The Church Suffering, or the Church Expectant, consists of the souls in Purgatory. This is the Church of all the faithful departed who are saved but are still being purified in purgatorial suffering. They cannot see God, but the Holy Spirit is in them. Being made ready for Heaven, they will never again sin.

We must have reverence toward the bodies of those who have gone before us in death, and we must pray for the souls of our deceased relatives and friends, and all of the faithful departed. We show respect for the bodies of the deceased because they were temples of the Holy Spirit and are destined to rise gloriously. We can …

As Christians, we must help men to solve their problems as much as possible. We show our love for God by loving our neighbors—the people around us. Love for our neighbor makes us do all we can to help those who need our assistance and to make the world better. Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A …

Christian unity in faith and love is God’s will because Jesus prayed that all who believe in Him should be one, in order that the whole world would know that His Father sent Him. The night before He suffered His Passion and death, Jesus prayed for Christian unity. “I do not pray for these only, but also for those who …

In order to promote Christian unity, Catholics should take the first steps in seeking to overcome the unfortunate divisions existing between Christians. They should strive to make Christians more faithful to Christ and to be effective witnesses to the truths received from the Apostles. The Church is one because there is only one Jesus, Who communicates the same life of …

We should respect all men of good will because man was created for God in His image and likeness; as a human being he possesses a special dignity and value. Man, having a spiritual soul and being a more perfect image of God, has dominion over all other earthly creatures. He has a free will and is immortal. For these …

We firmly believe that Jesus Christ made His Catholic Church the ordinary means of Salvation. We should desire to share the Church’s fullness with all mankind. Catholics believe that Jesus Christ placed the work of Salvation in the care of His Church. Speaking to His disciples, Jesus said, “He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects …

As Christ sent His Apostles to teach and to be witnesses to Him in the world, so too, He wants the laity to share in this mission. The duty of proclaiming the Gospel and of making its power felt in the lives of men belongs not only to bishops, priests, deacons, and religious, but also to the laity in the …

The Catholic Church is an institution for Salvation since (1) it is a community of the faithful with our Savior Jesus Christ as its Head, and (2) it has been given the mission of communicating the Good News of Salvation to all mankind. 1. The Catholic Church is an institution of Salvation because it is a community of the faithful …

There are four marks which point out the true Church founded by Jesus. They are four adjectives: one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. Having made His Church a means of our everlasting happiness, our Lord has stamped it plainly with the mark of its divine origin. In the Nicene Creed we say: “I believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic …