HRE 4O1

Name: ____________________

Unit 3 -
The Church

Why Go to Mass Assignment

Task:
 Read the attached article.
  Select any 3 of the 10 reasons listed, that you find most convincing.
 Explain why these reasons are the most convincing using 2-3 key points for each.
 Use additional resources, including video links, additional article, bible verses etc. in your
explanation to support why the reasoning are the most convincing.
 Ensure that each explanation is completed in paragraph form.

Check Rubric

Knowledge:
Choice of most important reasons to attend mass. /10

Communication:
Explanation is completed in paragraph form, and is completed using /10
proper spelling and grammar.

Thinking:
Explanation of important reasons using 2-3 points. /12
(4 points per reason)

Application:
Explanation references the article, course notes and additional /12
resources.
(4 points per reason)

Complete the assignment in a typed-out format.

Use MLA format to complete the assignment.

Submit as a PDF file to the assignment drop box.

Assignment Due Date: ___________________________________

Why Go to Mass Article

Not every Mass is going to be a great and deeply moving experience, not for the vast majority of us
anyway. But there is a great deal to be said for simple fidelity to our worship. St. Ignatius Loyola
says in the Spiritual Exercises that the person who is experiencing some desolation (dryness,
“downness”) in prayer can be helped by remembering times of consolation in the past. I think that
is true not only of individual prayer but of communal, liturgical prayer as well. In any case, the Mass
may not always be a deeply emotional experience, but it is always an experience of the Lord giving
himself to us in his word and his sacramental presence and calling forth our self-giving in return.

Why bother? Why bother going to Mass at all when we can worship God anywhere?

1. Participation in the salvation of the world. The most important reason for participating in the
Eucharist is that God has invited us to share in the experience of the world’s salvation in the death
and resurrection of the Lord every time we celebrate. We are invited to participate in God’s
redeeming act each time we participate in the Eucharist and thereby commit ourselves to working
for God’s reign.

2. Experiencing the glory of God. St. Irenaeus, a second-century Christian theologian and martyr,
wrote that the glory of God is the human being fully alive, and that the human being fully alive is
the one who is in Christ Jesus. The Mass is where we experience sacramentally our destiny as
members incorporated into the body of Christ. This is what God wants the world to look like: human
beings who give of themselves to others in faith, hope and love.

3. Discipline of faith. A third reason to bother is the formation of the habit of worshiping and
glorifying God. Human beings ordinarily develop by forming habits, some good and some bad. These
are patterns that shape our lives. The discipline of worshiping God helps us to grow into being
habitual “adorers of God,” even when we do not feel like it.

4. Hearing the Scriptures communally. The Bible is the word of God, but let’s face it, individualistic
and idiosyncratic readings of the Bible have led to some pretty wacky and even destructive
interpretations. We need to experience the Scriptures both alone and in community. This is what
Christians mean by tradition: the way we have learned throughout history as a church to interpret
the Scriptures together. Hearing the Scriptures in community is a way of deepening as well as
safeguarding our experience of God’s communication with us.

5. Developing the moral life. If the basic structure of the Eucharist is taking, blessing, breaking and
giving in imitation of the Lord’s passion, death and resurrection, then the habit of weekly (or even
more frequent) celebration of the Mass ought to help us in our development as moral human
beings. If we celebrate faithfully, we ought to be conforming more and more, as individuals and as a
community, to the image of generosity and love of the one into whom we were baptized. The final
test of whether the Mass “works” is: “By their fruits shall you know them.”

6. Companionship with Christ. If I believe that Christ is the savior of the world, God incarnate, who
has given his very self for me, then I want to share in the most intimate experience of self-giving—
holy Communion—and I also want to recognize him in the brothers and sisters with whom I am
sharing the act of self-giving. We have a vital human need for both food and meaning. The word
“companionship” is derived from the Latin cum (with) and panis (bread). We find companionship in
sharing food with others. There is no companionship without sharing what our bodies need. There is
no companionship with Christ except by sharing in his body—sacrament and church.

