chapter 5: christ redeems through his church the mystery of redemption

Chapter 5: Christ Redeems Through His

Church

THE MYSTERY OF REDEMPTION

ANTICIPATORY SET

Incorporate Matthew 13 (Christ’s parables) into the class’s opening prayer.

Afterwards, have the students free write for a few minutes trying to explain the meaning of one of the parables that Jesus himself did not explain.

Share responses.

1. The Kingdom of God

BASIC QUESTIONS What is God’s cosmic plan for man? What is the Church? What is the Kingdom of God?

KEY IDEAS God’s plan for man to share in his divine life existed before

time, was inaugurated in time by creation and salvation history, reached its fullness in time with Christ and his Church, and will be fulfilled at the end of time when all who have cooperated with grace are gathered together in the universal Church.

The Church is the new assembly of God’s people, redeemed by Christ, and is the instrument of this redemption.

The Kingdom of God is Christ acting in men’s hearts to bring them into communion with the Blessed Trinity.


GUIDED EXERCISE

Conduct a think/pair/share on the following prompt:

What is the meaning of the word “church” according to its Greek and Hebrew roots?


What was God’s plan for men from before the creation?To raise men to a participation in the divine life.

Who are the elect?Those who would cooperate in God’s plan.

Where is the Church seen in the Old Testament?The Church is foreshadowed in the history of the people of Israel and the covenant God made with them.

FOCUS QUESTIONS


How does God make it possible for man to participate in the divine life?God makes it possible for man to have a share in divine life through the Incarnation of Christ and the graces of the redemption mediated through the Church Christ founded.

How will God’s original plan be fulfilled?At the end of time, the Church will achieve glorious completion, when all the just will be gathered together with the Father in the universal Church.

What is the Church, according to CCC 763?It is “the Reign of Christ already present in mystery.”

FOCUS QUESTIONS


Where is the Kingdom of Heaven on earth found?In the Catholic Church.

What is the difference between objective and subjective redemption?All men are objectively redeemed by Christ’s sacrifice. However, this redemption has to be subjectively applied to the life of each individual, who may or may not respond to grace.

What is the role of the Church in terms of subjective redemption?The Church is Christ’s instrument to bring objective redemption to each subject, to each person.

FOCUS QUESTIONS


What is the core message of the Gospel, according to Mark 1:15?The Kingdom of God has arrived; therefore, turn away from your sins and have faith.

In what way did Jesus help his followers picture what the Kingdom of God is like?Through parables.

How was Jesus not the Messiah people probably expected?Some Jews expected a Messiah who would be a powerful king, like David, who would make Israel glorious. They did not expect someone born into poverty who would redeem through suffering and transform men from within.

FOCUS QUESTIONS


What is the Kingdom of Heaven, according to the paragraph beginning, “Christ’s teaching in the New Testament”?The Kingdom of Heaven is a communion of God with his People, the relationship that God had desired from the very beginning of creation.

How is the Kingdom of God like a mustard seed?Like a mustard seed, the Church would begin small, but would grow very large, in fact, would spread throughout the world.

FOCUS QUESTIONS


Why is the Church “pilgrim”?The Church as a whole and in her individual members is on a journey to Christ with whom it is already imperfectly united.

What is necessary to see the divine nature of the Church?Faith.

When will the true nature of the Church be seen by everyone?At the end of time when Christ returns in glory.

FOCUS QUESTIONS


GUIDED EXERCISE

Conduct a think/pair/share:

What do the Gospel writers mean when they say that Jesus came in the “fullness of time”?


According to Benedict XVI, what is the core content of the Gospel?The message that “The Kingdom of God is at hand,” so convert and have faith.

What is the Kingdom of God, according to Benedict XVI?It is the Person of Jesus Christ.

According to Benedict XVI, what is an adequate translation of the term, “Kingdom of God”?An adequate translation is “God’s being-Lord, of his lordship.” In other words, Kingdom of God means God is now acting in a whole new way in history.

FOCUS QUESTIONS


CLOSURE Have the students write a paragraph on the meaning of the Kingdom of God.


HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Reading

The Mystical Body of Christ through The Church is Necessary for Salvation (pp. 173–176)

Study Questions Questions 1–5.

Workbook Questions 1–6.


ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Have the students free write on the cosmic history of redemption presented in this lesson, from before time, during time, and at the end of time.


ANTICIPATORY SET

Incorporate into the class’s opening prayer St. Paul’s discourse on the Church as the Body of Christ (cf. 1 Cor 12:12–31).

Have the students free write for a few minutes on something that surprised or confused them about this passage.

Share responses.

2. The Mystical Body Necessary for Salvation

BASIC QUESTIONS What is the Mystical Body of Christ? Is the Church necessary for salvation?

KEY IDEAS The Mystical Body of Christ is an image that

expresses the union of each believer with Christ and with each other. The relationship between the Church and Christ is like that of a bride and a bridegroom.

The Church is necessary for salvation because she is the means by which God has chosen to convey the graces of the redemption to the world.


What is the Mystical Body of Christ?It is the divine communion in which each member of the Church is united together in Christ, who is the Head.

What is the vertical dimension of the Mystical Body?It is the relationship between each member of the Church and Christ. It is vertical because God is higher than us.

What is the horizontal dimension of the Body of Christ?It is the communion among the Church’s members. It is a horizontal relation because the members of Christ’s body are essentially equal in dignity as children of God.

FOCUS QUESTIONS


What is youth a time for Christians to discover?One’s vocation, that is, what God wants a young person to do as a member of the Body of Christ.

How is the idea of solidarity in the Body of Christ expressed in Lumen Gentium, 7?If “one member [in the body] endures anything, all the members co-endure it, and if one member is honored, all the members together rejoice.”

What are the three states in which the Church currently exists?The pilgrim Church on earth, the suffering Church in Purgatory, and the Church triumphant in Heaven.

FOCUS QUESTIONS


GUIDED EXERCISE

Have the students work with a partner to develop bullet points relating Christ and his Church to a bridegroom and bride.


GUIDED EXERCISE

Conduct a class discussion that debates the following proposition:

The Church should abandon missionary work because God saves people anyway.


What does the Church “do”?She is the means Christ chose to convey the graces of his redemption to humanity.

What is an example of God’s use of mediators?God used Moses as the means to deliver Israel from slavery and to give them the Covenant.

How is the Church a Sacrament?The Church is the sign and means of salvation for men of all times and places.

FOCUS QUESTIONS


What does it mean that the Church is necessary for salvation?It means that man’s salvation comes through the Church. The consequence is that if anyone knows that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God for salvation, but refuses to enter it or to remain in it, then he cannot be saved.

What does “extra Ecclesiam nulla salus” mean?Literally, it means “outside the Church there is no salvation.”

FOCUS QUESTIONS


What is the relationship between the necessity of the Church for salvation and the missionary enterprise?Because the Church is necessary for salvation, the Church has the obligation to preach the Gospel to the whole world.

If the Church is necessary for salvation, are all those who are not Catholics damned to Hell?No. Those who are invincibly ignorant of the Gospel are not guilty of not accepting it. Rather, if they seek God sincerely and follow the dictates of their conscience, they will, with the help of grace, achieve eternal salvation.

FOCUS QUESTIONS


CLOSURE Have the students write a paragraph about how the Church is the Mystical Body necessary for salvation.



One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic through the sidebar St. Ignatius of Loyola (pp. 177–181)

Study Questions Questions 6–9. Practical Exercise 1.



ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Have the students do an Internet search for “Catholic missionary orders.” Locate one order, research that order, and write a paragraph about the work that order is doing in the mission field.


ANTICIPATORY SET

Ask the students to imagine they are Christians living AD 200.They meet a missionary from the sect of the prophet Mani who tells them that their form of Christianity is in error and that the following doctrines are, in fact, true:

• There is a cosmic battle under way between two gods.• Satan is the evil creator of the evil material world.• God is the good creator of the good spiritual world. Satan stole some of the light of the spiritual world and put it in human beings.• Secret knowledge and asceticism can liberate this light, which is the way that the “elect” are saved.

