The brief formula "Jesus is the Christ" expresses the core of the Christian faith: Jesus, the simple carpenter's son from Nazareth, is the long-awaited Messiah and Savior.
Both the Greek word "Christos" and the Hebrew word "Messiah" mean "the Anointed One". In Israel kings, priests, and prophets were anointed. The apostles learned that Jesus was anointed "with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 10:38). We are called Christians after Christ, as an expression of our exalted vocation. (YOUCAT question 73)
Friday, June 02, 2017
Why do we call it "The Gospel"? // What does "Jesus" mean?
Why are the reports about Jesus called "the Gospel" and "the Good News"?
Without the Gospels we would not know that God sends his Son to us men out of his infinite love, so that despite our sins we might find our way back to eternal fellowship with God.
The reports about the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus are the best news in the world. They testify that the Jew who was born in Bethlehem, Jesus of Nazareth, is "Son of the living God" (Mt 16:16) made man. He was sent by the Father so that "all men might be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth" (cf. 1 Tim 2:4).
What does the name "Jesus" mean?
Jesus means in Hebrew "God saves." In the Acts of the Apostles Peter says, "There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). This is essentially the message that all missionaries brought to people. (YOUCAT questions 71-72)
Without the Gospels we would not know that God sends his Son to us men out of his infinite love, so that despite our sins we might find our way back to eternal fellowship with God.
The reports about the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus are the best news in the world. They testify that the Jew who was born in Bethlehem, Jesus of Nazareth, is "Son of the living God" (Mt 16:16) made man. He was sent by the Father so that "all men might be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth" (cf. 1 Tim 2:4).
What does the name "Jesus" mean?
Jesus means in Hebrew "God saves." In the Acts of the Apostles Peter says, "There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). This is essentially the message that all missionaries brought to people. (YOUCAT questions 71-72)
How does God draw us out of the whirlpool of evil?
God does not just look on as man gradually destroys himself and the world around him through the chain reaction of sin. He sends us Jesus Christ, the Savior and Redeemer, who snatches us from the power of sin.
"No one can help me" - this maxim of human experience - is no longer accurate. Wherever man may have strayed by his sins, God the Father has sent his Son there. The consequence of sin is death (cf. Rom 6:23). Another consequence of sin, however, is the marvelous solidarity of God, who sends us Jesus as our friend and Savior. Therefore original sin is also called felix culpa (= happy fault): "O happy fault ... which gained for us so great a Redeemer!" (Liturgy of the Easter Vigil). (YOUCAT question 70)
"No one can help me" - this maxim of human experience - is no longer accurate. Wherever man may have strayed by his sins, God the Father has sent his Son there. The consequence of sin is death (cf. Rom 6:23). Another consequence of sin, however, is the marvelous solidarity of God, who sends us Jesus as our friend and Savior. Therefore original sin is also called felix culpa (= happy fault): "O happy fault ... which gained for us so great a Redeemer!" (Liturgy of the Easter Vigil). (YOUCAT question 70)
Are we compelled to sin by original sin?
No. Man, though, is deeply wounded by original sin and is inclined to sin. Nevertheless, with God's help he is capable of doing good.
In no single case are we obliged to sin. In fact, however, we sin again and again, because we are weak, ignorant, and easily misled. A sin committed under compulsion, moreover, would be no sin, because sin always involves a free decision. (YOUCAT question 69)
In no single case are we obliged to sin. In fact, however, we sin again and again, because we are weak, ignorant, and easily misled. A sin committed under compulsion, moreover, would be no sin, because sin always involves a free decision. (YOUCAT question 69)
What is Sin? // What is Original Sin?
What is sin?
At the core of sin is a rejection of God and the refusal to accept his love. This is manifested in a disregard for his commandments.
Sin is more than incorrect behavior; it is not just a psychological weakness. In the deepest sense every rejection or destruction of something good is the rejection of good in itself, the rejection of God. In its most profound and terrible dimension, sin is separation from God and, thus, separation from the source of life. That is why death is another consequence of sin. Only through Jesus do we understand the abysmal dimension of sin: Jesus suffered God's rejection in his own flesh. He took upon himself the deadly power of sin so that it would not strike us. The term that we use for this is redemption.
Original sin? What does the Fall of Adam and Eve have to do with us?
Sin in the strict sense implies guilt for which one is personally responsible. Therefore the term "Original Sin" refers, not to a personal sin, but rather to the disastrous, fallen state of mankind into which the individual is born, even before he himself sins by a free decision.
In talking about Original Sin, Pope Benedict XVI says that we must understand "that we all carry within us a drop of the poison of that way of thinking, illustrated by the images in the Book of Genesis ... . The human being does not trust God. Tempted by the serpent, he harbors the suspicion ... that God is a rival who curtails our freedom and that we will be fully human only when we have cast him aside ... . Man does not want to receive his existence and the fullness of his life from God ... . And in doing so, he trusts in deceit rather than in truth and thereby sinks with his life into emptiness, into death" (Pope Benedict XVI, December 8, 2005). (YOUCAT questions 67-68)
At the core of sin is a rejection of God and the refusal to accept his love. This is manifested in a disregard for his commandments.
Sin is more than incorrect behavior; it is not just a psychological weakness. In the deepest sense every rejection or destruction of something good is the rejection of good in itself, the rejection of God. In its most profound and terrible dimension, sin is separation from God and, thus, separation from the source of life. That is why death is another consequence of sin. Only through Jesus do we understand the abysmal dimension of sin: Jesus suffered God's rejection in his own flesh. He took upon himself the deadly power of sin so that it would not strike us. The term that we use for this is redemption.
Original sin? What does the Fall of Adam and Eve have to do with us?
Sin in the strict sense implies guilt for which one is personally responsible. Therefore the term "Original Sin" refers, not to a personal sin, but rather to the disastrous, fallen state of mankind into which the individual is born, even before he himself sins by a free decision.
In talking about Original Sin, Pope Benedict XVI says that we must understand "that we all carry within us a drop of the poison of that way of thinking, illustrated by the images in the Book of Genesis ... . The human being does not trust God. Tempted by the serpent, he harbors the suspicion ... that God is a rival who curtails our freedom and that we will be fully human only when we have cast him aside ... . Man does not want to receive his existence and the fullness of his life from God ... . And in doing so, he trusts in deceit rather than in truth and thereby sinks with his life into emptiness, into death" (Pope Benedict XVI, December 8, 2005). (YOUCAT questions 67-68)
Was it part of God's plan for men to suffer and die?
God does not want men to suffer and die. God's original idea for man was paradise: life forever and peace between God and man and their environment, between man and woman.
Often we sense how life ought to be, how we ought to be, but in fact we do not live in peace with ourselves, act out of fear and uncontrolled emotions, and have lost the original harmony that man had with the world and ultimately with God. In Sacred Scripture the experience of this alienation is expressed in the story of the Fall. Because sin crept in, Adam and Eve had to leave paradise, in which they were in harmony with each other and with God. The toil of work, suffering, mortality, and the temptation to sin are signs of this loss of paradise. (YOUCAT question 66)
Often we sense how life ought to be, how we ought to be, but in fact we do not live in peace with ourselves, act out of fear and uncontrolled emotions, and have lost the original harmony that man had with the world and ultimately with God. In Sacred Scripture the experience of this alienation is expressed in the story of the Fall. Because sin crept in, Adam and Eve had to leave paradise, in which they were in harmony with each other and with God. The toil of work, suffering, mortality, and the temptation to sin are signs of this loss of paradise. (YOUCAT question 66)
What about people who feel they are homosexual?
The Church believes that, in the order of creation, man and woman are designed to need each other's complementary traits and to enter into a mutual relationship so as to give life to children. That is why homosexual practices cannot be approved by the Church. Christians owe all persons respect and love, however, regardless of their sexual orientation, because all people are respected and loved by God.
There is no man on earth who is not descended from a union of a mother and a father. Therefore it is a painful experience for many homosexually oriented people that they do not feel erotically attracted to the opposite sex and necessarily miss out on the physical fruitfulness of the union between man and woman according to human nature and the divine order of creation. Nevertheless, God often leads souls to himself along unusual paths: a lack, a loss, or a wound - if accepted and affirmed - can become a springboard for throwing oneself into the arms of God: the God who brings good out of everything and whose greatness can be discovered in redemption even more than in creation. (YOUCAT questions 65)
There is no man on earth who is not descended from a union of a mother and a father. Therefore it is a painful experience for many homosexually oriented people that they do not feel erotically attracted to the opposite sex and necessarily miss out on the physical fruitfulness of the union between man and woman according to human nature and the divine order of creation. Nevertheless, God often leads souls to himself along unusual paths: a lack, a loss, or a wound - if accepted and affirmed - can become a springboard for throwing oneself into the arms of God: the God who brings good out of everything and whose greatness can be discovered in redemption even more than in creation. (YOUCAT questions 65)
Why did God create Man Male and Female?
God, who is love and the archetype of community, created man male and female so that together they might be an image of his nature.
God made man in such a way that he is male or female and longs for fulfillment and completion in an encounter with the opposite sex. Men and women have absolutely the same dignity, but in the creative development of their masculinity and femininity they give expression to different aspects of God's perfection. God is not male or female, but he has shown himself to be both fatherly (Lk 6:36) and motherly (Is 66:13). In the love of man and woman, especially in the community of marriage, in which man and woman become "one flesh" (Gen 2:24), people are privileged to sense something of the happiness of the union with God in which every man finds his ultimate wholeness. Just as God's love is faithful, so also their love seeks to be faithful; and it is creative, as God is, because from marriage new life comes forth. (YOUCAT question 64)
God made man in such a way that he is male or female and longs for fulfillment and completion in an encounter with the opposite sex. Men and women have absolutely the same dignity, but in the creative development of their masculinity and femininity they give expression to different aspects of God's perfection. God is not male or female, but he has shown himself to be both fatherly (Lk 6:36) and motherly (Is 66:13). In the love of man and woman, especially in the community of marriage, in which man and woman become "one flesh" (Gen 2:24), people are privileged to sense something of the happiness of the union with God in which every man finds his ultimate wholeness. Just as God's love is faithful, so also their love seeks to be faithful; and it is creative, as God is, because from marriage new life comes forth. (YOUCAT question 64)
What is the Soul? // Where does Man get it?
