Act of Faith O my God, relying on thy infinite goodness and promises, I hope to obtain pardon of my sins, the help of thy grace, and life everlasting, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer. Amen.

Lesson Four: His Church

The Church is both Human and Divine The Church is essentially both human and divine, visible but endowed with invisible realities, zealous in action and dedicated to contemplation, present in the world, but as a pilgrim, so constituted that in her 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; Cf. Heb 13:14.

The Church is Divine The Church is guided by the Holy Spirit The Church does not change her doctrines and she is not created by man Church doctrine is infallible The Church dispenses the grace of the Sacraments

The Church is Human The Church is led by ordinarily fallible human beings and it has to keep in mind our human needs and limitations. If a priest is caught stealing money, does that mean it is now okay to steal? If a bishop teaches a false doctrine (e.g. Jesus is not really God), does that mean we should believe him?

The Church is Holy, although her Members Sin

Understanding Christ’s Church Activity Book, p. 4 Understanding Christ’s Church Read the following Bible verses and write a brief paragraph on what they teach us about the Church. 1.) 1 Corinthians 12:27-13:13 –In this passage, St. Paul refers to the Church as the “body of Christ” with Christ as the head and the various members as the different parts of the body (e.g. eye, hand, etc.). 2.) Ephesians 5:21-33 – In this passage, St. Paul refers to the Church as Christ’s bride, with Christ as the bridegroom. It tells us how the relationship of a husband and wife is modeled after Christ and the Church. It refers to an intimate relationship of love involving self-giving and sacrifice.

Homework Write one page about how the Church is infallible (incapable of formally teaching error) but her members are not impeccable (sinless). Can this be difficult to believe? Why do you know that we can trust the teaching of the Church?

Act of Faith O my God, relying on thy infinite goodness and promises, I hope to obtain pardon of my sins, the help of thy grace, and life everlasting, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer. Amen.