7. Focusing my needs. From the earliest days of Christianity, men and women have brought their
deepest needs and desires to the table of the Lord, confident that they can be joined to Christ’s
great act of intercession before the Father (Heb 7:25, 10:1-22). This is why we pray for the dead at
Mass; we place them before the merciful and compassionate God in the midst of this great work of
our redemption. I can bring my deepest desires to the table of the Lord, confident that I will be
heard.

8. Praying for the world. Of course we bring not only our own personal needs but the state of the
world to the celebration of the Eucharist. There is a kind of cosmic dimension to every celebration
in which the realities of our world (bread, wine, men and women) are transformed into the body
and blood of Christ. The world with all of its needs, joys and struggles is present every time we
celebrate the Eucharist together, and our consciousness of the world helps to make the Mass the
experience of Christian life in a concentrated way.

9. Welcoming the kingdom. If the Eucharist is the celebration of how God wants the world to look,
then every time we celebrate, we anticipate the banquet of God’s kingdom “when every tear will be
wiped away.” In other words, the reign of God looks like human beings who, recognizing their
sinfulness, know that God’s mercy is far greater. The reign of God looks like people who are
gathered to receive his word gratefully. The reign of God looks like people who allow God’s Holy
Spirit to form them into a community that accepts life from God, blesses God with everything that is
in them, are broken and poured out for others in imitation of the Lord Jesus who has given us this
pattern. The reign of God looks like people who share the most unimaginably precious gifts freely
because they know that all is gift in Christ. The reign of God looks like people who are sent forth to
do the works of faith, hope and love with courage.

10. Pure joy. A final reason for celebrating the Eucharist is that here God invites us to the deepest
peace and joy that is possible—sharing in his own divine life. St. Augustine wrote in
his Confessions: “O God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in
you.” The Mass is a foretaste of that perfectly joyful rest. The Mass is an obligation to be sure, but it
is an obligation that comes not so much from the outside as from the nature of what it means to
enjoy Christian fellowship. We are who we are because of our sharing with our brothers and sisters.
And what we share is Jesus Christ himself. How could that not be the cause of pure joy?

In the Gospel of John, Jesus invites his followers to “come and see.” Nowhere is that invitation from
the Lord clearer than in the invitation to share in the celebration of the Mass.

The Early Christian Community

 We are learning about how God is revealed through Sacred Scripture, to support living in Christ.
  We are learning to summarize the values and lifestyles of the early Church community as they
helped build up the Kingdom of God

Sts. Peter and Paul

 Indispensable people
 Peter invented Christianity and Paul marketed it.

 Peter represents office, order, direction

 You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God–Peter
 Clarity of Peter's confession, clarity of who Jesus is
 On this rock I will build my church.

 Paul represents theology, missionary impulse,

evangelization
 Establishing Churches but not staying to continue to develop them
 First great theologian in the Church

 Peter and Paul complement one another.

 Church needs the example of both men in order to survive and thrive

Paul

 Paul (Saul) originally persecuted Christians

 Paul has an encounter with the risen Christ which led to his conversion of
faith
 No longer a persecutor of Christians, Paul was a new person
 He now felt compelled to learn more about Jesus and share the Good
News with other people
 Paul's conversion showed others that even the most unlikely people
can be called by God and radically changed

Paul Questions:

Introduction to Paul:
 No other person did more to spread Christianity in its first years than the Apostle Paul.

 He started out as a persecutor of the Church – He wanted Christians stopped

o Paul believed that people were saved from sin by following the Jewish Law,
however, Christians said that people were saved from sin by believing in
Jesus.

o During a trip to persecute more Christians, Paul had an amazing encounter

with the risen Christ.

o Afterward, he asked to be baptized and began preaching to others about

Jesus.

 The Church sent Paul on many long missionary journeys.

 When he arrived in a new town, he would begin preaching in the Jewish
synagogue.
 If the Jews rejected him—which they often did—he would preach to the Gentiles,
or non-Jews, who often welcomed his message.

 Paul wrote many letters to the Christians in the cities he visited.

 By explaining what he had learned about faith and salvation, he helped them—and
us—to better understand and live in faith.