What is the soul?
The soul is what makes every individual person a man: his spiritual life-principle and inmost being. The soul causes the material body to be a living human body. Through his soul, man is a creature who can say "I" and stand before God as an irreplaceable individual.
Men are bodily and spiritual creatures. A man's spirit is more than a function of his body and cannot be explained in terms of man's material composition. Reason tells us that there must be a spiritual principle that is united with the body but not identical to it. We call it the "soul". Although the soul's existence cannot be "proved" scientifically, man cannot be understood as a spiritual or intellectual being without accepting this spiritual principle that transcends matter.
From where does man get his soul?
The human soul is created directly by God and is not "produced" by the parents.
Man's soul cannot be the product of an evolutionary development out of matter or the result of a generative union of the father and mother. With every man, a unique, spiritual person comes into the world; the Church expresses this mystery by saying that God gives him a soul, which cannot die; even if the person loses his body in death, he will find it again in the resurrection. To say, "I have a soul", means that God created me not only as a creature but as a person and has called me to a never-ending relationship with him. (YOUCAT questions 62-63)
The soul is what makes every individual person a man: his spiritual life-principle and inmost being. The soul causes the material body to be a living human body. Through his soul, man is a creature who can say "I" and stand before God as an irreplaceable individual.
Men are bodily and spiritual creatures. A man's spirit is more than a function of his body and cannot be explained in terms of man's material composition. Reason tells us that there must be a spiritual principle that is united with the body but not identical to it. We call it the "soul". Although the soul's existence cannot be "proved" scientifically, man cannot be understood as a spiritual or intellectual being without accepting this spiritual principle that transcends matter.
From where does man get his soul?
The human soul is created directly by God and is not "produced" by the parents.
Man's soul cannot be the product of an evolutionary development out of matter or the result of a generative union of the father and mother. With every man, a unique, spiritual person comes into the world; the Church expresses this mystery by saying that God gives him a soul, which cannot die; even if the person loses his body in death, he will find it again in the resurrection. To say, "I have a soul", means that God created me not only as a creature but as a person and has called me to a never-ending relationship with him. (YOUCAT questions 62-63)
Why is Jesus the BEST example? // Why are all men equal?
Why is Jesus the greatest example in the world?
Jesus Christ is unique because he shows us not only God's true nature but also the true ideal of man.
Jesus was more than an ideal man. Even seemingly ideal men are sinners. That is why no man can be the measure of humanity. Jesus, however, was without sin. We cannot know what it means to be a man, and what makes man infinitely lovable in the truest sense of the word, except in Jesus Christ, who "in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning" (Heb 4:15). Jesus, the Son of God, is the authentic, true man. In him we recognize how God willed man to be.
In what does the equality of all men consist?
All men are equal inasmuch as they have the same origin in the one creative love of God. All men have their Savior in Jesus Christ. All men are destined to find their happiness and their eternal blessedness in God.
Hence all men are brothers and sisters. Christians should practice solidarity not only with other Christians but with everyone and forcefully oppose racist, sexist, and economic divisions in the one human family. (YOUCAT questions 60-61)
Jesus Christ is unique because he shows us not only God's true nature but also the true ideal of man.
Jesus was more than an ideal man. Even seemingly ideal men are sinners. That is why no man can be the measure of humanity. Jesus, however, was without sin. We cannot know what it means to be a man, and what makes man infinitely lovable in the truest sense of the word, except in Jesus Christ, who "in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning" (Heb 4:15). Jesus, the Son of God, is the authentic, true man. In him we recognize how God willed man to be.
In what does the equality of all men consist?
All men are equal inasmuch as they have the same origin in the one creative love of God. All men have their Savior in Jesus Christ. All men are destined to find their happiness and their eternal blessedness in God.
Hence all men are brothers and sisters. Christians should practice solidarity not only with other Christians but with everyone and forcefully oppose racist, sexist, and economic divisions in the one human family. (YOUCAT questions 60-61)
Why did God make man?
God made everything for man. Man, however, who is "the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake" (GS 24, 3), was created in order to be blessed. This happens when he knows, loves, and serves God and lives in gratitude toward his Creator.
Gratitude is love that has been acknowledged. Someone who is grateful turns freely to the giver of the good and enters into a new, deeper relationship with him. God wishes us to acknowledge his love and even now to live our whole life in relation with him. This relationship lasts forever. (YOUCAT question 59)
Gratitude is love that has been acknowledged. Someone who is grateful turns freely to the giver of the good and enters into a new, deeper relationship with him. God wishes us to acknowledge his love and even now to live our whole life in relation with him. This relationship lasts forever. (YOUCAT question 59)
What does it mean to say that man was created "in God's image"?
Unlike inanimate objects, plants, and animals, man is a person endowed with a spirit. This characteristic unites him with God more than with his visible fellow creatures.
Man is not a something but rather a someone. Just as we say about God that he is person, so too we say this about man. Man can think beyond his immediate horizon and measure the whole breadth of being; he can even know himself with critical objectivity and work to improve himself; he can perceive others as persons, understand them in their dignity, and love them. Of all the visible creatures, man alone is "able to know and love his creator" (Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et spes [GS] 12, 3). Man is destined to live with him in friendship (Jn 15:15). (YOUCAT question 58)
Man is not a something but rather a someone. Just as we say about God that he is person, so too we say this about man. Man can think beyond his immediate horizon and measure the whole breadth of being; he can even know himself with critical objectivity and work to improve himself; he can perceive others as persons, understand them in their dignity, and love them. Of all the visible creatures, man alone is "able to know and love his creator" (Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et spes [GS] 12, 3). Man is destined to live with him in friendship (Jn 15:15). (YOUCAT question 58)
Is Man Special? // How should we treat other Creatures?
Does man have a special place in creation?
Yes. Man is the summit of creation, because God created him in his image (Gen 1:27).
The creation of man is clearly distinguished from the creation of other living things. Man is a person, which means that through his understanding and will he can decide for or against love.
How should man treat animals and other fellow creatures?
Man should honor the Creator in other creatures and treat them carefully and responsibly. Man, animals, and plants have the same Creator who called them into being out of love. Therefore a love of animals is profoundly human.
Although man is allowed to use and to eat plants and animals, he is nevertheless not allowed to torture animals or to keep them in inhumane conditions. That contradicts the dignity of creation just as much as exploiting the earth thoughtlessly out of greed. (YOUCAT questions 56-57)
Yes. Man is the summit of creation, because God created him in his image (Gen 1:27).
The creation of man is clearly distinguished from the creation of other living things. Man is a person, which means that through his understanding and will he can decide for or against love.
How should man treat animals and other fellow creatures?
Man should honor the Creator in other creatures and treat them carefully and responsibly. Man, animals, and plants have the same Creator who called them into being out of love. Therefore a love of animals is profoundly human.
Although man is allowed to use and to eat plants and animals, he is nevertheless not allowed to torture animals or to keep them in inhumane conditions. That contradicts the dignity of creation just as much as exploiting the earth thoughtlessly out of greed. (YOUCAT questions 56-57)
What are Angels? // Can we interact with them?
What are angels?
Angels are pure spiritual creatures of God who have understanding and will. They have no bodies, cannot die, and are usually not visible. They live constantly in God's presence and convey God's will and God's protection to men.
An angel, wrote Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, is "so to speak the personal thought with which God is turned toward me". At the same time the angels are turned completely toward their Creator. They burn with love for him and serve him day and night. Their song of praise is never-ending. In Sacred Scripture the angels who have fallen away from God are called devils or demons.
Can we interact with angels?
Yes. We can call on angels for help and ask them to intercede with God.
Every person receives from God a guardian angel. It is good and sensible to pray to one's guardian angel for oneself and for others. Angels can also make themselves noticeable in the life of a Christian, for example, as bearers of a message or as helpful guides. Our faith has nothing to do with the false angels of New Age spirituality and other forms of esotericism. (YOUCAT questions 54-55)
Angels are pure spiritual creatures of God who have understanding and will. They have no bodies, cannot die, and are usually not visible. They live constantly in God's presence and convey God's will and God's protection to men.
An angel, wrote Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, is "so to speak the personal thought with which God is turned toward me". At the same time the angels are turned completely toward their Creator. They burn with love for him and serve him day and night. Their song of praise is never-ending. In Sacred Scripture the angels who have fallen away from God are called devils or demons.
Can we interact with angels?
Yes. We can call on angels for help and ask them to intercede with God.
Every person receives from God a guardian angel. It is good and sensible to pray to one's guardian angel for oneself and for others. Angels can also make themselves noticeable in the life of a Christian, for example, as bearers of a message or as helpful guides. Our faith has nothing to do with the false angels of New Age spirituality and other forms of esotericism. (YOUCAT questions 54-55)
What is hell?
Our faith calls "hell" the condition of final separation from God. Anyone who sees love clearly in the face of God and, nevertheless, does not want it decides freely to have this condition instead.
