Catholic Beliefs and Teachings

Question 1

What do Catholics believe about God

Answer 1

. Catholics believe that there is only one God who has revealed himself in history in 3 persons
. There is only One God, The Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit
. These 3 are not the same as each other

Question 2

Belief in the Trinity in the Nicene creed

Answer 2

Belief in the Trinity is written in the Nicene Creed, this is a statement of Christian faith which Catholics say during each mass.

. When we read the Nicene Creed, we learn what the Catholic Church teaches about each person of the Trinity

Question 3

From the Nicene Creed we learn

Answer 3

Father is the creator of Life - I believe in One God Father Almighty

Jesus has the same nature as the Father - Consubstantial with the Father

Jesus didn’t have an earthly father - Incarnate of the Virgin Mary and made MAn

Question 4

The Trinity in the Bible

Answer 4

. In the Book of Deuteronomy we are taught God is One ‘Here O Israel, the Lord your God is one’
. We are taught the Father is God ‘Our Father who is in Heaven’
. The Son Jesus is God ‘Jesus is the word made flesh’
. The Holy Spirit is also God; when Jesus got baptised he saw God come upon him in the Shape of a Dove

Question 5

Mystery of God : The Trinity is God’s revelation of himself

Answer 5

. God the father is outside, he is the creator of the Earth
. God is beside us as Jesus the son and savior
. God is inside us as the Holy Spirit who strengthens us
. The love of the Trinity encourages Christians to give and receive love in their own lives

Question 6

Trinity in Catholic Worship today

Answer 6

At Mass, Catholics remind themselves of their belief in the Trinity, During Mass we receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist, that is when we receive Jesus’ Body and Blood

Question 7

Signs of the Trinity in Mass

Answer 7

. Mass begins with a sign of the Cross and the words ‘In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit’
. The Eucharistic Prayer is an act of thanksgiving and praise to the Father, in which the Son becomes present in the bread and wine, through the coming down of the Holy Spirit
. At the end of the Eucharistic Prayer, glory is given to the Father through the Son, with the Son and in the Son, in the Unity of the Holy Spirit

Question 8

The Trinity at Jesus’ Baptism

Answer 8

. The Story of Jesus’ Baptism is evidence for Catholic Belief in the Trinity because all 3 persons of the Trinity are seen in one point
. Voice from Heaven - The Father
. The Dove - The Holy Spirit
. Jesus - The Son

Question 9

Evidence of the Trinity in Genesis 1

Answer 9

The Father - Creates the World Ex Nihilo (from nothing)
The Son - Is the Word of God coming from the father this is confirmed to us in John’s Gospel Chapter 1
The Holy Spirit - The breath of God that comes over the world

Question 10

Catholic Church Doctrine and Creeds

Answer 10

The Church beliefs & teachings were passed down from Jesus to the Apostles and other scriptures
. These teachings (Church Doctrine) are still still proclaimed by the church today
. Church Doctrine corrects any misunderstanding about God
. Doctrine is summarized into Creeds or statements of beliefs
. When Catholics say a creed, they are stating what they believe, by understanding this our relationship with God is strengthened

Question 11

The Historical Development of the Doctrine of the Trinity : Arius

Answer 11

. Some people did not agree that Jesus was God. An Egyptian Priest, Arius believed Jesus was less than God. This understanding was known as a heresy. The Bishop of Alexandria excommunicated Arius from the Church for this

Question 12

Historical development of the Trinity : Constantinople

Answer 12

The Roman Emperor, Constantine was unhappy with the division in the Church. He called for a Council to resolve the dispute in 325. This was known as the Council of Nicaea. It was an Ecumenical Council which sought bringing unity tot he Church. The Nicaean Creed was written which stated that Jesus was the same substance of the Father

Question 13

Historical development of the Trinity : Constantinople 2

Answer 13

Later in 381, the Council of Constantinople considered what was believed about the Holy Spirit and what relationship it had to the father and son. It expanded the original creed to say that they Holy Spirit ‘proceeds from the father and the son’. At this Council, St Basil said God was 1 in 3 persons. St Gregory also said that Jesus had 2 natures, a human and a divine nature. Finally the Doctrine of the Trinity was set