This missionary can give you this secret knowledge if you join his sect. Then, have the students free write their response to explain how they would begin to defend their Christian faith against these ideas.

3. The Four Marks of the Church

BASIC QUESTIONS What are the marks of the Church?

KEY IDEAS The Church is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. That

is, there is only one Church, her holiness fully derives from Christ, she is for all men at all times, and she is grounded in the Apostles.


GUIDED EXERCISE

Have the students work with a partner to make a bullet-point list of the ways in which the Church is one.


What kind of unity does Christ pray for at the Last Supper?Christ prays to the Father that just as he and the Father are one, that his followers and those who believe in him through them will be united in him and the Father.

How did the four marks of the Church arise?They were articulated by early Christians in contradistinction to the qualities of various heretical sects that arose.

What is the result of dissentions within or related to Christianity?The result is often the rupturing of the unity of the Church.

FOCUS QUESTIONS


GUIDED EXERCISE

Conduct a think/pair/share on the following question:

What is the meaning of the word “catholic” in the Catholic Church?


How can the Church claim to be holy if it is made up of sinful members?The holiness of the Church comes directly from Christ.

How is Christ’s holiness conveyed to the Church?Through the Sacraments.

To what end are all the activities of the Church directed?To the sanctification of men in Christ and the glorification of God.

FOCUS QUESTIONS


What are the three ways that the Church is apostolic?(1) The Church was founded by the Apostles; (2) she faithfully hands on the Apostles’ teaching; and (3) she is governed by the successors of the Apostles.

What is apostolic succession?It is the chain of ordination from Apostle to bishop to successor bishop all the way down to the present.

What does it mean to say that the Church “subsists” in the Catholic Church?The fullness of the Church that Christ founded “continues to exist” in the Catholic Church.

What is the indefectibility of the Church?It means that the Church will last until the end of time.

FOCUS QUESTIONS


GUIDED EXERCISE

Have the students complete this table to clarify the three ways the Church is apostolic.


Aspect of the Mark Explanation

Founded by the Apostles

Faithfully hands on the Apostles’ teaching

Governed by the successors

of the Apostles

GUIDED EXERCISE


Aspect of the Mark Explanation

Founded by the Apostles

The Catholic Church was founded by the Twelve who were chosen by Christ to do this.

Faithfully hands on the Apostles’ teaching

With the aid of the Holy Spirit, the Church faithfully keeps and hands on the teachings she

received from the Apostles to every age. She teaches what the Apostles taught.

Governed by the successors

of the Apostles

Her pastors were all ordained by men who can trace their line back to the Apostles.

GUIDED EXERCISE

Have the students work with a partner to write and answer three focus questions on the sidebar: “St. Ignatius of Loyola” (p. 181).


CLOSURE Have the students write a paragraph summarizing the four marks of the Church.



The Mission of the Holy Spirit through the sidebar The Seven Sacraments (pp. 182–185)

Study Questions Questions 10–17. Practical Exercise 2.



ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Have a class discussion based on the example of Manichæism from the anticipatory set on why the early Church would reject it based on the marks of the Church.


ANTICIPATORY SET

Have the students do an Internet search of the words “Holy Spirit” in an online concordance such as the following:

quod.lib.umich.edu/r/rsv/simple.html

Have them choose one verse about the Holy Spirit and then free write about what that verse means.

Briefly share results.

4. The Teaching and Sanctifying Church

BASIC QUESTIONS What role does the Holy Spirit play in the life of the

Church? What are bishops? What is the Magisterium? How do the Sacraments relate to the redemption?

KEY IDEAS The Holy Spirit gives life to the Church. The college of bishops are the successors of the Apostles. The Pope and the bishops united to him are the authentic

teachers of the faith and enjoy the charism of infallibility. The Church transmits the grace of Christ’s redemption

through the Sacraments.