Jesus, who knows what hell is like, speaks about it as the "outer darkness" (Mt 8:12). Expressed in our terms, it is cold rather than hot. It is horrible to contemplate a condition of complete rigidity and hopeless isolation from everything that could bring aid, relief, joy, and consolation into one's life. (YOUCAT question 53)
Jesus, who knows what hell is like, speaks about it as the "outer darkness" (Mt 8:12). Expressed in our terms, it is cold rather than hot. It is horrible to contemplate a condition of complete rigidity and hopeless isolation from everything that could bring aid, relief, joy, and consolation into one's life. (YOUCAT question 53)
What is heaven?
Heaven is God's milieu, the dwelling place of the angels and saints, and the goal of creation. With the words "heaven and earth" we designate the whole of created reality.
Heaven is not a place in the universe. It is a condition in the next life. Heaven is where God's will is done without any resistance. Heaven happens when life is present in its greatest intensity and blessednessa kind of life that we do not find on earth. If with God's help we arrive someday in heaven, then waiting for us will be "what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Cor 2:9). (YOUCAT question 52)
Heaven is not a place in the universe. It is a condition in the next life. Heaven is where God's will is done without any resistance. Heaven happens when life is present in its greatest intensity and blessednessa kind of life that we do not find on earth. If with God's help we arrive someday in heaven, then waiting for us will be "what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Cor 2:9). (YOUCAT question 52)
If God is all-knowing and all-powerful, why does he not prevent evil?
"God allows evil only so as to make something better result from it" (St. Thomas Aquinas).
Evil in the world is an obscure and painful mystery. Even the Crucified asked his Father, "My God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mt 27:46). Much about it is incomprehensible. One thing, though, we know for sure: God is 100 percent good. He can never be the originator of something evil. God created the world to be good, but it is not yet complete. In violent upheavals and painful processes it is being shaped and moved toward its final perfection. That may be a better way to classify what the Church calls physical evil, for example, a birth defect, or a natural catastrophe. Moral evils, in contrast, come about through the misuse of freedom in the world. "Hell on earth"child soldiers, suicide bombings, concentration camps is usually man-made. The decisive question is therefore not, "How can anyone believe in a good God when there is so much evil?" but rather, "How could a person with a heart and understanding endure life in this world if God did not exist?" Christ's death and Resurrection show us that evil did not have the first word, nor does it have the last. God made absolute good result from the worst evil. We believe that in the Last Judgment God will put an end to all injustice. In the life of the world to come, evil no longer has any place and suffering ends. (YOUCAT question 51)
Evil in the world is an obscure and painful mystery. Even the Crucified asked his Father, "My God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mt 27:46). Much about it is incomprehensible. One thing, though, we know for sure: God is 100 percent good. He can never be the originator of something evil. God created the world to be good, but it is not yet complete. In violent upheavals and painful processes it is being shaped and moved toward its final perfection. That may be a better way to classify what the Church calls physical evil, for example, a birth defect, or a natural catastrophe. Moral evils, in contrast, come about through the misuse of freedom in the world. "Hell on earth"child soldiers, suicide bombings, concentration camps is usually man-made. The decisive question is therefore not, "How can anyone believe in a good God when there is so much evil?" but rather, "How could a person with a heart and understanding endure life in this world if God did not exist?" Christ's death and Resurrection show us that evil did not have the first word, nor does it have the last. God made absolute good result from the worst evil. We believe that in the Last Judgment God will put an end to all injustice. In the life of the world to come, evil no longer has any place and suffering ends. (YOUCAT question 51)
What role does man play in God's providence?
The completion of creation through divine providence is not something that happens above and beyond us. God invites us to collaborate in the completion of creation.
Man can reject God's will. He does better, though, to become an instrument of God's love. Mother Teresa during her lifetime strove to think in this way: "I am only a little pencil in the hand of our Lord. He may cut or sharpen the pencil. He may write or draw whatever and whenever he wants. If the writing or drawing is good, we do not honor the pencil or the material that is used, but rather the one who used it." Although God works with us and through us also, nevertheless we must never mistake our own thinking, planning, and doing for the working of God. God does not need our work, as though he would lack something without it. (YOUCAT question 50)
Man can reject God's will. He does better, though, to become an instrument of God's love. Mother Teresa during her lifetime strove to think in this way: "I am only a little pencil in the hand of our Lord. He may cut or sharpen the pencil. He may write or draw whatever and whenever he wants. If the writing or drawing is good, we do not honor the pencil or the material that is used, but rather the one who used it." Although God works with us and through us also, nevertheless we must never mistake our own thinking, planning, and doing for the working of God. God does not need our work, as though he would lack something without it. (YOUCAT question 50)
Does God guide the world and my life?
Yes, but in a mysterious way; God guides everything along paths that only he knows, leading it to its perfection. At no point in time does something that he has created fall out of his hands.
God influences both the great events of history and also the little events of our personal life, without reducing our freedom or making us mere marionettes in his eternal plans. In God "we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). God is in everything we meet in all the changes in our life, even in the painful events and the seemingly meaningless coincidences. God wants to write straight even with the crooked lines of our life. What he takes away from us and what he gives us, the ways in which he strengthens us and the ways in which he tests usall these are arrangements and signs of his will. (YOUCAT question 49)
God influences both the great events of history and also the little events of our personal life, without reducing our freedom or making us mere marionettes in his eternal plans. In God "we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). God is in everything we meet in all the changes in our life, even in the painful events and the seemingly meaningless coincidences. God wants to write straight even with the crooked lines of our life. What he takes away from us and what he gives us, the ways in which he strengthens us and the ways in which he tests usall these are arrangements and signs of his will. (YOUCAT question 49)
Why did God Rest on the 7th Day? // Why did God Create the World?
Why did God rest on the seventh day?
God's rest from his work points toward the completion of creation, which is beyond all human efforts.
Although man in his work is the junior partner of his Creator (Gen 2:15), he can by no means redeem the world by his toil. The goal of creation is "new heavens and a new earth" (Is 65:17) through a redemption that is given to us as a gift. Thus the Sunday rest, which is a foretaste of heavenly rest, is superior to the work that prepares us for it.
Why did God create the world?
"The world was made for the glory of God" (First Vatican Council).
There is no other reason for creation than love. In it God's glory and honor appears. To praise God, therefore, does not mean applauding the Creator. After all, man is not a spectator to the work of creation. For him, "praising" God means being grateful for his own existence together with all creation. (YOUCAT questions 47-48)
God's rest from his work points toward the completion of creation, which is beyond all human efforts.
Although man in his work is the junior partner of his Creator (Gen 2:15), he can by no means redeem the world by his toil. The goal of creation is "new heavens and a new earth" (Is 65:17) through a redemption that is given to us as a gift. Thus the Sunday rest, which is a foretaste of heavenly rest, is superior to the work that prepares us for it.
Why did God create the world?
"The world was made for the glory of God" (First Vatican Council).
There is no other reason for creation than love. In it God's glory and honor appears. To praise God, therefore, does not mean applauding the Creator. After all, man is not a spectator to the work of creation. For him, "praising" God means being grateful for his own existence together with all creation. (YOUCAT questions 47-48)
Do Natural Laws and Systems come from God? // Why does Genesis depict Creation in Six Days?
Do natural laws and natural systems come from God also?
Yes. The laws of nature and natural systems are also part of God's creation.
Man is not a blank slate. He is shaped by the order and the natural laws that God has inscribed in his creation. A Christian does not simply do "whatever he wants". He knows that he harms himself and damages his environment when he denies natural laws, uses things in ways contrary to their intrinsic order, and tries to be wiser than God, who created them. It demands too much of a person when he tries to design himself from start to finish.
Why does the Book of Genesis depict creation as "the work of six days"?
The symbol of the work week, which is crowned by a day of rest (Gen 1:1-2:3), is an expression of how good, beautiful, and wisely ordered creation is.
From the symbolism of "the work of six days" we can derive important principles: (1) Nothing exists that was not called into being by the Creator. (2) Everything that exists is good in its own way. (3) Something that has become bad still has a good core. (4) Created beings and things are interrelated and interdependent. (5) Creation in its order and harmony reflects the surpassing goodness and beauty of God. (6) In creation there is an order of complexity: man is superior to an animal, an animal is superior to a plant, a plant is superior to inanimate matter. (7) Creation is heading for the great celebration when Christ will bring the world home and God will be everything to everyone. (YOUCAT questions 45-46)
Yes. The laws of nature and natural systems are also part of God's creation.
Man is not a blank slate. He is shaped by the order and the natural laws that God has inscribed in his creation. A Christian does not simply do "whatever he wants". He knows that he harms himself and damages his environment when he denies natural laws, uses things in ways contrary to their intrinsic order, and tries to be wiser than God, who created them. It demands too much of a person when he tries to design himself from start to finish.
Why does the Book of Genesis depict creation as "the work of six days"?
The symbol of the work week, which is crowned by a day of rest (Gen 1:1-2:3), is an expression of how good, beautiful, and wisely ordered creation is.
From the symbolism of "the work of six days" we can derive important principles: (1) Nothing exists that was not called into being by the Creator. (2) Everything that exists is good in its own way. (3) Something that has become bad still has a good core. (4) Created beings and things are interrelated and interdependent. (5) Creation in its order and harmony reflects the surpassing goodness and beauty of God. (6) In creation there is an order of complexity: man is superior to an animal, an animal is superior to a plant, a plant is superior to inanimate matter. (7) Creation is heading for the great celebration when Christ will bring the world home and God will be everything to everyone. (YOUCAT questions 45-46)
Is the world a product of chance? // Who created the world?
Is the world a product of chance?
No. God, not chance, is the cause of the world. Neither in its origin nor with respect to its intrinsic order and purposefulness is it the product of factors working "aimlessly".
