1. Take attendance2. Spontaneous prayer – volunteer?3. Review Class #1• Class expectations• Rules of behavior• Confirmation requirements• Documentation requirements• Confirmation Sponsor requirements• Community service requirements• Confirmation Retreat• Schedule

Welcome to CP2 Class #2!

• Each week we will ask a different confirmand to offer a spontaneous prayer

• Spontaneous prayer = informal, unrehearsed• Blessing / praise / adoration = tell God that He’s great• Petition / intercession = ask for your/others needs• Thanksgiving = thank God for good things• Contrition = express sorrow for sin

• Traditional prayers (should be memorized)• Sign of the Cross• Our Father• Hail Mary

Opening Prayer

• Act of Contrition• Apostle’s Creed or Nicene Creed

Did everyone do the reading assignment?

• Assignment was to read the two creeds & note differences• Creed comes from the word “credo” = statement of beliefs• Why did Apostles write down what they believed?

• Differences – why?• Council of Nicea 325 A.D. denounced Arian Heresy• Arius taught that Jesus was God’s greatest creation• Jesus is God, and therefore has no beginning

• Can you identify the 12 articles of Catholic faith in these prayers?

Creed – What We Believe, Part 1

Apostles’ CreedI 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.

The Nicene CreedI 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 salvationhe 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 dayin accordance with the Scriptures.He ascended into heavenand is seated at the right hand of the Father.He will come again in gloryto judge the living and the deadand 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 sinsand I look forward to the resurrection of the deadand the life of the world to come.Amen.

• God exists, he is a Triune God, and he created all things• What is the Holy Trinity?• The Holy Trinity is one God in three persons• God the Father, God the Son, & God the Holy Spirit

• The Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life

Article 18.01.01

I believe in one God,the Father almighty,maker of heaven and earth,of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in God,the Father almighty,

Creator of heaven and earth,

• Jesus is the Son of God• Jesus is divine• The word Lord means God

• The name Jesus comes from the Hebrew “Jeshua”• Means "God saves”• Jesus is our Savior

• What does it mean to say God is transcendent?• God is an infinite mystery, existing beyond all limitations

and human boundaries

Article 28.01.02

and in Jesus Christ, his only Son,our Lord,

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.

• This affirms the human nature of Christ• Jesus had a real, true human mother

• Affirms his divine nature• Jesus had no human father but by the power of the Holy

Spirit was conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary• Jesus is therefore both God and man• Fully divine and fully human

Article 3who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,For us men and for our salvationhe came down from heaven,and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,and became man.

• The human nature of Christ could feel pain and actually die, and he did on Good Friday

• The mention of Pontius Pilate by name was to place the Crucifixion within human history

• Anti-Semitism based on the Crucifixion of Jesus is inaccurate and unjust• Jew and Gentile alike shared in the spilling of innocent blood

Article 4suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died and was buried;For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried,

• The hell Jesus descended into wasn't the hell of the damned, where the devil and his demons reside• Hell was merely a word that Jews and early Christians used

to describe the place of the dead• This passage affirms that on the third day he rose, meaning

Jesus came back from the dead of his own divine power• He wasn't just clinically dead for a few minutes; he was

dead dead — then he rose from the dead• More than a resuscitated corpse, Jesus possessed a

glorified and risen body

Article 5he descended into hell; on the third day

he rose again from the dead;and rose again on the third dayin accordance with the Scriptures.

• The Ascension reminds us that once the human and divine natures of Christ were united in the Incarnation, they could never be separated

• In other words, after the saving death and Resurrection, Jesus didn't dump his human body as if he didn't need it anymore

• Jesus’s human body will exist forever• Jesus went, body and soul, into heaven• We hope one day to follow

Article 6he ascended into heaven, and is seated at

the right hand of God the Father almighty;He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

• This article affirms the Second Coming of Christ at the end of the world to be its judge

• Judgment Day, Day of Reckoning, Doomsday—these are all metaphors for the end of time when what's known as the General Judgment will occur

• After the death of any human person, immediate Particular Judgment occurs and the person goes directly to heaven, hell, or purgatory

• Purgatory is an intermediate place in preparation for heaven

Article 7from there he will come to judge

the living and the dead.He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.

• God exists in three persons — the Holy Trinity — God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit

• The Holy Spirit is a distinct person equal to the other two — God the Father and God the Son

• Some describe the Holy Spirit as the spiritual manifestation of the love between God the Father and God the Son

• We profess belief in the Holy Trinity whenever we pray the Sign of the Cross

Article 8I believe in the Holy Spirit, 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.

