The Church Suffering, or the Church Expectant, consists of the souls in Purgatory. This is the Church of all the faithful departed who are saved but are still being purified in purgatorial suffering. They cannot see God, but the Holy Spirit is in them. Being made ready for Heaven, they will never again sin.

We must have reverence toward the bodies of those who have gone before us in death, and we must pray for the souls of our deceased relatives and friends, and all of the faithful departed. We show respect for the bodies of the deceased because they were temples of the Holy Spirit and are destined to rise gloriously. We can …

We are united in worship because we have but one altar, upon which Jesus Christ daily renews the offering of Himself upon the Cross. Everywhere we have the same Mass and everywhere the same Seven Sacraments. By means of the Eucharist, Christ re-offers Himself to the Father through the ministry of His priests in the Sacrifice of the Mass. At …

The Catholic Church ministers extensively to the bodily needs of people by helping those in need, by seeking to relieve the causes of suffering, and by building up a better life for man. Its vast health care and social welfare systems are found throughout the world. Although the Church is deeply involved in ministering to the bodily needs of people, …

We can help unbelievers find God by the witness of our lives of firm faith in God and personal love of Christ, and by our goodness and love towards unbelievers. We can help people to turn to God if we give them a good example of our own deep faith in God. If people see our love for Christ in …

The Catholic Church is holy because it was founded by Jesus Christ, Who is all-holy, and because it teaches holy doctrines according to the will of Christ. It provides the means of leading a holy life, thereby giving holy members to every age. We can point to the saints as proof that the holiness of Christ is at work in …

As Christians, we must help men to solve their problems as much as possible. We show our love for God by loving our neighbors—the people around us. Love for our neighbor makes us do all we can to help those who need our assistance and to make the world better. Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A …

Christian unity in faith and love is God’s will because Jesus prayed that all who believe in Him should be one, in order that the whole world would know that His Father sent Him. The night before He suffered His Passion and death, Jesus prayed for Christian unity. “I do not pray for these only, but also for those who …

In order to promote Christian unity, Catholics should take the first steps in seeking to overcome the unfortunate divisions existing between Christians. They should strive to make Christians more faithful to Christ and to be effective witnesses to the truths received from the Apostles. The Church is one because there is only one Jesus, Who communicates the same life of …

We should respect all men of good will because man was created for God in His image and likeness; as a human being he possesses a special dignity and value. Man, having a spiritual soul and being a more perfect image of God, has dominion over all other earthly creatures. He has a free will and is immortal. For these …