|
* "I BELIEVE ... IN JESUS CHRIST, HIS ONLY SON, OUR LORD; WHO WAS CONCEIVED BY THE HOLY GHOST, BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY ..."
* Q. 77. Did God abandon man after Adam fell into sin?
A. God did not abandon man after Adam fell into sin, but promised to send into the world a Saviour to free man from his sins and to reopen to him the gates of heaven.
* God could have abandoned man and allowed the human race to suffer the just penalty of never seeing Him face to face in heaven. In His infinite love and mercy, God took pity on Adam and his descendants and gave them the chance of salvation through the promised Redeemer.
* > "But while he thought on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, 'Do not be afraid, Joseph, son of David, to take to thee Mary thy wife, for that which is begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins' " (Matthew 1:2021).
* > "For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that those who believe in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting" (John 3:16).
* > "And we have seen; and do testify, that the Father has sent his Son to be Saviour of the world" (1 John 4:14).
* Q. 78. Who is the Saviour of all men?
A. The Saviour of all men is Jesus Christ.
* Not all men are saved, but all who attain salvation do so through the merits of Christ. That Jesus Christ is the promised Saviour can be proved from the prophecies of the Old Testament which are fulfilled in Him; from His own testimony, which is worthy of belief; and from the miracles He worked in proof of His divine mission, especially His Resurrection.
* The name "Jesus" means Saviour. "Christ," a Greek word meaning "anointed," signifies Jesus'- threefold office of King, Priest, and Prophet, because, of old, kings, priests, and prophets were anointed.
* > "For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, himself man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all, bearing witness in his own time" (1 Timothy 2:5-6).
* Q. 79. What is the chief teaching of the Catholic Church about Jesus Christ?
A. The chief teaching of the Catholic Church about Jesus Christ is that He is God made man.
* > "And the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he shall be king over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.' But Mary said to the angel, 'How shall this happen, since I do not know man?' And the angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee; and therefore the Holy One to be born shall be called the Son of God' " (Luke 1:30-35).
* > "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God; and the Word was God...And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. And we saw his glory - glory as of the only-begotten of the Father full of grace and of truth" (John1:1, 14).
* Q. 80. Why is Jesus Christ God?
A. Jesus Christ is God because He is the only Son of God, having the same divine nature as His Father.
* Jesus Christ is the second Person of the Blessed Trinity, who from eternity proceeds by true spiritual generation from the Father. We believe Jesus Christ is God because God Himself revealed this truth: first, through the Prophets of the Old Testament who foretold that the promised Redeemer would be God; second, through Christ Himself, who claimed to be God and confirmed His own testimony by the holiness of His life, by the fulfillment of His prophecies, and by the miracles He worked in His own name and by His own power, especially His Resurrection.
* A miracle is something that is not according to the usual course of created nature, surpasses the power of all creatures, and consequently can be produced only by the power of God. The senses must be able to observe a miracle if it is to have the value of a proof for us.
* Only God can be the principal cause of a miracle because a miracle surpasses the power of all creatures. God sometimes uses creatures as instruments in performing miracles. Since God, who is all-truthful, is the principal cause of a miracle, it cannot be worked in support of a lie. The following are some of Christ's miracles: He restored sight to the blind, cured lepers in an instant, walked on the waters of the sea, multiplied the loaves and fishes, raised the dead to life, and finally, rose from the dead Himself by His own divine power.
* The Divinity of Christ.
* Old Testament Prophecy
* > "The Lord has said to me: 'Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me and I will give thee the gentiles for thine inheritance, and the ends of the earth as thy possession' " (Psalm 2:7-8).
* Christ Claimed to be God
* > "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. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming upon the clouds of heaven' " (Matthew 26:63-64).
* > "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30).
* Christ Confirmed His Testimony by Miracles
* > "But he answered and said to them, 'An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, and no sign shall be given it but the sign of the prophet. For even as was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth' " (Matthew 12:39-40).
* > "They let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, 'Son, thy sins are forgiven thee.' Now some of the Scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, 'Why does this man speak thus? He blasphemes. Who can forgive sins, but only God?' And at once Jesus, knowing in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, said to them, 'Why are you arguing these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, "Thy sins are forgiven thee," or to say, "Arise, and take up thy pallet, and walk?" But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins' - he said to the paralytic - 'I say to thee, arise, take up thy pallet, and go to thy house.' And immediately he arose and, taking up his pallet, went forth in the sight of all, so that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, 'Never did we see the like' " (Mark 2:4-12).
* > "Thomas answered and said to him, 'My Lord and my God!' Jesus said to him, 'Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed. Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed' " (John 20:28-29).
