Catholic beliefs and teachings

Question 1

Catholic beliefs in the Trinity

Answer 1

God as the father-
-A Christian’s relationship with God should be like a child’s relationship with a parent
-Continuing relationship of love and care with his creation
-God will provide for and protect this people.

God in the Son-
-Jesus is God in human form

God in the Holy Spirit-
-God communicates with humans
-Helps the Church preserve and explain Church teachings.

Question 2

Importance for Catholics today - Trinity

Answer 2

-Praying to the Father, through the Son and in the powers of Holy Spirit gives Catholics belief that God is “beyond us, with us and in us”
-Gives Catholics the sense that God is active and present in the world
-Teaches Catholics that they must work together to bring God’s love into the world - same as Trinity works together to bring God’s love into the world.

Question 3

What is the doctrine of Trinity?

Answer 3

-Christians believe in one God and the trinity is three persons in one God (father, son, holy spirit)
-The Nicene Creed explains that this one God exists as all three persons - all equal and all eternal
-Belief in Trinity is central - mass begins with the Trinity

Question 4

How is the Trinity mentioned in the OT/NT?

Answer 4

OT:
The three-fold of the trinity is hinted:
-in Genesis God speaks the Word to create and the Spirit to hover over creation
-Prophet Isaiah claims that God sent his Word and Spirit to create and guide
NT:
The trinity is clearly referred:
-Jesus told matthew to make disciples, baptising them in the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit
St.Paul refers to the Trinity in several letters
-St.Peter began his first letter with reference to Trinity

Question 5

God as the different trinities (SOWA)

Answer 5

God as Holy Spirit: “The Spirit of God descending like a dove”
God as the Father: “Lord, you are our Father; we are clay and you our potter
God as the son; “the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created.

Question 6

Importance of creation for Catholics

Answer 6

God as creator - “Let there be light” Genesis
God as benevolent - “God saw the light was good” Genesis
God as omnipotent - “Let the waters be gathered and let dry land appear” Genesis
God as eternal - “In the beginning was the word” John

Question 7

The Nature of humanity and its teachings

Answer 7

-Genesis teaches that God created people in his image. This does not mean they look like God but have free will and reason
The teachings remind Catholics:
-each human being is special, unique and sacred
-humans are more than animals and are not to be used as objects
-humans have fundamental rights such as freedom of expression, right to food, shelter and healthcare

Question 8

Characteristics of human beings

Answer 8

Rational
Free will and conscience
Relate to God
Give and receive love
Answerable to God

Question 9

Characteristics of human beings: Rational

Answer 9

-Humans are intelligent and can find their way to God
-Significant to Catholics, helps us to engage in debate about faith

Question 10

Characteristics of human beings: Free will and conscience

Answer 10

-Humans can choose right and wrong and conscience is God’s voice.
-Significant to Catholics, making moral choices that uphold values of the Gospel

Question 11

Characteristics of human beings: Relate to God

Answer 11

Humans are able to enter into a relationship with God.
Significant to Catholics, going to weekly mass/daily prayer.

Question 12

Characteristics of human beings: Give and receive love

Answer 12

-Humans can only find happiness within a community of love.
-Significant to Catholics, accepting the vocation of marriage

Question 13

Characteristics of human beings: Answerable to God

Answer 13

Humans are accountable to God for their actions.
Significant to Catholics as it happens in Heaven

Question 14

Human responsibilities (stewardship) over the Earth

Answer 14

-Look after God’s creation
-Make sure his Creation is not exploited by humans
-Make sure the Earth’s resources are shared fairly
-Make sure humans treat God’s creation harmoniously

SOWA:
Genesis says that God gave humans control (dominion) of living things on the Earth
Pope Francis in encyclicals said that Catholics have a duty to protect the environment

Question 15

Biblical basis for the Incarnation

Answer 15

Matthews Gospel:
-Tells how Joseph was told by an angel that Mary was a virgin who had conceived the Holy Spirit and that the baby was being called Jesus.
-Joseph then married Mary and Jesus was born
Luke’s Gospel:
-Tells how Mary was visited by Angel Gabriel who told her about the Virgin birth of Jesus.
John’s Gospel:
-Records the Incarnation in a theological form (academic study of God)
-Identifies Jesus as the word of God
Begins his gospel at the beginning of the universe when the word made everything - describes how the word has now became flesh

Question 16

Beliefs about the Incarnation

Answer 16

-The belief that God became a human being in Jesus
-As the only Son of God - Catholics beieve he did not have a normal conception but did have a normal birth
-Catholics believe that Mary was a virgin when Jesus was born and remained a virgin her whole life
-They believed being born from a virgin was the way God became man.

