Our Holy Father Pope Francis is calling all of us to increased faith in our Lord Jesus Christ

1. Our Holy Father Pope Francis is calling all of us to increased faith in our Lord Jesus Christ Come to our catechism study sessions!

2. Divine Revelation Steve Tjia

3. Catechism • Man searches for happiness • Man searches for God • God’s response is Divine Revelation • Divine Revelation is transmitted to us • Our response to Divine Revelation

4. Revealed Stages • Noah. • Abraham. • Moses • The People of Israel. • Patriarchs. • Prophets. • People, Ruth, Naomi, Mary etc. • Christ. The fullness of Revelation

5. Transmission • Apostolic transmission. • Apostolic succession. • Tradition, sacred tradition. • Scripture. Inspired by the Holy Spirit. OT/NT

6. Scriptures: is revelation in Human words. • God inspired human authors, using our own faculties and our own powers. • We are a religion of the Word. The Word that is incarnated to us and living among us. We are not religion of the book. • The church venerates these Words. We must be attentive to God’s speaking in human language. • The church’s interpretation relying on the Holy Spirit, who is the author. • The church rely on the Apostolic age as to the acceptances as sacred. (Canonical). This is what God wants to reveal to us and to affirm to us.

7. Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ. But the Bible itself never teach us to use it alone. Never meant to be SOLA SCRIPTURA. We must consider: • The time it was written by the author. • The culture. • Literary genre. • Modes of speaking. • Modes of feeling.

8. Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ. But the Bible itself never teach us to use it alone. Never meant to be SOLA SCRIPTURA. • The truth is expressed differently depending on: • Mode of writing at that time in history. • Poetical texts. • Prophetic texts. (Old & New Testament). • Literary expression at that time in History.

9. Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ. But the Bible itself never teach us to use it alone. Never meant to be SOLA SCRIPTURA. • Scripture is inspired. It must be read and interpreted in the light of the Holy Spirit. • The unity of the whole scripture in unity of God’s revelation with Jesus Christ as the center. • It must be for the whole church, one source and one voice of the Holy Spirit. • Attentive to the analogy of faith, coherence to the truth of the faith, among the people themselves and with the whole plan of the revelation.

10. The four senses of the scriptures are: • Literal. • Spiritual. • Allegorical (meaning their significance in relation to Christ: The Red Sea). • Moral (for our instructions to act justly) • Anagogical (leading us to their eternal significance to our heavenly award, to our heavenly Jerusalem.

11. Men’s response to the Revelation of God. • Faith. Total responding to God’s revelation. Total commitment to the truth, complete submission of our intellect, our whole being to God. This response to God’s revelation is called the obedience of faith. • Faith is a super natural gift of God, by the Holy Spirit. • Faith is the realization of what is hope for and evidence of things not seen. • Faith is personal act involved all intellect and all will to God’s revelation. • Faith is believing, a human act, and conscious and free, corresponding with our dignity as a person.

12. Men’s response to the Revelation of God. • Believing is also an ecclesial act the whole church is the mother of all believers. God is our Father and the church is our mother.(Cyprian) • Faith is necessary for our salvation. He who believe and is baptized will be saved and He who does not believe will be condemned. • Faith is believe in all revelations. The word of God, oral and written. All that the church purposes as divinely revealed. • Faith is a foretaste of the knowledge that will make us blessed in the life to come. (Thomas Aquinas).

13. Profession of our faith (I believe). • Believe is personal, involved all intellect and all our will to God’s Revelation. It involved just the person and the Truth. • Believe is a supernatural gift from God by the Holy Spirit. • Believe is a human act, conscious and free, in correspondence with our human dignity. • We believe and profess personally at our baptism. • It is a foretaste of the knowledge that make us blessed in the life to come.

14. What do I believe? • In God, who revealed himself in truth (absolute) and we entrust ourselves wholly. • Jesus Christ: “Believe in God and also believe in me.”The word made flesh.Jesus has seen the Father, the only one who knows the Father. • The Holy Spirit. The one who reveals who Jesus Christ is.No one can say that Jesus Christ is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.No one knows God completely, but only God himself.

15. What do I believe? • In God, who revealed himself in truth (absolute) and we entrust ourselves wholly. • Jesus Christ: “Believe in God and also believe in me.”The word made flesh.Jesus has seen the Father, the only one who knows the Father. • The Holy Spirit. The one who reveals who Jesus Christ is.No one can say that Jesus Christ is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.No one knows God completely, but only God himself.

16. We believe (in Liturgical assembly of believers): • Faith is received from Christ through others, the church. Our mother the church respond to God as she teaches us the faith. • Faith must be handed on to others and supported by others. • We are a link in great chain, love urges us on to others. • Lord look on the faith of your church. • TeDeum: Throughout the world the Holy church acclaim you. • The language of faith is proclaim from generation to generation by the church. An Ecclesiastical fact.

17. He who believe and is baptized will be saved. But, who does not believe will be condemned. May God bless us all !