Paul Bible Passages:

 Acts 9:1–19 Paul’s conversion

 Acts 16:16–40 Paul and Silas are miraculously freed from jail.
 Romans 8:31–39 God’s love for us in Christ Jesus
 1 Corinthians 12:12–31 Christ is one body, many parts.
 2 Corinthians 4:7–12 Spiritual treasures in clay pots
 Galatians 2:20 Paul’s life of Christ

Questions:

1. Compare and contrast how Paul and Peter are different in the findings of the church.

Paul Peter
 - Marketed the Church - Invented Christianity
- Used to be a persecutor, - Represent office, order, direction
- Represents theology, missionary impulse,
evangelization
- An encounter with Jesus changed his view on
Christians
- Went to synagogues to preach to Jewish
people as well as gentiles
- Wrote letters

2. Who do you think had a greater impact, Peter or Paul?

- Paul – did more to spread Christianity

- Peter – created the church

3. Have you ever had an experience that helped you see something in your life in a new way? How
did this happen?

- Answers May Very

Mary

We are learning about the role of Mary in our Catholic tradition.

What do you know about Mary? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7AQGyqtoK0

Joy Story - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nB407J-uEo

About Mary - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hpph7nwpZN8

 Mary is the mother of Jesus; Jesus is one with God, therefore Mary is the Mother of God

 Mary, Immaculate Conception - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8BZ4DQJyIg

o Mary was conceived without Original Sin.

o At the moment of her conception, Mary was filled with grace and free of original sin
o A pure and holy vessel, to bring forth a pure and holy person – Jesus

 Mary, Perpetual Virginity - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVA9uy0mg7E

o Mary remained a virgin throughout her life

o Joseph honored and protected her virginity

 Mary, The Assumption - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayz15mdkh5o

o Mary rose, body and soul into Heaven

 Feast Days

 Four Solemnities
o Mary, the Mother of God –January 1
o The Annunciation of the Our Lord –March 25
o The Assumption –August 15
o The Immaculate Conception –December 8

 Three Feasts
o The Visitation –May 31
o Birth of Mary –September 8
o Our Lady of Guadalupe –December 12

Get to Know Mary

Look up the following Scripture passages in the Bible. Summarize what is happening in each passage
and how it involves Mary.
 Scripture Summary
Mary is told by the Angel Gabriel that through the Holy spirit, she will conceive and give
birth to Jesus and he will be Holy.
Luke 1:26–38

Mary goes to see her cousin Elizabeth, who is also pregnant.

Luke 1:39–56

Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem, Mary gives birth to Jesus in Bethlehem
Luke 2:1–7

Shepard’s go to see Jesus Mary treasured all the words from the shepherds and
Luke 2:15–20 keeps them in her heart.

Jesus is named and then presented at the Temple by his Parents. Mary is told by
Luke 2:21–38 Simeon - “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel
and to be a sign that will be opposed 35 so that the inner thoughts of many will
be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul, too.”
Mary and Joseph, return to Galilee, Jesus grows up.
Luke 2:39–40

Mary and Joseph, search for Jesus for 3 days, in the Jerusalem. He is found in
Luke 2:41–52 the temple. Mary says to Jesus that herself and Joseph have been looking for
him anxiously.

Joseph takes Mary as his wife, after finding out she has become has conceived
Matthew 1:16–24 Jesus by the Holy Spirit.

Joseph and Mary flee to Egypt to protect Jesus from King Herold who has
Matthew 2:1–23 ordered the death of children 2 and under.

She Is Your Mother

Mary is the spiritual Mother of all Christians. Explore what this means for Jesus, the Church, and you by
completing the sections below
Mother of God
Read John 2:1–11.
1. Identify two things Mary does for Jesus in this story.
- Mary says to Jesus that there is no wine at the wedding
- Mary asks the servants to listen to Jesus

2. How do these things help Jesus?

- Allows him to perform his first miracle.

Mother of the Church

Read John 19:25–27.
3. What does Jesus tell Mary? What does Jesus tell the disciple?
- Woman, here is your son.

- Here is your mother.

4. How could Mary and the disciple help each other after Jesus died on the cross?
- To care for each other as Mary cared for Jesus, and Jesus for Mary.

