CHURCH OF JESUS

a) Fullness of times
b) Jesus Christ
c) Community of Jesus Christ
d) Foundational stages of the Church
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a) Fullness of times

        The most transcendental event that has happened on earth has been God’s arrival to the world. Christ came to the world on the year 753 after Rome’s foundation, and this event has been considered as the fullness of times.

        It’s difficult for us to understand what fullness of times really was, because Israel was only a little province, and it was lost inside the great Roman Empire.

        It’s possible, then, to consider that fullness in order to:

-unity of the Roman Empire. The unity of culture, language, communications, right, business, in all empire provinces… became a fast extension of the gospel around all places and corners;

-exile of the Jewish people. The family’s existence, good theoretical formation, and purity of customs of all Jewish people exiled in the Mediterranean Sea… became the reasons that explain the strong growth of the gospel around all people and races.

b) Jesus Christ

        When Jesus became adult, He delivered great speeches and performed miracles. It became his public life. This public mission of Jesus joined thousands of people from different classes (there were about 5,000 men excluding children and women), and this can be made concrete through:

-announcement of the gospel,
-curing of ill people,
-sending off the evil.

        Jesus came to build a new kingdom that was inaugurated on earth. He showed it through parables and comparisons, and He proved it through 50 signs and miracles. At last, he made his new kingdom invincible in front of the evil empire.

c) Community of Jesus Christ

        The new kingdom of God, inaugurated by Jesus, could be two things at the same time: a visible reality (on earth) and an invisible reality (in heaven). The visible society founded by Jesús was "his" Church.

        To build his Church, Jesus reunited himself with a great number of disciples. Between them, he chose one smaller group of 72 and sent them by twos. At last, he called his 12 apostles.

        Jesus gave his 12 apostles 3 missions:

-to teach, preaching the gospel to all mankind, and being his witnesses in all corners of the world;
-to sanctify, celebrating the Eucharist, forgiving sins and administering the other 5 sacraments;
-to govern,
deciding what is good and what is evil.

        The 12 apostles belonged to a humble society class. It means that all their power and efficiency were from God, and not from them.

d) Foundational stages of the Church

        Throughout his life, Jesus Christ built the bases of the Church little by little. Those bases were:

-preaching of the gospel,
-call to the 12 apostles,
-selection of Peter as head of the 12 apostles,
-institution of the sacraments,
-redentor passion on the crosss,
-sending of the Holy Spirit.

        The Jews’ celebration of Pentecosts was on the 28 May 33 A.D. With the arrival of the Holy Spirit and with Peter’s preaching to more than 4,000 believers, it was a historic moment for the Church’s birthday.

 

Mercaba Eds 
Diocese of Cartagena-Murcia 
General Diagram of Mercaba's Youth Catechism