* Q. 81. Why is Jesus Christ man?
A. Jesus Christ is man because He is the Son of the Blessed Virgin Mary and has a body and soul like ours.
* Although Christ's conception and birth were miraculous, He, like other men, came into the world as an infant, having Mary for His Mother. Since His origin from the Blessed Virgin is true generation, Mary is the Mother of Jesus Christ, who is God, and she is therefore truly the Mother of God.
* Christ, like other men, ate, drank, became tired, slept, and walked through Judea, Galilee, and Samaria. Christ, as man, was the most perfect of all men. He was endowed with human intelligence and free will; but He was free from all ignorance and error, from all sin and imperfection.
* The human soul of Christ could suffer as well as His body. For example, Christ was sorrowful unto death. In the garden of Gethsemani He said to His disciples: "My soul is sad, even unto death. Wait here and watch with me" (Matthew 26:38).
* Q. 82. Is Jesus Christ more than one Person?
A. No, Jesus Christ is only one Person; and that Person is the second Person of the Blessed Trinity.
* It is heresy to say that there are two Persons in Christ.
* > "For a child is born to us, and a son is given to us, and the government is upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor,
* > God the Mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace" (Isaias 9:6).
* > "For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that those who believe in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting" (John 3:16).
* Q. 83. How many natures has Jesus Christ?
A. Jesus Christ has two natures: the nature of God and the nature of man.
* There is a difference between person and nature. Human nature is composed of body and soul; in a human person is found the added perfection which makes each one an individual, distinct from all others. A human person has only one human nature. Christ is a divine Person having the nature of God and the nature of man.
* Christ proved He had both the nature of God and the nature of man by doing some things that only God could do, and other things that men do. It is heresy to deny the divine nature of Jesus Christ by accepting Him as merely a perfect man; it is also heresy to deny His human nature.
* The following is the defined teaching of the Church: "I also believe in the Son of God, the Word, begotten of the Father in eternity, before all time ... born in time of the Holy Ghost from Mary, ever virgin; born with a rational soul; having two nativities, one eternal of the Father, the other in time, of His Mother." 9
* > "For I could wish to be anathema myself from Christ for the sake of my brethren, who are my kinsmen according to the flesh; who are Israelites, who have the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the legislation and the worship and the promises; who have the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is, over all things, God blessed forever, amen" (Romans 9:3-5).
* > "Have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who though he was by nature God, did not consider being equal to God a thing to be clung to, but emptied himself, taking the nature of a slave and being made like unto men. And appearing in the form of man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even to death on a cross" (Philippians 2:5-8).
* Q. 84. Was the Son of God always man?
A. The Son of God was not always man, but became man at the time of the Incarnation.
* > "But when the fullness of time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, that he might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption of sons" (Galatians 4:4-5).
* Q. 85. What is meant by the Incarnation?
A. By the Incarnation is meant that the Son of God, retaining His divine nature, took to Himself a human nature, that is, a body and soul like ours.
* The union of the second Person of the Blessed Trinity with human nature is called the hypostatic union.
* Q. 86. How was the Son of God made man?
A. The Son of God was conceived and made man by the power of the Holy Ghost in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
* The conception of the son of God in the womb is attributed to the power of the third Person of the Blessed Trinity because the Holy Ghost proceeds from the love of the Father and the Son, and the Incarnation is a work of God's great love for mankind. All three Persons of the Holy Trinity performed the act of divine power whereby the Incarnation took place. But Catholic faith teaches that only the second Person took to Himself a human nature.
* > "And the angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee; and therefore, the Holy One to be born shall be called the Son of God' " (Luke 1:35).
* Q. 87. When was the Son of God conceived and made man?
A. The Son of God was conceived and made man on Annunciation Day, the day on which the Angel Gabriel announced to the Blessed Virgin Mary that she was to be the Mother of God.
* We commemorate this event when we say the Angelus. The miraculous privileges accorded the Blessed Virgin Mary by Almighty God testify to her position as the most exalted of God's creatures.
* Mary, the Mother of God, remained a virgin not only in the conception of Christ but also in His birth and during the rest of her life. Because of her consent to accept the office of Mother of the Redeemer, and also because of her merits in intimately sharing the sufferings of her Divine Son for the salvation of mankind, the Blessed Virgin is given the title of Co-Redemptrix of the human race.
* After her death, the body of the Blessed Virgin, reunited with her soul, was miraculously taken up into heaven. The Church observes this event in the Feast of the Assumption. Special veneration, called hyperdulia, is given to the Blessed Virgin, because of her excellence which far surpasses that of all the saints and angels.
* Q. 88. Is Saint Joseph the father of Jesus Christ?
