BINALBAGAN CATHOLIC COLLEGE, INC.

Carmen-Locsin Streets, Brgy. San Pedro

Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, Philippines, 6107
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL
Religious Education II

LESSON 2: THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH AND ITS STRUCTURE

At the end of the lesson, the students must have

Objectives:
Doctrine:
(1) explained the etymology, meaning, structure and models or images of the Church
(2) described the mission and ministries of the Church
Moral:
(1) participated in the mission of the Church through involvement in parish/community
service

Worship:
(1) celebrated as one community through Scriptural Reading and singing
(2) participated in the community worship on Sundays and holy days of obligations
VALUES: The following virtues are intended to be integrated in this lesson: Devotion to the
Holy Spirit, Integrity of the Body, Prayerfulness and Faith

INTRODUCTION: This topic explains the etymological meaning, structure and models or
images of the Church. Also it describes the mission of the church and its ministries. This
topic also talks about the mission of Christ.

THE CHURCH

1. What does “Church” mean?

The word "Church" (Latin ecclesia, from the Greek ek-ka-lein, to "call out of")
means a convocation or an assembly. It designates the assemblies of the people, usually for a
religious purpose.
The Greek word for CHURCH is “ekklesia” those who are called forth. All of us who
are baptized and believe in God are called forth by the Lord. Together we are the Church. Christ
is, as Paul says, the Head of the Church. We are his body. When we receive the sacraments
and hear God’s Word, Christ is in us and we are in him that is the CHURCH. The intimate
communion of life with Jesus that is shared personally by all the baptized is described in Sacred
Scripture by a wealth of images: Here it speaks about the People of God and in another
passage about the Bride of Christ; now the Church is called Mother, and again she is God’s
family, or she is compared with a wedding feast.
Ekklesia is used frequently in the Greek Old Testament for the assembly of the Chosen
People before God, above all for their assembly on Mount Sinai where Israel received the Law
and was established by God as his holy people. By calling itself "Church," the first community
of Christian believers recognized itself as heir to that assembly. In the Church, God is "calling
together" his people from all the ends of the earth. The equivalent Greek term Kyriake, from
which the English word Church and the German Kirche are derived, means "what belongs to
the Lord."
In Christian usage, the word "church" designates the liturgical assembly, but also the
local community or the whole universal community of believers. These three meanings are
inseparable. "The Church" is the People that God gathers in the whole world. She exists in
local communities and is made real as a liturgical, above all a Eucharistic, assembly. She draws
her life from the word and the Body of Christ and so herself becomes Christ's Body.

2. Why does God want there to be a Church?

God wills the CHURCH because he wants to redeem us, not individually, but
together. He wants to make all mankind his people. No one gets to heaven by the asocial
route. Someone who thinks only about himself and the salvation of his own soul is living a-
socially. That is impossible both in heaven and on earth. God himself is not a-social; he is not a

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Binalbagan Catholic College, Inc., Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, Philippines, 6107
Steve Leonard Calvo, Rosalie T. Diaz, LPT.
All Rights Reserved @ 2024
 BINALBAGAN CATHOLIC COLLEGE, INC.
Carmen-Locsin Streets, Brgy. San Pedro
Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, Philippines, 6107
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL
Religious Education II

solitary, self-sufficient being. The Triune God in himself is “social”, a communion, and an eternal
exchange of love. Patterned after God, man also is designed for relationship, exchange,
sharing, and love. We are responsible for one another.

3. Why is the Church more than an institution?

The Church is more than an institution because she is a MYSTERY that is

simultaneously human and divine. True love does not blind a person but rather makes him
see. With regard to the CHURCH, this is precisely the case: Viewed from outside, the Church is
only a historical institution with historical achievements, but also mistakes and even crimes—a
Church of sinners. But that is not looking deep enough. After all, Christ became so involved with
us sinners that he never abandons his Church, even if we were to betray him daily. This
inseparable union of the human and the divine, of sin and grace, is the mystery of the Church.
Seen with the eyes of faith, the Church is therefore indestructibly holy.
Never is the Church a mere institution, never just the “official Church” that we could do
without. We will be upset by the mistakes and defects in the CHURCH, but we can never
distance ourselves from her, because God has made an irrevocable decision to love her and
does not forsake her despite all the sins of her members. The Church is God’s presence among
us men. That is why we must love her.

