As Christ sent His Apostles to teach and to be witnesses to Him in the world, so too, He wants the laity to share in this mission. The duty of proclaiming the Gospel and of making its power felt in the lives of men belongs not only to bishops, priests, deacons, and religious, but also to the laity in the …

The Catholic Church is an institution for Salvation since (1) it is a community of the faithful with our Savior Jesus Christ as its Head, and (2) it has been given the mission of communicating the Good News of Salvation to all mankind. 1. The Catholic Church is an institution of Salvation because it is a community of the faithful …

There are four marks which point out the true Church founded by Jesus. They are four adjectives: one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. Having made His Church a means of our everlasting happiness, our Lord has stamped it plainly with the mark of its divine origin. In the Nicene Creed we say: “I believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic …

The Church is one because it is unified in belief. The truths which the members of the Catholic Church hold are the truths made known to us by Jesus Himself; they are truths which come to us directly from God. God is Truth. He knows all things and cannot be mistaken. He is infinitely truthful and cannot lie. Whatever God …

Jesus said, “And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd” (John 10:16). Jesus prayed to His Father: “That they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may …

All Catholics are united under the same spiritual leadership because Jesus Christ made Peter the chief shepherd of His flock, and provided that Peter’s successors, the Bishops of Rome, would be the heads of His Church and guardians of His truths until the end of time. Loyalty to the Bishop of Rome, the Pope, will ever be the binding center …

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 to our spiritual needs by providing a community of faith, where we can find help and guidance in seeking God. The Holy Spirit gives and strengthens the life of God in the Church community through its teaching, the sacraments, prayer, and works of service. The sacraments are special actions in the Church through which the life …

The Church is called the sacrament of Christ because it is a visible reality which Christ has formed in this world as a sacred sign of His presence. It is the sign and also the means He uses to give us the unity and holiness He actually confers through it. It is a sacrament of His presence because He is …

When we speak of the Church in Heaven, we do not mean the Church in the condition in which it is a sign, with ministers and sacraments; these will cease. As signs and instruments, they will be absorbed into the heavenly realities which they now serve. When we speak of the Church in Heaven, we mean the union of the …