Article 7: He will Come Again to Judge the Living and the Dead

Human as we are, it is a common experience to be judged, appreciated, rejected

and criticized. Jesus as a human being, also had experienced the same. These
experiences are events in his life which are prior to his paschal mystery, ascension
and his final coming.
Christ will come again is coined as the “Parousia” meaning “coming”. It is the
traditional term for Christ’s Second Coming as divine judge. This is proclaimed in
the first Eucharistic acclamation that “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will
come again.” It implies that the Son of Man will come with His Father’s glory with his
angels. (CFC 653)
There are two judgments:
1. The particular judgment right after our death, and
2. The final judgment at the end of the world.
In these two judgments, we see Jesus as the Judge.

Who renders a judgment?

This article, “He will come again to judge the living and the dead”, emphasize
clearly that Jesus himself will give the judgments. In the context of man, man is sure
fragile, prone of committing sins. Jesus will be the one to take the initiative to
render the final judgments.

Purgatory – from the Latin word, “Purgatorium”, which means “purification” an

intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification.
- Purgatory is the place where we are purified from our sins before
entering into paradise.
As Scripture says: He had his atonement sacrifice offered for the dead, so that they
might be released from their sin (2Mac.12:45). The Catechism according to Rev.
Charles (2002):

“Purgatory is a place and a process of final purification which the

elect undergo after death, if necessary, before entering the
heaven.” The word purgatory does appear in the Bible but neither
does the word Trinity. Despite the fact that the word Trinity does not
appear in the Bible every Christian still accepts the teaching sine
the Scriptures contain the truth of the teaching the word conveys.

Hell
- Hell is the state of self-separation from the communion with God.
- The pain of hell, which we call “fire of hell”, consist of eternal
separation from God.
- Hell is eternal, as Jesus said: Go away from me, with your curse upon
you, to eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels (Mt.25:41).
Paradise
- Paradise is the state of perfect communion of love with the Blessed
Trinity, the Virgin Mary, the angels and the saints. The saints in
paradise enjoy the “beatific vision”, which is the contemplation of God
face to face in His heavenly glory.
- As Scripture says: The throne of God and the Lamb will be in its place
in the city; …they will see Him face to face…the Lord God will be
shinning on them…(Rev.22:3-5).
- After the final judgment there will be a new heaven and a new earth.
(Rev.21:1-4)
- Scripture teaches that Heaven is a place of perfect happiness where
there is no sorrow and pain, no more death, no more tears (cf Rev
21:23-24)

What is the reason of Judgment?

The reason of this judgment is that to bring human history to a just
conclusion for fulfilment of the perfection of the kingdom. Divine in its
fullness requires that this world’s wrongs be made right. It demands a
definitive end to the power of evil. So, the outcomes of Parousia is the
termination of human evildoing on earth, when hell and its human allies will
be utterly vanquished.

The Basic Truths of the Parousia.

1. The Risen Christ as the Son of Man will “come to judge the living and
the dead” (2 Tim 4:1). “The Lord himself will come down from heaven
at the word of command, at the sound of the archangel’s voice and
God’s trumphet; and those who have died in Christ will rise first” (1
Thes 4:16).
2. Christ’s Second Coming will be unmistakable since it will be
accompanied by unprecedented signs in the heavens and on the earth.
“As the lightning from the East flashes to the West, so will the coming
of the Son of Man be” (Mt 24:27).
3. Regarding when the Parousia will take place, the Gospel is very clear.
“As for the exact day or hour, no one knows it, neither the angels in
heaven nor the Son, but the Father only” (Mt 24:36). Therefore, fourth,
because it will come unexpectedly, “like a thief in the night” (1 Thes
5:2), we must “be constantly on the watch! Stay awake! You do not
know when the appointed time will come” (Mk 13:33).
4. Because Christ is already in his glory, and has sent his Spirit among us,
the “time” of salvation has already come. Now is the time when our
salvation is being worked out in our daily acts with our neighbors.
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory,” he will judge our acts
 according to one norm: “As often as you did it for one of my least
brothers, you did it for me” (Mt 25:31, 40). (CFC 658)

Christ the Lord already reigns through the Church, but all the things of this
world are not yet subjected to him. the triumph of Christ's kingdom will not
come about without one last assault by the powers of evil.
681 On Judgment Day at the end of the world, Christ will come in glory to
achieve the definitive triumph of good over evil which, like the wheat and
the tares, have grown up together in the course of history.
682 When he comes at the end of time to judge the living and the dead,
the glorious Christ will reveal the secret disposition of hearts and will
render to each man according to his works, and according to his
acceptance or refusal of grace. –Catechism of the Catholic Church 680

