1.

What are the 4-Fold Tasks that define the mission of the Church, and how does the Catholic Church accomplish that mission in the world today? The first of the 4-Fold Tasks is Kerygma or, sharing the message. Kerygma encompasses telling everyone of all ages and sizes that the Lord is truly the way, the truth and the life. As members of the church community we are obliged to invite them to repent their sins, accept Jesus Christ in faith, and be baptized with water in the Holy Spirit. The Church accomplishes this part of its mission through the preaching of the good news to help lead people to Jesus. The second of the 4-Fold Tasks is koinonia, which mean fellowship. Koinonia calls the members of the Church to live the word of God everyday. Living Gods word will allow the Church to attract more followers just as Jesus did. The Church is able to accomplish koinonia through Christians demonstrating that Jesus is within their midst. The third of the 4-Fold Tasks is Diakonia which is serving others. Members of the Christian community are called to perform concrete acts of service such as a food drive or volunteering at a soup kitchen. The Church achieves diakonia by imitating the Lord by following the path of poverty, obedience, sacrificial love and service. Leitourgia is the final part of the mission of the Church. Leitourgia, or liturgy, calls us all to worship the Lord. The church invites its members to participate in morning and evening prayers, grace before meals and Eucharist on Sundays. Kerygma, Leitourgia, Koinonia, and diakonia together creare the mission of the Church which is to invite and enable her followers to share in the divine life. All of the tasks are integral to be able to share in the divine life. What are the 4 Marks of the Church? How does the relationship between the Catholic Church, Orthodox Church, Anglican and Protestant denominations affect our understanding of each of those 4 Marks? The four marks of the church are the four words we say in the Nicene Creed at mass every week: one, holy, catholic and apostolic. At this point in history the churches are not one. The Eastern Schism, from which the Orthodox Church was created, was the first split of the Catholic church. God intended for us to be one unified Church but, because of sin and human pride the Catholic church split. The protestant reformation of the sixteenth century also unfortunately split the Catholic church further. It created the Protestant denominations. A priority of the Catholic church and a large focal point of the one aspect of the 4 marks, is ecumenism or to restore unity between the churches. The next mark of the church is holy. The trinity is the main source of holiness for the Church, but the church also possesses holiness because she provides the means for achieving holiness such as receiving the sacraments, reading holy scriptures, praying, and reflecting on spiritual writings of the great saints and theologians. Holiness in the Church, however, is a paradox because the Church contains sinful members. These sinful members have even been Popes and other important members of the Church. It was these members that disrupted the unity of the church. The other denominations and churches were created as a result of unholiness. The third mark of the church is catholic which means universal. The Church is catholic because of Christs presence in the Body, endowing the Church with everything necessary for human salvation. The Church participates in universal outreach meaning everyone is invited to the Church, but the Church has been intolerant, even engendering prejudicial attitudes against

certain groups. This intolerance made us not catholic and lead to disruption of unity. All the paradoxes of the different marks led to the splitting of the Church. The final mark of the church is apostolic. The succession of leadership is one way the Church is apostolic but this also occurred in the Western Schism when three men claimed to be Pope. Again these inconvenient paradoxes tarnish the marks of the Church leading to splits and breaks in unity. 3. Discuss what is meant by the statement, The Church is a sacrament. The Church was first described as a sacrament by Pope John Paul II at the second vatican council. He describes the church as a sacrament in detail in Lumen Gentium. A sacrament according to Church teaching is an efficacious sign of grace instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church. This means that the Church itself works through the sacraments. The Church is a sacrament because she embraces all people and welcomes them into the family of faith. The Church is sign or Sacrament of the inner unity of all humans with God and a true sign or Sacrament of the unity of the human race. So basically the Church bring all humanity into community with one another just as God intended. Because the Church bring us into community with one another, it is considered a sacrament. Since the Church is united with God, it is considered the universal Sacrament of Salvation. The Church points its members toward communion through God and neighbor in this life and eternal life in the next. The Church, then, is the sacrament of Christ because she makes Christs work of salvation visible, accessible to human beings, and creates a unity among humanity. The Church was instituted by Christ so it fits the definition of grace perfectly. The Church makes the invisible signs of grace visible renewing the presence of God within the Church. The Church successfully renews the faithfuls thirst for God every week on Sunday. The Church does everything necessary for human salvation and therefore must considered a sacrament.