Spiritual Mother
5. How does Mary help us as our spiritual mother? How can she help us as she helped Jesus?
How can we come to know Jesus better through her?

- Mary cares for us and looks after us, as a mother looks after her children.
 Four Marks of the Church

What Are the Four Marks of the Church?

One Holy Catholic Apostolic

Nicene Creed

 In the Nicene Creed, we profess, “I believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.”
These are the four marks of the Church.
 They are inseparable and intrinsically linked to one another.

Christ Marked the Church

 These characteristics reflect the Church’s essential features and mission.

 Through the continued guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Church fulfills these marks.

Task:

 Each corner of the room is labeled as “One, Holy, Catholic, or Apostolic”. The class will divide
into 4 groups according to each of the 4 words.
 With you group discuss what the assigned words means in accordance to what Catholics
believe. Use what you know and research to help you with the discussion.
 Have a group member record answers on to a paper, then have other group member who can
discuss the answers with the class.

One Catholic

- One God - Catholic means “universal”

- Unified as one faith, one church - Faith

Holy Apostolic

- Being holy helps people to not sin - Following teachings of the apostles
- Believing in God and the bible - Apostles founded the church – Peter
- Going to church and prayer founded Christianity
- Peter was also the first pope
- Matthew the apostle wrote the gospel
book of Matthew
- John wrote the gospel book of John
One

How is the Church One?

 United in charity
o One in the profession of faith
o One in the common celebration of worship and sacraments
o One in the apostolic succession

o Its source, the holy trinity, a perfect unity of three divine persons
o Its founder, Jesus Christ, who came to reconcile all mankind
o Its “soul,” the holy spirit, who dwells in the souls of the faithful, unites all the faithful
into one communion of believers, and guides the church

 The “oneness” of the church is also visible. As Catholics we are united . . .

o In our creed and our other teachings
o In the celebration of the sacraments
o In the hierarchical structure based on the apostolic succession preserved and handed
on through the sacrament of holy orders.

 There is “one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all” (Ephesians 4:4–6).

 “Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake
of the one loaf” (1 Corinthians 10:17).
 Jesus had promised at the outset that “there will be one flock, one shepherd” (John 10:16).

Holy

 The Church is Holy because, although Church members sin, the Church as the
Body of Christ is sinless.
o From the beginning, the Church has been endowed with the sacramental means
to help make holy the sinners who are found in the Church.
o The Church has been given the Sacraments along with the Word
precisely in order to be able to make sinners holy.

 “Christ loved the Church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her
by the bath of water with the word, that he might present to himself the church in splendor,
without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish”
(Ephesians 5:25–27).

 Each of us as a member of the Church has been called to holiness.

 By God’s grace we strive for holiness, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
  Our Church has been marked by outstanding examples of holiness in the
lives of the saints of every age.

 No matter how dark the times may have been for our Church, there have always been
those great saints through whom the light of Christ has radiated.

 Even though members of the Church fail and sin, the Church continues to be the
sign and instrument of holiness

Catholic

 When we say the Church is Catholic, we are saying two things:

o The Church possesses the fullness of Christ and has received from him the fullness
of the means of salvation.
o The Church has been sent on a mission by Christ to all people in the
world to gather all into the People of God.

 The word catholic means “universal.”

o At the very beginning, it was difficult to see how the “little flock” (Luke 12:32) in the
land of Israel could, by any stretch of the imagination, qualify as universal.
o But, through the power of the Holy Spirit, it spread to the ends of the earth.

 The Holy Spirit came down upon the Church at

Pentecost at a time when
“there were devout Jews from every nation under
heaven staying in Jerusalem”
(Acts of the Apostles 2:5).

 It was to them that the Holy Spirit temporarily enabled

the Apostles to speak in the languages of all these
various nations—a powerful sign
that the Church was destined for all people everywhere.

 Many accepted the faith then and there and began carrying “the Catholic Church”
back to the four corners of the earth.

 “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).

The Church is Catholic because it exists for all people

and is the means of salvation for all people.
Apostolic

 The Church is Apostolic because she is founded on the Apostles.

 “Jesus answered them, ‘Did I not choose you twelve?’” (John 6:70).

