Chapter 1: Faith and Revelation

Chapter 1: Faith and Revelation
THE BLESSED TRINITY and Our Christian Vocation

1. Introductory Lesson (for first day of class)
Syllabus Cycle of instructional lessons Instructional policy Materials Homework: Read through God in Search of Man (pp. 2–6)

2. God and Man in Search of Each Other (pp. 2–6)
ANTICIPATORY SET Lead a class discussion to compare the texts from St. Columbanus and de Caussade on what each says about the respective abilities of faith and reason to know the nature of God.

BASIC QUESTIONS Why is it difficult both to know about God and to know God personally? How are we able to know God? KEY IDEAS It is difficult to know God’s attributes because his essence infinitely exceeds human intellectual capacity, and it is difficult to know God as a Person because we cannot encounter him with our senses. God has searched out each person, offering knowledge about him and friendship with him prior to his or her advance toward him.

GUIDED EXERCISE Have each student work with a partner to “unpack” the opening sentence of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in terms of what it says about the inner nature of God, God’s motivation for creating human beings, and man’s final end. 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.

GUIDED EXERCISE Have each student complete a focused reading of the paragraph “The commandments were . . .” (p. 2) using the following question: How is each of the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity evident in the plan of salvation?

GUIDED EXERCISE Have each student work with a partner to develop a philosophical argument for the existence of God based on the sidebar “The Human Desire to Know God” (p. 4).

FOCUS QUESTIONS Why is it difficult to know about God? Human intellects cannot grasp the ideas we have about him adequately. As St. Thomas Aquinas said, “Since our intellect does not adequately grasp the divine essence in any of the conceptions which the names applied to God signify, the definitions of these terms cannot fully define what is in God.” Give an example of an idea people have about God that does not fully define God. God is immortal, which means he cannot die. This does not fully explain the nature of God’s life.

FOCUS QUESTIONS Why is it difficult to know God personally? He is unknowable by the human senses since he is pure spirit. How does the text explain St. Columbanus’s explanation of the knowledge of God? Intellectual knowledge of God is not enough. What freedom does God give to man? He gives the freedom to know, love, and serve him or to reject him.

FOCUS QUESTIONS How did Adam and Eve exercise their freedom? They chose disobedience over obedience and severed their relationship with God. How is Original Sin evident in the life of each person, even today? It is evident in the tendency to sin, weakened will and intellect, sickness, pain, and death. How are the Ten Commandments an act of mercy? They provide a blueprint for correct moral choices; by them people can more easily know God’s will and differentiate good from evil actions.

GUIDED EXERCISE Have each student read silently “Do You Know, or Do You Really Know?” (p. 5), and then conduct a think/pair/share using the following question: How does the story of Alice and Teresa illustrate—when it comes to persons, whether the person is a human being or God—we need both saber and conocer?

FOCUS QUESTIONS What gift did God give man to place him above all creation? God gave man free will and an immortal soul. What does it mean to say, in the human‑divine friendship, God chooses man first? Since he created man, God’s desire for friendship with each person precedes any desire for friendship with him. How has God revealed himself to people? God has revealed himself in creation; in Divine Revelation; and, most of all, through his Son.

CLOSURE Have each student write a paragraph explaining the two ways people are called to know God based on the fact he is a Person.

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Study Questions 1, 5 (p. 37) Practical Exercises 1–2 (p. 38) Workbook Questions 1–12 Read ”Where Can God Be Found?” through “Reasoning God's Existence” (pp. 7–11)

ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Have each student free write for five minutes about ways God has personally revealed himself to him or her. If a student does not think God has revealed himself personally, ask the student to write about how God could reveal himself in such a way the student would be sure it is God.

3. Natural Faith and Natural Knowledge of God (pp. 7–11)
ANTICIPATORY SET Have the students brainstorm things they believe to be true but they have never verified by direct observation or personal knowledge. List a number of these facts or truths on the board. (See page 38, the response to Practical Exercise 3, for examples.) Ask the students why they believe these things to be true. Explain most of the facts they have learned have been accepted on a kind of faith.