4. What is unique about the People of God?

 The founder of this people is God the Father.

 Its leader is Jesus Christ.
 Its source of strength is the Holy Spirit.
 The entryway to the People of God is Baptism.
 Its dignity is the freedom of the children of God.
 Its law is love.

If this people remains faithful to God and seeks first the kingdom of God, it changes the
world. In the midst of all the peoples on earth, there is one people that is like no other. It is
subject to no one but God alone. It is supposed to be like salt, which adds flavor; like yeast,
which permeates everything; like light, which drives away the darkness. Anyone who belongs to
the People of God must count on coming into conflict with people who deny God’s existence
and disregard his commandments. In the freedom of the children of God, however, we have
nothing to fear, not even death.

5. What does it mean to say that the Church is the “Body of Christ”?

Above all through the →SACRAMENTS of Baptism and Holy →EUCHARIST, an inseparable
union comes about between Jesus Christ and Christians. The union is so strong that it joins him
and us like the head and members of a human body and makes us one.

THE CHURCH - BODY OF CHRIST

The Church is communion with Jesus

From the beginning, Jesus associated his disciples with his own life, revealed the
mystery of the Kingdom to them, and gave them a share in his mission, joy, and sufferings.
Jesus spoke of a still more intimate communion between him and those who would follow him:
"Abide in me, and I in you. . . . I am the vine, you are the branches." And he proclaimed a
mysterious and real communion between his own body and ours: "He who eats my flesh and
drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him."

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Binalbagan Catholic College, Inc., Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, Philippines, 6107
Steve Leonard Calvo, Rosalie T. Diaz, LPT.
All Rights Reserved @ 2024
 BINALBAGAN CATHOLIC COLLEGE, INC.
Carmen-Locsin Streets, Brgy. San Pedro
Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, Philippines, 6107
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL
Religious Education II

The comparison of the Church with the body casts light on the intimate bond between Christ
and his Church. Not only is she gathered around him; she is united in him, in his body. Three
aspects of the Church as the Body of Christ are to be more specifically noted: the unity of all her
members with each other as a result of their union with Christ; Christ as head of the Body; and
the Church as bride of Christ.

CHRIST IS THE HEAD OF THIS BODY

 Christ "is the head of the body, the Church." He is the principle of creation and
redemption. Raised to the Father's glory, "in everything he is preeminent, especially in
the Church, through whom he extends his reign over all things.

 Christ unites us with his Passover: all his members must strive to resemble him, "until
Christ be formed" in them. "For this reason we are taken up into the mysteries of his life,
associated with his sufferings as the body with its head, suffering with him, that with him
we may be glorified."

 Christ provides for our growth: to make us grow toward him, our head, he provides in
his Body, the Church, the gifts and assistance by which we help one another along the
way of salvation.

 Christ and his Church thus together make up the "whole Christ" (Christus totus).
The Church is one with Christ. The saints are acutely aware of this unity:

Let us rejoice then and give thanks that we have become not only Christians, but Christ
himself. Do you understand and grasp, brethren, God's grace toward us? Marvel and
rejoice: we have become Christ. For if he is the head, we are the members; he and we
together are the whole man. . . . The fullness of Christ then is the head and the
members. But what does "head and members" mean? Christ and the Church.
Our redeemer has shown himself to be one person with the holy Church whom he has
taken to himself.

Head and members form as it were one and the same mystical person.

