CATHOLIC CHURCH TEACHING

KNOWLEDGE OF GOD

CATECHESIS

CATECHESIS HANDING ON THE FAITH

Jesus empowered the Church to continue His mission when He said, Full authority has been given to me both in heaven and on earth; go, therefore and make disciples of all the nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to carry out everything I have commanded you. And know that I am with you always, until the end of time. Matthew 28:18-20

This great commission has been handed on to women and men, whom God has called, to proclaim the Good News. This ministry of teaching and forming has traditionally been referred to as catechesis.  Catechesis is the effort within the Church to make disciples, to help people to believe that Jesus is the Son of God…and to educate and instruct them in this life and thus build up the Body of Christ. (Catechesi Tradendae #1)

Knowledge of God

 OPENING PRAYER  (WELCOME GOD INTO OUR STUDY)

Almighty and Great God you created us out of love.  Jesus, your Son has taught us to call you Abba, Father.  You sustain us, Father and nourish us in your revealed Word.  Father lead us into a deeper knowledge of you who is love itself.  In Jesus’ name, we pray.

CATECHESIS (STUDY THE FAITH)

 REFERENCES FROM CATECHISM OF CATHOLIC CHURCH 2ND EDITION

CCC 27 -30 Man’s desire for God

CCC 31 – 35 Ways of coming to know God

CCC 36 -38 Knowledge of God according to the Church

CCC 39 – 43 How we can speak about God

The first Roman Catechism was commissioned in 1546 by the Council of Trent.  It prevailed for four centuries and was still highly recommended by Pope John XXIII in 1960. On June 25, 1992 Pope John Paul II officially approved The Catechism of the Catholic Church now in its second edition.  The Roman Catechism of Trent and the recently published Catechism of the Catholic Church are the only official Catechisms published by the Catholic Church.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1992 is broken into four parts like the Roman Catechism of Trent: The Creed (Faith Professed) Sacraments (Faith Celebrated) Commandments (Faith Lived) and Our Father (Faith Prayed.)

Our Creed begin with the words “I believe.”  To believe does not mean to think, to suppose, or to be of the opinion of but rather it is an expression of a person with the deepest conviction and of unhesitating assent to all God has revealed and taught through his Son, Jesus Christ. 

The knowledge derived from faith is NOT to be considered less certain than knowledge derived from physical objects and sense experience.  Our Faith is given to us by a God who can neither deceive nor be deceived and testified to by Jesus Christ and his disciples. 

The desire for God is written in the human heart because man is created by God, for God.  God never ceases to draw us to Himself.  God loved me into existence. We can forget God or reject God, but God never ceases to call everyone to seek Him and to find eternal life.

There are many ways to know or approach God.  Beginning with Creation, its beauty, and order, we can come to the knowledge of an intelligent First Cause.  There is a first cause that exists outside of ourselves that most people call God.  Nothing in Creation is necessary.  All is contingent. Something exists in creation because God loved and willed it into existence.

Our holy Mother, the Church, holds and teaches us that God is the first principle and last end of all things and can be known with certainty from the created world and by the natural light of human reason. When we speak about God it is always limited because God is infinite and we are not. 

It is easier to say what God is not. God is always more than we can know or say about Him.  We may speak about God, even if our knowledge is limited and our human words always fall short of the full mystery of God

CLOSING PRAYER:  (PRAY THE FAITH)

Loving God, I praise you for the gift of divine Revelation which helps my reason discover you in creation and in my conscience.  Thank you for giving me a capacity for your presence within the depths of my heart.  Cleanse my heart of any obstacles to your loving presence. In Jesus’ name we pray.

 LIFE APPLICATION:  (LIVE THE FAITH)

 1. Is my curiosity about God and the world still alive and well or am I too grown up to be amazed in awe and wonder?

2.  Do I sense a spiritual restlessness in my soul?  What have I done to satisfy this restlessness that makes me feel a deepening need of God’s presence in me?

3. What am I most passionate about in life? Where do I place my enthusiasm and energy?

4.  We make plans and God laughs! What is God’s plan for me?

    

 

 

GOD’S REVELATION TO MAN

CATECHESIS, CATHOLIC CHURCH TEACHING

GOD REVEALS HIMSELF TO THE PROPHETS

Through the prophets, God forms his people in the hope of salvation, in the expectation of a new and everlasting Covenant intended for all, to be written on their hearts. The prophets proclaim a radical redemption of the People of God, purification from all their infidelities, a salvation which will include all the nations.  CCC 64

 OPENING PRAYER (WELCOME GOD INTO OUR STUDY)

 Heavenly Father, you desire us in relationship. Your Divine Revelation in Scriptures, especially in the Word Incarnate, Jesus Christ, demonstrates your desire to be found.  Let our desire for you be as strong as your desire for us, in Jesus’ name we pray.

CATECHESIS (STUDY THE FAITH)

 REFERENCES FROM CATECHISM OF CATHOLIC CHURCH 2ND EDITION

CCC 51-53 God reveals His plan of Love and Goodness

CCC 54-58 Covenant with Noah

CCC 59-64 God chooses Abraham and forms His people

CCC 65-67 Jesus, the Word made Flesh

Divine Revelation to man begins in the Garden of Eden.  God revealed himself to our first parents, Adam and Eve.  Adam and Eve’s fall from grace, original sin did not stop God from reaching out to them and their descendants.  After the fall, God gave our first parents hope by promising a Redeemer who will once and for all make salvation, accessible to all human kind.

GENESIS 9:12-13

After the great flood, Noah became our new ancestor.  In the covenant with Noah, God promised never to destroy all mortal beings again by a flood.  God placed a rainbow in the sky as a sign of His covenant with His people.  “I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.” Genesis. 9:12-13

God began to form His people in Abraham.  God begins to gather scattered humanity.  “In you all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 22:18

Abraham and his descendants Isaac and Jacob will be caretakers of God’s people until God gathers all his people through Jesus Christ into the universal Church.

The people descended from Abraham would be the trustee of the promise made to the patriarchs, the chosen people, called to prepare for that day when God would gather all his children into the unity of the Church. They would be the root on to which the Gentiles would be grafted, once they came to believe. CCC 60

EXODUS 20:1-3

Then God spoke all these words: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall not have other gods beside me.

God frees His people from the Egyptians and establishes a covenant on Mount Sinai through his prophet, Moses.  The first commandment Moses receives on Sinai is to love and serve this one, only, living and true God.  Through other prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, God continues to form his people in expectation of a new and everlasting covenant.

The word covenant means “coming together.” God wants to come together with us. God promises to love and care for us and we are expected to accept and live this goodness.  A covenant results in blessings if kept and curses if violated. 

 By His covenants, the Creator is fathering a family. He is saying to His people, “I will be their God and they shall be my people…I will be a Father to you and you shall be sons and daughters to Me” 2 COR, 6:16

In the New Testament God revealed to us His greatest covenant and everlasting covenant in the person of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, consubstantial with the Father.

Jesus Christ frees us from the enslavement of our sins that separate us from God and restores our inheritance, a share in the Divine Life of the Blessed Trinity. Jesus Christ is the end of public revelation.

Throughout the ages, there have been “private revelations” to individuals, some which have been recognized by the authority of the Church.   It is not, however, the role of these ‘private revelations” to improve or complete Christ’s definitive revelation but to assist one to live more fully by the faith revealed by Christ.  We do not have to believe in private revelations.

THE FULLNESS OF DIVINE REVELATION IS TO BE FOUND IN CHRIST ALONE.

 CLOSING PRAYER   (PRAY THE FAITH)

 Father, with grateful hearts, we thank you for your gift of revelation.   Thank you for the gift of your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, the most perfect expression of divine revelation,  Thank you for seeking us wherever we are, loving us as we are, and offering us a share in your divine life, In Jesus’ name, we pray.

 LIFE APPLICATION  (LIVE THE FAITH)  

1. Since God gave me reason and intellect that can prove God’s existence why is Divine Revelation still needed?

2. The fullness of divine revelation is to be found in Christ alone. What does that mean to me?

3. Are there private revelations since the time of Christ that have assisted in my faith?

 

 

 

FAITH: A DIALOGUE OF LOVE

CATECHESIS, CATHOLIC CHURCH TEACHING

FAITH: A DIALOGUE OF LOVE

 GOD AND MAN IN RELATIONSHIP

 OPENING PRAYER (WELCOME GOD INTO OUR STUDY)

Most Loving Father, you have revealed yourself through the prophets Abraham and Moses.  You gave us the fullness of your Word in your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.  Your overwhelming love for us is clear.  All you ask in return is our Faith and our Trust.  Help us to Trust in you. Replace our disbelief with belief, in Jesus’ name we pray.

CATECHESIS (STUDY THE FAITH)

 REFERENCES FROM CATECHISM OF CATHOLIC CHURCH 2ND EDITION

 CCC 142-143 Man’s response to God

CCC 153-162 Characteristics of Faith

FAITH IS A GIFT FROM GOD, ANIMATED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHO CREATES IN OUR HEARTS A DESIRE FOR GOD.

When we are young, God gives us the gift of Faith through our family, friends, and Church.  When we become adults, Jesus asks us not to just talk about Him but to really get to know Him in a personal way in relationship.

Faith is a dialogue of love with God.  In His revelation, God says, “I love you.”  In Faith we say, “We gratefully accept your love and return it to you, Father.”

It is not so much about our love for God that is so very crucial in the beginning but an acknowledgement and an acceptance of God’s love for us.  In Faith we say, “Yes, God loves me, through no merit of my own but because God is good. 

In Faith, man completely submits his intellect and will to God.  With his whole being, man gives his assent to God. That response is called the “obedience of faith.”  This “obedience of faith” can most perfectly be seen in Blessed Virgin Mary’s reply to Angel Gabriel at the Annunciation, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word.”  Luke 1:38

In the letter to the Hebrews we find this definition of faith given by St. Paul, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

 JESUS CHRIST SON OF GOD,

CONSUBSTANTIAL WITH THE FATHER

Belief in God cannot be separated from believing in the One He sent.  “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, listen to Him.”  And one cannot believe in Jesus Christ without believing in the Holy Spirit who is sent by Jesus Christ.

It is the Holy Spirit who animates our minds and hearts so that we may recognize Jesus for who He is.  “For no one can say Jesus is Lord except the Holy Spirit and who He has revealed him.”  I Corithians. 12:13

 Faith is a priceless gift, a pearl of great price.  We must pray never to lose it and ask the Holy Spirit for His guidance and protection against onslaughts and attacks by a faithless world.  “By rejecting conscience, certain persons have made a shipwreck of their Faith.” I Tim.1:18-19

To love, grow, and persevere in our Faith, we must nourish it with the Word of God and practice it through works of charity.  Faith makes us taste in advance the light of the beatific vision.  “Then we shall see God, face to face, as He is.”  I Corinthians. 13:12   The Theological virtue of Faith is the beginning of eternal life.

CLOSING PRAYER   (PRAY THE FAITH)

Heavenly Father, you have in your wisdom given us your precious gift of Faith.  May the inner secrets of your word be opened to us in our hearts.  This. we beg of you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in whom is hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

LIFE APPLICATION    (LIVE THE FAITH)

  1. Has my approach to faith changed from childhood, through adolescence, into adulthood?
  2. Is my faith deeper now than when I was younger? How?
  3. How important are regular religious practices of devotions and prayer for my faith development? What might I do to improve my prayer life?
  4. Do I make faith the mover of my moral behavior? How?

 

 

WHO IS GOD?

CATECHESIS

WHO IS GOD?

 OPENING PRAYER (WELCOME GOD INTO OUR STUDY)

God of Truth, help us to know your revealed Word.  Merciful and loving Father, help us to love you in the same abundance as you have loved us.  Let us care for our neighbor as you have cared for us, in Jesus’ name we pray.

CATECHESIS (STUDY THE FAITH)

 CCC 189-195 Different Creeds  

Nicene Creed I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.

Apostles Creed I believe in God the Father Almighty the Creator of Heaven and Earth

CCC 201-202 One God  

CCC 203-206 God’s Name

CCC 210-211 Merciful   

CCC 215-217 Truth   

CCC 219-226 Love

 “I believe in God,” is the first affirmation in the Apostles Creed and the most fundamental of all beliefs.  Nine out of ten Americans believe in the existence of God.

But do they believe what God teaches in Scripture and in His son, Jesus Christ. Not everyone who says Lord, Lord will be saved but those who do the will of my Father. Matthew 7:21

The Apostles Creed is considered a summary of the Faith of the Apostles.  It is the ancient baptismal creed of the Church of early Rome. The Apostles Creed is broken into three parts in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

The first part speaks of the 1st divine person and His wondrous works of Creation.  The second part speaks of the 2nd Divine Person, Jesus, our Redeemer.  The 3rd part speaks of the 3rd Divine Person, the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, Lord and giver of Life.