Summary: With the initiative of the Holy Spirit, the believers are now aware
of the living presence of the Risen Christ. This is the reason why, the
believers believe in Parousia, the second coming of Jesus Christ to Judge the
living and the dead. Biblical accounts of Christ’s Second Coming are written
in the apocalyptic genre and must be interpreted accordingly. But Jesus
Christ clearly affirmed that no one knows when he will come again, except
the Father. It is useless there, to speculate on this “when”. (CFC 672-673)

REFERENCES
Catholic Bishop’s conference of the Philippines. (1997). “Catechism for Filipino
Catholics (CFC)”. Episcopal commission on Catechesis and Catholic education, CBCP
Building, 470 Gen. Luna St. 1002 Intramuros, Manila, Philippines
Hurault, B. (2005). “Christian community Bible”. Imprematur: CBCP, Pastoral Bible
Foundation, 8 Mayumi St., diliman, 1101 Quezon City, Philippines
N/A. (1993). Catechism of the Catholic Church. Libera Editrice Vaticana, Citta del
Vaticano
Rev. Charles Pope. (2002). Purgatory. Retrieved July 6, 2020 from
hcscchurch.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Purgatory.pdf
Thigpen, P. (2020). Simply Catholic (Eternal: After Death, Two Judgments). Retrieved
July 6, 2020 from simplycatholic.com/after-death-two-judgments/

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Article 8: I Believe in the Holy Spirit

“I Believe in the Holy Spirit”

This part reminds the believer that God exists in three persons — the Holy
Trinity — God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. What’s
referred to as the Force in the movie Star Wars isn’t the same as the Holy
Spirit, who is a distinct person equal to the other two — God the Father and
God the Son.

The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Blessed Trinity. Jesus Himself
revealed the existence of the Holy Spirit. He said: Go, make disciples of all
the nations; baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Holy Spirit
(Mt.28:19).

The Manifestations of the Holy Spirit

*The Holy Spirit spoke through the Prophets, and inspired them into writing
the Old and New Testament. As Scripture says: No prophecy ever came from
man’s initiative. When men spoke for God it was the Holy Spirit that moved
them (2Peter1:21).
Jesus was conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy
Spirit. The angel said: The Holy Spirit will come upon you…And so the child
will be holy and will be called Son of God (Lk.1:35). The Holy Spirit
descended on Jesus at the Baptism in the Jordan. As the Gospel says: …he
came up from the water, …heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God…
(Mt.3:16-17).

THE ACTIVITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

CFC 1284. We now come to the actual study of the Spirit’s manifold activity.
Six areas of the Spirit’s work are explored:
 a) in the whole creation, and especially among human persons, created
in God’s image andlikeness;
b) in salvation history among the chosen People, Israel; and
c) in the life, death, and resurrection of the promised Messiah, Jesus
Christ.
Then we shall move to consider how the Spirit is experienced today,
d) in the Church,
e) in each of us as disciples of Christ, and finally
f) in two basic life orientations.

A. The Spirit’s Activity in Creation

CFC 1285. In creation. The most basic activity of the Holy Spirit is
God’s creative power giving existence now to all reality and life to
all living things (cf. CCC 703-4). The Holy Spirit is symbolized by the
mighty wind sweeping over the waters in the Genesis creation account
(cf. Gn 1:2). He is acclaimed by the Psalmist: “When you send forth
your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth” (Ps
104:30).
Contrary to a common misunderstanding that God’s creative action
stopped in the past, we know that it is the Spirit’s creative activity
now that keeps everything existing.
1286. Within all creation, it is especially in the human person that
the Spirit is especially active.
Created in God’s own image and likeness, the first human persons
were vivified when God blew into their nostrils “the breath [Spirit] of
life,” making them living beings (cf. Gn 2:7). The ancient hymn Veni
Creator Spiritus encompasses the whole human race in praying:
Come, Creator Spirit, visit the minds that are yours Fill with
heavenly grace the hearts that you created.
1287. For Filipinos, God as CREATOR is by far the most popular image.
PCP II indicates a new example of God’s creative power, His Spirit,
working within us. It speaks glowingly of “people power” as “a
recognition of God’s fundamental gifts of freedom and responsibility”
(PCP II 326-29).

