Many individual Christians live out the Kingdom Values ,everything they do
demonstrates key concepts such as justice peace and reconciliation .
Mother Teresa was a Roman Catholic Nun who
lived her life according to these values ,She
spent many years in Calcutta where she
founded the Missionaries of Christianity
helping those in greed need .
'It is not how much we give bu, how much love we
put into giving' - Mother Teresa
Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires
.He entered the Society of Jesus just before his twenty second
birthday ,and was finally ordained a priest in 1969 .After
years of devotion he became Archbishop of Buenos Aires,
then finally he was elected Pope in 2013
When Pope Francis became Archbishop of Buenos Aires ,he increased
the number of those working with the poor .He lives by example and
does not allow money to be wasted on him during his time in the
Vatican
During 2013-25 Pope Francis
played a major role in restoring
relations between Cuba and the
USA .As well as this he uses his
public address to pray for peace
'Peace is a gift from God, nut it requires our
efforts.Let us be people of peace in prayer and
deed .We pray for peace' -Pope Francis
Pope Francis has worked in many
ways to achieve reconciliation,for
example as Archbishop and Pope
each Maundy Thursday he visits
Prisons and washes the feet of 12
prisoners ,showing they are
accepted and not rejected by his
community
'He pored water into a basin
and began to wash his
disciples' feet ,drying them
with the towel that was
wrapped around him' -
John13:5
Kingdom Values in Vocations
Kingdom values refer to the standards
of living, that God wishes for people to
have as members of his Kingdom. The
greatest example of kingdom values is
given by Jesus - 'Whoever wishes to be
great Amon g you must be your
servant' - Matthew 20:26
Christians believe that we all have vocations
,these are what God planned for us to do in
our journey of life
A priest gives his life to god as one of service to the
people ,he is a man of prayer and worship ,and builds all
that he does on his commitment to worship
A priest must promisee to be celibate ,as a sign of pledging
himself,body and soul, to God . Due to this dedication he is
free to be available at all times ,showing that he is a servant
of God.
The Lords bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all,
able to teach, and patient when wronged - 2 Timothy 2:24
Many Christians prefer to embrace a religious life
,whether this be through living life as a priest ,or even
Monks or Nuns
Many monks and nuns follow the rule of St Benedict and
therefore will take a vow of silence and be shut off from the
world .They wish to dhow their service to God in the most
simplest of ways .However ,other nuns and monks come to
take on roles of service such as teachers, nurse or care
workers
A couple will marry as a sign of commitment to one another.
The couple devout their mind, bodies and soul to each other
St John told us "God is Love" and as Christians we believe
that any expression of love is the work of God active within
our lives
'and they become flesh' - Genesis 2:24 .In the physical
expression of their love God will; create a new life
through their union
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to walk in a manner worthy
of the calling to which I have been
called
The Church as the body of Christ
Most Christians have always been aware of the importance of
God's commandment to love - "Love on a another as I have loved
you"
This is best expressed within the New Testament
'The second commandment is this ,"You
shall love your neighbour as yourself'
There is no commandment greater than
these' - Mark 12:31
'Those who do not love a brother ir sister whom
they've seen, cannot love a God they've bot seen' -
1 John 4:20
Christians feel that they must show love to those in need ,in this case
'Faith without deeds is useless ' ,therefore they divide these deeds into
three sections :
Local- this is help too those in
the immediate area ,Christians
may see these people daily and
continually go to their aid.
National- this is help on a
countrywide basis ,possibly making
changes to policies and laws that
may cause problems for others.
Global- this is help to people in
different countries who may be
in poverty or homeless in the
face of a natural disaster
The St Vincent de Paul society has more than 600,000 members
worldwide It was started by students in 1883 dedicated to helping
those in need.Members may visit people, at home or even at hospital,
they address things like helping with shopping
However there is also a social
work aspect ,where people, will
help the local community
,focusing on their core
problems ,such as laws that
may affect a group of people
within the community
CAFOD ,standing for Catholic agency for overseas development, is an
example of a charity that works on a global scale.
Their work includes providing emergency aid, as well as supporting those in long-term need .Referring
back to core Christian values CAFOD will also challenge policiesthat damage the oeuvres of the poor and
needy .
The Conciliar and Pontifical nature of the Church
Magisterium is the the teaching authority of the church and it is held by the pope,
bishops and priests .At times there are meetings for these events and these
meetings are known as councils ,some well known councils include the first and
second council of Nicea .
A council will express the voice of the whole church and therefore, the church should be the highest authority ,however the
churches official teaching is that the Pope is the head of the Church and therefore, he can summon councils whenever he
pleases .If he dies the council will stop until the new Pope approves the continuation of the council .Yet, councils are still
important as they allow the Pope to see the views of the Church as a whole and this helps the Pope to make informed decisions
.This is how the Catholic Church can be refereed to as Conciliar
The Church is also referred to a s Pontificial
,due to the fact it's highest authority is
exercised by a Pope
Catholics believe that the Pope is the successor of St
Peter and all off St Peter's authority to guide the
church ashy been passed on to him
In a unique way, the Pope is guided by the Holy Spirit .He is the representative of
Christ of earth therefore, his teaching should be taken with great seriousness as
it is infallible
Within the last 129 years ,since Pope Leo XIII's encyclical Rerum
Novarm ,the Church has strongly expressed it's views on the
conditions of society
This springs from an awareness that the Church is made up
from Human Beings and that God loves all people .this love
must be shown in a way the church ,Bothe ops an institutional
and individual level supports the weakest and poorest
members of society.
The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men
of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way
afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties
of the followers of Christ. Indeed nothing genuinely fails to raise
an echo in their hearts -Gaudium et Spes1
Catholics believe that they should bot let their fellow human beings suffer,
especially when these suffering come from economic exploitation and greed on
the part of other people
'Today we have to say 'thou shall not' to an economy of exclusion and
inequality' - Evangelii Gaudium