“We firmly believe and confess without reservations that there is only One True God, eternal, infinite, unchangeable, incomprehensible, almighty, and ineffable, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three persons indeed but one essence and substance.” Lateran Council IV DS 800

God revealed Himself progressively under different names to His people but the revelation that is fundamental for both the Old and New Testament was the revelation to Moses in the burning bush, “I AM WHO AM.” Exodus 3:4-14

God had no beginning and has no end.  No one made God.  He always was and always will be.  God is always present, faithfully caring for His people.  God is just as present in the world today as He was in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 3:8

After the Israelites turned away from God and worshipped the “golden calf,” God reveals Himself as a God of Mercy, “Yahweh, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” Exodus 34:1-9

…Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God, For he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting in punishment   Joel 2:12-13

God is also the God of Truth. The sum of your word is Truth as the Psalmist sings, “Your every word is enduring;“ Psalm. 119:160

God is Love. “Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. I John 4:8 “God’s love is everlasting.” Isaiah. 54:8    Remain in my love.” John 15:9

 CLOSING PRAYER   (PRAY THE FAITH)

I believe in you, my God.  You are a God of Truth and Love.  O my God, you know my poverty and weakness, and that I am unable to do anything good without Thee;  I give you thanks for caring for me.   In return, I ask only that you give me your grace to never to refuse you anything.  All Glory and praise be to you Almighty God, in Jesus’ name we pray!

 LIFE APPLICATION    (LIVE THE FAITH)

1.Why is belief in God important in my life?

2. Generally what do I know about God? What don’t I know about God?

3. Does it bother me  that God is beyond all understanding… incomprehensible and ineffable a mystery in so many aspects?

4. How does the Church help me with my faith? How do my family and friends help me with my faith in God?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WHY DO WE CALL GOD OUR FATHER?

CATECHESIS, CATHOLIC CHURCH TEACHING

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good and merciful For His loving kindness is everlasting.  Psalm 118:29

 OPENING PRAYER (WELCOME GOD INTO OUR STUDY)

Our Father, Creator of Heaven and Earth, look with kindness on your people.  Help us to be good stewards of your creation until that day when we make an account of our stewardship, face to face, to you Father of us all.  In Jesus’ name we pray.

CATECHESIS (STUDY THE FAITH)

REFERENCES FROM CATECHISM OF CATHOLIC CHURCH 2ND EDITION

CCC 238 – 242 God as Father

CCC 441 – 445 Jesus as Son of the Father

Jesus taught his disciples to call God “Our Father ” Matthew 6:5  The Son passed this relationship with the Father on to us through the Spirit. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, “Abba,* Father!”  Romans 8:15

We live in a time of absent fatherhood due to frequent divorces and walk away dads.  Some may find it hard to address God as Father.  If there is a problem with Fathers in your life, pray for the healing that will allow you to call God your Father because that is what He is.  He is your Heavenly Father, you are his child.

Jesus told His disciples by getting to know Him they would get to know the Father also.  Since Jesus and the Father are one.  We can see the love of the Father in the actions of the Son.

Jesus said to Thomas, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but by me.  If you know me you know the Father.”

“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; John 14:6

We are made male and female in God’s image. To call God our Father in no way diminishes womanhood or motherhood.  The most revered human person that ever lived is our Mother, Mary.  The greatest choice ever made by a human being was made by a virgin woman to accept the call to be the Mother of our Savior through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Supported by the Old Testament Scripture, we call God our Father and declare that God is the first origin of everything and is transcendent authority over all.

God is separate from His creation.  God is essence itself (being) God creates out of nothing.  As Father he generates and brings into being all things that are.

God our Father wants to share His divine life and love with us.  We become His adopted sons and daughters through the merits of Jesus Christ when we are born again in faith and Baptism.

Let us pray to the Father to increase our Faith that we may know the Son.  Let us pray to the Son that we may know and see the Father in Him.

CLOSING PRAYER   (PRAY THE FAITH)

Most merciful and loving Father, in loving gratitude, we pray for the fullness of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, that we may praise you as we ought.  To You, Father, be all honor and glory now and forever, Amen.  In Jesus’ name, we pray.

LIFE APPLICATION    (LIVE THE FAITH)

  1. The absence of fatherhood due to death, divorce or neglect deprives children of an important nurturing influence. What can be done to supplement the missing Father?

2 How does it make you feel to have a Heavenly Father? Is it the best            yet or are you still struggling to accept your adoption?

3. Many feminine virtues are ascribed to God in Scriptures. “Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you Isaiah 49:15  But God is never addressed as Mother. Can you guess why?

 

 

 

 

 

ORIGINAL SIN

CATECHESIS

CATECHESIS cat·e·che·sis /ˌkadəˈkēsəs/

Jesus empowered the Church to continue His mission when He said, Full authority has been given to me both in heaven and on earth; go, therefore and make disciples of all the nations.

 Baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to carry out everything I have commanded you. And know that I am with you always, until the end of time. Matthew 28:18-20

 

ORIGINAL SIN

 OPENING PRAYER (WELCOME GOD INTO OUR STUDY)

Father of Mercies, we thank you for the waters of Baptism that cleansed us of Original Sin.  We beg you to grant us the grace to avoid personal sin, to repent when we fall, and turn back to you, in Jesus’ name we pray.