BASIC QUESTIONS What is natural faith? Can a person know God exists through the use of human reason? KEY IDEAS Much of what is known about the world is through natural faith. That is, one knows by believing what trustworthy authority reveals. God’s existence can be known through the exercise of human reason as St. Thomas Aquinas showed, for example, through movement, causation, and design.

GUIDED EXERCISE Conduct a think/pair/share using the following question: What is the connection between natural and supernatural faith?

FOCUS QUESTIONS What is natural faith? It is belief in the testimony of a person because of confidence in the person who said it. What determines the strength of one’s assent to natural faith? Strength is determined by the wisdom and integrity of the person, tested by experience. Consistently true statements reinforce natural faith; falsehood can weaken natural faith. What experience does each person have to demonstrate he or she was made for God? Nothing in the world completely satisfies anyone.

FOCUS QUESTIONS How did Pope Benedict XVI explain Plato’s search for ultimate truth? Nostalgia (or a longing) makes each person seek God. Why is science unable to discover something like a mother’s love? Though a mother’s love for her child is real, it cannot be directly observed or studied with scientific methods. Science only examines an observable reality. What are the tools used to search for God? Faith and reason are used and applied to people’s experience of the Divine.

GUIDED EXERCISE Conduct a think/pair/share using the following question: Why was St. Thomas Aquinas called the “dumb ox” by his classmates?

FOCUS QUESTIONS Why is natural faith necessary for learning and progress? If every claim had to be verified by every person, no one could learn very much. Under what conditions is it reasonable to trust other people’s conclusions? A person can be trusted when there is sufficient reason to trust and little reason to doubt what he or she says.

FOCUS QUESTIONS Why should a conversation about the existence of God begin with reason, not faith? While the Scriptures and Church teachings are solid grounds for knowing about God, they are not self‑evident sources of authority. On the other hand, reason is a way to the truth that every person shares in common. Why is philosophical knowledge about God not enough for people? People were made to experience and love God, which exceeds mere rational knowledge. God’s interaction is personal. The Creator loves his creatures who have been made in his image.

GUIDED EXERCISE Have each student work with a partner to complete the following table about three of St. Thomas Aquinas’s arguments for the existence of God. Name of Argument Essence of Argument First Mover First Cause Grand Architect

GUIDED EXERCISE Have each student work with a partner to complete the following table about three of St. Thomas Aquinas’s arguments for the existence of God. Name of Argument Essence of Argument First Mover Since everything is moved by something, there must be something that moves all things without itself being moved. First Cause Since everything has a cause, there must be something that causes all things without itself being caused. Grand Architect Since everything in the universe shows purpose—even things without intelligence and consciousness—there must a designer behind all things.

GUIDED EXERCISE Have each student free write for two minutes using the following prompt: Based on the hints from Sacred Scripture as quoted in the sidebar “Seeing God Face‑to‑Face” (p. 11), what can be glimpsed about the vision of God?

CLOSURE Have each student write a paragraph explaining one of St. Thomas’s arguments for the existence of God.

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Study Questions 2–4 (p. 37) Practical Exercises 3–4 (p. 38) Workbook Questions 13–20 Read “Revelation” through “An Encounter with Jesus Christ” (pp. 12– 18)

ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Have each student free write for five minutes about what he or she thinks St. Augustine meant by his famous saying and if he or she believes it is true: You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.

4. The Revelation of Christ in the Scriptures and in the Life of the Church (pp. 12–18)
ANTICIPATORY SET Remind the students a type is a person, place, thing, or event in the Old Testament that foreshadows something in the New Testament or the Church. Have the students brainstorm examples of types of Christ and his saving work in the Old Testament.

BASIC QUESTIONS How did God reveal himself in the Old Testament? Who is the fullness of God’s Revelation? How is Christ present today? KEY IDEAS God revealed himself to his Chosen People and promised a savior in the Old Testament. Christ is the fullness of God’s Revelation, to which people have access through grace and faith. Christ is present in his Church; in the Sacraments, especially in the Eucharist; in the liturgies; in his Word; in our prayer; and in the example of his followers.

