Jesus established the Catholic Church to guide believers to unity with God. He appointed Peter as the first Pope to lead the Church after Jesus ascended to heaven. The Church is hierarchical, with the Pope obeying Christ as the head of the Church, and bishops, priests, and laity obeying the Pope. The Church is marked by its unity, holiness, catholicity, and apostolic succession as it was founded by Christ and continues his mission.

2. JESUS ESTABLISHED THE CHURCH
• Through the Church, Jesus is always looking after and caring for us.
• Jesus established the Catholic Church to teach, guide, and lead us to
unity with God, in this life and life forever in heaven.
1. Have you ever seen a sheep in television or on a ranch grazing on the
meadow on a hillside? On some big ranches there are hundreds of
sheep.
2. Did you ever pet or hold a little lamb?
• A new born lamb is tiny, but from the first day it is born, it can get up
on its 4 legs, and follow its mother and the other lambs.
• The Shepherd is in charge of them all.
• He knows each one of his lambs and every sheep by name.

3. THE SHEPHERD LOOK FOR THE LAMB
1. What could happen if a little lamb is too slow or wanders away from the others?
• I could get lost or caught between rocks an thorns, or fall into a ravine.
• When it gets hurt, it cries
• You can imagine that when the shepherd hears its cry,
a. he goes looking for the little lamb until he finds it.
b. Then gently frees the little lamb, and puts it on his shoulders
c. and takes it back to the rest of the sheep.
• The shepherd’s work is not over,
• even at night when the sheep are in the fold, He is ready to fight any wolf, or thief who might try
to attack the sheep.
• Do you think the shepherd would ever just go away, and leave the his flock unwatched or
a whole day?
• The Shepherd never do that because he knows that the sheep would scatter
• and many would die of thirst, or get killed.

4. THE SHEPHERD DOESN’T LEAVE THE SHEEP
• Whenever the shepherd has to leave his sheep, he always leaves
them with someone he trust, to take good care of them for him
while he is away.
• When Jesus was on earth, may people, men and woman, boys
and girls, followed Him whenever He went.
• Jesus loved each one of them, and took good care of them as a
shepherd.
• Jesus said: “I am the Good Shepherd..”
• Would Jesus would leave His flock alone? Of course not. No
shepherd would do that,
• and Jesus is so much more loving and good than an ordinary
shepherd ever could be.

5. JESUS APPOINTED PETER
• Before Jesus went up to heaven, He appointed Peter to
take His place on earth.
• He said to Peter, “Feed my lambs, feed my sheep.”
• Peter and the Apostles understood. They knew this
meant that from then on,
a. Peter was to be the chief shepherd
b. and was supposed to take care of all of us— the flock, the
Church founded by Jesus.

6. “GO AND TEACH ALL THE NATIONS”
• Jesus went up to high mountain with Peter and his closest friend
whom were called the Apostles
• Jesus said them,
• “Go and teach all the nations” (every man woman and child.)
• “Baptized them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit”
• “Teach them to keep all that I have commanded.”
• Then Jesus blessed His friends, and right in front of their eyes, He was
lifted up from the earth.
• ( don’t forget that we receive the 1st time the gift of Grace in the
Baptism.)
• The shepherd’s staff remind us of Jesus request to Peter and the
apostles.

7. JESUS WILL RETURN
• The Apostles looked up to the sky, and watched Jesus until the
clouds covered Him and they could not see him any longer.
• They were still looking up when angels came and said to them
• “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?
• Jesus will return in the same way as you have seen him going up to
heaven.”
• At the end of the world, Jesus will come back to judge the living
and all those who died. This is what we say in the Apostles Creed.
• On the Day of Judgement, we do not have to be afraid. The angels
told the apostles that Jesus will come back the same way as He left.
• That means that He will not turn into a cold judge, but He will come
with a “blessing.”

8. LIVING OUR FAITH AS JESUS COMMANDED
• On the last day, every one of us will be asked whether we loved
God, and obeyed the shepherds whom Our Lord appointed to take
care of us.
• We will be asked if we were good member of the Church founded
by Jesus,
• and if we learned about and lived our faith as Jesus commanded,
receiving the Sacraments, and obeying the Commandments.
• Jesus is the head of the Church, but because He went to heaven, we
cannot see Him.
• Jesus made Peter the visible head of the Church, whom everyone
could see and hear and obey.

9. THE APOSTLES ORDAINED OTHER PRIESTS AND DEACONS
• Peter was the fist Pope.
• By himself, Peter could not go all over the world to teach, baptize, ad lovingly rule the
people.
• This is why Jesus send the other apostles to share in this great work,
• and help Peter who was the chief shepherd and head of the Church on earth
• The apostles were the first Bishops.
• Do you remember what Jesus told the apostles when He send them out?
• He said, “Go and teach all nations.”
• But there were only twelve apostles. Could the twelve men teach all the men,
women and children in the whole world? Of course not. They needed help.
• So the apostles ordained other good men as priests and deacons, sharing with
them the power that had received from Jesus.

10. JESUS GOVERNS THE CHURCH &
SENDS THE HOLY SPIRIT
• Jesus governs His Church through Peter and the Apostles.
a) The people obey the deacons, priest, Bishops and the Pope.
b) The priests and deacons obey the Bishops and the Pope.
c) The Bishops obey the Pope,
d) and the Pope obeys Jesus Christ.
• This is the order within the Church, so all of us can follow and obey
Jesus Christ.
• Jesus is still guiding the Church.
• Just as He promised, He sent the Holy Spirit to be with His Church
always, and to make the Church Holy.
• Let us look at the Church today.

11. WHEN PETER DIED ANOTHER POPE WAS ELECTED
• When Peter died, another Pope was elected to become the visible
head of the Church.
• When the Apostles died, other men were ordained as Bishops and
received the same powers to carry on Christ’s mission in the Church
• Bishops have the power to ordain priests and deacons just the way
the Apostles did.
• When we talk about the Catholic Church, we are not talking about a
building.
• The Church is the people of God, united in the same faith,
• the same Baptism,
• under the shepherds' care.

12. 4 MARKS OF JESUS ESTABLISHED CHURCH
• There are 4 important marks or characteristics by which we can
recognize the Church Jesus established:
1. The Church is ONE because we have One Father—God our Father;
we have one Lord, Jesus Christ, who is our head; we have one faith,
one Spirit who gives life to the one body.
2. The Church is HOLY because Jesus is Christ , our head, is holy and He
sanctifies us, He makes us holy. By the Power of the Holy Spirit.
3. The Church is CATHOLIC, which means that it is universal. Christ
sends His Church to gather all God’s children together to be one in
Him.
4. The Church is APOSTOLIC because it is built on the foundation of the
Apostles.

13. LETS ASK GOD TO GIVE US HOLY PRIESTS
• It is wonderful to see how much Jesus loves us!
• He promised to remain with us always,
• so He stablished the Church,
• and gave us our Holy Father to love and care for us as a good shepherd.
• Do any of you know the name of our Holy Father, the Pope?
1. Do you know the name of our Bishop?
2. What is the name of our parish pastor?
3. Do you know any other priests? Or deacon? Do you know the name of our parish?
• In the Mass, we pray for the Pope, for our bishops, and for the priests and deacons.
• This week specially let’s pray for them, too.
• Ask God to bless them in their work. And to give us more holy priests. God might even
ask some of you to be a priest and go to teach, baptize, to guide and help people to get
to heaven.

14. THE
CATHOLIC
CHURCH