Christians believe that they can read God's handwriting in his creation. To scientists who talk about the whole world as a random, meaningless, and aimless process, Pope John Paul II pointed out in reply in 1985, "Given a universe in which there is such a complex organization of its elements and such a wonderful purposefulness in its life, talking about chance would be equivalent to giving up the search for an explanation of the world as it appears to us. In fact it would be tantamount to accepting effects without cause. It would be an abdication of human reason, which in this way would be refusing to think and to search for a solution to problems."
Who created the world?
God alone, who is beyond time and space, created the world out of nothing and called all things into being. Everything that exists depends on God and continues in being only because God wills it to be.
The creation of the world is, so to speak, a "community project" of the Trinitarian God. The Father is the Creator, the Almighty. The Son is the meaning and heart of the world: "All things were created through him and for him" (Col 1:16). We find out what the world is good for only when we come to know Christ and understand that the world is heading for a destination: the truth, goodness, and beauty of the Lord. The Holy Spirit holds everything together; he is the one "that gives life" (Jn 6:63). (YOUCAT questions 43-44)
No. God, not chance, is the cause of the world. Neither in its origin nor with respect to its intrinsic order and purposefulness is it the product of factors working "aimlessly".
Christians believe that they can read God's handwriting in his creation. To scientists who talk about the whole world as a random, meaningless, and aimless process, Pope John Paul II pointed out in reply in 1985, "Given a universe in which there is such a complex organization of its elements and such a wonderful purposefulness in its life, talking about chance would be equivalent to giving up the search for an explanation of the world as it appears to us. In fact it would be tantamount to accepting effects without cause. It would be an abdication of human reason, which in this way would be refusing to think and to search for a solution to problems."
Who created the world?
God alone, who is beyond time and space, created the world out of nothing and called all things into being. Everything that exists depends on God and continues in being only because God wills it to be.
The creation of the world is, so to speak, a "community project" of the Trinitarian God. The Father is the Creator, the Almighty. The Son is the meaning and heart of the world: "All things were created through him and for him" (Col 1:16). We find out what the world is good for only when we come to know Christ and understand that the world is heading for a destination: the truth, goodness, and beauty of the Lord. The Holy Spirit holds everything together; he is the one "that gives life" (Jn 6:63). (YOUCAT questions 43-44)
Does science make the Creator superfluous? // Can you be Christian and accept the theory of evolution?
Does science make the Creator superfluous?
No. The sentence "God created the world" is not an outmoded scientific statement. We are dealing here with a theological statement, therefore a statement about the divine meaning (theos = God, logos = meaning) and origin of things.
The creation account is not a scientific model for explaining the beginning of the world. "God created the world" is a theological statement that is concerned with the relation of the world to God. God willed the world; he sustains it and will perfect it. Being created is a lasting quality in things and an fundamental truth about them.
Can someone accept the theory of evolution and still believe in the Creator?
Yes. Although it is a different kind of knowledge, faith is open to the findings and hypotheses of the sciences.
Theology has no scientific competence, and natural science has no theological competence. Natural science cannot dogmatically rule out the possibility that there are purposeful processes in creation; conversely, faith cannot define specifically how these processes take place in the course of nature's development. A Christian can accept the theory of evolution as a helpful explanatory model, provided he does not fall into the heresy of evolutionism, which views man as the random product of biological processes. Evolution presupposes the existence of something that can develop. The theory says nothing about where this "something" came from. Furthermore, questions about the being, essence, dignity, mission, meaning, and wherefore of the world and man cannot be answered in biological terms. Just as "evolutionism" oversteps a boundary on the one side, so does creationism on the other. Creationists naively take biblical data literally (for example, to calculate the earth's age, they cite the six days of work in Genesis 1). (YOUCAT questions 41-42)
No. The sentence "God created the world" is not an outmoded scientific statement. We are dealing here with a theological statement, therefore a statement about the divine meaning (theos = God, logos = meaning) and origin of things.
The creation account is not a scientific model for explaining the beginning of the world. "God created the world" is a theological statement that is concerned with the relation of the world to God. God willed the world; he sustains it and will perfect it. Being created is a lasting quality in things and an fundamental truth about them.
Can someone accept the theory of evolution and still believe in the Creator?
Yes. Although it is a different kind of knowledge, faith is open to the findings and hypotheses of the sciences.
Theology has no scientific competence, and natural science has no theological competence. Natural science cannot dogmatically rule out the possibility that there are purposeful processes in creation; conversely, faith cannot define specifically how these processes take place in the course of nature's development. A Christian can accept the theory of evolution as a helpful explanatory model, provided he does not fall into the heresy of evolutionism, which views man as the random product of biological processes. Evolution presupposes the existence of something that can develop. The theory says nothing about where this "something" came from. Furthermore, questions about the being, essence, dignity, mission, meaning, and wherefore of the world and man cannot be answered in biological terms. Just as "evolutionism" oversteps a boundary on the one side, so does creationism on the other. Creationists naively take biblical data literally (for example, to calculate the earth's age, they cite the six days of work in Genesis 1). (YOUCAT questions 41-42)
Can God do anything? Is he almighty?
"For God nothing is impossible" (see Lk 1:37). He is almighty.
Anyone who calls on God in need believes that he is all-powerful. God created the world out of nothing. He is the Lord of history. He guides all things and can do everything. How he uses his omnipotence is of course a mystery. Not infrequently people ask, Where was God then? Through the prophet Isaiah he tells us, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways" (Is 55:8). Often God's omnipotence is displayed in a situation where men no longer expect anything from it. The powerlessness of Good Friday was the prerequisite for the Resurrection. (YOUCAT question 40)
Anyone who calls on God in need believes that he is all-powerful. God created the world out of nothing. He is the Lord of history. He guides all things and can do everything. How he uses his omnipotence is of course a mystery. Not infrequently people ask, Where was God then? Through the prophet Isaiah he tells us, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways" (Is 55:8). Often God's omnipotence is displayed in a situation where men no longer expect anything from it. The powerlessness of Good Friday was the prerequisite for the Resurrection. (YOUCAT question 40)
Is Jesus God? Does he belong to the Trinity?
Jesus of Nazareth is the Son, the second divine person mentioned when we pray, "In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Mt 28:19).
Jesus was either an imposter who made himself Lord of the Sabbath and allowed himself to be addressed with the divine title "Lord"or else he was really God. The scandal came when he forgave sins. In the eyes of his contemporaries, that was a crime deserving death. Through signs and miracles, but especially through the Resurrection, his disciples recognized who Jesus is and worshipped him as Lord. That is the faith of the Church (YOUCAT question 39)
Jesus was either an imposter who made himself Lord of the Sabbath and allowed himself to be addressed with the divine title "Lord"or else he was really God. The scandal came when he forgave sins. In the eyes of his contemporaries, that was a crime deserving death. Through signs and miracles, but especially through the Resurrection, his disciples recognized who Jesus is and worshipped him as Lord. That is the faith of the Church (YOUCAT question 39)
Who is the "Holy Spirit"?
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Holy Trinity and has the same divine majesty as the Father and the Son.
When we discover the reality of God in us, we are dealing with the working of the Holy Spirit. God sent "the Spirit of his Son into our hearts" (Gal 4:6), so that he might fill us completely. In the Holy Spirit a Christian finds profound joy, inner peace, and freedom. "For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship [in whom] we cry, Abba! Father!' " (Rom 8:15b). In the Holy Spirit, whom we receive in Baptism and Confirmation we are permitted to call God "Father". (YOUCAT question 38)
When we discover the reality of God in us, we are dealing with the working of the Holy Spirit. God sent "the Spirit of his Son into our hearts" (Gal 4:6), so that he might fill us completely. In the Holy Spirit a Christian finds profound joy, inner peace, and freedom. "For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship [in whom] we cry, Abba! Father!' " (Rom 8:15b). In the Holy Spirit, whom we receive in Baptism and Confirmation we are permitted to call God "Father". (YOUCAT question 38)
Why is God "Father"?
We revere God as Father first of all because he is the Creator and cares lovingly for his creatures. Jesus, the Son of God, has taught us, furthermore, to regard his Father as our Father and to address him as "our Father".
Several pre-Christian religions had the divine title "Father". Even before Jesus, the Israelites addressed God as their Father (Deut 32:6; Mal 2:10), realizing that he is also like a mother (Is 66:13). In human experience, father and mother stand for origin and authority, for what is protective and supportive. Jesus Christ shows us what God the Father is really like: "He who has seen me has seen the Father" (Jn 14:9). In the parable of the prodigal son, Jesus addresses the most profound human longings for a merciful father. (YOUCAT question 37)
Several pre-Christian religions had the divine title "Father". Even before Jesus, the Israelites addressed God as their Father (Deut 32:6; Mal 2:10), realizing that he is also like a mother (Is 66:13). In human experience, father and mother stand for origin and authority, for what is protective and supportive. Jesus Christ shows us what God the Father is really like: "He who has seen me has seen the Father" (Jn 14:9). In the parable of the prodigal son, Jesus addresses the most profound human longings for a merciful father. (YOUCAT question 37)
Do we believe in ONE God or THREE Gods? // Can you logically deduce that?
Do we believe in one God or in three Gods?
We believe in one God in three persons (Trinity). "God is not solitude but perfect communion." (Pope Benedict XVI, May 22, 2005).
Christians do not worship three different Gods, but one single Being that is threefold and yet remains one. We know that God is triune from Jesus Christ: He, the Son, speaks about his Father in heaven ("I and the Father are one", Jn 10:30). He prays to him and sends us the Holy Spirit, who is the love of the Father and the Son. That is why we are baptized "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Mt 28:19).
Can we deduce logically that God is triune?
