WEDNESDAY
March 29, 2000
volume 11, no. 63

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APPRECIATING THE PRECIOUS GIFT OF OUR FAITH Series         INTRODUCTION

    Every day we present a short point that helps bring into focus the treasures of the Roman Catholic Church that comprise the great Deposit of Faith.

    It is no secret that over the past thirty years fewer and fewer know their Faith and it shows with the declining number of vocations, parish participation and attendance at Holy Mass. We have the new Catechism of the Catholic Church but for the common man, the one brought up on sound bites and instant gratification, it is more of a text book and that in itself prompts them to shy away from such a tome. So what's a loyal Catholic to do in evangelizing to fellow Catholics and understand their Faith? Our answer: go back to basics - to the great Deposit of Faith. We have the Baltimore Catechism which, for unknown and ridiculous reasons, was shelved after Vatican II. We have the Holy Bible but there are so many newer versions that the Douay-Rheims and Confraternity Latin Vulgate in English versions, the ones used for so long as the official Scriptural text authorized by the Church, seem lost in a maze of new interpretations that water down the Word. This is further complicated by the fact there are so few Douay-Rheims editions in circulation though it is available on the net at DOUAY-RHEIMS BIBLE. We have so many Vatican documents available at the Vatican web site and other excellent Catholic resource sites that detail Doctrine, Dogma and Canon Law. We have the traditions, and the means of grace but how do we consolidate all these sources into one where it is succinct and easy to understand? We have the perfect vehicle. It is called "My Catholic Faith", now out of print, that was compiled by Bishop Louis Laravoire Morrow and published by My Mission House. This work ties in Scriptural references, the Sacraments, Dogmas, Doctrines, Traditions, Church documents, Encyclical and Papal decrees to clearly illustrate the Faith in simple, solid and concise terms that all can understand and put into practice. We will quote from this work while adding in more recent events and persons when applicable since the book was written in the late forties during the pontificate of Pope Pius XII. We also quote from the Catholic Almanac published by Our Sunday Visitor for the Roman Curial offices and from Old Testament Confraternity Edition and New Testament Confraternity Edition of the Saint Joseph New Catholic Edition of the Holy Bible.

    Nothing in Holy Mother Church's teaching has changed and therefore we feel confident that these daily "points of enlightenment" will help more Catholics better understand their faith, especially those who were not blessed with early formation of the faith in the home and their parish school. Regardless of where any Catholic is in his or her journey toward salvation, he or she has to recognize that the Faith they were initiated into at the Sacrament of Baptism is the most precious gift they have been given in life. For points covered thus far, click on APPRECIATING THE PRECIOUS GIFT OF OUR FAITH


installment 141:
The God-Man part one

        Throughout the centuries God sent prophets to predict different events and facts concerning the promised Saviour. Among the most important prophets were Jeremiah, Isaiah, Daniel, and Ezechiel. Daniel predicted the exact time of the birth of the Redeemer - Jesus Christ. He said His kingdom would have no end, and would embrace all kingdoms. Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be born of a virgin, would be both God and Man, and would die patiently and willingly like a lamb for our sins.

        The chief teaching of the Catholic Church about Jesus Christ is that He is God made man. Christ Himself said that He is God. The Jews understood His claim literally, and He was condemned to death for blashpemy, for making Himself the Son of God. Christ said: "All power in Heaven and on earth has been given to Me" (Matthew 28:18). "And the high priest said to him, 'I adjure thee by the living God that Thou tell us whether Thou art the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus said to him, 'Thou hast said it'" (Matthew 26:63). "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30).

        Christ proved His claims by wonderful miracles, by prophecies, by His knowledge of all things, and by the holiness of His life. These miracles Christ worked in His own name, not as His followers did, who worked in the name of God. He simply said: "I will, be thou made clean" (Matthew 8:3). Christ himself appealed to His miracles as a testimony of the truth of His doctrines and divinity, saying: "If you are not willing to believe me, believe the works" (John 10:38). Christ foretold future events. Among other things, He predicted His passion, death, and resurrection, the treason of Judas and the perpetuity of His Church.

        The Apostles, the followers of Christ Himself, plainly taught that Christ is God, and died in testimony of their faith. St. John says: "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God." and "And the Word was made Flesh." St. Paul writes: "In Him (Christ) dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Colossians 2:9). St. Thomas openly professed the divinity of Christ when he said: "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28). St. Peter said: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God."

        The Church teaches that Jesus Christ is God. Its teachings have spread throughout all nations, in spite of untold obstacles. The Church has grown by the simplest of means, its spread ever accompanied by wonderful miracles, by which God designs to show forth the truth of the Church. The doctrine of the divinity of Christ is the foundation of the Christian religion.

        Even the enemies of the Catholic Church have admitted their belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ. Napoleon, about to die, said: "I know men, but Jesus Christ was more than man. My men deserted me in the field when I was there leading them. Christ's army has been faithful for centuries. A Leader who has an army which functions though He is dead is not man."

        Jesus Christ is God because He is the only Son of God, having the same divine nature as His Father. "And they all said, 'Art thou, then, the Son of God?' He answered, 'You yourselves say that I am.' And they said, 'What further need have we of witnesses? For we have heard it ourselves from his own mouth' " (Luke 22: 70-71).

        Man after the Fall was unable to regain for himself his former holiness. He became like a sick man who could not arise from bed. He needed Someone to raise him up. Since the sin he had committed had been an offense against an Infinite God, the atonement needed had to be by an Infinite One, the Son of God Himself. "God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son" (John 3:16). "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17).

    Tomorrow: The God-Man part two

          

March 29, 2000
volume 11, no. 63
APPRECIATING THE PRECIOUS GIFT OF OUR FAITH

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