CATECHESIS (STUDY THE FAITH)

THE FALL FROM GRACE

The woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and the tree was desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it Genesis 3:6

 REFERENCES FROM CATECHISM OF CATHOLIC CHURCH 2ND EDITION

CCC 385 – 390 The Fall from Grace

CCC 391 – 395 The Fall of the Angels

CCC 396 – 409 Consequences of Original Sin

CCC 410 – 412 God’s Promise – “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more”

In the beginning, God created Adam and Eve In His image and likeness, He endowed them with intelligence, love, freedom, and conscience.  He gave them the grace of “original holiness.”

Man and the world began in harmony and grace, not sin. The inner harmony between man and woman, and the harmony between man and all of creation comprised the state of “original justice.”

This harmony of “original justice,” God’s original plan for man, is lost by the sin of our first parents.  It is called Original Sin.  God “tested” our first parents by forbidding them to eat of the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”  The tree, off limits to man, was a symbol of the limits humans have as creatures to choose.

TREE OF GOOD AND EVIL

Our freedom to choose means we are free to choose good.  To choose evil is enslavement to sin and means estrangement from God.  God’s moral laws govern our freedom.  To step outside these moral laws is to assume a freedom never granted to man.  One of the consequences of “original sin” is the loss of grace, a sharing in God’s divine life.

All descendants of these first parents also inherit concupiscence which is a darkened mind, a weakened will, and disordered passions.

We did not commit “original sin.”  But we are born with its effects, a wounded human nature in body and soul and estrangement from God’s divine life.  Our plight is not hopeless, however.  Baptism restores us to friendship with God but the wounds of original sin remain.

To ignore the fact of sin in human history is plain foolhardy.  By any other name we may call it, character flaw, mistake, or weakness, an offense against God is a sin, plain and simple.

Before the fall of man was the spiritual fall of the angels. God, too, as in the case of man created the angels good.  Satan and other demons became evil by their own doing, choosing to reject God.

Due to their “spiritual” nature the Angels’ choice was singular and irrevocable.   “The fall of the angels consists in the free choice of these created spirits to radically and irrevocably reject God and his reign.” 2 Peter 2:4

The tempter of our first parents, says to Adam and Eve, “You will be like Gods.” Genesis 3:5.  The devil, a sinner from the beginning is a liar and Father of lies.

In the Garden, Man, tempted by the devil, abused his freedom and disobeyed God’s command.  Immediately Adam and Eve lost the state of original harmony.  They became afraid of God and hid from Him.

The union of man and woman became subject to tensions, lust, and domination.  The rest of creation became hostile and alien to man.  Death enters into human history.  Because of man’s act of disobedience, all of creation is now subject to death and decay.

Why God permitted sin in the first place remains a mystery.  But we do know God can bring a greater good from evil. To quote St. Thomas Aquinas, “God permits evil in order to draw forth some greater good.”

CLOSING PRAYER   (PRAY THE FAITH)

Father, how wonderful that you care for us!  How boundless your merciful love!  Lord God, we praise you for creating man and still more for restoring him in Christ Jesus your Son who shared in our weakness that we may share in His glory now and forever.  In Jesus’ name, we pray.

LIFE APPLICATION    (LIVE THE FAITH)

 1. When I look back on my life where do I see the effects of original sin most apparent? ie. darkened mind, weakened will, disordered passions.

2.At the end of each day, what do I notice about the difference between what I intended to do and what I actually did?

3. How can I develop the habit of choosing good?

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL PRAYER

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.

Be our protection  against the wickedness and snares of the devil.

May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;

and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host,

by the Divine Power of God, cast into hell Satan

and all the evil spirits who roam throughout the world 

seeking the ruin of souls.

Amen

IN HIS IMAGE:GOD CREATED THEM MALE AND FEMALE

CATECHESIS, CATHOLIC CHURCH TEACHING

CATECHESIS

Jesus empowered the Church to continue His mission when He said, Full authority has been given to me both in heaven and on earth; go, therefore and make disciples of all the nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to carry out everything I have commanded you. And know that I am with you always, until the end of time. Matthew 28:18-20

IN HIS IMAGE GOD CREATED THEM MALE AND FEMALE

 OPENING PRAYER (WELCOME GOD INTO OUR STUDY)

Heavenly Father, you have made us in your Divine image.  In your image, transform us, that we may be a more faithful reflection of your love on earth and be faithful stewards of your creation.  In Jesus’ name, we pray.

