Have you ever wondered why there are so many different ways for Christians to organize and worship? If you come from an evangelical church, do you puzzle over the practices in traditional liturgical churches -- why they do all the kneeling, sitting, standing, and everyone reciting the same thing at the same time? Do you sometimes feel there's something missing in your own worship service? If you attend a traditional church, do you understand why your church has a liturgy? Does it seem meaningless to you -- as if you're only going through the motions with little to no spiritual impact on your life? As It Is in Heaven, written by Father Paul A. F. Castellano, uncovers the answers to these and many more questions about the traditional church and the governmental structures that support it. As you read, you will gain deep biblical understanding about these structures, helping to enrich the foundations of your faith and give you a new appreciation for the traditions that have stood the test of time.

This document's purpose is to spell out the Church's understanding of the nature of revelation--the process whereby God communicates with human beings. It touches upon questions about Scripture, tradition, and the teaching authority of the Church. The major concern of the document is to proclaim a Catholic understanding of the Bible as the "word of God." Key elements include: Trinitarian structure, roles of apostles and bishops, and biblical reading in a historical context.

The central document of the Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on November 21, 1964. This document is "the keystone" of the Councils whole Magisterium. It focuses on the whole Church as a communion of charity. With it, according to John Paul II, the Second Vatican Council wished to shed light on the Churchs reality: a wonderful but complex reality consisting of human and divine elements, visible and invisible.