Question 14

God Creating the Earth

Answer 14

Day 1 : He created Light from Dark and the Heavens and the Earth
Day 2 : He created the Sky
Day 3 : He created Dry land and plants
Day 4 : He created the Stars moon and sun
Day 5 : He created flying animals and sea life
Day 6 : he created land animals and humans
Day 7 : he rested

Question 15

Qualities of God

Answer 15

. God is the Creator ‘God said let there be light and there was’
. God is benevolent, he is all loving ‘God saw that the light was good’
. God is omnipotent, He is all powerful
. God is eternal, in John Chapter 1 it says ‘in the beginning was the Word and the Word was God and the Word was with God’

Question 16

What do we learn about Humans from reading Genesis 2

Answer 16

.Humans are personally loved by God because God breathed life into us through his nostrils, he doesn’t do this with animals
. God gave us free will
. Adam is given the chance to name the animals of God
. Eve is made from Adam’s rib, humans are divided into male and female, when they come together they are perfect

Question 17

Creationist / Fundamentalist / Literal interpretations of the Bible

Answer 17

. The Bible stories are accurate, God would not lie to us
. The first day of creation was Sunday 23rd October 4000BC
. We have no right to disobey God

Question 18

Liberal / Metaphorical interpretations of the Bible

Answer 18

. Pope Francis said ‘if we literally interpret Geneses, we risk seeing God as a wizard’
. The Big Bang was the origin of creation discovered by George Lemaitre, a Catholic Priest
. Genesis is not a science or history book, but one that brings purpose to our lives

Question 19

How humans are like God

Answer 19

. Humans are given the gift of free will and conscience, when we abuse this our life becomes harder
. Humans can relate to God to be in a relationship with him
. Humans can give and receive love.
. humans are answerable to god
. Humans are rational, they are given intelligence by God

Question 20

Imago Dei

Answer 20

Humans are also Imago Dei ; God’s image and likeness
. God made man in his image
. Humans have a relationship with Giod no other creature has
. Humans have dignity and are worthy of respect

Question 21

Why Catholics care for the Environment

Answer 21

. Catholics value what God has given to them. In Genesis, God gave humans ‘dominion’ over the Earth
. Jesus’ second greatest commandment was to love thy neighbor, we do this by looking after the environment where our neighbor lives
. Catholics need to be aware of how limited natural resources are, this could damage future generations, we have a God given duty to care for all creation

Question 22

CAFOD’s work on Stewardship

Answer 22

. Encouraging people to live simply and preserve resource’s
. Projects to show that humans and the environment are dependent on each other
. Work with international companies to ensure sustainability in politics and trade

Question 23

The Incarnation

Answer 23

John the Gospel writer said Jesus always existed as the Word of God
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary conceived without sex a baby, the Virgin baby
. the baby that was conceived was God incarnate. God the son, taking human form as Jesus Christ, John’s Gospel tells us it is the Word of God becoming flesh

Question 24

What does the Incarnation mean

Answer 24

The Incarnation means humans might become divine by sharing in Jesus life through the Church
We can still share in the life of Christ through the Sacraments and the life of the Church

Question 25

Evidence that Jesus is human

Answer 25

When Jesus was born, He was born in the same way any other human child is born
When Jesus was alive he felt human emotions
When Jesus was dying on the cross, he felt pain and most importantly died

Question 26

Evidence that Jesus is both Human & Divine

Answer 26

. When Jesus Resurrected, He resurrected as a human, the Apostles touched his body to prove this
Johns Gospel says that the Word of God became flesh, Jesus is the Incarnation
St Gregory said that Jesus has two natures at the Council of Constantinople, human and divine

Question 27

Evidence that Jesus is Divine

Answer 27

Jesus was conceived not in the same was as other children are through sex but by the power of the Holy Spirit
Jesus has the authority on Earth to forgive sins
Jesus Resurrected from the dead

Question 28

What is the Paschal mystery

Answer 28

The Paschal Mystery: How Jesus brought humans back into a relationship with God through His Life, Death, Resurrection and Ascension. This is also known as redemptive efficacy.