B. The Spirit’s Activity in Salvation History

1288. The Holy Spirit is ever active in human history, since the Fall of
our first parents to the present day (cf. CCC 705-41). In the Spirit,
Abraham heard and responded to God’s call. The Spirit brought
together the twelve tribes into one Chosen People, inspiring Moses to
lead the Israelites out of Egypt, the house of slavery. Joseph was “a
man so endowed with the Spirit of God” (Gn 41:38). David’s last words
claimed: “The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me” (2 Sm 23:2). In the
book of Judges “the Spirit came upon Othaniel and Jephthah” (Jg
3:10;11:29), and “enveloped Gideon” (Jg 6:34). Most of all, the Spirit
spoke through the prophets to renew the Chosen People.
 1289. Two prophetic lines developed. One focused on “awaiting
the Messiah,” the other announcing a New Spirit” (cf. Is 11:1-2). Both
marked the faith of the ‘remnant’, “the poor of Yahweh” who awaited
in hope “the consolation of Israel” and “the deliverance of Jerusalem”
(cf. Lk 2:25, 28; CCC711-13). Through His Spirit, God promised He
would gather together the dispersed peoples, and bring new life back
to dry bones. “Thus says the Lord God to these dry bones: See! I will
bring Spirit into you, that you may come to life” (Ez 37:5). Finally, in
the prophet Joel, God promised:
“I will pour out my Spirit upon all mankind.
Your sons and daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
your young men shall see visions;
Even upon the servants and the handmaids,
in those days, I will pour out my Spirit” (Jl 3:1-2).

C. The Spirit’s Activity in Christ, the Promised Messiah

1290. This universal outpouring of the Spirit was to take place through
the promised Messiah. Thus Peter proclaimed in his Pentecostal
discourse: “Exalted at God’s right hand, Jesus first received the
promised Holy Spirit from the Father, then poured this Spirit out on us”
(Acts 2:33). So did the prophetic promise of the Spirit’s outpouring find
its perfect fulfillment in the life, Death and Resurrection of Christ Jesus,
our Lord and Savior. We shall sketch briefly the Spirit’s action in Jesus
in four steps: 1) the Preparation; 2) Christ’s Public Ministry; 3) his
Paschal Mystery, and 4) his Joint Mission with the Spirit.

1. Preparation
1291. The Virgin Mary. The Spirit prepared for the coming of
the Savior especially in two specific persons. The first, of course,
was Mary. The Spirit had prepared her to become the Mother of
God (Theotokos) by indwelling in her from the first moment of
her Immaculate Conception in her mother’s womb (cf. CCC 722-
26). At the Annunciation, Gabriel told Mary: “The Holy Spirit will
come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow
you” (Lk 1:35). Thus our Lord Jesus Christ, “for us and our
salvation was born as to his humanity from Mary the Virgin
Mother of God” (Chalcedon, ND 614). Filled with the Holy Spirit,
Mary could exclaim to her cousin Elizabeth: “My soul proclaims
the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior”
(Lk 1:46-47).
1292. In and through the Virgin Mary, therefore, the Holy Spirit:
• realized the saving plan of the Father,
• manifested the Son of the Father before all,
• began to draw all into communion with Christ.
 Thus, through the Spirit, Mary has become the New Eve, the new
“Mother of the Living” (cf. CCC 723-27).

1293. John the Baptist was the second person through whom
the Holy Spirit prepared for the coming of the Savior (cf. CCC
717-20). “Filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb,”
John was sent before the Messiah “in the spirit and power of
Elijah, . . . to prepare for the Lord a people well disposed” (Lk
1:15,17). John was a “voice in the desert crying out: Make
straight the way of the
Lord”; a “witness to testify to the light so that through him
all might believe” (Jn 1:23,7). John himself confessed: “I saw the
Spirit descend like a dove from the sky and it came to rest on
him. . . the Lamb of God . . . who takes away the sin of the world”
(Jn 1:31-34;29).

