
Church History Seeing the Church with New Eyes
Why do we study history at all? • Find out who we are • Often discover our identity through past experiences • Ex: of athlete • Know the why of things • Explains our identity based on experiences • Ex: maybe it relates to a fear • Helps us to choose wisely • Make good choices for the future • Ex: if we struggle in math than we may want to choose college major accordingly
Why Study Church History? • Learn about Jesus throughout history • Christ lives in those who act in his name • Knowing the church means knowing Jesus • Deepens our Catholic identity • Allows us to sort out what is essential and unchangeable in Catholicism from what is not and therefore changeable
What is the Church that we speak of? • List all of the things that come to mind when you hear the word Church
Write down the name of a close friend, along with at least five significant pieces of information you know about this person. Then answer this question in a paragraph: how important has it been to building your friendship to have this information about your friend?
Create a list of all of the words that come to mind when you hear the word Church
What is a model? • Representation or an illustration of an idea • 6 models of the Church • No single model gives the complete picture
Body of Christ • Physical presence of Christ in the world • Heal the sick • Celebrate the Eucharist • Each member functions as a different part
Institution • Provides order to ensure mission • Hierarchy • Processes for change • Ensures all will be taken care of
Sacrament • Sacrament • Outward sign of inward grace-God’s love • 7 Sacraments • Jesus is the Sacrament of God • Church is the Sacrament of Jesus • Through P.O.G.’s actions God’s love is revealed
Herald of God’s Word • Official messenger to proclaim the word of God • Job: bring Gospel to all
Servant • Jesus gives the example • Through serving others we serve God • Church is the servant to the world
Community of Disciples • Disciples: followers or learners • We are disciples of Christ • Study his life, actions, values and try to learn from them • Church is called to be a contrast community-a light for the world • Part of sharing in Jesus’ life is sharing in the suffering
On loose leaf • Which model is the easiest to understand? Why? • Which is the most difficult? Why? • Which model best describes the words you listed in the brainstorm activity? Was any model missing from your list? • Which model is the most visible in your parish? School? Give examples • What do you consider to the most pressing problems facing the Church today? How could each model of the Church act to solve these problems?
NCR Assignment • Visit the National Catholic Reporter website (www.ncronline.org). • Spend 10-15 skimming the site for interesting stories and to see what the Church is doing in the world today. Make a list of 5-10 things you notice about the Church on loose leaf paper. • Choose one article to read carefully and summarize. • Analyze which model or models of the Church is represented and explain why you think this model fits.