Nature an d M i s s i o n

of t he C h u r c h
IT 2
UN
 Introduction
In this unit, we explain what the Church is and its role in the
contemporary time. Since in the previous unit we said that the
Church had its roots in the ministry of Jesus as seen in the new
testament, we will start with some descriptions and insights
provided by Scriptures.
 Introduction
The new Testament teaches us that discipleship is what makes a
group of people Church. The Church started with a group of
people who walked in the footsteps of Jesus and are witnesses of
Jesus’ concern for forgiveness, His compassion, His freedom, His
inclusivity, and His love for humanity. This witnessing is what it
means to be Church.
 ‘church’ vs ‘Church’

All people everywhere,

A building for worship who believe in the Christ, and in God
 ‘Laity’ vs ‘Clergy’

the ordinary people, ordained religious Church leaders

Priests, Bishops, bible scholars, the Pope
as distinct from church leaders
 t u ra l i m ag e o f t h e c h u rch
Scrip

LESSON 1
 At the end of the lesson, you will
be able to:

• Identify the scriptural images of the Church by

analyzing its origin, the sacred scriptures;
• appreciate the necessity of the sacred scripture in
understanding the scriptural images; and
• show how equality and unity build the Church by
identifying biblical passages related to it.
 Inspired word of God
Just as a body, though one,
has many parts, but all its
many parts form one body, so
it is with Christ. For we were
all baptized by one Spirit so
as to form one body—
whether Jews or Gentiles,
slave or free—and we were
all given the one Spirit to
drink.

1 CORINTHIANS
12:12-13
 Guide Q’s

Was the reading What does the

sufficient in reading say about
presenting the the Scriptural
images of the images of the
Church? Church?
 Inspired Word of God

• The letters of Saint Paul are our oldest sources in the New
Testament to shed light in how the early Christians defined their
identity as a Church.
• Two of the three images in the Church that we find in them(People
of God and Temple of the Holy Spirit) are basically Jewish.
• A third image, the image of The Body of Christ, is borrowed from
the Greeks.
• As people of God, the early Christians believed that
they were the true Israel, the community where God
truly reigns.
• They were also the true seed of Abraham
• The Jews were proud to refer to themselves as
children of Abraham whom the Bible describes as a
man of faith and the father of the Jewish nation.
 •As people of God,
the early Christians
understood
themselves also to be
the true
circumcision.

For the Jews,

circumcision was
a mark of
belonging to
God’s chosen
people.
 Church Teaching

Through the years, the Church had been reflecting on

the Scriptural Images and understanding it in the light of
prevailing situations.
What follows are part of the Church’s reflection about
itself enriched by centuries of experience.
Scriptural Image of the church
 People of God

• The most basic way for Jewish people to express their

identity
• In the Exodus experience, God made them into a
people, into a nation in which God reigns(Israel), into
an assembly of God.(heb. Kahal Yahweh; gk.
Ekklessia)
 People of God

• The early Christians applied this important Jewish

idea to their own community and they called
themselves the new people of God.
• They believed that their own community gathered
not only because of the Exodus experience but also
because they were convinced that they received
salvation from God through Jesus.
 Temple of the Spirit
•The temple was very important to the Jewish people.
•The Jews believed that God dwelt in the temple,
therefore believing that the temple would never be
destroyed.
•However, the temple was destroyed during the war
between the Romans and Jews in which many thought
that God deserted them.
 Temple of the Spirit
•The church is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
•If the soul is to the body, the Holy Spirit is to the Body
of Christ.
•The Holy Spirit is like the soul of the Mystical Body of
Christ.
•He is the origin and source of the body’s life, the unity
in the diversity of the faithful and of the wealth of gifts
and charisms that contribute to the renewal and building
of the Church.
 Body of Christ
•Christ has shared with us his Spirit that gives life to,
unifi es, and moves the whole body, the Church.
St. Paul refers to the physical structure of the human
body and makes it into an image of talents and
responsibilities within the Christian community.
Since no single organ can claim itself to be the body, no
individual or group within the Church is entitled to be
called the Church.
 Missionary
Response

