MINI CATECHISM: THE GREATEST WISDOM IN ONE PAGE

In brief: What is the Good News that Jesus revealed? 

God loves us. He created us from nothing to live God’s life of love and supreme joy. God the Son became man, Jesus, died to save us from sin and rose again to make us share in his divine life as God’s children, in union with Jesus. 

Basis: Why do Catholics believe this to be true— really real?

God helps us to believe. God is Truth and Good who cannot deceive us. Our faith is reasonable: it is a historic fact that Jesus lived, worked awe-inspiring miracles, honestly claimed to be the one God. After he was killed, he was seen alive by more than 500. Many of them gave up their lives to witness to Jesus and his truths. Jesus built his Church on the head of his 12 Apostles, Peter. He gave him the powers of a King’s chief minister and teacher. Jesus committed his divine presence to his Church, so it can transmit his doctrine in its oral and scriptural Tradition. Jesus told the Apostles who were succeeded by bishops headed by the Pope, “He who hears you hears me.” (Lk 10:16). 

CREED: We believe in God’s love 

There is one God, a loving almighty Father. Through his Son, he created everything from nothing and sustains it in existence. He created angels, pure spirits and the material universe. He created humans who are spirit and matter: incarnate spirits. In an excess of love, God gave us “sanctifying grace”, a share in his divine life! The grace in one man is greater than the whole natural universe! Made in the image of God who is total self-giving love, we are persons endowed with intellect and free will who are called to live God’s love. A sinful angel, the devil, tempted the first humans, Adam and Eve, and they disobeyed God. From then on, the intelligence and free will of all their descendants fell into disorder and weakened. Worst of all, we lost grace, a state called original sin. Since we are unable to create grace and save ourselves, our God who is faithful and merciful, draws good from evil to bring us back to holiness. In the end, God himself became man to reveal his love, facilitating a relationship of love with us. 

Jesus is God the Son, our Savior. His name means “God saves.” He was born of the Virgin Mary, grew up in his family, worked and “did all things well”, obeying God and authorities. After rejecting the devil’s lure to greed, self-glory and egoism, he began to preach: “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand!” As Christ, the Anointed One, he saves us as our Shepherd (Way) who guides our wills with his laws; as Prophet (Truth), who forms our intelligence to know God and his plan; and as Priest (Life) who prays and gives us his grace. Jesus was opposed and crucified. Acting as the New Adam, the new head of all men who is always obedient to the Father, he offered his death out of total self-giving love for the Father and each one of us, thus saving us from our sins: “Greater love than this no one has, than he who lays down his life for his friend.” (Mt 15:13). Jesus rose to life on a Sunday, gaining for us the grace of becoming God’s children. 

After he ascended to be our glorious King in heaven, Jesus sent us his Gift, God the Holy Spirit, the third person in the Triune God, to give life to his one Church, his Body, granting it all the truth and means to sanctify men. All Church members share these holy things in common as one family. Each man will die, and Jesus will judge his love. He who dies in God’s grace and friendship will be with him in heaven; those who need to be purified will pass through purgatory. He who chooses to offend God in mortal sin will suffer in hell. At the end of time, Jesus will return, raise all the dead to life and, revealing the consequences of our actions, will judge all. The saints will reign with Jesus in his eternal Kingdom where God who is Love will be all in all. 

SACRAMENTS: We celebrate and receive Jesus’ life of love 

Jesus’ main work to save us, his Passion, Death and Resurrection, is the center of the life of a Christian. This ultimate love of God is called the Paschal Mystery. Jesus makes this present in the Church’s liturgy or worship, revolving around the seven sacraments. These are effective signs of grace, ways by which Christ gives us his life. In Baptism, the first sacrament, Jesus acts through his priest, who pours water, to bring about the removal of original sin by giving us Jesus’ life. Thus, we are made another Christ, Christ himself: “Christ lives in me”! (Gal: 2:20) The life of Jesus, the Son of God, grows in us through his other sacraments: Confirmation (to strengthen us), Matrimony (to make family life holy), Holy Orders (to ordain priests through whom Jesus gives us the sacraments), and Anointing of the Sick (to sanctify the dying). Due to our need of God, without whom we are nothing, it is important to humbly and often receive: God’s mercy in Penance, to restore grace lost by mortal sin, and heal the soul; and Jesus himself in the Eucharist, the summit of God’s saving action and of worship. 

MORALITY: We live Jesus’ life of total love 

A Christian lives with the dignity and joy of a child of God: we who came from nothing receive infinite generosity from our Father and so we are generous with God and others. True love means willing the good of the other, total self-giving, and unity with God’s will. With our freedom, we have the power to act or not to act, and are responsible for our actions. By repeatedly choosing to do good shown by God in our conscience, allowing Jesus to love us through his law and grace, we grow in virtue and freedom. If we choose evil in sin and offend our Father, we truly say sorry: he celebrates our return and fills us with joy. We live by Jesus’ values, the Beatitudes, and his two greatest commandments: love God with all our heart, all our mind, all our strength and all our soul, and love others as ourselves for God. We adore, trust and hope in him; strive to know him fully (1st commandment); cherish and repeat his name (2nd); rest in God and offer Mass on Sundays (3rd). We love our family (4th), respect everyone’s dignity (5th), reverence sexuality in chastity (6th & 9th), practice justice (7th & 10th), and live in the truth (8th). We are responsible for the brotherhood of all men, working for the common good and for social justice. We are merciful to the poor, those in need, in whom we meet Jesus. 

MISSION: We live Jesus’ life of total love in saving all men 

Jesus commanded us to “make disciples, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you.” We are one with Jesus’ sole mission of saving all men by obeying God and his Church in our daily lives. As Christ shepherd, we serve, taking initiative to manage the world based on Jesus’ values and commands. As prophets, we evangelize and spread Jesus’ truths. As priests, we pray to sanctify others, offering the sacrifice of doing all our duties virtuously in union with Jesus’ Mass. 

PRAYER: We live Jesus’ life of total love in dialogue with God 

God yearns for our love and gives us his Spirit so we can relate with him. A Christian follows Jesus’ example and command “pray always”. We humbly live in God’s presence, converse with Jesus as a friend and offer our activity for God’s glory. We allot time daily to be alone with God who loves us: to meditate on his Word and his Church’s teachings, and gaze at Jesus’ love, the meaning and summary of all things. We say “I love you, thank you, I’m sorry and help us more.” As children of God, we pray the “Our Father” and go to Mary who gives us Jesus.

Source: paref.edu.ph