HANDOUT FOR LESSON 2 – CHURCH’S MISSION AS APOSTLE (PROPHET), PASTOR (PRIEST) AND PIONEER (KING)

Getting to Know the Church - The first great “living” work of the Holy Spirit, the “Giver of Life” is the CHURCH. In the Old
Testament, it is “qahal” and New Testament is “ekklesia”. Both terms mean “the people of God called together”.
CHURCH as MYSTERY - It means that the Church is constituted by the presence of the Risen Christ, its Head, and the
Holy Spirit, its soul, we can never get to know it completely. The Church is mystery by reason of: its origin  in the Father’s
plan of salvation, its ongoing life in the Risen Christ and the Spirit, and its ultimate goal in the fully achieved Kingdom of
God. Basically,  the Church is mystery because of its relationship to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (CFC 1445-1446)
CHURCH AS SACRAMENT - A sacrament is a material sign which gives grace. It unites inseparably the visible and invisible
dimensions of the Church. It relates the Church to non-Catholics. It unites the Church closely with the Eucharist.
Sacrament means “a sacred symbol.” It is the visible or concrete symbol of the Risen Christ’s presence in our world. The
Church is a beacon of light visible to all and drawing them (people) in the power of the Spirit to communion with God
and with one another in Christ. (CFC 1369)
SCRIPTURAL IMAGES OF THE CHURCH
1. The Church is the People of God - Vatican II’s favorite image. “God has willed to make men holy and save them, not as
individuals without any bonds or link between them, but rather to make them into a people who might acknowledge
him and serve him in holiness.” (LG9) This image is rooted in the Covenant that Yahweh set up with his chosen people of
Israel.
2. The Church is the Body of Christ - This image is reflected in the ministry of Jesus himself. 1 Cor 12:27; 1 Cor 12:4-31
This image teaches us that the Risen Lord is present in the world today through us Christians. We are the Risen Christ’s
hands, feet, eyes, and mouth.
3. The Church is the Temple of the Holy Spirit - This is an image from St. Paul. (1 Cor 3:16) “Christ, the head of this body,
shares his Spirit who gives life to, unifies, and moves the whole body. Consequently his work can be compared to the
function that the principle life, the soul, fulfills in the human body.” LG 7It shows us that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the
Father and the Risen Lord, vivifies the Church and gives it life, sustain its very existence, and inspire its actions.
4. The Church is the Kingdom of God in Process - Christ inaugurated the Church by proclaiming the Kingdom of God,
showing that the Church is not the Kingdom of God but a means toward establishing it. (CFC 1376)
The PCP II Models of the Church
1. The Church is a Church of the poor. The Church has always cared for the poor. Jesus himself was poor.
1. To embrace and practice the evangelical spirit of poverty which combines detachment from possessions with a
profound trust in the Lord as the sole source of salvation. PCP II 125
2. To “have special love for the poor” (PCP II 126) by giving preferential attention and time to the poor, and serving
them and the needy precisely because they are most in need of help. (PCP II 129)
3. To be in solidarity with the poor, collaborate with them to raise them from their poverty. (PCP II 130)
4. To vindicate the rights of the poor, especially by opposing those who discriminate against them. (PCP II 131)
5. To empower, not just evangelize, the poor to become evangelizers themselves. (PCP II 132)
2. The Church is a community of families. An adaptation of a biblical image of the Church as “a household or family of
God” where everyone is called upon to obey the same will of the same Father in the Holy Spirit. The divine Persons of
the Blessed Trinity who relate in perfect harmony, unity, and love are in fact the model of the harmony, unity, and love
in our families and in the Church.
3. The Church is a community-in-mission. It does not exist for itself nor for the good of its own members alone. It exists
for the world. The members of the primitive Church of Jerusalem went out to share with the world their way of life as
disciples of Jesus Christ.
The Four Marks of the Church
1. The Church is ONE. Its source is the One Living God who calls the whole human race to unity with the Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit. Those who respond to this divine call from Christ, our Lord, belong to the Church. We are baptized into one
faith handed down from the apostles, with one Lord and one worship (cf Eph 4:5) The visible sign of this Church unity is
the pope, the Vicar of Christ on earth. (LG 8)We (Catholics) have the same Creed, same Mass, same seven sacraments,
and same moral teachings in the local churches throughout the world, wherever they go. With these, we are called to
foster unity of the Church, the people of God.
2. The Church is HOLY. Its founder and head, Jesus, is holy, and its soul, the Holy Spirit sanctifies and graces all its
members. It is holy, because it fosters the holiness of its members, endowed as it is with the fullness of the means for
salvation and holiness. All the members of the Church are called to holiness, or “wholeness” of their complete persons.
“So be perfect, just as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:48
3. The Church is CATHOLIC. The term catholic means “universal, complete, all-embracing.” Matthew 28:18-20
All people everywhere are invited to become members of the Church. It is catholic or universal because it continues to