• The Church is the People of God – We are the Church• Four Marks of the Church• One – unified in faith• Holy – comes from God• Catholic – universal• Apostolic – built on the foundation of the Apostles

• Through our common baptism, we living on earth are united with• The Saints in heaven• The souls in Purgatory• We are in communion with each other, with Jesus as the Head• This is why the Church is sometimes called the Mystical Body of Christ

Article 9the holy catholic Church,

the communion of saints,

I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

• Christ came to save the world from sin• Belief in the forgiveness of sins is essential to Christianity• Sins are forgiven in Baptism and in Reconciliation

Article 10the forgiveness of sins, I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins

• A human being is a union of body and soul• Death is just the momentary separation of body and soul• Until the end of the world, the Second Coming of Christ, the

General Judgment, and the resurrection of the dead• The just go, body and soul, into heaven• The damned go, body and soul, into hell

Article 11the resurrection of the body, and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead

• As Christ Our Savior died, so, too, must we die• As he rose, so shall all human beings• Death is the only way to cross from this life into the next• At the very moment of death, Particular Judgment occurs• Holy and virtuous souls go directly to heaven• Evil and wicked souls that die in mortal sin are damned for eternity in hell• If a person lived a life not bad enough to warrant hell but not holy enough to go

right to heaven, the soul goes to purgatory, which is a middle ground between heaven and earth, a state where departed souls want to go to be cleansed of any attachments to sin before going through the pearly gates

Article 12and life everlasting. and the life of the world to

come.

• So be it• Let it be so• I believe• Truly or verily• YES!

What does “Amen” mean?

• Holy is your name• God is holy and completely deserving of our love & worship

In the Lord’s Prayer (The Our Father), what does “hallowed be Thy name” mean?

8.01.03

• The desire for God is written in the human heart because we are created by God and for God

• In all of God’s creation, humans are the only creatures who are endowed with an immortal soul

• Humans are capable of knowing and loving their Creator

Why do humans have a desire for God?8.01.04

• There is no contradiction because there cannot be two kinds of truth. Since God created everything, we have nothing to fear from science. Scientific discoveries offer an explanation of how God accomplished what he did.

• Faith: Theological Virtue (a gift from God) that makes it possible for us to believe in God & all that he has revealed

• Reason: Ability to use one’s intellect to explore the truth among alternatives. Reason is a process that works with faith to come to knowledge of God.

• Faith (God’s gift to us) – must be nurtured by study, prayer, and works of charity, or it can be lost over time

Is there a contradiction between faith and reason (science)?

8.01.05

• Holy Trinity – one God in three persons• Revelation comes from Holy Scripture and Sacred Tradition• Prayer – Lord's Prayer, Apostles Creed, Nicene Creed• Sacraments – visible signs instituted by Christ to give grace• Ten Commandments, Precepts of the Church• Symbols – cross, candles, stained glass windows, sculptures• Service – hospitals, schools, shelters, orphanages

What are the basics of Catholic Christianity?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVs2S5-PxG8

• God created everything - nothing is outside God’s jurisdiction• That includes your every thought, word, and deed• Morning, noon and night, 24/7

• Everything is created for good but with the potential to be abused• Honors individual intellect and well-formed conscience• Use ability to reason and free will to apply ethics & morals to actions• Individual responsibility and accountability• Science and faith cooperate in seeking the truth• Hierarchy of Church leadership – bishops, priests, laity

Fundamental Catholic Perspectives

1. Knowing the faith – catechesis, learning doctrine, discovering faith2. Accepting the faith – trust & believe what is being taught is the truth3. Practicing the faith – applying beliefs to living your life• This is the most difficult step• Obeying the rules is not simply mindless compliance• Must appreciate the wisdom of Catholics rules and laws• Jesus asked us to put beliefs into action – to practice what you believe• Living Catholic is a constant struggle against temptation

General Ground Rules for Being Catholic

• Church – with a capital “C”• We are the Church!

• church – with a lower case “c”• Building with the steeple, high ceilings, pretty windows,

pews, organ, & choir loft

• Next week we will discuss the Four Marks of the Church

The Meaning of “Church”

• Read handout• Discuss answers to the questions

with your parents and/or sponsor

Homework