2. The Spirit in Christ’s Public Ministry

1294. Inauguration. St. Luke’s Gospel introduces the beginning
of Jesus’ public ministry stating: “Jesus returned in the power of
the Spirit to Galilee” (Lk 4:14; cf. CCC 714). There, in his home
town of Nazareth, Jesus laid out his whole messianic program:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me.
He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim
liberty to captives, Recovery of sight to the blind and release to
prisoners,
To announce a year of favor from the Lord (Lk 4:18f). Thus did
Jesus inaugurate his public ministry in the power of the Spirit, as
the prophet Isaiah had foretold of the Messiah (cf. Is 61:1-2).
1295. High Points. Jesus’ empowerment by the Spirit is
recorded in two preceding incidents and confirmed in a third.
First, at his baptism by John the Baptist in the Jordan, Jesus was
“anointed” by the Spirit, who “descended on him in visible form
like a dove” (Lk 3:22). Second, immediately after his baptism,
“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, was conducted by the Spirit into
the desert for forty days, where he overcame the devil’s
temptation, no doubt in the power of the Spirit who was in him
(cf. Lk 4:1-2, 14). Third, confirming these two experiences was
Jesus’ Transfiguration. “His clothes became dazzling white. . .
A cloud came, overshadowing them, and out of the cloud a
voice: ‘This is my beloved Son. Listen to him’” (Mk 9:2-3, 7). The
cloud traditionally symbolized the presence or Spirit of the Lord.
Jesus’ very identity, then, is marked by his two unique relations:
to God who addressed Jesus as “Beloved Son,” and to the Spirit
who transfigured Jesus.*
* These events also indicate the three divine Persons: God the
Father as Voice, Jesus as Incarnate Son, and the Holy Spirit as cloud or
 dove. This confirms the action of the three divine Persons in the angel
Gabriel’s Annunciation to Mary: “you have found favor with God. You
shall conceive and bear a son, Jesus, [who] will be called Son of the
Most high,” because “the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the
power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Lk 1:30-35).
1296. “Doing Good”. The accounts of Jesus’ Baptism, Desert
Temptations, and Transfiguration show how Jesus is always
directly linked with the Spirit who inspires and empowers his
public Messianic ministry. Throughout his public ministry “God
anointed him with the Holy Spirit and power. He went about
doing good works and healing all who were in the grip of the
devil, and God was with him” (Acts 10:38).

3. The Spirit in Christ’s Paschal Mystery

1297. The climax came in Christ’s Passion, Death and
Resurrection. Strengthened by the Spirit in his Agony in the
Garden, Jesus prayed to his Father, “not my will but yours be
done” (Lk 22:42). From the Cross Jesus “delivered over his Spirit”
(Jn 19:30; cf. 7:39; 20:22).
1298. But the Spirit’s power is seen most clearly in the
Resurrection. Jesus “was made Son of God in power according to
the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead” (Rom
1:4). “Exalted at God’s right hand, [the Risen Christ] first
received the promised Holy Spirit from the Father, then poured
this Spirit out on us” (Acts 2:33). St. Paul proclaims the Risen
Christ has become a “life-giving Spirit” (1 Cor 15:45). He
describes in Trinitarian terms how Christ, the Son, works
together with the Spirit to fulfill God’s plan of salvation. For St.
John, only when Christ was risen, could the Spirit be given, and
we receive new life of grace.

4. Joint Mission of Christ and the Spirit

1299. So closely do Christ and the Spirit work together that we
can rightfully speak of the “joint mission of the Son and of the
Spirit” (cf. CCC 689, 702, 727). When the Father sends His Word,
He always sends His Breath: there occurs a joint mission in which
the Son and the Holy Spirit are distinct but inseparable. It is
Christ who appears as the visible Image of the invisible God, but
it is the Holy Spirit who reveals him. The knowledge of the
“mysteries of the Reign of God” of which Christ is the fullness, is
“given” (Mt 13:11) in the gift of the Holy Spirit (cf. CCC 729).
Christ gives the form and content of salvation, while the Spirit
makes present and extends this new life.

D. The Spirit’s Activity in the Church

1300. Pentecost. In St. Luke’s Acts, the Church is inaugurated with
the spectacular outpouring of the Holy Spirit. “All were filled with
the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4). This corresponds to Jesus’ inaugurating his
public ministry with his opening discourse in Luke’s Gospel, “the Spirit
of the Lord is upon me” (Lk 4:18; cf. 30). At Pentecost the large crowd
were much confused upon hearing the eleven “express themselves in
foreign tongues and make bold proclamation as the Spirit prompted
them” (Acts 2:4). The people asked: “What are we to do?” Peter
answered “You must reform and be baptized, each one of you, in the
name of Jesus Christ, that your sins may be forgiven; then you will
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).
1301. Thus it was the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father and the Risen
Christ, that gave birth to the first Christian community, the
apostolic Church. St. Paul describes the people of this New Covenant as
“a letter of Christ, . . . written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living
God, not on tablets of stone but on the tablets of human hearts” (2 Cor
3:3). This Spirit is the “Gift of God” who is Love (cf. 1 Jn 4:8,16), the
first gift which contains all the others, and which “has been poured out
into our hearts” (Rom 5:5; cf. CCC 733). Until today the Holy Spirit
continues to exercise three functions: to give life to, to unify, and to
move the whole body (cf. LG 7).