 Jesus sent his Apostles to continue his Father’s mission, and he gave them
authority and power.

 How do we know that the Apostles have the power and authority to pass on to others what
they had received from Christ?
o “Whoever listens to you listens to me” (Luke 10:16).

 The Church is also Apostolic in that the Deposit of Faith found in both Sacred Scripture and
Sacred Tradition was preserved, taught, and handed on by the Apostles.

 Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, the Magisterium
(the teaching authority entrusted to the Apostles and their successors)
has the duty to preserve, teach, defend, and hand on this Deposit of Faith.

 The Pope and bishops in union with him form the Magisterium, the living,
teaching office of the Church.

The Holy Spirit protects the Church from error in its teaching authority.

 The Church is Apostolic because she is founded on Jesus’ Apostles in three ways:
 The Church was and is “built upon the foundation of the apostles” (Ephesians 2:20), who lived
with and were taught by Jesus.
 With the help of the Holy Spirit, the Church preserves and hands on the teaching of the
Apostles and their successors.
 The Church continues to be taught, made holy, and led by the Magisterium.

Fullness of Grace

 Jesus Christ intended that the fullness of his grace should come to his People in a Church that,
from the beginning, was what the Creed still calls it today: “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.”

Marks of Mission
 Our Lord himself founded the Church and marked it with these characteristics, which reflect its
essential features and mission.

 Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Church fulfills these marks

Our duty, then, as baptized Catholics, is to make these four marks of the Church visible in our daily
lives.
Questions:

At each Mass, we say together, “I believe in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.”

The Letter to the Ephesians helps us consider the meaning of these words.

Read the following passages and explain what the passages tells us about one of the marks of the
Church.

One Holy
Ephesians 4:3-6 Ephesians 1:3-4

Catholic Apostolic
Ephesians 1:9-10, 13-14 Ephesians 3:4-5

Reflect:

How did the idea of being One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic help the early Church through its
challenges?
 The Way of Being Church

Question to Consider

How have the Gospels have historically shaped and globally impacted politics, ethics and other
dimensions of culture

Read the following article, then discuss with group members, how the church has influences each of
the following categories found in the article.

Agree or Disagree

Does the Catholic Church has had a positive impact on the world?
 What the Church has given the world
Fr Andrew Pinsent
The Catholic Herald
6 May, 2011

Introduction
At a recent debate, broadcast worldwide by the BBC, over 87 per cent of the audience rejected the notion
that the Catholic Church is a force for good in the world. Although the defenders of the Church were
confronted by two masters of rhetoric, there is little doubt that the vote reflected a shift in attitudes
towards Christianity in general and the Catholic faith in particular. To put this shift in blunt terms, whereas
we were regarded recently as nice but naïve, today we are increasingly regarded as evil. As a result,
teaching the faith and defending Christian ethics has become much more difficult.

To address this challenge at its root, I believe it is vital that we remind ourselves of the extent to which
the Catholic faith is a force for good in the world. Jesus said: “You will know them by their fruits,” and
even some outside the Church appreciate her fruitfulness. In 2007, for example, an atheist
businessman, Robert Wilson, gave $22.5 million (£13.5 million) to Catholic education in New York,
arguing that, “without the Roman Catholic Church, there would be no western civilisation.”

Inspired by Wilson’s insight, I have been working recently with Fr Marcus Holden, parish priest of
Ramsgate and a tutor at Maryvale, to collate the extraordinary contributions of Catholic culture and
Catholic minds. The following sections provide some samples of this work, which should be invaluable
to anyone who is faced with the question: “What has the Church ever done for us?”

For a more complete account of the fruitfulness of the Catholic faith in these and many other fields,
see Lumen: The Catholic Gift to Civilisation, published January 2011 by the Catholic Truth Society.

Fr Andrew Pinsent is a priest of the diocese of Arundel and Brighton and Research Director of the Ian
Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion at Oxford University. He was formerly a particle physicist at
CERN. He is co-founder, with Fr Marcus Holden, of the Evangelium Project, which is dedicated to
improving the quality of Catholic education. See www.evangelium.co.uk.

