Is My Life Relevant?

A publication to mark the Year of Faith

Dermot Layden

(Diocese of Elphin, Ireland)

Copyright © 2013 by Dermot Layden

First Edition, 2013

ISBN: 978-0-9576607-1-7

Published in Ireland by
Lettertec Publishing
Springhill House,
Carrigtwohill,
Co. Cork.

www.selfpublishbooks.ie

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any device, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder. This book may not be circulated without a cover or in any cover other than the existing cover.

Dedication

This publication is dedicated to all those people who are genuinely interested in living a purposeful, fulfilled and happy life on this earth, in a spirit of self-giving.

Acknowledgements

Several people have helped me in one way or another in writing this book. First and foremost comes to mind, the wise counsel I received from Dr. Justin Harkin, Director of Pastoral Development in the Diocese of Elphin, Ireland. In addition to his very wise counsel, Justin also reviewed the book contents. I was also assisted quietly by a local priest. Very special thanks is extended to Dr. John Murray, Lecturer in Moral Theology at the Mater Dei Institute, Dublin, who reviewed the text in detail. We are all indebted to having his expertise on board. So my most grateful thanks are extended to all of these people. Naturally, I am particularly appreciative of Dr. Christopher Jones, Bishop of Elphin, for taking responsibility for the Foreword, despite his very busy schedule.

I want to thank sincerely my colleagues on the Catechism course in St. Mary’s, Sligo, for their engagement with the Catechism and for their personal testimonies, which greatly helped me, both from a content and inspirational points of view, in writing this book.

I gratefully acknowledge with thanks my use of material from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and likewise I gratefully acknowledge the wonderful accompanying Notes on the Catechism from the Maryvale Institute in the UK. Material from the Catechism is normally denoted by a number placed in brackets (usually after the quote). For example an extract from paragraph 201 of the Catechism would be denoted by (201). An extract from the Maryvale Notes (Unit 1) would be denoted by M and the page number placed in brackets, i.e. (M 22), indicating page 22 of the Notes.

Incidentally, should you wish to know more about the Maryvale Institute, and about the various Catechism and other courses they run in Ireland and elsewhere, you can access them on the following web site: http://www.maryvale.ac.uk

I also greatly acknowledge the use I made of the contents of the other two subsidiary Catechisms in our midst, i.e. ‘Compendium’ to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and YOUCAT, the Catechism version suitable for young people. It is notable that this is the very first time the Church has issued a Catechism dedicated to the youth, recognising no doubt the important role that our young people have to play in preserving and passing on the faith to future generations. YOUCAT is beautifully produced and easy to read, and indeed many adults might find it a convenient starting point for the study of the Catechism.

I wish to strongly point out that this book you are looking at now, is no substitute for either the Catechism of the Catholic Church, or the Maryvale Notes on the Catechism, but hopefully your appetite for same will have been whetted!

I sincerely thank various people I interviewed as part of my involvement with the Ocean FM Sunday Spirit radio programme (covering the north-west of Ireland), from whom I used some material as content for this book. The individual names and details are provided in the body of the book. I also thank Ocean FM for the use of the material from these interviews.

I thank the authors and publishers of various books from which I used some material for this book, particularly the following titles: Proof of Heaven, Where God Hides, Confession – looking into the eyes of God, and Calm the Soul. Fuller details of these titles are given in the Bibliography.

Very grateful thanks to all my family for their individual help in various ways to make this book possible.

Lastly, and certainly by no means least, I express my very grateful thanks to Lettertec Publishing Ltd, Self-Publishing, Cork, for their most proficient and professional work in producing this attractive book, on most reasonable financial terms.

Should I have omitted anyone or organisation in expressing my thanks, I ask for forgiveness – the omission was certainly not intentional.

Thank you all.

Dermot Layden

Foreword

The writing and publication of this book is a wonderful initiative for the Year of Faith, and Dermot Layden and his good colleagues who helped him with this book, together with the publishers, are to be highly commended. I remember in 2005, the Year of the Eucharist, Dermot was also instrumental in producing a significant publication on the Mass to mark that special year, and which was characterised as a layman’s view of the Mass, and a very worthy one at that.
Dermot also implies that this current book is again a layman’s ‘effort’, this time to mark the Year of Faith. This is surely an under-statement, as the book is so comprehensive and theologically sound, one would be very hard put to find another book anywhere, which would contain so much of the content of our faith, and be in such a readable format. Yes congratulations to all involved in this publication, which deserves to be widely read, not alone in Ireland, but across the world, and not least so because of its positive outlook on life, so essential to us human beings.

Dermot wishes to give special credit for this book to the course on the Catechism of the Catholic Church which he is attending; to the course facilitator, Dr. Justin Harkin; to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (including YOUCAT version for young people); and not least to the wonderful Maryvale Institute Notes on the Catechism. And Dermot greatly appreciates the contributions of fellow Catechism course participants who, he says, gave him the real inspiration to write this book at the age of 76. And naturally, Dermot feels greatly indebted to Dr. John Murray, of the Mater Dei Institute, Dublin, who reviewed his text in detail.

This book is inspiring in many ways, not least to those looking for a ‘meaning’ in life; to those who lack knowledge in the faith; to those who lack enthusiasm in their faith; and to those who are lukewarm in their faith, or perhaps have given up on their faith practice. Indeed, the book should appeal to those who would wish to have an encounter with, or know more about, Jesus Christ, about the Christian faith and about the Catholic faith. And people of no faith might gain a lot of solace from this book. It is noteworthy that the book is dedicated to: “all those people who are genuinely interested in living a purposeful, fulfilled and happy life on this earth, in a spirit of self-giving.”

We human beings are very much at the centre of this book, and that’s really why it is such a meaningful book. I very much like the quote in the body of the book from Pope John XXIII: “Do not walk through time without leaving worthy evidence of your passage.”

Yes this is a book to be taken seriously and read through in a positive frame of mind. Enjoy!

Dr. Christopher Jones,

Bishop of Elphin, Ireland

Introduction

For a start, this book is certainly not an attempt to intimidate anyone, by possibly highlighting their shortcomings in living a wholesome godly life. In fact, don’t we all fall short? Rather it is a sort of ‘aid memoire’, or checklist, for all of us, to help us in our assessment of our knowledge of our ‘faith’, and how we try to live out that faith. And I must point out that the faith spoken of in this book is primarily the Christian faith, and more frequently the Catholic faith. Notwithstanding that, I believe this book has relevance to people of all faiths, and indeed to those with no faith. No matter who we are, there are many behavioural and psychological strands common to us all! And I suggest this book is definitely of interest to those who are ‘searching’ for a meaning in life!

Perhaps I am the least worthy person to write this book! Maybe my enthusiasm at the age of 76 to acquaint others of the benefits that I feel I derived from my faith practice (feeble though it may have been too often), is the only plausible reason for me to write this book! However, if I didn’t have the privilege of presently participating in a wonderful course being run in St. Mary’s, Sligo (within the Diocese of Elphin in Ireland), on the Catechism of the Catholic Church, I would certainly not be writing this book. It is a wonderful course, and almost hard to believe that the Catechism could be so interesting. This Catechism course, and many other like courses throughout Ireland, and presumably throughout the world, is an initiative in response to this year, the Year of Faith, promulgated by the retired Pope Benedict XVI. Incidentally, I regard the announcement by Pope Benedict in 2012, of this Year of Faith to be a seismic parting legacy of his for the benefit of our future world Church. Anyway, as regards the Catechism course in St. Mary’s, Sligo, we are (as already indicated) using in addition to the Catechism, those wonderful and very professional complementary Catechism Notes prepared by the Maryvale Institute in the UK. Certainly, these Notes make the study of the Catechism much more interesting and understandable. And in addition, and certainly not least, we have a wonderful course facilitator, knowledgeable to the hilt, and equally polite, Dr. Justin Harkin, Director of Pastoral Development in the Elphin Diocese. And furthermore, the active engagement by the Catechism course participants, combined with their personal testimonies, would encourage any 76 year old to go the ‘extra mile’ and thus maybe write this book. However, I do have some past writing experiences, and these are mentioned on the book cover.

The contents of this book are not directly confined to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (or more correctly to some elements of it) and the Maryvale Institute Notes thereon. Several other topics are also included, which seemed to me to be appropriate in answering the question: Is My Life Relevant?

As already indicated above, we are in the Year of Faith, as promulgated by Pope Benedict and which commenced on 11th October, 2012, and which will finish on 24th November, 2013. The commencement date of 11th October, 2012, marks exactly 50 years from the opening of the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) on 11th October, 1962. The Council concluded its deliberations on December 8th, 1965, having approved 16 major Texts (Documents). The commencement date for the Year of Faith also represents 20 years from the date of the approval of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 1992. The implication of these two anniversary dates is pretty clear, i.e. that during the Year of Faith, we should study both the Vatican II documents (or at least some of them) and the Catechism. Brief outlines of both of these are given in the next section

Finally, I wish to say to you readers, please regard this book as a layman’s effort to help my fellow travellers to reach joyful fulfilment on our journey on this earth, and thereafter, please God, to total fulfilment in a never ending Paradise, where time has little essence. And whatever theological or professional content this book contains, please attribute same entirely to the Catechism, to the Maryvale Institute, and to the Catechism course I am attending, and also to the good people who helped me with this book.

I strongly believe1that in life, we should attend to ‘first things first’ and ‘all other things’ will follow. Therefore I am very attracted to the following quote from Scripture: “Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on his righteousness, and all these other things will be given you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)

Brief Outline of Vatican II and Catechism of the Catholic Church

Vatican II and Documents Issued

The Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) was announced by Pope John XXIII on January 25th, 1959, and on October 11th, 1962, after nearly four years of preparation, the Council formally opened. The Council concluded on December 8th, 1965, having approved 16 major Texts, which we generally refer to as Vatican II Documents. These Documents were then promulgated by the then reigning pope, Pope Paul VI.

The following are the 16 Documents issued by Vatican II, using their English titles:

Dogmatic Constitution of the Church - issued November 1964

Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation - issued November 1965

The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy - issued December 1963

Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World - issued December 1965

Decree on the Pastoral Office of Bishops in the Church - issued October 1965

Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests - issued December 1965

Decree on the Training of Priests - issued October 1965

Decree on the Up-to-Date Renewal of Religious Life - issued October 1965

Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People - issued November 1965

Decree on the Church’s Missionary Activity - issued December 1965

Decree on Ecumenism - issued November 1964

Decree on the Catholic Eastern Churches – issued November 1965

Decree on the Mass Media - issued December 1963

Declaration on Religious Liberty - issued December 1965

Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions - issued October 1965

Declaration on Christian Education - issued October 1965

As can be seen, a very extensive range of topics was covered by the Council, really everything that concerns the Church. Clearly some of the topics are of more interest to lay people than others. The first document, the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church is of course a key foundation document, and deals with the nature, mission and identity of the Catholic Church in today’s world. The 2nd document, the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, is a very significant document for our understanding of God, as it deals with the nature of Revelation, that is how God has revealed Himself to us down through the ages, through the Scriptures, Tradition and the Teaching Authority of the Church, i.e. the Church Magisterium. The 3rd Document, The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy is the one that has had the most effect on us lay people by providing for greater lay participation in the Church Liturgy, and also providing for the use of the vernacular, rather than Latin, in the celebration of the Eucharist. And in talking about lay involvement in the Church, note might be taken of the later document, Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People, which encourages and provides guidance for lay people in their Christian service. And lastly to take note of just one other of the above documents, which has relevance to us all, i.e. Decree on Ecumenism, which has had great success to-date, although still much needs to be achieved. The achievements in this area were ably demonstrated during a presentation by Bishop Brian Farrell, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, at the recent Eucharistic Congress in Dublin.

(The Irish Catholic newspaper - October 11th, 2012, edition – had a wonderful article explaining Vatican II and the Documents issued, and also had features written by various contributors. Perhaps, back issues are still available! I would like to sincerely thank the fairly recently appointed new Editor of The Irish Catholic, Michael Kelly, and wish him the very best in the future)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

(The Catechism)

[Just to note again that in addition to this main Catechism, there are two further smaller/simpler versions, i.e. Compendium (an abridged version) to the Catechism published in 2006, and a version suitable for youth entitled YOUCAT published in 2011. Incidentally, Pope Benedict XVI in his Foreword to YOUCAT, expressed great excitement and hope for this Catechism in the renewal of the Church.]

There is considerable common ground between the Vatican II Documents and the Catechism, particularly in relation to the contents of our faith and its practice. It should be noted that the Catechism is a totality of all aspects of our faith. In 1986, Pope John Paul II established a commission of twelve Cardinals and Bishops, chaired by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, with the task of preparing a draft of the Catechism, as requested by the Synod Fathers. After some six years of work, the Catechism was finally approved on 11th October, 1992. Hereunder are some extracts from what Pope John Paul II put his signature to, on the approval of the Catechism and contained in the opening section to the Catechism, entitled ‘Apostolic Constitution - Fidei Depositum’:

“The Catechism of the Catholic Church, which I approved 25th June last and the publication of which I today order by virtue of my Apostolic Authority, is a statement of the Church’s faith and of catholic doctrine, attested to or illumined by Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition and the Church’s Magisterium. I declare it to be a sure norm for teaching the faith and thus a valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion. May it serve the renewal to which the Holy Spirit ceaselessly calls the Church of God, the Body of Christ, on her pilgrimage to the undiminished light of the Kingdom!” (Page 5)

“May the light of the true faith free humanity from the ignorance and slavery of sin in order to lead it to the only freedom worthy of the name (cf Jn 8:32): that of life in Jesus Christ under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, here below and in the Kingdom of heaven, in the fullness of the blessed vision of God face to face. (cf 1 Cor 13:12; 2 Cor 5:6-8)!” (Page 6)

“The project [preparing the Catechism] was the object of extensive consultation among all the Catholic Bishops, their Episcopal Conferences or Synods, and theological and catechetical institutes … It can be said that this Catechism is the result of the collaboration of the whole Episcopate of the Catholic Church, who generously accepted my invitation to share responsibility … This response elicits in me a deep feeling of joy, because the harmony of so many voices truly expresses what could be called the ‘symphony’ of the faith.” (Page 4)

Signed by Pope John Paul II

What a beautiful analogy - the ‘symphony’ of the faith - used by His Holiness, implying a full orchestra, with no elements missing, and all in total harmony. This really is the ideal for our full practice of the faith.

After the ‘Fidei Depositum’ section, there follows the Prologue (Introduction), comprising 25 paragraphs of the Catechism. The Prologue opens with the following quotes from Scripture:
“Father … this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (Jn 17:3)
“God our Saviour desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim 2:3-4)
“There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) – [than the name of Jesus.]

Here is, I suggest, a significant extract from paragraph 3 of the Prologue:
“… This treasure [the Good News], received from the apostles, has been faithfully guarded by their successors. All Christ’s faithful are called to hand it on from generation to generation, by professing the faith, by living it in fraternal sharing, and by celebrating it in liturgy and prayer.” (cf Acts 2:42) (3)

The Catechism follows the normal structure of previous Catechisms of the Catholic Church. In fact, as the Maryvale Notes point out, the present Catechism is an updating of what is known as ‘The Roman Catechism’. This was written some 400 years ago, following the Council of Trent (1543-63). And it should be noted that our present Catechism is written with a public audience in mind, whereas the old ‘Roman Catechism’ was really directed at priests and the like. Paragraph 13 tells us:

“The plan of this Catechism is inspired by the great tradition of catechisms which build catechesis [instruction] on four pillars: the baptismal profession of faith (the Creed), the sacraments of faith, the life of faith (the Commandments), and the prayer of the believer (the Lord’s Prayer).”

The Compendium to the Catechism (Page 16) slightly re-titles these four pillars as follows:
Pillar 1, the Profession of Faith,deals primarily with the articles of the Creed starting with ‘I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth’, and so on to the end.
Pillar 2, the Celebration of the Christian Mystery, which is essentially the active celebration of our faith through the seven Sacraments of the Church.
Pillar 3, Life in Christ, which essentially is a positive response to the Ten Commandments of the Church.
And pillar 4 is about Christian Prayer.

You might note that several of the individual Questions, relating to the practice of faith, posed in this book you are looking at, fall under one of the above four pillars, in one form or another. Some of the earlier Questions posed in the book, concerningsuch topics as, belief in God, creation, revelation, deposit of faith, faith itself, andsome others (including the implicit important role of the Church), are there to provide a background understanding to who we are, and what God has in mind for us human beings, whom He made in His image. In some ways these are the more ‘meaty’ elements of the book, and many readers may find this earlier part of the book, of particular interest! However, the latter sections of the book are, I suggest, interesting and very life relevant!

Please note that this book does not purport in any way to be an exhaustive insight into the Catechism or the Maryvale Notes thereon, or indeed Vatican II, but rather, and hopefully, it gives a sensible minimum working guide to an understanding of our faith, and its practice, while at the same time being faithful to the Catechism. Much more study could beneficially be undertaken!

And finally, as the Maryvale Institute points out: “We must not pick and choose among the Church’s teachings, selecting only the bits of faith that we like. That corrupts the faith …” (M 12)

It goes on to imply that this is not the way to get a good ‘symphonic effect’.

Questions and Some Answers About Life

Q1 |  | The 64 Million Dollar Question: What is Life all about?
Q2 | The Everyday Reality Question: Can a successful career in our competitive environment be combined with good moral / religious practice?
Q3 | Do I Believe in God and Why should I?
Q4 | What do I know about Creation? Do I create things?
Q5 | Am I familiar with the term ‘Revelation’ and God’s Salvation Plan?
Q6 | What is my understanding of Jesus Christ?
Q7 | Am I familiar with what the ‘Deposit of Faith’ is about?
Q8 | Could I talk at some length about ‘faith’? Are there any striking examples of faith in God’s salvation plan?
Q9 | Am I familiar with the Scriptures, and how to read them?
Q10 | Could I discuss the Three Divine Persons, i.e. Trinity - the Triune God?
Q11 | Could I discuss the different visible and invisible elements in Creation? What about angels? What about us humans?
Q12 | Is God good and loving seeing there is so much suffering in the world?
Q13 | Do I believe in sin and the consequences of sin?
Q14 | Could I name the Ten Commandments, and how relevant are they?
Q15 | Could I talk about the Seven Deadly Sins and the Cardinal Virtues?
Q16 | Could I name, and discuss the seven Sacraments?
Q17 | How important is the Mass (the Eucharist) to me? Do I need to hear a convincing story on the Real Presence?
Q18 | When was I last at Confession (Sacrament of Reconciliation)? Anyway, why should I bother with Confession? Surely it is outdated!
Q19 | How is my Prayer Life? Maybe I am too busy to bother with prayer!
Q20 | How familiar am I with the Beatitudes / the Sermon on the Mount?
Q21 | Am I a forgiving person? Am I patient? Do I get angry? Am I proud?
Q22 | Do I believe in Purgatory, Heaven and Hell? Do I believe in Eternity? If I were to die in the next hour, where might my journey be to?
Q23 | What changes might I need to make in my life to answer to a loving God the opening 64 Million Dollar Question: What is Life All About?
Q24 | A Final General Question: Does the Practice of Religion confer any Benefits (physical or otherwise) on us? – well consider the research!

Question 1

The 64 Million Dollar Question: What is Life all about?

Hopefully having read this book to the end, one will be in a better position to answer this leading question! So we won’t try to answer it here. But maybe to get the ‘grey matter’ working we could pose some further questions / scenarios for ourselves to reflect on:

Some Negative Scenarios:

Life is tough here, and I am basically out for myself. Anyway, I don’t see why I should have to bother about other people.

Community is all very well in theory, but I like to keep to myself and avoid hassle from my neighbours. Everyman for himself, I say!

‘As you did it to one of these little ones, you did it to me’. I don’t buy this sort of stuff from Jesus.

My interest is in accumulating as many resources as possible for myself and my family so that we can live comfortably. After all that is all that is important, as I see it.

I get so annoyed and really angry with people at times that I lose my ‘cool’, and real hatred so often sets in. Forgiveness doesn’t arise for me. People can be a bore. Better avoid them!

My problem, I had a bad experience with a priest in Confession many years ago, and I just gave up on religion.

With all this clerical abuse, I have simply lost faith in the Church. Anyway, the Church is so dictatorial, that I couldn’t be bothered with them. Anyway, I am an independent thinker.

I don’t believe in a ‘hereafter’, and anyway, I have my doubts about whether there is a God!

Some Positive Scenarios:

‘It is in giving that we receive’. I have always got more back than what I gave in my voluntary work. To see the joy in ‘their’ faces was hugely emotional for me.

I have seen great happiness, amidst great suffering. People in need know how to appreciate that little gesture of help. I couldn’t turn my back on these people.

Yes ‘as you did it to one of these little ones, you did it to me’. I do see Jesus in these people. And I believe Jesus was God who became man for our good. And I am very aware of the two great commandments Jesus spoke about: Love God and love your neighbour as yourself. Anyway, this love makes me feel positive about life.

God who is the Creator of all that is good, and who is infinite goodness in Himself and infinite love, had our happiness and fulfilment in mind when creating the world. God expects us to respond in love and care for one another. We are interdependent beings – we depend on one another. I believe that God’s Creation becomes complete by our good efforts. As Maryvale alludes to: we are ‘black seeds’ with potential to grow into sweet smelling red roses. That’s for me the ultimate for life on earth, and a real basis for eternal happiness in the next.

Yes religion and the Church does matter and community celebration and prayer are very important. Jesus established the Church and community worship while here on earth. At Caesarea Philippi near the foot hills of Mount Hermon, Jesus said to Peter, “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it.” (Matt 16: 18-19) [I had the great privilege of standing on that very rock (or thereabouts) in summer 2012, and hearing those words being proclaimed.]

Jesus didn’t die on the cross for nothing. I would be a fool to disregard his many utterances. Anyway, Jesus is God, and God is love, and it behoves me to return this love. And it makes me feel good to do so.