6. What does it mean to say that the Church is the “Bride of Christ”?

Jesus Christ loves the CHURCH as a bridegroom loves his bride. He binds himself to
her forever his and gives life for her. Anyone who has ever been in love has some idea of
what love is. Jesus knows it and calls himself a bridegroom who lovingly and longingly courts
his bride and desires to celebrate the feast of love with her. We are his Bride, the CHURCH. In
the OLD TESTAMENT God’s love for his people is compared to the love between
husband and wife.

THE CHURCH IS THE BRIDE OF CHRIST

The unity of Christ and the Church, head and members of one Body, also implies
the distinction of the two within a personal relationship. This aspect is often expressed
by the image of bridegroom and bride. The theme of Christ as Bridegroom of the Church was
prepared for by the prophets and announced by John the Baptist. The Lord referred to himself
as the "bridegroom." The Apostle speaks of the whole Church and of each of the faithful,
members of his Body, as a bride "betrothed" to Christ the Lord so as to become but one spirit
with him. The Church is the spotless bride of the spotless Lamb. "Christ loved the Church
and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her." He has joined her with himself in an
everlasting covenant and never stops caring for her as for his own body:

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Binalbagan Catholic College, Inc., Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, Philippines, 6107
Steve Leonard Calvo, Rosalie T. Diaz, LPT.
All Rights Reserved @ 2024
 BINALBAGAN CATHOLIC COLLEGE, INC.
Carmen-Locsin Streets, Brgy. San Pedro
Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, Philippines, 6107
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL
Religious Education II

This is the whole Christ, head and body, one formed from many whether the head
or members speak, it is Christ who speaks. He speaks in his role as the head (ex persona
capitis) and in his role as body (ex persona corporis).

What does this mean?

"The two will become one flesh. This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the
Church." And the Lord himself says in the Gospel: "So they are no longer two, but one flesh."
They are, in fact, two different persons, yet they are one in the conjugal union as head, he calls
himself the bridegroom, as body, he calls himself "bride."

7. What does it mean to say that the Church is the “Temple of the Holy Spirit”?

The CHURCH is the place in the world where the Holy Spirit is completely present.
The people of Israel worshipped God in the Temple of Jerusalem. This temple no longer exists.
It has been replaced by the Church, which is not limited to a particular place. “Where two
or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt 18:20). What makes
her alive is the Spirit of Christ: He lives in the Word of Sacred Scripture and is present in the
sacred signs of the SACRAMENTS. He loves in the hearts of believers and speaks in their
prayers. He leads them and bestows charisms on them simple gifts as well as extraordinary
ones. Anyone who enters into a relationship with the Holy Spirit can experience true miracles
even today.

THE CHURCH IS THE TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

"What the soul is to the human body, the Holy Spirit is to the Body of Christ, which is the
Church." "To this Spirit of Christ, as an invisible principle, is to be ascribed the fact that all the
parts of the body are joined one with the other and with their exalted head; for the whole Spirit of
Christ is in the head, the whole Spirit is in the body, and the whole Spirit is in each of the
members." The Holy Spirit makes the Church "the temple of the living God"

Indeed, it is to the Church herself that the "Gift of God" has been entrusted. In it is in her that
communion with Christ has been deposited, that is to say: the Holy Spirit, the pledge of
incorruptibility, the strengthening of our faith and the ladder of our ascent to God. . . . For where
the Church is, there also is God's Spirit; where God's Spirit is, there is the Church and every
grace.

The Holy Spirit is "the principle of every vital and truly saving action in each part of the
Body." He works in many ways to build up the whole Body in charity: by God's Word "which is
able to build you up"; by Baptism, through which he forms Christ's Body; by the sacraments,
which give growth and healing to Christ's members; by "the grace of the apostles, which holds
first place among his gifts"; by the virtues, which make us act according to what is good; finally,
by the many special graces (called "charisms"), by which he makes the faithful "fit and ready to
undertake various tasks and offices for the renewal and building up of the Church."