1. The Spirit Gives Life

1302. The Spirit’s role in vivifying the Church is graphically
sketched in Vatican II: When in the womb of the baptismal font the
Spirit begets to a new life those who believe in Christ, he gathers them
into the one People of God which is a ‘chosen race, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, a purchased people’ (1 Pt 2:9; AG 15). Even the
Church’s practical pastoral decisions were made under such influence
of the Spirit that the apostles could write: “It is the decision of the Holy
Spirit, and ours too, not to lay on you any burden beyond what is
necessary” (Acts 15:28).

2. The Spirit Unifies

1303. Then the Spirit unifies the Church by uniting its members
with Christ and with one another. The Spirit:
• prepares us to accept Christ, and draws us to him;
• manifests the Risen Christ to us interiorly, opening our minds
and hearts to Christ’s words and deeds, especially his Passion,
Death and Resurrection;
• makes Christ present especially in the Sacraments, reconciling
and putting us in communion with God;
• so we can bear much fruit (cf. Jn 15:5,8,16; cf. CCC 737).
We experience the Spirit in the preaching of the Gospel,
celebrating the sacraments, and the deepening of our faith through the
new life of grace, calling us to share in building up the People of God
 (cf. PCP II 428). “Throughout the ages, the Holy Spirit makes the entire
Church one in communion and ministry; and provides her with
different hierarchical and charismatic gifts, giving life to the
ecclesiastical structures, being as it were their soul” (AG 4).
1304. Both the life and unity of the Church are fostered by the
Spirit’s “charisms.” St. Paul described the charismatic gifts with
which the Spirit endows individual members of the Church for the good
of the whole Body.
To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common
good. To one the Spirit gives wisdom in discourse, to another the power
to express knowledge. Through the Spirit one receives faith; by the
same Spirit another is given the gift of healing . . . but it is one and the
same Spirit who produces all these gifts, distributing them to each as
he wills (1 Cor 12:7-11).
The teaching authority of the Bishops plays an indispensable role here
in judging the presence of genuine charisms of the Spirit and how they
are to be used for the good of the Christian community.

3. The Spirit Moves to Ministry

1305. Finally, the Spirit moves the Church toward its mission
and ministry. PCP II insists that the Holy Spirit:
• is the principal agent of evangelization;
• continues and brings the work of Christ to perfection;
• precedes, accompanies, and fructifies the work of the
Church;
• impels each individual to proclaim the Gospel, and
• causes the word of salvation to be accepted and
understood in the depths of consciences;
• shows His presence, power, and activity not only in the
Church, but in the signs of the times that mark the
contemporary world (cf. PCP II 212-15).

Vatican II declares that the Spirit inspires “in the hearts of the
faithful that same spirit of mission which impelled Christ
himself” (AG 4). Thus the Church is kept focused on its primary
mission of preaching the word of God, “making her own the
words of the apostle Paul, ‘I am ruined if I do not preach it’ ” (1
Cor 9:16; cf. LG 17).

The Spirit also moves the Church to renewal and purification.

“Guided by the Holy Spirit, the Church ceaselessly exhorts her children to
purification and renewal so that the sign of Christ may shine more brightly
over the face of the Church” (GS 43).
1306. Recent Philippine History. Our own recent history
reminds Filipino Catholics of the Spirit’s role in our local Church
today. The 2nd Plenary Council of the Philippines says:
 The 1986 experience of solidarity in prayer and mass
action preventing violence at a time of national crisis,
popularly known as the “EDSA experience,” is to be
honored as an historical event with a religious dimension
that continues to call us to be a people who work for
conversion, reconciliation and peace in the way of peace
(PCP II 4). This typifies the Church’s constant effort to
actively respond to the Spirit’s guidance and inspiration.
But as always, the Spirit’s work is never a substitute
for our human endeavor. Rather the Spirit inspires new
“Movements” in the Church, and empowers us with new,
unsuspected strengths to grapple with the ever new
problems and challenges of daily life. Besides, He often
creates and “opens up” for us surprising new possibilities
for fuller and deeper human life, both personal and
communal.