No. The fact that there are three persons (Trinity) in one God is a mystery. We know only through Jesus Christ that God is Trinitarian.
Men cannot deduce the fact that God is a Trinity by means of their own reason. They acknowledge, however, that this mystery is reasonable when they accept God's revelation in Jesus Christ. If God were alone and solitary, he could not love from all eternity. In the light of Jesus we find already in the Old Testament (for example, Gen 1:2; 18:2; 2 Sam 23:2), indeed, even in all of creation, traces of God's Trinitarian Being. (YOUCAT questions 35-36)
We believe in one God in three persons (Trinity). "God is not solitude but perfect communion." (Pope Benedict XVI, May 22, 2005).
Christians do not worship three different Gods, but one single Being that is threefold and yet remains one. We know that God is triune from Jesus Christ: He, the Son, speaks about his Father in heaven ("I and the Father are one", Jn 10:30). He prays to him and sends us the Holy Spirit, who is the love of the Father and the Son. That is why we are baptized "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Mt 28:19).
Can we deduce logically that God is triune?
No. The fact that there are three persons (Trinity) in one God is a mystery. We know only through Jesus Christ that God is Trinitarian.
Men cannot deduce the fact that God is a Trinity by means of their own reason. They acknowledge, however, that this mystery is reasonable when they accept God's revelation in Jesus Christ. If God were alone and solitary, he could not love from all eternity. In the light of Jesus we find already in the Old Testament (for example, Gen 1:2; 18:2; 2 Sam 23:2), indeed, even in all of creation, traces of God's Trinitarian Being. (YOUCAT questions 35-36)
What to do after coming to know God?
Once you have come to know God, you must put him in the first place in your life. And with that a new life begins. You should be able to recognize Christians by the fact that they love even their enemies.
After all, to know God means to know that he who created and willed me, who looks at me every moment with love, who blesses and upholds my life, who has the world and the people I love in his hand, who waits longingly for me, who wishes to fulfill and perfect me and to make me dwell forever with him, is there. To nod with your head at this is not enough. Christians must adopt Jesus' way of life. (YOUCAT question 34)
After all, to know God means to know that he who created and willed me, who looks at me every moment with love, who blesses and upholds my life, who has the world and the people I love in his hand, who waits longingly for me, who wishes to fulfill and perfect me and to make me dwell forever with him, is there. To nod with your head at this is not enough. Christians must adopt Jesus' way of life. (YOUCAT question 34)
What does it mean to say that God is love?
If God is love, then there is nothing created that is not carried and surrounded by his infinite benevolence. God not only declares that he is love, he also proves it: "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (Jn 15:13).
No other religion says what Christianity says: "God is love" (1 Jn 4:8, 16). Faith holds fast to this promise, although the experience of suffering and evil in the world may make people wonder whether God is really loving. Already in the Old Testament God communicates to his people through the words of the prophet Isaiah: "Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. Fear not, for I am with you" (Is 43:4-5a) and has him say, "Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have graven you on the palms of my hands" (Is 49:15-16a). This talk about divine love does not consist of empty words; Jesus proves this on the Cross, where he gives up his life for his friends. (YOUCAT question 33)
No other religion says what Christianity says: "God is love" (1 Jn 4:8, 16). Faith holds fast to this promise, although the experience of suffering and evil in the world may make people wonder whether God is really loving. Already in the Old Testament God communicates to his people through the words of the prophet Isaiah: "Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. Fear not, for I am with you" (Is 43:4-5a) and has him say, "Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have graven you on the palms of my hands" (Is 49:15-16a). This talk about divine love does not consist of empty words; Jesus proves this on the Cross, where he gives up his life for his friends. (YOUCAT question 33)
What does it mean to say that God is truth?
"God is light and in him is no darkness" (1 Jn 1:5). His Word is truth (Prov 8:7; 2 Sam 7:28), and his Law is truth (Ps 119:142). Jesus himself vouches for God's truth by declaring before Pilate, "For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth" (Jn 18:37).
The truth of God cannot be "proved" or subjected to empirical tests, since science cannot make him an object of investigation. And yet God subjects himself to a special sort of proof. We know that God is truth on the basis of the absolute credibility of Jesus. He is "the way, and the truth, and the life" (Jn 14:6). Anyone who enters into a relationship with him can find this out by putting it to the test. If God were not "true", then faith and reason could not have a dialogue with each other. An agreement is possible, however, because God is truth, and the truth is divine. (YOUCAT question 32)
The truth of God cannot be "proved" or subjected to empirical tests, since science cannot make him an object of investigation. And yet God subjects himself to a special sort of proof. We know that God is truth on the basis of the absolute credibility of Jesus. He is "the way, and the truth, and the life" (Jn 14:6). Anyone who enters into a relationship with him can find this out by putting it to the test. If God were not "true", then faith and reason could not have a dialogue with each other. An agreement is possible, however, because God is truth, and the truth is divine. (YOUCAT question 32)
Why do we believe in only ONE God // Why does He give Himself a name?
Why do we believe in only one God?
We believe in only one God because, according to the testimony of Sacred Scripture, there is only one God and, according to the laws of logic, there can be only one.
If there were two gods, then the one god would be a limit on the other; neither of the two would be infinite, neither one perfect; in these respects neither of the two would be God. Israel's fundamental experience of God is: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord" (Deut 6:4). Again and again the prophets exhort the people to abandon their false gods and to convert to the one God: "For I am God, and there is no other" (Is 45:22).
Why does God give himself a name?
God gives himself a name so as to make it possible to address him.
God does not wish to remain incognito. He does not want to be revered as a "higher being" that is merely sensed or surmised. God wishes to be known and to be called upon as someone real and active. In the burning bush God reveals to Moses his holy name: Yhwh (Ex 3:14). God makes it possible for his people to address him, but he still remains the hidden God, the present mystery. Out of reverence for God, the name of God was not (and is not) spoken in Israel; the title Adonai (Lord) is substituted. This same word is used by the New Testament when it glorifies Jesus as true God: "Jesus is Lord!" (Rom 10:9). (YOUCAT questions 30-31)
We believe in only one God because, according to the testimony of Sacred Scripture, there is only one God and, according to the laws of logic, there can be only one.
If there were two gods, then the one god would be a limit on the other; neither of the two would be infinite, neither one perfect; in these respects neither of the two would be God. Israel's fundamental experience of God is: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord" (Deut 6:4). Again and again the prophets exhort the people to abandon their false gods and to convert to the one God: "For I am God, and there is no other" (Is 45:22).
Why does God give himself a name?
God gives himself a name so as to make it possible to address him.
God does not wish to remain incognito. He does not want to be revered as a "higher being" that is merely sensed or surmised. God wishes to be known and to be called upon as someone real and active. In the burning bush God reveals to Moses his holy name: Yhwh (Ex 3:14). God makes it possible for his people to address him, but he still remains the hidden God, the present mystery. Out of reverence for God, the name of God was not (and is not) spoken in Israel; the title Adonai (Lord) is substituted. This same word is used by the New Testament when it glorifies Jesus as true God: "Jesus is Lord!" (Rom 10:9). (YOUCAT questions 30-31)
Apostles' Creed and Nicene Creed
What does the Apostles' Creed say?
I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.
What does the Nicene (Nicene-Constantinopolitan) Creed say?
I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen. (YOUCAT questions 28-29)
I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.
What does the Nicene (Nicene-Constantinopolitan) Creed say?
I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen. (YOUCAT questions 28-29)
How did the creeds come about?
The creeds go back to Jesus, who commanded his disciples to baptize. In doing so, they were to require of the people seeking Baptism the profession of a definite faith, namely, faith in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Trinity).
The original cell from which all later creeds grew is the profession of faith in Jesus the Lord and in his missionary mandate. He told his apostles, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Mt 28:19). All the creeds of the Church are elaborations of the faith in this Triune God. Each of them begins with a profession of faith in the Father, the Creator and preserver of the world, then refers to the Son, through whom the world and we ourselves have found redemption, and concludes with a profession of faith in the Holy Spirit, who is the presence of God in the Church and in the world. (YOUCAT question 27)
The original cell from which all later creeds grew is the profession of faith in Jesus the Lord and in his missionary mandate. He told his apostles, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Mt 28:19). All the creeds of the Church are elaborations of the faith in this Triune God. Each of them begins with a profession of faith in the Father, the Creator and preserver of the world, then refers to the Son, through whom the world and we ourselves have found redemption, and concludes with a profession of faith in the Holy Spirit, who is the presence of God in the Church and in the world. (YOUCAT question 27)
What are creeds?
Creeds are brief formulas of faith that make it possible for all believers to make a common profession.
Brief formulas of this kind can be found already in the letters of St. Paul. The early Christian Apostles' Creed has a special dignity, because it is thought to be a summary of the faith of the apostles. The Nicene Creed is highly esteemed because it resulted from the great councils of the Church when Christendom was still undivided (Nicaea, 325; Constantinople, 381) and is to this day the common basis for the Christian in the East and the West. (YOUCAT question 26)
Brief formulas of this kind can be found already in the letters of St. Paul. The early Christian Apostles' Creed has a special dignity, because it is thought to be a summary of the faith of the apostles. The Nicene Creed is highly esteemed because it resulted from the great councils of the Church when Christendom was still undivided (Nicaea, 325; Constantinople, 381) and is to this day the common basis for the Christian in the East and the West. (YOUCAT question 26)
Why does the faith require definitions and formulas?
Faith is not about empty words but about reality. In the Church, condensed formulas of faith developed over the course of time; with their help we can contemplate, express, learn, hand on, celebrate, and live out this reality.
