7) Why 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.
8) 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 t experience him into 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.
9) 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.
10) 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 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 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.
Showing posts with label YOUCAT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label YOUCAT. Show all posts
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Saturday, June 14, 2014
1.2 Man is Receptive to God
3) Q: Why do we seek God?
God 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)
4) Q: Can we know the existence of God by our reason?
Yes. Human 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. Evry 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.
5)Q: Why do people deny that God exists, if they can know him by reason?
To know the invisible God is a great challenge for human kind. 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.
6) Q: Can we grasp God at all in concepts? Is it possible to speak about him meaningfully?
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.
God 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)
4) Q: Can we know the existence of God by our reason?
Yes. Human 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. Evry 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.
5)Q: Why do people deny that God exists, if they can know him by reason?
To know the invisible God is a great challenge for human kind. 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.
6) Q: Can we grasp God at all in concepts? Is it possible to speak about him meaningfully?
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.
1.1 Why we are able to believe?
1) Q: For what purpose are we here on earth?
A: 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 (1-3,358)
To be 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 erringly into true life. He is "the way, and then truth, and the life" (Jn 14:6).
2) Q: Why did God create us?
A: God created us out of free and unselfish love. (1-3)
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.
Veronica's Reflection:
As a kid as young as 8 years old, I had been looking for answer to the question no.1 ' What is our purpose of life? Why are we on here on earth? What is life? What life is all about? Is it life supposed to be growing up study, work, get married, get kids and so forth? I believe a lot of people are asking the same questions. I cant believe that this is the first answer I got when I open the Catechism book. For all my life looking for the answer, I finally found the answer! We came from God and we are here on earth to serve God. Now I am able to tell my own kids or other kids where did they come from and what is their purpose of life.
From there, I started to find what does it mean to serve God. One may not understand that serving is receiving. I found so much goodness in serving God, our God is very kind and loving. He created us out of love and share His goodness. This is really true. He loves me so much that he always watching over me my whole life, keeping me safe and keep on calling me. Thank God for his faithfulness to me to wait for me for years to know him.
A: 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 (1-3,358)
To be 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 erringly into true life. He is "the way, and then truth, and the life" (Jn 14:6).
2) Q: Why did God create us?
A: God created us out of free and unselfish love. (1-3)
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.
Veronica's Reflection:
As a kid as young as 8 years old, I had been looking for answer to the question no.1 ' What is our purpose of life? Why are we on here on earth? What is life? What life is all about? Is it life supposed to be growing up study, work, get married, get kids and so forth? I believe a lot of people are asking the same questions. I cant believe that this is the first answer I got when I open the Catechism book. For all my life looking for the answer, I finally found the answer! We came from God and we are here on earth to serve God. Now I am able to tell my own kids or other kids where did they come from and what is their purpose of life.
From there, I started to find what does it mean to serve God. One may not understand that serving is receiving. I found so much goodness in serving God, our God is very kind and loving. He created us out of love and share His goodness. This is really true. He loves me so much that he always watching over me my whole life, keeping me safe and keep on calling me. Thank God for his faithfulness to me to wait for me for years to know him.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)