Question 17

Importance of the virgin birth for Christians

Answer 17

• Jesus was the Son of God (not just a human being chosen and sent by God)
  -God was in him and he was in God
  -Jesus had two natures - in his human nature he was a human being but in his divine nature he was God (fully human and fully divine)

Question 18

The events of Paschal Mystery (chronologically)

Answer 18

Paschal Mystery ( the death and resurrection of Jesus and their effects on salvation)

1) The Last Supper - when Jesus breaks the bread and wine as a symbol for his body and blood.
2) Garden of Gethsemane - after the supper, Jesus went to pray where he said “take this cup from me, yet not my will but yours be done”
3) The Trail - Peter denied he knew Jesus. Jesus found guilty of claiming to be the Son of God, he was crucified over Barrabus
4) The crucifixion - Gospels agree that Jesus was crucified on Friday. Jesus forgave his killers and died with the words “Father into your hands I commend my spirit”
5) Resurrection and ascension - Joseph was given permission to bury Jesus in a tomb. On Sunday morning, Jesus’ women found the tomb empty. He kept appearing in Jerusalem for 49 days in white robes.

Question 19

The importance of the events of the Paschal Mystery

Answer 19

The Last Supper is the basis of mass which is the most important form of Christian worship
Christians believe that crucifixion brought the forgiveness of sin
Catholic Church teaches that the Paschal mystery guarantees humanity’s salvation from sin because:
-Jesus freely offered himself for our salvation
-This was symbolised by Jesus breaking the bread and saying “this is my body that I have given up for you”
-Christ’s resurrection promises resurrection for all those who believe
-With his ascension, Jesus gives his believers hope that one day, they will be with him forever in Heavens

Question 20

What does grace mean?

Answer 20

-Means mercy that is undeserved - Christ dies for humanity’s sins without humans doing anything to deserve it.
-Christians receive the grace of Christ at baptism
-The Holy Spirit breathes love and strength (grace) into them, helping them work for the salvation of others.

Question 21

The Catholic Church teaches that grace comes through..

Answer 21

-Receiving the sacraments of baptism and confirmation
-Receiving the sacrament of reconciliation
-Receiving the sacrament of the Eucharist in mass
-Leading a Christian life

Question 22

Catholics believe salvation is important because:

Answer 22

-Without salvation there can be no relationship with God
-Without salvation a person’s sin will prevent them from entering Heaven
-Salvation form sin was the whole purpose of Jesus coming to Earth and founding Christianity

Question 23

What does salvation mean?

Answer 23

-Salvation means being saved from sin
-There are two types of sin:
original sin - inherited from humans and washed away at Baptism
personal sin - consequence of own action

-Sin separates a person from God
-The Catholic Church teaches that Jesus came to Earth in order to restore his relationship through salvation brought by his death.

Question 24

Paschal Mystery - SOWA

Answer 24

John 3 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes shall not perish but have eternal life.
Acts of the Apostles 4 says St.Peter preached that salvation comes through Jesus alone.
CCC teaches that no one but God knows who will and who will not be saved

Question 25

What does the Catholic Church teach about Eschatology?

Answer 25

-When people die, they are judged by God
-Christians who are perfectly purified will go straight up to Heaven.
-Christians who have died with unforgiven sins will go to purgatory
-People who have totally rejected God will go to Hell
-Christ will return at the end of the world and raise the dead - God will judge everyone

Question 26

Different Christian views about life after death

Answer 26

-Non Catholics do not believe in purgatory as it is based on teachings of the Church, not from the Bible
-Some Evangelical Protestants believe that when a person dies their soul remains in the grave until the Last Day and where there is final judgement
-Most Liberal Protestants believe when the body dies, the soul leaves the Body to live with God.

Question 27

Why life after death is important to Catholics

Answer 27

-They believe they will be judged by God so this belief gives them an incentive to live a good Christian life by loving God and “loving thy neigbour”
-They believe sin can prevent them from going to Heaven so they will try to avoid committing sin, giving their life meaning and purpose.
-Helps explain why Catholic charities focus on helping those in need.

Question 28

Eschatology meaning

Answer 28

Refers to religious beliefs about death, judgement and life after death

Question 29

Eschatology SOWA

Answer 29

John - records how Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead
St.Paul - says in his letters Jesus’ resurrection is a guarantee of life after death for Christians ; everyone will be raised from the dead on the last day of judgement.