Lesson Four - Obedience of FaithQ. 465. What is Faith?

A. Faith is a Divine virtue by which we firmly believe the truths which God has revealed.

Q. 471. Why do we believe God, hope in Him, and love Him?A. We believe God and hope in Him because He is infinitely true and cannot deceive us. We love Him because

He is infinitely good and beautiful and worthy of all love.-Baltimore Catechism

Last week we went over....

How Catholics should read the Scriptures - in light of Sacred Tradition by the guidance of the Church.

That the primary author of the Bible is God Himself, and the secondary authors are the human beings he inspired.

That the Catholic Church gave us the Bible as we know it. Prior to that all Church Teaching was passed on orally and by letters

Catholic Teaching is based on both faith and reason; in fact, it is faith seeking understanding.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church begins with an explanation of the Creed, the profession of Faith by Catholics. The Creed summarizes what we believe. Catholics generally use two Creeds - the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed. The Apostles Creed is the ancient baptismal creed of the Church of Rome, and is considered to be the summary of the faith of the Apostles. The Nicene Creed was composed at the first two ecumenical councils - Nicaea in 325 and Constantinople in 381. The Nicene Creed is the one that we pray at Mass, but both Creeds summarize the basics of our Faith. And the first statement of both Creeds is about Faith in God.

Faith affirms our belief in one God and in His promises. Because our Faith lets us experience and acknowledge God’s boundless love for us, it also moves us to return that love. Our faith motivates us to love all people because of God’s love for us and them. We use God’s Creation to draw nearer to Him.

The Catholic Faith is not an ‘either/or’ type of Faith, but more of a ‘both/and’ type of Faith. As we discussed previously, we don’t rely on just faith or just reason, but on both faith and reason. We don’t believe that we are saved only by faith or only by works, but that our good works stem from our faith and both lead to our salvation. One of the most beautiful things about our faith is its cohesiveness, thoroughness, and completeness.

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Video WorksheetHelpful Vocabulary

● Faith - man’s response to revelation.● Reason - the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments

by a process of logic.● Mystery - When applied to God, this term implies some insight into God’s

inner life.

Video NotesThe Obedience of Faith: CCC 142-231

● Faith is not a blind commitment. Faith is our response to God who reveals Himself to us.

○ We are asked for total Faith.

● Abraham is referred to as the Father of all who believe.

● The Blessed Mother is referred to as a believer in the miraculous.

● CCC 150-152 - I know Whom I have believed. ○ The important point is not what is said, but Who said it.

● First and foremost our Faith is in God Himself, and second in the truths that are being taught about Him by His Church.

● CCC 153-159 - The Characteristics of Faith: ○ Faith is supernatural - it comes from God as a free gift; it is not the mere

end product of logical reasoning or the result of a collection of evidence. ○ Faith is a virtue - a personal and moral challenge. ○ Faith and scientific knowledge will always be in harmony because God is

Truth and we live in the world he created. Knowledge gained by science is knowledge of God’s world.

● All true knowledge is compatible with the truths of the faith taught by the church

● Evidence is all around us that supports the truths of the Faith

● God does not prove that His Revelation is true, but provides us with evidence that helps us to see that Faith is completely reasonable. Some are listed in CCC 156:

○ The miracles of Our Lord and the Saints ○ Prophecies ○ The Church’s growth and holiness, and her fruitfulness and stability

● Faith is always seeking understanding; the more Faith we have the more we want to know.

● CCC 157 - Faith is more certain that any human knowledge that we can acquire, because it is given by God.

● CCC 160 - The Freedom of Faith: we are free to accept or reject Faith.

● CCC 161 - The Necessity of Faith: Faith is necessary for salvation; it is more than simple belief, it is intellectual matter. It flows out of the center of our being - the heart of each one of us. It says yes to God and commits the whole person to God.

20● The opposite of Faith is not disbelief, it is disobedience and infidelity.

● CCC 162 - Perseverance in Faith: we must be sincere and resolute in our attachment to the Faith, and keep growing in it.

● CCC 163 - Faith is the beginning of eternal life.

● Our Faith depends on the Faith of the Church; the Church’s Faith precedes ours.

● CCC 195 - The Nicene Creed - the Creed that we recite at Mass on Sunday. ○ Both the Nicene and Apostles Creed are divided into three parts.

■ Part One (see CCC 198) I believe in God the Father ■ Part two (see CCC 422) I believe in Jesus Christ, the Only Son of God ■ Part three (see CCC 683) I believe in the Holy Spirit

● CCC 200-202 We believe in one God, that is three persons.