Question 2

The Everyday Reality Question: Can a successful career in our competitive environment be combined with good moral / religious practice?

Well I think each of us will have to answer this Question for themselves. Maybe by the end of this book, some more light will have been shed on the topic! Personally, I see no basic inconsistencies between these two objectives, i.e. combining a successful career with good morals and ethics. Perhaps, sometimes courage will be called for in standing up for one’s standards and values. Really sound standards and values, whether of honesty or otherwise, should never be an issue, and if they are an issue, perhaps one is better away from the situation, rather than allowing oneself to be compromised, or contaminated. If enough people stood up for good standards and values, then the problem in all likelihood would be exposed to the extent that would lead to a public outcry against such poor behaviour. I reckon, we had too many examples of poor business ethics in the recent past in Ireland, during the so-called boom years. As a nation and as individuals, we have paid dearly for such poor behaviour. And ‘because everyone is doing it’, that is no reason why I or you should ‘do it’.

In fact, without our bad experience of the recent past, I would have said (and in fact did say many years ago to my 3rd level business management students in the IT, Sligo) that good business standards and customer concern will always win out in the end. And furthermore that those who engage in dubious business practices, can easily lose sight of their real focus in running a successful business, because they have to spend so much time in ‘covering their tracks’, relating to their dubious practices. And if senior management behave inappropriately, can they expect their staff to do differently? Surely one leads by example! And anyway, doesn’t the truth always win out in the end? ‘The truth will set us free’.

Question 3

Do I believe in God and why should I?

Dr. John Murray, Lecturer in Moral Theology, Mater Dei Institute, Dublin, whom I had the privilege of interviewing over three years ago for the Sunday Spirit programme on Ocean FM Radio, made a number of very relevant comments on this subject of belief in God. He said most people in fact believe in God or a Creator, and indicated that people have many ways of coming to a belief in God, or as it were, several reasons combined together for such belief. People realise, he said, that there is something bigger than themselves, someone or something transcendent. And he said that belief in God gives us consolation and a challenge in life, and that there is great psychological and social value to be had from believing in God. So such belief, he said, is a great support for us in living our lives, and helps in explaining the mystery of life.
John also talked of the role of reason in believing in God, and indicated that our knowledge of God does not come solely from faith, but that from looking around us at creation, at its beauty and order, we can deduce from reason about a God. John indicated that faith and reason are very much complementary to one another, and that the Catholic faith / Church are great friends of reason, and indeed also of science. ‘Belief in God is very reasonable’, John said. And he also touched briefly on the major contribution that St. Thomas Aquinas made in this area of belief in God. We touch on this contribution presently.

What does the Catechism say about a belief in God?

As Maryvale points out: “The Catechism [31] teaches that God does indeed allow us to know Him. We can be certain that he exists … The Catechism quotes from Cardinal Newman’s autobiographical work, Apologia Pro Vita Sua, that there are ‘converging and convincing arguments’ which allow us to be certain of God’s existence … Newman gave us images to explain what he meant. Knowledge of God’s existence, he held, is like a cable which is made up of a large number of separate threads. Each of these threads is feeble in itself, but when they are joined we have something as strong as an ‘iron rod’ … And so in life there are many facts, persons and events which point us towards the existence of God, more or less strongly. Each of these would not be enough on its own to convince us that there is really a God, but taken together they do convince us … Newman calls this ‘concrete reasoning’.” (M 18)

[It might be noted that Cardinal John Henry Newman was a convert to the Catholic faith]

Unlike Newman, however, some philosophers have argued that some arguments for God’s existence are actually quite strong on their own, and don’t need to be combined with others in order to be sound arguments.

“There are two areas in life where we can find evidence for God’s existence: the material world and the human person.” (M18) Regarding the material world, the Catechism (32) gives two relevant quotations in this regard, the first from St. Paul, the second from St. Augustine:

St. Paul says to the Gentiles: “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made.” (Rom1:19-20; cf Acts 14: 15, 17)

And St. Augustine issues this challenge: “Question the beauty of the earth, question the beauty of the sea, question the beauty of the air distending and diffusing itself, question the beauty of the sky … question all these realities. All respond: ‘See we are beautiful.’ Their beauty is a profession (confessio). These beauties are subject to change. Who made them if not the Beautiful One (Pulcher) who is not subject to change?” (Sermo 241, 2: PL 38, 1134)

“Both [of these quotes says Maryvale, based on the Catechism (32)] teach that we can know the invisible by seeing the visible. By seeing the things around us we can know that there must be an invisible Power and Beauty which is their source.” (M 18)

The Catechism, according to Maryvale, also draws on the work of St. Thomas Aquinas, who taught that the existence of God can be rationally demonstrated. In his most important work, the Summa Theologiae, he offers five ‘ways’ of coming to know that God exists. Each ‘way’ has the same structure to it. Maryvale goes on to explain the first ‘way’, which really has to do with ‘change’, and what can account ultimately for change. ‘Fire’ is used to demonstrate this: “Fire can make wood hot because the fire is already hot. But where is the beginning point of all of this change and movement?…

Aquinas is asking: ‘What is making things move here and now in the present’? … He argues that we must stop somewhere, that there must be something which underpins this very moment in the universe, which moves everything and which is itself unmoved, otherwise we can never explain the motion and change of the things around us. This ‘something’ is the source of all that exists – in other words God.” (M 19)

And the Catechism states in paragraph 36, quoting a Vatican Council I document, Dei Filius, that: “Our Holy mother the Church, holds and teaches that God, the first principle and last end of all things, can be known with certainty from the created world by the natural light of human reason. Without this capacity, man would not be able to welcome God’s revelation. Man has the capacity because he is created ‘in the image of God’” (36).
God’s revelation to us has of course a very important role to play in completing the picture for us, as it were, and that topic is covered later in Question 5.

How can we speak of God?

Maryvale responds “It is true that man is made in God’s image, but we must not try to make God in man’s image … The Catechism (39-43) describes God as ‘infinite’, ‘invisible’, ‘inexpressible’, ‘incomprehensible’.. In other words God is not limited to place or time, not visible, not able to be expressed clearly in language, and not able to be understood by our minds. These words do not tell us anything positive about God [but rather what he is not], but act as a warning not to put Him into human categories. [Fittingly then] the Catechism concludes this section with a quotation from St. Thomas Aquinas who said ‘we know of God rather what he is not than what He is …’ We can nevertheless, speak meaningfully about God because He created us and the world in which we live and therefore everything that exists bears His marks in some way. Everything bears the mark of the Maker. Every instance of beauty in the world is a pale reflection of God’s beauty, a glimpse of God.” (M 22)

Question 4

What do I know about Creation? Do I create things?

In this section we move on to talking about God’s creation rather than God Himself. In paragraph 279, the Catechism commences on this subject by quoting from Genesis “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1), the Catechism noting “Holy Scripture begins with these solemn words.” (279) And the Catechism then quotes from our professions of faith (Creeds): “that God the Father Almighty is ‘Creator of heaven and earth’ (Apostles’ Creed), ‘of all that is seen and unseen’ (Nicene Creed).” (279)

“Creation [says the Catechism] is the foundation of all God’s saving plans, the beginning of the history of salvation that culminates in Christ … from the beginning, God envisaged the glory of the new creation in Christ.” (280)

In paragraph 282, the Catechism ‘hits the nail on the head’, as it were:
“Catechesis [instruction/understanding] on creation is of major importance. It concerns the very foundations of human and Christian life: for it makes explicit the response of the Christian faith to the basic question that men of all times have asked themselves: ‘Where do we come from?’ ‘Where are we going?’ ‘What is our origin?’ ‘What is our end?’ ‘Where does everything that exist come from and where is it going?’ The two questions, the first about the origin and the second about the end are inseparable. They are decisive for the meaning and orientation of our life and actions.” (282)

Maryvale elaborates on the foregoing:
“ … we can only understand the beginning in the light of the end. Theologically, we can put the point like this: we can only understand the point and purpose of God creating, in the light of His action in redeeming.” (M 76) Maryvale then draws our attention to three areas where the Catechism expounds on this:

The destiny of creation

The interpretation of the Scriptures

The understanding of free human action

The destiny of creation

“Let us repeat the point again: we can only understand the beginning in the light of the end. When we think about this we can see that this principle is clearly true in the natural world: we analyse the beauty of a black seed when it has flowered into a magnificent red rose. We can only see the significance, the point of the whole process of the seed falling into the earth and remaining hidden for many months, and of the tender plant being patiently tended and cared for, when it finally brings forth its roses.
The Catechism teaches us that what is true of the rose is true of creation as a whole.” (M 76-77)

The interpretation of the Scriptures
Although the section on Scripture comes later in the book, it is relevant to note here that Maryvale draws our attention to “the meaning of the Old Testament being made clear in the New. This is once again the principle of the beginning being understood in the light of the end … [And Maryvale reminds us of the Catechism’s reference to Scripture in paragraph 279] that Scripture begins with the account of creation, and that from the very beginning (from the first line of the first page of the Holy Scriptures, as it were) God had in mind the consummation of the creation in Christ (the last line of the Holy Scriptures in the Book of Revelation).” (M 77)

The understanding of free human action
Maryvale states here that the questions we ask about the meaning and purpose of creation, we ask also about our own lives. “Who am I? Where have I come from? Where am I going? … What will really make me happy? Where does my fulfilment in life lie? … For example are we the kind of creatures who can be fully satisfied, really happy and content, just so long as we have full stomachs, an active sexual life, and a life of physical comfort? … [in this] we would be accepting a materialist understanding of ourselves … Christianity gives us a much higher vision of ourselves than this. Only God can ultimately satisfy our longings … because we are made in His image, made like an arrow to fly to God our target.” (M 77)
Yes I suggest we quickly need to get a bit of target practice in!

Faith and Reason in understanding Creation
Paragraph 286 of the Catechism tells us that “… The existence of God the Creator can be known with certainty through his works, by the light of human reason, even if this knowledge is often obscured and disfigured by error. This is why faith comes to confirm and enlighten reason in the correct understanding of this truth: By faith we understand that the world was created by the Word of God, so that what is seen was made out of things which do not appear.” (286)
The Catechism goes on: “The truth about creation is so important for all of human life that God in his tenderness wanted to reveal to his People everything that is salutary to know on the subject. Beyond the natural knowledge that every man can have of the Creator, God progressively revealed to Israel the mystery of creation. He who choose the patriarchs, who brought Israel out of Egypt … this same God reveals himself as the One to whom belong all the peoples of the earth, and the whole earth itself; he is the One who alone made heaven and earth.” (287)
[We will be dealing with ‘revelation’ in a separate section later]
“Thus the revelation of creation is inseparable from the revelation and forging of the covenant of the One God with his people. Creation is revealed as the first step towards this covenant, the first and universal witness of God’s all-powerful love …” (288)
“Among all the Scriptural texts about creation, the first three chapters of Genesis occupy a unique place … The inspired authors have placed them at the beginning of Scripture to express in their solemn language the truths of creation – its origin and its end in God, its order and goodness, the vocation of man, and finally the drama of sin and the hope of salvation …” (289)

So from the above, we can say that God’s creation of the world was not an isolated exercise, but very much the initiation of His outpouring of love for humankind, followed by a succession of revelations of Himself, towards the ultimate salvation of the human race, in the Word incarnate, Jesus Christ.
And of course there have been a broad range of theories and views about the origin of the world. On this the Catechism states: “… All these attempts bear witness to the permanence and universality of the question of origins. This inquiry is distinctively human.” (285)

Maryvale deals very aptly with two points following from the above:
“[Firstly] The fact that we can seek the truth about the origin of ourselves and the universe points to man’s greatness … [and] to admire the greatness of the Creator, and also to thank God for giving us the ability to understand His creation … this search for origins tells us much about man’s greatness in the universe.
[Secondly] The motivation for such studies is more than simple curiosity: it is a question above all, of wanting to know the meaning of existence. This question is one that science cannot answer. The Catechism draws a distinction between scientific knowledge and philosophical or religious knowledge. Science can try to answer when and how the universe and man appeared. But science can never answer the question of why there is a universe, or why man was created. Science can analyse the laws which operate in the universe. But it is a religious and philosophical question, not a scientific one, why there should exist a universe with laws in it at all.” (M 78)

Incidentally, Albert Einstein is reputed to have said “Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind”.

Creation – the Work of the Holy Trinity
The Catechism tells us that “Creation is the common work of the Holy Trinity.” (292)
Maryvale (M79) poses two questions: ‘How do we know this is true?’ and ‘What is the importance of this point for our faith?’
Well the Catechism (290 – 292) tells us that Scripture, the New and the Old Testaments, together with the New Covenant (the Word made flesh in Jesus) give affirmation to the work of the Holy Trinity in creation. For instance the opening lines of Genesis read: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, and God’s spirit hovered over the waters.” (Gen 1:1-2)
Note the foregoing reference to ‘God’s spirit’, the third person of the Holy Trinity. Again as regards the second person of the Trinity, i.e. the Word made flesh in the Son, the first Letter of St. John tells us: “In the beginning was the Word … and the Word was God … all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.” (Jn 1:1-3)
As the Catechism says: “… The New Testament reveals that God created everything by the eternal Word, his beloved Son. In him ‘all things were created in heaven and on earth … all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.’ (Col 1: 16-17) The Church’s faith likewise confesses the creative action of the Holy Spirit, the ‘giver of life’, the ‘Creator Spirit’ (Veni, Creator Spiritus), the ‘source of every good’ (Cf Nicene Creed).” (291)
And the Catechism goes on to say: “The Old Testament suggests and the New Covenant reveals the creative action of the Son and the Spirit, inseparably one with that of the Father. This creative co-operation is clearly affirmed in the Church’s rule of faith: ‘There exists but one God … he is the Father, God, the Creator, the author, the giver of order. He made all things by himself, that is, by his Word and by his Wisdom, by the Son and the Spirit, who, so to speak, are his hands.’ [quoting St. Irenaeus] Creation is the common work of the Holy Trinity.” (292)

Commenting on the foregoing, Maryvale says that St. Irenaeus’s analogy, “is a way of stressing that the three Persons always work together, and that every creature is marked with the seal of the Trinity.” (M 80)

Maryvale (M79) explains further how Scriptures and the Church’s Tradition, Creeds and Worship help us in our understanding of the involvement of the Holy Trinity in creation.

So why is it important that the Trinity was involved in creation? Well while there is only one God, He is made up of three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, who, we could say, in loose language, work as a team, and thus it is only natural that all three would have been involved in creation. We will be dealing in more detail with the Trinity later on, but a misunderstanding (in my view) that may exist widely, is that the second person of the Trinity, the Son, only became into being at his incarnation, when the Word was made flesh in Mary’s womb some 2,000 years ago. And some people may also feel that the third person of the Trinity, really only became a fact when Jesus ascended into heaven following His resurrection, and after which the Holy Spirit (was sent) descended upon the apostles. Of course this is totally incorrect, the three Divine Persons of the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, are all eternal. And only the Son is begotten from all eternity, the Father and the Holy Spirit are not begotten. The Father begets the Son, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. Of course, none of the three Persons was made, in the sense that we understand the term.

However, for a more theological comment on the importance of the Trinity being involved in creation, Maryvale (M80) points out that it helps us to see that God is transcendent (i.e. outside or surpassing human experience), and immanent (i.e. within our human experience).
And the Catechism (300 -301) sheds more light on this God:
“God is infinitely greater than all his works … Indeed God’s greatness is unsearchable … But … God is present to his creatures’ inmost being: In him we live and move and have our being …” (300)
“With creation, God does not abandon his creatures to themselves. He not only gives them being and existence, but … upholds and sustains them in being … Recognising this utter dependence with respect to the Creator is a source of wisdom and freedom, of joy and confidence [for us].” (301)

Do you and I create things?

Well the answer is ‘No’. We do produce things from existing things, as it were, but we do not create. Maryvale says (partly based on content from 290 of the Catechism), “Every new human soul is directly created by God. Beavers ‘make’ their dams, rabbits their burrows, but no creature ‘creates’. All creatures make things out of what already exists; only God creates things, brings into existence things that are not … a human father procreates outside of his own body; the eternal Father creates outside of Himself. Finally, the totality of what exists depends on God. God alone depends on nothing.” (M 80)

The World was Created for the Glory of God (Catechism 293 – 294)

“Scripture and Tradition never cease to teach and celebrate this fundamental truth: The world was made for the glory of God. St. Bonaventure explains that God created all things ‘not to increase his glory, but to show it forth and to communicate it’, for God has no other reason for creating than his love and goodness: ‘Creatures came into existence when the key of love opened his hand’ [quoting St. Thomas Aquinas] … (293)
“The glory of God consists in the realisation of this manifestation and communication of his goodness, for which the world was created. God made us to be his sons through Jesus Christ … for ‘the glory of God is man fully alive; moreover man’s life is the vision of God …’ [quoting St. Irenaeus – what a beautiful statement, I say, and assessment of man!].” (294)

The Mystery of Creation

Quoting the Catechism: “We believe that God created the world according to his wisdom. It is not the product of any necessity whatever, nor of blind fate or chance … He wanted to make his creatures share in his being, wisdom and goodness …” (295)
“We believe that God needs no pre-existent thing or any help in order to create … God created fully out of nothing …” (296)

“ … Look at the heaven [s] and earth and see everything that is in them, and recognise that God did not make them out of things that existed. Thus also mankind comes into being.” (297)

“Since God could create everything out of nothing, he can also through the Holy Spirit, give spiritual life to sinners by creating a pure heart in them, and bodily life to the dead through the Resurrection …” (298)
“… The universe … is destined for and addressed to man, himself created in the ‘image of God’ and called to a personal relationship with God [ref. St Paul Col 1:15 and Gen 1:26] … Because creation comes forth from God’s goodness, it shares in that goodness – And God saw that it was good … [and] God willed Creation as a gift addressed to man, an inheritance destined for and entrusted to him …” (299)

Yes I suggest the foregoing gives insight as to how very important God viewed us humans to be, and what great trust He had in us, and indeed what great love He had, and, of course, has for us.

Here are some additional comments from Maryvale on the foregoing:
“A study of any one of these [i.e. ordering of the seasons, the stars, snowflakes, etc] can lead us into a sense of awe and wonder at the marvellous wisdom of God’s ordering of things.” (M 86)

In relation to Creation taking place ‘in and by the eternal Word’, “the title given to the Second Person of the Trinity” (M86), Maryvale goes on (M 87) to explain three meanings associated with the ‘Word’, such as:
‘Word’ meant intelligible, i.e. ‘is knowable’, ‘makes sense’, etc
‘Word’ meant intelligence, i.e. stood up as it were to ‘human reason’
‘Word’ meant communication, this is really about communicating to us that the ‘universe is destined for and addressed to man’ and that the universe is a kind of ‘body language’.

The Cosmic Christ

At this point, Maryvale refers to the Cosmic Christ, stating “We have been given a key by which we can open the door onto the deepest meaning of the created order. That key is Jesus Christ …” (M 87)
Then we have a wonderful statement about the Cosmic Christ, “the startling truth [that] the Person who walked on the shore of the Sea of Galilee is the Person who is at the heart of every element of the universe …” (M 87)

Well having had the great privilege in 2012 of walking in the footsteps of Jesus on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, certainly brings home to me how ‘real’ and ‘awesome’ (and yet so humble) this Jesus is, and as a consequence how very inadequate my relationship with Jesus has been!

More Startling news

And the further startling news is that Creation is not complete, and neither are we complete. The Catechism states “Creation has its own goodness and proper perfection, but it did not spring forth complete from the hands of the Creator. The universe was created ‘in a state of journeying’ … toward an ultimate perfection yet to be attained, to which God has destined it. We call ‘divine providence’ the disposition by which God guides his creation toward this perfection … all are open and laid bare to his [God’s] eyes, even those things which are yet to come into existence through the free actions of creatures.” (302)

And as regards us humans, Maryvale states “We are incomplete. We enjoy a certain level of happiness and fulfilment, but total fulfilment is a long way off. What is true of us as individuals is true of the universe as a whole.” (M 87)
“The basic truth, then, is that we are not all God intends us to be. We are on a journey towards wholeness, towards our fulfilment. We are a pilgrim race. It is a journey that will take the whole of our earthly span – and probably beyond.” (M 88)

I suggest we can all take consolation from the foregoing, at least in the context that possibly our journeying up to now might have left a lot to be desired, but perhaps we can now re-read ‘the signposts’ and make the necessary adjustments before it is too late. On the question of timing, there is a saying that goes: ‘It is said that many who plan to seek God at the eleventh hour die at 10.30’. Well let’s not be caught out!

God involved in the detail of our lives

Maryvale (M 88) tells us that God is involved in every detail, small and big, of our lives, the books we read, the ‘washing up’, and so on. And it says ‘God is present to us, wanting to guide us, at every moment of the day’.

No wonder that beautiful quote from Gerard Manly Hopkins is so in touch with reality: ‘The world is charged with the grandeur of God’.
I wonder how often do we tarnish this beautiful image of the world through our lack of love, our sins and disrespect for the environment?

And I wonder too how often do we mistakenly assume that God is distant and not really interested in us! How wrong we would be to think so? And like the single set of footprints on the ‘sea shore of life’, that’s when God carried us during our difficult spells!

