GALLETIS, Razil S. (46th Gen) REVELATION AND FAITH (Dr.

Victoria Parco, AY 2013-2014)

Thesis 1

I. REVELATION ITSELF
It pleased God (BONUM DIFFUSUVUM SUI) in his goodness and wisdom, to reveal Himself and to make known to
us the hidden purpose of His will (cf Eph 1:9). By this revelation, then, the invisible God, from the fullness of his love,
addresses men as his friends, and moves among them, in order to invite and receive them into his own company (DV 2).
In Revelation, what was something unknown became known. From what is something unexpressed to
something expressed. From something hidden to something revealed (Dr. Victoria Parco).

II. NATURE AND OBJECT OF REVELATION (J. Smith)

Revelation is viewed as dynamically as process or act, not statically as final result or doctrine.
A. Revelation is God’s gratuitous manifestation of Himself and the mystery of His will for the purpose of
inviting man to personal fellowship with Himself through Christ in the Spirit. Its goal is personal
encounter and communion with men.
B. Revelation is historical and sacramental. The revelation is historical “because it consists primarily in all
the interventions of God.” It is “sacramental because the total significance of the deeds is not known to
us except by words, by the speech of God which is itself a historical event.”
Revelation is therefore accomplished through the history together with the interpretation of the word.
C. The mediator and fullness of this saving revelation through word and deed is Jesus Christ.
Only then is the goal of revelation achieved: the communication of the saving truth about God and the
salvation of man through the self-communication of God in Christ.

III. REVELATION, A HISTORICAL REALITY FROM CREATION TO THE OT

Planning to make known the way of heavenly salvation, He went further and from the start manifested
Himself to our first parents. After their fall His promise of redemption arouse in them the hope of being saved
and from that time on He ceaselessly kept the human race in His care, to give eternal life to those who
perseveringly do good in search of salvation. (DV 3)
A. Stages of Revelation history (Rene Latourelle)
1. Patriarchal Revelation: It takes shape with Abraham and the patriarchs. God manifests Himself
through his action in history
2. Mosaic Revelation: God reveals himself to Moses, his mediator, not only that he exists but also that
he is the only God and the only Saviour.
Ex 3:4-22 The Call of Moses
3. Prophetic Revelation: The word is addressed to the people, not directly, but through “mediators”
Ex 20:18 “You speak to us but let not God speak to us, or we shall die”
4. Sapiential Revelation: The same God who enlightens the prophets uses human experience to reveal
human beings to themselves
Prov 2:6 For the Lord gives wisdom, from his mouth come knowledge and understanding

IV. JESUS CHRIST PERFECTS REVELATION BY FULFILLING IT

 By this revelation then, the deepest truth about God and the salvation of man shines out for our
sake in Christ, who is both the mediator and the fullness of all revelation (DV2).
Gal 4:4 “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son…”
 He is the summit of revelation. He is the “epiphany” of God on earth. (J. Smith)
John 14: 9 “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”
 He is the revealer and the revealed
GALLETIS, Razil S. (46th Gen) REVELATION AND FAITH (Dr. Victoria Parco)
Thesis 2
The obedience of faith is to be given to God who reveals, an obedience by which man commits his whole self
freely to God, offering the full submission of intellect and will to God who reveals.

I. FAITH
A. Fideism (Latin Fides =Faith) – total reliance of revelation, distrust of human reason.
II. The supernatural virtue of Faith
A. Faith is a gift of God, a supernatural virtue infused by him.” (CCC153) Before this faith can be exercised, man must
have the grace of God to move and assist him; he must have the interior help of the Holy Spirit, who moves the
heart and converts it to God, who opens the eyes of the mind and “makes it easy for all to accept and believe the
truth.”(DV5)
B. Faith is a personal encounter with God and commitment to God.
▶ personal encounter = personal experience of God
▶ commitment = “full submission of intellect and will to the God who reveals”[entails dedication, service]
III. Faith is a fitting response to God’s Self-revelation
A. Faith is man’s response to God, who reveals himself and gives himself to man, at the same time bringing man a
superabundant light as he searches for the ultimate meaning of his life (CCC142).
B. By faith, man completely submits his intellect and his will to God (CCC143).
C. In faith is to submit freely to the word that has been heard, because its truth is guaranteed by God, who is Truth
itself (CCC144). To obey (from Lat: ob-audire – to hear or to listen to)
D. “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1)
Heb. 11:1 Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not see.
IV. ESSENCE
A life of personal relationship with God, One and Triune, revealed in and by Jesus Christ, Incarnate, Crucified and
Risen Lord.
V. FOUR ESSENTIAL EXPRESSIONS
1. Conviction- the intellectual understanding of Christian truths (doctrine)
- Correct understanding of the Christian faith (orthodoxy)
2. Commitment- the choice and decision to live as disciples of Jesus Christ (moral)
- Correct practice or living out the Faith (orthopraxis)
3. Confidence- the wholehearted entrustment to God in prayer and sacraments (worship)
- 3 principal sources: Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and Human Experience
4. Mission- the impulse to go forth and proclaim the Good News through word and witness
- Jn 13: 35 This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another
VI. CHRISTIAN FAITH HAS PARADOXICAL CHARACTERISTICS
1. Certain yet obscure (CFC 142-145)
Faith is certain because it rests on God who reveals Himself in the person of Jesus Christ, present to us in His
Spirit. 2 Cor 5:7 “We walk by faith, not by sight”
2. Free yet morally obliging (CFC 146)
Our faith is a free response. No one, not even God, forces us to believe.
3. Reasonable yet beyond natural reason (CFC 147)
Christian faith is no conflict with our reason. Faith itself is a grace that enlightens our minds
Jn 8:12 “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
4. An act yet a life-long process
Following Christ must be gradually and perseveringly developed everyday (CFC 148)
Gal 2:20 “The life that I now live is not my own; Christ is living in me.”
5. Supernatural gift yet a free human response
It is a gift: to respond to God in faith comes from Him; It is a task: it involves persons as persons
6. Personal yet ecclesial
Faith is never just something private of individualistic, but a sharing in the Christian community’ faith.
GALLETIS, Razil S. (46th Gen) THE SOURCES OF CATECHESIS/ RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
Thesis 3 PRIMARY SOURCES
The primary sources of catechesis and religious education are Scripture and Tradition which form “one sacred
deposit of the word of God, committed to the Church under the guidance/ authority of the Magisterium” (DV 10).

I. Sacred Scripture
- Both the Old and New Testaments in their entirety, with all their parts, are sacred and canonical because
written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit; they have God as their author and have been handed on as such
to the Church herself.
- In composing the sacred books, God chose men and while employed by Him they made use of their powers
and abilities, so that with Him acting in them and through them, they, as true authors, consigned to writing
everything and only those things which He wanted.
- Since everything asserted by the inspired authors or sacred writers must be held to be asserted by the Holy
Spirit, it follows that the books of Scripture must be acknowledged as teaching solidly, faithfully and without
error that truth which God wanted put into sacred writings for the sake of salvation.
- 2 Tim 3:16
“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teachings, for refutation, for correction, and for training in
righteousness so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”

 Holy Scripture must be read and interpreted in the sacred spirit in which it was written.
 Collected in the Bible, are the inspired records of how God dealt with His people, and how they
responded to, remembered, and interpreted that experience.
 The Scriptures, then, as the expression of the people’s experience of God, and as response to
their needs.
 The Book of the People of God- the Book of the Church.
 It was written by persons from the people of God, for the people of God, about the God-
experience of the people of God. (CFC 81)

Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition are bound closely together, flowing out from the same divine well spring,
moving towards the same goal and making up a single sacred deposit of the Word of God. The task of authentically
interpreting the word of God, whether written or handed on, has been entrusted in the name of Jesus Christ.