teach everything that Christ taught and gives witness to all that Christ is and did. The Church shows deep respect for
local churches and their culture. We need to inculturate our Christian faith so that we may truly believe and love as
authentic Filipino Christians. Inculturation in the Philippine churches includes:
1. Translating the Bible into local languages
2. Using native materials and designs for liturgical celebrations such as local liturgical songs, painting and sculpting
of Filipino icons of Jesus and Mary and the like.
3. Discerning how the Christian message may be proclaimed in the context of the Filipino cultural and religious
values, attitudes, and traditions.
4. The Church is APOSTOLIC. It draws its origins from the apostles themselves. Ephesians 2:19-20. The Church passes on
all the authentic teachings of the apostles authentically interpreted to successive generations of Christians through the
ages through its living Tradition. To this day, the Church continues to be instructed, sanctified, and guided by the
apostles and their successors, the bishops.
The Various Ministries of the Church
1. The CLERGY - They are those ordained to ministerial priesthood through the Sacrament of Holy Orders. They are
bishops and priests. Priests are either diocesan, who serve the people of a diocese and are directly under a bishop, or a
religious, who are consecrated to God by their religious vows, serve the Church according to the constitutions of their
particular order or congregation, and are directly under a superior. Ex. of religious orders and congregations: Order of
Preachers, Jesuits, Augustinians, Claretians, Salesians,Vincentians etc. The nuns/sisters, although they are among the
religious, are not among the clergy. The Pope is the head of the Universal Church on earth. He is called Vicar of Christ
because on earth he represents Christ Himself who is the invisible Head of the Church. The Cardinals assist the pope,
individually or as a group as a college of cardinals, whenever the pope calls on them. They are selected and appointed by
the pope himself. The Bishops are successors to the apostles. They represent Christ, the supreme high priest, to their
flock. The fullness of the Sacrament of Holy Orders is conferred on them through episcopal consecration, or the rite of
making an ordinary priest a bishop. The Bishops as shepherds of Christ’s flock are given the task of teaching, sanctifying,
and governing Christ’s people. (LG 21) The Bishops are ordinary ministers of Confirmation and dispensers of sacred
orders. They govern particularly the churches entrusted to them as vicars and ambassadors of Christ. (LG 27) The Priests
are consecrated in order to preach the Gospel, shepherd the faithful as well and to celebrate divine worship, as true
priests of the New Testament. (LG 28) The Priests can administer all sacraments except the Sacrament of Holy Orders, of
which the bishop is the ordinary minister. The Deacons “serve the people of God in the service of the liturgy, of the
Gospel, and of works of charity. It is the duty of the deacons, to the extent that they have been authorized by competent
authority: to administer baptism solemnly, to be custodian and distributor of the Eucharist in the name of the Church, to
assist at and bless marriages, and to bring Viaticum to the dying, to read the Sacred Scripture to the faithful, to instruct
and exhort the people, to preside over acts of the worship and prayer of the faithful, to administer sacramentals, and to
officiate at funeral and burial services. (LG 29). The three orders in the Sacrament of Holy Orders: Diaconate (deacon),
Presbyter (priest), Episcopacy (bishop). The pope and cardinals are mere titles of hierarchy and function. Pope : Pope
Francis, Cardinal: Luis Cardinal Tagle, Bishop (Antipolo): Francisco de Leon, Auxiliary Bishop-elect: Fr. Nolly Buco
2. The LAITY
 This refers to all the faithful except those in Holy Orders and those in a religious state sanctioned by the Church.
 By virtue of their Baptism, the laity have become sharers in the priestly, prophetic, and kingly office of Christ.
This is called the common royal priesthood. They “carry out... The mission of the whole Christian people in the
Church and in the world.” (LG 31)
The Triple Mission of the Church
1. THE CHRISTIAN MISSION IS PROPHETIC. “But all of us faithful by our lives, behavior, testimony, and teaching can also
bring the Word of God to others.” PCP II 120
2. THE CHRISTIAN MISSION IS PRIESTLY. We exercise our priestly mission by offering our prayers and sacrifices, and
especially participating actively in the offering of the Eucharist. (PCP II 117) Praising God and bearing witness to him are
inseparably united. We should commit ourselves to God and be empowered by the Holy Spirit to live a Christian moral
life as we celebrate the sacraments. Our prayer and liturgical life should flow into witnessing to Christ in our
relationships and daily work.
3. THE CHRISTIAN MISSION IS KINGLY. We are called to minister and to serve others. We can serve one another by
reflecting the Kingdom values in the most ordinary way. Whatever we do to improve the world and order it to the
kingdom values of the Kingdom, overcoming sin in ourselves, in others, and in our environment, is exercising our
kingship in Christ. (PCP II 121) A servant Church is one whose structures are at the service of the Gospel and of people.
The Church, being human and divine and the sacrament of Christ, therefore carries out a mission that:
1. addresses the physical and spiritual aspects of human life;
2. and touches both the personal and structural evil of society.