E. The Activity of the Spirit in Christians

1307. The Holy Spirit joins us to Christ. The Spirit joins us
intimately with Christ in two basic ways. First, the Risen Christ is
present within and among us today in his Spirit. Second, the Spirit is
the inner source of our life of faith by which we accept Jesus. “No one
can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 12:3; cf. PCP II
64, 68). This means that we can come to know, recognize, and
experience Jesus only because the Holy Spirit makes it possible. Nor is
this just pious talk far removed from daily life. Paul uses the very
concrete matter of sexual morality to show that “whoever is joined to
the Lord becomes one Spirit with Him . . . your body is a temple of the
Holy Spirit within you” (1 Cor 6:17,19).
1308. For St. Paul, to be “in Christ” and “in the Spirit” means basically
the same thing. We are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
and in the Spirit of our God. We are sanctified “in Christ Jesus” and
“in the Holy Spirit.” Our righteousness is based “in Christ” and
equally also “in the Holy Spirit.” We are called to “rejoice in the
Lord” and to find “joy in the Holy Spirit.” Paul claims to speak “in
Christ” and also “by the Spirit of God.” “For in one Spirit we were all
baptized into one body,” “baptized into Christ” to form “one body in
Christ.” (Cf. 1 Cor 1:2,30; 6:11; 12:3,13; 2 Cor 2:17; 5:21; Rom 12:5;
14:17; 15:16; Gal 3:27; Phil 3:1.)

The Spirit’s Actions

1309. But by linking us to Christ, what actually does the Holy Spirit
do? To spell out in some detail what the Spirit does within and among
us, the following paragraphs set forth six particular activities. The
Spirit: 1) adopts us as children of the Father; 2) enables us to love as
Christ commanded; 3) empowers us to bear witness to Christ, and 4) to
know the truth; 5) draws us into community unity and service; and 6)
inspires us to live a truly Christian life.

1. The Spirit Adopts Us

1310. The Spirit is first of all the “Spirit of adoption” by which
we become “children of God” (cf. Jn 1:12; CCC 693). Jesus is the
only begotten, God’s own Son, but through him and his Spirit we
are adopted by the Father, and are “called children of God __
[for] that is what we are” (1 Jn 3:1). We can truly call God “Abba,
Father.” “The proof that you are sons is the fact that God has
sent forth into our hearts the Spirit of His Son who cries out
‘Abba, Father!’ ” (Gal 4:6)
2. The Spirit Empowers Us to Love
1311. The Spirit thus enables us to love God, and love
everybody else through His Spirit. “The love of God has been
poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been
given to us” (Rom 5:5). And “if God has loved us so, we must
have the same love for one another . . . If we love one another,
God dwells in us and His love is brought to perfection in us” (1 Jn
4:11-12). St. Paul stresses this gift of love above all charisms. “If I
speak with human and angelic tongues. . .have the gift of
prophecy. . . comprehend all mysteries. . . have faith enough to
move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Cor 13:1-
2,8).

3. The Spirit Empowers Us to Bear Witness

1312. In addition, the Holy Spirit empowers us to bear witness
to Jesus Christ. At the Last Supper Jesus told the apostles:
“When the Paraclete comes, . . . he will bear witness on my
behalf. You must bear witnesses as well” (Jn 15:26f). Just before
his Ascension, the Risen Christ promised: “You will receive power
when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, then you are to be my
witnesses in Jerusalem . . . even to the ends of the earth” (Acts
1:8). Therefore, not only are we saved by Christ and the Spirit __
God working in us __ but we share in Their redeeming work as
well __ God working through us. In sending the Holy Spirit, the
Risen Christ calls us to give witness to him before others by
sharing his own triple mission of Prophet, Priest and King.

4. The Spirit Empowers Us to Know the Truth

1313. To know the truth is a further power which the Holy Spirit
inspires in us. PCP II points out that “all persons are bound to
seek the truth, especially in religious matters” (PCP II 362). Jesus
promised his apostles the Spirit of truth who “will teach you
everything and remind you of all that I told you” and “guide you
to all truth” (Jn 14:26; 16:13). John Paul II adds that this means
 “that the Spirit will help people understand the correct meaning
of the content of Christ’s message; He will ensure the continuity
and identity of understanding . . . the same truth which the
Apostles heard from their Master” (DViv 4).

5. The Spirit Draws Us into Community, Unity and Service

1314. Moreover, the Holy Spirit is the principle of unity and
service in the community. “The Spirit is for the Church and for
each and every believer, the principle of their union and unity in
the teaching of the apostles and fellowship, in the breaking of
bread and prayer” (LG 13). PCP II explains how the lay faithful
are called to “animate the temporal order with Christ’s Spirit”
(PCP II 427). This unity in loving service is made possible through
the Spirit’s manifold gifts and charisms, the same promised in
Isaiah the prophet: “a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a
spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear
of the Lord” (Is 11:2).