A. Jesus Christ had no human father, but Saint Joseph was the spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the guardian, or foster father, of Christ.
* God the Father is the only true Father of Jesus Christ. Christ was the only child of Mary. The brothers and sisters of Christ mentioned in the Bible were cousins.
* Saint Joseph's high dignity, grace, holiness, and glory have their source in the fact that he was the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the foster father of the Son of God. Saint Joseph is the patron of the Universal Church.
* > "But while he thought on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, 'Do not be afraid, Joseph, son of David, to take to thee Mary thy wife, for that which is begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins' " (Matthew 1:2021).
* > "And Jesus himself, when he began his work, was about thirty years of age, being-as was supposed-the son of Joseph" (Luke 3:23).
* The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
* This picture shows the angel Gabriel greeting the Most Holy Virgin in prayer in her house at Nazareth. He announces to Her that God has chosen Her to be the Mother of the Savior. At the same instant, the Holy Spirit, through a great miracle, works in Her the mystery of the Incarnation.
* According to St. Luke, we read:
* > "Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And when the angel had come to her, he said, 'Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
* > Blessed art thou among women.' When she had heard him, she was troubled at his word, and kept pondering what manner of greeting this might be.
[THE LESSONS 7:7-63]
* > "And the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his Name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he shall be king over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end.'
* > "But Mary said to the angel, 'How shall this happen, since I do not know man?'
* > "And the angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee; and therefore, the Holy One to be born shall be called the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth thy kinswoman also has conceived a son in her old age, and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month; for nothing shall be impossible with God.'
* > "But Mary said, 'behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word.' And the angel departed from her." (St. )
* The Nativity of Our Lord
* In the center, the Child Jesus is born in the stable of Bethlehem. He is surrounded with the loving care of the Blessed Virgin Mary, His Mother, and of St. Joseph, His foster-father. Near the manger where He lies, there are the ox and ass which, according to tradition, were present.
* The shepherds come to adore Him and, from Heaven, the angels sing the joyful song, "Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to men of good will." (St. Luke 2:14)
* Q. 89. When was Christ born?
A. Christ was born of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Christmas Day, in Bethlehem, more than nineteen hundred years ago.
* IMPORTANT TRUTHS ABOUT THE INCARNATION
* After the disobedience of Adam, God could in all justice have refused to restore the human race to His friendship or to give men another opportunity of gaining heaven. But in His goodness the Almighty determined to save men from their sins and to open to them again the gates of heaven. However, God willed that full satisfaction for sin should be made to Him, and since sin is an offense against the infinite dignity of God, only a person of infinite dignity - that is, a divine Person-could make full satisfaction for sin. But a divine Person in His divine nature cannot suffer and consequently cannot make satisfaction; hence, if God was to receive full satisfaction for sin, it was necessary that a divine Person should take our human nature and in that nature suffer in satisfaction for the sins of mankind. That is the reason why the Son of God became man in the Incarnation.
* God promised this favor to Adam and Eve shortly after their fall, speaking of one that was to come into the world to crush the devil. The devil had led our first parents into sin, and God said to him: "I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed" (Gen. 3, 15). The woman is the Blessed Virgin Mary; the seed of the woman is our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
* Many centuries passed. Sometimes it is said that four thousand years elapsed between the sin of our first parents and the coming of the Saviour. But this is a matter of much uncertainty; the Catholic Church has never made any statement on this matter, and so we can hold that many centuries or even hundreds of centuries passed from the beginning of the human race until the birth of Our Saviour. The world became very wicked; men forgot God and gave themselves freely to all manner of sins. Among the Jewish people, the chosen people of God, the hope of the Saviour-to-come was kept alive by prophets, men inspired by God to convey His message to their fellow men. These prophets foretold so accurately the circumstances of the birth, the life, the death and the resurrection of the future Saviour that no one could reasonably fail to recognize Him when He came.
* The coming of the Redeemer was delayed so long in order that the world might learn from the many evils it suffered the great malice of sin and might know that God alone could raise up fallen man. Those who lived before the coming of the Redeemer could be saved if they had faith in God and kept His law. Thus, they received sanctifying grace through the anticipated merits of the Saviour.
* And when the time for the coming of the Saviour arrived, God announced it through an angel to a humble virgin of Nazareth named Mary, the daughter of Joachim and Ann. The angel told Mary that she was to be the mother of the world's Saviour, yet by a wonderful miracle she was to remain a virgin. We celebrate this great event on March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation. And nine months later in the stable of Bethlehem, where she and her spouse St. Joseph were obliged to pass the night because there was no room for them in the inn, the Blessed Virgin gave birth to the Child who was to save the world from Sin. The name given Him was Jesus; and He was the Christ, the one destined to be the world's Redeemer.