Without fixed forms, the content of the faith would dissipate. That is why the Church attaches great importance to definite sentences, the precise wording of which was usually achieved painstakingly, so as to protect the message of Christ from misunderstandings and falsifications. Furthermore, creeds are important when the Church's faith has to be translated into different cultures while being preserved in its essentials, because a common faith is the foundation for the Church's unity. (YOUCAT question 25)
Without fixed forms, the content of the faith would dissipate. That is why the Church attaches great importance to definite sentences, the precise wording of which was usually achieved painstakingly, so as to protect the message of Christ from misunderstandings and falsifications. Furthermore, creeds are important when the Church's faith has to be translated into different cultures while being preserved in its essentials, because a common faith is the foundation for the Church's unity. (YOUCAT question 25)
What does my faith have to do with the Church?
No one can believe alone and by himself, just as no one can live alone and by himself. We receive the faith from the Church and live it out in fellowship with the people with whom we share our faith.
Faith is the most personal thing a person has, yet it is not a private matter. Anyone who wants to believe must be able to say both "I" and "we", because a faith you cannot share and communicate would be irrational. The individual believer gives his free assent to the "we believe" of the Church. From her he received the faith. She was the one who handed it down through the centuries and then to him, preserved it from falsifications, and caused it to shine forth again and again. Believing is therefore participation in a common conviction. The faith of others supports me, just as the fervor of my faith enkindles and strengthens others. The Church emphasizes the "I" and the "we" of faith by using two professions of faith in her liturgies: the Apostles' Creed, the creed that begins with "I believe" (Credo), and the Great Creed of Nicaea- Constantinople, which in its original form starts with the words "We believe" (Credimus). (YOUCAT question 24)
Faith is the most personal thing a person has, yet it is not a private matter. Anyone who wants to believe must be able to say both "I" and "we", because a faith you cannot share and communicate would be irrational. The individual believer gives his free assent to the "we believe" of the Church. From her he received the faith. She was the one who handed it down through the centuries and then to him, preserved it from falsifications, and caused it to shine forth again and again. Believing is therefore participation in a common conviction. The faith of others supports me, just as the fervor of my faith enkindles and strengthens others. The Church emphasizes the "I" and the "we" of faith by using two professions of faith in her liturgies: the Apostles' Creed, the creed that begins with "I believe" (Credo), and the Great Creed of Nicaea- Constantinople, which in its original form starts with the words "We believe" (Credimus). (YOUCAT question 24)
Is there a contradiction between faith and science?
There is no insoluble contradiction between faith and science, because there cannot be two kinds of truth.
There is not one truth of faith that is in competition with another truth of science. There is only one truth, to which both faith and scientific reason refer. God intended reason, with which we can recognize the rational structures of the world, just as he intended faith. That is why the Christian faith demands and promotes the (natural) sciences. Faith exists so that we might know things that are not apparent to reason yet are real above and beyond reason. Faith reminds science that it is supposed to serve creation and not set itself up in place of God. Science must respect human dignity instead of violating it. (YOUCAT question 23)
There is not one truth of faith that is in competition with another truth of science. There is only one truth, to which both faith and scientific reason refer. God intended reason, with which we can recognize the rational structures of the world, just as he intended faith. That is why the Christian faith demands and promotes the (natural) sciences. Faith exists so that we might know things that are not apparent to reason yet are real above and beyond reason. Faith reminds science that it is supposed to serve creation and not set itself up in place of God. Science must respect human dignity instead of violating it. (YOUCAT question 23)
What significance does the New Testament have for Christians?
In the New Testament God's revelation is completed. The four Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the centerpiece of Sacred Scripture and the most precious treasure of the Church. In them the Son of God shows himself as he is and encounters us. In the Acts of the Apostles we learn about the beginnings of the Church and the working of the Holy Spirit. In the letters written by the apostles, all facets of human life are set in the light of Christ. In the Book of Revelation we foresee the end of the ages.
Jesus is everything that God would like to tell us. The entire Old Testament prepares for the Incarnation of God's Son. All of God's promises find their fulfillment in Jesus. To be a Christian means to unite oneself ever more deeply with the life of Christ. To do that, one must read and live the Gospels. Madeleine Delbrêl says, "Through his Word God tells us what he is and what he wants; he says it definitively and says it for each individual day. When we hold our Gospel book in our hands, we should reflect that in it dwells the Word that wants to become flesh in us, desires to take hold of us, so that we might begin his life anew in a new place, at a new time, in a new human setting." (YOUCAT questions 18)
Jesus is everything that God would like to tell us. The entire Old Testament prepares for the Incarnation of God's Son. All of God's promises find their fulfillment in Jesus. To be a Christian means to unite oneself ever more deeply with the life of Christ. To do that, one must read and live the Gospels. Madeleine Delbrêl says, "Through his Word God tells us what he is and what he wants; he says it definitively and says it for each individual day. When we hold our Gospel book in our hands, we should reflect that in it dwells the Word that wants to become flesh in us, desires to take hold of us, so that we might begin his life anew in a new place, at a new time, in a new human setting." (YOUCAT questions 18)
How does one go about believing?
Someone who believes is seeking a personal union with God and is ready to believe God in everything that he shows (reveals) about himself.
At the beginning of faith, there is often an emotional disturbance or uneasiness. The person senses that the visible world and the normal course of things cannot be all there is. He feels touched by a mystery and follows the traces that point to the existence of God and gradually finds the confidence to speak to God and finally to unite himself to him in freedom. In John's Gospel it says, "No one has ever seen God; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known" (Jn 1:18). That is why we must believe Jesus, the Son of God, if we want to know what God would like to communicate to us. Believing, therefore, means accepting Jesus and staking one's whole life on him. (YOUCAT question 22)
At the beginning of faith, there is often an emotional disturbance or uneasiness. The person senses that the visible world and the normal course of things cannot be all there is. He feels touched by a mystery and follows the traces that point to the existence of God and gradually finds the confidence to speak to God and finally to unite himself to him in freedom. In John's Gospel it says, "No one has ever seen God; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known" (Jn 1:18). That is why we must believe Jesus, the Son of God, if we want to know what God would like to communicate to us. Believing, therefore, means accepting Jesus and staking one's whole life on him. (YOUCAT question 22)
How can we respond to God when he speaks to us?
To respond to God means to believe him. Anyone who wants to believe needs a heart that is ready to listen (see 1 Kings 3:9). In many ways God seeks contact with us. In every human encounter, in every moving experience of nature, in every apparent coincidence, in every challenge, every suffering, there is a hidden message from God to us. He speaks even more clearly to us when he turns to us in his Word or in the voice of our conscience. He addresses us as friends. Therefore we, too, should respond as friends and believe him, trust him completely, learn to understand him better and better, and accept his will without reservation. (YOUCAT question 20)
What role does Sacred Scripture play in the Church?
The Church draws her life and strength from Sacred Scripture. Besides the presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist, there is nothing that the Church honors more reverently than Christ's presence in Sacred Scripture. At Holy Mass we receive the Gospel standing, because in the human words we hear, God himself speaks to us. (YOUCAT questions 19)
What significance does the Old Testament have for Christians?
In the Old Testament God reveals himself as the Creator and preserver of the world and as the leader and instructor of mankind. The Old Testament books are also God's Word and Sacred Scripture. Without the Old Testament, we cannot understand Jesus.