Question 29

Life

Answer 29

The Church believes that Jesus life reveals at least 4 reasons for His presence:
1. To save us
2. So we would
know God’s love
3. To be a model of
Holiness
4. So we could be
part of God’s nature

Question 30

Death

Answer 30

Jesus death shows the spiritual battle between Jesus and the powers that oppose. Him
Jesus faced cowardice, betrayal and denial. Yet Jesus responded with forgiveness. Jesus
erased the sins of the world with God’s mercy because it was God Himself who died

Question 31

Resurrection

Answer 31

Jesus resurrected 3 days after His death, this is what the Catholic Church is founded on. It proves that Jesus is God, The resurrection is a present event, Jesus said “I am always with
you’. Jesus had a transformed body after death and so will humans.

Question 32

Ascension

Answer 32

The Catholic Church teaches that Jesus ascension to heaven prepared the way for humans to follow Jesus. Jesus does not die again, but is taken to heaven body and soul. The ascension was the letting go of Jesus so that the Holy Spirit could come at Pentecost

Question 33

What is redemptive efficacy

Answer 33

The belief that the most effective way we could the saved from sin was through Jesus suffering, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. He paid the sacrifice for sin and defeated death, restoring our relationship with God.

Question 34

Connection between Jesus saving act and Moses saving act

Answer 34

This relationship was first broken by Adam and Eve when they disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden. Paschal means Passover which is the event which lead the Jews from the slavery in Egypt with Moses as God’s messenger. There are many similarities with Old Testament account of Moses and the New Testament account of Jesus

Question 35

The story of Moses

Answer 35

Sent by God to free the Hebrews (Jews) from
slavery in Egypt. God sent the Angel of Death, to save a family from this, the family had to sacrifice (kill) a lamb and paint their doorposts with its blood to show they believed in God
The Pharaoh’s son died and the Pharaoh let the Hebrew people go, Moses then took the Jews to the Promised Land

Question 36

The Story of Jesus

Answer 36

Sent by God to free people from their slavery to sin
The price to pay for freedom from sin was Jesus death on
the cross, Jesus is the sacrifice, He becomes the lamb of
God
Jesus completed salvation for humanity, restored the
relationship with God for those who want it
Jesus restored the relationship that was first broken by
Adam and Eve when they disobeyed God in Genesis,
bringing original sin into the world

Question 37

Why is Salvation important

Answer 37

it is why God became man, to save man from sin and show him how to live. John’s Gospel says ‘For God so loved the world he gave his only son’

Question 38

How has Jesus offered grace throughout his life

Answer 38

. Jesus taught us how to live (treat others as you wish to be treated)
. Jesus paid the price by sacrificing himself on the cross for our sins
. By being saved from our sins it means we have a good relationship with God
. In his resurrection Jesus defeated death meaning we will have eternal life in Heaven with god

Question 39

Redemption : A metaphor for the Paschal Mystery

Answer 39

Matthew 20:28 says RANSOM TO BE PAID
Romans 6:20 says Humans are slaves to sin
Humans have regained their freedom, they are free from sin because Jesus redeemed it for them from his death

Question 40

Metaphor of Justification

Answer 40

. Only a good and holy person can be in a relationship with God
. Jesus was without sin He is the only good and holy person there is
. As a good and holy person Jesus paid the price of sacrifice for everyone
. Because of this humans are justified by his grace so that we can be in a relationship with God again

Question 41

Holy Spirit alive in the world today

Answer 41

. In John 16:7 Jesus said that if i do not go away, the councilor will not come to you
. When Jesus ascended to heaven he told the disciples to make disciples of all nations
. The Holy Spirit came down upon the disciples and strengthened them in their mission, this was called Pentecost, this was the beginning of the catholic Church

Question 42

The Importance of the Holy Spirit Today

Answer 42

. The Holy Spirit is an expression of God’s mercy, it guides our free will even though Jesus freed us from sin
. Theophilus of Antioch described the Holy Spirit as wisdom (Peter understood the Paschal Mystery more after Pentecost)
. It is the Holy Spirit that makes it possible for Jesus to be part of the Eucharist
. The Paschal Mystery meant we could all be in a relationship with God