FOCUS QUESTIONS What is the most basic question that should be asked about Jesus Christ? How can one know with certainty he is truly the Son of God? What caused the Apostles to accept Christ as the Son of God? Their faith was based both on their personal experience with Christ and on grace, by which God revealed this to them.

FOCUS QUESTIONS What is Divine (or supernatural) Revelation? God makes himself known beyond the natural capacity to know him through reason. What does it mean to say the Incarnation made the face of God visible? In becoming man, God the Son took on a human nature, which includes a body. Because Christ is one divine Person with two natures—one human and one divine—when anyone would see the face of Christ, he or she saw the face of God. What did Pope John Paul II say about Christ in the Scriptures? The Sacred Scriptures are permeated with the face of Christ, which was veiled in the Old Testament and fully revealed in the New Testament.

GUIDED EXERCISE Have each student work with a partner to create a bullet-point summary of what they consider to be the five most important points of the section “Divine Revelation in the Old Testament” (p. 12).

FOCUS QUESTIONS What is grace? It is the free and undeserved gift from God that enables people to respond to their vocation to become his adopted children. What is faith? It is the supernatural assent of the intellect through which one accepts, trusts, and believes in the truth of Divine Revelation. How is Christ present in his Church? The Church is the Mystical Body of Christ, in which Christ is the head and the People of God are the members.

GUIDED EXERCISE Have each student review the section “How Christ Is Present Among Us” (pp. 14–18) and briefly list the ways people can encounter Christ.

FOCUS QUESTIONS What does it mean to say the Sacraments are efficacious signs of grace? Each Sacrament symbolizes a supernatural action that is made effective in the soul. For example, Baptism is a symbol of washing, which “washes away” actual sins and Original Sin. What does it mean to say Christ is the principal minister of a Sacrament? The effect of a Sacrament is brought about by Christ through the human minister.

FOCUS QUESTIONS How is Christ especially present in the Eucharist? Christ is both the priest and the victim in the Eucharist, and his presence remains in the consecrated species. How did the disciples on the road to Emmaus recognize Christ? They recognized him in the breaking of the bread. Extension: The breaking of the bread was used by the early Church to mean the Mass. What effects do personal feelings or beliefs have on the presence of Christ in the Mass? They have none. He is present no matter how each person feels or believes about the Mass.

GUIDED EXERCISE Conduct a think/pair/share using the following question: Why can every Mass be a great opportunity to encounter Christ?

FOCUS QUESTIONS What determines the extent to which each person encounters Christ in the Mass? Each person’s disposition determines that. The more one seeks Christ in faith, the more he or she will encounter him in the Sacraments. How does a person prepare to have a good disposition at Mass? He or she keeps the soul in the state of grace and actively seeks Christ.

FOCUS QUESTIONS How is Christ present in Sacred Scripture? God the Holy Spirit is the primary author of Sacred Scripture, and both the Old and New Testaments speak of Christ. How does each person meet Christ in the Scriptures? He or she reads them prayerfully with faith, entering into them with heart and mind. What is prayer? Prayer is the lifting of one’s heart and mind to God. How much should a person pray according to St. Paul? Every person should pray constantly.

FOCUS QUESTIONS What are the official, daily prayers of the Church? They are the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours. What is the value of memorized prayers? They facilitate conversation with God and allow people to pray communally with each other. What is spontaneous prayer? It is speaking with God using one’s own words. What is mental prayer (or meditation)? It is unspoken, informal, and spontaneous prayer to God. Extension: It is often focused on a spiritual reading.

FOCUS QUESTIONS What difficulty might a person encounter with memorized prayers, and how might it be overcome? Memorized prayers can be said while the mind wanders. However, consciously recited, this prayer can help overcome distractions and reach a deeper communion with God. How do Christ’s followers enable others to see Christ? Others will be able to see the face of Christ in them. How do Christ’s followers obscure the face of Christ? By not imitating Christ, they damage people’s perception of the Faith by their poor examples.