* When Christ began His preaching, He announced among other doctrines that He Himself was the true Son of God. By His wonderful miracles- which could be wrought only by divine power-he proved that God was vouching for the truth of His teaching. Hence, the Catholic Church has always held that Jesus Christ is true God. In other words, He is a divine Person-the second Person of the Blessed Trinity- possessing two distinct natures, the nature of God and the nature of man. His human nature is exactly like ours, consisting of body and soul with all its faculties. However, because of His divine personality certain imperfections to which we are subject could not be in His human nature. Thus, He could not have any sin, nor even any inclination to sin; neither could He be ignorant of any truth which it was fitting for Him to know. He was "full of grace and truth," as St. says-enriched with the fullest measure of supernatural grace and virtue, and even in His human intellect endowed with a knowledge of all things that were or ever had been or ever were to be. Since the actions proceeding from a nature are truly the actions of the person possessing that nature, all the actions proceeding from the human nature of Jesus Christ are truly the actions of God, the second Person of the Holy Trinity. Thus, we can correctly say: God walked on earth, God suffered, God died.
* This is the great mystery of the Incarnation-which means "the being made flesh," because God took human nature, the most noticeable part of which is the body. Around this mystery Catholic faith and devotion are chiefly centered. The Gospel, the most important portion of the New Testament, relates the earthly life of Jesus Christ. Catholics are urged to read it and to ponder its lessons. Above all, the Incarnation is a manifestation of God's love for us, inasmuch as He could give us no more exalted Saviour than His only Son. "God so loved the world that he gave His only-begotten Son" (John 3:16).
* RESOLUTION:
* Resolve that you will always pronounce the name of Jesus Christ with love and reverence and never speak that Holy Name irreverently.
* Complete Exercises For Lesson 7
* A. COLUMN SELECTION.
* (Join correctly the parts of the sentences in Columns I and II, by placing the right key letter in the proper parenthesis):
* Column I
* Mary the Mother of God (...).
* St. Joseph (...).
* God the Father (...).
* The Second Person of the Holy Trinity (...).
* All three divine Persons (...).
* A human person (...).
* It is heresy to say (...).
* Jesus Christ in His human nature (...).
* Jesus Christ in His divine nature (...).
* The conception of Christ (...).
* Column II
* Can have only a human nature.
* Took to Himself a human nature.
* Was the foster father of Jesus Christ?
* Could not suffer and die.
* That there are two persons in Christ.
* Performed the act of divine power whereby the Incarnation took place.
* Could suffer and die.
* Is attributed to the Holy Ghost.
* Remained a virgin in the birth of Christ.
* Is the only true father of Jesus Christ?
* B. PROBLEMS AND EXERCISES.
* (Answer the questions orally or write them as your teacher may direct):
* In a short letter to a playmate, contrast God's treatment of Lucifer and His treatment of Adam after both had offended Him grievously.
* Amid the general corruption and decay of the human race in the centuries following the fall of our first parents, through what race, and by means of what class of men, did God keep alive the hope of a Saviour?
* Name three human imperfections to which we are subject that were excluded from Our Lord's human nature by His divine personality.
* Delia's boyfriend, Horace, a Protestant student at a non-Catholic college, asks her little brother Robert, who is about to graduate from the eighth grade, whether or not Jesus Christ has a human personality. Delia is angry at the boyfriend, claiming that his question is too difficult for Robert to answer. Is it? Explain your answer.
* Explain why it was necessary that a divine Person should take to Himself a human nature in the supposition that God required full satisfaction for the sins of men.
* In what section of the Bible is outlined the earthly life of Jesus? Are the gospels you hear read on Sundays at Mass taken from the Bible? From what part of the Bible?
* What dignitaries of ancient times were anointed with sacred oil?
* Rebecca, a little Jewess, lives near a Catholic church. She is curious to know why the bell in the church steeple rings every morning at 6:00 o'clock, every noontime, and every evening at 6:00 o'clock. Please explain to the little lady why the bell rings at those hours.
* Faith, a Baptist, says that she learned in her Bible class that Our Lord had some brothers and sisters. She claims that even our Catholic Bible mentions them. What comment have you to make in reply?
* Who was the first member of the human race to die in the state of grace? Explain how his soul was restored to the friendship of God, and how he managed to save his soul so many centuries before Our Lord was born. His name occurs in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass shortly after the Consecration.
* Is it correct to say that God was born of the Blessed Virgin, God was hungry and thirsty, God suffered, God died? Explain your answer.
|