II. Sacred Tradition

- The Apostles handed on to what they themselves had received, warn the faithful to hold fast to the traditions
which they have learned either by word of mouth or by letter, and to fight in defence of the faith handed on
once and for all.
- Jude 1:3
Beloved, although I was making every effort to write to you about our common salvation, I now feel a need to
write to encourage you to contend for the faith that was once for all handed down to the holy ones.

 Can be taken either as the process by which divine revelation, coming from Jesus Christ through
the apostles, is communicated and unfolded in the community of the Church.
 As the Sacred Scripture grew from Tradition, so it is interpreted by Tradition- the life, worship,
and teaching of the Church.
 Tradition depends on Scripture as its normative record of Christian origins and identity, while
Scripture requires the living Tradition of the Church to bring its Scriptural message to the fresh
challenges and changing contexts confronting Christians in every age.
 GALLETIS, Razil S. (46th Gen) SOURCES OF CATECHESIS/ RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
Thesis 4 SACRED SCRIPTURE

2 Tim 3:16 All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in
righteousness.

I. OLD TESTAMENT
A. Books in the Old Testament
1. The Pentateuch is the Jewish Torah given by Moses himself and containing the revelation given on Mt. Sinai.
2. Historical books contain historical accounts of key events surrounding the Jews in the Old Testament.
These books contain significant insights into God and our relationship to him.
3. Wisdom Writings are the gathering, preserving and expressing the results of human experience as an aid toward
understanding and solving the problems of life; it treats of the excellence of WISDOM, the means to obtain it,
and the happy fruits it produces.
4. The Prophetic books contains message of conversion, of hope in the Lord, of fidelity to the Covenant with God
our Savior, remains ever new and ever relevant.
 THE PROPHETS are men called by God to speak His word to the people, interpreting their present
situation in the sight of God and telling them what He would do with them.
 The Canon includes the official writings “measured by a Church or religious group and recognized to contain
divine revelation”

All these writings point out to Jesus Christ, the fulfilment of the scripture
Mk 1:15 “This is the time of fulfilment”
II. NEW TESTAMENT
 The book called the New Testament is a collection of 27 writings in various styles. Some are narrative
form (the 4 Gospels and Acts of the Apostles), the other are letters, and one, the book of Revelation,
contains a revelation to John.
 Christians see the New Testament as the fulfilment of the promise of the Old Testament. It recounts the life and
ministry of Jesus and interprets their meaning for the early church, focusing especially on the new covenant
created between God and the followers of Jesus.
II. The Three Stages how the Gospels were formed (CFC 82)
A. Life and teaching of Jesus. He lived among us, really did and taught for our salvation, until the day he was taken up
B. Oral tradition. The Apostles handed on to their hearers what Jesus had said and done
C. The written Gospels. The authors selected some things from the many which had been handed on by word of
mouth or in writing, reducing some of them a synthesis, explaining some things in view of the situation of their
churches and preserving the form of proclamation but holding on the honest truth about Jesus.
III. The Gospels
 Gospel means “good news”; A literal translation of the Greek word ‘evangelion’ with the same meaning and refers
to the good news of salvation.
 The Gospel is the good news of Jesus himself and his salvation.
 It is a faith-interpreted historical document, written by the evangelists. The Gospels are the principal witness to the
life and teaching of the Incarnate Word, Our Savior.
IV. The Synoptic Gospels - the first three gospels of the New Testament, which share content, style, and order of events
and which differ largely from John.
GALLETIS, Razil S. (46th Gen) CATHOLIC DOCTRINE
Thesis 5 CREATION

CREATION (CFC 310)

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth…
 It is the foundation of God’s saving plan and the beginning of salvation history which culminates in
Christ

I. God’s Creative Action (CFC 321)

Genesis’ description on creation
A. God appears as the sovereign Lord who establishes creation in a format six-day pattern
B. It presents God in a closer relationship with human beings
 God the Creator is both transcendent (beyond) in all He made, yet immanent (remaining) in it,
constantly sustaining it in existence.
Gen 1:29
“See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth and every tree that has seed- bearing fruit on
it to be your food.”
 These accounts are not modern scientific descriptions of how everything came to be. Rather, they
present the religious faith insight into why all things exist, and what is their ultimate meaning and
significance.

II. Biblical and Scientific Accounts

 The “how” (scientific) explanation focuses on the materials used, the size, weight, age, colors and the
whole mechanics of portrait painting. The “why” interprets both the artist’s motivations and
intentions, and the meaning and the truth of the portrait itself.
 Genesis accounts of creation focuses on the “why”, the meaning and purpose of everything

III. The Catholic doctrine of creation basically affirms:

A. The world and everything it comes from the loving power of God who is its Ultimate Origin, Ruler and
Goal
B. All created things and human history have a meaning, purpose and destiny
C. The life of every person is not a private possession but is created, sustained and guided now by the
Creative and Saving will and love of the Almighty God.
GALLETIS, Razil S. (46th Gen) CATHOLIC DOCTRINE
Thesis 6 ORIGINAL SIN

ORIGINAL SIN
I. Descriptive Definition of Sin
A. Described as the state in which we are born as members of human race
 It is called original since it dates from the origin of our human race
 It means universal because all need to be redeemed
 It is called ‘sin’ not because it is a personal sinful thought, word or action on our part, but
because a state of contrary to God’s will

II. Basic Presupposition (CFC 370)

The most fundamental aspect of the Church’s doctrine of original sin is not so much “universal
sinfulness” as “universal salvation.”

 God’s universal love surpassing the reality of sin

 Good News of God’s redeeming love
 God’s loving plan to save man against the tragic background of sin
1 Cor 15:3 “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.”

III. Church Teaching on Sin

Council of Trent: Every man by mere fact of being born into the human community is alienated
from God and deprived of grace and is justified only by the grace of Jesus Christ.
a. sinful condition/ state of sinfulness and not personal sin
b. sin of the world/ social dimension of sin
c. interior, personal dimension of sin (concupiscence)
d. consent of original sin through personal sins
e. existence of roots of sin on the personal and corporal levels

IV. Original Sin and Filipino Catholic Life

Threefold basic emphasis in the experience of Filipino Christian today
A. Original Sin as “sin of the world”
- Original sin in the sinful situation around us
Ex: immorality, graft and corruption, violence, unjust structures, kidnapping
B. Interior Personal Dimensions of original sin
- Baptism removes the guilt of original sin, but its effects in our disordered appetites, concupiscence or
inclinations to sin are still very much with us
C. Relation between this presence of original sin today and our personal and our personal sins
- By our moral faults, we lead others into sin- we constitute part of the sin of the world for them as their
sins do for us
- By our sins we have negative influence on one another

 In the Philippine context, the Filipino Christian can be alert to the presence of original sin
by his own experience of its concrete effects, both personal and social.
 We need to see original sin as the ever-present mystery of iniquity in our world today and
in the depths of our very being to appreciate the doctrine of original sin as the profound
expression of the Christian confession: “Lord, have mercy for I am a sinner.”
GALLETIS, Razil S. (46th Gen) CATHOLIC DOCTRINE
Thesis 7 BLESSED TRINITY
I. TRINITY (from the Latin word “trinitas” which means the state of being threefold)
In English we have two terms: Triune God and Trinity for the same reality (one emphasizes God’s unity, the
other the distinction of persons in him) is an indication of the unfathomable mystery of the Trinity.
(YOUCAT, p. 33)
A. Each person of the Blessed Trinity is the whole God. The three persons constitute ONE GOD, one divine nature, a
mystery of “PERSONAL LOVING COMMUNION”. (CFC 1327)
II. The Blessed Trinity: Mystery of Personal Loving Communion (CFC 1326- 1330)
A. God is One
- Each person is the WHOLE GOD
The one God is the Father as begetting the Son and breathing the Spirit
Jn 17:21-22 So that they mall be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they may also may be in us…
B. Three Divine persons are Equal
- All three divine Persons are equally eternal, with no beginning and no end (CCC 255)
C. The Divine Person are Distinct
- God the Father and Jesus, His only begotten Son-made-flesh, are distinct Persons, yet wholly united in love,
their Holy Spirit
- God is one but not solitary: “He is not the Father who is the Son, nor is the Son he who is the Father, nor is the
Holy Spirit he who is the Father or the Son.” (CCC 254)
III. The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life.
A. The God revealed by Jesus Christ is, the Blessed trinity, the Central Mystery of the Christian Faith and of our
Christian Life…Jesus, the incarnate Son reveals to us the Eternal Father, and his own unity with the Father.
Together with the father, the Risen Christ sends their Holy Spirit a spirit of adoption through which we cry Abba,
Father. (CFC267)
B. Christians do not worship three different Gods, but one Single being that is threefold and yet remains one. We
know that God is triune from Jesus Christ: He, the Son, speaks about his Father in heaven.
“I and the Father are one”(Jn. 10:30)
He prays to him and sends us the Holy Spirit, who is the love of the Father and the Son. (YOUCAT, p.33 #35)
C. We are baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; our every prayer begin with the sign of
the cross; our celebration of the Eucharist begin with a greeting; “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Our whole Christian life is marked
by the Trinity. (CFC268)
IV. The Trinity is the source of all the other mysteries of faith.
There is ONE GOD, who is THREE EQUAL and DISTINCT PERSONS (CFC 1326). All three divine Persons are equally
eternal with no beginning and no end (CFC 1328).
V. The whole history of salvation is identical with the history of the way and the means by which one true God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, reveals himself to men.
A. The Trinity is a mystery of faith…, one of the “mysteries that are hidden in God, which can never be known
unless they are revealed by God. To be sure, God has left traces of his Trinitarian being in his work of creation
and in his Revelation throughout the Old Testament. But his inmost Being as Holy Trinity is a mystery that is
inaccessible to reason alone or even to Israel’s faith before the Incarnation of God’s Son and the sending of the
Holy Spirit. (CCC237)
B. The whole divine economy (salvation history) is the common work of the three divine persons.(CCC258)
The Divine Persons of the Trinity are distinct from each other, they are three different persons. God
the Father and Jesus, His only begotten Son –made-flesh are distinct Persons, yet wholly united
in LOVE, their Holy Spirit. (CFC 1329)
GALLETIS, Razil S (46th Gen) CATHOLIC DOCTRINE
Thesis 8 CHRISTOLOGY
A. Biblical Narratives
I. THE FIVE MAJOR THEMES PRESENT IN THE TEACHING OF JESUS THE IDENTITY OF JESUS BEING REVEALED
A. KINGDOM OF GOD
1. It is the central theme in the teaching of Jesus “The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Good
News” (Mk. 1:15)
2. The Kingdom of God means God rules; God reigns; God’s sovereignty is acknowledge and visible; it conquers even
death. It is God’s ultimate victory over all the enemies of human life, our sin, evil, injustice, oppression, suffering
and death.
3. It is the Kingdom promised in the Old Testament, inaugurated by Jesus Christ; continue to reign in the Church as it
waits for its final perfection in the coming Parousia.
4. Jesus established a Kingdom of truth and life; in it, we enter into a new heaven and new earth that demands new
attitudes and renewed relationships. It is not a place but God’s continuous, dynamic, active presence and action in
our live. It demands a choice, commitment, a total conversion (Mt. 6:33).
5. God’s kingdom is a gift; we are the servants of the Kingdom. We are to be instruments of the coming of the
Kingdom.
 JESUS IS THE AUTOBASILEIA: GOD’S KINGDOM IN HIMSELF
B. GOD AS FATHER
1. Jesus calls God “Abba” – “Father” which reveals shows and affirms His intimate, deep, loyal and loving relationship
with Him.
It tells us the being and the identity of Jesus as the Son of God; therefore, Jesus can reveal to us, who God is.
No one could reveal the Father except through Jesus Christ.
2. “We are God’s sons and daughters” (Rom. 8:15) “God provides” (Dt. 7: 6-9)
 JESUS AS THE SON OF GOD
C. THE ROLE OF JESUS’ OWN PERSON IN GOD’S PLAN OF SALVATION
1. Jesus intimacy with the Father has a special part in bringing salvation; he is the perfect revealer of God’s plan of
salvation by giving proper interpretation of God’s Word in the Old Testament, giving it a new and deeper meaning.
(Mt. 5:20-48)He reveals the immanence of God and shows the care of the Father to us, His children.
2. Jesus forgives sins; He has authority as the only Son of God. (Mk 2:1-12)
 JESUS IS THE REVEALER OF GOD’S PLAN OF SALVATION
D. FUNDAMENTAL VALIDITY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT AND TRADITION
1. The Old Testament is the Word of God, a true insight of who God is; therefore, Jesus did not come to throw it away.
(Mt. 5:17)
2. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill”.
The OT and the Jewish Religious practices but he gives it a sincere and genuine interpretation. (Mt. 6:1-6,16-18)
3. Jesus revealed his identity as the New Moses, the law giver. He brings into perfection what is written in the Old
Testament. In the three Jewish Tradition found in Matthew 6, Jesus teaches us what is authentic religion – it should
be done sincerely and not for show off only.
 JESUS IS THE LAW GIVER: He is the new Moses and the new Elijah
E. THE ROLE OF LOVE IN HUMAN LIFE
1. The Kingdom of God invites everybody and Jesus speaks of the authentic love to everybody. He became human,
suffered and died on the cross because of his love for humanity.
2. Through Jesus’ life and teaching, he reveals his true identity. The themes show both Christology wherein Jesus
shows directly the signs that he is manifesting God in human experiences like in his sayings and parables.
3. Jesus brought together two well-known precepts of the Old Testament (Dt. 6:5 and Lev. 19:18), love of God and
love of neighbour. Jesus gave a radically new interpretation to “neighbor”. It is now to be understood universally,
to cover everyone: those in need, as taught by the parable of the good Samaritan (cf. Lk. 10:30-37) and even our
enemies. (cf. Mt. 5:44)
4. Jesus also insisted on the kind of love that we must have for one another when he said: “Love one another as I have
loved you.” (Jn.13:34) The basis therefore in loving our neighbour is the kind of love that Jesus has for each one of
us, a kind of love that is willing to give up one’s life for his friends.
 JESUS IS THE PERSONIFICATION OF THE LOVE OF THE FATHER (From the Lectures of Fr. James Kroeger)
 GALLETIS, Razil S. (46th Gen) CATHOLIC DOCTRINE
Thesis 8 CHRISTOLOGY