1. Light and the cosmos

The Opus Maius (1267) of the Franciscan Roger Bacon (d 1292), written at the request of Pope Clement
IV, largely initiated the tradition of optics in the Latin world. The first spectacles were invented in Italy
around 1300, an application of lenses that developed later into telescopes and microscopes. While
many people think of Galileo (d 1642) being persecuted, they tend to forget the peculiar circumstances
of these events, or the fact that he died in his bed and his daughter became a nun. The Gregorian
Calendar (1582), now used worldwide, is a fruit of work by Catholic astronomers, as is the
development of astrophysics by the spectroscopy of Fr Angelo Secchi (d 1878). Most remarkably, the
most important theory of modern cosmology, the Big Bang, was invented by a Catholic priest, Fr
Georges Lemaître (d 1966, pictured), a historical fact that is almost never mentioned by the BBC or in
popular science books.

2. Earth and nature

Catholic civilisation has made a remarkable contribution to the scientific investigation and mapping of
the earth, producing great explorers such as Marco Polo (d 1324), Prince Henry the Navigator (d 1460),
Bartolomeu Dias (d 1500), Christopher Columbus (d 1506) and Ferdinand Magellan (d 1521). Far from
believing that the world was flat (a black legend invented in the 19th century), the Catholic world
produced the first modern scientific map: Diogo Ribeiro’s Padrón Real (1527). Fr Nicolas Steno (d 1686)
was the founder of stratigraphy, the interpretation of rock strata which is one of the principles of
geology. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (d 1829), a French Catholic, developed the first theory of evolution,
including the notion of the transmutation of species and a genealogical tree. The Augustinian monk
Gregor Mendel (d 1884, pictured) founded the science of genetics based on the meticulous study of
the inherited characteristics of some 29,000 pea plants.

3. Philosophy and theology

Catholicism regards philosophy as intrinsically good and was largely responsible for founding theology,
the application of reason to what has been revealed supernaturally. Great Catholic philosophers
include St Augustine (d 430), St Thomas Aquinas (d 1274), St Anselm (d 1109), Blessed Duns Scotus (d
1308), Suárez (d 1617) and Blaise Pascal (d 1662). Recent figures include St Edith Stein (d 1942,
pictured), Elizabeth Anscombe (d 2001) and Alasdair MacIntyre. On the basis that God is a God of
reason and love, Catholics have defended the irreducibility of the human person to matter, the
principle that created beings can be genuine causes of their own actions, free will, the role of the
virtues in happiness, objective good and evil, natural law and the principle of non-contradiction. These
principles have had an incalculable influence on intellectual life and culture.
4. Education and the university system

Perhaps the greatest single contribution to education to emerge from Catholic civilisation was the
development of the university system. Early Catholic universities include Bologna (1088); Paris (c
1150); Oxford (1167, pictured); Salerno (1173); Vicenza (1204); Cambridge (1209); Salamanca (1218-
1219); Padua (1222); Naples (1224) and Vercelli (1228). By the middle of the 15th-century (more than
70 years before the Reformation), there were over 50 universities in Europe.

Many of these universities, such as Oxford, still show signs of their Catholic foundation, such as
quadrangles modelled on monastic cloisters, gothic architecture and numerous chapels. Starting from
the sixth-century Catholic Europe also developed what were later called grammar schools and, in the
15th century, produced the movable type printing press system, with incalculable benefits for
education. Today, it has been estimated that Church schools educate more than 50 million students
worldwide.
5. Art and architecture

Faith in the Incarnation, the Word made Flesh and the Sacrifice of the Mass have been the founding
principles of extraordinary Catholic contributions to art and architecture. These contributions include:
the great basilicas of ancient Rome; the work of Giotto (d 1337), who initiated a realism in painting the
Franciscan Stations of the Cross, which helped to inspire three-dimensional art and drama; the
invention of one-point linear perspective by Brunelleschi (d 1446) and the great works of the High
Renaissance. The latter include the works of Blessed Fra Angelico (d 1455), today the patron saint of
art, and the unrivalled work of Leonardo da Vinci (d 1519), Raphael (d 1520), Caravaggio (d 1610,
pictured), Michelangelo (d 1564) and Bernini (d 1680). Many of the works of these artists, such as the
Sistine Chapel ceiling, are considered among the greatest works of art of all time. Catholic civilisation
also founded entire genres, such as Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic, High Renaissance and Baroque
architecture. The Cristo Redentor statue in Brazil and the Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona show
that the faith continues to be an inspiration for highly original art and architecture.