● CCC 203-213 - God reveals His name.

● God alone is the fullness of being and existence. All created things are dependant on their Creator.

● CCC 207 - God’s faithfulness is everlasting. We are changeable; God never changes.

● CCC 211 - Jesus bears the divine name; revealed not only by what he says but by what he does.

● Two qualities of God - merciful love and faithfulness.

● CCC 210 - 211: God is merciful and gracious; rich in mercy; forgiving; acts toward us in a spirit of generosity without counting the costs; acts to save us from anything and everything that might threaten us.

● CCC 214-221 - God is truth and love; He acts in a loving way toward creation because He Himself is love.

● CCC 215-217 - God is truth; He is incapable of deceiving. God’s promises always come true - they are completely reliable. We can totally rely on God.

YOUR NOTES______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

21For Next Week

For Next Week’s Lesson, “The Heavenly Father: Almighty Creator”, please read the following paragraphs in the Catechism and the correlating Scripture that is listed next to them:

● 228-231 (In Brief)● 232-234● 238-239● 243 (Matthew 28:19)● 253-255 (Matthew 3: 13-17)

● 260 (Luke 9:28-36)● 261-267 (In Brief)● 270-271● 272-274● 275-278 (In Brief)● 289

Please also reflect on the following questions:

1.) What does our Faith in God mean for us? (CCC 229) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2.) Suppose you met someone who said that Faith in God is not important. What would you say? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3.) Can we understand God completely? (CCC 230) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4.) How can I tell from my own experience that God is a mystery? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5.) What is the Most Holy Trinity? Why is the Most Holy Trinity the central mystery of the Christian Faith? (CCC 233 and CCC 234) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6.) How would you explain the Trinity being Three Persons in One God to a little child? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7.) What are the two main things indicated by calling God ‘Father?’ (CCC 239) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________22

8.) What are three characteristics of God listed in the Dogma of the Holy Trinity? (CCC 253, 254, and 255) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9.) What does it mean that Jesus is consubstantial with the Father? (CCC 262) Do you tend to pray to one person of the Trinity more than the others? Which one? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10.) How does God show forth His Almighty power? (CCC 277) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Catechism/Scripture ConnectionCatechism Paragraph # Corresponding Scripture

CCC #228 Deut 6:4; Mk 12:29

CCC #231 Ex 34:6

CCC #238 Ex 4:22

CCC #260 Jn 14:23

CCC #270 Wis 11:23; 2Cor 6:18

CCC #272 1Cor 1: 24-25; Eph 1: 19-22

CCC #273 Lk 1: 37, 49

CCC #275 Job 42:2

CCC #276 Gen 18:14, Lk 1:37; Mt 19:26

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The Word “Trinity” is Not in the Holy Bible, but the Holy Trinity Is

Although the words “Holy Trinity” are not found in the Bible, the Trinity is described often.  The Holy Trinity is one God in three persons who each share the same essence of deity. Throughout the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, God refers to Himself in both singular and plural terms.  In addition, the Father is referred to as God, the Son as God, and the Holy Spirit as God.  Furthermore, the three personalities of the Godhead – Father, Son and Spirit, each conduct particular activities which are characteristic of their personality.  Finally, they are all unified in absolute communion from all eternity as the one God. Below are some examples of where Scripture references the Trinity indirectly.

Gen 1:1:  “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  The Father is portrayed as the creative source of all things.Gen 1:2:  “.. and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”  Here, in the second verse of Genesis, the Spirit of God appears as active in the creation process.

Gen 1:3: “Then God said, “Let there be light; and there was light.”  The Son, the eternal Word of God, speaks the first of Gods works into existence.

Isaiah 6:8-10: “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:  Whom shall I  send, and who will go for Us?”   Here God refers first to Himself in the singular, then in the plural pronoun, confirming that there are multiple persons in the Godhead.

Mark 1:9-11 “It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.  Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”  Here we have the Father, looking down approvingly at His beloved Son, while the Spirit descends and rests upon Him.

Jesus is recorded as saying in Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”  We are not baptizing in multiple names, but ONE NAME.  There is but one God and Lord to baptize in the name of. But we are also to baptize in the one name of the three-person Lord – Father, Son and Spirit.

Paul, writing to believers, encourages them to in 2 Corinthians 13:14: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.”  Here we have the three persons of the Godhead described, each with their own distinctive qualities.

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