A. Biblical Narratives

II. THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF JESUS’ VIEW OF DISCIPLESHIP IN THE GOSPEL.
I. One of the most touching and revealing aspects of the gospel story is that of Jesus in the company of
his disciples. The disciples were those who acknowledged Jesus as their master, those who freely put
themselves in the school of the teacher and share his views.
II. The disciples were so attracted to and like Jesus that they establish friendship with Him. It is this
friendship which is really the comprehensive expression of the disciples’ relationship with Jesus.
Discipleship is the gradual coming of knowing, loving, and following Jesus.
III. THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF JESUS’ VIEW OF DISCIPLESHIP IN THE GOSPEL
The Gospel presents to us Jesus specified unique requirements for his disciples
A. Discipleship is a call from God, by Jesus Himself (Mk. 1:16-20, Mt. 4:38-39, Lk. 5:1-11, 1:35-51); it is
God’s initiative, we don’t choose.
(Jn. 15:16) To be called by God is a gift to the disciple; to believe that one is called to discipleship is a
response of faith from the disciple.
B. It is a personal invitation: disciples are called by name, whom He wanted (Mk. 3:13-19); our unique
person is to be put at the service of the Gospel. “Some remain deaf”(Mt. 22:1-14)
C. It is a continuous relationship with Jesus. Disciples are constant companions of Jesus which a deep
friendship develops (Jn. 15:14-15); in this sharing of life, the disciples see and share the daily life of
Jesus [little, least, lost, lonely, last]. They are listeners and learners who imbibes the teaching of Jesus.
D. Jesus called ordinary (not perfect) persons to be his disciples (Mt. 20:20-28). He formed them as a
community to live, cooperate and learn together with Him despite personal uniqueness and
differences.
E. Disciples follow Jesus and his examples. Jesus shows them a model when He, who is their Master and
Lord, washed their feet. (Jn. 13: 1-16, 34)
F. Disciples shares in Jesus' mission. As “disciples” (listener/learner), they become “apostles” (sent) to
preach, heal, comfort and pray as Jesus did. “As the father has sent….” (Jn. 20:21-22)
G. The disciples shares not only in Jesus’ mission but in a special way in His saving cross (Mk. 8:34)
The disciple of Jesus is, therefore, called to share the very destiny of the Master: to carry His cross, to
drink his cup…(Mk. 10:38)Anyone who wishes to come after me…(Mt. 16:24; Jn7:17)
H. Disciples are “rehabilitated sinners” The disciples are not perfect; they fail their Master, yet, after the
resurrection, Jesus speaks of peace and reconciliation
IV. Discipleship leads to Apostleship
A. The Lord Jesus, having prayed at length to the Father called to himself those whom he willed and
appointed twelve…(LG19)…whom also he named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to
preach…In them, Christ continues his own mission: “ As the Father has sent me, even so I send you”
(Jn. 20:21)He also said “he who receives you receives me” (Mt. 10:40)(CCC858)
B. “The obligation of spreading the faith is imposed on every disciple of Christ, according to his ability.”
Wherever they go, convinced Christians will seek to extend the way of life revealed by God in Jesus,
and thus to gain new disciples for the Lord. There is a need for worship, for contemplation, and at
times, for patient suffering - all of which are included in the idea of discipleship.

(From the Lectures of Fr. Kroeger)

 GALLETIS, Razil S. (46th Gen) CATHOLIC DOCTRINE
Thesis 9 ECCLESIOLOGY

Describe the comprehensive process (as understood today by Catholic Theologians and Biblical Scholars) by
which Jesus founded the Church.
I. In the pre-Easter period, during his lifetime, Jesus did not found the Church, but by his preaching and ministry,
he laid the foundations for the emergence of a post-resurrection Church; the Church has existed from the time
of faith in the resurrection. (Hans Kung)
II. There are six (6) Key moments in Jesus’ life that could help us to understand the foundation of the Church
A. Christ inaugurated his Church by preaching the coming of God’s Kingdom. (CFC 1378)
1. He proclaims the Kingdom of God as a transcendent, personal and inner reality but He gathers the people as a
community which goes beyond the existing divisions. (Fr. J. Kroeger)
B. Jesus grounded the Church permanently on the foundation of the apostles
The Lord Jesus, having prayed at length to the Father called to himself those whom he willed and appointed
twelve (LG19 whom also he named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to preach…In them, Christ
continues his own mission: “ As the Father has sent me, even so I send you” (Jn. 20:21)He also said “he who
receives you receives me” (Mt. 10:40)(CCC858)
C. Jesus entrusted the Church especially to Peter as its head and guide
1. The Lord made Peter alone the rock-foundation and the holder of keys of the Church(Mt. 16:18-19) and
constituted him shepherd of his whole flock (Jn.21:15) It is clear, however, that the office of binding and loosing
which was given to Peter was also assigned to the college of the Apostles united to its head. [LG 22]
2. Today, the Pope as Vicar of Christ and successor of Peter, has full, supreme and universal power over the
Church, a leadership, a “ministry of service” by which “our Lord is present in the midst of the faithful” (LG21;
CFC1410)
D. Christ instituted the Eucharist at his Last Supper with his apostles… ( CFC 1689)
1. At the Last Supper, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic Sacrifice of his Body and Blood. This he did in order to
perpetuate the sacrifice of the Cross throughout the ages until he should come again, and so to entrust to his
beloved Spouse, the Church. (CFC 1676) “Do this in remembrance of me” (Lk. 22:19)
2. The Eucharist is celebrated with Christ by the Christian community, the Church… (CFC 1677) Recognizing that
“the Eucharist as the source and summit of the whole Christian life” (LG11)
E. Death and resurrection of Jesus
1. The origin and growth of the Church are symbolized by the blood and water which flowed from the open side
of the crucified Christ (cf. Jn. 19:34), and are foretold in the words of the Lord referring to his death on the
cross: “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself (Jn. 12:32)(LG1)
2. The death of Jesus is a saving death. God’s lordship of love is so strong that it conquers death. In the
powerlessness of love, which abandons itself; salvation and new life for many was freely given. (From the
Lectures of Fr. Kroeger)
F. On the Day of Pentecost, the Church was made manifest to the World by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
(CCC1076)
1. Christ manifests, makes present and communicates his work of salvation through the liturgy of his Church,
“until he comes”(CCC1076)
2. When Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit, he intended to form a community that would continue his works of
salvation.
III. The Church was founded by Jesus Christ not only in one event in his life or in the Gospels but in all His life and
ministry, Jesus founded the Church. The Origin / Foundation of the Church is a process that take place in the
entire action of God in Jesus whole life and ministry: From the preaching of the kingdom to His calling of His
disciples, the last supper, until his death and resurrection and finally in the coming of the Holy Spirit on
Pentecost that prepares his disciples to continue the mission He started.
(Kung Denaux Summary)
GALLETIS, Razil S. (46th Gen) CATHOLIC DOCTRINE
Thesis 9 ECCLESIOLOGY

Key dimensions of the Church in five (5) Models helps us better understand the nature of the Church.
A. The Church as a Community is to be a community of love, friendship and service and of faith.(Acts 6:2)
1. The Church as community of disciples conveys the idea that the Christian life is not a purely individualistic
enterprise, but common task in which the mutual relationships of the members are inseparable from the
relationship of each to the Lord.
2. All Christians must strive for an effective unity sealed by the bonds of creed, sacraments, and ministry. Ecumenism
will therefore aim to restore the communion of all disciples within a universal fellowship in the way of the Gospel.
B. The Church as an Institution is organization in which it has certain structures, standards, teachings and authority.
1. The ordained ministry and the hierarchy are not places of honor, but functions to maintain the inner life of the
whole group, unity of worship, and fidelity to Christ’s teaching.
2. The institutional elements of the Church are kept constantly in the service of a lived relationship with Jesus as
Lord.
3. The Church is the Institution sanctified by him forever, an institution in which the holiness of the Lord becomes
present among men. The ever greater love shown by God. The thrilling interplay of God’s loyalty and man’s
disloyalty that characterizes the structure of the Church is the dramatic form of grace.
C. The Church as a Sacrament is a sign of Christ presence in the world.
1. The Church is thus described as an efficacious sign, one that effects what it signifies; an effective sign of God’s
grace.
2. If the Church is a sacrament of Christ, that is because Christ is truly present in it, communicating his life to the
members of the Church (A. Dulles)
3. “As Christ appears as a theophany”, “The Church appears as a Christophany (R. Latourelle); the Church is a sign
and reflection of Christ, who directs it and dwells in it by his Spirit.
4. The faith and love of ordinary Christians can be a sign of God’s presence. Preeminent sign of Christ’s presence with
his Church is Christian sanctity. (P. Tillich) Saints are signs of the holiness of the Church (Pius XII’s, Vat II, Ch 7)
5. As Sacrament of Christ, the Church continues his role as teacher and healer. A visible presence of the invisible
Christ, who communicates his life by means of it. The symbolic words and actions of the Church, perceived in faith,
are signs and sacraments of the encounter with God. (A. Dulles)
D. The Church as a Servant has the mission to serve those in need, especially the poor and the oppressed.
1. Christian faith cannot be reduced to merely religious acts such as prayer and devotion; according to the Gospels,
the disciple is required to heal and to exorcise, to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to denounce oppressors
and to reconcile enemies.
2. Members of the Church, conscious of their responsibility to serve the common good, will seek to collaborate with
others to bring evangelical values to bear on the solution to human problems, as proposed in the encyclicals
E. The Church as Herald proclaims the good news of faith in Jesus Christ.
1. The primary task of the Church is to transmit the good news concerning Jesus Christ to all humanity.
2. Evangelization is never a matter of words but an invitation to others to enter the community of the disciples and
to participate in the new consciousness that discipleship alone can bring; it means introducing people to a blessed
and liberating union with the Lord Jesus, who lives in the community that cherishes his memory and invoke his
Spirit.
3. Christians can be called in some way to become a missionary. “The obligation of spreading the faith is imposed on
every disciple of Christ, according to his ability.” Wherever they go, convinced Christians will seek to extend the
way of life revealed by God in Jesus, and thus to gain new disciples for the Lord. There is a need for worship, for
contemplation, and at times, for patient suffering - all of which are included in the idea of discipleship.
(From the Lectures of Fr. Kroeger)
GALLETIS, Razil S. (46th Gen) CATHOLIC DOCTRINE
Thesis 10 GRACE

“Our justification comes from the grace of God. Grace is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives
us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and
eternal life.” (CCC 1996)

I. GRACE (From L. gratia "pleasing quality, good will, gratitude; )

Grace in the sense of "gratitude." Verb meaning "to show favor"
(http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term…)
Grace is a participation in the life of God. It introduces us into the intimacy of Trinitarian life: by Baptism
the Christian participates in the grace of Christ, the head of his Body. As an adopted son and daughter”
he can henceforth call God “Father” in union with the only Son. He receives the life of the Spirit who
breathes charity into him and who forms the Church. (CCC1997)
II. Our justification comes from the grace of God
A. Justification has been merited for us by the Passion of Christ. It is granted us through Baptism. It
conforms us to the righteousness of God, who justifies us. It has for its goal the glory of God and of
Christ, and the gift of eternal life. It is the most excellent work of God’s mercy. (CCC 2020)
B. The grace of the Holy Spirit confers upon us the righteousness of God. Uniting us by faith and Baptism to
the Passion and Resurrection of Christ, the Spirit makes us sharers in his life. (CCC2017)
C. The grace of the Holy Spirit has the power to justify us, that is, to cleanse us from our sins and to
communicate to us “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ” and through Baptism. But if
we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. For we know that Christ being
raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died he
died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves as dead
to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (CCC1987)
D. The first work of the grace of the Holy Spirit is conversion, effecting justification in accordance with
Jesus’ proclamation at the beginning of the Gospel: “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.
“Moved by grace, man turns toward God and away from sin, thus accepting forgiveness and
righteousness from on high. “Justification is not only the remission of sins, but also the sanctification and
renewal of the interior man.” ( CCC1989)
III. Grace is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become
children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and eternal life.
A. Grace is primarily God’s loving PRESENCE, the gift of the Spirit within us that justifies and sanctifies us.
(CFC 2003)
B. Grace is God’s free Self-giving whereby we share in God’s own Triune life of love and the consequent
multiple favors offered to all persons, particularly salvation in Christ. It brings new life, making us
adopted children of God in the Spirit and members of Christ’s Body. (CFC, p. 604)
C. This vocation to eternal life is supernatural. It depends entirely on God’s gratuitous initiative, for he
alone can reveal and give himself. It surpasses the power of human intellect and will, as that of other
creatures.(CCC1998)
D. The grace of Christ is gratuitous gift that God makes to us of his own life; infused by the Holy Spirit into
our soul to heal it of sin and to sanctify it. It is the sanctifying grace received in Baptism. It is in us the
source of the work of sanctification. (CCC1999)
GALLETIS, Razil S. (46th Gen) CATHOLIC MORAL LIFE
Thesis 11 GENERAL MORALS

I. Moral living is simply “following Christ”

 Fullness of life here on earth means that, in all the innumerable actions, events and
problems of daily life, we walk with Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ.
 Jn 14: 6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me.”
II. Christian moral life, then, is about the Gospel.
 The call to become loving persons, in the fullness of life-with-others-in-community
before God, in imitation of Jesus Christ.
 Jn 13:35 “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one
another.”
 It is about growing in love and holiness

III. The Church and Morality

The response to the Kingdom is not made alone. The task of becoming authentic disciples of Jesus Christ in
word and deed can only be accomplished in community. The Church, the Christian community, supports us
with the ministry of God’s Word and of the Sacraments (CFC 754). It is within the church that we Filipino
Catholics, baptized into the death of Christ Jesus, to live a new life (Rom 6:3-4 “We were buried with him
through baptism into death… we too might live in newness of life”).
A. Church as communal support: Help form Christian moral character; Carry on and witness to
Christian moral tradition
B. Active Agent in Forming Christian Character: Its emphasis from individual acts and techniques of
decision making to the formation of moral consciousness or character
C. Bearer of Moral Tradition: The Church’s moral traditions through changing times helps Filipino
Catholics ground their own moral development with moral instructions, customs and ways of
thinking, supplies much of the content of the Christian morality- the 10 Commandments, Sermon
on the Mount, the precepts of the Church, and serves as the structure or framework for their moral
accountability as the disciples of Christ
D. Community of Moral Deliberation: Active and vigorous dialogue between Filipinos on serious
matters can take place on all levels, under the guidance of the Bishops.

IV. Catholic Morality spans three Distinct Levels

1. Objective moral norms. e. g. 10 commandments
2. Moral vision (transcendental human values). e. g. Life, Human Dignity, Peace
3. Individual moral acts under conscience. Application by the agent
GALLETIS, Razil S. (46th Gen) CATHOLIC MORAL LIFE
Thesis 12 HUMAN FREEDOM

I. Human- made in the image and likeness his Creator

- Endowed with the gift of freedom
II. Authentic Freedom- “not doing what I want” but “doing good”

III. Contemporary notions and images of freedom

 The greater the number a person has, the greater his freedom
 To increase his freedom is to increase his capacity for him to have his own way
 The capacity to for indefinite revision, the ability always to be doing something different

IV. Meanings of Freedom

a. Capacity for Self- Determination
- The capacity to create something final, something irrevocable and eternal
- We become what we love, to become good
b. Choice
- Persons make choices because he possess an intellect and a will
c. Context
- Freedom does not exist outside a particular context
- It is always a situated freedom
- One is capable of exercising one’s freedom

V. Dimensions of Freedom
a. Intrapersonal
- The moments of solitude, interiority, individuality, prayer and personal moral decision
and responsibility
- Image: Tabernacle candle: the candle of solitude
b. Interpersonal
- Moments for family, friends and community
- Image: Birthday party candle: interpersonal dimension of life
- How much of your giving is self-less and truly other-centered?
c. Metapersonal
- Societal/ structural dimension in life
- Image: Candle for Peace: candle of solidarity
- Does your personal commitment include the community, the country, and the world?

Micah 6:6 “There is only one thing I ask of you: act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with your
God.”

 There is no absolute freedom. Human freedom is always a situated freedom. It interacts with
determinisms and conditionings.
 “To detach oneself from even the worst conditions is a uniquely human capacity.” (Victor Frankl)
 In spite of determinisms and conditionings, the human person remains free, endowed with a will to
meaning. Man’s search for meaning is a primary force in his life. This meaning is unique in that it can
and must be fulfilled by him alone.
 Only through “the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” was he freed from “the law of sin and death.”
Roma 8:2 For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed you from the law of sin and death.
GALLETIS, Razil S. (46th Gen) CATHOLIC MORAL LIFE
Thesis 13 CONSCIENCE

13.a. Conscience. It is the ultimate subjective norm of moral behaviour

I. Meanings of Conscience
1. The basic obligating tendency of a person towards the GOOD.
Failure to do so will be at the risk of one’s personal peril.
2. The capacity to discern what is morally good or evil with the feeling of being obliged to do good and
avoid evil
 These two meanings cannot be separated and they affect each other. They may weaken or
strengthen each other. Two principles are involved: a. Sincerity principle- the person arrives at a
subjective personal and autonomous judgement of conscience after going through a process of
moral decision making; b. Correctness principle- involves developing an informed conscience
shaped by moral norms
 Thus, the gradual formation of an informed Christian conscience is marked by fundamental stages:
A. Fear or Instinctive Conscience: Focuses on the command, on the material breaking of the command
- Natural for young children but constitutes a moral obstacle to personal growth and well-
being in the moral life of adult
B. Ethical/ Philosophical Conscience: It operates on the moral-ethical level which looks beneath the
command of the authority to the inner moral good or evil of the act.
- It is being judged in terms of the value of human person in community
C. Christian Religious Conscience: Operates on the religious level, the whole of our daily lives
- It calls for daily metanoia, an inner conversion of heart, supported by his constant
graceful presence in the Holy Spirit.

13.b. Universal Moral Norm/ Universal Moral Law

A common feature of life today is the claim that there are too many laws. The purpose of the law is to
allow men in society a proper measure of freedom to protect their rights, and to remind them of their
responsibilities to others. It should be obvious that if society is to function properly, there have to be laws to
regulate man’s social and personal conduct.
A. Terminologies:
1. Universal- worldwide
2. Moral norms- based on a moral vision comprising basic moral values, express the objective standard for
judging moral good and evil
3. Norm or a law- a decree of reason, promulgated by competent authority, for the common good
B. God’s law in the Old Testament was His great gift to His chosen people, Israel, creating with them a
Covenant which called for obedience to His Law as their response to His gratuitous love.
C. Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law by inaugurating the New Law of the Kingdom which perfected the Old Law
by subordinating all its precepts to love of God and neighbour.
D. Christ’s law of love is liberating because it not only shows us what makes us authentically free, but
through the Spirit of love offers us the power to fulfil it.
GALLETIS, Razil S. (46th Gen) CATHOLIC DOCTRINE
Thesis 13

13. c. Moral Acts

Christian moral life is the following of Christ in all our daily free actions, values and attitudes, empowered
by Christ’s liberating and transforming presence through the grace of the his Spirit within the Christian
community (CFC 712).
A. Elements of the Morality of the Act
a. Object or Nature of the Act: the external aspect of the action
b. Intention: moral agent’s purpose in doing the action
c. Circumstances: elements other the object and intention which significantly affect the moral
nature of the action
B. Three aspects in making moral decisions:
1. Evaluative knowledge: personal knowledge; What moves us to decision?
2. Imagination: influence on our moral norms: their effectivity in our live and applicability.
3. Affectivity: it helps us see more truly, compassionate with others
Authentic Christian ways affectively responding to situations and others
C. Guidance of the Magisterium (CFC 861)
 Offers Catholics moral guidance and leadership based on the Holy Spirit’s unfailing presence, and the
Church’s long tradition worldwide experience.
 Supports and strengthens the essentially relational and communitarian dimensions of our personal
consciences in their effort to achieve moral goodness

13.d Sin (CFC 760-75)

Sin is the not simply “doing something wrong” or “making a mistake” which can easily be rectified at
will. Clearly, sin is a product of human freedom. But deep within its human reality, there are factors at work
which place it beyond the merely human, the border are where human conscience, will and sensitivity are in
contact with the dark forces which, according to St. Paul, are active in the world, almost to the point of ruling
it. The mystery of sin “hates the light”, and we sinners are often ashamed to take it seriously. We need to
reflect deeply on sin that we may be able to 1) Truly appreciate God’s everlasting merciful love, and 2) to
correct distorted ideas of God, the Church, conscience, law and our Christian commitments.
 An utterance, a deed or a deed contrary to the eternal law (St. Augustine)
A.Reality of Sin
 Hurts us and our loved ones
 It is not glamorous; it destroys, injures, dishonors, perverts, poisons, corrupts
B.Conditions of Sin
1. Grave sin- constitutes an objectively grave injury to fundamental human values
2. Full knowledge- one has a deep sense of what this action would mean for his relationship with God and
others
3. Full consent- refers to basic freedom for self-determination
C.Degrees of Sin
1. Mortal sin- kills the over-all Love pattern of our relation with God
- Freely rejects God, His law, his covenant of love
2. Grave sin- hurts our relationship to God in a serious way
- Does not destroy the whole life pattern of relationship
3. Venial Sin- harms our relationship with God and others by undermining the fervor of our life of charity
and can gradually lead to grave and mortal sins.
GALLETIS, Razil S. (46th Gen) CATHOLIC WORSHIP
THESIS 14 SACRAMENTAL PRINCIPLE

I. THE SACRAMENTAL PRINCIPLE

The sacramental principle is most characteristic of Catholic Christianity.
The word sacramental is used in its widest sense. It applies to created, finite reality through which the divine is
perceived to be disclosed and communicated, and through which our human response to the divine assumes some
measure of shape, form, and structure. Just as the divine reaches us through the materially finite, so we reach the divine
through the materially finite, at a point called the sacramental encounter. (MCBRIEN)
I. Oldest meaning:
A sensible sign, instituted by Christ, to give grace
II. JESUS CHRIST: The PRIMORDIAL SACRAMENT; The CHURCH: Foundational/basic Sacrament
Jesus in his humanity is the sacrament of God’s saving love for all; the Church is the sacrament of Jesus, and the
seven ritual sacraments are sacraments of the Church, that is, they visibly manifest and effectively enact the
Church’s mystery and mission of making Christ present.
III. The Vatican II theology of the sacraments is synthetically expressed by the following definition: A sacrament is
(a) saving symbolic act, (b) arising from the ministry of Christ, (c) continued in and through the Church which,
(d) when celebrated in faith, (e) transforms us toward the likeness to Christ (f) through the power of the Holy
Spirit.”
 The sacraments are the signs and instruments by which that ecclesial encounter with Christ is
expressed, celebrated, and made effective for the glory of God and the salvation of all.
A. A saving symbolic act
1. Sacraments are performative word events—like Jesus’ own ministry of words and deeds—real happenings that
make present the spirituality they express.(CFC1521) They are symbols that make present the spiritual reality
symbolized, namely, the saving presence of the Risen Christ. (CFC1573)
B. Arising from the ministry of Christ
1. Jesus’ words and actions during his hidden life and public ministry were already salvific, for they anticipated the
power of his Paschal mystery. The mysteries of Christ’s life are the foundations of what he would henceforth
dispense in the sacraments through the ministers of the Church, for what is visible in our Savior has passed over
into his mysteries. (CCC1115)
2. They are actions of the Holy Spirit at work in his Body, the Church. (CCC1116)
C. Continued in and through the Church
1. The Church makes Christ present to all persons in every age first, by being his Body and second, by celebrating
those actions that continue Christ’s own ministry. The Church has had a definite role to play in the gradual
development of our present seven ritual sacraments. Yet, each of the sacraments celebrated by the Church re-
enacts certain acts of Jesus’ own public ministry. (cf. CFC 1525)
2. The Church continues to make visible the living and saving presence of the Risen Christ among us.
( From the Lectures of Dr. Manabat)
D. When celebrated in faith…
1. The sacraments can effect only if celebrated in faith, for without faith no saving personal relationship can be
established or strengthened. By words and objects they also nourish, strengthen, and express it. (SC59)
E. Transforms us toward the likeness to Christ
1. The sacraments exercise their special power to shape our imaginations, develop our affections and direct our
behavior to gradually transform us into Christ’s way of thinking, acting, praying and loving, forgiving and serving.
“Put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 13:14) [CFC1529].
F. Through the power of the Holy Spirit.
1. In the liturgy, the Holy Spirit is teacher of the faith of the People of God and artisan of “God’s masterpieces”, the
sacraments of the New Covenant (CCC1091)
2. It is the power of the Holy Spirit that effects this gradual transformation into Christ’s way. (CFC1529)

