DIVINE WORD COLLEGE OF LAOAG
SCHOOL OF ARTS, SCIENCES AND EDUCATION
LAOAG CITY
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 3-Church and Sacraments
Module 2: Foundations of the Church
l. Introduction:
The Church has existed for two thousand years already, eversince that time that
Christ has gathered his faithful apostles and disciples into a community, the
Church has grown, changed and developed.
This module presents an overview of the Church formation and growth to help us
realize how Jesus’ vision for humanity has taken shape throughout the centuries.
Furthermore, it unveils what still can and must be done to bring Jesus’ dream to
full realization.
ll. Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the session, the student will be able to:
1. Acquire a clear concept of the Church’s origin and nature.
2. Be led into a deeper sense of belonging to the Church.
3. Accept the challenge of doing one’s task as member/s of the
Church.
lll. Learning Activity:
Read reflectively this Biblical Story - Acts 2:1-13
The Coming of the Holy Spirit
2 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly
there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house
a]
where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested[
on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in
other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5
Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under
heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered,
because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed
and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it
that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites
and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and
Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11
both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own
tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one
another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new
wine.”
Reflection Questions (10 minutes to write your answers. Do it in your
Spiritual Journal)
1. What strange event/s happened in the story?
2. What could have been your reaction if you were in that situation?
3. What significant message did you gain from the story? How are
you going to share that message to your family and friends?
(Sharing and Processing will follow)
lV. Abstraction/Deepening
“They were all together in one place”. Coming together in one place for one
occasion signifies unity; it could be of mind and soul, of the heart, or we can even
go deeper than this; unity of intention, aspiration, dream and the like. After the
resurrection and ascension of Jesus the Pentecost took place. It was the event
when the apostles and disciples and the mother of Jesus gathered together in
the upper room at Jerusalem. They were waiting prayerfully for the fulfillment of a
promise made by our Lord, the coming of the Holy Spirit.
His coming was marked by a message in sound and action. “….a sound came
from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind.” (wind is closely related to breath and
spirit in the Greek Language). And rested to each one of them. The Spirit comes
from heaven as the life-giving breath of God (see Gen.1:1; 2:27) to offer new
birth to his people. Afterwards those assembled in the upper felt compelled to
impart the language of love. The crowd represented many nations and
languages, they understood the message proclaimed to them because the Holy
Spirit imparted a special gift, the gift of tongues. The Spirit has the power to
gather men and women of every nation into a living unity, son that the great
works of God may be proclaimed to all regardless language and culture. The
descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Day inspired and encouraged the
believers to become a unified community.
Thus, the coming of the Holy Spirit clearly imparts to the Church two significant
marks; the birth of the Church and the beginning of the Church’s mission to spread
the Goodnews of salvation (to all peoples). It is important to note that the coming of the
Holy Spirit impelled the unified community to spread the goodnews beyond boarders,
that is therefore an act that was contrary to Jewish exclusivism. (Read Acts 10: 23b-48)
In Act10:23b-48 narrates to us how Peter and Cornelius met. With this encounter Peter
realized that God treats everyone on the same basis regardless of race so long that one
does what is right and acceptable by God. “While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit
came down on all those who were listening to his message”. Even the Gentiles who
were there received the Holy Spirit and spoke strange tongues as they began praising
God’s greatness. Peter baptized them and stayed together for few days.
The spread of the goodnews continually flourished that some men who came from
Judaea to Antioch started teaching the believers “You cannot be saved unless you are
circumcised as the law of Moses requires”. Barnabas and Paul upon hearing this argued
with them and later decided to go to Jerusalem together with some men from Antioch in
order to discuss the problem on circumcision. Soon as they arrived in the church of
Jerusalem, they were welcomed joyfully by the apostles and elders. They reported to
them the wonders that God has done to the Gentiles but some of the believers belonging
to the party called pharisees insisted that this Gentiles be circumcised. The apostles and
elders met together and considered this matter on circumcision. There had been a long
debate but Peter stood up and reminded them of how God poured the Holy Spirit to the
Gentiles also. “He made no difference between us and them; he forgave their sins
because they believed” (Read Acts 15:1-9). That was the very first meeting held in
Church (Council of Jerusalem). It is inspiring to know that they were able to resolved the
problem by being open to the wisdom of their leader. Peter being chosen by God to
preach the goodnews stood up in doing his mission faithfully. With so much urgency in
his teachings, he appealed to all those who listened to him to save themselves from
punishment coming from the wicked people. In returned, many believed his message
and were baptized (Primacy of Peter- Read Acts 2: 14-37). More and more were added
to the disciple ‘s community (Acts 2:37-41). The number of believers were added every
day. They spent time listening to the teachings of the apostles, taking part in the
fellowship, and sharing in the fellowship meals and the prayers. They were sincere and
faithful in living what they have learned from the apostles. As a manifestation, they sold
their property and distributed the money among all according to what each one needed.
They lived a common life of sharing, ate meals together and prayed as a community.
They lived in simplicity and joy. The communal life was excellent and impressive that
many of those who had witnessed their deeds were attracted and embraced their way of
life. (Read Acts 2:42-47).
The Church continuously grew being the sign and instrument of salvation by preaching
in words and deeds the gift of salvation in Jesus Christ yet, this growth had a very hard
beginning. There were disagreements and problems among members of the community
which led the apostles to choose seven deacons/helpers responsible in the distribution
of funds especially to the Greek speaking Jews who claimed that their widow members
were neglected. The seven Deacons were Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy
Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus. (Acts 6:1-6)
For theirs is a community composed of men and women (peoples) who,
united in Christ, and guided by the Holy Spirit, press onwards towards the
Kingdom of the Father and are bearers of a message of salvation
intended for all ( peoples)
Gaudium et Spes 1
V. Application:
Make a PRAYER WALL in your HOME. Be creative in doing it. Decorate it so
that other members of your family will also be motivated to do the activity or you
can encourage them to join. (see to it that it will be conducive place for the
activity) Prepare pieces of papers where you could write your prayer intentions of
the hour/day. (Please take note that intentions should not be limited for ourselves
only. Remember to include all peoples and the whole world. Believers or not.)
After writing your intentions post it in your prayer wall. Do it for a week and at the
end of the week will have a virtual prayer session wherein we could offer all our
intentions to God as a community. After that you can take a photo on your
PRAYER WALL (it could be nice also if you take a selfie or a groupie with your
family) You can submit it in our google classroom together with your personal
prayer as a summary of the written intentions.
Vl. Resources:
Bugnot, Julita J. et. Al., 1998. Becoming A Community of Disciples: Rex Bookstore,
Manila Philippines.
Ordonez, Julius C. et. al. WITNESSING COMMUNITY THROUGH THE YEAR.
The Goodnews Bible in Today’s English Version
Catholic Faith Catechism
Catechism for Catholic Church
Damo, Zacarias, HANDOUT IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 003,
summer 2007