• We have diff erent gifts and abilities but we are one body and one
people united by God’s spirit of equality, love, and service.
• As young people, how can we be true to these images of the Church?
 Lesson 2:
Relevance of the Scriptural
Images for the Church today
At the end of the lesson, you will
be able to: Insights 1
Identify the challenges posted by the scriptural
images to today’s Church;

Insights 2
value the talents bestowed by God in helping
build the Church
Insights 3
show how responsibility in a community affect
the Church by looking at the responsibilities of
each member in the family
Context Do I have talents?
GUIDE QUESTIONS:
• Identify at least 2
notable traits, talent,
or ability that you
possess by asking
your parents, close
friends, classmates,
siblings, etc.
• What did you feel
while doing the short
 Sometimes we admire others for their
abilities or talents and we sometimes forget
that we, too, have our own gifts.
Recognition and appreciation of the things
that we do well and enjoy doing is a
commendable practice. Let us develop our
abilities and share them with others. Let us
use them to become more productive
members of our family, school, Church, and
community.
Inspired Word
SPIRITUAL GIFTS
1 Corinthians 1
2: 4 – 11

4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes
them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6
There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in
everyone it is the same God at work.
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the
common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of
wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same
Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing
by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another
prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another
speaking in different kinds of tongues,[a] and to still another the
interpretation of tongues.[b] 11 All these are the work of one and the
same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
Church Teaching
The Scriptural images are drawn
from the specific, concrete
times of the biblical people.
These images must be brought
to life by showing how they
manifest basic human values
and religious meaning that are
relevant to our own Filipino
culture and Spirituality.
From an Exclusive to a more
Inclusive Church
• We cannot make the Church
private and exclusive.
• Because it is God who makes us a
people, no group or individual has
the privilege to determine who has
the right to be part of the Church or
not.
 From Clericalization to
Community Participation
•If we are a temple, people and body,
then all members and leaders have the
same dignity.
•We are different only in terms of
functions and roles.
•The laity should contribute their
talents for the growth of the Church.
•The Clergy, because they are in the
position of leadership, should see to it
that these talents are developed and put
to good use in the service of the
community.
•There should be no “Clericalization.”
 From Sacralization to a more
Historical Perspective
•To think that the Church is unaffected
by what happens in society is to
sacralize the Church.
•The Church transforms society yet it is
also affected by what happens in the
society.
•“Reading the signs of the times”
 From an Idealized Picture to a more
Realistic Assessment of the Church
•If we read the New Testament, we will
find out that the early Christian
communities encountered difficulties
from the inside and the outside.
•Such a more realistic understanding of
the Church opens our eyes to the
difficulties the Church is facing today.
•By recognizing our problems as
Christian communities, we can do
something about the situation.
Missionary
Response
• •As members of the Church, how can we
respond to the challenges posed by the
Scriptural images of the Church?
LESSON 3:

The Church
According to the
Second Vatican
At the end of the lesson you
will be able to:
• Identify the models of the Church as presented by the second Vatican council
• appreciate the results of the aggiornamento within the Church by looking at its
impact to the present day Church; and
• show how servant leadership is presented in the sacred scriptures by identifying
passages related to it.

THE CHURCH
ACCORDING TO THE
CONTEXT
the ideal servant- leader
GUIDE QUESTIONS
1. What is your idea of a servant-leader?
2. Do you consider yourself as a servant-leader?

THE CHURCH
ACCORDING TO THE
Servant leadership is not just a Christian ideal
but also it is a characteristic desired by any
culture or people. Servant – leaders do things
not for themselves but for those they are
leading and other people affected by their
actions. They can make personal sacrifices and
not brag about it. Servant-leaders are also
empowering in a sense that they help others to
be able to stand on their own and inspireTHE CHURCH
people to become fulfill their vocation in life.
ACCORDING TO THE
12 When he had finished washing
their feet, he put on his clothes and
returned to his place. “Do you
understand what I have done for
you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me
‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so,
for that is what I am. 14 Now that I,
your Lord and Teacher, have washed
your feet, you also should wash one
(John 13:12 – 15)

another’s
INSPIRED
feet. 15
WASHING OF THE
I have set you an THE CHURCH
ACCORDING TO THE
Church
Teaching
In the previous Unit it was made mention that the Church
has to assess and re-asses itself to remain relevant. We need
to “read the signs of the times” so that we know what is
happening and we know how to respond (this is why the
Catholic Church has many councils that addresses concerns
brought about by the changing times).