CLOSURE Have each student write a paragraph summarizing how God has revealed Christ to the world.

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Study Questions 6–12 (p. 37) Practical Exercise 5 (p. 38) Workbook Questions 21–33 Read “Effects of the Encounter” through “The Beginning of Faith” (pp. 18–23)

ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Have each student free write about one of the ways Christ is present in the world today and how he or she might get to know Christ better in this particular way.

5. Effects of the Encounter and the Beginning of Faith (pp. 18–23)
ANTICIPATORY SET Lead a class discussion to compare the texts from St. Columbanus and de Caussade on what each says about the respective abilities of faith and reason to know the nature of God.

BASIC QUESTIONS What is required to accept Christ’s invitation to happiness and eternal life? What is the difference between objective morality and moral relativism? What is the essence of the moral law? Why is the moral law essential to Christianity? KEY IDEAS Christ’s invitation to share in his life in this world and in the next requires both a faith‑filled response and a living of that faith by using our freedom to do good. The moral law is the standard of human behavior established by God and taught by the Church. Objective standards of morality are opposed to moral relativism, which claims that moral standards are subjective and may vary according to situation and personal opinion. The moral law is not simply about rules but more importantly about how best to love God and our neighbor in thought, word, and deed. Christianity is about holiness, and good moral behavior is essential to attaining holiness.

FOCUS QUESTIONS What is morality and moral law? Morality refers to the standards by which we judge actions to be good or evil. Moral law refers to the standards of human behavior that were established by God and are taught by the Catholic Church.

GUIDED EXERCISE Put the students into groups of three or four and assign each group one of the five “For Discussion” questions. One student in each group should be the moderator of the group, another the recorder, and a third the presenter. Give the groups three to five minutes to discuss their question then call on the presenters to briefly share responses.

CLOSURE Have the students write a one-sentence answer for each of the three Basic Questions of this lesson.

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Study Questions 1–12 (p. 27) Practical Exercise 2 (p. 29) Workbook Questions 1–7 Read “Characteristics of the Moral Law” and Supplementary Reading 2 (pp. 6–8, 20)

ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Ask the students to write three questions about things they did not understand about the moral law in this lesson. Spend a few minutes sharing the questions and possible answers.

ANTICIPATORY SET Incorporate Christ’s encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well (cf. Jn 4: 1–42) into the class’s opening prayer.

BASIC QUESTIONS What is the effect of an encounter with Christ? What are the first effects of faith? KEY IDEAS An encounter with Christ through faith transforms a person into a follower of Christ as evidenced in the lives of Sts. Peter and Paul. Faith is first received from others and for others; it is then verified by one’s own experience before coming alive as one lives in communion with the Church.

FOCUS QUESTIONS What is the effect of an encounter with Christ? It transforms in ways sometimes perceptible and at other times imperceptible. How was St. Peter transformed by an encounter with Christ? When Christ said, “Follow me,” St. Peter left everything behind to follow him, eventually becoming the Head of the Church. How was St. Paul transformed by an encounter with Christ? He went from a vehement persecutor of the followers of Christ to a fervent Christian.

GUIDED EXERCISE Have each student complete the following table to articulate the parallels between Bartimaeus’s encounter with Christ and one’s own. Bartimaeus’s Encounter with Christ Our Encounter with Christ

Bartimaeus’s Encounter with Christ Our Encounter with Christ Bartimaeus was a beggar who could do nothing on his own. Everything one has comes from God; people are beggars who must ask God for everything. Bartimaeus was blind. People are spiritually blind. People tried to discourage Bartimaeus from following Christ. People are distracted from following Christ by others and things. Bartimaeus threw off his mantle, sprang up, and went to Christ. People must get rid of anything that weighs them down so they are free to go to Christ. Bartimaeus asked Christ for sight. Christ gives the grace of faith to see. The first thing Bartimaeus saw was Christ. With faith, people can suddenly see Christ in creation, in the Church, in the Sacraments, in Scripture, and in other people. Christ told Bartimaeus to go on his way; instead, he followed Christ on his way, the primitive name for the Church. People are to follow Christ in union with his Church, The Way.