CHARISMS

Charisms are graces of the Holy Spirit which directly or indirectly benefit the Church, ordered
as they are to her building up, to the good of men, and to the needs of the world.

Charisms are to be accepted with gratitude by the person who receives them and by all
members of the Church as well. They are a wonderfully rich grace for the apostolic vitality and
for the holiness of the entire Body of Christ, provided they really are genuine gifts of the Holy
Spirit and are used in full conformity with authentic promptings of this same Spirit, that is, in
keeping with charity, the true measure of all charisms.

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Binalbagan Catholic College, Inc., Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, Philippines, 6107
Steve Leonard Calvo, Rosalie T. Diaz, LPT.
All Rights Reserved @ 2024
 BINALBAGAN CATHOLIC COLLEGE, INC.
Carmen-Locsin Streets, Brgy. San Pedro
Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, Philippines, 6107
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL
Religious Education II

STRUCTURE OF THE CHURCH

There is a set hierarchy in the Roman Catholic Church which has many levels:

Pope Cardinal Bishop Priest Deacon Laity

1. Pope: Head of the church, he is based at the Vatican. The pope is infallible in defining
matters of faith and morals.

2. Cardinals: Appointed by the pope, As a body, it advises the pope and, on his death,
elects a new pope.

3. Bishops: A bishop, like a priest, is ordained to this station. He is a teacher of church

doctrine, a priest of sacred worship, and a minister of church government.

4. Priests: An ordained minister who can administer most of the sacraments, including the
Eucharist, baptism, and marriage. He can be with a particular religious order or
committed to serving a congregation.

5. Deacons: A transitional deacon is a seminarian studying for the priesthood. A

permanent deacon can be married and assists a priest by performing some of the
sacraments.

6. Laity: the body of religious worshipers, as distinguished from the clergy.

THE CHURCH'S ORIGIN, FOUNDATION AND MISSION

We begin our investigation of the Church's mystery by meditating on her origin in the Holy
Trinity's plan and her progressive realization in history.

A plan born in the Father's heart

"The eternal Father, in accordance with the utterly gratuitous and mysterious design of
his wisdom and goodness, created the whole universe and chose to raise up men to
share in his own divine life," to which he calls all men in his Son. "The Father . . .
determined to call together in a holy Church those who should believe in Christ." This "family of
God" is gradually formed and takes shape during the stages of human history, in keeping with
the Father's plan. In fact, "already present in figure at the beginning of the world, this Church
was prepared in marvelous fashion in the history of the people of Israel and the old Advance.
Established in this last age of the world and made manifest in the outpouring of the Spirit, it will
be brought to glorious completion at the end of time."

The Church- foreshadowed from the world's beginning

Christians of the first centuries said, "The world was created for the sake of the Church." God
created the world for the sake of communion with his divine life, a communion brought about by
the "convocation" of men in Christ, and this "convocation" is the Church. The Church is the goal
of all things, and God permitted such painful upheavals as the angels' fall and man's sin only as
occasions and means for displaying all the power of his arm and the whole measure of the love
he wanted to give the world: Just as God's will is creation and is called "the world," so his
intention is the salvation of men, and it is called "the Church."

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Binalbagan Catholic College, Inc., Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, Philippines, 6107
Steve Leonard Calvo, Rosalie T. Diaz, LPT.
All Rights Reserved @ 2024
 BINALBAGAN CATHOLIC COLLEGE, INC.
Carmen-Locsin Streets, Brgy. San Pedro
Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, Philippines, 6107
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL
Religious Education II

The Church - prepared for in the Old Covenant

The gathering together of the People of God began at the moment when sin destroyed
the communion of men with God, and that of men among themselves. The gathering
together of the Church is, as it were, God's reaction to the chaos provoked by sin. This
reunification is achieved secretly in the heart of all peoples: "In every nation anyone who fears
him and does what is right is acceptable" to God.

