12-12-2021 QUEEN OF ANGELS CHURCH
RITE OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION FOR ADULTS
“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”
St Augustine
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Today, DECEMBER 12th, is the FEAST OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE, PATRON SAINT OF MEXICO AND EMPRESS OF THE AMERICAS.
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The Profession of Faith begins with these words because the affirmation “I believe in God” is the most important, the source of all the other truths about man and about the world, and about the entire life of everyone who believes in God.
37. Why does one profess belief that there is only one God?
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Belief in the one God is professed because he has revealed himself to the people of Israel as the only One when he said, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord” (Deuteronomy 6:4) and “there is no other” (Isaiah 45:22). Jesus himself confirmed that God is “the one Lord” (Mark 12:29). To confess that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are also God and Lord does not introduce any division into the one God.
38. With what name does God reveal Himself?
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God revealed himself to Moses as the living God, “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:6). God also revealed to Moses his mysterious name “I Am Who I Am (YHWH)”. Already in Old Testament times this ineffable name of God was replaced by the divine title Lord. Thus in the New Testament, Jesus who was called Lord is seen as true God.
39. Is God the only One who “is”?
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Since creatures have received everything they are and have from God, only God in himself is the fullness of being and of every perfection. God is “He who is” without origin and without end. Jesus also reveals that he bears the divine name “I Am” (John 8:28).
40. Why is the revelation of God's name important?
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In revealing his name, God makes known the riches contained in the ineffable mystery of his being. He alone is from everlasting to everlasting. He is the One who transcends the world and history. It is he who made heaven and earth. He is the faithful God, always close to his people, in order to save them. He is the highest holiness, “rich in mercy” (Ephesians 2:4), always ready to forgive. He is the One who is spiritual, transcendent, omnipotent, eternal, personal, and perfect. He is truth and love.
“God is the infinitely perfect being who is the most Holy Trinity.” (Saint Turibius of Montenegro)
44. What is the central mystery of Christian faith and life?
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The central mystery of Christian faith and life is the mystery of the Most Blessed Trinity. Christians are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
45. Can the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity be known by the light of human reason alone?
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God has left some traces of his trinitarian being in creation and in the Old Testament but his inmost being as the Holy Trinity is a mystery which is inaccessible to reason alone or even to Israel’s faith before the Incarnation of the Son of God and the sending of the Holy Spirit. This mystery was revealed by Jesus Christ and it is the source of all the other mysteries.
46. What did Jesus Christ reveal to us about the mystery of the Father?
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Jesus Christ revealed to us that God is “Father”, not only insofar as he created the universe and the mankind, but above all because he eternally generated in his bosom the Son who is his Word, “ the radiance of the glory of God and the very stamp of his nature” (Hebrews 1:3).
47. Who is the Holy Spirit revealed to us by Jesus Christ?
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The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Most Blessed Trinity. He is God, one and equal with the Father and the Son. He “proceeds from the Father” (John 15:26) who is the principle without a principle and the origin of all trinitarian life. He proceeds also from the Son (Filioque) by the eternal Gift which the Father makes of him to the Son. Sent by the Father and the Incarnate Son, the Holy Spirit guides the Church “to know all truth” (John 16:13).
48. How does the Church express her trinitarian faith?
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The Church expresses her trinitarian faith by professing a belief in the oneness of God in whom there are three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The three divine Persons are only one God because each of them equally possesses the fullness of the one and indivisible divine nature. They are really distinct from each other by reason of the relations which place them in correspondence to each other. The Father generates the Son; the Son is generated by the Father; the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.
STORY OF DIVINE REVELATION
GOD made himself known little by little.
The first to meet HIM were ADAM and EVE.
Later GOD formed a CHOSEN PEOPLE, the ISRAELITES, who were later called JEWS, to be the special guardians of HIS REVELATION.
GOD began to form this community by choosing a man named ABRAM, who lived almost 4,000 years ago in Mesopotamia.
GOD made him the father or founder of the CHOOSEN PEOPLE.
These people eventually wrote the revelation they had received from GOD. They put these writings together in a book we call the OLD TESTAMENT.
aLMOST 2,000 years after ABRAHAM, it was time for GOD to give us HIS GREATEST REVELATION, the GIFT OF HIS ONLY SON, JESUS CHRIST.
Our LORD JESUS CHRIST taught people all about GOD and corrected some misconceptions they had about HIM.
To ensure that his teachings were properly understood and passed on to others, he founded the CHURCH.
JESUS made his TWELVE APOSTLES the official TEACHERS in the CHURCH and placed his revelation (GOSPEL) in his custody.
After the RESURRECTION, the APOSTLES taught the GOSPEL (which means GOOD NEWS) to others, preaching in word an in writing (the NEW TESTAMENT).
TRADITION AND SCRIPTURE
"...Thus, then, Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scriptures are intimately united and intertwined. Because both springing from the same divine source, they merge in a certain way and tend to the same end... That is why both must be received and venerated with the same spirit of piety." (DOGMATIC CONTITUTION DEI VERBUM)
Sacred Scripture (the Bible) and Sacred Tradition (the Word of God that was given by Jesus to the Apostles and through them to his successors) contain all the truth of God.
It is very important to remember that divine revelation reached its highest point with the life of Christ and the preaching of his twelve Apostles.
The Lord's teachings, faithfully preached by these holy men, are summed up in a profession of faith that we call the APOSTLES 'CREED.
Saint Augustine taught us that the CREED is the summary of our faith and the key to correctly interpret the Holy Scriptures.
This CREED is a statement of our basic beliefs as Catholic Christians; in it we find the main mysteries of our faith.
MYSTERY is a truth that is beyond our power to understand it but that we believe because God has said so.
God's public revelation to the world came to an end with the death of the last of the apostles. Everything that God wanted man to know for his salvation had been made known by Jesus and his twelve Apostles.
"... There will be no more public revelation until Christ comes again ..." (Dei verbum, # 4)
THE HOLY BIBLE
OLD TESTAMENT - Gathered by the Jewish people. Consist of the first 46 books of the BIBLE.
Mainly interested in preparing the world for the MESSIAH.
NEW TESTAMENT - It is the most important part of Scripture. It consists of 27 books.
Contains the life and teachings of Jesus.
CONTENT: Gospels (4), Acts of the Apostles, Letters of Saint Paul (14), Letters to all Christians (7), Book of Revelation or Apocalypse.
The OLD TESTAMENT and the NEW TESTAMENT are united in GOD's revelation plan.
"...the New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New..."CCC #129
AUTHOR AND INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE
The main author of the Bible is God the Holy Spirit. That is why we call the BIBLE THE WORD OF GOD.
God the Holy Spirit chose certain men to be the human authors of the Bible. They wrote in their own language and style, just what the Holy Spirit inspired them to write.
INSPIRATION means that God moved these men to write about Him and guided their minds to write what He inspired them.
This is why the Bible is free from error in teaching us about God and what is necessary for our salvation. This is called INERRANCY.
The Church is the protector and teacher of Divine Revelation.
Jesus put the Church in the hands of the apostles and their successors.
Today the successors of the apostles are:
The Pope (who takes the place of authority of Saint Peter)
The Bishops who are united to the Pope
His authority to teach is called MAGISTERIUM.
The Pope and the Bishops are guided by the Holy Spirit and are not wrong when they teach about faith or morals. This special gift is called INFALLIBILITY.
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