those who had enough unselfishly gave to those who had
none.

C.Jesus’ deeds proved the truth of his preaching. The blind, the lame, and the lepers were made whole. His
healing miracles revealed a God of love and compassion. The good news of God’s reign came upon the poor and
needy. God was serious, indeed, in restoring life and wholeness to anyone who was broken and suffering.
D. To show that the rule of God was what mattered most, Jesus led a lifestyle that pointed to the passing
value of wealth, fame, and worldly power. As he was born poor, so did he live and die poor. His total devotion to
God’s will was shown in his prayer, a prayer full of confidence, which he taught as through his disciples to be our
own prayer (Mt. 6: 9-15). His was a life that sought first the Kingdom of God and all other things besides (cf. Mt
6:23).
 E.All these attracted people to Jesus, people who were willing to follow him, his teaching, and lifestyle. The
Kingdom of God that Jesus preached started then to show itself in a gathered and renewed people. The spiritual
and invisible rule of God over the world and humanity became visible in a community that allowed God to rule
their lives.
F. From among these followers, Jesus chose Twelve who became eye-and-ear witnesses to his words and deeds.
Their number c0rresponded to the 12 tribes of Israel, a number that meant total or universal. Their number
suggested that the good news of salvation proclaimed by Jesus was for all and was meant to gather all people
into Christ’s embrace. It was Jesus who called them, and like in most cases where it was a disciple who chose his
master. One of them, Peter, was handpicked by Jesus to be his “brothers’ strength,” the “rock” upon which
Christ was “to build his Church” (cf. Mt. 16:18).
G. These disciples were to be the nucleus, the seed
from which the Church would grow. They, who at this
point had not shown signs of readiness to take part in
Jesus’ work of proclaiming God’s Kingdom, were to be
renewed by Christ’s resurrection and empowered by the
Holy Spirit to spread to all nations “what they have heard
and seen with their own eyes, what they have watched
and touched with their hands” (cf. 1 Jn. 1:1). Indeed, the
https://bit.ly/3cV9HsT Church is a community called together by God – a
community of love whose source is the Father who sent
Christ to be our
Redeemer in the unity of the Holy Spirit. This is why the Church is
called Banal na Iglesya from the Spanish word Iglesia which comes from the Greek word ekklesia, meaning “a
people called together.”
In addition, the Catechism of the Catholic Church #751 states that the word "Church" (Latin ecclesia, from
the Greek ek-ka-lein, to "call out of") means a convocation or an assembly. It designates the assemblies of the
people, usually for a religious purpose. Ekklesia is used frequently in the Greek Old Testament for the assembly of
the Chosen People before God, above all for their assembly on Mount Sinai where Israel received the Law and
was established by God as his holy people. 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. The equivalent Greek term Kyriake, from which the English word Church and the German Kirche are
derived, means "what belongs to the Lord."

CHURCH TEACHING
That the Church has its roots in Christ and in his proclamation of the Kingdom is also expressed in the
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, no. 5:
The mystery of the holy Church is manifest in her foundation, for the Lord Jesus inaugurated her by preaching
the good news, that is, the coming of God’s Kingdom which, for centuries, had been promised in the Scriptures. “The
time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand” (Mk 1:15; cf. Mt 4:17). In Christ’s words, in his works, and in his
presence, this Kingdom reveals itself to men and women.
Thus, the Church is a community of disciples that came about as a natural result of Jesus’ mission to proclaim the
good news. She exists not for her own sake but to continue the mission of Christ which is her reason for being. On the
other hand, Jesus desires to continue drawing all people to the Father through this community of disciples and apostles –
people who are called and sent.

DO THE WRITTEN WORKS AND PERFORMANCE TASKS

Reference:
Manabat, J., Munsayac, J., Astorga, M.C., Balgan, J.M., & Coralejo, E. (2009). The Church on the Move (4 th Edition). Quezon City:
FNB Educational, Inc. ISBN 978-971-514-649-4