God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. CCC1, Week 1 – Why Did God Create us?

He invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, his adopted children and thus heirs of his blessed life. The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God CCC 27 (Compenidum #2)

Ways of Coming to Know God Created in God's image and called to know and love him, the person who seeks God discovers certain ways of coming to know him. These are also called proofs for the existence of God, twofold point of departure 1. the physical world 2. the human person CCC 31-33, Comp 3

St. Thomas Aquinas and the Five Ways to Prove God exists

From the world - the five proofs for the existence of God: 1.movement and motion– unmoved mover 2.becoming – the uncaused cause 3.Contingency 4.The world's order and beauty 5.one can come to a knowledge of God as the origin and the end of the worldniverse.

2 nd Point of Departure is to know God exists from the Human Person written in our heart God and Dog

God can be known with certainty from the created world by the natural light of human reason. However, man experiences many difficulties in coming to know God by the light of reason alone So God has also revealed them to us through Scripture and the Apostolic Tradition WE speak about God using human language, even though that is limited CCC 36-40, Comp 4 & 5 The Knowledge of God according to the Church

Revelation Revelation By natural reason man can know God with certainty from creation and from our heart. But in order to ensure that all men come to know him, God has revealed himself and given himself to man. Revelation = unveiling CCC 50, Com 6 This order of knowledge man cannot possibly arrive at by his own powers is this divine Revelation. God tells us about his inner life and his divine plan for us

God reveals his plan of “loving goodness” God reveals his plan of “loving goodness”  God wants to communicate his own divine life to the men he freely created, in order to adopt them as his sons in his only-begotten Son, making us “children of God”.  By revealing himself God wishes to make human beings them capable of responding to him, and of knowing him, and of loving him far beyond their own natural capacity.  God reveals by deeds and words CCC 52-3, Comp 6

Tradition = tradere = to hand down living transmission Tradition = tradere = to hand down living transmission God arranged that the things he had once revealed for the salvation of all peoples should remain in their entirety, throughout the ages, and be transmitted to all generations. The Good News of Jesus, the Gospel was handed on in two ways: —orally and —in writing This living, oral transmission, accomplished in the Holy Spirit, is called Tradition ; it is distinct from Sacred Scripture, though closely connected to it. Through Tradition, "the Church, in her doctrine, life, and worship perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that she is, all that she believes. CCC 74-78, Com 11-13

 The Church's Magisterium exercises the authority it holds from Christ when it defines dogmas  Dogmas are truths contained in divine Revelation that light up the path of faith  Dogmas help us by helping us know our faith and morals  Many times it is the belief in dogmas that define the difference between religions  Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, and the Magisterium are inter-connected: each contributes to the salvation of souls. Dogmas = truths of the faith

To believe in God alone Faith is first of all a personal adherence of man to God. At the same time, and inseparably, it is a free assent to the whole truth that God has revealed. Faith is a personal act which is embedded in our own understanding of religion. Belief in God is a free choice. It is an act of fundamental trus

Faith By faith, man completely submits his intellect and his will to God. With his whole being man gives his assent to God the revealer. Sacred Scripture calls this the "the obedience of faith.“ To obey (from the Latin ob-audire, to "hear or listen to"),to submit freely to the word that has been heard CCC , Comp 25 & 26

What is a Creed? Creeds are a brief summary statement of the principal truths of the faith Examples would be the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed. The word “Creed,” comes from the Latin word Credo, meaning “I believe,” with which the Creed begins. Creeds serve as the first point of reference for catechesis CCC 187-8, Com 33-34

Catechesis is handing on the Faith To adults To children To converts Catechism – Greek “to speak and echo” Questions and answers

First Universal Catechism St. Augustine AD Council of Trent AD Vatican Council