FOCUS QUESTIONS What are the three stages of the beginning of faith identified by Pope Benedict XVI? Faith is first received from others and for others, verified by one’s own experience, and finally comes alive as he or she lives in communion with the Church. What does it mean to say faith in God is received from others and for others? It means the gift of faith is received through contact with a person of faith and that faith is to be given to others.

FOCUS QUESTIONS What is the baptismal vocation of each Christian? It is to seek personal holiness and carry on the prophetic mission of Christ, in other words, to bring Christ into the lives of those he or she encounters. What quality in a person makes it possible to bring the Faith to others? Personal sanctity or holiness makes it possible. What does it mean to say faith is verified by personal experience? When a person lives the Faith, his or her inner experience demonstrates the Faith is true.

FOCUS QUESTIONS What does the word correspond mean with respect to a person’s faith experience? Derived from the Latin correspondere, it means a mutual response or to be in conformity or agreement with. The Christian’s lived experience verifies beyond a doubt the faith he or she received from another is true. The virtue of faith answers the expectations of the heart and mind when a person responds to its demands. How does the experience of the Samaritan townspeople illustrate faith is verified by personal experience? Initially, the townspeople believed the woman at the well because of her reputation. Later, after they had spent two days with Christ himself, they said, “We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.” In other words, their experience told them the Faith was true.

GUIDED EXERCISE Have each student read silently “Faith Calls . . .” (p. 22), and then have each student work with a partner to summarize each of these three points in one sentence.

FOCUS QUESTIONS To what extent can faith be lived purely as an individual? Faith needs to be lived in communion with others who have faith. Outside the communion of the Church, faith can wither and die. This is why the early Christians “devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). What does communion in the Church mean? It means an interdependence of all the members of the Church centered on and united in Christ.

GUIDED EXERCISE Have each student complete a focused reading on the paragraph “Pope Benedict XVI also . . .” and the following quote (p. 23) using the following question: What is the relationship between the Faith, personal experience, and the meaning of life according to Pope Benedict XVI?

CLOSURE Have each student write a paragraph summarizing the three initial effects faith has in the life of a believer according to Pope Benedict XVI.

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Study Questions 13–16 (p. 37) Workbook Questions 34–36 Read “A Faith Professed” through “The Deposit of Faith” (pp. 24–28)

ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Have each student free write about his or her own experience of the meaning or meaninglessness of life with respect to the question of God’s existence.

7. Divine Revelation in Sacred Tradition and Scripture (pp. 24–28)
ANTICIPATORY SET Explain from time to time the media announces the discovery of some “lost Gospel” book about the life of Christ. These books were by and large known to the early Christians who discarded them as inauthentic. Read to the students the following paraphrased excerpt from The First Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ (cf. 19:22–24), and then lead a class discussion about why the early Church might suspect this “Gospel” could not be authentic. Another time, when the Lord Jesus was coming home in the evening with Joseph, he met a boy, who ran so hard against him, that he threw him down; to whom the Lord Jesus said, as thou hast thrown me down, so shalt thou fall, nor ever rise. And that moment the boy fell down and died.

BASIC QUESTIONS What is the Deposit of Faith? What is Sacred Tradition? What is Sacred Scripture? How did the early Church decide which early Christian writings are authentically scriptural? How does the Church interpret the Scriptures? KEY IDEAS The Deposit of Faith is contained in Sacred Scripture and Tradition, which has been handed down in the Church from the time of the Apostles. Sacred Tradition consists of the truths of the faith handed down by Christ to the Apostles. Sacred Scripture is a collection of books and letters the Church venerates as the Word of God. They are inspired by God and, thus, are inerrant. To be accepted as authentic, the books of Sacred Scripture had to be judged by the Church as apostolic, orthodox, inspired, and liturgical. The books of the Bible are authentically interpreted by the Church with the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

FOCUS QUESTIONS What is a creed (or profession of faith)? It is a statement that articulates what a person or group believes to be true. The word creed comes from the Latin credo, meaning I believe. What were the first creeds in the Church? They were simple professions of faith regarding Jesus Christ and the central beliefs of the Church recited by those about to be baptized. Why were formal creeds—like the Nicene and Apostles’ Creeds—adopted? These creeds were written and adopted by the Church to confront heresies in the early Church regarding the natures and Person of Jesus Christ.

