Prayer

Dear God,
May God be gracious and bless us;
May He let His face shine upon us,
May your way be known on earth,
May You give strength to all who place their
trust in You.
Help us to continue making Your Church
grow;
help us to fulfill Your command.
Let our minds be always fixed on Your truths;
So that in every word or deed We may do
what is pleasing
to You. Amen
Dear Lord,
All the nations shall come to adore
You
And glorify Your name, O Lord:
For You are great and do
marvelous deeds,
You alone are God.
Show me, Lord Your way, so that I
may walk in your truth.
Guide my heart to fear Your name.
Oh Jesus my God, You showed me
God’s love for me.
Help, me always to do your will to
truly show God I love Him too.
Amen
 Sub-topics

1. The Church as Mystery

2. The Church as the

Sacrament
Doctrine: To discuss the meaning of the
Church as mystery.

Morals: To discover the meaning and

live-out this mystery as personal
communion with the Lord and with one
another.
Worship: To assemble and pray to the
Father through the Son with the Holy
Spirit who manifest to us this mystical
communion.
 How should we understand the
Church?
The church is not merely a human social
organization, but “ the people of God called
together.”
It consists of all who are drawn to personal
communion with Christ and with one another,
and as united to the Son, in the Spirit’s bond of
love, united to the Father.
The Church, then, is mystery- a God-centered
reality in its origin, ongoing life and final goal.
The Catholic church – is a community
of men and women, united in Christ
and guided by the Holy Spirit, under
the leadership of the successor of
Peter and the Bishops in communion
with him.
As such, “ they press onward
towards the Kingdom of the Father as
bearers of the message of salvation
intended for all (GS1)
 The
Church as
Mystery
Mystery – the supernatural truths
that the Church teaches, that
cannot be known without
revelation and are not contrary to
reason but rather about it,
therefore they must be accepted
on faith in revelation and on the
authority of the church.
In the Christian faith there
are mysteries of divine
truths proposed to our
belief “that are hidden in
God and which can never
be known unless they are
revealed by God himself.
 The mystery of the Church
The Church is in history, but at the
same time she transcends - ( go
beyond, surpass) it.
It is only “ with the eyes of faith ” that
one can see her in her visible reality
and at the same time in her spiritual
reality as bearer of divine life.
The church is both visible and
spiritual.
The One mediator, Christ,
established and ever sustains
here on earth his holy Church, the
community of faith, hope and
charity, as a visible organization
through which he communicates
truth and grace to all men.
There are also created salvific-( the
act of deliverance from sin and its
effect, and of achieving the glory
of our Lord Jesus Christ.) realities
which can partly be known by our
human intelligence, but which
have also transcendental
dimension which can be
perceived only through faith.
There are also called
mysteries because of their
inexhaustible(limitless,bottomless)
richness. It is in this sense
that which speak of the
Church as mystery.
By this term, then, we mean not
something we cannot know nor
understand, but rather a reality
we can never fully grasp
because there is more to learn.
As a mystery, the Church is a
God-given reality we believe in
and love- like a friend or a loved
one.
To affirm the
church as a
mystery simply
means:
1st that it is “a
reality imbued(
instill) with the
hidden presence of
God… always open
to new and greater
exploration”.
2nd It has a
unique relation to
God Himself and
therefore also
with all of us who
are called to
salvation
precisely as
people.
What precisely is this unique relation
with God?
Meaning:
The Church is related to each Person of the
Blessed Trinity.
How is the Church related to the Trinity?
The Church:
1. Originates according to the Father’s eternal
plan, from the side of the crucified Christ,
and is animated and united by the coming
of the Holy Spirit.
2. Structured as a community of love
modelled on the Trinity’s loving union
of Father, Son and Spirit.
3. Missioned ( sent ) by the Father
following the joint Mission of Son and
Spirit.
4. Destined as a pilgrim people to
journey toward perfect communion
with the Trinity in heaven.
 As members of the Catholic Church
How can we experience the Trinity?
In practice, Filipino Catholics experience the
Trinity in their parish community.
Without consciously attending to it, they
actually:
1. Come to worship God as their Father.
2. Through their union with Jesus Christ, their
Savior,
3. Guided by the grace of the Holy Spirit,
4. Under the leadership of their parish priests
and the Bishops, successors of the Apostles.
The
Church as
Sacrament
Doctrine: To explain the notion of
the Church as sacrament.
Morals: To become sign of Jesus’
presence in the world by living out
His Kingdom values.
Worship: To gather in group prayer
taking each other as Jesus’
presence.
 Meaning of Sacrament…
Sacrament- from the latin word
Sacramentum – Sacra- (holy) and
mentum- ( sign), translated to the
Greek Mysterion – which refers to the
hidden plan of God of always wanting
to save, renew, and unite all things in
Christ (Eph. 1.9-3.3-9)
The Greek word mysterion was
translated into Latin by two terms:
mysterium and sacramentum.(
Sacrament )
In later usage the term
sacramentum emphasizes the
visible sign of the hidden reality of
salvation which was indicated by
the term mysterium.
A sacrament – is a material
sign which gives grace,
effecting what it symbolizes;
its causes grace by
symbolizing grace.
- is a visible sign making
present an invisible reality.
St. Augustin - 1st
develop the theory
of sacrament. He
placed the
sacramentum in the
category of signa,
which for him a
visible sign of the
invisible reality.
St. Aquinas –
Efficacious symbol
– one that affects
what it symbolizes
and it symbolizes
what it affects.
Christ- Primordial
Sacrament –
meaning He is not
just the originator
of the sacraments,
but the primary
agent and fullest
expression and
goal.
Church-
Foundational
Sacrament – She
makes the risen
Christ present by
being his body, and
by celebrating his
saving acts in the
seven ritual
sacraments.
So, Christ the Eternal Word made flesh,
is the visible sign, the Sacrament of
God.
So too the Church, with her visible,
institutional structure is for us the
Sacrament of Christ, representing him,
making him present
The Church in this world is the
sacrament of Salvation, the sign and
the instrument of the communion of
God and men.
 The Church signifies in a visible, historical
and tangible form the presence and
redeeming activity of Christ, offered to all
persons of every age, race and condition.

- So the Church is a visible, hierarchically

structured society making present a spiritual
community.
- The two aspects form but one complex reality
which comprises both a human and a divine
element
 The church as mystery is further clarified and
developed by the notion of sacrament.
“ By her relationship with Christ, the Church is both
a sacramental sign and an instrument of
intimate union with God, and of the unity of all
mankind ( GS 42 LG1).
Christ then has made the Church the effective sign
and symbol of;
1. Our union with God
2. The unity among men
3. Of Salvation.
In this sense, Christ himself is the mystery of
salvation: “ For there is no other mystery of
God, except Christ.
The saving work of his holy and sanctifying
humanity is the sacrament of salvation,
which is revealed and active in the Church’s
sacraments.
The Church in Christ a sacrament- a sign
and instrument, that is, of communion with
God and of unity among all men.
By the relationship
with Christ, the
Church is both a
sacramental sign and
an instrument of
intimate union with
God, and of the unity
of all mankind.
Today the Church
is called as
sacrament because
it is a visible sign
which makes
present a spiritual
grace-filled
reality.
Church as sacrament help us:
- relate the
Church to non-
Catholics for
whom it is
called to be the
“Light” of the
world and
“Salt” of the
Earth;
-unite the
visible
(institutional)
and invisible
(mystery)
aspect of the
Church;
-Link the
Church
with the
Eucharist in
its union
with Christ;
and
- love the
Church,
as our
home.
 Next meeting-
Images of the
Church.