© 5/2/2013, Jeffrey Bame – Content of this presentation may not be used without explicit permission.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John
(John 14: 23-29):
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our dwelling with
him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine
but that of the Father who sent me.
“I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
You heard me tell you,
‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’
If you loved me,
you would rejoice that I am going to the Father;
for the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you this before it happens,
so that when it happens you may believe.”
“City on a Hill: The Church in the Modern World”
 Cornerstone Vatican II document: Pastoral
Constitution on the Church in the Modern World:
Gaudium et Spes
 Date: December 7, 1965
 City on a Hill: “You are the light of the world. A city
set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a
lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it
gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine
before men, that they may see your good works and
give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
– Matthew 5:14-16
Tonight’s Outline
A. The Church in the Modern World
1. Human Dignity and the Search for Truth
2. Anti-Religious Sentiment
3. Role of the Church in the Modern World
4. Marriage and Family
5. Politics
6. Economics
7. The Dignity of Human Work
8. War & Peace
B. Core Messages from Vatican II and Year of Faith Series
C. Divine Mercy Chaplet
Pop Quiz
Question 1:
All Christians have a universal call
to ________?
Pop Quiz
Answer:
Christians have a
universal call to
holiness.
Tonight’s Outline
A. The Church in the Modern World
1. Human Dignity and the Search for Truth
2. Anti-Religious Sentiment
3. Role of the Church in the Modern World
4. Marriage and Family
5. Politics
6. Economics
7. The Dignity of Human Work
8. War & Peace
B. Core Messages from Vatican II and Year of Faith Series
C. Divine Mercy Chaplet
1. Human Dignity and the Search for Truth
 Man is created in the image of God and is tasked with
subduing the earth and having dominion over it (Gen
1:27-28)
 From the beginning man abused his freedom and “set
himself against God” – man “served the creature rather
than the Creator” (Gaudium et Spes 13)
 “Never before has man had so keen an understanding of
freedom, yet at the same time new forms of social and
psychological slavery make their appearance.” (GS 4)
 Freedom is pursued but used wrongly as a “license” to
indulge selfish and sinful desires (GS 17)
1. Human Dignity and the Search for Truth
 With sinful nature and confused freedom, many can’t
identify permanent values and thus are burdened with
uneasiness (GS 4)
 Practicality/efficiency vs. moral conscience (GS 8)
 Man’s own law vs. conscience (GS 16)
 Conscience summons man to love good and avoid
evil
 Conscience is a natural law written by God and man
will be judged accordingly
1. Human Dignity and the Search for Truth
 Modern man constantly searches outward for meaning
and for answers
 “He plunges into the depths of reality whenever he
enters into his own heart; God, Who probes the heart,
awaits him there, there he discerns his proper destiny
beneath the eyes of God.” (GS 14)
 “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is
restless until it rests in you.” (Augustine, Confessions
1,1)
Tonight’s Outline
A. The Church in the Modern World
1. Human Dignity and the Search for Truth
2. Anti-Religious Sentiment
3. Role of the Church in the Modern World
4. Marriage and Family
5. Politics
6. Economics
7. The Dignity of Human Work
8. War & Peace
B. Core Messages from Vatican II and Year of Faith Series
C. Divine Mercy Chaplet
2. Anti-Religious Sentiment
 More than ever, there is a momentum towards denial of
the existence of God in personal belief and in most
disciplines (philosophy, art, politics, history, etc.) (GS 7)
 Religion rejected for many reasons (GS 10 & 19)
 The desire for self-empowerment and fulfillment
 “a fallacious idea of God”
 Theodicy issue (the problem of evil)
 The failure of Christians to live out the Gospel
2. Anti-Religious Sentiment
 Thus, many now argue that religion enslaves man and
prevents his liberation by distracting him with delusions
 This “delusion” hinders human progress and the
perfection of the earthly city
 “Consequently when the proponents of this doctrine gain
governmental power they vigorously fight against
religion, and promote atheism by using, especially in the
education of youth, those means of pressure which
public power has at its disposal.” (GS 20)
 Temptation to protect personal rights by exempting man
from divine law leads to “annihilation” of the dignity of
man, not its protection. (GS 41)
Pop Quiz
Question 2:
How many books are there in the
Bible?
