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?