FOCUS QUESTIONS What is the Deposit of Faith? It is the fullness of Divine Revelation, which Christ taught and entrusted to his disciples and their successors to be handed down faithfully and accurately throughout the ages. What are the two sources of the Deposit of Faith? Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture are its sources. What does it mean to say Christianity is not a religion of the book? The essence of Christianity is not derived from a book but from a Person: Jesus Christ. Thus, Christianity is a religion of the Word of God, of a living Person.

FOCUS QUESTIONS What is tradition? Tradition is that which is handed on; it comes from the Latin tradere, meaning to hand on. How were Christ’s teachings initially handed on? They were handed on orally through the preaching of the Apostles. Which came first: Sacred Scripture or Sacred Tradition? Sacred Tradition came first. Parts of Sacred Tradition were written down, forming the books of the Old and New Testaments (Sacred Scripture).

FOCUS QUESTIONS Is every element of inspired truth contained in Scripture? No; some truths remain part of Tradition without ever having been included in the Scriptures. How do we know from Sacred Scripture that Sacred Tradition existed in the early Church? St. Paul instructed the Thessalonians to “hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter.”

FOCUS QUESTIONS How did the early Church decide on which pre‑Christian Scriptures are authentic? The early Church accepted the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Scriptures (Old Testament), which the New Testament’s Sacred Authors quoted and the Church had been using since her founding. What basic problem did the early Christians face with respect to written documents in circulation? First, they needed to determine which Gospels and Epistles were inspired by the Holy Spirit and which were not. Second, they needed to decide which books of the Old Testament are in the Christian canon.

FOCUS QUESTIONS What four criteria did the early Church use to decide which early Christian writings are authentically inspired by God? To be accepted, a book had to be apostolic, written by an Apostle or a close associate of the Apostles; orthodox, faithfully teaching the truth that had been handed down by the Apostles; inspired by the Holy Spirit through its Sacred Author; and liturgical, commonly used in the celebration of the Mass. When making the decision of canonicity, what safeguard does the Church possess? She possesses the charism of infallibility from the Holy Spirit.

FOCUS QUESTIONS What did the early Church do with the canonical writings for the next 200 years? She safeguarded, copied, collected, and exchanged these writings. Are the books of the Bible always literally true? Yes; however, each book has to be interpreted according to the author’s intention and the literary form in which it was written.

FOCUS QUESTIONS What is the meaning of the creation accounts at the beginning of Genesis? They teach many fundamental truths about God and human beings. What is the creationist versus evolutionist debate? These two sides debate about what should be taught in public schools with respect to the origin of the universe and man: God created the world or the world evolved according to Darwin’s ideas. Who is the author of Sacred Scripture? Each passage of Scripture has two authors. God is the principal author of Scripture, and the human writers are also true authors because they acted as free, subordinate, and intelligent instruments of the Holy Spirit.

FOCUS QUESTIONS What are the two major truths about the nature of Sacred Scripture? It is inspired and inerrant. What does it mean to say the Bible is inspired? God himself guided the human writers so their intellects were enlightened directly by the action of the Holy Spirit to write what God wanted and nothing more. What does it mean to say the Bible is inerrant? The Sacred Scriptures teach truth, never error.

GUIDED EXERCISE Have each student write a paragraph using the following statement as a thesis statement (or topic sentence): For the past 2000 years, the Catholic Church has been the writer, interpreter, translator, copier, mass distributor, and guardian of the sacred truths left by Jesus Christ.

CLOSURE Have each student write a paragraph explaining the relationship between Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture.

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Study Questions 17–25 (pp. 37–38) Practical Exercises 6–9 (p. 38–39) Workbook Questions 37–43 Read “The Magisterium” through “Conclusion” (pp. 28–31)

ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Apologetics is the discipline of presenting rationally sound arguments in defense of the Faith. Some Protestants have argued the Catholic Church is not biblical or is contrary to the Bible. Based on the information in this lesson, have each student work with a partner to develop a short apologetic writing on how the Catholic Church values Sacred Scriptures. Briefly share responses.

8. The Magisterium of the Church (pp. 28–31)
ANTICIPATORY SET Present a mini-lecture about impeccability and infallibility. Impeccability is the inability to do wrong. Infallibility is the inability to be wrong. The Church teaches her authentic teachers can sin (and all have, some scandalously so), but, under the specific conditions that constitute infallibility, they cannot teach error.

BASIC QUESTIONS What is the Magisterium? What is infallibility? KEY IDEAS The Magisterium is the universal teaching authority of the Pope and the bishops in communion with him, which guides the members of the Church without error in matters of Faith and morals through the interpretation of Sacred Scripture and Tradition. Infallibility is the special gift of God to the Apostles and their successors to ensure they will not teach error in matters of Faith and morals so as to faithfully hand on the Deposit of Faith.

FOCUS QUESTIONS Why is an authority needed to interpret Sacred Scripture? A given passage of Scripture can be interpreted in different, contradictory ways. How did Christians in the Apostlic era obtain answers to questions about the Faith? They would have asked the Apostles because the Apostles had received the Deposit of Faith from Christ and Christ’s authority to lead the Church and teach in his name. What gift did Christ give St. Peter and the Apostles to ensure the faithful would be truthfully taught? He gave them the gift of infallibility.

FOCUS QUESTIONS Where in the New Testament did the Apostles render a decision about the proper interpretation of the Faith? They did so at the Council of Jerusalem (cf. Acts 15). Extension: The Apostles, under the guidance of St. Peter, declared Gentile converts did not have to conform to the Mosaic Law. What is the Magisterium? It is the universal teaching authority of the Pope and the bishops in communion with him, which guides the members of the Church without error in matters of Faith and morals through the interpretation of Sacred Scripture and Tradition.

GUIDED EXERCISE Have each student write a paragraph summarizing the Church’s infallibility

GUIDED EXERCISE Have each student review one of the noncanonical texts mentioned in the sidebar on page 29 and write a paragraph explaining why the early Church would not have included it from the canon of Sacred Scripture.

GUIDED EXERCISE Have each student search an online Catholic edition of Sacred Scripture, searching for the following terms: teach, faith, hope, love, truth, pure, life (or a word of their own choice). Each search should be limited to the New Testament for convenience.

FOCUS QUESTIONS What areas does Church teaching include? It includes matters of Faith and morals since these are necessary for salvation. What are the three cases in which Church teaching is infallible? Church teaching is infallible (1) when the Pope, in his office as supreme teacher, makes a declaration regarding faith or morals by a definitive act; (2) when the Pope together with the bishops exercise the Magisterium, particularly in an Ecumenical Council; and (3) when the bishops, in communion with the Pope, propose a teaching that leads to a better understanding of Revelation in a matter of Faith and morals. What does it mean to say the Church is not the master of Revelation but its servant? The Church does not create Revelation, add to it, or subtract from it; she faithfully passes on everything Christ revealed.

CLOSURE Have each student write a paragraph defining the Magisterium and explaining the role of the Magisterium with respect to Divine Revelation.

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Study Questions 26–30 (p. 38) Practical Exercise 10 (p. 39) Workbook Questions 44–46

ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Have each student free write for five minutes about why the Magisterium is an important gift, especially today as new moral problems arise that are not explicitly covered in the Bible, including in vitro fertilization, cloning, and same‑sex “marriage.” Briefly share responses.

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Chapter 1: Faith and Revelation

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