"Sacramental grace" is the grace of the Holy Spirit, given by Christ and proper to each sacrament. The Spirit heals and
transforms those who receive him by conforming them to the Son of God. (CCC1129)
GALLETIS, Razil S. (46th Gen) CATHOLIC WORSHIP
Thesis 15 LITURGY

The liturgy is simultaneously a Mystery, Celebration, and Life.

I. Liturgy (from Greek leiturgia = public work, service, achievement by and for the people)(YOUCAT, p.101)
A. Liturgy as a Mystery
1. A mystery is a sacred cultic action in which a saving deed is made present through the rite; the congregation, by
performing the rite, take part in the saving act and thereby win salvation.” (Odo Casel)
B. Liturgy as a Celebration
1. In the Christian Tradition, liturgy means that the people of God participate in the “work of God.” The
centrepiece of liturgical celebrations is the Holy Eucharist; the other liturgies-for example, the celebration of
other sacraments, devotions, blessings, processions, and the Liturgy of the Hours- are ordered to it. (YOUCAT,
p.101)
2. The Church celebrates in the liturgy above all the Paschal mystery by which Christ accomplished the work of our
salvation. (CCC1067)
3. The Church celebrates the presence of salvation today (= hodie) by means of ritual action. The celebration of
the liturgy extends the work of Christ in time and space “until he comes again” (From the Lectures of Dr.
Manabat)
C. Liturgy as a Life
1. Liturgy is man’s RESPONSE of thanksgiving and praise to God who blessed him with life and salvation through
the events of human history. A living event in which God’s saving action is made present to the eyes, to the ears,
to the hands, and there reveals and saves. (From the Lectures of Dr. Manabat)
 These three aspects of liturgy: mystery, celebration and life are integrally united in every liturgical action.
Just as a man breathes air in order to stay alive, so too the Church lives by celebrating the liturgy. God himself is
the one who breathes new life into her day by day and enriches her with gifts through his Word and his
Sacraments.(YOUCAT, p.101, #166)
II. Vatican II’s theology of the liturgy is best expressed in SC 2 [the liturgy is “the work of our redemption being
accomplished] and SC 7 [The liturgy is an “exercise of the priestly office of Christ.]
A. For it is the liturgy, through which, especially in the divine sacrifice of the Eucharist, “the work of our
redemption is accomplished,” (SC2)
1. The work of redemption accomplished by CHRIST continues today in the SACRAMENTS of the CHURCH, in the
celebrations of the feasts and seasons of the Liturgical Year, in the sanctification of time in the Liturgy of the
Hours. (From the lectures of Dr. Manabat)
2. All that was necessary for man’s salvation God has accomplished in and through Jesus Christ. On our part, we
are enabled to take part in the effects of salvation history through participation in the liturgy. (S. Marsili)
B. “The liturgy, then, is rightly seen as an exercise of the priestly office of Jesus Christ.(SC 7)
 Vatican II describes the liturgy as: “an exercise of the priestly office of Jesus Christ” in which our human
“sanctification is manifested in signs perceptible to the senses and is effected in a way proper to each of these
signs,” so that “full public worship is performed by the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, that is, the Head and his
members”
 Through the ministry of the Church and in sacramental or liturgical form, in time and space Christ continues the
priestly work he accomplished during his lifetime on earth. He is truly present in the celebrations of the Mass,
the other sacraments, the Word of God, and the Divine Office. At Mass, Christ himself “now offers through the
hands of the priests, who formerly offered himself on the Cross.” The Constitution, quoting St. Augustine,
further claims that in the celebration of the sacraments, “when a person baptizes, it is really Christ himself who
baptizes.” He is present in the proclamation of the Word and “when the Church prays and sings.” All these
affirmations emphasize the active role played by Christ in the exercise of his priestly office which he performed
as he preached the good news, healed the sick, freed those in bondage and culminated by his death on the
cross, resurrection from the dead, and bestowal of the Holy Spirit. (A. Chupungco)
 GALLETIS, Razil S. (46th Gen) CATECHETICS
Thesis 16 CATECHESIS

I. Catechesis:
It is understood as that form of ministry of the Word whose purpose is to “make men’s faith become living,
conscious, and active, through the light of instruction.” An education of children, young people, and adults in the faith,
which includes the teaching Christian doctrine imparted in an organic and systematic way, with a view toward initiating
the hearers into fullness of Christian life (Pope Paul II description on catechesis; CT 18, NCCDP 114)
II. Nature, Goals, Sources
A. Nature
 Catechesis is a form of the ministry of the Word whose purpose is “to make men’s faith become living, conscious
and active, through the light of instruction.(NCDP 114)
 Systematic catechesis- to educate in faith, encourage growth in understanding of it, and to equip the Christian for
giving reason for his hope in the present world. (NCDP 117)
 The Trinitarian Christocentricity is to explain that Trinity is the living God revealed by Jesus Christ, is the God in
whom “we live and move and exist” and to educate the faithful regarding the “many faces of Christ” drawn from
Scripture itself and Church teaching.(NCDP 122)
B. The objectives of catechesis is to: (a) know both what we believe as Christian and how we believe (b) follow Christ in
loving service(c) to pray and worship and d)build up Christian community and share in its mission. (NCDP 120)
C. The fundamental aim of Catechesis is to put people not only in touch but in communion, in intimacy with Jesus Christ:
only he can lead us to the love of the Father in the Spirit and make us share in the life of the Holy Trinity. (CT 5)
D. Source of Catechesis
1. Scripture and Tradition, taken as one single deposit of the Word of God entrusted to the Church. This supreme
rule of faith is expressed in the Church’s doctrines, moral teaching and liturgy.
2. Another basic source for catechesis is the concrete moral witness of countless simple Filipino Catholic women
and men, whose lives of generous service and sacrifice provide indispensable examples and living proofs of
authentic, mature Christian faith. (NCDP 155)
I. Evangelization
A. For the Church, evangelizing means bringing the Good News into all strata of humanity, and through its
influence transforming humanity from within and making it new.
B. The aim of Evangelization is to effect this interior transformation. (EN18)
II. Theology
A. Etymology: (THEOS: GOD / LOGOS:STUDY/SCIENCE) HENCE, THEOLOGY IS THE SCIENCE OR STUDY OF GOD
B. Theolgy is the study of God and his relationship with man and the world. Study through the use of reason
illumined by faith (from the Lectures of Fr. Gatchalian on Moral Theology)
C. Theology refers to the mystery of God’s inmost life within the Blessed Trinity (CCC236)
III. The difference between Catechesis, Evangelization and Theology
A. Catechesis and Evangelization
 Catechesis is a basic part of the “Church’s pastoral and missionary activity as a whole, “especially in
the process of evangelization in which it is an essential moment. (NCDP100)
 Catechesis and Evangelization are distinct but intimately connected: evangelization always involves
catechesis, and catechesis is a moment in the ongoing process of evangelization.(NCDP104)
 As an integral part of evangelization, catechesis aims “to make men’s faith become living, conscious
and active, through the light of instruction…(NCDP102)
B. Catechesis and Theology
 Catechesis and Theology are both are at the service of the Church’s ministry, their proper methods,
criteria, and goals are not identical. Theology uses the most advanced and sophisticated methods of
scientific study in its on-going dialogue with philosophy, various forms of the natural and human
sciences, linguistics and communications. Catechesis, for its part, while using many of the same
sacred and human sciences, aims rather at an effective proclamation and instruction in the faith,
leading the Christian community toward a fuller, more mature and proper commitment to, and life
in, Jesus Christ. (NCDP111)
GALLETIS, Razil S. (46th Gen) CATECHETICS
Thesis 17 CATECHETICAL METHODS

