St Joan of Arc RCIA Catechumenate

Inspired by no earthly ambition, the Church seeks but a solitary goal: to carry forward the work of Christ under the lead of the befriending Spirit. And Christ entered this world to give witness to the truth, to rescue and not to sit in judgment, to serve and not to be served. (GS, 3) St Joan of Arc RCIA Catechumenate

Church: The name given the convocation or assembly of the People God has called together from the ends of the earth. (CCC, Glossary). Encompasses: Liturgy, Local Parish, Universal Community of Believers. The Catholic Church: The Church established by Christ on the foundation of the Apostles, possessing the fullness of the means of salvation which he has willed: correct and complete confession of faith, full sacramental life, and ordained ministry in apostolic succession. (CCC, Glossary) The Church Triumphant is that most glorious and happy assemblage of blessed spirits, and of those who have triumphed over the world, the flesh, and the iniquity of Satan. The Church Militant is the society of all the faithful still dwelling on earth. It is called militant, because it wages eternal war with those implacable enemies, the world, the flesh and the devil. The Church triumphant and the Church militant are two constituent parts of one Church Trent Part 1, Art IX

The "Church Suffering" refers to the faithful in Purgatory, who are being purified from the last stains and consequences of their sins. If those who are truly repentant die in charity before they have done sufficient penance for their sins of omission and commission, their souls are cleansed after death in purgatorial or cleansing punishments. (Baltimore Catechism, Q72) The suffrages of the faithful on earth can be of great help in relieving these punishments, as, for instance, the Sacrifice of the Mass, prayers, almsgiving, and other religious deeds which, in the manner of the Church, the faithful are accustomed to offer for others of the faithful. (Baltimore Catechism, Q72) On 1 November each year we remember the Saints in Heaven. On 2 November we take time to pray for those souls in Purgatory ( in state of final purification ). It is the teaching of the Church that we may offer sacrifices, prayers, and alms for the release of souls in purgatory, the Sacrifice of the Mass being most meritorious. Not only can we apply the merits of our own acts, but we can also draw on the vast storehouse of grace earned by Christ, His Mother, and the saints.

People of God (1 Peter 2:10) Mystery Ephesians 5:31-32 Sacrament The Flock of Christ John 10:1-18 Body of Christ Ephesians 4:12 The Vineyard Matthew 20 Bride of Christ Revelation 21:1-2 Temple of the Holy Spirit Our Mother 1 Thessalonians 2:7-9 Pilgrim Psalm 84:6 1 Corinthians 6:19

Ephesians 2:19-22 - So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. 1 Cor 15: 51-54 - Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, in an instant, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For that which is corruptible must clothe itself with incorruptibility, and that which is mortal must clothe itself with immortality. And when this which is corruptible clothes itself with incorruptibility and this which is mortal clothes itself with immortality, then the word that is written shall come about: "Death is swallowed up in victory 2 Cor 4: 6-10 For God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to bring to light the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of (Jesus) Christ. But we hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.

John 14:6 - Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 1 Timothy 3: 15-16 - But if I should be delayed, you should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth. Undeniably great is the mystery of devotion, Who was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed to the Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory. John 18:37 - Quid est veritas? Pilate asks: What is truth? The Church is missionary in outlook. the Church is missionary by its very nature, continuing the mission or work of Christ through the Holy Spirit, according to the plan of God. This apostolic mission of the Church is fulfilled according to their different states of life by the clergy, laity, and religious (CCC 849, 863, 913). The Church stands in the world and calls all to see, take part in, remain in, the Truth - Jesus John 15:5

The Church by definition, like a Body, exists in Community. There is no just me and Jesus it is we and Jesus. In the Church there is a unity and interdependency for one-another in Christ. In partaking of the Eucharist we are not only in communion with Christ but also in communion with the Christ in each other. Romans 12: 4-5 - For as in one body we have many parts, and all them parts do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually parts of one another. 1 Peter 2:4-5 Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God, and, like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Matt 5: 13-16 "You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father. Do not take the name of the Lord in vane the Church must not take up the word Christian (Christ) in vain Vain in Greek : Mataios 1) devoid of force, truth, success, result. 2) useless, of no purpose (Greek Interlinear Bible 3152) The Church requires constant conversion that its deeds performed in human weakness match the message of love that it proclaims [Jesus] instructs the [people] what should be the boldness of their preaching, that as Apostles they should not be hidden through fear, like lamps under a cornmeasure, but should stand forth with all confidence, and what they have heard in the secret chambers, that declare upon the house tops. (St Jerome)

Other Religions: The Catholic Church recognizes in other religions that search, among shadows and images, for the God. The Church considers all goodness and truth found in these religions as a preparation for the Gospel. Protestant Christians - All who have been justified by faith in Baptism are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers in the Lord by the children of the Catholic Church. "Outside the Church there is no salvation Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that he Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it. The one Church of Christ, as a society constituted and organized in the world, subsists in (subsistit in) the Catholic Church Only through this Church can one obtain the fullness of the means of salvation since the Lord has entrusted all the blessings of the New Covenant to the apostolic college alone whose head is Peter. (Compendium of the Catechism, 162)

Sacrament: An efficacious sign of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us through the work of the Holy Spirit. (CCC Glossary) The Church is in Christ like a sacrament or as a sign and instrument both of a very closely knit union with God and of the unity of the whole human race, it desires now to unfold more fully to the faithful of the Church and to the whole world its own inner nature and universal mission. The present-day conditions of the world add greater urgency to this work of the Church so that all men, joined more closely today by various social, technical and cultural ties, might also attain fuller unity in Christ. Jesus Christ and the Church must be your life's passion. You cannot love and serve Christ if you do not love and serve the Church, her pastors and her faithful. Be the "living stones" of the Church (Bl John Paul II, Homily 10 October 1992)

It is impossible to be Christian and not be a member of the Christian Church Do you agree? Why or Why not? In what ways have you witnessed the Church as a Sacrament to the World? In what ways did the Catholic Church attract you? What seeming blocked your approaching the Church before now?