According to CCC 797, what effect does the Holy Spirit have on the Church?The Holy Spirit gives unity to the Church in the manner in which the soul gives life to the human body. The human body is the “temple” that houses the soul and the Holy Spirit makes the Church into a temple of God.

What gifts does the Holy Spirit give the members of the Church?The Holy Spirit gives members of the Church the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity and the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit strengthens the graces of the Sacrament of Confirmation, giving the Christian the ability to be a witness of Christ in the world.

FOCUS QUESTIONS


What is the visible hierarchy that Christ gave the Church?Christ chose the Twelve Apostles to be the foundation stones of the Church with St. Peter as their leader.

How are Peter and his successors vicars of Christ?They act in the place of Christ, the invisible Head, as the visible Head of the Church.

Where do we first see evidence that the mission entrusted to the Apostles was not to die with them?The Apostles elected Matthias to succeed in the office left open by Judas. Later Christ himself chose Paul to be an Apostle.

FOCUS QUESTIONS


GUIDED EXERCISE

Develop an apologetical argument, based on Clement’s epistle, to prove that having bishops today is part of Christ’s plan for the Church.


From where did the first bishops come?After the Apostles founded local churches, they appointed men to assist them in their ministry. These men succeed the Apostles.

Where did the Church get the authority to teach?Christ gave it to the Apostles when he commanded them to teach the disciples they made to observe all that he has commanded.

FOCUS QUESTIONS


What is the Magisterium?It is the name for the teaching office of the Church. It belongs to the Pope and the bishops united to him.

What is the role of the Holy Spirit in the Church’s doctrines?Christ promised that the Holy Spirit would help the Apostles to remember everything he said to them and that the Spirit would teach them everything they needed to know.

FOCUS QUESTIONS


GUIDED EXERCISE

Have the students work with a partner to explain each term in the definition of a Sacrament using one of the Seven Sacraments.

A Sacrament is (1) an efficacious sign of grace, (2) instituted by Christ and (3) entrusted to the Church, by which (4) divine life is dispensed to us.


What are “matters of faith and morals”?Faith refers to religious doctrines, for example, “Christ rose from the dead.” Morals refer to behavior, for example, not to practice infanticide, something the early Christian’s pagan neighbors did.What does infallible mean?Unable to make an error.Who has the gift of infallibility?The Pope and the bishops united to him.What does it mean to define a doctrine?It means formally proposing it for belief as being divinely revealed and as the teaching of Christ.

FOCUS QUESTIONS


What is necessary for bishops to teach infallibly?They must be in union with the Pope.

Where are most infallible episcopal teaching found?In the decisions of ecumenical councils.

What is papal infallibility?When the Pope, in virtue of his authority, defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the universal Church, he cannot be in error.

What does ex cathedra mean?It means “from the chair” of St. Peter, an official, infallible teaching.

FOCUS QUESTIONS


What is the basic work of the Church?To bring salvation to people through word and Sacrament, e.g., teaching them what Christ taught and giving them grace through the Sacraments to be able to carry out those teachings.What is a Sacrament, according to CCC 1131?A Sacrament is an efficacious sign of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us.Who instituted the Sacraments and when?The Sacraments were instituted by Christ, while on earth.With whom do the bishops share their authority to celebrate the Sacraments?Priests and deacons.

FOCUS QUESTIONS


CLOSURE Have the students write a paragraph using one of the key ideas of this lesson as the topic sentence.



The Last Things through Conclusion (pp. 186–190)

Study Questions Questions 18–31.



ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Have the students free write for five minutes on something that they had a hard time understanding in this lesson to clarify their thinking.


ANTICIPATORY SET

Incorporate Jesus’ description of the Last Judgment (cf. Mt 25:31–46) into the class’s opening prayer.

Have the students free write for a few minutes about what conclusions they can draw from this teaching and then share responses.

5. Last Things

BASIC QUESTIONS What are the last things? What is the Last Judgment? What is the Kingship of Christ like?