The remote preparation for this gathering together of the People of God begins when he calls
Abraham and promises that he will become the father of a great people. Its immediate
preparation begins with Israel's election as the People of God. By this election, Israel is to be
the sign of the future gathering of all nations. But the prophets accuse Israel of breaking the
covenant and behaving like a prostitute. They announce a new and eternal covenant. "Christ
instituted this New Covenant."

The Church - instituted by Christ Jesus

It was the Son's task to accomplish the Father's plan of salvation in the fullness of time. Its
accomplishment was the reason for his being sent. "The Lord Jesus inaugurated his Church by
preaching the Good News, that is, the coming of the Reign of God, promised over the ages in
the scriptures." To fulfill the Father's will, Christ ushered in the Kingdom of heaven on earth. The
Church "is the Reign of Christ already present in mystery."

"This Kingdom shines out before men in the word, in the works and in the presence of Christ.
“To welcome Jesus' word is to welcome "the Kingdom itself." The seed and beginning of the
Kingdom are the "little flock" of those whom Jesus came to gather around him, the flock whose
shepherd he is. They form Jesus' true family. To those whom he thus gathered around him, he
taught a new "way of acting" and a prayer of their own.

The Church - revealed by the Holy Spirit

"When the work which the Father gave the Son to do on earth was accomplished, the Holy Spirit
was sent on the day of Pentecost in order that he might continually sanctify the Church." Then
"the Church was openly displayed to the crowds and the spread of the Gospel among the
nations, through preaching, was begun." As the "convocation" of all men for salvation, the
Church in her very nature is missionary, sent by Christ to all the nations to make disciples of
them.

So that she can fulfill her mission, the Holy Spirit "bestows upon [the Church] varied hierarchic
and charismatic gifts, and in this way directs her." "Henceforward the Church, endowed with the
gifts of her founder and faithfully observing his precepts of charity, humility and self-denial,
receives the mission of proclaiming and establishing among all peoples the Kingdom of Christ
and of God, and she is on earth the seed and the beginning of that kingdom."

The word "Church" means "convocation." It designates the assembly of those whom God's
Word "convokes," i.e., gathers together to form the People of God, and who themselves,
nourished with the Body of Christ, become the Body of Christ.

The Church is both the means and the goal of God's plan: prefigured in creation, prepared
for in the Old Covenant, founded by the words and actions of Jesus Christ, fulfilled by his
redeeming cross and his Resurrection, the Church has been manifested as the mystery of
salvation by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. She will be perfected in the glory of heaven as the
assembly of all the redeemed of the earth (cf. Rev 14:4).

6|Page
Binalbagan Catholic College, Inc., Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, Philippines, 6107
Steve Leonard Calvo, Rosalie T. Diaz, LPT.
All Rights Reserved @ 2024
 BINALBAGAN CATHOLIC COLLEGE, INC.
Carmen-Locsin Streets, Brgy. San Pedro
Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, Philippines, 6107
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL
Religious Education II

The Church is both visible and spiritual, a hierarchical society and the Mystical Body of
Christ. She is one, yet formed of two components, human and divine. That is her mystery, which
only faith can accept.

LESSON 2- WORKSHEET
Name:___________________________________________ Grade/ Section:_________

ENRICHMENT ACTIVITY :

A. Directions: Based on your experience draw an image/ model that shows your
own understanding what the church is? And describe it in two to three sentences.
Use the space provided.

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

Rubrics:

Content………………………………………………………………….30%
Creativity………………………………………………………………..30%
Connectivity of the statement and image…………………………20%
Over all presentation………………………………………………….20%

B. Directions: Have you ever participated in any church activity or church ministry?
If yes, give the activity you participated and the ministry you joined. And if not,
write the reason that hinders you from joining. Write your answer on the space
privded.