Yes we have lessons to learn from all of this:
We must have ‘trust’, at the level of ‘childlike abandonment’ (305).
And Maryvale adds:
“Do I begin each day with an act of trust in God who cares for me second by second? Is there any area in my life I need to turn over to God in trust?” (M88)
“God has the final say: God is in control, and this means that ultimately good will triumph and evil be conquered. It is God’s plans that will be established in the end, not man’s.” (M 88)
“Seek righteousness first. The message to trust God is supposed to set us free from worry about what we need and desire …” (M 89)

God Makes use of Creatures

We have already partly touched on this aspect. Here the Catechism (306–308) refers to ‘Providence and Secondary Causes’.
“God is the sovereign master of his plan. But to carry it out, he also makes use of his creatures’ co-operation. This use is not a sign of weakness, but rather a token of Almighty God’s greatness and goodness. For God grants his creatures not only their existence, but also the dignity of acting on their own … and thus of co-operating in the accomplishment of his plan.” (306)
“ … God thus enables men to be intelligent and free causes in order to complete the work of creation, to perfect its harmony for their own good and that of their neighbours … They then fully become God’s fellow workers and co-workers for his kingdom (1 Cor 3:9; 1 Th 3:2; Col 4:11).” (307)
“… God is the first cause who operates in and through secondary causes [i.e. His creatures] … (308)

Maryvale deals further at some length with first causes and secondary causes. Briefly to note here the following:
Tracing the snowdrop back to the seed, and so on, “the end point of this chain of causes with whatever object or action we started, will always be God the first cause. God is the first cause … He is at the beginning of all things … He is the One who enables everything that exists to have its existence.” (M 89)
And to elaborate a little on this theme, we can point out that God is not ‘in time’, He is eternal. He creates time and all secondary causes which are in time. Regarding ‘secondary causes’, this “is the name given to all created causes through which God works – human beings, sunlight, the wind … We can divide these created causes into two kinds:

(i) Natural causes: e.g. dogs, rain, trees;
(ii) Free-will: humans and angels” (M 89)

So God acts through secondary causes to carry out His plans. Our involvement as free-will human beings is of course of great significance, not just for ourselves but for creation and mankind as a whole.
And Maryvale says “God’s greatness is shown in the way in which He makes room for our genuine freedom, and for secondary causes in general.” (M 90)

Creation and the Creeds
The Catechism tells us “The Apostles Creed professes that God is ‘creator of heaven and earth.’ The Nicene Creed makes it explicit that this profession includes ‘all that is seen and unseen’” (325)
“The Scriptural expression ‘heaven and earth’ means all that exists, creation in its entirety. It also indicates the bond , deep within creation, that both unites heaven and earth and distinguishes one from the other; the earth is the world of men, while ‘heaven’ , or ‘the heavens’ can designate both the firmament and God’s own ‘place’ … Finally ‘heaven’ refers to the saints and the place of the spiritual creatures, the angels, who surround God.” (326)
“… God from the beginning of time made at once (simul) out of nothing both orders of creatures, the spiritual and the corporeal, that is the angelic and the earthly, and then (deinde) the human creature, who as it were shares in both orders, being composed of spirit and body.” (327)
As this point, we probably have more than enough said about creation. We will return to the subject in a later section, particularly in regard to the invisible elements of creation, and also ‘us’ human beings.

Question 5

Am I familiar with the term ‘Revelation’ and God’s Salvation Plan?

Here in this section we are dealing with how God has revealed Himself to us down through the years, and, how in doing so, provided us with the means for our salvation. Much of the ‘means for our salvation’ is contained in the ‘Deposit of Faith’ which we deal with under question 7. [The Church is the receptacle which holds and preserves our faith.]

Maryvale explains “What has been entrusted to the Church is God’s revelation of Himself in Jesus Christ … The Church has a duty not to alter this … the Pope, together with the other Bishops, only guards the faith … He holds the Church’s faith on trust from God … She [Church] guards it by interpreting it faithfully, making it meaningful for every new generation.” (M 7)

God wants all people to be saved, and it is through Jesus Christ that we are saved.
The Catechism states: “Jesus means in Hebrew: ‘God saves’ … Since God alone can forgive sins, it is God who, in Jesus his eternal Son made man ‘will save his people from their sins’ (Mt1:21; cf 2:7) …” (430)
“The name ‘Jesus’ signifies that the very name of God is present in the person of his Son, made man for the universal and definitive redemption from sins. It is the divine name that alone brings salvation … so that ‘there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved’ (Acts 4:12; cf 9:14; Jas 2:7).” (432)

Maryvale comments as follows: “… the Church has a universal (i.e. ‘catholic’) mission. By the proclamation of the Gospel she invites all people to be saved … By hearing the Gospel people can ‘come to the knowledge of the truth’ … The missionary purpose of the Church is made very clear here: we must hand on what we learn; it is not ours to keep. And we hand on the faith to others by professing the faith, by living it out in community, by celebrating it in the liturgy and in private prayer. These points, of course, correspond to the four parts [pillars] of the Catechism.” (M 9)

In regard to learning and passing on the faith, the Catechism states that “Catechesis is an education in the faith of children, young people and adults …” (5)
I think it is generally felt that there is great need for catechesis in Ireland (and possibly elsewhere in the world) because of the low level of knowledge in the faith possessed by very many people. Hopefully this, the Year of Faith, will help to remedy this situation!

Man’s Search for God / God’s Search for Man

I feel we are often of the impression that man has, as it were, to ‘plough a lonely furrow’ in seeking out God, perhaps partly because we may think that God is a distant being. Well we saw earlier that God is not distant, but not alone that, we can tell you that God is constantly seeking us out. In fact God seeks us out far more than we seek Him. The great tragedy is that we do not respond sufficiently.
The Catechism states: “The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will he find truth and happiness he never stops searching for …” (27)
“ ‘Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice’ (Ps 103:3). Although man can forget God or reject him, He never ceases to call every man to seek him, so as to find life and happiness …” (30)
Maryvale comments as follows: “Christians believe that God comes to find us, revealing and giving Himself finally and definitively, in His Son Jesus … the vast majority of human beings, in all races and times and cultures, have felt the need to worship and to pray … Human beings are peculiar among the creatures of the earth in this desire for religious expression. Religion is a universal human phenomenon …
God speaks to us and He wants us to speak back to Him. This is what prayer is: it is our response to God’s invitation to us to converse with Him.” (M 17)
And quoting from Pope John Paul II (Redemptor Hominis 10), Maryvale recounts these words: “Once we know that God sent His only Son to die for us, we must look at ourselves with ‘deep amazement’ at what our worth and dignity must be.” (M 19)

Coming to Know God

Our human reason and other natural abilities, while opening the eyes of our enlightenment, are not sufficient on their own to enable us to come to a proper knowledge of God and what He wishes for our lives. We need God’s revelation.
The Catechism states: “This is why man stands in need of being enlightened by God’s revelation, not only about those things that exceed his understanding, but also about those religious and moral truths which of themselves are not beyond the grasp of human reason … (38)
Maryvale enlightens us further on this:

“There are divine truths [such as the Trinity] which are beyond our capacity to understand …

Our nature hampers us in our knowledge of God. God is wholly spirit …

We resist the truth … There is in all of us something that does not want to draw near to God, that is rebellious and deliberately blind to His presence.” (M 21)

Revelation

What does revelation mean? Maryvale comments as follows:
“We use the term in ordinary discourse to describe the disclosure of any sort of knowledge. When applied to God, it means action God has taken to allow us to know Him and to know His will concerning creation. Revelation is the result of God’s free initiative … Note that each time that He [God] revealed Himself … He made a ‘covenant’ with those to whom He was revealing Himself. God always has a specific purpose in revealing Himself – to draw people into His Trinitarian life. The purpose of revelation, then, is to draw us to share fully in the life of God.” (M 26)

The Catechism states: “It pleased God, in his goodness and wisdom, to reveal himself and to make known the mystery of his will. His will was that men should have access to the Father, through Christ, the Word made flesh, in the Holy Spirit, and thus become sharers in the divine nature.” (51)

“The divine plan of Revelation is realised simultaneously by deeds and words which are intrinsically bound up with each other and shed light on each other … He prepares him [man] to welcome by stages the supernatural Revelation that is to culminate in the person and mission of the incarnate Word, Jesus Christ …” (53)

So God’s revelation was a gradual plan or process over time, generally via the medium of prophets, and the process was consistent (with what went before) and co-ordinated, and leading to a great finality (i.e. the coming of Jesus), all of which was envisaged by God from the beginning of time. There is, I suggest something very ‘awesome’ about all of this, because in a way God undertook all of this salvation plan for me alone, or would have done so if I was the only human being existing. Surely I am expected to respond to God for this!

Maryvale comments: “The conviction that God has acted to find us to form a relationship with us and heal us is the essential ingredient that shaped the history of Israel as this is recorded in the Old Testament … as God prepares a people to receive His full self-revelation in Jesus. The three central moments of revelation are the moments for the three decisive covenants, and they centre on three specific persons – Noah, Abraham and Moses.” (M 26)

Noah

We are probably all fairly familiar with the story of Noah’s Ark, whereby the Patriarch Noah, on God’s instructions, built an ark to save himself, his family and members of the animal kingdom, from destruction from the floods that raged the world at that time and wiped out mankind, because of their sinfulness We don’t have to literally accept the Old Testament account of what took place in Noah’s case. As we will see later in the section on the Scriptures, many accounts given in the Bible are written in figurative language.
But what the story of Noah tells us for certain is that, unlike others who were sinners, Noah assumed the cloak of righteousness and rejected sinfulness, and thus God saved him and his family.
So there is a very important lesson here for all of us, as it were, to put on the cloak of holiness, which Noah and his family did.
Maryvale comments on Noah include the following: “In the biblical narrative, Noah’s sons are the founders of the great nations of the world. Noah then can represent all those, from whatever nation, who strive for holiness.” (M 26)

Abraham

Around 2000 BC, God made a covenant with Abraham (or rather Abram as he was called then) and called him out of his own rich surroundings in the Ur of the Chaldaeans (present day Iraq), and asked him to go to a land unknown to him, the land of Canaan (the Promised Land), where he would become the father of a great nation, where his ‘descendants [would be] as countless as the stars of heaven and as the grains of sand on the seashore’ (Dan 3:36). This was a very difficult ‘ask’ for Abraham to accept, but he put his full trust in the Lord. It was an outstanding expression of faith and sacrifice on Abraham’s part – accepting as it were what he could not see, and leaving behind his many riches and colleagues, and not knowing what lay ahead for him. I feel sure there is a moral in this for us today!

On this, Maryvale’s comments include: “The beginning of Israel’s history, was the call of Abraham (about 2000 BC). This profound experience of God coloured the rest of his life and became the principal focus of the collective memory of his descendents. In this meeting with the divine, Abraham became convinced that a promise was to be made to him – that he was to be the father of a whole nation and that God wanted to unite Himself in a personal relationship with this people.” (M 27)

Moses

It was Moses who, around 1250 BC, led the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt through the Red Sea into (eventually) the Promised Land. As Maryvale comments: “Later in the history of Israel another event was to overtake the call of Abraham as the main source of Israel’s identity. It was the Exodus from Egypt under Moses’ leadership and the Covenant with God made on Mount Sinai [i.e. Ten Commandments] … These people understood that their liberation from Egypt revealed that God had chosen them for a special relationship with Him.” (M 27)

Quoting from the Catechism: “After the patriarchs, God formed Israel as his people by freeing them from slavery in Egypt. He established with them the covenant of Mount Sinai and through Moses, gave them his law so that they would recognise him and serve him as the one living and true God …” (62)

“Israel is the priestly people of God, called by the name of the Lord, and the first to hear the word of God, the people of elder brethren in the faith of Abraham.” (63)
And, as it were, in preparation for the ultimate revelation and salvation in Jesus Christ for all peoples, the Catechism (using various Scripture references) has this to say: “Through the prophets, God forms his people in the hope of salvation, in the expectation of a new and everlasting Covenant intended for all, to be written on their hearts. The prophets proclaim a radical redemption of the People of God, purification from all their infidelities, a salvation which will include all the nations …” (64)

The Ultimate Revelation and Salvation in Jesus Christ

God has said everything in His Word made incarnate in His Son Jesus Christ, and there will be no further revelations or salvation plans for mankind. As it were, everything we need for our salvation has been given to us by Jesus, and it is up to us to respond. The Catechism states: ‘“In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son’ (Heb 1: 1-2) … In giving us his Son, his only Word (for he possesses no other), he spoke everything to us at once in this sole Word – and he has no more to say …” (65)
“The Christian economy, therefore, since it is the new and definitive Covenant, will never pass away; and no new public revelation is to be expected before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ [at the end of time]. Yet even if Revelation is already complete, it has not been made completely explicit; it remains for Christian faith gradually to grasp its full significance over the course of the centuries.” (66)

Question 6

What is my understanding of Jesus Christ?

I wonder how clear and accurate are our notions of Jesus Christ? Do we regard him as a real person, a real human being? Do we regard him as God? Or because he was God, then did he, as it were, ‘pull the wool over our eyes’, about living a human life on this earth, about being tempted to sin, as we are, and so on. On the other hand, why do we hear people say that we should imitate Jesus’ life, and have a relationship with the Person Jesus? That’s how we should live our lives! Or maybe again, we are being ‘led up the garden path’, as it were!

Well I suggest at the outset, that we are not being ‘led up the garden path’, we are not being misled! Jesus proved He was God.

Even without the benefit of ‘faith’, which we will discuss presently in a later section, there are certain things about Jesus and his life on this earth, which I suggest deeply impress us. For instance, Jesus was the only religious leader ever, to be signalled and heralded both in writing (as in the Old Testament) and in the peoples’ expectations, for many centuries before his birth, of his pending arrival as the Messiah who would save his people. Then Jesus, during his ministry, was able to fulfil these writings and expectations about himself, as for instance when Jesus opened the scroll and read from Isaiah in the synagogue in his home town, showing that the Old Testament was being fulfilled there and then in him, Jesus.

Jesus was also the only religious leader ever, who came into the world with the specific intention of dying prematurely and cruelly on a cross, in order to save his people. All of Jesus’ acts of love and mercy and his many miracles, combined with his fasting and praying, made him, at least, a ‘good man’. But Jesus was more than a good man; he was God, and this he proved by rising from the dead. Perhaps, the most striking feature of Jesus’ life was His humility! No doubt a lesson for us all!

Well Christianity is often spoken of as Good News, and the essence of this Good News is Jesus Christ sent by God to bring salvation to the human race. And Maryvale tells us (in Unit 2, page 7) that the sending of Jesus, the Son of God, far exceeded the expectations of the Old Testament about the coming of a Messiah.
The Catechism comments on four names associated with the Person of Jesus, i.e.
Jesus: “Jesus means in Hebrew: ‘God saves’ … Since God alone can forgive sins, it is God who, in Jesus in his eternal Son made man, will save his people from their sins …” (430)
Christ: “The word ‘Christ’ comes from the Greek translation of the Hebrew Messiah, which means ‘anointed’ …” (436)
Only Son/Son of God: Simon Peter, with grace from heaven, was able to confess: “…Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God, for Jesus responds solemnly: ‘Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven’ (Mt 16:16-17) …” (442)
Lord: In the Old Testament “…’Lord’ becomes the more usual name by which to indicate the divinity of Israel’s God. The New Testament uses this full sense of the title ‘Lord’ both for the Father and – what is new – for Jesus, who is thereby recognised as God Himself.” (446)

What is emerging from the foregoing is that Jesus is the Messiah, but that he is also God. And as Messiah, He came to liberate all people (not just the Jewish people) from their sins.
We note here, as we have previously done, that Jesus was always the Son of God, i.e. he is ‘eternally pre-existent’. So Jesus did not just become Son of God as his incarnation, when He assumed a full human body from Mary’s flesh. Jesus was also fully God, and Jesus made many references to himself being equal to God the Father. And also we have just seen that the term ‘Lord’ was used both for the Father and Jesus, thus implying Jesus to be God.

Incarnation

Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary through the power of the Holy Spirit and became a man from Mary’s flesh, taking on human nature. Why did this happen? Maryvale recounts five reasons for this (pages 12/13, Unit 2), based on the Catechism (456 – 460):
“1. For us and our salvation. 2. To reconcile us with God. 3. To manifest God’s love to us. 4. To be our model of holiness. 5. To share with us His own divine nature.”
Belief in the Incarnation is central to the Christian faith. The Catechism states “Belief in the true Incarnation of the Son of God is the distinctive sign of the Christian faith …” (463)
And to further clarify the status of Jesus: Jesus is a single person, i.e. a divine person, but with two natures, divine and human. And Jesus lived a truly human life, and was fully subject to all the normal pressures, attractions and otherwise that we humans experience. Perhaps the following extracts from the Catechism will help our understanding of the mystery of the Incarnation:
“At the time appointed by God, the only Son of the Father, the eternal Word … became incarnate; without losing his divine nature he has assumed human nature.” (479)
“Jesus Christ is true God and true man …” (480)
“Jesus Christ possesses two natures, one divine and the other human, not confused, but united in the one person of God’s Son.” (481)
“Christ, being true God and true man, has a human intellect and will, perfectly attuned and subject to his divine intellect and divine will, which he has in common with the Father and the Holy Spirit.” (482)
“The Incarnation is therefore the mystery of the wonderful union of the divine and human natures in the one person of the Word.” (483)

Paraphrasing Maryvale and the Catechism I think we can say that: At the heart of our faith, we find in essence a Person, with a ‘beating human heart’, like our own, and who is fully aware of the day to day issues of our living, and who is also fully God, and is also fully willing to ‘carry’ us in our difficulties, if we only ask. And really what we are invited to do is to ‘develop a real encounter and relationship with this living Person Jesus’. Yes regard Jesus ‘as our best friend’. Perhaps this in a nutshell is ‘living life to the full’! But don’t expect all our difficulties to disappear. Life is not necessarily like that. But perseverance always wins out, even if the final result is not a full 100% of what we might have hoped for!

I am reminded here of a lovely interview I was privileged to do some three years ago, for the Ocean FM Sunday Spirit radio programme, with a man of the name Paco Gavrilides, who was Evangelisation Coordinator for the Archdiocese of Detroit, USA, and a wonderful communicator, I might add. He spoke very invitingly of our need to develop a real relationship with Jesus Christ, and thereby have ‘a genuine encounter with the living person of Jesus’. And for Paco, Jesus was not a distant person, but rather ‘as real as when he walked on this earth 2,000 years ago’. ‘He is as real as that’.

Perhaps, we could conclude this section on Jesus, by reminding ourselves what Jesus said to His disciples after His resurrection (probably on Mount Tabor in Galilee, the scene of His earlier transfiguration), and having earlier asked Mary Magdalene and the ‘other women’ in Jerusalem to tell the disciples to meet Him in Galilee:
“Meanwhile the eleven disciples set out for Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had arranged to meet them. When they saw him they fell down before him, though some hesitated. Jesus came up and spoke to them. He said, ‘All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time’”. (Matt 28: 16-20) And, as I write these very words on this Easter Monday morning, 2013, the beginning of the Easter season of joy, I am very struck by Jesus’ successor, the humble Pope Francis, who likewise wishes to spread the Gospel of Jesus to all corners of the earth, and also to bring comfort to the poor, and peace to war torn nations. May he have our full support and prayers!

Question 7

Am I familiar with what the ‘Deposit of Faith’ is about?

The ‘Deposit of Faith’ is about the contents of the truths of the faith and their preservation, which God has revealed to us and which are necessary for our salvation. There are three elements or constituents to this deposit of faith, i.e. Tradition, Sacred Scripture, and the Church’s Magisterium (i.e. Church’s teaching authority). The first two could be regarded as constituting the primary elements of our faith, while the third element, the Magisterium, could be looked upon as the vehicle for supporting, safeguarding and preserving the other elements of faith. These are sometimes referred to as a three-legged stool, whereby if one leg is missing, the stool will topple over, thus implying that all three elements are necessary for the true safeguarding of the faith.

Tradition

While Sacred Scripture is a vital communication medium in passing on the faith revealed by God, it is not the sole medium. Tradition also has an important role to play. Tradition in our context here, could be said to comprise the teachings, beliefs, mores, customs, and so on, handed down to future generations, either orally or by practice, rather than in written form. The Apostles witnessed Jesus at first hand and they would have developed between them (and their early successors) an established way of behaviour, of believing, of worshiping, and so forth. This effectively is what we mean here by Tradition, and it is sometimes referred to as Apostolic Tradition, thus implying a time line back to the Apostles.
In support of the role of Tradition, it might be noted that the New Testament was not written for several years after the death and resurrection of Jesus. And as Jesus was the ultimate revelation of God’s salvation, it is obvious that many beliefs, practices, and so forth, relevant to our future faith, would have sprung up at the time of Jesus and immediately after His death and resurrection. And when the New Testament writings did eventually occur, it is highly unlikely that all of these practices, etc, would have found their way into these writings.
As Maryvale notes (among much else), “preaching preceded the writing down of the message. The Apostles had no New Testament.” (M 29)
Maryvale also states that “the Catechism teaches that Scripture and Tradition must be honoured with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence.” (M 29)

And here is quoting from the Catechism: “In keeping with the Lord’s command [to preach the Gospel], the Gospel was handed on in two ways:

(i) orally by the apostles who handed on, by the spoken word of their preaching, by the example they gave, by the institutions they established, what they themselves had received – whether from the lips of Christ, from his way of life and his works, or whether they had learned it at the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
(ii) in writing by those apostles or other men associated with the apostles who, under the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit committed the message of salvation to writing.” (76)

Sacred Scripture

Clearly Sacred Scripture, both the Old and New Testaments, has a vital role to play in communicating God’s revelation of the faith to us and to future generations. As there is a separate section in the book dealing with Sacred Scripture, we won’t deal with it any further here, other than what we may say about it, under the next heading, ‘The Church’s Magisterium’.