Pop Quiz
Answer:
Total: 73
Old Testament: 46
New Testament: 27
Tonight’s Outline
A. The Church in the Modern World
1. Human Dignity and the Search for Truth
2. Anti-Religious Sentiment
3. Role of the Church in the Modern World
4. Marriage and Family
5. Politics
6. Economics
7. The Dignity of Human Work
8. War & Peace
B. Core Messages from Vatican II and Year of Faith Series
C. Divine Mercy Chaplet
3. Role of the Church in the Modern World
 Mission of the Church
 To carry forth the work of Christ, who came to
rescue, not to judge, and to serve, not be served (GS
3)
 To guard the heritage of God’s word (GS 33)
 To increase the size of God’s family during the
present history until the Lord returns (GS 40)
 The Church is charged with “the duty of scrutinizing
the signs of the times and interpreting them in the
light of the Gospel.” (GS 4)
3. Role of the Church in the Modern World
 Hindrances to the Church
 Weakness/sinful humanity of her members (GS 43)
 Temptation to worldliness – “when the Church
becomes worldly…the Church is a weak Church, a
defeated Church, unable to transmit the Gospel…”
(Homily of Pope Francis on April 30, 2013)
 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for
ever.” (Hebrews 13:8)
3. Role of the Church in the Modern World
 While sin ultimately comes from pride and selfishness,
economic, political, and social tensions provide
opportunities for man to sin in new ways (GS 25)
 Christ did not give his Church a mission in politics,
economics, or the social order, but gave Her a religious
mission – yet inherently this spills over into the worldly
arena in helping to apply divine truth to human order
and to work to alleviate suffering (GS 42)
 Ultimately, to combat atheism and secularism (and evil),
the faith must penetrate the entirely of the human
existence – Christians must live lives of faith, not just an
hour each week at Mass (GS 21)
Tonight’s Outline
A. The Church in the Modern World
1. Human Dignity and the Search for Truth
2. Anti-Religious Sentiment
3. Role of the Church in the Modern World
4. Marriage and Family
5. Politics
6. Economics
7. The Dignity of Human Work
8. War & Peace
B. Core Messages from Vatican II and Year of Faith Series
C. Divine Mercy Chaplet
4. Marriage and Family
 Marriage is “primary form of interpersonal communion”
(GS 12)
 Marriage and conjugal love ordered to procreation and
raising of children, sprung from the fruitfulness that
comes from conjugal union (GS 48)
 God invites man to share in his creative work through
matrimony (GS 50)
 Marriage works for sanctification of couples (GS 48)
 The family is the basic unit of the Church and society –
the family brings the Church and Christ to the world (GS
48)
4. Marriage and Family
 The health of society (and individuals) is linked to the
health of marriage and family (GS 47)
 Families and children need a father and a mother –
each has an indispensable role to play (GS 52)
 Plagues of family life: polygamy, divorce, “free love”,
worship of pleasure, birth control (GS 47)
 Life must be protected from the moment of conception
against abortion and infanticide (GS 51)
4. Marriage and Family
 “All those, therefore, who exercise influence over
communities and social groups should work efficiently
for the welfare of marriage and family. Public authority
should regard it as a sacred duty to recognize, protect
and promote their authentic nature, to shield public
morality and to favor the prosperity of home life.” (GS
52)
 SUMMARY: The Church CANNOT support the redefinition
of marriage - the sacrament of marriage between one
man and one woman, leading to a complementary
union that leads to the procreation and raising of
children, and ultimately towards sanctification, is the
very foundation of the Church and society.
Pop Quiz
Question 3:
What are the four ways in which
Christ is present in the Mass?