Example:
1. Church ministry
a. I served as choir
b. I joined as lectors and commentator
c. I participated as parish youth member

1. __________________

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Binalbagan Catholic College, Inc., Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, Philippines, 6107
Steve Leonard Calvo, Rosalie T. Diaz, LPT.
All Rights Reserved @ 2024
 BINALBAGAN CATHOLIC COLLEGE, INC.
Carmen-Locsin Streets, Brgy. San Pedro
Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, Philippines, 6107
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL
Religious Education II

a. ________________________________________________________
b. ________________________________________________________
c. ________________________________________________________
C. 2.
6
1.c 3.

Directions: Fill in the crossword puzzle

with the words missing from
7 the sentences below. Match
the number of the sentence to the boxes
placed across or down the grid.

9.
4.

D
10
. e

ACROSS DOWN
1. The word ____________ means a 2. __________ are graces of the
convocation or an assembly. Holy Spirit which directly or
indirectly benefit the Church,
3. He is the leader of the People of ordered as they are to her building
God. up, to the good of men, and to the
5. He is a teacher of church doctrine, needs of the world.
a priest of sacred worship, and a 4. Jesus Christ loves the CHURCH
minister of church government. as a bridegroom loves his
___________.
6. The Holy Spirit was sent on the
7. Head of the church, he is based at day of ____________ in order that he
the Vatican. might continually sanctify the
9. The Holy ________ is "the Church.
principle of every vital and truly
saving action in each part of the 8. It is the law of the people of God.
Body." 10. The body of religious worshipers,
as distinguished from the clergy.

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Binalbagan Catholic College, Inc., Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, Philippines, 6107
Steve Leonard Calvo, Rosalie T. Diaz, LPT.
All Rights Reserved @ 2024
 BINALBAGAN CATHOLIC COLLEGE, INC.
Carmen-Locsin Streets, Brgy. San Pedro
Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, Philippines, 6107
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL
Religious Education II

Quiz # 1.
Directions: Write TRUE if the statement is CORRECT. And if FALSE, UNDERLINE
and CORRECT the word that make the statement FALSE. Write your answer on the
space provided.

_____________1. The Church "is the love of Christ already present in mystery."

_____________2. The world was created for the sake of the Church.

_____________3. In every land anyone who fears him and does what is right is
acceptable" to God.
_____________4. The Apostle speaks of the whole Church and of each of the faithful,
members of his Body, as a bridegroom "betrothed" to Christ the Lord so as to become
but one spirit with him.
_____________5. In Christian usage, the word "church" designates the liturgical
assembly, but also the local community or the whole universal community of believers.
_____________6. The seed and beginning of the Kingdom are the "little sheep" of
those whom Jesus came to gather around him, the flock whose shepherd he is.
_____________7. The founder of this people is God the Father.
_____________8. For where the love is, there also is God's Spirit; where God's Spirit is,
there is the Church and every grace.
_____________9. In the freedom of the children of God, however, we have nothing to
fear, not even death.
_____________10. Christ and his Church thus together make up the "whole Christ"
(Christus totus).
_____________11. Christ is, as Peter says, the Head of the Church.
_____________12. People of God must count on coming into conflict with people who
deny God’s existence and disregard his commandments.
_____________13. "The Church" is the People that God gathers in the whole world.
_____________14. The Church is the spotless bride of the spotless Lamb.
_____________15. The gathering together of the Lamb of God began at the moment
when sin destroyed the communion of men with God, and that of men among
themselves.

9|Page
Binalbagan Catholic College, Inc., Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, Philippines, 6107
Steve Leonard Calvo, Rosalie T. Diaz, LPT.
All Rights Reserved @ 2024
 BINALBAGAN CATHOLIC COLLEGE, INC.
Carmen-Locsin Streets, Brgy. San Pedro
Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, Philippines, 6107
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL
Religious Education II

10 | P a g e
Binalbagan Catholic College, Inc., Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, Philippines, 6107
Steve Leonard Calvo, Rosalie T. Diaz, LPT.
All Rights Reserved @ 2024