CLASS 8

By calling Abraham, God chooses Israel as his own people. Similarly in the New Testament church is the community of people which God formed and made His own. Just as our forefathers responded to God's call through their faith and obedience, we being the children of the church, also must respond to this call. This lesson should be presented in such a way as the students would get this message.

God redeemed His own people, the Israelites from the slavery of the Pharaoh through Moses. We, who are the New Israel, have also been redeemed. Jesus is our only savior. The words of God and the Sacraments help us to attain salvation. It is through the church that we enjoy the fruits. The students should get this message from this lesson.

Church is the community of the believers in Jesus, who proclaim Him as the Lord and the Savior. It is a community that comes to repentance by accepting the Word of God. Having admitted into the community of the church by Baptism, we should be led by the Word of God and by the Sacraments. This lesson may be introduced in such a way as to give out this message.

The Church, inaugurated on Pentecost, is a community led by the Holy Spirit. By giving various gifts and fruits the Holy Spirit builds up the church. Being the children of the church, we also should be led by the spirit. We become filled with the Holy Spirit through the Sacraments. This is the message to be conveyed through this lesson.

Church is the body of Jesus. Jesus is continuing his mission through his body, the church. Jesus is nurturing the church through various services and blessings. As members of the church, we have to fulfill certain responsibilities. This is the message that the students should get from this lesson.

Israel was the priestly people. God revealed this in the Covenant at Sinai. However, with the sacrifice that Jesus offered at Calvary, the priesthood of the Old Testament came to an end. Through Baptism we are also made to share in the priesthood of the eternal priest, Jesus. From the children of the church who have received common priesthood God specially chooses some persons and raises them to the ministerial priesthood. They are the priests of the New Testament. They perform the holy sacrifice of Mass and other sacraments. The students should get this message from this lesson.

The early church surprised all the others in the way its members shared whatever they had. There are verses which state that there was nobody among them who suffered from poverty. Their love for the others was so deep. Even today the church continues this sharing through its charitable activities. When those who are opposed to the church falsify what the church is doing our children should not be misled by them. Rather, they should be proud to belong to the church and join in its charitable activities. This is the message that the children should get from this lesson.

A prophet is one who conveys to the people the will of God and bears witness to God by fulfilling God's will in his own life. All the children of the church who are anointed by the Holy Spirit in the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation also become prophets. We are called to become the salt of the Earth and the light of the World. We must fulfill our prophetic mission by empowering ourselves through the reception of sacraments and by living our faith life for spreading the Good News through our own example.

Church is missionary in character. Missionary activity is the responsibility that Jesus has entrusted to the church. It is the duty of every Christian to proclaim to the people all over the world that Jesus is the Savior of mankind. After receiving the Holy Spirit on the day of the Pentecost St. Thomas came to this distant land of India with the light of the Gospel. The Syro- Malabar Church which inherited the missionary zeal of its patron continues to march forward in its missionary activities. Let us grow as staunch missionaries by imbibing the vigor of the mother church. This should be the message that the students should get from this lesson.

Christian life is a pilgrimage, its destination being Heaven. Just as the Israel who journeyed to Canaan like pilgrims, the church, having been liberated from the bondage of sin, is also on a pilgrimage to Heaven. Death is the door to eternity. An Individual judgment and a Final Judgment await us after our death. On the basis of that we get either heaven, hell or purgatory. We should endeavour to reach heaven by doing good deeds founded on Faith and Love. This is the idea that the students should imbibe from this lesson.

The Church which is the fellowship of the believers maintains its uniformity in respect of Faith, Sacraments and Apostolic Unity. However, there are diversities in Liturgy, Theology, Spirituality and Discipline. These diversities do not weaken the fellowship among the churches; rather they nurture the fellowship. Now there are 22 individual Churches in the Holy Catholic Church and Syro-Malabar Church is one among them. Each individual church has the responsibility of keeping up its traditions and individuality. This is the message that should be conveyed through this lesson.

The Church of the holy God is also holy. At the same time the members of the church are sinners and weak mortals. So the church has to be sanctified. We are sanctified by the sacred blood of Jesus, words of God, Sacraments and Sacramentals. Prayer, fasting and abstinence etc. are alsomeans for sanctification. This lesson is meant for giving these ideas to the students.

The Catholic Church is built up on the foundation of the Apostles. It was as a result of the preachings of the apostles that Christian communities were formed at different places. Founded by the apostle St. Thomas, the Syro-Malabar church also has its apostolic tradition. Today the apostolic presence of the church is the Bishop. This lesson should enable the students to take pride in belonging to the church founded on the apostolic foundation and to discern the false churches.

The church has been appointed to be the path of salvation for the entire mankind by its presence all over the world. The children of the church also should display this character of the church. This lesson should be introduced with a view to express this theme.

Jesus has entrusted each one of us to His mother while entrusting His beloved disciple John to His Mother. Therefore we are obliged to seek her intercession and follow her example. This is the message that the children should get from this lesson.