Transcript

Do you know the difference between a house and a home?

I think I've heard one of these rhymey quotes: A house is built with walls and beams, and a home is built with love and dreams.

That's Ralph Waldo Emerson, right?

Yeah, or Home is where the heart is.

Oh, that's a good one too!

I can get the idea that the physical building, like a house, becomes more than a building when a family lives there.

Yeah, a family makes the house into a home.

It's more than just the beams and walls; it's more than just the physical building.

I worry, though, that people don't have the same understanding of the word church.

What do you mean?

We've heard the word church so many times, but we don't have two different words to refer to its different meanings.

There's a physical building made of walls and beams, but the word church really is about something bigger.

The word church comes from the Latin ecclesia and from the Greek ekklēsia.

This means to call out of, and here it's used to mean a convocation or an assembly.

Ecclesia is used frequently in the Greek Old Testament for the assembly of the chosen people before God.

In the church, God is calling together His people from all the ends of the earth.

Sounds like more than just a building.

Exactly!

The church is the family of God.

The Father planned this family from the beginning, instituted by Jesus, and by His Holy Spirit brought into being to unite all people into this family of God, also known as the Body of Christ.

The church has four key characteristics that we profess in the Creed: the church is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.

The church seems to have this visible and invisible reality to it.

The church is a visible reality but also communicates to us the invisible spiritual reality.

The church is the Body of Christ through which we become united to Jesus, who is the head of the church.

In this way, we can say that the church is one, meaning it is united in Jesus.

Our membership in this unified family begins with our baptism and is completed when we are confirmed and receive the Eucharist.

Well, that would include all people throughout all of time as well, right?

Yes, the family of God includes everyone who has been baptized into the church throughout all time.

We're all united and part of the family of God, the church.

The church isn't perfect; in fact, it's full of sinners and in need of a Savior.

All of these sinners become holy through the help of God's grace.

Every age throughout history has been filled with saints who are wonderful examples of sinners transformed by the grace of Jesus and their union with the church.

These people are witnesses to Jesus' holiness and love in the world.

This is how we can say the church is holy.

So, Jesus makes us holy.

Yeah, this means the church is an invitation for all men and women throughout all time, throughout the whole world.

Everyone is invited to join the family of God and to be united in Christ and the church.

This is what we actually mean when we say the church is catholic.

Wait, I thought that was just the name of our religion.

Well, in some ways, yes, but the word itself means universal or containing the whole.

The church has the fullness of faith and truth and the sacraments and Jesus, and this fullness has always been there since Jesus instituted the church.

It's not just a building; it's great to have church buildings, but yes, we're talking about the family of God.

The church is catholic because it is given and sent out to the whole human race.

The Catechism says in paragraph 845: To reunite all his children scattered and led astray by sin, the Father willed to call the whole of humanity together into his Son's church.

The church is a place where humanity must rediscover its unity and salvation.

The church is the world reconciled.

We've said the church is one, holy, and catholic, but one very crucial quality of the church is that it is apostolic.

Okay, I know there were apostles that followed Jesus.

We call the disciples who followed Jesus apostles because they were sent out by Jesus as witnesses and guardians of everything Jesus taught.

The apostles are special witnesses Jesus chose Himself, and these apostles hand on the deposit of faith.

Do we have apostles today?

We have successors to the apostles called bishops.

Apostolic succession means the church can be traced back through all the bishops directly to the first apostles and ultimately to Jesus.

So, the church is the family of God, and God invites everyone to enter this family.

In this family of God, the church is, and in the church, we are invited to become united to Jesus.

Everyone who is part of this family of God understands that the church is more than just a building.

The church is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.

The church is the family of God, and the church can be your home.

This is the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

It's the official summary written by the church of everything Catholic.

So, it just sits on the shelf collecting dust?

But if the contents of this catechism are unlocked, it can change the world.

Do you believe the catechism isn't a dry, dusty textbook?

It's a gift.

It's the faithful echo of a God who desires to reveal Himself to us.

The heart of the catechism is Jesus, and Jesus changes people.

We just need to re-transform the catechism into a living voice that people can hear.

So, we're setting out to help unlock the catechism.

We're transforming the letter into a living voice for the modern world.

We're creating videos, stories, animations, podcasts, and social media content.

We're creating content that's relevant and watchable—the type of content you want to share with your friends.

And all of this will be free to the world and translated into multiple languages: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese—to help people fall in love with the catechism, the church, and the heart of the catechism, Jesus.

Visit realtrue.org

and join the movement.

Join us and help unlock the catechism for the world.

Join in the project to re-transform the letter into a living book.