The Church’s Magisterium

The third medium (the third leg of the stool), involved in passing on the truths of God’s revelation of the faith, is the Magisterium, i.e. the Church’s teaching authority, which is made up of the bishops in communion with the pope. Maryvale comments on this, include:
“The bishops have the supreme responsibility for teaching in the Church since they are in the direct line of descent, through the laying on of hands from the apostles themselves … So the Magisterium, or teaching office of the Church, was established by Christ in order to safeguard the real substance of faith, and to provide a trustworthy interpretation of Scripture and Tradition. This teaching office takes the teachings of Christ and the doctrines taught by the apostles, hands them down faithfully with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, and calls upon all to place their faith in these teachings.”
(M 30)

Why do we need the Magisterium? Basically, in order to avoid ‘corruption and false teaching’, including inaccurate interpretations of the truths of the faith, and indeed to avoid elements of the faith being lost or forgotten about. Like any business organisation, the Church has to have procedures, administrative and otherwise, to operate efficiently. Maryvale’s comments on this, include:
“There are now more than 20,000 Christian groups, each claiming to be the correct interpreters of Scripture! The simple fact is that the Bible does need interpreting. We need a belief in an infallible Church as well as an inspired Scripture.” (M 30)
And Maryvale makes the apt comment: “Once we accept the miracle of the Incarnation of God becoming man, we should find it easy to accept that God will also miraculously ensure that the work of the Incarnation is not lost through corruption and false teaching.” (M 30)
And Maryvale further adds: “We have it on the word of Christ that we should be obedient to the teaching of the Magisterium. God the Father said to the disciples about Jesus, ‘This is my Son, listen to him’ (Lk 9:35). Jesus in turn says to his disciples, ‘You are the ones I have chosen. Whoever listens to you, listens to me’ (Lk 10:16; Jn 15:16). Therefore, if we are willing to believe what Jesus says, recognising him as the Lord and God, we must also be willing to believe what the Church teaches.” (M 30-31)

In support of the need for the Magisterium as the teaching authority and interpreter of the faith, we can consult Acts 8: 26-40, where the Apostle Philip encountered an Ethiopian minister of state (presumably an educated man) reading from the prophet Isaiah, and Philip asked him ‘do you understand what you are reading’? ‘How can I’, the Ethiopian replied ‘unless I have someone to guide me?’
And we might also note the reference in John 16: 12-15 to the (Holy) Spirit:

I still have many things to say to you
but they would be too much for you now.
But when the Spirit of truth comes
he will lead you to the complete truth …

We now wind-up this section by reminding ourselves of the three elements concerned with the ‘Deposit of Faith’, i.e. Tradition, Sacred Scripture and the Magisterium of the Church, and quoting thereon from the Catechism:
“It is clear therefore that, in the supremely wise arrangement of God, sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture and the Magisterium of the Church are so connected and associated that one of them cannot stand without the others. Working together, each in its own way, under the action of the Holy Spirit, they all contribute to the salvation of souls.” (95)
And finally to quote briefly from Maryvale:
“the Magisterium cannot make judgements independently of Scripture and Tradition … it cannot change the faith to suit itself or to suit a rebellious generation that wants to throw off the ‘shackles’ of a particular teaching … These three principles of our faith reinforce one another and enable the faith to be passed on whole and entire.” (M 32)

Question 8

Could I talk at some length about ‘faith’? Are there any striking examples of faith in God’s salvation plan?

What is faith? Faith is effectively ‘man’s response to God’s revelation’. On this the Catechism states: “By his revelation, the invisible God, from the fullness of his love, addresses men as his friends, and moves among them, in order to invite and receive them into his own company. The adequate response to this invitation is faith.” (142)

Here are some of Maryvale’s comments on faith:
“Faith is not a leap in the dark, a blind commitment, but the response to God who revealed Himself to us. It is a leap through the dark into the light … The faith asked of us is total … Faith involves the complete submission of our intellects and wills to God. Does that sound like brain-washing to you? Many non-Christians think of faith in this way … [However] faith in God is actually an act which makes us fully human. It does not require the suppression of our minds or ask us to be unquestioning. Rather it liberates our minds and allows us to ask all the difficult questions about life because we know we have hold of a truth that, even though we grasp it in mystery, is the full and totally satisfying answer to our questions. Assenting to the truth is always liberating.
It also helps [us] to see how the Catechism places faith in the context of a relationship … in a Person [Jesus Christ]. Faith and trust are needed in any human relationship … Faith is entrusting our whole lives to this God who has already entrusted Himself entirely to us.” (M 46)

And the Catechism states in paragraph 146, based on Hebrews 11:1, that “… Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen …” (146) There are many examples in the exercise of great faith in God’s salvation plan, as recounted in Sacred Scripture (i.e. Abraham, etc,), which we will allude to towards the end of this section.

And Maryvale makes an important comment concerning the ‘source’ of faith/revelation: “With faith the important point is not what is said but who says it … we believe the message because its truth is guaranteed by God who is the living Truth. Our faith, then, is primarily in God Himself, and secondarily in the truths about Him that are taught in the Church … Belief ‘in’ God and beliefs ‘about’ God are inseparable.” (M 47)
And later Maryvale says: “Faith in God is different to faith in any human person … we belong to God, and not to any human person. We are ultimately responsible to God alone for how we live our lives, and it is God who will judge us. Other people can be ‘soul friends’ to us … Only God always speaks the truth.” (M 48)

Faith in a Trinitarian God

We will leave this over till later, to the section on the Trinity.

Characteristics of Faith

The Catechism lists the following elements falling under the characteristics of faith, i.e.

Faith is a grace
Faith is a human act
Faith and understanding
The freedom of faith
The necessity of faith
Perseverance in faith
Faith – the beginning of eternal life

Regarding ‘Faith is a grace’, the Catechism states that “When St. Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus declared to him that this revelation did not come ‘from flesh and blood’, but from my Father who is in heaven. [And it goes on] Faith is a gift of God, a supernatural virtue infused by him. Before this faith can be exercised, man must have the grace of God to move and assist him; he must have the interior help of the Holy Spirit, who moves the heart and converts it to God, who opens the eyes of the mind and makes it easy for all to accept and believe the truth.” (153)

Regarding ‘Faith is a human act’, the Catechism restates what it just said above, i.e. “Believing is possible only by grace and the interior helps of the Holy Spirit. [and then goes on to say] But it is no less true that believing is an authentically human act. Trusting in God and cleaving to the truths he has revealed is contrary neither to human freedom nor to human reason …” (154)

Turning to ‘Faith and understanding’, the Catechismcommences with the statement implying that we don’t believe simply because the revealed truths stand up to scrutiny in the context of our natural reason, but rather “… we believe because of the authority of God himself who reveals them [truths], who can neither deceive nor be deceived. [But] So that the submission of our faith might nevertheless be in accordance with reason, God willed that external proofs of his Revelation should be joined to the internal helps of the holy Spirit …” (156)

The Catechism goes on to say that “Faith is certain. It is more certain than all human knowledge because it is founded on the very word of God who cannot lie …” (157)

And the Catechism then makes the important statement that “Faith seeks understanding …” (158) The implication of this statement is that the greater the desire a person has to believe something, the more he is exposing himself to seeking the truth, or its understanding. Later in the paragraph, the Catechism quotes St. Augustine: “I believe, in order to understand; and I understand, the better to believe.” (158)

The Catechism also comments on ‘faith and science’: “Though faith is above reason, there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason. Since the same God who reveals mysteries and infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind, God cannot deny himself, nor can truth ever contradict truth …” (159)

Let’s now look at ‘The freedom of faith’. The Catechism states: “To be human, man’s response to God by faith must be free, and … therefore nobody is to be forced to embrace the faith against his will. The act of faith is of its very nature a free act … Indeed, Christ invited people to faith and conversion, but never coerced them. For he bore witness to the truth but refused to use force to impose it on those who spoke against it …” (160)

As regards ‘The necessity of faith’, the Catechism states that “Believing in Jesus Christ and in the One who sent him for our salvation is necessary for obtaining that salvation …” (161)

Regarding ‘Perseverance in faith’, the Catechism says that “Faith is an entirely free gift that God makes to man. We can lose this priceless gift … By rejecting conscience, certain persons have made shipwreck of their faith. To live, grow and persevere in the faith until the end we must nourish it with the word of God; we must beg the Lord to increase our faith …” (162)
Like most things in life we must give time and attention thereto. Neglect your garden, and eventually it becomes a wilderness and ceases to be productive.

And lastly, ‘Faith – the beginning of eternal life’, the Catechism says “Faith makes us taste in advance the light of the beatific vision, the goal of our journey here below … So faith is already the beginning of eternal life …” (163)
The Catechism goes on however, to say that faith “… is often lived in darkness and can be put to the test …” (164) “It is then we must turn to the witness of faith: to Abraham, who in hope … believed against hope; to the Virgin Mary …” (165)
Yes, I suggest, it is in our ‘dark’ moments that we must persevere and not give up – that is ‘heaven on earth’, or at least the best taste of heaven for the present, maybe even a kind of purgatory, where we are being ‘purged’! As we will see later, purgatory always leads to heaven.

Striking Examples of Faith

There are many examples of the prophets and others in the Old Testament displaying great faith, but the great hero of faith must be Abraham, who can rightly be called the ‘Father of Faith’. Abraham was called to leave his own country and his people and his rich belongings, and travel to an unknown destiny across the desert, for the promise that he would become the ‘father of a great nation’. This was a serious test of faith, but Abraham responded with childlike trust. I wonder what one of us might have done in this situation. Would we be more like the good living rich young man in the Gospel who kept all of God’s Commandments, but who was not willing to leave his riches behind and follow Jesus?
And Abraham’s test of faith continued, as he and his wife Sarah, in their old age were challenged to giving birth to a son, and which they did to their son Isaac; and if that was not enough, Abraham in a unique test of faith was asked to sacrifice to God this only son Isaac. But as the sword was about to fall on the child, God pulled Abraham back from the deadly deed. Yes I reckon we have a lot to learn when it comes to trusting God!

The great example of a trusting faith in the New Testament is of course Our Mother Mary, who as a peasant Jewish girl was asked by the Archangel Gabriel to become the Mother of God, by bearing his Son Jesus. She could have said ‘no’, but she said ‘yes’, and the rest, as we say, ‘is history’. There were many times during Mary’s life when she had to endure a trusting faith. And of course Mary’s spouse Joseph lived a life which was exemplary of a trusting faith, including the flight into Egypt, etc. Mary and Joseph never had intercourse, and I think all of us men must have great admiration for Joseph, and surely he ought to be our patron saint!

The Creeds

We will finish this section on faith by looking at the Apostles’ Creed, and commenting very briefly on it. There are very many paragraphs in the Catechism and in the Maryvale Notes given over to the Creeds, and it is not possible to deal with them here in detail. Here is the Apostles’ Creed as extracted from YOUCAT, par 28:

I 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 above Creed, which is known as the Apostles’ Creed, is the creed that we normally recite as individuals. While it was not composed by the Apostles it represents faithfully what they professed. Indeed, YOUCAT (26) states: “Brief formulas of this kind [creeds] can be found already in the letters of St. Paul. The early Christian Apostles’ Creed has a special dignity, because it is thought to be a summary of the faith of the Apostles. The Nicene Creed is highly esteemed because it resulted from the great councils of Christendom … Nicaea, 325; Constantinople, 381 …” (26)

Incidentally, the Nicene Creed is the creed which is normally recited during the celebration of the Eucharist. It can be found in paragraph 29 of YOUCAT; paragraph 197 of the main Catechism, and page 38 of the Compendium (to the Catechism). Only the YOUCAT versions (because of recent publication date of YOUCAT) of the Creeds contain the revised Liturgy wording introduced in the recent past. [That is unless you happen to have recent editions of the other Catechisms.]

Just some brief comments on the Apostles’ Creed – It essentially contains the ingredients of our entire faith, and if we recite it slowly we begin to realise its richness. It is said to contain twelve articles of faith, representing the twelve Apostles.
In practice, depending on how one breaks up the creed, more than twelve articles of faith, or indeed less than twelve, might emerge. Perhaps, a more important breakdown of the creed is to do so on the basis of the Trinity, i.e. the Triune God, that is between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Reading through the creed, the first two lines refer to the Father, i.e.

“I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.”

The next several lines relate to the Son (Jesus), while the Holy Spirit comes in at the sixth last line, i.e.

“I believe in the Holy Spirit …”

Yes, the Apostles’ Creed deserves to be read slowly and reflected upon.

And lastly, so as not to forget the important role that the Church plays in our faith development, and in the preservation of the faith, the Catechism states “‘Believing’ is an ecclesial act. The Church’s faith precedes, engenders, supports and nourishes our faith. The Church is the mother of all believers. [It then quotes St. Cyprian] ‘No one can have God as Father who does not have the Church as Mother’” (181)

Question 9

Am I familiar with the Scriptures and how to read them?

At the outset, we might note that Scripture has a prime place in the celebration of our most powerful prayer of all, the Eucharist, i.e. the Mass, and this use of Scripture we call the Liturgy of the Word.

We now consider how Catholics read (or should read) Scripture. There are four principles for doing so:

The whole of the Scriptures speak of Christ.

God is the author of the Scriptures.

The Scriptures are also authored by human beings

The Books of Scripture speak the truth

The whole of the Scriptures speak of Christ

Maryvale explains:
“We know that the New Testament is centred on the person of Christ. The Church teaches us that the Old Testament is as well. In fact Jesus Himself told us this. He said that the Scriptures bear witness to Him (Jn 5:39-40) [i.e. ‘You study the Scriptures, believing that in them you have eternal life; now these same Scriptures testify to me, and yet you refuse to come to me for life!], and [He] explained to His disciples all the passages that referred to Himself (Lk 24:25-27) [i.e. ‘You foolish men! So slow to believe the full message of the prophets! … then starting with Moses and going through all the prophets, he explained to them the passages throughout the Scriptures that were about himself]. And so St. Jerome, one of the greatest biblical scholars the Church has had [and who said ‘to be ignorant of the Scriptures is to be ignorant of Christ’] … wrote ‘I obey the commands of Christ who says, ‘Search the Scriptures’ (Jn 5: 39), ‘Seek and you will find’ (Matt 7 :7), ‘You go astray since you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God’ (Matt 22: 29).”
(M 36)

God is the author of the Scriptures

The Catechism states “God is the author of Sacred Scripture. The divinely revealed realities, which are contained and presented in the text of Sacred Scripture, have been written down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit … they have God as their author, and have been handed on as such to the Church herself.” (105)

The Scriptures are also authored by human beings

The Catechism says that “God inspired the human authors of the sacred books … God chose certain men who … made full use of their own faculties and powers so that, though he acted in them and by them, it was as true authors that they consigned to writing whatever he wanted written, and no more.” (106)
Maryvale comments as follows: “They [the Scriptures] have to be read as human documents … we have to try to understand who these writers were, what they were trying to say, what influences were predominant in their environment, and so on … it is crucial to study Scripture in this way to avoid ‘fundamentalism’ – a literal interpretation of Scripture which ignores its historical context … The Catechism says that God inspired the human authors (see Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1:19-21). “ (M 36)
Thus it is only natural that the various Scripture writers would differ somewhat in what they wrote, as often they were coming from different angles on their topics and often addressing different audiences. And to avoid a ‘fundamentalist’ interpretation of the Scriptures, we have of course to have regard to the ‘culture’ of the day, and how people expressed themselves, and so on.

The books of Scripture speak the truth

The Scriptures contain, entirely free from error, the truths which God wants us to receive for the sake of our salvation.

The Holy Spirit, Interpreter of Scripture

The Catechism says: “In Sacred Scripture, God speaks to man in a human way …” (109)
“But since Sacred Scripture is inspired … [it] must be read and interpreted in the light of the same spirit by whom it was written.” (111)
And the Catechism goes on to say that “the Second Vatican Council indicates three criteria for interpreting Scripture in accordance with the Spirit who inspired it.” (111)
These criteria are:
“1. Be especially attentive to the content and unity of the whole Scripture. Different as the books which compose it may be, Scripture is a unity by reason of the unity of God’s plan of which Christ is the centre and heart …” (112) [“The different books of Scripture will illuminate and reinforce each other”, so Maryvale states (M38)]
“2. Read the Scripture within ‘the living Tradition of the whole Church’. According to a saying of the Fathers, Sacred Scripture is written principally in the Church’s heart rather than in documents or records, for the Church carries in her Tradition the living memorial of God’s Word, and it is the Holy Spirit who gives her the spiritual interpretation of the Scripture …” (113) [As Maryvale points out “Scripture and Tradition need to be considered together. The Scriptures always have their place within the Tradition of the Church” (M 38)]
“3. Be attentive to the analogy of faith. By the ‘analogy of faith’ we mean the coherence of the truths of faith among themselves and within the whole plan of Revelation” (114) [Maryvale gives examples: “the Scriptures call Christ the ‘new Adam’ (see Rom 5:12-14). In the early centuries, the Church, drawing a parallel, called Mary the ‘new Eve’. The Scriptures do not actually call her this, but they clearly illuminate and support the Church’s belief – Mary’s obedience compared to Eve’s disobedience, and so on.” (M 38)]

Maryvale also highlights the example of how to interpret Genesis, chapter 1, and states it “is certainly not a scientific account of creation. In those days they knew nothing about the origins of the world. This chapter has the sole aim of teaching us about God’s relationship to man as his Creator, and of our duty to observe the Sabbath Day.” (M 37)

The Senses of Scripture

The Catechism then goes on (in paragraphs 115 -119) to deal with the senses of Scripture, i.e. literal sense, spiritual sense, moral sense, and so on. On these, Maryvale comments, include: “‘Senses’ here means ‘meanings’. What the Catechism is saying is that the Scriptures often contain a variety of meanings … For example, the crossing of the Red Sea can ‘mean’ baptism on a deeper level; this is how St. Paul takes it (see 1 Cor 10: 1-5) [i.e. ‘I want to remind you, brothers, how our fathers were all guided by a cloud above them and how they all passed through the sea. They were all baptised into Moses …’]” (M 38)

The Canon of the Scriptures

The Canon of Scripture has got to do with which books are to be included in Scripture. On this, the Catechism states: “It was by the Apostolic Tradition that the Church discerned which writings are to be included in the list of sacred books. This complete list is called the Canon of Scripture. It includes 46 books of the Old Testament (45 if we count Jeremiah and Lamentations as one) and 27 for the New …” (120)
The Catechism goes on:
“The Old Testament is an indispensable part of Sacred Scripture. Its books are divinely inspired and retain a permanent value …” (121)
“Christians venerate the Old Testament as true Word of God. The Church has always vigorously opposed the idea of rejecting the Old Testament under the pretext that the New has rendered it void (Marcionism) [Marcion made such a claim].” (123)

The New Testament

The Catechism continues: “The Word of God … is set forth and displays its power in a most wonderful way in the writings of the New Testament which hand on the ultimate truth of God’s Revelation. Their central object is Jesus Christ, God’s incarnate Son: his acts, teachings, Passion and glorification, and his Church’s beginnings under the Spirit’s guidance.” (124)
“The Gospels [which were written several years after Jesus’ death and resurrection] are the heart of all the Scriptures because they are our principal source of the life and teaching of the Incarnate Word, our Saviour.” (125)
The Catechism goes on to distinguish three stages in the formation of the Gospels, i.e. The life and teaching of Jesus, The oral tradition and ‘The written Gospels’: “… The sacred authors, in writing the four Gospels, selected certain of the many elements which had been handed on, either orally or already in written form; others they synthesized or explained with an eye to the situation of the Churches, [all] the while sustaining the form of preaching, but always in such a fashion that they told us the honest truth about Jesus.” (126)
The Catechism then draws attention to the place of honour the Gospels hold in the Church and in its liturgy, and in the lives of saints.
After this the Catechism deals with the important topic of the unity of the Old and New Testaments.

The Unity of the Old and New Testaments

You will sometimes (maybe often) hear people say that the Old Testament has no relevance today, or something to that effect! Well of course this is a misguided view. Jesus studied the Old Testament, so why not us? The Catechism says this: “The Church … constantly in her Tradition, has illuminated the unity of the divine plan in the two Testaments … Christians therefore read the Old Testament in the light of Christ crucified and risen … The New Testament has to be read in the light of the Old. Early Christian catechesis made constant use of the Old Testament. As an old saying put it, the New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New.” (128-129)
And the Catechism then exhorts all the Christian faithful to partake in the frequent reading of the divine Scriptures. Perhaps, I could suggest to those who are not familiar with reading the Scriptures that they might seek some advice from their local church, or whoever, about how to get started. For me, the way I got started a good many years ago was by subscribing to that wonderful monthly publication Bible Alive, which identifies the Scripture readings for each day of the month (year), together with some reflections thereon, and each monthly issue also contains a couple of very good articles on spirituality, social or such relevant religious topics. With the daily Scripture readings identified, it is a simple matter then, to go to your Bible, pick them out and read them. If you do not have a Bible, you might also wish to get advice on the one most suitable for you! Perhaps, it is fitting for me to give an extract from the Bible Alive reflection for April 1st, 2013:
“Today we begin an exciting adventure, a voyage, a quest, yes even an odyssey, through the masterpiece we know as the Acts of the Apostles. Basically, the liturgy takes us into the early years of the Church’s growth and expansion. It is not called the ‘Acts’ for nothing! Luke’s narrative is exciting and thrilling a kind of white-knuckle ride as the embryo church fights to both establish itself and proclaim the gospel. Our hope is that over the coming weeks we may all grow in our love, appreciation and understanding of the incredible challenges and opportunities these first believers faced. The saints whose story is told in these holy pages [of the Acts of the Apostles] were the true pioneers of the Christian faith – we stand on their shoulders.” (Bible Alive, 1st April, 2013)

Finally, the Catechism, sums up, as it were, the Scriptures by stating: “All Sacred Scripture is but one book, and that one book is Christ, because all divine Scripture speaks of Christ, and all divine Scripture is fulfilled in Christ.” (134)

And now to conclude, by picking up some of the comments made by Maryvale on certain of the foregoing issues:
“If you look at the contents page of Catholic and Protestant Bibles you will find that they have different lists of Old Testament books. All Christians accepted the list that Catholics still accept until the time of the Reformation in the sixteenth century, when Protestants rejected several books. Protestants now have seven fewer Old Testament books than Catholics.” (M 39)
“[Paragraph 122 of the Catechism] makes the important point that God’s revelation in Scripture is progressive. In the Old testament, God’s character and His plans are understood partially, but the full meaning of what God wanted to reveal did not become apparent until the coming of Christ.” (M 39)
[Incidentally, the Catechism (122) uses the phrase ‘the economy of the Old Testament’ to describe the foregoing progressive revealing.]
And Maryvale comments on another important issue which is that some people have a “sneaking suspicion that the Old Testament message is really quite different from that of the New Testament. Do we not have a God of anger and wrath in the Old Testament and a God of love in the New? … The Church teaches that the Old and New Testaments teach one single message of salvation. After all, considering the question of a God of love, and a God of wrath, we can see that God’s love is clearly revealed in the Old Testament (for example, see Deut 32; Hos 11:1-9). [i.e. the loving sentiments expressed in ‘The Song of Moses’, etc] And in the New Testament Jesus reveals to us a God to be feared as well as loved (e.g. see Matt 18:6-9, 23-35; 25:1-46).” [The bridesmaids who arrived late for the wedding feast were not let in – ‘I do not know you’, etc] (M 39)

Question 10

Could I discuss the Three Divine Persons, i.e. Trinity – the Triune God?

Maryvale reminds us that “Christians, Jews and Muslims share a belief in the oneness of God. They are Monotheists … Most people in the ancient world believed in many gods – they were ‘polytheists’. There are important differences between polytheists and monotheists. The polytheists believed that their gods had only a limited amount of power and control … [and that their] gods were always believed to be in a state of conflict and division. But we believe that there is only one God and that He is entirely trustworthy and unchanging. God will carry out whatever He says. There is order and stability in the universe because God is One.” (M 58)

Three Persons in One God

Maryvale goes on: “Christianity differs from Judaism and Islam by maintaining that God’s oneness is to be understood in a particular way: as the perfect union of three divine Persons … The Christian doctrine of God, then, is a distinctive one. It is that God is both One and Trinity … The Father, the Son and the Spirit are not three separate gods; they are three Persons in one unity … Why believe that God is Three in One? Well, the Church did not develop this belief simply in order to make things more interesting, or to give students something complex to study … she [the Church] had to meditate upon how we should understand the Oneness of God.” (M 58)

This situation arose because of various Scripture passages highlighting ‘one God’, and other passages implying more that one Person in that God, such as, ‘I [Jesus] and the Father are one’ (Jn 10: 30); ‘To have seen me is to have seen the Father’ (Jn 14: 9); and yet Jesus also talked of ‘the only true God’ (Jn 17: 3). And of course, as the Catechism points out, we have that tremendous passage from Deuteronomy in the Old Testament (Dt :6: 4-5): ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might’. Then we have many references to the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures i.e. ‘Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit through the wilderness …’ (Lk 4: 1-2); ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is going to baptise with the Holy Spirit. Yes, I have seen and I am the witness that he is the Chosen One of God’ (Jn 1: 33-34).

Maryvale concludes: “The doctrine of the Trinity, then, was developed to make sense of what God has revealed about Himself – which is both that God is One and also that Jesus and the Spirit are God.” (M 58)

God has a name

The Catechism states “God revealed himself to his people Israel by making his name known to them … To disclose one’s name is to make oneself known to others; in a way it is to hand oneself over by becoming accessible, capable of being known more intimately and addressed personally.” (203)
“God revealed himself progressively and under different names to his people, but the revelation that proved to be the fundamental one for both the Old and New Covenants was the revelation of the divine name to Moses in the theophany [visible manifestation of God] of the burning bush, on the threshold of the Exodus and on the covenant on Sinai.” (204) And the Catechism goes on, under the heading ‘the living God’:
“God calls Moses from the midst of a bush that burns without being consumed: ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (Ex 3: 6). God is the God of the fathers, the One who had called and guided the patriarchs in their wanderings. He is the faithful and compassionate God who remembers them and his promises; he comes to free their descendants from slavery. He is the God who, from beyond space and time, can do this and wills to do it, the God who will put his almighty power to work for this plan…” (205)

And God used various names

When Moses asked God by what name might he call Him, when dealing with the people of Israel: “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM’. And he said ‘Say this to the people of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you”… this is my name for ever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.’” (Ex 3: 13-15). (205)

The Catechism refers to other derivations of the said name, i.e. ‘I AM HE WHO IS’, ‘I AM WHO AM’ or ‘I AM WHO I AM’. “God says who he is and by what name he is to be called. This divine name is mysterious just as God is a mystery…” (206) And the Catechism goes on: “… God who reveals his name as ‘I AM’, reveals himself as the God who is always there, present to his people in order to save them.” (207)

And that story of God speaking to Moses from the burning bush, when God asked Moses to take off his shoes as he was walking on sacred ground, has, I suggest, an important message for us all: which is that God is everywhere in our midst, and in the ‘bits and pieces’ of our lives, and thus our behaviour at all times should reflect that presence. After all God is ‘spirit’ – and our earthly view of things can dim our appreciation of the spirit kingdom. For God doesn’t necessarily have a home in a ‘physical’ heaven; heaven is not so much a place, but rather a ‘state of being’, or a ‘condition’.

The astonishing thought that strikes me is that Jesus who is God, and who is ‘I AM’, and who ‘always was and always will be’, and who created the world out of nothing, and saw fit to call my immortal soul into being from the beginning of creation so that I might share in His love and glory, and how special he has made me, and that what He has done for me, He has done for everyone else; and yet how callously I and we at times repay His goodness, including the many times we fail to adore Him in His humble state in the Sacred Host!

Perhaps in explanation to the foregoing, Maryvale gives us the answer, based on the Catechism “The Catechism (295) teaches us that the only reason God created the world as a whole was in order to give the free gift of his love. God’s love lies in the root of both creation and the redemption which comes to the whole world through the people of Israel … God cannot possibly act in an unloving way.” (M 60)
And Maryvale continues: “God is truth and His words cannot deceive. God is incapable of deceiving … God’s promises always come true. God’s promises concern our present and our future, and they are completely reliable … Everything and everyone might fail us, but God never will [see Catechism 219].” (M 61)

And Maryvale (M 61) invites us to consider ‘what are the implications for us of faith in One God’? No doubt a ‘leading question’!

The Trinity

What is the Trinity? Maryvale tells us: “The Catechism calls it the ‘central mystery’ of the Christian faith, the ‘source’ of all other mysteries, and the ‘most fundamental’ and ‘essential’ in the ‘hierarchy of the truths of faith’… The Catechism quotes from one of the early Fathers of the Church, St. Caesarius of Arles, who said, ‘The faith of all Christians rests on the Trinity’ … The teaching concerning the Trinity is at the very centre of the ‘deposit of faith’ as a whole … But how important is it subjectively? How important is it to us in our lives as Christians?” (M 65) That is surely another leading question for us to consider!
Do I understand the Trinity, i.e. three Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, in the One God. Am I meant to understand it? Well certainly not on my own! On this, Maryvale tells us “… it [the Trinity] is something which we could never have learned about God, unless He had chosen to reveal it to us. When the Church uses this word ‘mystery’ … she does not mean something that is unknowable by us, or something which seems fuzzy and blurred and unintelligible when we learn of it. The Church uses ‘mystery’ as a way of referring to God Himself and to His loving plan for us. The ‘mysteries of the faith’ are elements of this plan which God has revealed to us. To be saved by God is to be gradually drawn into the mystery which He has revealed to us. The Catechism describes the mystery of the Trinity as that which illuminates all the other truths of the faith.” (M 65)

God the Father

Why do we call God ‘Father’? Using the Catechism (238-242), Maryvale tells us that “The Catechism stresses that God transcends the human distinction of the sexes. God is neither male nor female … God is personal, not impersonal … Still, why call God ‘He’ and ‘Father’ rather than ‘She’ and ‘Mother’? [It refers to the Catechism again]. First because He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore Jesus calls Him Father (See 240). Jesus used the word ‘Abba’ – ‘dear Father’ – when speaking to God and praying to Him … It is the trusting language of young children … Secondly, because Jesus taught us to call God ‘our Father’ … Jesus is the perfect and complete revelation of God … Thirdly, the word ‘Father’ tells us important things about God’s nature. It tells us that He is the one who initiates existence, causing all things to exist. He is the author of life. He is also the one like a father, who provides for His creatures. And He is the strong protector of His children, especially of the weak and the poor.” (M 66)
[Maryvale also points out that calling God ‘Father’ does not exclude us from using more feminine terms, and refers to Isaiah 66: 13 (‘Like a son comforted by his mother …’) and Psalm 131:2 (‘… like a child in its mother’s arms’)]
And Maryvale goes on “… we are not a ‘something’ but a ‘someone’. He has given us something of Himself, so that we can relate to Him as a human child does to his earthly father. The book of Genesis records how all other creatures were moulded from the earth. But in the case of human beings, God ‘breathed’ life into us (see Gen 2: 7). And despite our rebellion and our sinfulness He has freely chosen to adopt us as His sons and daughters in His eternal Son, Jesus…
In revealing God to be His Father in a unique sense, Jesus was revealing to us that He is the Son in a unique sense …
Jesus the Son of God, is consubstantial with the Father. What does this mean? [Maryvale asks] It means that in His essential nature, the Son and the Father are one. Our Lord Jesus Christ is truly God … The Person who walked on earth is God Himself …” (M 66-67)

The Father and the Son are Revealed by the Spirit (Third Person of the Trinity)

We have had the Father and His creation and His revealing of Himself to us, which reached its fullness with the incarnation of the Son Jesus, and then, as Maryvale says “comes our own time, the time after the glorification of the Son, this is the time of sending the Holy Spirit for our sanctification …” (M 67). But as we have previously pointed out, the Holy Spirit was at work from the beginning of creation.
As Maryvale points out “Genesis 1:2 speaks of the Spirit brooding over the waters of creation … The Spirit also spoke through the prophets in the time of the Old Testament. The Spirit was also active during the life and ministry of the Son. It was through the Holy Spirit that the eternal Son was born of Mary, and the Spirit came down upon Jesus when He was baptised. Jesus was the bearer of the Spirit during His ministry, and He promised the Holy Spirit to His disciples once He was glorified.” (M 67)

The Holy Trinity in the Teaching of the Faith

Maryvale aptly comments as follows:
“Our profession of faith in the Trinity lies at the very foundation of our lives as Christians … There is also a close connection between our understanding of who God is and our understanding of who we are. This is because we are made in the image of God.” (M 69)
[At this point, Maryvale invites us to ask ourselves two questions: (I) ‘what it means for me to be ‘made’ in the image of this Trinitarian God’?, and (II) ‘how does my understanding of myself, and of my relationship to others, change as I learn more about the Church’s teaching on the nature of God’? Yes food for thought there!]
Maryvale then alludes to the three essential issues which the Catechism deals with in Paragraphs 253–256, concerning the ‘Dogma of the Holy Trinity’ i.e.

The Trinity is One
The real distinction between the Persons
The relations between the Persons

The Trinity is One

“There is only one God, not three … [for example] we are baptised in the name of the Father, the Son and the Spirit, not in their names. So Christians hold the same belief as Jews and Moslems in there being only one God. The Catechism also makes clear that it is not as if this ‘oneness’ is then split three ways between the Father, the son and the Spirit, so that each has a third of God. No: God cannot be divided. Neither is there an underlying essence or substance which is God and in which the three Persons share.” (M 69)

The real distinction between the Persons

“… God’s oneness is not that of a unit but of a unity … The Church teaches that it is the relationships which each divine Person has to the others which make the Persons distinct from each other:

*The Father begets the Son
*The Son is begotten by the Father
*The Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son

On this point of Trinitarian doctrine the early Church Father St. Basil wrote, ‘the unity of the Persons lies in the communion of the Godhead’ … The union between the Persons is a communion.” (M 69)

The relations between the Persons

“It is in their relationship to each other that the Father, Son and Spirit are distinct … And because the persons are relations, the Church teaches that the Persons ‘dwell’ in each other. Because human beings are made in the image of God, we have to understand the human being as a person analogous to the Trinitarian persons. Thus we can say that in humanity, to be a human person is to be relational … ‘Man the only creature on earth that God wanted for his own sake, cannot fully find himself except in sincere self-giving’ (Gaudium et Spes, para 24) [one of Vatican II documents].” (M 69-70) (Yes another lesson there for us, about being ‘self-giving’)

Some further comments on the Holy Spirit

Here are some extracts from later paragraphs of the Catechism:
“No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit … to be in touch with Christ, we musk first have been touched by the Holy Spirit … And it is impossible to see God’s Son without the Spirit, and no one can approach the Father without the Son, …” (683)
“To believe in the Holy Spirit is to profess that the Holy Spirit is one of the persons of the Holy Trinity, consubstantial with the Father and the Son: with the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified …” (685)
“… The Spirit who has spoken through the prophets makes us hear the Father’s Word [the Son], but we do not hear the Spirit himself. We know him only in the movement by which he reveals the Word to us and disposes us to welcome him in faith …” (687)
“… In their joint mission, the Son and the Holy Spirit are distinct but inseparable. To be sure it is Christ who is seen, the visible image of the invisible God, but it is the Spirit who reveals him.” (689)

From the foregoing extracts, we could say that Holy Spirit plays an essential role in our faith life, but does so in a rather hidden manner in order to put the spotlight on Jesus, the visible image of God. We could regard the Holy Spirit as a silent but very much a live and active movement within us, or, if you wish, as an ‘electric current’ [a term used, I think, by Blessed Mother Teresa] flowing through our life lines.

Hopefully, this section on the Holy Trinity will help us in some measure to clarify our understanding of the Trinitarian God, and at least help us to focus on the ‘relationship role’ of the three Persons, and in turn direct us to a relational perspective in our own human lives. And incidentally, I always feel that the ‘Cinderella’ of the three Persons of the Holy Trinity is the Holy Spirit, and surely that is something we must put right, and hopefully in the process realise the most important role that the Holy Spirit plays in guiding our lives.
I heard a good priest say recently that ‘the Holy Spirit is the soul of the Church.’

Question 11

Could I discuss the different visible and invisible elements in Creation? What about angels? What about us humans?

Let’s start with some comments about us humans, because we are very special creatures, different to all other creatures. Maryvale reminds us of that very significant statement from Pope John Paul II (in Redemptor Hominis 10): “The true Christian approach to man has been expressed by the Holy Father - ‘Once we know that God sent His only Son to die for us, we must look at ourselves with ‘deep amazement’ at what our worth and dignity must be’.” (M 19)

Perhaps, it is opportune to quote from three paragraphs of the Catechism:
“The human person: with its openness to truth and beauty, his sense of moral goodness, his freedom and the voice of his conscience, with his longings for the infinite and for happiness, man questions himself about God’s existence. In all this he discerns signs of his spiritual soul. The soul, the ‘seed of eternity we bear in ourselves, irreducible to the merely material’, can have its origin only in God.” (33)

“The world, and man, attest that they contain within themselves neither their first principle nor their final end, but rather that they participate in Being itself, which alone is without origin or end. Thus, in different ways, man can come to know that there exists a reality which is the first cause and final end of all things, a reality ‘that everyone calls “God” ‘.” (34)

“Man’s faculties make him capable of coming to a knowledge of the existence of a personal God. But for man to be able to enter into real intimacy with him, God willed both to reveal himself to man, and to give him the grace of being able to welcome this revelation in faith. The proofs of God’s existence, however, can predispose one to faith and help one to see that faith is not opposed to reason.” (35)

Some of the foregoing we have dealt with already, but it is important to remind ourselves of the unique type of creatures we humans are. No other creatures on earth are like us. I can remember a comment made quite some time ago (in a video) by the Papal Preacher, Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, that ‘we humans are the only creatures that can smile’. Perhaps that ‘smile’ tells a lot about who we are!

Maryvale reminds us / expounds on some of the above material from the Catechism:
“… the Catechism teaches that even those who do not know that God’s love has been demonstrated for them in Christ are able to see signs of their great dignity by reflecting upon simple facts about themselves such as their awareness of truth and beauty, their hunger for the infinite and for happiness, their moral conscience and freewill. These facts about ourselves, the Catechism teaches, are all ‘signs’ of our spiritual soul and therefore raise questions about God’s existence.” (M 19)
Maryvale then comments on one of ‘our human features, i.e. the fact of Conscience – a pointer to God’s existence, and providing man with the ability to make judgements about what’s right and wrong’:
“His [man’s] ability to make this judgement must powerfully suggest that he is in touch with some immaterial world which enables him to make judgements of right and wrong, justice and injustice, about the material world. Moreover, morality is not something which we can simply switch off and on whenever we like.” (M 20)

Heaven and Earth

Let’s look at what the Catechism says on heaven and earth:
“The Apostles’ Creed professes that ‘God is creator of heaven and earth’. The Nicene Creed makes it explicit that this profession includes ‘all that is, seen and unseen’.” (325)
“The Scriptural expression ‘heaven and earth’ means all that exists, creation in its entirety. It also indicates the bond deep within creation, that both unites heaven and earth and distinguishes the one from the other: ‘the earth’ is the world of men, while ‘heaven’ or ‘the heavens’ can designate both the firmament and God’s own ‘place’ – ‘our Father in heaven’ … Finally, ‘heaven’ refers to the saints and the ‘place’ of the spiritual creatures, the angels, who surround God.” (326)
“The profession of faith of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) affirms that God ‘from the beginning of time made at once (simul) out of nothing both orders of creatures, the spiritual and the corporeal, that is, the angelic and the earthly, and then (deinde) the human creature, who as it were shares in both orders, being composed of spirit and body’.” (327)
Maryvale clarifies what is meant by ‘heaven’ and ‘earth’:
“Earth is fairly simple. It is all of God’s visible creation – the stars and planets, the sun, moon and earth, the birds and animals and so on. We humans are part of the earth – though … the position of human beings is a complex and unique one. Heaven can refer to several things in Scripture and Tradition … heaven always refers to what is beyond the earth:

On the one hand it means the invisible creation … so it is a way of speaking about the domain of the angels.

God does not have a ‘place’ where He lives, since He has no body, but ‘Our Father in heaven’ is a way of speaking about the fact that God is not only present on earth, in our midst, but also transcends the earth: He is not limited and circumscribed by anything created.

It can mean what is beyond our world in terms of time … the glory we will receive when earthly time ends and we are received into God’s presence.” (M 95)

Maryvale also elaborates on ‘the unity of heaven and earth’ :
“One of the great truths of the Catholic faith is the deep bond of solidarity in the created order … Human beings, and indeed the whole of Creation; are bound together in many different ways, [examples being]:

the deep unity of all human beings with each other … The unity of the human race means that the sin or goodness of one person affects the other.

[This might come as a surprise to those of us who might feel that ‘I am free to do precisely what suits me’!]

The unity of human beings with the rest of the visible creation.

The unity of the angels with the visible creation. We will be seeing, presently, the many ways in which the angels are involved in the destiny of the visible creation.” (M 95)

And regarding the complex nature of us human beings, Maryvale comments on the two orders of Creation: “the purely spiritual creation, i.e. the angels; and the earthly, visible creation. Human beings do not fit easily into either of these categories. Rather they fit into both of them. Man is unique in Creation in being the only creature who is both spiritual and material … Man is the whole of creation in miniature, as it were, since both orders of Creation are present in him. Because humans are a unity of the spiritual and the material … they are uniquely placed to harmonise these two, to express the spiritual in and through the material.” (M 96)

The Angels

The Catechism tells us that “The existence of the spiritual, non-corporal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls ‘angels’ is a truth of faith …” (328)
And relying on St. Augustine, the Catechism tells us that “Angel” is the name of their office, while “Spirit” describes their nature. . . And the Catechism also tells us that “the angels are servants and messengers of God …” (329)
Furthermore, the Catechism informs us that “As purely spiritual creatures angels have intelligence and will: they are personal and immortal creatures, surpassing in perfection all visible creatures …” (330)

Yes “angels … really do exist” says Maryvale (M 96), and then goes on to tell us not to “think of them as strange figures with wings and a body … the angels are pure spirits, creatures of intelligence and will … in reality they have no body.” (M 96)

However, it appears that God provides angels with an ‘apparent’ body, whenever it is necessary, for example when delivering messages to human beings! Incidentally, the word ‘angel’ means ‘messenger’, and Maryvale tells us (M 96) that one of the angels’ functions is to be servants and messengers of God.

In saying the Creed we profess our faith in the ‘seen’ and ‘unseen’, and the ‘unseen’ Maryvale points out “covers the angelic creation, both the good angels and the fallen angels whom we call devils or demons. [And it also points out that] our belief in the existence of the angelic creation is based on the Scriptures and on Tradition.” (M 96)

Christ and the Angels

The Catechism tells us that “Christ is the centre of the angelic world. They are his angels: [as for example, as St. Matthew says (Mt 25: 31)] ‘When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him …’ They belong to him because they were created through and for him … they belong to him still more because he has made them messengers of his saving plan …” (331)
“Angels have been present since creation and throughout the history of salvation …” (332)
“From the Incarnation to the Ascension, the life of the Word incarnate [Jesus Christ] is surrounded by the adoration and service of angels … They protect Jesus in his infancy, serve him in the desert, strengthen him in his agony in the garden …” (333)
“… the whole life of the Church benefits from the mysterious and powerful help of angels.” (334)
“From infancy to death human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life …” (336)

So as we can see from the above, angels are a very important part of our faith lives. Maryvale confirms all of this, and comments that “We need to pray to the angels for protection, then, and especially to our guardian angel. [Later it states] The role of each person’s angel, then, is to guide the person to good thoughts, words and deeds.” (M98)

As we finish with Angels, just to say on a precautionary note, that we must not unduly idolise or venerate angels to the point that they might take the place of God; after all they are only God’s helpers which He gave us for our benefit. And we should also avoid what might be regarded as ‘dubious practices’ in the angelic (bad) world.