THE CHURCH
ACCORDING TO THE
 Church
Teaching
•The Second Vatican Council was a gathering of Church leaders all over the world to
assess what is happening in the Church and how the Church can respond properly to a fast-
changing society. Saint John XXIII, the Pope at that time envisioned an aggiornamento
(updating) within the Church, and opening of the Catholic Church for a fresh dialogue
with other Churches in the world. The Church had to update itself with the issues,
problems, and opportunities in the new situation. Thus, the Scriptural images of the
Church (people of God, temple of the Spirit, Body of Christ) were re – interpreted in the
light of the contemporary situation. In this way, Vatican II restored a more salvation –
historical perspective. The following are the main description of the Church by the
council:

THE CHURCH
ACCORDING TO THE
The Church as People
of God
The People of God model is community – oriented, focusing on the interrelationship and mutual helpfulness of the
members. Some features are as follows:

• Ideally, all should work for the good of the whole Church and this work should operate on the principle of shared
responsibility. This model fosters a more democratic approach to Church and governance.
• A structure and a form of authority is necessary but authority will be based on true leadership and not merely on
ranks and position. Also authority is based on service, because they will serve as a sign and the center of unity.
• The Holy Spirit pervades the whole Church. All members receive and possess the Holy Spirit, who fosters a true
relationship of love among the members. God’s Spirit, therefore, is not only given to leaders of the Church.

THE CHURCH
ACCORDING TO THE
The Church as People
of God
The Church as People of God represents the ff:

A. As People of God, the Church is a sign of intimate union with God, and of
unity of all mankind
B. As People of God, the Church is not an exclusive community
C. As People of God, the Church is a pilgrim towards the kingdom
D. As People of God, the Church is a sign of the kingdom
E. As People of God, the Church is a participatory community

THE CHURCH
ACCORDING TO THE
The Church as People
of God
The Church must Witness to UNITY

• A lot of divisions happen in our families, community and in the world.

• As a people of God we are called to build a non-discriminatory relationship with His
creation.
• We must realize UNITY in our everyday endeavors.

THE CHURCH
ACCORDING TO THE
The Church as People
of God
The Church is not an Exclusive Community

• The Church welcomes people of all walks of life, even those rejected by their own society
• It is ideal for everyone to be less judgmental and to be more patient with people
• Different cultures have something to contribute to the growth of the Church.

THE CHURCH
ACCORDING TO THE
The Church as People
of God
The Church is a Pilgrim towards the Kingdom

• A pilgrim is a sojourner/traveler
• We all sojourn in pursuit of Heaven
• Travel= LEARNING,CHANGE, and GROWTH
• The Church travels and responds to the signs of time to better proclaim the gospel.
• We, the living, belong to the pilgrim church, that should be pursuing God’s justice, love and
peace whilst still here on earth.

THE CHURCH
ACCORDING TO THE
The Church as Hierarchica
Society
This model is fairly late developed in Church History. The Hierarchical notion of the Church developed in the late Middle Ages,
particularly in the Counter – Reformation period when the Church was intent on responding to the attacks of the Protestant
Reformers. Some features are as follows:
• The model is based on the idea of the secular state, which has a constitution, government and laws to help it achieve its
proper end. Just as the secular state operates by a chain of command (office of the president, legislative, executive,
judicial, people), so does the Church (Pope, bishops, priests, people).
• . The major function of the church in this model is to teach, govern and sanctify. The Hierarchy controls each of these
functions. Thus, the hierarchy issues authoritative interpretations of the scriptures, from which they derive decrees and
directives for the people to follow.
• Not a form of clericalism, rather the distinction is to maintain the inerrancy of the message of the scriptures.

THE CHURCH
ACCORDING TO THE
The Church as Hierarchica
SocietyPOP • Pope and bishops are authentic teachers and
interpreters of the scriptures.

E • The clergy, who form a separate group distinct from

BISH the rest of the Church, controls all aspect of Church

life, teaching, governing, and sanctifying.
OPS
PRIES
• The people, who supports the hierarchy, are instructed
by the leaders of the Church in how to live the gospel.

