Service of Authority in the Church Comprehension Activity

1 Timothy 4:6-16

Counsel to Timothy.

6^* If you will give these instructions to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound teaching you have followed.

7Avoid profane and silly myths. Train yourself for devotion,^d

8for, while physical training is of limited value, devotion is valuable in every respect, since it holds a promise of life both for the present and for the future.^e

9This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance.^f

10For this we toil and struggle,^* because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the savior of all, especially of those who believe.^g

11^* Command and teach these things.

12Let no one have contempt for your youth,^* but set an example for those who believe, in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity.^h

13Until I arrive, attend to the reading,^* exhortation, and teaching.

14Do not neglect the gift you have, which was conferred on you through the prophetic word^* with the imposition of hands of the presbyterate.ⁱ

15Be diligent in these matters, be absorbed in them, so that your progress may be evident to everyone.

16Attend to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in both tasks, for by doing so you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.

Open Ended

Timothy is a young priest that St. Paul is ministering as his bishop, in what ways is St. Paul exercising the office of teaching? Of governing? Of sanctifying (making holy)?

Open Ended

Timothy's responsibilities include pastoring a community that includes members who are older than him and administering the Sacraments to them, all while living a holy life himself. How do you think Timothy would have responded to Paul's words contained in this passage, and why?

Open Ended

Paul knows Timothy's youth will be an occasion for others to look down on him. How can this advice from Paul be applicable in your life? How can you encourage other young people to encounter Jesus and share their faith with others?

Lumen Gentium, 18

"In order to shepherd the People of God and to increase its numbers without cease, Christ the Lord set up in his Church a variety of offices which aim at the good of the whole body. The holders of office, who are invested with a sacred power, are, in fact, dedicated to promoting the interests of their brethren, so that all who belong to the People of God . . . may attain to salvation."

Open Ended

For those who serve in leadership in the Church, where does their power come from and what is the goal of their leadership?

CCC, 875

bishops and priests receive the mission and faculty ("the sacred power") to act in persona Christi Capitis; deacons receive the strength to serve the people of God in the diaconia of liturgy, word and charity, in communion with the bishop and his presbyterate. The ministry in which Christ's emissaries do and give by God's grace what they cannot do and give by their own powers, is called a "sacrament" by the Church's tradition. Indeed, the ministry of the Church is conferred by a special sacrament.

Open Ended

For both bishops & priests as well as deacons, why does the Church describe their respective roles as sacraments, or visible signs of an invisible grace?

CCC, 877

In fact, from the beginning of his ministry, the Lord Jesus instituted the Twelve as "the seeds of the new Israel and the beginning of the sacred hierarchy."³⁹⁵ Chosen together, they were also sent out together, and their fraternal unity would be at the service of the fraternal communion of all the faithful: they would reflect and witness to the communion of the divine persons.³⁹⁶ For this reason every bishop exercises his ministry from within the episcopal college, in communion with the bishop of Rome, the successor of St. Peter and head of the college. So also priests exercise their ministry from within the presbyterium of the diocese, under the direction of their bishop.

Open Ended

Please explain the connection between the way Jesus called and shaped His 12 Apostles to how the Bishops lead in a collegial manner in communion with the Holy Father.

CCC, 881-82

The Lord made Simon alone, whom he named Peter, the "rock" of his Church. He gave him the keys of his Church and instituted him shepherd of the whole flock.⁴⁰⁰ "The office of binding and loosing which was given to Peter was also assigned to the college of apostles united to its head."⁴⁰¹ This pastoral office of Peter and the other apostles belongs to the Church's very foundation and is continued by the bishops under the primacy of the Pope.
The Pope, Bishop of Rome and Peter's successor, "is the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful."⁴⁰² "For the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor of the entire Church has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered."⁴⁰³

Open Ended

Based on this text, how would you explain the unique role of St. Peter (and the popes who have followed) in the life of the Church?

CCC, 886

"The individual bishops are the visible source and foundation of unity in their own particular Churches."⁴⁰⁸ As such, they "exercise their pastoral office over the portion of the People of God assigned to them,"⁴⁰⁹ assisted by priests and deacons. But, as a member of the episcopal college, each bishop shares in the concern for all the Churches.⁴¹⁰ The bishops exercise this care first "by ruling well their own Churches as portions of the universal Church," and so contributing "to the welfare of the whole Mystical Body, which, from another point of view, is a corporate body of Churches."⁴¹¹ They extend it especially to the poor,⁴¹² to those persecuted for the faith, as well as to missionaries who are working throughout the world.

Open Ended

Imagine you meet someone someone after theology class, and they ask you to explain what a bishop is, who assists them in their ministry and for whom are they responsible - what would you answer?

CCC 888-890

The teaching office

888 Bishops, with priests as co-workers, have as their first task "to preach the Gospel of God to all men," in keeping with the Lord's command.⁴¹⁵ They are "heralds of faith, who draw new disciples to Christ; they are authentic teachers" of the apostolic faith "endowed with the authority of Christ."⁴¹⁶

889 In order to preserve the Church in the purity of the faith handed on by the apostles, Christ who is the Truth willed to confer on her a share in his own infallibility. By a "supernatural sense of faith" the People of God, under the guidance of the Church's living Magisterium, "unfailingly adheres to this faith."⁴¹⁷

890 The mission of the Magisterium is linked to the definitive nature of the covenant established by God with his people in Christ. It is this Magisterium's task to preserve God's people from deviations and defections and to guarantee them the objective possibility of professing the true faith without error. Thus, the pastoral duty of the Magisterium is aimed at seeing to it that the People of God abides in the truth that liberates. To fulfill this service, Christ endowed the Church's shepherds with the charism of infallibility in matters of faith and morals.

Open Ended

What are the bishops and priests called to preach faithfully and what is the goal of their teaching ministry?

CCC, 894

The governing office

894 "The bishops, as vicars and legates of Christ, govern the particular Churches assigned to them by their counsels, exhortations, and example, but over and above that also by the authority and sacred power" which indeed they ought to exercise so as to edify, in the spirit of service which is that of their Master.⁴²⁶

Open Ended

What are the four goals of the service of bishops in the Church and whose service are they called to imitate?

Draw

Based on the summary below, please create a concept map giving an overview of the relationship between the Pope, the bishops and the priests within the leadership structure of the Church.

935 To proclaim the faith and to plant his reign, Christ sends his apostles and their successors. He gives them a share in his own mission. From him they receive the power to act in his person.

936 The Lord made St. Peter the visible foundation of his Church. He entrusted the keys of the Church to him. The bishop of the Church of Rome, successor to St. Peter, is "head of the college of bishops, the Vicar of Christ and Pastor of the universal Church on earth" (CIC, can. 331).

937 The Pope enjoys, by divine institution, "supreme, full, immediate, and universal power in the care of souls" (CD 2).

938 The Bishops, established by the Holy Spirit, succeed the apostles. They are "the visible source and foundation of unity in their own particular Churches" (LG 23).

939 Helped by the priests, their co-workers, and by the deacons, the bishops have the duty of authentically teaching the faith, celebrating divine worship, above all the Eucharist, and guiding their Churches as true pastors. Their responsibility also includes concern for all the Churches, with and under the Pope.