Man

We will finish this section by looking at some more of the characteristics of us human beings and how we should behave, including our interdependence on other creatures, and our need for worship. Thus quoting thereon from the Catechism:
“Each creature possesses its own particular goodness and perfection… Each of the various creatures, willed in its own being, reflects in its own way a ray of God’s infinite wisdom and goodness. Man must therefore respect the particular goodness of every creature …” (339)
“God wills the interdependence of creatures … Creatures exist only in dependence on each other, to complete each other, in the service of each other.” (340)
“The beauty of the universe: The order and harmony of the created world results from the diversity of beings and from the relationships which exist among them …” (341)
“Man is the summit of the Creator’s work …” (343)
“Creation was fashioned with a view to the Sabbath and therefore for the worship and adoration of God. Worship is inscribed in the order of creation…” (347)
“The eighth day. But for us a new day has dawned: the day of Christ’s Resurrection. The seventh day completes the first creation. The eighth day begins the new creation. Thus, the work of creation culminates in the greater work of redemption…” (349)

Maryvale comments particularly on the Sabbath and on the Eighth Day, and states “Creation and worship are not subjects that are normally linked together … Worship is not the prerogative of Christians, or of any particular religious group. It is a human characteristic. Worship is something intrinsic to the human condition. It is one of the fundamental needs we have. This truth is expressed in the Book of Genesis by the last Day of Creation being a Day set aside for worship. The proper response, then, if someone asks you, ‘Are you a religious person?’, is to reply, ‘Are you asking: Am I a human being?’.” (M 100)
Maryvale continues “Worship and adoration of God is the highest point of the created order. This is what the whole of Creation is for …
Finally, keeping God’s law, which He has revealed to us, involves us in living in the way God intended in Creation. One of the Ten Commandments, for example, is to keep the Sabbath holy (Exodus 20: 8-11) …” (M 100)

And some more quotes from the Catechism about Man:
“God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them (Gen 1:27). Man occupies a unique place in creation … God established him in his friendship.” (355)
“Of all visible creatures only man is able to know and love his creator … and he alone is called to share, by knowledge and love, in God’s own life. It was for this end that he was created, and this is the fundamental reason for his dignity …” (356)
“God created everything for man, but man in turn was created to serve and love God and to offer all creation back to him …” (358)
Talking about man, I was struck by a lovely quote from Pope John XXIII (which appeared in the Bible Alive reflection for 25thMarch, 2013), ‘Do not walk through time without leaving worthy evidence of your passage.’ Yes wouldn’t it be nice to think that when each of us leave this world, we would be remembered by those left behind for something really worthy that we did!

Body and Soul. “The human person, created in the image of God is a being at once corporal and spiritual … then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being (Gen 2: 7). Man whole and entire is therefore willed by God.” (362)
“In Sacred Scripture the term ‘soul’ often refers to human life or the entire human person. But ‘soul’ also refers to the innermost aspect of man … that by which he is most especially in God’s image: soul signifies the spiritual principle in man.” (363)
[Continuing with the Catechism:] “The human body shares in the dignity of ‘the image of God’: it is a human body precisely because it is animated by a spiritual soul, and it is the whole human person that is intended to become, in the body of Christ, a temple of the Spirit:

Man though made in body and soul, is a unity … man may not despise his bodily life. Rather he is obliged to regard his body as good and to hold it in honour since God has created it and will raise it up on the last day.” (364)
“ … it is because of its spiritual soul that the body made of matter becomes a living, human body; spirit and matter, in man, are not two natures united, but rather their union forms a single nature.” (365)
“The Church teaches that every spiritual soul is created immediately by God – it is not produced by the parents – and also that it is immortal: it does not perish when it separates from the body at death, and it will be reunited with the body at the final Resurrection.” (366)

Well, I suggest there is a great deal of ‘food for thought’ in the foregoing. Of course we must realise that we humans are very different to the animal kingdom – we are on a much higher level than animals, basically because of our spiritual souls. God as we have seen is pure spirit, and as Psalm 8 states:

“ you have made him [man] little less than a god,
you have crowned him with glory and splendour,
made him lord over the work of your hands,
set all things under his feet …” (Ps 8:5-6)

Perhaps in the above context, we would also note this further paragraph from the Catechism: “The spiritual tradition of the Church also emphasizes the heart, in the biblical sense of the depths of one’s being, where the person decides for or against God.” (368)

We will finish this section with a very brief look at two further topics: ‘Male and Female He Created Them’ and ‘Man in Paradise’

Male and Female He Created them
“Man and woman have been created, which is to say, willed by God … in perfect equality as human persons …” (369)
“In no way is God in man;’s image. He is neither man nor woman. God is pure spirit in which there is no place for the differences between the sexes …” (370)
[Man and woman are ‘a unity in two’] “Man and woman were made for each other … he created them to be a communion of persons … and complementary as masculine and feminine. In marriage God unites them in such a way that, by forming ‘one flesh’, they can transmit human life …” (372)

Man in Paradise

The Catechism (374–379) tells us how our first parents, Adam and Eve, were ‘created good’ and destined to share in the divine life. But original man rebelled against God, and the outcome was, as it were, ‘Paradise Lost’. But I suggest that the positive way to look on this situation might be as follows:

[Even if Paradise was not lost, I (that’s me) might never have been called into life (i.e. given a soul); and thus I would never have known anything about life in any of its dimensions, or possibilities (i.e. paradise retained or lost). But in this new situation, I, for no deserving reason on my part, have been given a life, and because of God’s infinite goodness and love for the ‘undeserving me’, he has given me the tremendous opportunity to live on this earth, and with it the opportunity of returning His love to Him by living appropriately, and thereafter to share in His eternal glory for ever in the next life. Perhaps this is the only way to look on life! Bemoaning the fact of a ‘Paradise Lost’ is certainly not a positive response!’ On my late wife’s memorial bookmark is the inscription ‘I loved the life you gave to me’. I hope that I too can do that, and live up to life’s potential!]

Incidentally, a local priest who give a lovely homily on man during the recent Easter celebrations, talked of how man’s worth must not be measured in financial and other such terms.

Question 12

Is God good and loving seeing there is so much suffering in the world?

The Catechism under the caption ‘The mystery of God’s apparent powerlessness’ states that “Faith in God the Father Almighty can be put to the test by the experience of evil and suffering. God can sometimes seem to be absent and incapable of stopping evil. But in the most mysterious way God the Father has revealed his almighty power in the voluntary humiliation and Resurrection of his Son, by which he conquered evil. Christ crucified is thus ‘the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men’ (1 Cor 1:24-25) …” (272)
And the Catechism (273) reminds us that “nothing will be impossible with God.”
Maryvale comments as follows: “… the Catechism makes two important points – two clues pointing towards the Christian answer. First, the Christian response must be in terms of how God has revealed that He deals with evil. And this is by ‘the voluntary humiliation and Resurrection of his Son, by which he conquered evil.’ God has obviously not excluded evil and suffering from His Creation, but He has dealt with it. Secondly, the attitude of faith is to embrace challenges and difficulties. It ‘glories in weakness’ (273) … This is the reason why Jesus said that a man had been born blind, so that ‘the works of God might be made manifest in him’ (Jn 9:3).” (M 75-76)
Notwithstanding, what has been said above, the puzzling question that still remains is - how can an Almighty and loving God allow so much evil and suffering in the world? Surely He could have created a perfect world where there would not have been any suffering or evil! Well, we could say that this was exactly His original choice, but man ( Adam and Eve) rebelled and, as it were, refused to accept God’s perfect creation, and so we were left with an imperfect world.
Anyway, for a more profound insight into the question of evil and suffering in the world, lets look at paragraph 309 of the Catechism: “… To this question, as pressing as it is unavoidable and as painful as it is mysterious, no quick answer will suffice. Only Christian faith as a whole constitutes an answer to this question: the goodness of creation, the drama of sin and the patient love of God who comes to meet man by his covenants, the redemptive Incarnation of his Son, his gift of the Spirit, his gathering of the Church, the power of the sacraments and his call to a blessed life to which free creatures are invited to consent in advance, but from which, by a terrible mystery, they can also turn away in advance. There is not a single aspect of the Christian message that is not in part an answer to the question of evil.” (309)
Then the Catechism in answer to ‘why did God not create a world so perfect that no evil could exist in it?’, states “With infinite power God could always create something better. But with infinite wisdom and goodness God freely willed to create a world ‘in a state of journeying’ towards its ultimate perfection … With physical good there exists also physical evil as long as creation has not reached perfection.” (310)
We have already seen in the earlier section on creation, the concept of the world ‘in a state of journeying’ towards its perfection, and how God co-operates with the efforts of us humans in that journeying towards perfection. By implication, then, it seems that man has a role to play in ridding the world of evil!

We should note what paragraph 311 of the Catechism says: “Angels and men, as intelligent and free creatures, have to journey toward their ultimate destines by their free choice and preferential love. They can therefore go astray. Indeed , they have sinned … God is in no way, directly or indirectly, the cause of moral evil. He permits it, however, because he respects the freedom of his creatures and, mysteriously, knows how to derive good from it …” (311)
The Catechism then, as it were re-affirms the above: “In time we can discover that God in his almighty providence can bring a good from the consequence of an evil, even a moral evil, caused by his creatures: ‘It was not you’, said Joseph to his brothers, ‘who sent me here, but God … You meant evil against me ; but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive’ (Gen 45: 8) … But for all that, evil never becomes a good.” (312)
In the next paragraph, the Catechism quotes some saints on the subject of evil, including what St Catherine of Siena said: ‘“those who are scandalized and rebel against what happens to them’: ‘Everything comes from love, all is ordained for the salvation of man, God does nothing without this goal in mind’.” (313)
Perhaps, all the foregoing, more or less, gives us the answers as to why there is evil in the world! But the Catechism again intervenes:
“We firmly believe that God is master of the world and of its history. But the ways of his providence are often unknown to us. Only at the end, when our partial knowledge ceases, when we see God ‘face to face’, will we fully know the ways by which – even through the dramas of evil and sin – God has guided his creation to that definitive Sabbath rest for which he created heaven and earth.” (314)

Yes ‘in the heel of the hunt’, I suggest, we must have trust and faith in the Good Lord!

Question 13

Do I believe in sin and the consequences of sin?

Yes I personally believe in sin and in the consequences of sin. And I would suggest that sin is a phenomenon for all peoples. Now I am not necessarily saying that all people commit sin, although there is a sort of general recognition that we are all sinners. Perhaps, however, it would be more precise to say that because we are human, we have the natural inclination to fall short of ‘the ideal behaviour’ that God would wish for us. And why are we like this? It is because of the Original Sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve, which although forgiven in the sacrament of Baptism, leaves us with a stain or weakness, which can leave us prey to wrongdoing or, if you wish, ‘falling short of the mark’, and this we call sin. And then of course there are various degrees of sin, especially grave mortal sin and lesser venial sin. Sin does give rise to consequences. Catholics believe that if we die in the state of mortal sin, we will lose our salvation in the next life, i.e. lose out on heaven. If we die in venial sin, or with the ‘remains’ of mortal sin not fully atoned for in this life, we will have to cleanse or purge ourselves of these in purgatory, before attaining heaven.

But not alone does sin have possible consequences for us in the next life, it also has serious consequences here and now in this life, in the way we live life, in the way we behave with other people, and in the way we live in society in general. Sin, I suggest, unless we make an honest effort to rid ourselves of it, and make amends, tarnishes our perspective on life and is likely to lower our standard of behaviour in society, and lead to adverse effects on other people, as well as ourselves. Obviously, different types of sin will have different consequences, some more serious than others. For instance, a licentious person living a very loose sexual life can have huge negative relational and other consequences for other people and indeed for society. Sin ‘dulls the conscience’ and may do so to the point where the sinner no longer (or only slightly) realises that he is doing evil things. Surely a huge consequence of sin is the unhappiness it brings upon the sinner, and indeed on the lives affected by the sinner’s behaviour. Sin can lead to very ‘negative’ life choices. It is, I suggest, very hard for man to be a loving social being, in the Spirit of God, which we are meant to be, and at the same time be a serious sinner.

Unfortunately, there appears to be ‘the notion abroad’ that the restrictions which living a good moral life imposes on us, restricts our liberties and thus our ability and freedom to enjoy life and be happy. In fact the opposite is probably much truer, since the restrictions on us in living a good moral life simply are a great help in keeping us out of harmful situations. Yes men seek happiness in the wrong ways; true lasting happiness is really only possible when living within God’s designs, and His commandments. Did Jesus not say ‘Keep my commandments’?

Also one often hears it being said, that ‘we have lost the sense of sin’ today! If this is the case, why is it? Perhaps, it is due, sadly, to the big falling-off in the practice of religion! And perhaps related to this, is our poor state of knowledge of our faith (thus highlighting the need for proper catechesis in the faith)! And perhaps, it is further related to the absence of an informed conscience, about what’s right and wrong! All of these issues are probably closely related! Hopefully, this Year of Faith will help greatly to deal with these problems.
Just a few relevant extracts from the Catechism before leaving this topic:
[Note it is not the intention here to deal in detail with what constitutes sin.]
“Sin is present in human history; any attempt to ignore it or to give this dark reality other names would be futile …” (386)
[On original sin:] “… We must know Christ as the source of grace in order to know Adam as the source of sin …” (388) And “The doctrine of original sin is, so to speak, the ‘reverse side’ of the Good News that Jesus is the Saviour of all men …” (389)
“Behind the disobedient choice of our first parents lurks a seductive voice, opposed to God, which makes them fall into death out of envy. Scripture and the Church’s Tradition see in this being a fallen angel, called ‘Satan’ or the ‘devil’…” (391)
“Sin is before all else an offence against God, a rupture of communion with him. At the same time it damages communion with the Church. For this reason conversion entails both God’s forgiveness and reconciliation with the Church, which are expressed and accomplished liturgically by the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.” (1440) [We will be referring to this sacrament in a later section.]
Finally, “Sin is an act contrary to reason. It wounds man’s nature and injures human solidarity.” (1872)

Question 14

Could I name the Ten Commandments, and how relevant are they?

YOUCAT deals very appropriately, and yet simply, with the Ten Commandments.
The relevant (introductory) paragraphs of YOUCAT are 349 to 351(incl). The subsequent paragraphs deal in turn with each of the individual commandments. Here we will confine ourselves to the above introductory paragraphs, together with a slight invasion into (one of) the others.

Paragraph 349 lists the Ten Commandments as follows:

I am the Lord your God: you shall not have strange Gods before me.

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

You shall keep holy the Lord’s day.

Honour your father and your mother.

You shall not kill.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.

You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife.

You shall not covet your neighbour’s goods.

As is generally known, the Ten Commandments were given to Moses on Mount Sinai around 1280 BC. As YOUCAT explains in the margin alongside paragraph 349, the above list of the Ten Commandments are based on two Old Testament biblical sources, i.e. Exodus 20: 2-17 and Deuteronomy 5: 6-21.
In paragraph 350, YOUCAT asks the question: ‘Are the Ten Commandments a random list?’ And in answer it states: “No. The Ten Commandments form a unity. One commandment refers to another. You cannot arbitrarily toss out individual commandments. Someone who breaks one commandment is violating the whole Law. [And it goes on to say] What is remarkable about the Ten Commandments is that all of human life is included within them. Indeed, we men are related at the same time to God (Commandments 1-3) and to our fellow men (Commandments 4-10); we are religious and social beings.” (350)

Of course Jesus often referred to our need to keep the Commandments, and also summed them up in two commandments, i.e. ‘love of God’ and ‘love of our neighbour’.

In paragraph 351, YOUCAT asks another question: ‘Aren’t the Ten Commandments outdated?’ In reply it says: “No, the Ten Commandments are by no means the product of a particular time. They express man’s fundamental obligations toward God and neighbour, which are always and everywhere valid. [And it goes on to state] The Ten Commandments are commandments of reason just as they are also part of the binding Revelation of God. There are so fundamentally binding that no one can be dispensed from keeping these commandments.” (351)

Here is a question YOUCAT asks in paragraph 357: ‘Is atheism always a sin against the First Commandment? ‘And it replies as follows: “If someone intentionally and explicitly denies God, he sins against the first commandment. However, his responsibility may be seriously impaired, as when, for example, he has learned nothing about God or has examined the question about God’s existence conscientiously and cannot believe. [And it goes on to say] The line between being unable to believe and being unwilling to believe is not clear. The attitude that simply dismisses faith as unimportant, without having examined it more closely, is often worse that well-considered Atheism.” (357)
At this point, YOUCAT refers the reader to paragraph 5 of YOUCAT, and this reads as follows:
“Why do people deny that God exists, if they can know him by reason? To know the invisible God is a great challenge for the human mind. 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.” (5)

Question 15

Could I talk about the Seven Deadly Sins and the Cardinal Virtues?

The ‘seven deadly sins’, sometimes referred to as the ‘seven capital sins’ are normally listed as follows (although the order of listing varies, and sometimes their names ):

Pride

Covetousness (Avarice)

Lust

Anger (Wrath)

Gluttony

Envy

Sloth

The Catechism refers to these sins as follows:
“Vices can be classified according to the virtues they oppose, or also be linked to the capital sins which Christian experience has distinguished, following St John Cassian and St Gregory the Great. They are called ‘capital’ because they engender other sins, other vices …” (1866)

So we could say that these seven deadly or capital sins, are in themselves vices, and in addition provide the disposition to committing other (more serious) sins. For instance serious anger, could lead to committing the sin of murder; pride in somebody’s achievements could lead one to do harm to that person’s character, or whatever; lust could lead one to committing serious sexual sin; Covetousness could lead to stealing, and so on.

Ideally, we should inculcate the virtues which are the opposite to the above sins or vices, and particularly inculcate what are known as the four cardinal virtues, i.e. prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance.

We probably don’t hear very much these days about inculcating virtues and keeping vices ‘at bay’. For instance the vice / sin of gluttony would include immoderate consumption of alcohol; and surely this is one area that needs to be tackled! Certainly much room here for the practice of temperance!

So let’s be of a positive frame of mind and think in terms of virtues rather than vices, and in addition to the cardinal virtues, include also the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity, of which the Catechism says:
“The theological virtues are the foundation of Christian moral activity; they animate it and give it its special character. They inform and give life to all the moral virtues. They are infused by God into the souls of the faithful to make them capable of acting as his children and of meriting eternal life. They are the pledge of the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in the faculties of the human being. There are three theological virtues: faith, hope and charity.” (1813)

Question 16

Could I name and discuss the seven Sacraments?

Before naming the seven sacraments, we might note that the celebration of the sacraments essentially constitutes the celebration of the Christian Mysteries of the Church, which we could call the Church Liturgy.
On this, YOUCAT says: “Celebrating the Christian mysteries (Sacraments) is about encountering Jesus Christ in time. Until the end of time he is present in his Church. The most profound encounter with him on earth is the Liturgy (divine worship). Therefore the rule of St. Benedict says: ‘Nothing may have priority over the Liturgy’.” (Pre-paragraph 166)
And regarding the Liturgy, YOUCAT also says: “In the Christian Tradition, liturgy means that the People of God participate in the ‘work of God’. The centrepiece of liturgical celebrations is the Holy Eucharist; the other liturgies – for example, the celebration of other sacraments, devotions, blessings, processions, and the Liturgy of the Hours – are ordered to it.” (Margin of paragraph 166)

So what then is Liturgy? YOUCAT answers: “Liturgy is the official divine worship of the Church … It is something living that grew over millennia of faith. A Mass is a holy venerable action …” (167)

YOUCAT asks: ‘What happens to us when we celebrate the liturgy?’ It answers:
“When we celebrate the liturgy, we are drawn into the love of God, healed, and transformed. The sole purpose of all liturgies of the Church and all her Sacraments is that we might have life and have it abundantly … Someone who feels lost and goes to Mass finds a God who is waiting for him.” (169)

And ‘what is the essence of every liturgy?’ YOUCAT answers: “Liturgy is always in the first place communion or fellowship with Jesus Christ. Every liturgy, not just the celebration of the Eucharist, is an Easter in miniature. Jesus reveals his passage from death to life and celebrates with us. The most important Liturgy in the world was the Paschal Liturgy that Jesus celebrated with his disciples in the Upper Room on the night before his death …” (171)

And now to the Sacraments: ‘How many sacraments are there, and what are their names?’ YOUCAT again:
“The Church has seven sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist [Mass], Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony” (172)

And we continue with YOUCAT:
“We need Sacraments in order … to become like Jesus through Jesus: children of God in freedom and glory …” (173)
[Why do the sacraments belong to the Church?] “Sacraments are Christ’s gifts to his Church. It is her duty to administer them and to protect them from misuse. Jesus entrusted his words and signs to specific men, namely, the apostles, who were to hand them on …” (175)

Baptism and Confirmation are often referred to as ‘initiation sacraments’, as they initiate the recipient into God’s family, or as YOUCAT says “make him once and for all a child of God and Christlike.” (176) These two sacraments, together with Holy Orders (ordination to the priesthood), can only be received once; all the others can be received more than once, but with (some) restrictions on Matrimony (marriage) and Anointing of the Sick.

In the next section, we will be discussing the Eucharist, and Penance in a later section.

Question 17

How important is the Mass (the Eucharist) to me? Do I need to hear a convincing story on the Real Presence?

As Vatican II document, Lumen Gentium, stated, ‘the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life’.
The Catechism states: “At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Saviour instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood. This he did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until he should come again, and to entrust to his beloved Spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a Paschal banquet in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us.” (1323)
“The Lord having loved those who were his own, loved them to the end … in order to leave them a pledge of this love, in order never to depart from his own and to make them sharers in his Passover, he instituted the Eucharist as the memorial of his death and Resurrection, and commanded his apostles to celebrate it until his return; thereby he constituted them priests of the New Testament.” (1337)
“ … In the Eucharist Christ gives us the very body which he gave up for us on the cross, the very blood which he ‘poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’ (Mt 26: 28).” (1365)

The Mass (the Eucharist) is not just a passive remembering, or memorial, of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, and of his resurrection from the dead, rather it is a full live re-presentation (in a un-bloody manner) of his sacrifice on the cross on Calvary, and of his resurrection (i.e. the Risen Christ), done for the benefit of our redemption, and it will continue until the end of time, on every occasion that the Mass is celebrated, and thereby providing inestimable redemptive benefits, particularly for those present and actively participating in the celebration. The Real Presence of the live risen Jesus is a reality during Mass. So the Mass is not just a mere symbolic memorial celebration. The live Jesus actually becomes really present at Mass. What a pity we so often seem to fail to fully appreciate this fact!