TS
P.O.G
THE CHURCH
ACCORDING TO THE
The Church as Hierarchica
Society
Why are leaders important?

• The Church emphasizes to a great extent

the role, function and power of the
Leaders
• Authority=Service
• Leader= Servant of the Servants of the
LORD
THE CHURCH
ACCORDING TO THE
 Church as Servant
In this model, the Church emphasizes a new dimension of understanding the Church. The model fosters the idea that we do not
live for ourselves alone, rather we are called to serve the world; to reach out to those different from us, even our enemies. As an
instrument of the kingdom, the Church exists to serve and not to be served.

The words of Pope Paul VI’s (1965) in Gaudium Et Spes are clear: “the Church seeks a solitary goal: to carry forward the work
of Christ Himself under the lead of the befriending Spirit. And Christ entered this world to give witness to the truth, to rescue
and not sit in judgement, to serve and not to be served. The important implication of this is we should not limit our
responsibilities to grandeurs, rather our responsibility is to all the strata of humanity to the places where justice is not promoted,
gospel values are not lived, and the marginalized our abandoned

THE CHURCH
ACCORDING TO THE
Church as Servant
• We do not live just for ourselves and our fellow believers
• We are called to serve the world; to reach to those different from us, even to our enemies
• The Church exists to serve and not to be served

THE CHURCH
ACCORDING TO THE
 D B Y T H E
N V IS IO N E
R C H A S E T H E
THE C HU UN C IL O F
N A RY C O
D P L E C P II).
SECON PH IL IP P IN E S (P
Le s s o n 4
THE CHURCH AS ENVISIONED BY THE SECOND PLENARY COUNCIL
OF THE PHILIPPINES (PCP II).THE CHURCH AS ENVISIONED BY THE
SECOND PLENARY COUNCIL OF THE PHILIPPINES (PCP II).

PCP II envisioned a renewed how effective the Church’s

mission of evangelization was and proposed ways and means
by which the Church can be better service to society. To do
that, it was deemed necessary for the Church to re-think her
identity and mission in the changed situation. PCP II
envisioned a renewed Church doing her mission in a new
way. First, our Church in the Philippines should become a
communion of communities of disciples, in which all are co –
responsible.
THE CHURCH AS ENVISIONED BY THE SECOND PLENARY COUNCIL
OF THE PHILIPPINES (PCP II).THE CHURCH AS ENVISIONED BY THE
SECOND PLENARY COUNCIL OF THE PHILIPPINES (PCP II).

Second, the Church as a community of disciples does not exist only

for its members. It exists for the world. Third, to make the mission of
the Church in the Philippines more fruitful and effective, the Church
should foster the birth and growth of Basic Ecclesial Communities
(BEC). BECs are small Christian communities, usually families, who
gather around the Word of God and Eucharist. These communities are
ideal, because of the lack of vocation to the religious life. And lastly,
The Church should focus on catechesis and worship. Disregarding
catechesis will result to the lack of understanding of the faithful about
their faith and at the same time, lack of worship will lead to the
deterioration of the faith of the people.
 OUR CHURCH IN THE PHILIPPINES SHOULD BECOME A
COMMUNION OF COMMUNITIES OF DISCIPLES, IN WHICH
ALL ARE CO – RESPONSIBLE

Laity:
• should be in the center of the life of the Church
• should not be in the peripheries
• they should no longer be just bystanders who have no role
to play in the growth of the Church
 THE CHURCH AS A COMMUNITY OF DISCIPLES
DOES NOT EXIST ONLY FOR ITS MEMBERS.

•It exists for the world

•In the Philippine situation, the mission is directed towards the service
of the poor and the needy.
•The Philippine Church has to become a Church not only for the poor
but also of the poor.
•Such Church “is one that is willing to follow Jesus Christ through
poverty and oppression in order to carry out the work of salvation.”
 TO MAKE THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH IN THE PHILIPPINES MORE
FRUITFUL AND EFFECTIVE, THE CHURCH SHOULD FOSTER THE BIRTH
AND GROWTH OF BASIC ECCLESIAL COMMUNITIES (BEC).