Pop Quiz
Answer:
• The Word
• The Eucharist
• The Priest
• The Congregation
(The Church)
Tonight’s Outline
A. The Church in the Modern World
1. Human Dignity and the Search for Truth
2. Anti-Religious Sentiment
3. Role of the Church in the Modern World
4. Marriage and Family
5. Politics
6. Economics
7. The Dignity of Human Work
8. War & Peace
B. Core Messages from Vatican II and Year of Faith Series
C. Divine Mercy Chaplet
5. Politics
 The Church is not bound to any political form or system
of government or politics (GS 42 & 76)
 The Church affects change by teaching in faith and
charity – not by political force (GS 42)
 Political community exists for the sake of the common
good (GS 74)
 Political systems exist to work towards the fulfillment of
basic needs (food, clothing, shelter, etc.) and rights (right
to state of life, to a family, to education and
employment, to reputation, to privacy, to conscience,
and to religion (GS 26)
 Abuse of power and discrimination are condemned
5. Politics
 The Church “does not place her trust in the privileges
offered by civil authority”
 Will even give up rights if they conflict with ability to
bear witness
 “at all times and in all places, the Church should
have true freedom to preach the faith, to teach her
social doctrine, to exercise her role freely among
men, and also to pass moral judgment in those
matters which regard public order when the
fundamental rights of a person or the salvation of
souls require it.” (GS 76)
5. Politics
 People oppressed by government should “render unto
Caesar” but also have the right to defend their rights
against abuse (GS 74)
 Principle of subsidiarity – dangers of excessive power
(GS 75)
 Do not take responsibility out of hands of individuals
and families and social groups by giving it to
government (GS 75)
 Those who have a talent for politics should use these
gifts for the good (GS 75)
Tonight’s Outline
A. The Church in the Modern World
1. Human Dignity and the Search for Truth
2. Anti-Religious Sentiment
3. Role of the Church in the Modern World
4. Marriage and Family
5. Politics
6. Economics
7. The Dignity of Human Work
8. War & Peace
B. Core Messages from Vatican II and Year of Faith Series
C. Divine Mercy Chaplet
6. Economics
 Danger of being consumed by economic ways of
thinking (GS 63)
 Man has a right to a sufficient share of earthly goods –
men (and Church) are obliged to come to the aid of the
poor and not just out of comfortable surplus (GS 69)
 Man has a right to private properly/ownership of goods
– it provides an autonomy necessary for the proper
exercise of human freedom and also gives incentive for
work (GS 71)
 The scandal of wealth – people and even nations with
wealth cannot sit by idly while parts of the world suffer
terrible poverty (GS 88)
Pop Quiz
Question 4:
How many popes have there been
in the history of the Church?
Pop Quiz
Answer:
Pope Francis is
the 266th pope.
Tonight’s Outline
A. The Church in the Modern World
1. Human Dignity and the Search for Truth
2. Anti-Religious Sentiment
3. Role of the Church in the Modern World
4. Marriage and Family
5. Politics
6. Economics
7. The Dignity of Human Work
8. War & Peace
B. Core Messages from Vatican II and Year of Faith Series
C. Divine Mercy Chaplet
7. The Dignity of Human Work
 Work brings dignity to man – while providing for self and
family, society is benefitted as well (GS 34)
 Man should work for income but also for contribution
to society or world
 Man is more precious for what he is than what he has
(GS 35)
 Social advances worth more than technological and
economic advances – technology can provide material
for human progress but never achieve it (GS 35)
 Importance of a Living Wage (GS 66)
7. The Dignity of Human Work
 Immigration Reform (GS 66-67)
 Immigrants should have opportunity to work and
contribute to society
 Society/government should help them to achieve
decent housing, employment, and the relocation of
their families
 Immigrants should be incorporated into society so
that both parties benefit
7. The Dignity of Human Work
 Importance of Leisure (GS 67)
 Rest & Relaxation
 Opportunity to cultivate family life, social
involvement, and religious devotion
 Opportunity to “freely develop energies and
potentialities which perhaps they cannot bring to
much fruition in their professional work.”