Here are two further relevant Scripture quotes on the Mass:
[Jesus instituting the Eucharist at the Last Supper:] “Now as they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and when he had said the blessing he broke it and gave it to his disciples. ‘Take it and eat,’ he said ‘this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and when he had returned thanks he gave it to them. ‘Drink all of you from this,’ he said ‘for this is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which is to be poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’.” (Mt 26: 26-28)

“I am the living bread which has come down from heaven.
Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever;
and the bread that I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world …
I tell you most solemnly, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man
and drink his blood, you will not have life in you.
Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I shall raise him up on the last day.” (Jn 6: 51-54)

The Mass – a complete community celebration
The Mass is the perfect community celebration (we have seen earlier in the book that community celebration is an essential dimension of our faith), and it was celebrated as such in the very early Church, as we know from Scripture and from the following account from St. Justin:
“They went as a body to the Temple every day but met in their houses for the breaking of bread … Day by day the Lord added to their community those destined to be saved.” (Acts 2: 46-47)
And here is St. Justin, writing around 150 AD, about what Christians did on the day we call Sunday:
“On the day we call the day of the sun, all who dwell in the city or country gather in the same place.
The memoirs of the apostles and the writings of the prophets are read, as much as time permits.
When the reader has finished, he who presides over those gathered admonishes and challenges them to imitate these beautiful things.
Then we all rise together and offer prayers for ourselves … and for all others, wherever they may be, so that we may be found righteous by our life and actions, and faithful to the commandments, so as to obtain eternal salvation.
When the prayers are concluded we exchange the kiss.
Then someone brings bread and a cup of water and wine mixed together, to him who presides over the brethren.
He takes them and offers praise and glory to the Father of the universe, through the name of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and for a considerable time he gives thanks (in Greek: eucharistian) that we have been judged worthy of these gifts.
When he has concluded the prayers and thanksgivings, all present give voice to an acclamation by saying: ‘Amen’.
When he who presides has given thanks and the people have responded, those whom we call deacons give to those present ‘eucharisted’ bread, wine and water and take them to those who are absent.” (Catechism 1345)

Well surely that early account of the Mass very closely resembles what we do today at Mass nearly 2000 years later. You may have noted that he who presides (i.e. priest) ‘admonishes and challenges’ his congregation, in the homily. Maybe we are getting off too light in this regard, these days!

In addition to the Mass being a community celebration, it could be said that it represents the total life and Gospel of Jesus Christ, because of its comprehensive nature, not least because the Mass has four constituent parts to it, i.e.

Gathering as a Community (followed by confession/sorrow for sins)

The Liturgy of the Word (Readings from Old and New Testaments)

Liturgy of the Eucharist

Concluding Rite, i.e. sending out/ dismissal of congregation to live the Mass in their daily lives.

Combining all the above, with the homily, profession of the faith (i.e. Creed), prayers of the faithful (i.e. bidding prayers), together with other prayers (such as for the needs of the congregation and others, prayers for the dead, intercessions to Mary our Mother and to the saints), the Mass is truly a comprehensive celebration of the faith, with Jesus at its very centre, and as I understand, angels are present in profusion. No wonder it is regarded as the ‘source and summit of the Christian life’. Hopefully in this year, the Year of Faith, that many more people will realise the tremendous significance and redemptive value of the Mass!

And to fully participate in the Mass, we would do well, during the Consecration when the celebrant raises the Bread and Wine, to offer our bodies and lives in conjunction with Jesus’, while saying ‘My Lord and My God’.

We finish our look at the Mass with an encounter concerning the Real Presence, i.e. the true living presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. And for this we are indebted to Liam Lawton, a priest of the Catholic Church, and a well-known singer and song writer, and author, whose writings includes a beautiful book Where God Hides, published in 2012 by Hachette Books Ireland. And with grateful thanks to Fr. Liam and Hachette Books Ireland, I now transcribe his description of the encounter concerning the Real Presence (appearing from mid page 175 to end page 179 of Where God Hides):
“Recently on my travels, I came across the now well-documented work of Dr Ricardo Castanon Gomez. A neurologist by profession, he had been contacted by the Cardinal of Buenos Aires to give some advice on a recent happening. At a Mass, a Eucharistic host had fallen on the floor during the distribution of Holy Communion. As the floor was dirty, the priest had decided that he would not place the host back into the ciborium – the vessel that contains the hosts – but instead he placed it in a glass of water so that it might dissolve and then the water would be poured onto the flower garden to bring new life. About five days later, the priest went to the tabernacle and, on opening the door, found that the host in the glass of water had not dissolved, but that the glass was full of red stains. Over the next few days, these stains began to grow and were seen to solidify, defying all logic.
The cardinal thus invited Dr. Castanon Gomez, a specialist and expert in his field, to examine the water and carry out some chemical research. The doctor visited the church a number of times and took away two samples of the water and stains for examination. One of the samples appeared in a gelatine-like substance and the other became like a dry scab of tissue. He then brought the samples to a laboratory in California but did not tell those there about their origin. The scientists in California presented the following findings:

The tissue was muscle tissue from a human heart

The muscle was from the myocardium, the left ventricle.

These results confirmed what the scientists in Buenos Aires had said initially. Dr Castanon Gomez decided to take his research further by contacting Dr Frederick Zugibe, an expert cardiologist, pathologist and biochemist from New York whose detailed research into deciphering forms of death from anatomical information of the deceased is second to none. Dr Zugibe was also not forwarded any information about the origin of the tissue he had been asked to investigate.

Having examined the samples, he stated:

“The person with this heart must have been very wounded. Under examination the tissue shows that the heart would have been under great strain and stress.The person to whom this heart belonged must have been subjected to prolonged torture.”

Dr Zugibe did not know he was talking about a sample taken from a sacred host. He also said:

“But there is something you need to explain. How is it possible that while I was studying this sample, the sample was moving, beating? So please explain how did you remove the heart of a dead man and bring it alive to me in a lab in New York?”

Dr Castanon Gomez relates the utter shock and amazement of Dr Zugibe on being told of the origins of this tissue of his research.
Dr Castanon Gomez was asked about his initial research in Buenos Aires, and he referred to the notes taken by one of his colleagues in the laboratory:

“Some liquids are like red blood cells, white blood cells, haemoglobin. But what I observe is that the cells are still living, moving and beating. Usually after fifteen minutes, blood cells die but after a number of days, these blood cells are still alive.”

Dr Castanon Gomez relates how he began to look for similar happenings elsewhere in the world, and a situation in the southern Italian town of Lanciano came to his notice. This occurrence, also well documented, had happened in the eighth century in the parish church when the priest who was celebrating the Eucharist was filled with doubt and found it very difficult to accept that this was indeed the body and blood of Christ. When he looked down, the bread had formed into a different substance. In fact, five small particles of flesh had formed and though different in size, all had the same readings when weighed [Note the Church says that the full body and blood of Christ is contained even in a small particle of the sacred host]. Though this occurred in the eighth century, the particles remained visible and, in the 1970s, detailed research was carried out in the University of Bologna under the guidance of two scientists, both of whom stated that they were atheists. The following are the results of their findings on examination of the samples from Lanciano:

The flesh is real flesh. The blood is real blood.

The flesh and blood belong to the human species.

The flesh consists of the muscular tissue of the heart.

In the flesh, we see present in section: the myocardium, the endocardium, the vagus nerve and also the left ventricle of the heart for the large thickness of the myocardium.

The flesh is a ‘heart’ complete in its essential structure.

The flesh and the blood have the same blood type: AB (the blood type that the eminent Professor Baima Bollone uncovered in the Holy Shroud of Turin).

In the blood, there were found proteins in the same normal proportions (percentage wise) that are found in the sero-proteic make-up of the fresh normal blood.

In the blood, there were also found these minerals: chlorides, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sodium and calcium.

The preservation of the flesh and of the blood, which was left in the natural state for twelve centuries and exposed to the action of atmospheric and biological agents, remains an extraordinary phenomenon.

The flesh was made up of all the tissues found within the heart; a skilled surgeon even of today’s standards could not create this. The blood is, even today, living – if water were added to bring it out of the coagulated form, it could be used in a transfusion.

Dr Castanon Gomez, who has pioneered the work in Buenos Aires, contacted the research team in Italy to compare scientific data and evidence to discover that it is one and the same person in both situations though they were formed hundreds of years apart.”
(Pages 175–179)

Liam Lawton in his book went on to say: “I find it very consoling that the Eucharist would appear under the guise of a human heart. It is at the heart of our Church, where Christ is found. The heart is the place of emotions, of decisions, of actions and the Eucharist is a call to love, a call to action, a call to participate in the body of Christ.” (Page 179)

Yes surely all of that is very re-assuring about the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. And surely very re-assuring about the real humanity of the person, Jesus, who walked on this earth, and who also proved He was / is God.

How sad that so many of us do not appreciate the significance of the Eucharist!

Well I understand, that the Buenos Aires Sacred Host incident occurred in 1996, when our present Pope Francis was Auxiliary Bishop in Buenos Aires, and that he had some part to play in the investigations! By any chance could this be prophetic?

Question 18

When was I last at Confession (Sacrament of Reconciliation)? Anyway, why should I bother with Confession? Surely it is outdated!

Yes a lot of people seem to think that Confession is outdated, judging by the fact that they do not participate in it. But I wonder how serious is the ‘thought’ they give to this matter? Could their non-participation be partly, or maybe largely, due to a ‘following the crowd’ mentality? Or maybe they genuinely feel they have no sin (or at least serious sin) to confess! Or could it be they have lost the ‘sense of sin’?

Going to Confession is not easy, but then neither are many of the ‘good’ things of life easy to attain. Going to Confession is a great act of humility, and humble acts are always good for us humans. Jesus is surely our supreme example when it comes to the practice of humility! But perhaps it is re-assuring for all of us to know that, generally speaking, no one finds Confession easy, whether they have big sins, small sins, or no sins to confess. So we are all in the same boat, as it were, so why not join the queue, and make Confession a somewhat regular occurrence? Yes let’s make Confession ‘cool’ again!

And more importantly, there is a great peace of mind and consolation to be got and felt after confessing, and, still more importantly, great graces to be had for our spiritual wellbeing.

Fr. Paul Farren wrote a lovely book on Confession – looking into the eyes of God and published by The Columba Press in early 2013. Here is something Fr. Paul said that struck a real chord with me:
“When we think about the sacrament of Reconciliation our thoughts most often focus on ourselves and on our sinfulness. The role of God in some sense might even appear secondary. However, the sacrament of Reconciliation is primarily that sacred place and moment when God confesses. The primary confessor in the sacrament is God. What does God confess? God confesses his love, his forgiveness, his gratitude, his confidence, his trust and his belief in us. It is God’s confession that enables us to confess. God’s attitude creates a safe and non-judgemental environment for us to be true to ourselves and to be true to the one who loves us most.” (Page 15)

Yes the foregoing are surely re-assuring comments about Confession! So Confession is where God shows his love, compassion, and all of that, for us, so that our focus should be on Him and on his love and mercy, and not on ourselves and on our sinfulness. Not surprisingly, Fr. Farren refers in his book to the Prodigal Son story in the Bible, which of course highlights the infinite love of the father for the ‘wayward’ son, and isn’t that the way between us and God. As we saw in an earlier chapter of this book, God is searching for us far more than we are searching for him. And as you will undoubtedly know, this also happened in the Prodigal Son story, as the father saw the son coming from along way off in the distance. Yes our Father is waiting for us to shower his love on us by our humble return to Confession. And let us not be put off by our sins, maybe our many sins, and even if we should fall again and again into these sins! God wants us back all the more in these situations. His love will even be greater. And Fr. Farren has this statement in his book “Our experience of the sacrament of Reconciliation can be truly transformed when we focus on the humility of God.” (Page 23)
And later he says in his book:
“Perhaps the sacrament of Reconciliation is that moment when our lover God lures us into the wilderness of our lives and speaks to our hearts. In that moment the humble heart of God speaks to our own broken heart. The conversation is so sacred that our awareness is transformed from our own brokenness to the love that emits from the heart of God.” (Page 24)
And on the next page, Fr. Farren says:
“One simple and beautiful way of celebrating the end of God’s wait is when we celebrate the sacrament of Reconciliation.” (Page 25)

What lovely sentiments from Fr. Farren! Surely we cannot pass them over easily!

And now for a few extracts from the YOUCAT catechism:
“Upon reaching the age of reason, a Catholic is obliged to confess his serious sins. The Church urgently advises the faithful to do this at least once a year. At any rate one must go to confession before receiving Holy Communion if one has committed a serious sin …” (234)
[We might note that a relevant sentence in the main Catechism reads: “… each of the faithful is bound by an obligation faithfully to confess serious sin at least once a year …” (1457)]
“Confession is a great gift of healing that brings about closer union with the Lord, even if, strictly speaking, you do not have to go to confession …
Even the saints went to confession regularly, if possible. They needed it in order to grow in humility and charity, so as to allow themselves to be touched by God’s healing light even in the inmost recesses of their souls.” (235)
“Confession reconciles the sinner with God and the Church.
The second after absolution is like a shower after playing sports, like the fresh air after a summer storm, like waking up on a sunlit summer morning, like the weightlessness of a diver … as the lost son was received back by his father with open arms, so ‘reconciliation’ means: we are at peace with God again.” (239)

What beautiful images are captured there in that last paragraph from YOUCAT! Yes I say, let’s feel young and vibrant once again, by re-capturing those wonderful feelings of peace and tranquillity that we witnessed after Confession, maybe very many years ago, and begin once again to make it a habitual experience for the future. It is something we will never regret.
And if at this stage one has forgotten how to prepare for the sacrament of Confession, or if one has no such past experience of Confession, I suggest that rather than torturing yourself unduly, pick a quiet time to go to Confession and ask the priest to help you out; maybe even make a prior arrangement with the priest! Haven’t we all heard of lovely stories of people returning to Confession after many years’ absence? What great joy it gives to the priest who is ‘standing’ in the place of our merciful Father, who is the real confessor, confessing his love?
Happy Days!

And for those of us that may wonder if Jesus really meant us to go to Confession, it might be noted that on one of Jesus’ appearances to His disciples after rising from the dead, and having greeted them with ‘Peace be with you’, He showed them His hands and His side and said:

As the Father sent me,
so I am sending you.
[He then breathed on them and said:]
Receive the Holy Spirit.
For those whose sins you forgive,
they are forgiven;
for those whose sins you retain,
they are retained.

                                    (Jn 20: 21-23)

Question 19

How is my Prayer Life? Maybe I am too busy to bother with prayer!

Some people are wonderful prayers, despite, in many cases, their busy lives. Didn’t someone say something like ‘I must spend an hour in prayer in order to help me to cope today’? Other people are not great prayers, or don’t pray at all, probably for a variety of reasons: ‘don’t see the value of prayer’; ‘never developed the habit of prayer’; ‘I am a bad person, so prayer is out for me’; ‘I am just too busy to make time for prayer’; and so on.
Of course, prayer is very relevant and a necessity for all of us, despite our individual situations, and certainly, there is never a situation in which we are unworthy of prayer. Jesus found it necessary to pray frequently, and indeed often did for long periods, and it was not unusual for Him to go to a quiet place to pray, and did so in the early morning before His disciples surfaced, and also at night.

I had the great privilege a couple of years ago, of doing a lovely interview on prayer with Fr. Bede McGregor, a well known Dominican priest, for the Ocean FM Sunday Spirit radio programme. Here are some of the various comments on prayer which Fr. Bede made in that interview, in his beautiful soft voice:

Prayer is a terrific topic

The disciples saw Jesus pray, and asked Him: ‘Teach us to pray’. He gave them the ‘Our Father’. (Fr. Bede said some people don’t get further than ‘Our Father’ i.e. ‘Abba Father’)

Prayer is talking to the Father in total ease. An intimate relationship with the Father

Prayer is the greatest possible privilege we can have

Quoting from a spiritual writer he had recently read: ‘Prayer is more important than eating, because it keeps the soul alive. We will get a new body in the next life, but we won’t get a new soul’

Our Lady begs us to pray

Prayer is one friend talking to another. Utterly and totally at ease with God. Utterly relaxed in the presence of God

We certainly need to hear more about prayer

We all have to begin again

Prayer is responding to the love of God

Above all, don’t be discouraged

Pray as you can, not as you can’t

Be your true self – authentic – with God. Never tell a lie to God

[And finally a definition of prayer:] Prayer is the raising of the mind and heart to God, or ‘trying to do so’ - Fr. Bede quoting Cardinal Basil Hume of Westminister, on the ‘trying to do so’ aspect.

In the interview we talked about various types and forms of prayer, and we covered most of the usual ones. But not surprisingly, Fr. Bede said: ‘The most perfect prayer is praying the Holy Mass, i.e. Prayer to Christ on the Cross on Calvary.

It is noteworthy that a beautiful book on prayer, entitled Calm the Soul – a Book of Simple Wisdom and Prayer, written by The Poor Clares, Galway, and published by Hachette Books Ireland, in 2012, sold extremely well, if one is to judge from The Irish Times published list of books in their Saturday editions. For several weeks it topped its category ‘Hardback Non-fiction’. Perhaps this shows the genuine thirst for prayer among our peoples! After all we are essentially spiritual beings.
In this context it is noteworthy that the ‘slogan’ of the RTE Radio One God Slot programme is: ‘We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.’
I suggest that sums us up perfectly!

Just to finish now with a few extracts from YOUCAT:
“Prayer is turning the heart toward God. When a person prays, he enters into a living relationship with God.
Prayer is the great gate leading into faith. Someone who prays no longer lives on his own …” (469)
“We pray because we are full of an infinite longing and God has created us men for himself: ‘Our hearts are restless until they rest in you’ (St. Augustine). But we pray also because we need to …” (470)
“The Psalms, along with the Our Father, are part of the Church’s great treasury of prayers. In them the praise of God is sung in an ageless way …” (473)
[How did Jesus pray?] “Jesus’ life was one single prayer. At decisive moments (his temptation in the desert, his selection of the apostles, his death on the cross) his prayer was especially intense. Often he withdrew into solitude to pray, especially at night. Being one with the Father in the Holy Spirit – that was the guiding principle of his earthly life.” (475)
As we finish this section on prayer, your attention is drawn to various common and other prayers listed at the end of this book.

Question 20

How familiar am I with the Beatitudes / the Sermon on the Mount?

YOUCAT (paragraph 283) lists the Beatitudes as follows:

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for
righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.

Blessed are you when men revile you and
persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against
you falsely on my account.

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in
heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who
were before you.

The Beatitudes could be regarded as the ‘signposts’ for living a Christ-like life on this earth, in imitation of how Christ lived his life.
In reply to the question ‘Why are the Beatitudes so important?’, YOUCAT answers:
“Those who yearn for the kingdom of God look to Jesus’ list of priorities: the Beatitudes.
From Abraham on, God made promises to his people. Jesus takes them up, extends their application to heaven, and makes them the programme for his own life: the Son of God becomes poor so as to share our poverty; he rejoices with those who rejoice and weeps with those who weep (Rom 12: 15); he employs no violence but rather turns the other cheek (Mk 5:39); he has mercy, makes peace, and thereby shows us the sure way to heaven.” (284)

During my trip to the Holy Land in 2012, I was very privileged to stand on the Mount where Jesus uttered these Beatitudes. Fr. Benny McHale, our wonderful leader on that trip, during his homily at the Mass on the Mount, referred to the utter joy felt by two (elderly) men on different occasions in the past on the Mount: one who served Mass there and rang the bell, saying ‘it was the greatest joy of his life’; the other who actually cried, and who never thought, in his wildest dreams, when he learned about the Beatitudes as a little boy at school, that he would one day ‘stand on the spot’, where Jesus proclaimed these very Beatitudes.

Here is a brief selection of Fr. Benny’s comments (not necessarily verbatim, and certainly not complete) on the Beatitudes at that ‘spot’:

Blessed are the poor in spirit – well who are the rich in spirit? They are the proud of heart. They feel they don’t need God.

[And Fr. Benny told the story when, as a young boy, asking his father how much did a certain rich man leave, who died in their locality? With a twinkle in his eye, his father said ‘I think he left everything’. The only money you will have in heaven, is the money you sent on ahead, i.e. given to charity.]

Real riches for us, is the amount of love in our hearts, said Fr. Benny.

Blessed are those who mourn: In biblical terms this is not about mourning at funerals, but rather about those who care and get involved in their communities, their football clubs, their church, and so on.

Hunger and thirst for righteousness: This is about standing up for truth. The truth will set us free.

Blessed are the merciful: This was the greatest feature of Jesus’ life. We show mercy, simply, because God has shown mercy to us. Mercy has nothing got to do with the other person deserving mercy (he might ‘do it again’ – that’s not the point). ‘The amount we give is the amount we get back’

Blessed are the peacemakers: Well everybody can be a peacemaker. That’s our challenge.

Question 21

Am I a forgiving person? Am I patient? Do I get angry? Am I proud?

I suggest there is a fairly close connection between these four traits or characteristics. For instance, if one is a forgiving person, then I reckon that person is also likely to be patient, thus making for a positive connection between them. And furthermore, if one is forgiving and patient, it is, I suggest, much less likely that such a person gets angry easily, and still furthermore much less likely to be a proud person, but rather one who displays humility, and doesn’t stand ‘on his high horses’, as proud people usually do. So if one possesses one of these ‘good traits’ in generous measure, then the chances of being forgiving, patient, slow to anger, and humble, are probably greatly enhanced.

But if for argument sake, I am a proud person (maybe the worst of all the traits), then I reckon my door is open for all kinds of un-kindly and poor behaviour on my part. If I am really a proud person, then the chances are that I always want ‘me’ to be ‘no. 1’, always want to get my own way, and make sure I get my ‘own back’ on anyone who gets in my way or hurts me; patience in this situation would be a real sign of weakness on my part, and probably it is also essential that I get angry so that, that ‘obnoxious person’ who annoyed me, or whatever, is put ‘in his place’ once and for all. Of course, I the proud person, am really the obnoxious one.

So can one be a ‘strong’ and influential person and attract respect in society, while being forgiving, patient, very slow to anger, and displaying genuine humility? My answer is a definite ‘yes’. I feel experience will always in the long run tell one this! And importantly, that person will be enabled to live an un-agitated, peaceful, and controlled life, which is almost certain to be the opposite for the un-forgiving person.
Forgiveness, and the other good traits, are, in my book, a sign of maturity.

Anyway, enough from me. What do others say?
Here are some of the comments on Forgiveness made by Fr. Paul Farren in his book Confession – looking into the eyes of God:
“Sometimes forgiveness can be perceived as weakness. It can be seen as giving in – allowing the person who hurt you to get away with what they did. This then can be seen as very negative. When we are unable to forgive we can at times become bitter. When this happens, when we become bitter, forgiveness seems almost unobtainable. When we are bitter we are un-free. Our bitterness drains us of our positive energy. It leads to self-destruction. Bitterness leads us to live life with clinched fists rather than with open hands. Bitterness leads us to blame. We blame others for the hurt …
Often it can seem so much easier to blame than to forgive … Blaming allows us the permission to treat others in a less than Christian way in the name of justice. Blaming has our world, our society, many of our families and indeed often our own hearts paralysed.” (Page 37) [Lovely comments indeed]
Fr. Liam Lawton, in his book Where God Hides has a nice section on forgiveness:
He quotes Martin Luther King: “We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.” (Page 237)
On a visit to Robben Island , where Nelsen Mandela spent many years in prison, Fr. Liam asked the visitors’ guide, an ex-prisoner, ‘Why did you forgive?’ He answered:
“I can forgive because if I don’t it becomes my cancer, my problem, my hurt and you see, Sir, I have had enough hurt in my life. So I made a decision that I would not resort to hate, to bitterness, to revenge, and now, I am free, I am happy. I can see the world in a different way.” (Page 245)
Perhaps, that says it all!
And before leaving Where God Hides, here is a positive and consoling statement on life by Fr, Liam:
“For the journey of life is our great pilgrimage where each day we discover new blessings, new opportunities and new hiding places of our loving God.” (Page 197)

Question 22

Do I believe in Purgatory, Heaven and Hell? Do I believe in Eternity? If I were to die in the next hour, where might my journey be to?

Well, thanking God for my faith, I believe and feel positive about all of these matters, hoping though, of course, that hell won’t feature in my itinerary, but realising I must continue the good fight right to the end. But I do believe that there is a hell, basically for those who choose to go there by virtue of the type of life they live on this earth – for not doing their best to reach the required mark, as it were, having regard to all the opportunities and facilities afforded them. And remembering that ‘to whom much is given, much is expected’. Sadly, it often appears that it is the educated people (to whom much is given), who do not sufficiently capitalise on their God given talents in pursuing their spiritual wellbeing! It would be nice to think that nobody would finish up in hell!

And what is hell? At the minimum, it is a place where those who die in a ‘state out of God’s favour’ (grave sin), will go to, and where they will be separated from the ‘beatific vision’ of God for ever.

Obviously, I do believe in eternity, that is time everlasting. However, I suspect that our concept of time on this earth is different to what time means in the next life. I have a recollection of someone saying something to the effect that ‘they would get bored with all that time (eternity) on their hands’. But I suggest (without a theological basis for it), that time in eternity is probably quite different to our concept of time here! And furthermore the immense joy and peace to be had in a heavenly eternity, is, I reckon, beyond our grasp!

However, for a more theological view on time, as in eternity, here is an extract from Maryvale (Unit 2, page 44): “To God, all moments of time are present … God does not have a past or a future as we do. God lives in the eternal ‘now’ to which everything is present.”

What about purgatory? The Catechism’s statements include:
“All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.” (1030)
“The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned …” (1031)
“ … From the beginning the Church has honoured the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God. The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead …” (1032)

And furthermore regarding purgatory - which I suggest we can do in this life, and really should do rather than waiting till the next life - it is a place where God is in our sights, but coming ‘face to face’ with God would be such an awesome experience (using earthly terminology) for us, that we would not even wish to do so, until we were fully cleansed.

What do others have to say on these topics?
Fr. Paul Farren again in Confession - looking into the eyes of God: “We cannot be united with God unless we freely choose to love him. But we cannot love God if we sin gravely against him, against our neighbour or against ourselves.” (Page 16) (Fr. Paul is quoting from the Catechism,1033).
“The consequence of positively and freely choosing not to love God means being separated from God. This is hell … The existence of hell respects the gift of free will that God gives to each one of us … God allowed hell to exist because to do otherwise would have been forcing himself into the lives of those who do not want him in their lives … The presence of hell allows God to respect the decisions we make in our lives even if those decisions bring tremendous pain to God. The existence of free choice does not mean that God does not care. Rather, God is the parent who desires that his children make positive, life-giving decisions in their lives. However, God does not force those decisions. He trusts.” (Page 16)

For those that may want reassurance about the existence of another life (eternity if you wish) and about the soul being able to live separately from the body in that life, perhaps a few extracts from the book Proof of Heaven written by Dr. Eben Alexander, a brain surgeon in the USA, and published in 2012 by Simon & Schuster, in the USA, and Piatkus, in Gt. Britain, will help!
Dr Alexander was a highly competent neurosurgeon, who in his profession would not have thought too much about faith matters, rather preferring to stick to scientific aspects. Anyway, aged in his 50s, the good doctor contracted E Coli meningitis, which was most unusual for a person of his age. His sickness proceeded to the stage that he progressed into a deep coma for several days, at which stage the medical team had given up on him. But through a miracle, or otherwise, he rallied, and in due course he fully recovered without any impairment whatsoever, which again was against medical expectations, because of the extent and duration of his coma. Anyway, the substance of the book (which I understand has been a big seller ) is about what Dr. Eben’s brain (call it ‘soul’ if you wish) discovered about the outer world during those days of deep coma, about the universe, about eternity, about God’s infinite love for each one of us, and so on. The good doctor felt compelled to write his book, Proof of Heaven, so that other people would learn about his amazing discoveries. Here are a few quotes from the book:
“The physical side of the universe is as a speck of dust compared to the invisible and spiritual part.” (Page 82)
“In my past view, spiritual wasn’t a word that I would have employed during a scientific conversation. Now I believe it is a word that we cannot leave out.” (Page 82)
“None of us are ever unloved. Each and every one of us is deeply known and cared for by a creator who cherishes us beyond any ability we have to comprehend. That knowledge must no longer remain a secret.”
(Page 96)
And towards the end of the book, Dr. Alexander quotes Albert Einstein as follows:
“I must be willing to give up what I am in order to become what I will be.” (Page 196)
Yes, interesting observations for sure!
So what does the Catechism say about these matters relating to the next life?
This is what YOUCAT says about heaven:
“Heaven is God’s milieu, the dwelling place of the angels and saints, and the goal of creation. With the words “heaven and earth” we designate the whole of created reality.
Heaven is not a place in the universe. It is a condition in the next life. Heaven is where God’s will is done without any resistance. Heaven happens when life is present in its greatest intensity and blessedness – a kind of life we do not find on earth … [Heaven is] ‘what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him’ (1Cor 2: 9).” (52)
And in a later paragraph, YOUCAT says:
“Heaven is the endless moment of love. Nothing more separates us from God, whom our soul loves and has sought our whole life long. Together with all the angels and saints we will be able to rejoice forever in and with God …” (158)

And on purgatory, YOUCAT says:
“Purgatory, often imagined as a place, is actually a condition. Someone who dies in God’s grace (and therefore at peace with God and man) but who still needs purification before he can see God face to face is in purgatory …” (159)
And YOUCAT tells us we can help the departed in purgatory:
“… since all those who are baptised into Christ form one communion and are united with one another, the living can also help the souls of the faithful departed in purgatory … Through our fasting, prayers and good works, but especially through the celebration of Holy Eucharist, we can obtain grace for the departed.” (160)

And what is hell? Here’s YOUCAT again:
“Hell is the condition of everlasting separation from God, the absolute absence of love.
Someone who consciously and with full consent dies in serious sin, without repenting, and refuses God’s merciful, forgiving love forever, excludes himself from communion with God and the saints. Our freedom makes that decision possible …” (161)
YOUCAT asks the question ‘But if God is love, how can there be a hell?’, and then answers: “God does not damn men. Man himself is the one who refuses God’s merciful love and voluntarily deprives himself of (eternal) life by excluding himself from communion with God …” (162)

Question 23

What changes might I need to make in my life to answer to a loving God the opening 64 Million Dollar Question: What is Life All About?

Well I cannot answer the above question for you good readers (and, by the way, my most grateful thanks if you have persevered with the book up to now); I can really only answer this question for myself, and I certainly won’t bore you with my answer.

Hopefully, however, what has been written in these pages will provide each one of us with the stimulus to look at our lives, and consider possible appropriate changes thereto! Thus if we are in the category of persons who have given up on the practice of one’s faith, or almost given up on it, perhaps we might now have an inclination to give some serious thought about the situation for the future! Maybe we are somebody who never practised the faith, or indeed any religion for that matter, and maybe we are also looking for more ‘meaning’ in life, well hopefully what appeared in this book has been of some help! Maybe we were never baptised into the Christian faith, and thus are possibly interested in pursuing this matter! Maybe we have been hostile towards the Church founded by Jesus, or maybe we have had doubts about the authenticity of that Church; well perhaps we now find that the basis for that hostility or doubt, is not as well founded as we thought!

Whatever situation we find ourselves in; the ‘here and now’ is probably always the most opportune time to do a ‘re-think’ and take some action. And let us remember that putting things off to the ‘eleventh hour’ may not be a good idea! So why not act now and pursue ‘real’ happiness and riches? Yes, whatever situation we find ourselves in, let’s wish one another: a life packed with ‘real riches’.

What I would like now to do to finish this chapter, is to briefly mention some of the great people I have encountered in my life, but without generally mentioning any names. I am compelled to say that the really great people that I have encountered, are those many people who voluntarily give generously of their time, talents, and often of their resources, to serving their local communities, schools, parishes, churches, sporting clubs, scouts, and also those involved in various organisations in order to comfort the poor and the afflicted, both at home and abroad, and also in other organisations involved in honouring life in all its stages, in honouring freedom of expression, freedom of conscience and of religious practice, and so on.
These people are the great ‘doers’ in society, and rarely will one hear them cynically complaining about ‘this, that and so forth’. These people are the heroes, who work and fight for real human rights. And let me include in this category the very vast majority of our great priests and religious, and many other faith personnel also, who give generously and tirelessly of their time and talents in service of their people and communities, and do so for very little financial reward. They surely deserve to have our sincere thanks, appreciation and support.

I have encountered many great people, of the type we have just been referring to, in many situations, including during my interviewing for the Ocean FM Sunday Spirit radio programme. They included individuals in their own rights, community and parish representatives, and those of various charitable and other organisations, representatives of bodies upholding various human rights of the type referred to in the previous paragraph, and also politicians ‘who were prepared to stand up and be counted’, and also several great clergy people. I learned a great deal from these people, and I suspect that the Ocean FM Sunday Spirit listeners will also have had a similar experience. A very big ‘thank you’ to all of you great volunteers!
I will just very briefly mention one of these interviewees, because of two things he felt very strongly about and which are very much in keeping with this book – I refer to Fr. Daniel O’Leary, ‘a salt of the earth’ priest from Kerry, who spent much of his working life in the UK, and now in his autumn years, but still working hard, and in popular demand for retreats / reflections in Ireland, and elsewhere. The two matters I refer to are: (I) how truly divine we humans are, and (II) how God is a God of great love.
Regarding the first, Fr. Daniel says ‘the more human we are the more divine we are’, and this includes doing the washing-up in the kitchen. And this of course arises from the fact that Jesus who is God, became one of us. Yes Fr. Daniel is very strong on our divinity. [Our divinity is (ought to be) ‘life-changing’ for us] Regarding the God of love, Fr Daniel doesn’t any longer believe in that old-fashioned notion of a harsh God who remembers our sins; rather he sees Him as a beautiful God who ‘draws us out’ like a loving human mother and father who draw out their young child, who is beginning to kick and gesticulate with its feet and little arms. What a lovely image! Yes Fr. Daniel said, ‘we are all shining like the sun inside’. This too is the type of God, and the type of humanity we encountered in this book. Surely this is real positive thinking, and gives us great hope for the future, and I suggest an invitation to us all to ‘wipe the slate clean’, as it were, if our past has been a bit sullied! God forgets our sins.

Yes the merciful God forgets our sins.

And two questions ‘out of the blue’, perhaps to help us take a dislike to sin:

Did my sins have a part to play in Jesus’ torment on the cross? And

Do my present sins still cause suffering to Jesus?

Well the Church’s teaching is a ‘yes’ to both these questions. And St Francis of Assisi doesn’t ‘put a tooth in it’, as quoted in the Catechism (598): “Nor did demons crucify him; it is you who have crucified him and crucify him still, when you delight in your vices and sins.”

Question 24

A Final General Question: Does the Practice of Religion confer any benefits (physical or otherwise) on us? – well consider the research!

A well-known psychiatrist in Ireland, Professor Patricia Casey, Professor of Psychiatry at University College, Dublin, and Consultant Psychiatrist at the Mater Hospital, Dublin, and who is author of several books and a contributor to medical and other written media, has carried out very interesting research in recent years concerning the benefits or otherwise of practising religion. She was commissioned by the Iona Institute, Dublin, to carry out this research. Her research was mainly related to the outcome of relevant studies already undertaken in the United States, but also included some studies in Europe. I had the great privilege of interviewing Professor Casey for the Ocean FM Sunday Spirit radio programme some two years ago, and here is a summary of her main comments during that interview:

The objective of the research was to ascertain what are the benefits, if any, of practising religion (i.e. going to church, reading the Bible, praying)? Does such practice help people psychologically to cope with life; both people with mental health problems and people without mental health problems?

The main results of the research were that the practice of religion had the following outcomes:

Reduced suicide at national level.

Helps marriage – makes marriage more stable.

Better physical health.

Reduced teenage experimentation with drugs, alcohol and sex.

Reduced depression – less mental illness (but obviously not a ‘silver bullet’ solution in all situations).

Can prolong life by up to 3 to 4 years.

Has the same positive effect as physical exercise in prolonging life.

Also a study published in the British Medical Journal in the fairly recent past, showed that blood pressure dropped, and the heart rate slowed, and the respiration rate slowed, during the recitation of prayers and mantras.

It appears the benefits of religion work on the immune system.

75% of the medical schools in the United States have modules in their syllabi on religion / spirituality / healing. No such modules are included in the syllabi in Irish medical schools.

Yes I suggest the foregoing positive outcomes of religious practice are impressive in enhancing life on this earth. And as somebody said, somewhat jokingly, the benefits in the next life are just ‘out of this world’. Perhaps a suitable note on which to conclude this book!

Thank you all.

Year of Faith Prayers

The Diocese of Elphin, Ireland, Family Prayer for the Year of Faith (composed by Fr. John Cullen):

May the beauty of God surprise us.

May the presence of God guide us.

May the word of God inspire us.

May the dream of God enfold us.

May the passion of God love us.

May the wisdom of God instruct us.

May the call of God invite us.

May the healing of God hold us.

May the wonder of God humble us.

May the peace of God surround us.

May the love of God renew us.

May the compassion of God strengthen us.

May the forgiveness of God reconcile us.

May the mercy of God mould us.

May the friendship of God bless us.

May the truth of God challenge us.

May we delight in ‘God With Us’ always. Amen.

Year of Faith celebration prayer for St. Patrick’s, Strandhill, Sligo, Ireland (composed by Canon Niall Ahern):

God Our Father, who created the universe and are the origin of all life, be near us during this Year of Faith as we pray.
Lord I believe – Help my unbelief.

God, only son made man, who revealed to us how to dwell upon the earth, uplift us as we strive to love you and love our neighbour.

God, present to us under the power of the Spirit, make real for us an eternal vision that we might witness to everlasting life in all we undertake.

Father, Son and Spirit, hear our prayer and grant that through your loving care, we may cease from anxiety and live with grace and peace. Amen.

Year of Faith prayer for a ‘Stronger Faith’ from the Franciscan Friars, The Abbey, Francis Street, Galway, Ireland:

Most High, glorious God,

Enlighten the darkness of my heart

and give me true FAITH,

certain HOPE,

and perfect CHARITY,

sense and knowledge,

Lord that I may carry out

Your holy and true command.

Standard Prayers

The Apostles’ Creed:

Please refer to section 8 (Question 8) of this book.

…….

The Sign of the Cross:

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

…….

The Morning Offering:

O my God I offer thee,

all my thoughts, words, actions,

prayers and sufferings of this day,

in union with the intentions

of your Sacred Heart. Amen

…….

The Lord’s Prayer:

Our Father who art in heaven,

hallowed be Thy name;

Thy kingdom come;

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread;

and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those

who trespass against us;

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil. Amen

…….

Prayer to my Guardian Angel:

O Angel of God, my guardian dear,

to whom God’s love commits me here,

ever this day be at my side

to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen

…….

Hail Mary / Holy Mary:

Hail Mary, full of grace! The Lord is with thee;

blessed art thou among women,

and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pray for us sinners, now

and at the hour of our death. Amen

…….

Glory Be:

Glory be to the Father,

and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning, is now,

and ever shall be, world without end. Amen

…….

The Night Offering:

Jesus, Mary and Joseph,

I give you my heart and my soul.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph,

assist me now in my last agony.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, may I

breathe forth my soul in peace with you.

[Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit,

Lord Jesus receive my soul.]

…….

Act of Contrition:

O my God, I am heartily sorry,

for having offended you;

and I detest my sins above every other evil,

because they displease you my God

who art infinitely good,

and deserving of all my love;

and I firmly resolve with the help of your holy grace,

never more to offend you and to amend my life. Amen

…….

Grace before and after meals:

Bless us O Lord, and these thy gifts,

which of thy bounty, we are about to receive,

through Christ Our Lord. Amen

…

We give thee thanks, O Almighty God,

for these thy gifts which we have received,

and for the people who prepared them and served them,

through Christ Our Lord. Amen

And we thank you Lord for the friendships we have made.

The Angelus:

The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary,

and she conceived by the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary/ Holy Mary

Behold the handmaid of the Lord.

Be it done to me according to thy Word.

Hail Mary / Holy Mary

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt amongst us.

Hail Mary / Holy Mary

Pray for us O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Pour forth we beseech thee, O Lord,

Thy grace into our hearts,

that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel,

may by His passion and cross be brought

to the glory of His Resurrection,

through the same Christ our Lord. Amen

…….

Hail Holy Queen:

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy,

hail our life, our sweetness, and our hope!

To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve;

to thee do we send up our sighs,

mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.

Turn then, O most gracious advocate,

thine eyes of mercy towards us,

and after this our exile, show unto us

the Blessed Fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary,

pray for us, O holy Mother of God,

that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen

Memorare:

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary,

that never was it known, that anyone who fled to thy protection,

implored thy help or sought thy intercession was left unaided.

Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O virgin of virgins my Mother.

To thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful.

O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions,

but in thy clemency, hear and answer me. Amen

…….

Mysteries of the Rosary:

Joyful Mysteries

The Annunciation

The Visitation

The Nativity

The Presentation

The Finding of the child Jesus in the Temple

(Usually said on Monday and Saturday)

Sorrowful Mysteries

The Agony in the Garden

The Scourging at the Pillar

The Crowning with Thorns

The Carrying of the Cross

The Crucifixion

(Usually said on Tuesday and Friday)

Glorious Mysteries

The Resurrection

The Ascension

The Descent of the Holy Spirit

The Assumption

The Crowning of Mary

(Usually said on Sunday and Wednesday)

Mysteries of Light

The Baptism of our Lord

The Wedding Feast at Cana

Proclamation of God’s Kingdom

The Transfiguration of our Lord

The Institution of the Eucharist

(Usually said on Thursday)

Bibliography:

Catechism and Related Material:

Catechism of the Catholic Church. Dublin, Veritas Publications Ireland, 1994.

[Please note that a slightly revised edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church was brought out in 1997, and is available online at the Vatican website. However, none of the revisions affect the quotations from the Catechism used in this book]

Compendium – Catechism of the Catholic Church. Dublin, Veritas Publications, Ireland, 2006.

Jerusalem Bible, The. London, Darton, Longman and Todd, 1966.

Maryvale Institute. Certificate in Studies in the Catechism, Unit 1 and Unit 2. Birmingham, United Kingdom. Dublin, Aid to the Church in Need (Ireland), 2003.

YOUCAT, Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church. London, Catholic Truth Society / Ignatius Press, 2011.

Other:

Alexander, Eben. Proof of Heaven. New York, Simon & Schuster; London, Piatkus, 2012.

Bible Alive, Monthly Reflections (Easter 2013), UK, Alive Publishing, 2013.

Farren, Paul. Confession – Looking into the eyes of God. Dublin, The Columba Press, 2013.

Lawton, Liam. Where God Hides – A Journey of Divine Awakening. Dublin, Hachette Books Ireland, 2012.

Poor Clares, The. Calm the Soul – A Book of Simple Wisdom and Prayer. Dublin, Hachette Books Ireland, 2012.