The Church carries out that mission because the Church is called to address the physical and spiritual aspects of human
life and touches both the personal and structural evil of society.

The Church’s Two Ways of Doing Its Social Mission

 It is known as the “Two Feet of Love in Action” based on Pope Benedict XVI’s reflections in Deus Caritas Est
(God is Love) and Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth).
1. Charitable Works (Acts of Charity)
2. Social Justice (Structural Change)

CHARITABLE WORKS (Acts of Charity)

 meet basic needs and aid individuals
 It is first of all the simple response to immediate needs and specific situations.
 Acts 4:32-37
 Volunteer at homeless shelters
 Tutor children
 Assist women who face a crisis pregnancy
 Participate in a community beautification program
 Donate to food pantries and clothing closets
 Sponsor a refugee family
 Raise money for an overseas development project
 Feed the hungry
 Clothing the naked
 Caring for and healing the sick
 Visiting those in prison
SOCIAL JUSTICE (Structural Change)
 remove root causes and improve structures
 It concerns the social, political, and economic aspects, and above all, the structural dimension of problems and
their respective solutions.
 Expand access to affordable housing
 Work to improve the education system
 Extend legal protection to unborn children
 Support environmental protection laws
 Participate in living wage campaign
 Promote peace
 Advocate of international assistance
The Church, therefore carries out a mission that:
1. addresses the physical and spiritual aspects of human life;
2. and touches both the personal and structural evil of society.

Luke 16:19-31 Being part of the Church:

1. We should be aware of the suffering of others.
2. We should respond according to our means and capabilities.
The mission of the Church is essentially to bring about God’s Kingdom in the world. But this mission has three aspects
that interrelate and overlap (king, prophet, and priest). We are called to address the physical and spiritual aspects of
human life and touch both the personal and structural evil of society.