6. The Spirit Inspires True Christian Life

1315. Lastly, the Spirit vivifies us to live a truly Christian life.
PCP II describes how “in the depths of the Filipino spirit is a
longing for kaayusan, . . . a longing for the life that the creative
Spirit of Jesus gives as a gift, a gift which is likewise a challenge”
(PCP II 257). The Spirit not only strengthens us in our struggle
against the powers of evil, but frees us by his interior
transforming presence. “All of us, gazing on the Lord’s glory . . .
are being transformed from glory to glory into his very image by
the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor 3:18). But it is especially in time of
temptation and trial that we Filipino Christians learn to pray for
the Spirit’s purifying and strengthening power:

A clean heart create for me, O God,

and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me (Ps 51:12-13).
When we are troubled, in doubt, or on slippery ground, we learn to pray:
“May your good Spirit guide
me on level ground” (Ps 143:10).

References
Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines. (1997). “Catechism for Filipino
Catholics (CFC)”. Episcopal Commission on Catechesis and Catholic Education,
CBCP Building, 470 Gen. Luna St. 1002 Intramuros, Manila, Philippines
Hurault, B. (2005). “Christian Community Bible”. Imprematur: CBCP, Pastoral
Bible Foundation, 8 Mayumi St., Diliman, 1102 Quezon City, Philippines
CCC

Google Web. (n.d.). Dove Flight dot to dot printable worksheet – connect the
dots. Retrieved June 25, 2020 from https://www.google.com/search?
q=dove+connect+the+dots&sxsrf=ALeKk02g6-
fjMke1fyVDSJ8fmNjGZBaVTw:1593051799299&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=wh
gmwauODDBCZM%252C_WiUfsj8p0EHqM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-
kQt74vzwSqTVDYZ4IjGnDi1Hq1NLw&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwikluy09JvqAhWUMN4KHX
OPBqQQ9QEwA3oECAoQHQ&biw=1366&bih=657#imgrc=whgmwauODDBCZM

YouTube Web. (2019). Come, Holy Spirit, I Need You (Heritage Singers) – MVL
– roncobb1. Retrieved June 25, 2020 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=iC4z4ZlP3nY
Article 9: The Holy Catholic Church, The Communion of Saints

1349. The first great “living” work of the Holy Spirit, the “Giver of Life,” is the
Church. The word “Church” means “that which pertains to the Lord.” Therefore, the
best way to introduce the Church’s nature and mission is to focus on Christ. “Christ
is the light of all nations, and it is by proclaiming his Gospel to every creature that
the light of Christ, which shines out visibly from the Church, may be brought to all
men” (LG 1). For the Church is none other than that community of men and women
“who, united in Christ, and guided by the Holy Spirit, press onwards towards the
Kingdom of the Father and are bearers of a message of salvation intended for all
men” (GS 1).

The Four Marks of the Catholic Church

1. The Church is “One” Mt.16:18
The Church is “ONE” because of her founder and source: Jesus Christ. But from its
very beginning, the ONE Church is marked by a diversity that comes from the
variety of gifts and the diversity of those who receive them. Among the Church’s
members there are different gifts, offices, conditions, and ways of life. (CCC 813 –
815)
2. The Church is “Holy” 1Peter1:15-16
The Church is the “HOLY” People of God made holy by Christ, her founder. While
holy the Church is composed of sinful members who are constantly in need of
conversion. (CCC, 825 –827)
3. The Church is “Catholic” Acts1:8
The Church is “CATHOLIC” meaning universal. Christ is present in the Church and
She proclaims the fullness of faith to all peoples and is present everywhere in the
world. (CCC, 830 – 856)
4. The Church is “Apostolic” Eph.2:20;Mt.16:18
The Church is “APOSTOLIC” in that she is founded on the faith of the apostles. She
continues to be taught, sanctified and guided by the successors of the apostles, the
bishops, assisted by priests, in union with the successor of Peter, the Pope (CCC,
857 – 865)

The Communion of Saints

1428. To “the holy Catholic Church” the Apostles’ Creed adds the explicitation: “the
Communion of Saints.” The phrase has two meanings:
• communion in holy things (sancta), and
• communion with holy people (sancti). Both senses are true of the Church (cf. CCC
946-48).
The inspired description of the primitive Church in Acts summarizes the members’
“communion in holy things.” They devoted themselves to:
• the teaching of the apostles: communion in the faith received from the apostles; •
communal life: fellowship in the Lord, supported by the charisms of the Holy Spirit;
• the breaking of bread and to prayers: communion in the sacraments, especially
Baptism, the door to the Church, and the Eucharist which nourishes and perfects
the communion;
• “they shared all things in common”: communion in possessions;
• “with exultation and sincerity of heart they ate their meals”: communion of charity
(cf. Acts 2:42; CCC 949-53).

