Divine Origin of the Church (10 points)

o The Church can never be put down for She has a divine origin.
o Though in the eyes of the world, the Church is merely a human
organization, She is inseparable with God Who built it and claims it His
(cf. “…upon this rock I will build My Church”, Jesus to Peter)

o The Church could have perished easily if its formation has been merely
based on the human dimension.

o She has suffered persecutions, experienced divisions, displayed moral

weakness among her leaders and members, yet she continues to
survive.

o Because of divine origin, the Church possesses the following characteristics:

o Immutable: It can change and adapt without changing its essential

aspects. The mass in the Philippines may sound and look different in form
to that in the 1st century or that in the US now, but its essential aspects
(prayer, repentance, worship, biblical readings, homily, peace,
Eucharist as the true Body and Blood of our Lord, etc.) has not changed
throughout the centuries. The same can be said for our belief in the
Trinity, purgatory, faith and works (for salvation), the saints and Mary.

o Indefectible: The Church will not decay (or be misled) in its faith (beliefs)
and morals (application of faith in real life) even amidst all the darkness
and corruption within and without. This is because of Jesus’ promise to
be with us until the end (cf. Mt. 28:20 I will be with you always, yes, even
until the end of the age).

o Perennial: She can be persecuted but She cannot be stopped, she can
be assailed but not destroyed, nor can She perish. The Church will survive
history as Jesus promised (cf. Mt. 16:17 And I also say to you that you are
Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades
will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven)
Apostolic Foundation of the Church (10 points)
o The Church that Christ established has a formal earthly structure built on
specifically chosen leaders, the Apostles.

o Only the original 12 closest disciples, St. Paul and Matthias (the one
elected to replace Judas Iscariot) are called Apostles.

o By virtue of our baptism, we are called to be modern-day Apostles. To be

part of the Church, to share the name of Christ and be called Christians,
we share also in His work.

o Many of the apostles were simple men (tent makers, fishermen), some were
more educated but known to be corrupt. Jesus is showing us that He did
not choose them for their earthly prestige, intelligence, or influence. He
chose them according to His plan.

o Christ built His Church upon Peter (You are Peter, and upon this rock I will
build My church).

o Apostolic succession: unbroken lineage of bishops starting from the

apostles.

o Apostolicity: this means that the Church is apostolic in her mission,

character, teachings and in descent.

o Apostolic in Mission: it implies that the Church is the fulfilment of the

mission of the apostles who had been commissioned by Jesus when
He said (cf. Mk 16:15) “Go into the whole world and proclaim the
gospel to every creature.”

o Apostolic in Character: her organization is basically and essentially

the same as that of the Church in the Acts of Apostles (the Early
Church).

o Apostolic in Teachings: the Church teaches the faith as taught by the

apostles, consisting of written tradition (Bible) and unwritten tradition
(interpretation of the Bible, passed even before they were written).

o Apostolic in Descent: the Church is built and remains on the

foundation of the apostles with Christ Himself as the capstone. This is
traced through the apostolic succession.
 Structure of the Church (5 points)
o Three Degrees of Priesthood:
o Bishop: highest degree or fullness of priesthood, has authority to
govern a diocese, called successor of the apostles
o Priest: closest collaborator of bishop, shares in the work of the bishop
o Deacon: means “servant”, assists the priest by focusing on the social
welfare of the people

o Functions of the People of God:

o To teach (prophetic office)
§ “…teaching them to observe all that I have commanded
you.” (Mt 28:20)
o To Govern (kingly office)
§ “Amen I say to you, whatever you bound on earth shall be
bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed
in heaven.” (Mt 18:18)
o To Sanctify (priestly office)
§ “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.” (Mt 28:19)

Salvific Mission of the Church (15 points)

o Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He had instructed His disciples to spread the
Gospel to the whole world. This happened in Galilee, where the angels at the tomb
of Christ told the apostles He is there waiting for them.
o His urging to “baptize all nations in the name of the Father, Son and of Holy Spirit”
is called the Great Commission.
o Jesus desired the proclamation of the Gospel to all people so that they would be
saved.
o Safety is a basic human need acknowledged by God, hence He assembled the
Church for our salvation.
o The Church is the community of believers Jesus established.
o One becomes a member of the Church through baptism.
o The Church is an organized religion that Christ continues to govern, teach and
sanctify through the bishop, priest and deacons.
o God’s continual involvement in the lives of the people of the Church is felt through
the sacraments, teachings and commandments of Christ.
o By nature, the Church is therefore Christocentric.
o However, it is Trinitarian in origin.
 o The Church is established to embody the kingdom of God on earth, the Church is
called to be the salt of the earth and radiate the light of Christ.
o To establish the Church, Jesus had done three things: He called specific individuals
to carry out His works, He gave them power and authority and established the
sacraments.
o Though God chose Israel to be His priestly nation, He did this to realize His plan of
salvation for all. Hence now, we are all called to become part of His priestly nation,
a citizen of heaven.

Prelature of Infanta: Church of the Poor (5 points)

Bishop Julio Labayen recognized the Lord among the poor — farmers, laborers, fisherfolk

“Open your eyes, and see Many of you might be

that God tempted to only see the
is not in front of you disappointments around you, the
He is there where the farmer poverty, the corruption, the Filipinos
is tilling who are indifferent because of their
the hard ground poverty or because of their greener
And where the laborer is pastures abroad, those who are
breaking the stones misinformed, or worse, those who are
He is with them in the sun direct participants of the corruption.
and the rain Let us, however, see poverty as a
and his garment is covered multidimensional reality – poverty in
with dust.” faith, in hope, love, and in many aspects
of life. A poverty resulting from not having
enough of Christ. What is yours?
-Tagore
 The Church in Modernity and its Contemporary
Issues (5 points)
*These explanations do not exhaust the deep and widespread issues each item tries to
present:

o Declining membership – the

quality and quantity of
catechists, the inactivity of
parents as the primary
teacher of faith, the extensive
immersion of our youth to
Western secularism has
resulted to the declining
participation of our members.

o Shortages in Priesthood -
Demographic changes within
religious communities belong
to the causes of priest
shortages. Birth rates within
traditionally religious families have declined, resulting in a smaller pool of potential
candidates for the priesthood over the past few decades. The aging of the existing
clergy compounds the problem, as retirements and attrition further reduce the
number of active priests available to serve. The disparity between the number of
retiring priests and the new recruits entering seminaries has led to a gradual decline
in the overall priest population.

o Sexual abuse scandals – this is a no brainer. We hope for the Church all over the
world to finally stop covering for these issues.

o Social and cultural changes – secularism and its morals has become popular in
social media. We acknowledge the nobility of their intentions yet, they too have
“blindspots” in their perspective often leading to extreme attitudes of “Youre NTA
since you are right” when in fact, human relationships and morality are much more
nuanced.

o Interfaith relations – interfaith marriages

are more common nowadays thanks
to the increasing globalization. Many
responds to this by compromising their
faith, and diluting it down to allow
more space for coexistence. Indeed,
living out the faith devoutly in such
circumstances presents unique
challenges many are not fully ready to deal with.