Tuesday Faith Formation SHARING THE JOY OF THE GOSPEL

The Church

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth. O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.

And in the Spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed;on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb…And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light shall the nations walk; and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it, and its gates shall never be shut by day -- and there shall be no night there; they shall bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. Revelation 21: 10-14, 22-26

1. The Church: Work of the Holy Trinity

CCC 737: The mission of Christ and the Holy Spirit is brought to completion in the Church: the Body of Christ and the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Christ’s faithful share in His communion with the Father in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit prepares the faithful, going out to them with grace and drawing them to Christ; manifests the Risen Lord to them, recalls His words, and gives them understanding; makes present the mystery of Christ, supremely in the Eucharist; brings them into communion with God, reconciling and bringing forth fruit.

CCC 738: The Church is the sacrament of the mission of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit: to announce, bear witness, make present and spread the mystery of communion. CCC 739: The Holy Spirit is the anointing of Christ. Christ, as Head of the Body, pours out the Spirit to nourish to heal to organize the members of the Body in their mutual functions. CCC 743 From the beginning to the end of time, whenever the Father sends his Son, He always sends his Spirit: their mission is conjoined and inseparable.

The Church has her origin in the Holy Trinity and is progressively realized in history. CCC 759: A plan born in the Father’s heart CCC 760: The Church was foreshadowed from the world’s beginning: God created the world for the sake of communion. CCC 761: The Church was prepared for in the Old Covenant. CCC 762, 766: The Church was instituted by Jesus Christ in His total self- giving. CCC 765: He endowed her with a structure, based upon the Twelve Apostles..

CCC 767: On the day of Pentecost, the Church was revealed and openly displayed by the Holy Spirit, who was poured out to continually sanctify her. CCC 768: The Holy Spirit endows the Church’s members with hierarchical and charismatic gifts. CCC 769: The Church will be perfected in glory at the time of Christ’s glorious return

2. The Church: Sacrament of Salvation

The Church – both visible and spiritual Christ established and sustains His holy Church here on earth His holy Church is a community of faith, hope and charity His holy Church is a visible organisation through which He communicates truth and grace to all men. CCC 771

The Church is -a society structured with hierarchical organs and the mystical body of Christ; -the visible society and spiritual community; The earthly Church and the Church endowed with heavenly riches.” (LG 8; CCC 771)

The Church is the mystery of man’s union with God In the Church Christ fulfills and reveals the purpose of God’s plan: “to unite all things in Him.” Eph 1:10 CCC 772 -the universal Sacrament of Salvation The saving work of Christ’s holy and sanctifying humanity is the sacrament of salvation CCC 774

The Church... a sacrament of salvation Human Outward sign = unity among all men Divine Inward grace = communion with God CCC 775 Christ is.. “at once manifesting and actualizing the mystery of God’s love for men.” CCC776

3. The Four Marks of the Church

It is Christ who through the Holy Spirit makes his Church one, holy, catholic and apostolic, and it is he who calls her to realise each of these qualities CCC 811

The Church is One 813 The Church is one because of her source: "the highest exemplar and source of this mystery is the unity, in the Trinity of Persons, of one God, the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit. The Church is one because of her founder: for "the Word made flesh, the prince of peace, reconciled all men to God by the cross,... restoring the unity of all in one people and one body The Church is one because of her "soul": "It is the Holy Spirit, dwelling in those who believe and pervading and ruling over the entire Church, who brings about that wonderful communion of the faithful and joins them together so intimately in Christ that he is the principle of the Church's unity

The Church is Holy 823 "The Church... is held, as a matter of faith, to be unfailingly holy. This is because Christ, the Son of God, who with the Father and the Spirit is hailed as 'alone holy,' loved the Church as his Bride, giving himself up for her so as to sanctify her; he joined her to himself as his body and endowed her with the gift of the Holy Spirit for the glory of God." 289 The Church, then, is "the holy People of God," 290 and her members are called "saints." Say to the congregation of the sons of Israel, you shall be holy for I the Lord your God am holy Lev 19:2

The canonized saints point us to models of holiness The Church offers us the means to salvation and holiness. All the means of healing are entrusted to the Church The catechism gives us the Sacraments, the Ten Commandments, the virtue of Charity and prayer as sources of holiness for the Church.

The Church is Catholic 830 The word "catholic" means "universal," in the sense of "according to the totality" or "in keeping with the whole." The Church is catholic in a double sense: First, the Church is catholic because Christ is present in her. "Where there is Christ Jesus, there is the Catholic Church.". 831 Secondly, the Church is catholic because she has been sent out by Christ on a mission to the whole of the human race From the Greek kat holon which means related to the whole

The Church is Apostolic 857 The Church is apostolic because she is founded on the apostles, in three ways: - she was and remains built on "the foundation of the Apostles,” - with the help of the Spirit dwelling in her, the Church keeps and hands on the -she continues to be taught, sanctified, and guided by the apostles until Christ's return, through their successors in pastoral office: - the college of bishops, assisted by priests, in union with the successor of Peter, the Church's supreme pastor":

Workshops Workshop 1 For those who transmit the Catholic faith to children Workshop 2 For those who transmit the Catholic faith to young people Workshop 3 For those who transmit the Catholic faith to adults Workshop 4 For those who want to deepen their own understanding of the Catholic faith

Mary, Virgin and Mother, you who, moved by the Holy Spirit, welcomed the word of life in the depths of your humble faith: as you gave yourself completely to the Eternal One, help us to say our own “yes” to the urgent call, as pressing as ever, to proclaim the good news of Jesus. Mother of the living Gospel, wellspring of happiness for God’s little ones, pray for us. Amen. Alleluia!

Acknowledgments Mosaics artworks: © Fr Marko Rupnik and Centro Aletti - All other artworks: public domain, from en.wikipedia.org Scripture: Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA