Grade 10 Religion – Christ and Culture Date/Lesson Number
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The Toronto Catholic District School Board Course: Grade 10 Religion – Christ and Culture Date/Lesson Number: Lesson 1 Unit: Profession of Faith Lesson Topic: The Catholic Church and Divine Revelation Focus Question: The purpose of this lesson is to help students learn the role of the Catholic Church in the discernment and proclamation of Divine Revelation. Instructional Objective(s): 1) Students will learn that Jesus Christ instituted the Church on the foundation of the Apostles. 2) Students will learn that the Apostles were entrusted with faithfully proclaiming the Gospel and spreading the Good News Jesus Christ had entrusted to them. 3) Students will learn the role of ensuring an authentic proclamation of God’s Revelation has been handed down in an unbroken line to the Apostolic successors- the pope and bishops. New Evangelization Essential Element(s): Key Element I: Knowledge of the Faith: What We Believe Key Element VI: Evangelization and Apostolic Life: How We, as Individuals and Community, Live in Service to the World Key Vocabulary: Apostle Apostolicity Apostolic Succession Apostolic Tradition Bishop Deposit of Faith Diocese Gnosticism Presbyter Key Scriptural Passage(s): Key Catechism Reference(s): CCC 1576 Key People: Saint Paul Internet Link(s): www.vatican.va www.cccb.ca Materials required: 1) Sacred Scripture (NRSV) 2) Student Work Sheet 1 3) Appendix 1 Prayer Learned or Recited: Father, you know all hearts. You have chosen your servant ________ (name of local bishop)for the office of bishop. May he be a shepherd to your holy flock, and a high priest blameless in your sight, ministering to you night and day; may he always gain the blessing of your favor and offer the gifts of your holy Church. Through the Spirit who gives the grace of high priesthood grant that he be pleasing to you by his gentleness and purity of heart, presenting a fragrant offering to you, through Jesus Christ, your Son, through whom glory and power and honor are yours with the Holy Spirit in your holy Church, now and forever, Amen. (Adapted from the prayer of Consecration at the Ordination of a Bishop). Step by step procedures: Task 1: The Apostles and the Bishops In small groups (2 to 3) ask students to read the selected articles from the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church- Lumen Gentium (Appendix 1). In their reading students should make note of the following points: Whom did Jesus choose to continue his ministry to preach the kingdom? o Among them, who was conferred a special status? What title does Paul hold? To whom did the apostles confer their authority? o What liturgical sign confirms these appointments? o What responsibilities accompany these ministries? As a class, review the points raised in the small group discussions. Elaborate upon the students answers using the following points: Task 1A: The Community of Apostles Jesus, from a larger group of disciples, selected a smaller Cornerstone circle of twelve. In choosing the twelve apostles, Jesus gave A cornerstone is a stone that forms the Christian community a foundation upon which it could the base of a corner of a building, fulfill its mission to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew joining two walls. It is an important 28:19). architectural feature since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position Definition- Apostle: The Greek word apostolos, meaning of the structure. someone who has been sent, occurs eighty times in the New Testament, and designates a “delegate” of Jesus Christ and The Old Testament Psalmist spoke of “messenger” of the gospel. a stone that the builders rejected and that became the chief Previous to the death of Jesus the term apostle was used cornerstone (Psalm 118:22). The exclusively in reference to the Twelve. The apostles were New Testament cites the passage messengers and ambassadors appointed, through the six times (Matthew 21:42, Mark Father (Matthew 10:40), by Christ to continue his own mission 12:10; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11, Ephesians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:6), (Galatians 1:15; Act 9:27; Mark 3:4; Matthew 28:19; John recognizing in the Psalmist’s 20:21) to be ministers of the New Covenant (2 Corinthians metaphor the person of Jesus, who 3:6). had be “rejected” by the people of Israel, but who had become the “cornerstone” of the church. In the Roman Catholic Church the blessing of the cornerstone is an important ritual in the building of a new church. Paul Apostle to Gentiles(d. c.a. Following the ascension of Jesus, the description of the term 64), born Saul of Tarsus “apostle” was broadened by Paul to include the following (Hebrew name), practicing criteria: an apostle was one who was witness to the risen Jew who initially opposed the Christ and was one who was commissioned by the Lord for followers of Jesus, assisting at missionary teaching (Galatians 1:15-17; 1 Corinthians 9:1). the martyrdom of Stephen. On a mission to Damascus he encountered the Risen Jesus The title “apostle” thus no longer included just the and was converted to Twelve, but described those men later appointed by the Christianity. He became the Twelve (1 Corinthians 15:16) as missionaries, so as to go first and most immanent of the and establish various church communities throughout the Christian missionaries and Roman Empire. theologians. His epistles form a significant part of the New Testament canon. His feats day is celebrated on June 29. The most celebrated of these “missionary apostles” was Paul of Tarsus. Like, Paul none of these missionary apostles stayed in one church-community, but instead moved on and kept in touch with the communities they had founded via letters and other delegates. The early church was thus founded on the faithful testimony and collective witness of the apostles. The depository of the Christian faith that the apostles handed to the first Christian communities and they in turn to the subsequent generation of leaders is known as Apostolic Tradition. Definition-Apostolic Tradition: From the Latin “trader” meaning “to hand on”. In the Roman Catholic Church the “Apostolic Tradition” (written with an uppercase “T”) expresses the manner by which God’s revelation was transmitted to God’s people throughout the ages or the content of what is transmitted (written with a lower case “t”). This tradition is considered a “living” tradition because it is an ongoing, active transmission which forms part of the living reality of the Church. The Roman Catholic Church maintains that, alongside Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition is to be considered a source of divine revelation. This “Tradition” is considered to be apostolic in nature because it was “handed on” by the apostles. Definition- Deposit of Faith: Refers to the body of truth entrusted by Christ to the Apostles and handed on by the apostles to be preserved and proclaimed. Deposit of Faith= Apostolic Tradition + Sacred Scripture Task 1B: Bishops as Successors to the Apostles Neither the twelve apostles, nor the “missionary apostles” were responsible for the administrative functions of the early church communities. Such duties were overseen by the “presbyter- bishop”. Definition- Presyteros: From the Greek “presbyteros” meaning “elder”. Definition- Bishop: From the Greek “episkopas” meaning “overseer”. The bishop is the successor to the apostles and by his ordination is the pastor of a local church or diocese. In communion with the Pope and the college of bishops, he is charged with the task of catechesis and administration of the local diocese. Initially the ministries of the presbyter and those of the bishop were identical and as such the words were used interchangeably. The presbyters usually functioned as a committee of “elders” with one of their members at the committee’s head as an “overseer”. Over time the ministry of the bishop (overseer) become distinct from that of the presbyters and eventually the In the year 325, at the single bishop replaced the committee of presbyters. Council of Nicaea, the authority of the bishop was extended Although the particularities documenting this transition in to include the whole leadership are scarce, we can ascertain that as Jesus selected diocese, which was a and conferred the mission of the kingdom to the apostles, so too territorial division of the apostles entrusted this Good News to the bishops. The bishops, the Roman Empire. therefore, with the supporting ministries of the priests and deacons, exercised their office of teaching and of governing and as such guarded the tradition of sound doctrine for their respective church communities. This authority to preserve the church in its apostolic foundations, which innately included the mandate to give faithful witness to what was handed down to them and through them, was passed on by the laying of the hands, a tradition that continues today in Episcopal consecration. The bishops thus succeeded to the place of the apostles as shepherds of the church” (LG 21) and as such were part of the apostolic succession. The bishops have, by divine institution, taken the place of the apostles as Clement of pastors of the Church, in such ways that whoever despises them despises Rome, bishop or Christ and him who sent Christ. (LG 20) Rome between 88-97 CE. The The earliest ideas of apostolic succession was articulated by Clement of third bishop to Rome in a letter dated in 96 CE. succeed Peter. His feast day is Our Apostles also knew, through our Lord Jesus Christ, that there would be celebrated on contention over the bishop’s office. So, for this reason, having received November 23. complete foreknowledge, they appointed the above mentioned men, and afterwards gave them a permanent character, so that, as they died, other approved men should succeed to the ministry.1 In the second century, competing interpretations of Christianity vied for dominance.