Tonight’s Outline
A. The Church in the Modern World
1. Human Dignity and the Search for Truth
2. Anti-Religious Sentiment
3. Role of the Church in the Modern World
4. Marriage and Family
5. Politics
6. Economics
7. The Dignity of Human Work
8. War & Peace
B. Core Messages from Vatican II and Year of Faith Series
C. Divine Mercy Chaplet
8. War & Peace
 Peace is not merely the absence of war or the balance
of power between enemies, nor forced peace through
dictatorship (GS 78)
 Peace comes from the pursuit of justice & charity
 Peace “must be built up ceaselessly”
 Governments cannot be denied right to legitimate
defense once means of peaceful settlement are
exhausted (GS 79)
 Difference between defense and
subjugation/aggression (GS 79)
 Total War and Arms Race condemned (GS 80-81)
Pop Quiz
Question 5:
What is the Book of Nature?
Pop Quiz
Answer:
The idea that God
has revealed himself
to us in His creation –
we can see God
through nature.
Tonight’s Outline
A. The Church in the Modern World
1. Human Dignity and the Search for Truth
2. Anti-Religious Sentiment
3. Role of the Church in the Modern World
4. Marriage and Family
5. Politics
6. Economics
7. The Dignity of Human Work
8. War & Peace
B. Core Messages from Vatican II and Year of Faith Series
C. Divine Mercy Chaplet
Pop Quiz
Question 6:
What are the four cornerstone
documents of Vatican II?
Pop Quiz
Answer:
• Lumen Gentium (The Church)
• Dei Verbum (Divine Revelation)
• Sancrosanctum Concilium
(Liturgy)
• Gaudium et Spes (The Church
in the Modern World)
B. Review: The Church
Cornerstone Vatican II Document: Dogmatic Constitution
on the Church – Lumen Gentium
 Mystical Body of Christ (Lumen Gentium 8)
 We are a pilgrim Church (Lumen Gentium 8)
 The Church is the means of salvation (Lumen Gentium
14)
B. Review: Divine Revelation
Cornerstone Vatican II Document: Dogmatic Constitution
on Divine Revelation– Dei Verbum
 One Deposit – Scripture & Tradition (Dei Verbum 10)
 Development of Canon (Dei Verbum 8)
 Inspiration & Interpretation (Dei Verbum 11)
B. Review: Liturgy
Cornerstone Vatican II Document: Constitution on the
Sacred Liturgy – Sacrosanctum Concilium
 Liturgy as the act of unity (Sacrosanctum Concilium 10)
 “The liturgy is the summit towards which the activity
of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the
font from which all her power flow.”
 Active Participation (Sacrosanctum Concilium 14)
 Organic Development of Liturgy (Sacrosanctum
Concilium 23)
B. Review: The Papacy
 Roman Pontiff is “perpetual and visible source and
foundation of unity” (Lumen Gentium 23)
 Roman Pontiff has “supreme and universal power over
the whole Church” (Lumen Gentium 22)
 Papal infallibility – Vatican I
B. Review: Faith and Reason
Encyclical Document of John Paul II – Fides et Ratio
 Fide quarens intellectum – faith seeking understanding
(Anselm – Proslogion)
 No conflict between faith and reason – they cannot be
separated (Fides et Ratio 16)
 Intellectual tradition of the Church
B. Review: The Church in the Modern World
Cornerstone Vatican II Document: Pastoral Constitution On
The Church in the Modern World – Gaudium et Spes
 Role of the Church (Gaudium et Spes 42)
 Duty of Individual Christians (Gaudium et Spes 43)
 One cannot fail to carry out worldly responsibilities
 One cannot compartmentalize religion and worship
vs. regular life
 “Laymen should also know that it is generally the
function of their well-formed Christian conscience to
see that the divine law is inscribed in the life of the
earthly city.”
Tonight’s Outline
A. The Church in the Modern World
1. Human Dignity and the Search for Truth
2. Anti-Religious Sentiment
3. Role of the Church in the Modern World
4. Marriage and Family
5. Politics
6. Economics
7. The Dignity of Human Work
8. War & Peace
B. Core Messages from Vatican II and Year of Faith Series
C. Divine Mercy Chaplet
© 5/2/2013, Jeffrey Bame – Content of this presentation may not be used without explicit permission.