6. Law and jurisprudence

The reforms of Pope Gregory VII (d 1085, pictured) gave impetus to forming the laws of the Church and
states of Europe. The subsequent application of philosophy to law, together with the great works of
monks like the 12th-century Gratian, produced the first complete, systematic bodies of law, in which all
parts are viewed as interacting to form a whole. This revolution also led to the founding of law schools,
starting in Bologna (1088), from which the legal profession emerged, and concepts such as “corporate
personality”, the legal basis of a wide range of bodies today such as universities, corporations and trust
funds. Legal principles such as “good faith”, reciprocity of rights, equality before the law, international
law, trial by jury, habeas corpus and the obligation to prove an offence beyond a reasonable doubt are
all fruits of Catholic civilisation and jurisprudence.

7. Language

The centrality of Greek and Latin to Catholicism has greatly facilitated popular literacy, since true
alphabets are far easier to learn than the symbols of logographic languages, such as Chinese. Spread by
Catholic missions and exploration, the Latin alphabet is now the most widely used alphabetic writing
system in the world. Catholics also developed the Armenian, Georgian and Cyrillic alphabets and
standard scripts, such as Carolingian minuscule from the ninth to 12th centuries, and Gothic miniscule
(from the 12th). Catholicism also provided the cultural framework for the Divina Commedia (Divine
Comedy), the Cantar de Mio Cid (“The Song of my Lord”) and La Chanson de Roland (The Song of
Roland), vernacular works that greatly influenced the development of Italian, Spanish and French
respectively. The Catholic Hymn of Cædmon in the seventh century is arguably the oldest extant text of
Old English. Valentin Haüy (d 1822), brother of the Abbé Haüy (the priest who invented
crystallography), founded the first school for the blind. The most famous student of this school, Louis
Braille (d 1852), developed the worldwide system of writing for the blind that today bears his name.
8. Music

Catholic civilisation virtually invented the western musical tradition, drawing on Jewish antecedents in
early liturgical music. Monophonic Gregorian chant developed from the sixth century. Methods for
recording chant led to the invention of musical notion (staff notation), of incalculable benefit for the
recording of music, and the ut-re-mi (“do-re-mi”) mnemonic device of Guido of Arezzo (d 1003). From
the 10th century cathedral schools developed polyphonic music, extended later to as many as 40
voices (Tallis, Spem in Alium) and even 60 voices (Striggio, Missa Sopra Ecco).

Musical genres that largely or wholly originated with Catholic civilisation include the hymn, the
oratorio and the opera. Haydn (d 1809), a devout Catholic, strongly shaped the development of the
symphony and string quartet. Church patronage and liturgical forms shaped many works by
Monteverdi (d 1643), Vivaldi (d 1741), Mozart (d 1791, pictured) and Beethoven (d 1827). The great
Symphony No 8 of Mahler (d 1911) takes as its principal theme the ancient hymn of Pentecost, Veni
creator spiritus.

9. The status of women

Contrary to popular prejudice, extraordinary and influential women have been one of the hallmarks of
Catholic civilisation. The faith has honoured many women saints, including recent Doctors of the
Church, and nurtured great nuns, such as St Hilda (d 680, pictured) (after whom St Hilda’s College,
Oxford, is named) and Blessed Hildegard von Bingen (d 1179), abbess and polymath. Pioneering
Catholic women in political life include Empress Matilda (d 1167), Eleanor of Aquitaine (d 1204) and
the first Queen of England, Mary Tudor (d 1558).