CATECHESIS (STUDY THE FAITH)

 REFERENCES FROM CATECHISM OF CATHOLIC CHURCH 2ND EDITION

CCC 355 – 358 In the Image of God

CCC 362 – 365 Unity of Body and Soul

CCC 369 – 373 Male and Female, a unity of two

CCC 374 – 379 Original Integrity

“Then God said: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground. God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:26-27

Human nature is made up of matter and spirit.  “Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (soul) and man became a living being.  Genesis. 2:7 The soul images God in consciousness, in intelligence, in love, and in freedom to choose.

Our souls are created at our conception and do not perish when separated from the physical body at death.

The Catholic Church teaches (CCC #366) that every spiritual soul is created immediately by God – it is not “produced” by the parents – and also that it is immortal: it does not perish when it separates from the body at death, and it will be reunited with the body at the final Resurrection.”   

God created sexual and gender differences.  He created us male and female.   Both have one and the same dignity in the image of God.  God is neither man nor woman.  God is pure Spirit.

God created man and woman together and willed each for the other.  Man discovers woman as another “I,” sharing the same humanity.  “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. Genesis 2:23

In marriage, a man and woman relates in a communion of love that images the Holy Trinity.  This married love is intended to be creative and generative in producing new human life according to God’s blessing, “Be fruitful and multiply.” Genesis.1:28

CLOSING PRAYER   (PRAY THE FAITH)

Loving God, after creating the universe, you formed man out of dust from the earth and breathed into him a soul that would never die.  Help us to use our minds to know you, our free will to love you, and one day bring us home to eternal life with You forever and ever.   In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.

LIFE APPLICATION    (LIVE THE FAITH)

1 We image God in our soul’s capacity to know, act freely, and make moral judgments based on an informed conscience.

How well am I imaging God right now? 

How can I exercise these soul qualities more effectively?

 2. God purposely created masculinity and femininity. male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:26-27

What does God’s word say to you about Gender Identity?

Man and Women in union in marriage imitates the love relationship in the Holy Trinity and  fruitful in producing new human life according to God’s blessing, “Be fruitful and multiply.” Genesis.1:28

How does this fact of God’s plan affect support for same-sex marriage?

3. How does I am made in image and likeness of God affect the way I view others especially the less desirable?

 

 

 

 

I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, HIS ONLY SON, OUR LORD

1 Comment / CATECHESIS

OPENING PRAYER (WELCOME GOD INTO OUR STUDY)

Heavenly Father, thank you for sending us your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Savior of the world.  With grateful hearts, send us your Spirit to enlighten our minds and enflame our hearts to know and love your Son more deeply through our study of the teachings of your holy Catholic Church. Amen

JESUS CHRIST SAVIOR OF THE WORLD

CATECHESIS (STUDY THE FAITH)

 REFERENCES FROM CATECHISM OF CATHOLIC CHURCH 2ND EDITION

CCC 422 – 429 The Person of Jesus Christ

CCC 430 – 435 The Name of Jesus

CCC 441 – 445 The Only Son of God

CCC 446 – 451 Jesus the Lord

“And the angel Gabriel came to her and said, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you.”…”and behold you will conceive in your womb and bear a Son and you will call his name, Jesus.”

…”and Mary said to the angel, “How can that be since I have no husband?” And the angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the most high will overshadow you, therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.” Luke 1:28, 31, 34-35

 JESUS IS SON OF GOD. SON OF MARY. 

TRUE GOD AND TRUE MAN.

The Son of God worked with human hands; he thought with a human mind; he acted with a human will; and he loved with a human heart.  Born of the Virgin Mary, he has truly been made one of us, like us in all things, except sin. 

Vatican II, Gaudium Spes #22

It is true Jesus was a human being like us in all things but for sin.   But we must not diminish His divinity by placing a disproportionate emphasis on his humanity.

. There are a lot of great men in history.  We revere Abraham Lincoln but we worship Jesus because He is God.  .Jesus is the Son of God, the second person of the Most Holy Trinity.

MOST HOLY TRINITY FATHER SON HOLY SPIRIT

In Hebrew, the name Jesus means, “God saves.”  The name, “Jesus,” expresses both his identity and his mission.   “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow.”

It was because He was God and Man that his sacrificial offering on Calvary could redeem us from our sins and restore us again to life in the Father.

Christ is not Jesus’ last name! The word Christ comes from the Greek and is a translation of the Hebrew, Messiah, meaning “anointed one.”  The name Christ became proper to Jesus because he perfectly accomplished the divine mission that His Father gave him.

Another title Jesus goes by is Lord. In the Old Testament God’s name in Hebrew was Yahweh.  That Hebrew name is translated in the New Testament into the Greek as Kyrios, and then Lord into English.   At his birth, Jesus was announced by the angels to the shepherds, “To you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10-11!

CLOSING PRAYER   (PRAY THE FAITH)

 All praise and thanksgiving be given to Jesus Christ, the only Son of God.  At the name of Jesus, every knee should bend and every tongue confess, Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, in the Holy Spirit, to the glory of God the Father. Amen.

LIFE APPLICATION    (LIVE THE FAITH) 

  1. Jesus became man to live among us, to reveal to us what it means to be sons and daughters of  the Father.    What transformations do I think I have to make in my     life to pattern my life more after the life of Jesus?

2 Why is it important to me to express my faith in Jesus’                 divinity as well as his   humanity?

3. When I meditate on the name of Jesus, what kinds of                   thoughts and images come to my mind?

 

 

JESUS CONCEIVED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT-BORN OF A VIRGIN

4 Comments / CATECHESIS, CATHOLIC CHURCH TEACHING

CATECHESIS (cat·e·che·sis ) to transmit the Gospel

Jesus empowered the Church to continue His mission with these words to His apostles, Full authority has been given to me both in heaven and on earth; go, therefore and make disciples of all the nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to carry out everything I have commanded you. And know that I am with you always, until the end of time. Matthew 28:18-20

OPENING PRAYER (WELCOME GOD INTO OUR STUDY)

Heavenly Father, in your mercy, bless us through the intercession of Holy Mary who conceived your only begotten Son, Jesus.  In Jesus’ name, we pray.

CATECHESIS (STUDY THE FAITH)

 REFERENCES FROM CATECHISM OF CATHOLIC CHURCH 2ND EDITION

CCC 456 – 463 The Incarnation

CCC 464 – 478 True God-True Man

CCC 484 – 486 “By the Power of the Holy Spirit”

CCC 487 – 507 “Born of the Virgin”

In Bethlehem we encounter a most astonishing mystery, God becoming man.  How much love does that take?  God to empty himself, taking the form of a servant and being born in the likeness of men. Phillipians 2:7

In Jesus Christ, God shows us a human face.  In Jesus Christ, a human face shows us the face of God.  As son of God, Jesus is Divine.  As son of Mary, Jesus is human.

At the Annunciation, the whole universe, heaven and earth, waited for Mary’s reply.  Adam and Eve begged her to say yes.  So also did Abraham, Moses, and David from Sheol, the realm of the dead. Isiah 38:10

In that silence Mary gathered up her whole soul filled with the fullness of grace.  The answer came from the depths of her very being, in union with God, “May it be done to me according to your word.” Luke 1:38

HAIL FULL OF GRACE

God the Father blessed Mary from the foundations of the world, chose her to be holy and blameless. Through the merits of her Son’s passion and death, Mary remained free of any personal sin her whole life long.

The Annunciation inaugurates the fullness of time of God’s promise and preparations.   The Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of Life is sent by the Father to sanctify Mary’s womb…. the Angel of the Lord declared to Mary: And she conceived of the Holy Spirit The Angelus

The angel coming to her, said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus…..

 But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man? And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. Luke 1:28-35

Why did the Word become Flesh?   “For us men and for our salvation, he came down from heaven by the power of the Holy Spirit; he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary and was made Flesh.” Nicene Creed

Jesus Christ is True God and True Man in nature.  He is one Divine person, the second person of the Most Holy Trinity, God the Son.  Jesus has a human intellect and human will and a divine intellect and divine will.

As the God-Man, Jesus could increase in “human wisdom and human stature in favor with God.” Luke 2:52 Jesus did learn from human experience.  i.e. improved carpentry skills

In his Divine Person, Christ enjoyed the fullness of understanding of the eternal plans he had come to reveal and accomplish.   There was never a time He did not know and understand His Divine mission. i.e. Jesus 12 years of age in temple, “I must be in my Father’s house.” Luke 2:49

In his human will, Christ submitted in obedience to his Father’s will for the salvation of the world.  Christ’s human will does not resist or oppose the divine will of the Father.  In obedience, Jesus submits to the will of the Father.

CLOSING PRAYER   (PRAY THE FAITH)

Lord Jesus Christ, we believe that you are True God and True man. You are God’s only begotten Son and Son of Mary.  In you there is the fullness of divinity.  You are the divine Word of God made man.  May we give you glory now and forever and share in your divine life as you have shared in ours.  Amen.