In the Old Testament a great history of learning the faith begins, which takes a decisive turn in the New Testament and arrives at its destination with the end of the world and Christ's second coming. The Old Testament is far more than a mere prelude for the New. The commandments and prophecies for the people of the Old Covenant and the promises that are contained in it for all men were never revoked. In the books of the Old Covenant we find an irreplaceable treasure of prayers and wisdom; in particular, the Psalms are part of the Church's daily prayer. (YOUCAT questions 17)
In the Old Testament a great history of learning the faith begins, which takes a decisive turn in the New Testament and arrives at its destination with the end of the world and Christ's second coming. The Old Testament is far more than a mere prelude for the New. The commandments and prophecies for the people of the Old Covenant and the promises that are contained in it for all men were never revoked. In the books of the Old Covenant we find an irreplaceable treasure of prayers and wisdom; in particular, the Psalms are part of the Church's daily prayer. (YOUCAT questions 17)
The Books of the Bible (Canon)
OLD TESTAMENT (46 Books)
The Historical Books: Genesis (Gen), Exodus (Ex), Leviticus (Lev), Numbers (Num), Deuteronomy (Deut), Joshua (Josh), Judges (Judg), Ruth (Ruth), 1 Samuel (1 Sam), 2 Samuel (2 Sam), 1 Kings (1 Kings), 2 Kings (2 Kings), 1 Chronicles (1 Chron), 2 Chronicles (2 Chron), Ezra (Ezra), Nehemiah (Neh), Tobit (Tob), Judith (Jud), Esther (Esther), 1 Maccabees (1 Mac), 2 Maccabees (2 Mac)
The Wisdom Books: Job (Job), Psalms (Ps), Proverbs (Prov), Ecclesiastes (Eccles), Song of Solomon (Song), Wisdom (Wis), Sirach/Ecclesiasticus (Sir)
The Prophets: Isaiah (Is), Jeremiah (Jer), Lamentations (Lam), Baruch (Bar), Ezekiel (Ezek), Daniel (Dan), Hosea (Hos), Joel (Joel), Amos (Amos), Obadiah (Obad), Jonah (Jon), Micah (Mic), Nahum (Nahum), Habakkuk (Hab), Zephaniah (Zeph), Haggai (Hag), Zechariah (Zech), Malachi (Mal)
NEW TESTAMENT (27 Books)
The Gospels: Matthew (Mt), Mark (Mk), Luke (Lk), John (Jn)
The Acts of the Apostles (Acts)
The Letters of St. Paul: Romans (Rom), 1 Corinthians (1 Cor), 2 Corinthians (2 Cor), Galatians (Gal), Ephesians (Eph), Philippians (Phil), Colossians (Col), 1 Thessalonians (1 Thess), 2 Thessalonians (2 Thess), 1 Timothy (1 Tim), 2 Timothy (2 Tim), Titus (Tit), Philemon (Philem), Hebrews (Heb)
The Catholic Letters: James (Jas), 1 Peter (1 Pet), 2 Peter (2 Pet), 1 John (1 Jn), 2 John (2 Jn), 3 John (3 Jn), Jude (Jude)
Revelation/Apocalypse (Rev)
The Historical Books: Genesis (Gen), Exodus (Ex), Leviticus (Lev), Numbers (Num), Deuteronomy (Deut), Joshua (Josh), Judges (Judg), Ruth (Ruth), 1 Samuel (1 Sam), 2 Samuel (2 Sam), 1 Kings (1 Kings), 2 Kings (2 Kings), 1 Chronicles (1 Chron), 2 Chronicles (2 Chron), Ezra (Ezra), Nehemiah (Neh), Tobit (Tob), Judith (Jud), Esther (Esther), 1 Maccabees (1 Mac), 2 Maccabees (2 Mac)
The Wisdom Books: Job (Job), Psalms (Ps), Proverbs (Prov), Ecclesiastes (Eccles), Song of Solomon (Song), Wisdom (Wis), Sirach/Ecclesiasticus (Sir)
The Prophets: Isaiah (Is), Jeremiah (Jer), Lamentations (Lam), Baruch (Bar), Ezekiel (Ezek), Daniel (Dan), Hosea (Hos), Joel (Joel), Amos (Amos), Obadiah (Obad), Jonah (Jon), Micah (Mic), Nahum (Nahum), Habakkuk (Hab), Zephaniah (Zeph), Haggai (Hag), Zechariah (Zech), Malachi (Mal)
NEW TESTAMENT (27 Books)
The Gospels: Matthew (Mt), Mark (Mk), Luke (Lk), John (Jn)
The Acts of the Apostles (Acts)
The Letters of St. Paul: Romans (Rom), 1 Corinthians (1 Cor), 2 Corinthians (2 Cor), Galatians (Gal), Ephesians (Eph), Philippians (Phil), Colossians (Col), 1 Thessalonians (1 Thess), 2 Thessalonians (2 Thess), 1 Timothy (1 Tim), 2 Timothy (2 Tim), Titus (Tit), Philemon (Philem), Hebrews (Heb)
The Catholic Letters: James (Jas), 1 Peter (1 Pet), 2 Peter (2 Pet), 1 John (1 Jn), 2 John (2 Jn), 3 John (3 Jn), Jude (Jude)
Revelation/Apocalypse (Rev)
What is the right way to read the Bible?
The right way to read Sacred Scripture is to read it prayerfully, in other words, with the help of the Holy Spirit, under whose influence it came into being. It is God's Word and contains God's essential communication to us.
The Bible is like a long letter written by God to each one of us. For this reason I should accept the Sacred Scriptures with great love and reverence. First of all, it is important really to read God's letter, in other words, not to pick out details while paying no attention to the whole message. Then I must interpret the whole message with a view to its heart and mystery: Jesus Christ, of whom the whole Bible speaks, even the Old Testament. Therefore I should read the Sacred Scriptures in the faith that gave rise to them, the same living faith of the Church. (YOUCAT questions 16)
The Bible is like a long letter written by God to each one of us. For this reason I should accept the Sacred Scriptures with great love and reverence. First of all, it is important really to read God's letter, in other words, not to pick out details while paying no attention to the whole message. Then I must interpret the whole message with a view to its heart and mystery: Jesus Christ, of whom the whole Bible speaks, even the Old Testament. Therefore I should read the Sacred Scriptures in the faith that gave rise to them, the same living faith of the Church. (YOUCAT questions 16)
Is the Bible True?
Is Sacred Scripture true?
"The books of Scripture firmly, faithfully, and without error teach [the] truth. ... Written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author" (Second Vatican Council, DV 11).
The Bible did not fall from heaven in its final form, nor did God dictate it to human scribes who copied it down mechanically. Rather "God chose certain men who ... made full use of their own faculties and powers so that, though he acted in them and by them, it was as true authors that they consigned to writing whatever he wanted written, and no more" (Second Vatican Council, DV 11). One factor in recognizing particular texts as Sacred Scripture was their general acceptance in the Church. In the Christian communities there had to be a consensus: "Yes, through this text God himself speaks to us-this is inspired by the Holy Spirit!" Which of the many original Christian writings are really inspired by the Holy Spirit has been defined since the fourth century in the so-called canon of Sacred Scriptures.
How can Sacred Scripture be "truth" if not everything in it is right?
The Bible is not meant to convey precise historical information or scientific findings to us. Moreover, the authors were children of their time. They shared the cultural ideas of the world around them and often were also dominated by its errors. Nevertheless, everything that man must know about God and the way of his salvation is found with infallible certainty in Sacred Scripture. (YOUCAT questions 14-15)
"The books of Scripture firmly, faithfully, and without error teach [the] truth. ... Written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author" (Second Vatican Council, DV 11).
The Bible did not fall from heaven in its final form, nor did God dictate it to human scribes who copied it down mechanically. Rather "God chose certain men who ... made full use of their own faculties and powers so that, though he acted in them and by them, it was as true authors that they consigned to writing whatever he wanted written, and no more" (Second Vatican Council, DV 11). One factor in recognizing particular texts as Sacred Scripture was their general acceptance in the Church. In the Christian communities there had to be a consensus: "Yes, through this text God himself speaks to us-this is inspired by the Holy Spirit!" Which of the many original Christian writings are really inspired by the Holy Spirit has been defined since the fourth century in the so-called canon of Sacred Scriptures.
How can Sacred Scripture be "truth" if not everything in it is right?
The Bible is not meant to convey precise historical information or scientific findings to us. Moreover, the authors were children of their time. They shared the cultural ideas of the world around them and often were also dominated by its errors. Nevertheless, everything that man must know about God and the way of his salvation is found with infallible certainty in Sacred Scripture. (YOUCAT questions 14-15)
Can the Church err in questions of faith?
The faithful as a whole cannot err in faith, because Jesus promised his disciples that he would send them the Spirit of truth and keep them in the truth (Jn 14:17).
Just as the disciples believed Jesus with their whole heart, a Christian can rely completely on the Church when he asks about the way to life. Since Jesus Christ himself gave his apostles the commission to teach, the Church has a teaching authority (the Magisterium) and must not remain silent. Although individual members of the Church can err and even make serious mistakes, the Church as a whole can never fall away from God's truth. The Church carries through the ages a living truth that is greater than herself. We speak about a depositum fidei, a deposit of faith that is to be preserved. If such a truth is publicly disputed or distorted, the Church is called upon to clarify again "what has always and everywhere been believed by all" (St. Vincent of Lerins, d. 450). (YOUCAT question 13)
Just as the disciples believed Jesus with their whole heart, a Christian can rely completely on the Church when he asks about the way to life. Since Jesus Christ himself gave his apostles the commission to teach, the Church has a teaching authority (the Magisterium) and must not remain silent. Although individual members of the Church can err and even make serious mistakes, the Church as a whole can never fall away from God's truth. The Church carries through the ages a living truth that is greater than herself. We speak about a depositum fidei, a deposit of faith that is to be preserved. If such a truth is publicly disputed or distorted, the Church is called upon to clarify again "what has always and everywhere been believed by all" (St. Vincent of Lerins, d. 450). (YOUCAT question 13)
How can we tell what belongs to the true faith?
We find the true faith in Sacred Scripture and in the living Tradition of the Church.
The New Testament developed out of the faith of the Church. Scripture and Tradition belong together. Handing on the faith does not occur primarily through documents. In the early Church it was said that Sacred Scripture was "written on the heart of the Church rather than on parchment". The disciples and the apostles experienced their new life above all through a living fellowship with Jesus. The early Church invited people into this fellowship, which continued in a different way after the Resurrection. The first Christians held fast "to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers" (Acts 2:42). They were united with one another and yet had room for others. This is part of our faith to this day: Christians invite other individuals to come to know a fellowship with God that has been preserved unaltered since the times of the apostles in the Catholic Church. (YOUCAT question 12)
The New Testament developed out of the faith of the Church. Scripture and Tradition belong together. Handing on the faith does not occur primarily through documents. In the early Church it was said that Sacred Scripture was "written on the heart of the Church rather than on parchment". The disciples and the apostles experienced their new life above all through a living fellowship with Jesus. The early Church invited people into this fellowship, which continued in a different way after the Resurrection. The first Christians held fast "to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers" (Acts 2:42). They were united with one another and yet had room for others. This is part of our faith to this day: Christians invite other individuals to come to know a fellowship with God that has been preserved unaltered since the times of the apostles in the Catholic Church. (YOUCAT question 12)
Why do we hand on the Faith?
We hand on the faith because Jesus commands us: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (Mt 28:19).