1429. But the Church is also the “communion of holy people” in three states. There
are first, those who are still pilgrims on earth (Church militant); second, those who
are being purified (Church penitent); and third, those who are already in glory
(Church triumphant), contemplating in full light God Himself (cf. LG 49). Despite
these different states, all are in communion in loving the same God and their
neighbor, being disciples of the same Lord, and animated by the same Spirit.
Moreover “the union of the living with the brethren who have fallen asleep in the
peace of Christ is in no way interrupted, but on the contrary, according to the
constant faith of the Church, is reinforced by the sharing of spiritual goods” (LG 49).
The three states are further described below.
a. Church Militant
The Church Militant (Latin: Ecclesia militans), which consists of Christians on earth
who struggle as soldiers of Christ against sin, the devil, and "the rulers of the world
of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places."
The term militant (Latin: militans) has a primary meaning of "being a soldier,
performing military service", but it acquired a secondary meaning of "serving,
performing service, laboring", with its root milito coming to mean "soldier of Christ
or God" in Medieval Latin usage. The members of the Church Militant, i.e. those
Christians on earth, are engaged in spiritual warfare against sin in order that, when
they die, they might enter heaven and join the Church Triumphant. Failing that
directly, those who believe in the existence of Purgatory hope to die in a state of
grace and join the Church Penitent, to purify themselves of their imperfections and,
ultimately, join the Church Triumphant.
b. Church Penitent
The Church Penitent (Latin: Ecclesia poenitens), also called the Church Suffering
(Latin: Ecclesia dolens) or the Church Expectant (Latin: Ecclesia expectans), which
in the theology of certain churches, especially that of the Catholic Church, consists
of those Christians currently in Purgatory;
The term penitent (Latin: poenitens or paenitens means "repenting, being sorry".
Those who constitute the Church Penitent are in Purgatory to satisfy whatever
portion of the temporal punishment due for their sins was not satisfied before
death. They are in a process of purging their imperfections before entering heaven.
It is held that all members of the Church Penitent will eventually join the Church
Triumphant.
The alternate term suffering (Latin: dolens, lit. 'grieving') emphasizes the nature of
souls' experience in Purgatory; they are suffering the temporal consequences of
their sins to redemptive effect. The other alternative, expectant (Latin: expectans or
exspectans), emphasizes that the souls of Purgatory are awaiting expectantly the
beatific vision of heaven.
c. Church Triumphant
The Church Triumphant (Latin: Ecclesia triumphans), which consists of those who
have the beatific vision and are in Heaven. The term triumphant (Latin:
triumphans), means "exulting, rejoicing exceedingly", taken from a figurative usage
of triumphus, originally designating the Roman triumph.[9] Those who constitute
the Church Triumphant rejoice eternally in the glory of God, to whom they are united
in the beatific vision.
1430. Filipino Catholics are culturally attuned to communion with the saints,
communion with the departed, in one family of God. November 1-2 are National
Holidays in our country, showing how much Filipinos “cherish the memory of the
dead with great piety, offering prayers for them “because it is a holy and
wholesome thought to pray for the dead” (2 Mc 12:46) (cf. LG 50). Yet we must
beware of abuses, excesses or defects which may have crept in.
“Authentic cult of the saints consists not so much in multiplying external acts, but
rather in a more intense practice of our love, whereby we seek from the saints
‘example in their way of life, fellowship in their communion, and help in their
intercession’ ” (LG 51). Thus, . . . for as long as we, who are sons and daughters of
God and form one family in Christ, remain in communion with one another in mutual
love and in one praise of the most Holy Trinity, we are responding to the deepest
vocation of the Church (LG 51).

References
Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines. (1997). “Catechism for Filipino
Catholics (CFC)”. Episcopal Commission on Catechesis and Catholic Education, CBCP
Building, 470 Gen. Luna St. 1002 Intramuros, Manila, Philippines
Hurault, B. (2005). “Christian Community Bible”. Imprematur: CBCP, Pastoral Bible
Foundation, 8 Mayumi St., Diliman, 1102 Quezon City, Philippines
Columban Interreligious Dialogue. (2015). Prayer for Ecumenism and Interreligious
Dialogue. Retrieved June 25, 2020 from https://columbanird.org/prayer-for-the-year-
of-ecumenism-interreligious-dialogue-indigenous-peoples/
Google Web. (n.d.) “What does Church Stand For?” Retrieved June 25, 2020 from
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Wikipedia Web. (June 2020). Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved July 15,
2020 from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churches_Militant,_Penitent,_and_Triumphant