 LIFE APPLICATION    (LIVE THE FAITH)

  1. By becoming man, Jesus proved His love for me. How can I love Jesus in  return?

2. Reflect on the Annunciation of the Angel Gabriel to                        Mary, the handmaid of the Lord. What stands out?

3. Mary is our model of obedience of faith. Where Eve                      failed, Mary, the new Eve succeeded. How am I when it               comes to choosing God’s will over my own will?

 

 

 

JESUS OF THE GOSPELS

CATECHESIS, CATHOLIC CHURCH TEACHING

CATECHESIS cat·e·che·sis /ˌkadəˈkēsəs/

Jesus empowered the Church to continue His mission when He said, Full authority has been given to me both in heaven and on earth; go, therefore and make disciples of all the nations. Matthew 28:18 (Catechesis: Teach the Faith)

 JESUS OF THE GOSPELS

 OPENING PRAYER (WELCOME GOD INTO OUR STUDY)

 Oh my Jesus, Divine Word of the Father, as we read the Gospels, help us to know you more deeply, love you more tenderly, and follow you more closely.  To you, be all honor and glory, now and forever.  Amen.

CATECHESIS (STUDY THE FAITH)

 REFERENCES FROM CATECHISM OF CATHOLIC CHURCH 2ND EDITION

CCC 512 – 521The Mystery of Christ’s Life

CCC 522 – 534The Infancy and Hidden Life

CCC 535 – 540 Jesus’ Public Life

CCC 541 – 556 Proclamation of the Kingdom

The Gospels were written “that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God and that through that belief you may have life in His name.”  John 20:31 

The Gospels are a narrative of Christ’s earthly life and the revelation of the Father in the very person of Jesus Christ.  “The Father and I are one.  Who sees me sees the father.” John 10:30

Jesus’ hidden life in Nazareth in obedience to his mother and foster father fulfills perfectly the fourth commandment; “Honor your father and your mother.”

Jesus’ obedience is the undoing of Adam and Eve’s disobedience.  His ordinary life as an apprentice carpenter and growing in wisdom and stature under the guidance of his earthly parents is our journey too.

Jesus’ public life began with his baptism by John.  Though he was without sin, he submitted himself to his Father’s will and he, without sin, took on all the sins of the world.  The Father responded in complete delight, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Matthew 3:17

After John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the “kingdom is at hand, repent. Jesus came to call sinners.“I came to call sinners, not the righteous.” Mark 2:17

The kingdom of heaven belongs to the poor, the humble of heart, the poor in spirit, the meek of heart, those who humbly acknowledge their need and dependency on God.  See the Sermon on the Mount (Beatitudes) Matthew 5

BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL FOR THEY WILL BE SHOWN MERCY

Jesus challenges us, “One who loses his life will find it.”  Matthew 10:39  We must give everything to God.  Didn’t God give everything for us, even his very life on the cross of redemption? God must reign in our hearts.

Jesus did not come to eradicate all evil and suffering. Jesus came to free mankind from the greatest oppression of all, the bondage of sin.

At the beginning of his public ministry, Jesus chose twelve ordinary men and sinners like ourselves to teach and train so they may participate in his mission to build the kingdom.

Simon Peter holds a significant place among these twelve apostles.  “You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18

Jesus entrusted a special authority to Peter to preserve and defend the faith.  “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatever you shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven.”  Matthew 16:19

RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT JOHN 20:22

This power of binding and loosing is the authority given to Peter and his successors to absolve sins, pronounce judgments on doctrines of faith, and make disciplinary decisions in the life of the Church.  Jesus has promised that His Church will be protected from error in its teachings of faith and morals through the divine guidance of the Holy Spirit, Lord and giver of Life.

CLOSING PRAYER   (PRAY THE FAITH)

 Jesus, Divine Savior, we believe that you came to earth to bring to the world your Divine Life, to save us from sin, and to make the world new again.  We thank you for your mercy and love.   Bless us with your peace and good will. Amen.

LIFE APPLICATION    (LIVE THE FAITH)

  1. What does it mean to me that everyone, even those I don’t like, are invited to enter the kingdom of heaven? Am I that generous?
  2. Read Matthew 25. Jesus tells us whatever we do to the least of our brethren we do to him. How can I do a better job performing the corporal works of mercy described in Matthew?
  3. We are also called to perform the spiritual works of mercy (CCC 2447) instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, admonish the sinner, bear wrongs patiently, forgive offenses, comfort the afflicted and pray for the living and the dead. How well am I doing meeting these challenges?