Catechetical Methods in the Philippine context integrated, inculturated and community- forming
I. Integration is aimed at stressing the experiential, the wholeness of living the Gospel Message in believing,
doing and praying. Integration in Catechesis means the complex, actual living out, doing, experiencing a
holistic instruction in the faith, in all its aspects, together. (A companion to CFC, p. 37-38)
II. Multiple Integrations found in NCDP.
A. Life Integration: Christian Message with Daily Life
The most essential characteristic of the Gospel is, of course, that it is to be lived. It is a way of life. The first
meaning of integration, then, is unifying the Gospel message with daily life. (A companion to CFC, p. 39)
B. Structural Integration: Among the three Constitutive Dimensions of Christian Faith – Doctrine, Morals, Worship
In all catechesis one must always unite indissolubly and in integrated manner: the knowledge of the Word of
God; celebration of faith in the sacraments, and the profession of faith in daily life. (A companion to CFC, p. 40)
C. Dimension Integration: Within Each Faith Dimension
Faith’s three dimensions-doctrine, morals and worship—flow directly from Christ who is the “Truth,” showing us
“the [moral] Way”, sharing with us his eternal “Life” in the sacraments and prayer”. Entering into these three
dimensions of living Faith means sharing in the very mission of Christ as Prophet, King and Priest. (NCDP 145)
D. Source Integration
This integration is described in terms of fidelity to Scripture and Church teaching on one hand, and to common
understanding in today’s world on the other (CFC 11-15; NCDP 408)
E. Program Integration
The essentials of a basic catechist-formation program which, when integrated into a dynamic whole, could
inform, form and transform the participants (NCDP488)
F. Subjective Integration
This integration within the believer is the balancing doctrine, morals and worship; using imagination; value
education; process of interiorizing Christian Values.
G. Environmental/Contextual Integration
This integration simply means that the Gospel message must be proclaimed and explained in the concrete
context and culture of the hearers.
H. Structural Integration. How it is used in Catechesis?
In all catechesis one must always unite indissolubly and in integrated manner: the knowledge of the Word of
God; celebration of faith in the sacraments, and the profession of faith in daily life. This application of
integration: interrelating the essential doctrinal, moral and worship dimensions of the faith. The aim is to bring
out the experiential reality of the faith: doctrine is not just “head knowledge”, “but saving convictions which
directly influence moral decisions/actions and prayer life. Catholic morality is not just a list of do’s and don’ts, but the
moral principles and decisional skills needed for living a life of loving service, grounded on the truths of the Faith, and
celebrated and motivated by the prayer-sacramental life. Catholic liturgy and sacraments are not
some “spiritualist, out-of-this-world ritualism,” but rather the corporate worship of the Christian community
based on the fundamental convictions of Christian Faith, and both inspiring as well as celebrating the Christian
moral witness of commitment to a life of loving service.
Integrating these three (3) basic dimensions of the faith means, for example, that teaching the doctrine of
creation involves relating that truth directly to its moral and worship dimensions. God is Creator of all; therefore
obey Him, and offer Him worship. Or the Biblical truth about Jesus Christ: “This is my beloved Son” [doctrinal
truth]; therefore “Listen to Him!” (Mt. 17:5), [moral command]; therefore we pray: “Maranatha: O Lord, come!”
(1Cor 16:22)
[A companion to CFC, p. 40]
GALLETIS, Razil S. (46th Gen) CATECHETICS
Thesis 18 NEW EVANGELIZATION

I. Evangelization
Evangelization must seek to build up the Church, so that it becomes a people made on with the unity of the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (PCP II, 186a)
It does not stop at the building of the Church. It seeks to transform the whole fabric of society according to
the values of the Kingdom and of Christ. (PCP II, 193)
II. Definitive Aim as of Catechesis
To put people not only in tough but in communion, in intimacy, with Jesus; only he can lead us to the love of
the Father in the Spirit and make us share in the life of the Holy Trinity (CT 5)
III. Goals of the new evangelization in the Philippine
It can only be pursued with new methods. These methods were not previously known or used before but in
the sense that they are given renewed emphasis.
The first and most potent means renewed evangelization is not the teaching of doctrine (which remains
indispensable), but the witnessing to others of the working of God’s grace in our lives.
I. Two ways:
1. Living according to the Gospel, so that our lives may be Gospel inspired
2. Giving testimony tour expressions of God’s grace
 Pope Paul VI pithily observes: “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does
listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.” (PCP II 190; NNCDP 79)
 Such a participative approach is only possible only if a new fervor is infused into all the members of the Christian
community. Indeed, we are called to proclaim the Good News together with the fervor of the saints, with an
enthusiasm similar to that of the first disciples.
2 Cor 4:13 Since, then, we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed, therefore I
spoke,” we too believe and therefore speak.
 Furthermore, this new fervor and new method will demand new expressions. Today, there are tremendous
possibilities of transmitting the Good News through the means of social communication. New expression will also
mean the use of symbols and languages understood by the people, expressions and words which touch their
minds, hearts and souls. We must promote the use of the vernacular languages in preaching and in the teaching of
religion and theology. We must look into the cultures of our people in order to discover which cultural expressions
and symbols resonate effectively in their hearts. (PCP II 193-200)
 Putting Into Communion With the Person of Christ
The fourth general assembly of the synod of Bishops often stressed the Christocentricity of all authentic catechesis.
We can here use the word "Christocentricity" in both its meanings, which are not opposed to each other
or mutually exclusive, but each of which rather demands and completes the other.
In the first place, it is intended to stress that at the heart of catechesis we find, in essence, a Person,
the Person of Jesus of Nazareth, "the only Son from the Father...full of grace and truth,"(9) who suffered and died for us
and who now, after rising, is living with us forever. It is Jesus who is "the way, and the truth, and the life,"(10)
and Christian living consists in following Christ, the sequela Christi.
The primary and essential object of catechesis is, to use an expression dear to St. Paul and also
to contemporary theology, "the mystery of Christ." Catechizing is a way to lead a person to study this mystery in all
its dimensions: "to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery...comprehend with all the saints what is
the breadth and length and height and depth...know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge...(and be filled) with
all the fullness of God."(11) It is therefore to reveal in the Person of Christ the whole
of God's eternal design reaching fulfillment in that Person. It is to seek the meaning of Christ’s actions and words and of
the signs worked by Him, for they simultaneously hide and reveal His mystery. Accordingly, the definitive aim of
catechesis is to put not only in touch but in communion, in intimacy with Jesus Christ: only He can lead us to the love of
the Father in the Spirit and makes us share in the life of the Holy Spirit.