No genuine Christian leaves the transmission of the faith exclusively to specialists (teachers, pastors, missionaries). We are Christ for others. This means that every genuine Christian would like God to come to other people, too. He says to himself, "The Lord needs me! I have been baptized and confirmed and am responsible for helping the people around me to learn about God and to come to the knowledge of the truth' (1 Tim 2:4b)." Mother Teresa used a good comparison: "Often you can see power lines running alongside the street. Unless current is flowing through them, there is no light. The power line is you and I! The current is God! We have the power to allow the current to flow through us and thus to generate the light of the world: JESUS - or to refuse to be used and, thus, allow the darkness to spread." (YOUCAT question 11)
No genuine Christian leaves the transmission of the faith exclusively to specialists (teachers, pastors, missionaries). We are Christ for others. This means that every genuine Christian would like God to come to other people, too. He says to himself, "The Lord needs me! I have been baptized and confirmed and am responsible for helping the people around me to learn about God and to come to the knowledge of the truth' (1 Tim 2:4b)." Mother Teresa used a good comparison: "Often you can see power lines running alongside the street. Unless current is flowing through them, there is no light. The power line is you and I! The current is God! We have the power to allow the current to flow through us and thus to generate the light of the world: JESUS - or to refuse to be used and, thus, allow the darkness to spread." (YOUCAT question 11)
Does Revelation continue after Christ?
With Jesus Christ, has everything been said, or does revelation continue even after him?
In Jesus Christ, God himself came to earth. He is God's last Word. By listening to him, all men of all times can know who God is and what is necessary for their salvation.
With the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the revelation of God is perfect and complete. To make it comprehensible to us, the Holy Spirit leads us ever deeper into the truth. God's light breaks so forcefully into the lives of many individuals that they "see the heavens opened" (Acts 7:56). That is how the great places of pilgrimage such as Guadalupe in Mexico or Lourdes in France came about. The "private revelations" of visionaries cannot improve on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. No one is obliged to believe in them. But they can help us understand the Gospel better. Their authenticity is tested by the Church. (YOUCAT question 10)
In Jesus Christ, God himself came to earth. He is God's last Word. By listening to him, all men of all times can know who God is and what is necessary for their salvation.
With the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the revelation of God is perfect and complete. To make it comprehensible to us, the Holy Spirit leads us ever deeper into the truth. God's light breaks so forcefully into the lives of many individuals that they "see the heavens opened" (Acts 7:56). That is how the great places of pilgrimage such as Guadalupe in Mexico or Lourdes in France came about. The "private revelations" of visionaries cannot improve on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. No one is obliged to believe in them. But they can help us understand the Gospel better. Their authenticity is tested by the Church. (YOUCAT question 10)
How is God Revealed in the OT? // What does Christ show us about God?
How does God reveal himself in the Old Testament?
God shows himself in the Old Testament as God, who created the world out of love and remains faithful to men even when they have fallen away from him into sin.
God makes it possible to experience him in history: With Noah he establishes a covenant to save all living things. He calls Abraham so as to make him "the father of a multitude of nations" (Gen 17:5b) and to bless "all the families of the earth" in him (Gen 12:3b). The people Israel, sprung from Abraham, becomes his special possession. To Moses he introduces himself by name. His mysterious name Yhwh, usually transcribed Yahweh, means "I am who I am" (Ex 3:14). He frees Israel from slavery in Egypt, establishes a covenant with them on Sinai, and through Moses gives them the Law. Again and again, God sends prophets to his people to call them to conversion and to the renewal of the covenant. The prophets proclaim that God will establish a new and everlasting covenant, which will bring about a radical renewal and definitive redemption. This covenant will be open to all human beings.
What does God show us about himself when he sends his Son to us?
God shows us in Jesus Christ the full depth of his merciful love.
Through Jesus Christ the invisible God becomes visible. He becomes a man like us. This shows us how far God's love goes: He bears our whole burden. He walks every path with us. He is there in our abandonment, our sufferings, our fear of death. He is there when we can go no farther, so as to open up for us the door leading into life. (YOUCAT questions 6-7)
God shows himself in the Old Testament as God, who created the world out of love and remains faithful to men even when they have fallen away from him into sin.
God makes it possible to experience him in history: With Noah he establishes a covenant to save all living things. He calls Abraham so as to make him "the father of a multitude of nations" (Gen 17:5b) and to bless "all the families of the earth" in him (Gen 12:3b). The people Israel, sprung from Abraham, becomes his special possession. To Moses he introduces himself by name. His mysterious name Yhwh, usually transcribed Yahweh, means "I am who I am" (Ex 3:14). He frees Israel from slavery in Egypt, establishes a covenant with them on Sinai, and through Moses gives them the Law. Again and again, God sends prophets to his people to call them to conversion and to the renewal of the covenant. The prophets proclaim that God will establish a new and everlasting covenant, which will bring about a radical renewal and definitive redemption. This covenant will be open to all human beings.
What does God show us about himself when he sends his Son to us?
God shows us in Jesus Christ the full depth of his merciful love.
Through Jesus Christ the invisible God becomes visible. He becomes a man like us. This shows us how far God's love goes: He bears our whole burden. He walks every path with us. He is there in our abandonment, our sufferings, our fear of death. He is there when we can go no farther, so as to open up for us the door leading into life. (YOUCAT questions 6-7)
Why did God have to show himself in order for us to be able to know what he is like?
Man can know by reason that God exists, but not what God is really like. Yet because God would very much like to be known, he has revealed himself.
God did not have to reveal himself to us. But he did it out of love. Just as in human love one can know something about the beloved person only if he opens his heart to us, so too we know something about God's inmost thoughts only because the eternal and mysterious God has opened himself to us out of love. From creation on, through the patriarchs and the prophets down to the definitive revelation in his Son Jesus Christ, God has spoken again and again to mankind. In him he has poured out his heart to us and made his inmost being visible for us. (YOUCAT question 7)
God did not have to reveal himself to us. But he did it out of love. Just as in human love one can know something about the beloved person only if he opens his heart to us, so too we know something about God's inmost thoughts only because the eternal and mysterious God has opened himself to us out of love. From creation on, through the patriarchs and the prophets down to the definitive revelation in his Son Jesus Christ, God has spoken again and again to mankind. In him he has poured out his heart to us and made his inmost being visible for us. (YOUCAT question 7)
How can we deny God? (or speak about him?)
Why do people deny that God exists, if they can know him by reason?
To know the invisible God is a great challenge for the human mind. Many are scared off by it. Another reason why some do not want to know God is because they would then have to change their life. Anyone who says that the question about God is meaningless because it cannot be answered is making things too easy for himself.
Can we grasp God at all in concepts? Is it possible to speak about him meaningfully?
Although we men are limited and the infinite greatness of God never fits into finite human concepts, we can nevertheless speak rightly about God.
In order to express something about God, we use imperfect images and limited notions. And so everything we say about God is subject to the reservation that our language is not equal to God's greatness. Therefore we must constantly purify and improve our speech about God.
To know the invisible God is a great challenge for the human mind. Many are scared off by it. Another reason why some do not want to know God is because they would then have to change their life. Anyone who says that the question about God is meaningless because it cannot be answered is making things too easy for himself.
Can we grasp God at all in concepts? Is it possible to speak about him meaningfully?
Although we men are limited and the infinite greatness of God never fits into finite human concepts, we can nevertheless speak rightly about God.
In order to express something about God, we use imperfect images and limited notions. And so everything we say about God is subject to the reservation that our language is not equal to God's greatness. Therefore we must constantly purify and improve our speech about God.
Can we know the existence of God by our reason?
Yes. Human reason can know God with certainty. The world cannot have its origin and its destination within itself. In everything that exists, there is more than we see. The order, the beauty, and the development of the world point beyond themselves toward God. Every man is receptive to what is true, good, and beautiful. He hears within himself the voice of conscience, which urges him to what is good and warns him against what is evil. Anyone who follows this path reasonably finds God. (YOUCAT question 4)
Why do we seek God?
God has placed in our hearts a longing to seek and find him. St. Augustine says, "You have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you." We call this longing for God Religion.
It is natural for man to seek God. All of our striving for truth and happiness is ultimately a search for the one who supports us absolutely, satisfies us absolutely, and employs us absolutely in his service. A person is not completely himself until he has found God. "Anyone who seeks truth seeks God, whether or not he realizes it" (St. Edith Stein). (YOUCAT question 3)
It is natural for man to seek God. All of our striving for truth and happiness is ultimately a search for the one who supports us absolutely, satisfies us absolutely, and employs us absolutely in his service. A person is not completely himself until he has found God. "Anyone who seeks truth seeks God, whether or not he realizes it" (St. Edith Stein). (YOUCAT question 3)
Why did God create us?
God created us out of free and unselfish love. When a man loves, his heart overflows. He would like to share his joy with others. He gets this from his Creator. Although God is a mystery, we can still think about him in a human way and say: Out of the "surplus" of his love he created us. He wanted to share his endless joy with us, who are creatures of his love. (YOUCAT question 2)
Why Are We Here?
For what purpose are we here on earth?
We are here on earth in order to know and to love God, to do good according to his will, and to go someday to heaven.
To be a human being means to come from God and to go to God. Our origin goes back farther than our parents. We come from God, in whom all the happiness of heaven and earth is at home, and we are expected in his everlasting, infinite blessedness. Meanwhile we live on this earth. Sometimes we feel that our Creator is near; often we feel nothing at all. So that we might find the way home, God sent us his Son, who freed us from sin, delivers us from all evil, and leads us unerringly into true life. He is "the way, and the truth, and the life" (Jn 14:6). (YOUCAT question 1)
We are here on earth in order to know and to love God, to do good according to his will, and to go someday to heaven.
To be a human being means to come from God and to go to God. Our origin goes back farther than our parents. We come from God, in whom all the happiness of heaven and earth is at home, and we are expected in his everlasting, infinite blessedness. Meanwhile we live on this earth. Sometimes we feel that our Creator is near; often we feel nothing at all. So that we might find the way home, God sent us his Son, who freed us from sin, delivers us from all evil, and leads us unerringly into true life. He is "the way, and the truth, and the life" (Jn 14:6). (YOUCAT question 1)
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