Basic Ecclesial Communities

• small Christian Communities, usually families who gather around
the Word of God and Eucharist.
• These communities are ideal, because of the lack of vocation to the
religious life
• Are meant to integrate faith and daily life
• They are expressions of renewal of the Church and have great
potential for evangelization
 THE CHURCH SHOULD FOCUS ON CATECHESIS
AND WORSHIP.

Catechesis
• Has not been given emphasis in the past resulting in the lack of
understanding of people about their faith
• Needs a thorough renewal: making it Christ-centered, rooted in the
Word, authentically Filipino, and systematic
 THE CHURCH SHOULD FOCUS ON CATECHESIS
AND WORSHIP.

Worship
• unfortunately, has been separated from the totality of life.
• Through a renewal of prayer life, popular piety, and liturgy, we
should try to transform the whole life of Filipinos into one great
act of worship.
 RENEWAL OF THE SOCIAL
APOSTOLATE
• An important dimension of renewed
evangelization.
• Evangelii Nuntiandi- the preaching of the Gospel
includes “ The renewal of society in all its strata
through the interplay of Gospel truths and
human’s concrete total life.”
• transforming the socio-political and economic
life of society is part of evangelization
PCP •Proposes that we face squarely the socio-
political issues of our society.
•It emphasizes that the Church must exert
effort to reduce the gap between faith and
practice, most especially in the area of social
justice, by working for greater justice and
equality in the Philippine society.
•Action, in behalf of social justice, is to be
pursued as a sign of witnessing to Christ and
his teachings,
•To fail to do so is to fall short of the
demands of the Gospel.
 Essential
Characteristics
of the
Church’s life
Lesson 5
Inspired
4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit
distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but
the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in

Word
all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given
for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the
1 Corinthians 12:4-14 Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of
knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith
by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one
Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another
prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to
another speaking in different kinds of tongues,[a] and to still
another the interpretation of tongues.[b] 11 All these are the
work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to
each one, just as he determines.
Inspired
Word Unity and Diversity in the Body
1 Corinthians 12:4-14 12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its
many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we
were all baptized by[c] one Spirit so as to form one body—
whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all
given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not
made up of one part but of many.
Vatican II and PCP
• Teach that the Church is ONE, HOLY,

II
CATHOLIC, and APOSTOLIC.
• These characteristics are gifts, tasks, and hopes
or promises.
• They are gifts in the sense that God is
ultimately their source.
• They are tasks because Christians and
Christian communities have to work for them.
• They are hopes because their full realization is
in the future.
 The Church is One
What do we mean when we say that the Church is
one?
It means that the local • Unity- is not
Church and the universal
uniformity.
Church are one people of
• Unity in Diversity
God and one body of
Christ.
• Unity is a gift, task,
and hope.
The Church is
• Holiness-“Holy”- Katad-

Holy “set-apartness/separation”
• Priests, pastors, nuns- supposed to be models of
holiness
• Set apart to serve God
• The Church has to grow in holiness which
means both leaders and members are in need of
holy constant renewal(ecclesia semper reformanda)
• Holiness is a gift, task, and hope.
The Church is Catholic
•“Catholic”- universal, complete, all-embracing
•Catholicity- understood as a physical external
characteristic describing the Church as literally
spread all over the world

Understood more as the “interior capacity of

exercising a universal ministry of reconciliation.”

Catholicity is a gift, task, and hope.

The Church is Apostolic
Apostle- understood as one who was a witness to
If the whole Church is apostolic, how do
the risen Lord we look at the role of hierarchy?
•As a witness, he is commissioned to be a Hierarchy- ministry of leadership in the
missionary. Church
Apostolicity- not only the leaders, since all
Christians
Without effective leadership, the Church’s task of
Apostolicity- not only the leaders, since all
evangelization will suffer.
Christians have the responsibility to Apostolate- the work of all the faithful who carry
witness to Jesus through a variety of means on the original mission entrusted by Christ to his
apostles.
MISSIONARY RESPONSE

•A renewed understanding of the traditional attributes of

the Church has led us to realize that oneness, holiness,
catholicity, and apostolicity are both gifts and tasks.
•God is the ultimate source of all these
We also have to do something to make these things a
reality in our lives