Chapter 5- Church And The Kingdom Of God

Question 1

What does pilgrimage mean to Catholics?

Answer 1

Catholics believe that life is a pilgrimage to heaven. Life is a journey towards God and Catholics will complete this journey and meet God when they die. A catholic’s actions should reflect the idea of making progress on the journey towards God. Everything they do should contribute to getting closer to God. Church is the pilgrim people of God

Question 2

What are the stations of the cross?

Answer 2

The stations of the cross are 14 images that remind Catholics of the journey where Jesus had to carry the cross. They are found in every Catholic church. When Catholics pray before the stations of the cross, they accompany Jesus on his final journey with a type of dramatised prayer which involves physical actions. Reflect on readings, pray in front of and reflect

Question 3

Why is Jerusalem an important pilgrimage site?

Answer 3

It is the city in Israel where Jesus died and the people may visit places associated with Jesus’ life such as his tomb or the streets he carried the cross through. People may share in Jesus’ life and suffering and renew their commitment to Jesus

Question 4

Why is Rome a place of pilgrimage?

Answer 4

The centre of Catholic faith, where St Peter died and the Pope loves. Might visit the Vatican, the tomb of St Peter and the Cathedral of St John Lateran. To show their commitment to the Catholic faith and their unity with the popes and Catholics

Question 5

Why is Lourdes a place of pilgrimage?

Answer 5

A town in France where a young girl called Bernadette saw visions of Mary. Mary told her to dig in the ground, as she did a spring appeared. The waters of this spring are believed to have healing powers and Catholics visit Lourdes to bathe in it’s waters. To be physically healed by the waters and to feel stronger and more at peace in body and mind.

Question 6

Why is Walsingham a place of pilgrimage?

Answer 6

A village in Norfolk which contains the Catholic national shrine for England. A noblewoman had visions of Mary’s house in Nazareth. She built a copy of this house in Walsingham which is now called the holy house. People go because it’s not abroad, to spend time and pray with other Catholics, to make themselves more aware of their place in the church. The community of believers

Question 7

Explain how mission and evangelism is shown in drama

Answer 7

Idea of mission is to show God’s love through doing good actions. Actions that express God’s love and forgiveness will have a real effect on other people, influencing them to do good things in return.
In les mis Valejan steals from a Bishop, the Bishop stops the police from putting him in prison and urges Valjean to use the opportunity to do good. The Bishop’s act of love and forgiveness persuades him to become a better person.

Having the right attitude is more important than blindly following God’s law. Showing love, kindness and forgiveness are sometimes more important in missionary work than simply following the rules. In les mis Valjean is being constantly being pursued by inspector Javert who eventually can’t arrest him as he saves his life. Valjean’s kind act of kindness towards Javert ultimately saves him from imprisonment and goodness wins out over the law.

Mission and evangelism require total commitment to God. Missionaries and evangelists may receive ridicule as part of their work but this shouldn’t lessen their commitment . Sometimes goodness may involve ignoring the demands of Church law. In the mission, European priests are doing missionary work with a group of native people in south america. The native people are attacked by their slave trades and despite the danger and the order of the Bishop to abandon them, the priests stay to defend

Films that highlight christian values can illustrate the power such values can have to change and improve people’s lives, they can inspire and encourage christians to show these values in their own lives and help to inspire christians to preach the Gospel message to others

Question 8

What is the Kingdom of God?

Answer 8

It is known as the reign of God where people live as God intends. The creation of the Kingdom of God is a gradual process.

The kingdom of God began when Jesus was born and this is when God’s power came to earth. It was established through Jesus’ resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit. It is extended by christians who form and help to spread the Kingdom of God on earth. It will be completed at the end of time when all people will enjoy the eternal happiness of heaven.

Question 9

Explain elements of The Lord’s Prayer

Answer 9

Jesus wants all people to call him Father and have a trusting relationship with him. It is a prayer for God to be accepted as Holy. When people respect the majesty and holiness of God they recognise the importance of God in their lives and they accept the call to become members of God’s Kingdom. It is a prayer for God’s Kingdom to come a d for people to accept the rule of God in their hearts. Accepting and following God’s will is important for establishing the Kingdom, when everyone does the will of God, the Kingdom will be fully established. The payer asks God to help provide the basic needs to survive so people can focus more on God thus helping the Kingdom to grow. Forgiveness is a huge part of helping people to come closer to God. To help spread the Kingdom people need to show forgiveness to others as well as accepting God’s forgiveness to their own sins. The prayer is to resist the temptation to sin which will be assisted by God’s grace. The Kingdom of God will grow as more people choose to accept God instead of rejecting him

Question 10

How is Justice a sign of the Kingdom Of God?

Answer 10

Justice: ensures all people to have basic human rights, recognises that all people are created and loved equally by God, treats all people fairly regardless, respects the dignity if every person. Christians should live in a way that respects the rights of others and help to uphold justice to spread the Kingdom of God on earth. They should take action to help change the systems in the world that allow injustice to continue

Question 11

How is Peace a sign of the Kingdom Of God?

Answer 11

Peace is a state of total trust and unity between all people. There can be no peace without justice. It is the removal of tensions caused by resentment, mistreatment and suspicion. It requires people to accept the rights of every individual. It is believed to come from a person’s heart. Christians should support all efforts to establish peace and harmony in the world. This includes supporting organisations. Christians believe this will lead to the peace if God’s Kingdom being experienced on earth.

Question 12

How is reconciliation a sign of the Kingdom Of God?

Answer 12

Reconciliation restores damaged relationships between people and brings back together people who have been broken apart. Requires people to learn from the past and work together. It relies on acceptance and empathy. It breaks down the barrriers that exist between people it helps the Kingdom Of God to grow

Question 13

What is the church hierarchy?

Answer 13

There is a hierarchy in the Catholic Church that recognises people’s authority and responsibility and brings unity

Pope- head of the church
Cardinals- appointed by the Pope and vote his successor
Bishops- successors to the apostles and are responsible for a diocese
Priests- preach the word of God and responsible for a church
Deacons- assist the priest by preaching the word of God
Lay people- non ordained members of the church

Question 14

What is the second Vatican council?

Answer 14

The Pope leads the church and all authority lies on him. He sometimes needs to consult with others in the hierarchy to make sure his decisions are right. For this he might call a council which is a meeting with the Bishops to discuss issues that affect the whole church

The main aim of the Second Vatican Council was to work out a way to make the church more open and accessible and relevant to the modern world. The council produced four major documents

Question 15

Explain Dei Verbum (word of God)

Answer 15

Deals with the importance and interpretation of the Bible. It stresses that the Bible should be taken seriously as the Word of God but should not read the Bible in a literal way

Question 16

Explain sacrosantum concilium (on the sacred liturgy)

Answer 16

Deals with the liturgy and church services and emphasises that people should be able to take a full part of the worship of God. It allows Catholics to hear the mass in their own language

Question 17

Explain lumen gentium ( on the church)

Answer 17

Deals with the nature and structures of the church and stresses that all members of the church have a part to play not just the Pope. It stresses the idea of a pilgrim church moving forwards within modern society.

Question 18

Gaudiem et spes (the church in the modern world)

Answer 18

Deals with issues related to modern society. Stresses the church should not be separate to modern society but instead guiding people on how to live in the modern society

Question 19

Explain the importance of Mary and the magnificat

Answer 19

Catholics believe as Mary being the mother of Jesus, is a very important figure in christianity and the perfect disciple, some of the qualities that make her so good are shown in the magnificat prayer. Mary shows humility- she recognises she is only special because of what God has done for her
Mary praises God’s greatness- mary is aware that God has shown love for all people by doing great things for her and hunanity

Mary shoes acceptance of God’s will. Mary willingly accepted the role as the mother of Jesus and her praise of God confirms her readiness to follow God’s will

Mary shows trust in God- when Mary said this prayer, she was a pregnant, unmarried teenager but she trusted in God to protect her as she is doing his will. The prayer shows her belief that God will help people who are weak and poor like her

Question 20

Explain how the magnificat is controversial?

Answer 20

There is a sense of revolution in the prayer. Some people think the prayer supports those who are rebelling against their governments. They believe it encourages the weak and the poor to rise up against those in power to help spread the Kingdom Of God on earth.

Others think that God just supports the weak and the helpless and those who trust in God will be saved

Question 21

What are the four marks of the Catholic Church?

Answer 21

The four marks of the Catholic church are four qualities that are necessary for the Catholic Church to exist. They distinguish the Catholic church from any other institution. They are:

One- the church is one united body, although made of many individual churches they are all part of the church.

Catholic-the beliefs of the church are universal and held by Catholics everywhere in the world

Holy-the presence of God makes the church holy. All christians and rhe church are guided by the holy spirit. Every member of the church is made holy through baptism

Apostolic- the church’s teachings are built upon the teachings of the 12 Apostles. The successors to the apostles guide the church today

Question 22

Explain apostolic succession and the magisterium

Answer 22

Catholics believe the bishops and the Pope are successors to the apostles which means the authority of the apostles has been passed down from one generation of bishops to the next. It also means that the authority of Peter has been passed down to the current Pope who leads to church today. The combined authority of the bishops and the Pope is known as the magisterium. Catholics believe that the church is guided by the holy spirit and when the Pope makes a formal declaration of an official doctrine of the Church is speaking is the head of the church and on those occasions he cannot be wrong

Question 23

How is the church conciliar?

Answer 23

Councils are held and these help the Pope to discuss. Councils influence the teachings and direction of the church. Councils express the voice of the whole church.

Question 24

How is the church pontificial?

Answer 24

The Pope is the leader and has the highest authority which has been passed down by generations. The Pope is representative of Christ on earth. The Pope’s teachings must be taken very seriously and cannot be wrong. The decisions of the council have no authority until they are approved by the Pope.

Question 25

What are the Catholic social teachings?

Answer 25

The church believes that God loves all people from the church also acknowledges that people are vitally important to its existence and without human beings there will be no church. These beliefs have left the church to recognise the importance of helping to support the weakest members of society so all people can live in an equal way.

The church is against economic exploitation and a culture of greed as this leads to inequality and suffering. The church teaches that Catholics should do what they can do to help support the poorest and weakest members of society and help to relieve their suffering

Question 26

What is the St Vincent de Paul society?

Answer 26

SVP is an international catholic charity that works locally. This means that SVP has members all around the world who work in small groups to provide their help to individual people in local areas. Their main aim is to offer friendship and practical help to people in need in the local area

SVP members visit people in their homes and offer support, friendship and advice to people who are vulnerable. They help individuals with their practical needs such as shopping. They also run slightly bigger projects to help the local community

Question 27

What is the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development

Answer 27

CAFOD is the official charity for the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Its main aim is to help people living in poverty to become more self-reliant by working nationally and globally. This means that offers help to people in other countries and challenges national and international policies or companies

They provide emergency aid to places overseas where natural disasters or war have ruined lives they also help the victims of these disasters to rebuild their lives by providing long-term aid. For example they may provide farming equipment to communities so they can grow their own food.

CAFOD challenges national and international laws and policies that hurt those living in poverty. For example campaigning against policies that contribute to climate change

They also provide legal assistance to people who are being threatened by the actions of national or international corporations. For example they provide help to farmers who are in danger of losing their land to large companies

Question 28

What are kingdom values?

Answer 28

Kingdom values are values that God wants people in his kingdom to show in their lives. For Christians Jesus gave the best example of how to live accordingly to kingdom values. Some of these are expressed in the Beatitudes or others are given elsewhere in Jesus’s teachings. Examples of Kingdom values: humility, gentleness, mercy, love, a desire for peace, a wish to serve God, obedience to God, humility

Question 29

What are Christian vocations?

Answer 29

Christians believe everyone has their own vocation which are calling from God to use their talents for a particular purpose. Living by kingdom values is an important part of any vocation. Kingdom values expressed in the locations of priesthood, family life and religious life in the following ways:

Priesthood- Priests take a promise of celibacy as they commit themselves body and soul to God. Like Jesus a priest helps others and because priest’s don’t have a family they’re always free to help others. Priests take a promise of obedience to their Bishop knowing they’re oveying the voice of God

Family life- Love is an important kingdom values that unites the family together. Catholic parents try to show kingdom values in their relationship with each other. They also aim to teach their children kingdom values and by doing so they help to spread the kingdom of God on Earth

Religious life- Monks and nuns are people who commit themselves to God by living in a small religious community where life centres around prayer. Catholic to commit to registers lif monks and nuns are people who commit themselves to God by living in a small religious community where life centres around prayer. Catholics who commit to a religious life as a monk or nun take vows of poverty, Chasisty and obedience to show they have committed to God’s values. They live simple lives dedicated to prayer and serving others. Monasteries have a sense of peace that other people can come and share in. Religious brothers and sisters centre their lives around prayer and active service they start and end each day with prayer. They may take on roles such as teachers nurses and care workers to show love through helping others. By their care and commitment they show people the love of God and express kingdom values

Question 30

How does Pope Francis show his belief in justice?

Answer 30

Pope Francis is particularly concerned with creating justice to the poor by trying to end poverty and inequality. Examples include: When Pope Francis became Archbishop he increased the number of priests working among the poor. He aims to inspire others to live more simply to help reduce inequality, for example he lives in a small modest flat rather than a large official apartment in the Vatican. He criticises economic policies that lead to inequality and exploitation and he also speaks out against all forms of abuse as this damages lives and contributes to injustice

Question 31

How does Pope Francis show his belief in Peace?

Answer 31

Hope Francis has helped to create or has called for peace in many different ways including the following. He played a major role in restoring relations between Cuba and the USA as their previous being tension between these countries. He brings together leaders of countries that have been at war with each other. He uses his public address to pray for peace of praise for areas in the world that are facing great conflict and tension

Question 32

How does Pope Francis show his belief in Reconciliation?

Answer 32

Every Monday Thursday he goes to a local prison much is the fee to 12 prisoners including Muslims. This shows his belief that people have committed crime should be still be accepted into society. He has visited areas of tension in the world trying to restore harmony. It’s helped to reconcile some of the tensions between Muslims Jews and Christians.