KEY IDEAS The final things are judgment, Heaven, Purgatory,

and Hell. The Last Judgment is when Christ will come in glory

to publicly judge the living and the dead. Then the universe will be transformed into its definitive state.

On earth, Christ now reigns in the hearts of men who allow him to, while Christians await his glorious return.

5. Last Things

For the Christian, what is the “end” or purpose of living a Christian life?Entrance into Heaven and the resurrection of the body at the end of time.When is the time in which people can cooperate with grace so as to achieve salvation?Only during life on earth. After death it is too late.

What is the Particular Judgment?It is the judgment God makes upon each soul immediately at death of either eternal communion with God (Heaven), temporary purification (Purgatory), or eternal separation (Hell).

FOCUS QUESTIONS

5. Last Things

In Heaven, which persons are in communion?God, the angels, and those human beings in Heaven are in communion.

What is the beatific vision?It is the perfect, face-to-face contemplation of the glory of God the blessed in Heaven enjoy.

What “emotion” most characterizes Heaven?Bliss.

FOCUS QUESTIONS

5. Last Things

What is the purpose of Purgatory?To free the soul of every attachment to sin so as to be fit for Heaven.

What does it mean to say that Purgatory is temporary?Every soul in Purgatory is assured of the eventual attainment of Heaven.

What does it mean to say that Purgatory is a state not a place?Souls, being immaterial spirits, do not occupy space. The state they experience is separation from God.

FOCUS QUESTIONS

5. Last Things

What is Hell?It is the state of eternal self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed.

How does a person end up in Hell?By dying in the state of mortal sin without repentance.

What does the soul experience in Hell?Eternal hatred and unhappiness.

Why is there no happiness in Hell?The soul is separated from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs.

FOCUS QUESTIONS

5. Last Things

What is the Parousia?It is the return of Christ in power and majesty at the end of time. At the Parousia, Christ will judge the living and the dead and establish his kingdom in all its fullness.

What will happen at the Last Judgment?When Christ returns, he will raise everyone in their own bodies, everyone’s conduct will be revealed, and each person will be rewarded or punished on that basis.

When will we understand why God sometimes allows the good to suffer and the wicked to prosper?At the Last Judgment.

FOCUS QUESTIONS

5. Last Things

What will happen to the universe at the end of time?It will be transformed into a perfect place, pictured in Sacred Scripture as the New Jerusalem.

What is the Kingdom of God on earth like now?It is a spiritual kingdom entered into through faith and Baptism.

How difficult is it to live under the reign of Christ even now, on earth, according to Matthew 11:30?It is not difficult: as Christ said, “My yoke is sweet and my burden light.”

FOCUS QUESTIONS

5. Last Things

What effect should the Kingdom of God have on earthly realities?In her preaching of the Gospel, the Church proposes the ethical principles to guide the transformation of the world and provides the graces necessary for men to act in accord with them. The laity, then has the major responsibility to reconstruct the secular world so that God’s “will be done on earth.”

What would be the effect if each person embraced the Kingdom of God within them?People would be free from the slavery of sin and reconciled with God. Private and public life would be characterized by real liberty, well-ordered discipline, peace, and harmony.

FOCUS QUESTIONS

5. Last Things

GUIDED EXERCISE

Have the students perform a paragraph shrink on CCC 671 to examine its essential message:

Christians eagerly await the return of Christ because they, like all human beings and creation itself, “groan and travail” under the attack of evil powers and their own imperfections.

5. Last Things

GUIDED EXERCISE

The conclusion in the student text summarizes the content of this chapter in four paragraphs.

Have the students further distill the message of this chapter by reducing it to one, five sentence paragraph.

5. Last Things

CLOSURE Have the students write a paragraph summarizing the content of this lesson.

5. Last Things

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Study Questions

Questions 32-45. Practical Exercise 3.

Workbook Questions 26-39.

5. Last Things

ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Conduct a class discussion on the following question:

Does it go against justice that there is Heaven, which men cannot ever lose, and a Hell which men can never escape?

5. Last Things

The End

chapter 5: christ redeems through his church the mystery of redemption

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