LESSON 14

The Church Strengthens Us

The Church is not a community closed in on itself. A natural and important consequence of her missionary mandate is
for her to go out into the whole world and preach the gospel to every creature. Her missionary character gives her no
choice but to proclaim the good news of Christ since salvation in Jesus Christ is offered to all. The Church fulfills her
missionary mandate by sending out men and women to the different parts of the world to proclaim the truth of
Christ's Gospel.

KNOWING THE MESSAGE

Appearance to the Disciples

John 20:19-23

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the
Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed
them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with
you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
"Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."
Deepening the Message

The Gospel of John 20:19-23 tells about the appearance of Jesus to the apostles as they met behind locked doors for fear of the Jews on the evening of the first
day of His resurrection. Thomas, who was brooding over his doubts about the resurrection, was not present. Jesus appearance made the disciples strong and
received the courage to continue His mission on earth. The mission is summed up in John 20:21, where Jesus says, "as the Father has sent Me, I also send you."
The Risen Savior has called and equipped us We can confidently proclaim the gospel to all people. And John emphasized the following:

1. The risen Savior has given us great peace.

"Peace be with you" was a common Jewish greeting wishing overall well-being on the other person. It is foundational for the disciples and our mission for Him.
We can't begin to serve the Lord unless you first are reconciled to Him through the peace that Christ accomplished on the cross. Before we believe in Christ, our
sins alienate us from God. But when we trust in Christ, we enter into a new relationship of peace with God. God appoint us as ambassadors of His mission of
reconciliation with this world. Christ has given us peace with God, the peace of God, and peace with one another, so that we can carry out His mission.

2. The risen Savior has given us great proof.

Jesus showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus resurrection body still has the scars to remind us of the
great price that He paid to save us from our sins. Christ died for our sins and was raised again according to the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:3-4). We can proclaim the
gospel with confidence because we have great proof of His resurrection.

3. The Risen Savior has given us a great purpose.

Jesus said to them peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you. This applies Jesus' prayer in John 17:18 to the disciples. John's Gospel frequently
emphasizes the theme of Jesus being sent by the Father. He was sent to do the Father's will, to speak the Father's words, and to perform the Father's works. He
was sent to bring salvation to the world.

4. The Risen Savior has given us great power.

We have the mission to proclaim the Good News to all and to proclaim forgiveness of sins. The mission is possible because the Risen Savior has equipped us by
giving us great peace, great proof, a great purpose, great power, and a great proclamation.
Do Activity 2

The Church says...

The Church makes Jesus Christ present in the world. She was commissioned to continue the mission that the Father had
given His Son, Jesus sent His apostles throughout the whole world to make disciples of all nations. This command is fulfilled
by the Church by the example of her life and preaching, by her sacraments and other means of salvation.

This command of Jesus rings true even up to today. The Church is even more urgently called upon to ve and renew every
creature, so all things might be restored in Christ, and so that in Him men might form one family and one people of God
(AG, 1). The special undertakings in which preaches of the Gospel, sent by the Church, and going into the whole world,
carry out the work of preaching the Gospel and implanting the Church among the people who do not yet believe in Christ
are generally called "missions" Such undertakings are accomplished by missionary activity and are carried out in defined
territories recognized by the Holy See The special end of

this missionary activity is the evangelization and implanting of the Church among peoples or groups in which

it has not yet taken root (AG, 6),

"God is launching us into a new mission" (PCP II, 107). We need to provide encouragement, support and our prayer to
those who are actually engaged in missionary activities in our own country and in other parts of the world.
Do Activity 3

The transmission of the Christian faith consists primarily in proclaiming Jesus

Christ in order to lead others to faith in Him. The first disciples burned with the desire to proclaim Christ: "We cannot but
speak of what we have seen and Ziring the Message heard." And they invite people of every era to enter into the joy of
their communion with Christ (CCC, 425) The Disciples of Christ must not only keep the faith and live on it, but also profess it
confidently bear

witness to it, and spread it. Service and witness to the faith are necessary for salvation (CCC. 1816)..

The Church calls all members to live as a People of God, the society of the faithful, and the

communion of men and women in Christ, working together in cooperation with God's saving love in Christ. We constantly
pray for the continuing mission of the Church. We pray for the Pope and other leaders of the Church that the light of the
Holy Spirit be their guide. We also pray for the lay people that we may actively participate and give witness to the loving
ways of Jesus. We celebrate these hopes in the Eucharist every Sunday

Pope Francis stressed that it is a vocation of the Christian leader to be with his people in their hopes and struggles,
anxieties and fears. We are sent to the strong and the weak, the wholesome and the broken, the churched and the
unchurched, the pious and the impious, the normal and the bizarre We are sent to them through the gate, who is Christ.
We are called to meet God in the most unlikely people and places