Catholic civilisation also produced many of the first women scientists and professors: Trotula of Salerno
in the 11th century, Dorotea Bucca (d 1436), who held a chair in medicine at the University of Bologna,
Elena Lucrezia Piscopia (d 1684), the first woman to receive a Doctor of Philosophy degree (1678) and
Maria Agnesi (d 1799), the first woman to become professor of mathematics, who was appointed by
Pope Benedict XIV as early as 1750.
Philosophy and Theology

 Responsible for founding theology

 God created beings that can be genuine in nature and with free will

Education

 Catholic Church developed the university system

Status of Women

 Honored as Saints and many women of the Catholic Church have become successful as
scientists and professors

Earth and Nature

 Catholic Church has contributed to the scientific investigation and mapping of the earth

Light and Cosmos

 Catholic Church helped initiate the tradition of optics in the Latin world, helped create
spectacles and later telescopes and microscopes
 Catholic Church developed astrophysics and the Big Bang Theory

Law & Jurisprudence

 Produced the first complete systematic body of law

 Lead to the founding of legal principles such as good faith, reciprocity of rights, equality before
the law and trial by jury

Art and Architecture

 Catholic Church founded genres such as Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic, High Renaissance
 Great contributions such as Cathedrals, paintings, sculptures

Music
 Catholic Church invented Western musical tradition
 Cathedral schools developed polyphonic music
 Musical genres originated with Catholicism ie the hymn, opera, symphony and string quartet
Language

 Catholic Church has given language to the world by developing Armenian, Gregorian and
Cyrillic alphabets and standard scripts
 Provided cultural framework for vernacular works that impacted development of Italian,
Spanish and French
 Braille was developed by a Catholic

Connecting Faith to Culture and you

 Should Christian moral principles be made known in public, to try to shape laws? Iepreventing
euthanasia or abortion
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vj8xr86k0l8
o Is Catholic comedian Stephen Colbert right in his views on politics and faith?
 Does your faith have an impact on contemporary culture?

What Constitutes a Practicing Catholic?

  Follow Ten Commandments

 Assent to the Teachings of the Catholic Church

 Five Precepts – Necessary Minimum

1.Attend Mass Every Sunday and Holy Days of Obligation

2.Confession Once a Year

3.Holy Communion, at least once a year, in Easter Season

4.Observe days of Fasting and Abstinence

5.Donate to the needs of the Church

Task:

Choose one of the following questions to answer below:

1. Are you a practicing Catholic? What can you do to improve?

OR

2. How can your faith have a positive impact on society?

The Sacraments of the Catholic Church

The Sacraments:
https://youtu.be/qmfSwi3ZKH4
 Are an encounter with Christ
 Nourish our Faith
 Are to be celebrated and lived, not just received
Complete the following chart.

What is the sacrament? What happens in the sacrament? Symbols

Baptism  In Baptism we receive new life in Christ. Its sign is the pouring of
 Baptism takes away original sin and gives us a new birth in the Holy water
Spirit.

Reconciliation  Through Penance we receive God’s forgiveness. The signs of this

 Forgiveness requires being sorry for our sins. sacrament are our
 In Penance we receive Jesus’ healing grace through absolution by confession of sins and
the priest. the words of
absolution.

Eucharist  The Eucharist nourishes our life of faith. Its signs are the bread
and wine we receive—
the Body and Blood of
Christ.

Confirmation  seals our life of faith in Jesus. Its signs are the laying
 Like Baptism, Confirmation is received only once. on of hands-on a
person’s
head, most often by a
bishop, and the
anointing
with oil.

Marriage  In Matrimony a baptized women and men are united with each The couple and their
other as a sign of the unity between Jesus and his Church. wedding rings are the
signs of this sacrament.
 Matrimony requires the consent of the couple, as expressed in the
marriage promises.

Holy Orders  In Holy Orders men are ordained as priests, deacons, or bishops. The signs of this
 Priests serve as spiritual leaders of their communities sacrament are the
 Deacons serve to remind us of our baptismal call to help others. laying on
 Bishops carry on the teachings of the apostles. of hands and anointing
with oil by the bishop.

Anointing of the Sick  This sacrament unites a sick person’s suffering with that of Jesus Oil, a symbol of
and brings forgiveness of sins. strength, is the sign of
this sacrament
 A person is anointed with oil and receives the laying on of hands
from a priest.