CHAPTER 1 SEARCHING FOR GOD JESUS CHRIST: GOD’S REVELATION TO THE WORLD

True Happiness “Happy the people so blessed; happy the people whose God is the Lord.” (Ps 144:15) But, what is happiness?

God: The Source of True Happiness WE ALL WANT TO BE HAPPY! because WE WERE MADE TO BE HAPPY! “True happiness is found... In God alone, the source of every good and of all love” (CCC, 1723).

The Restless Human Heart Nothing in this life can make us fully content or perfectly happy. Why is this? God gave us a hunger for happiness! Only God can fulfill this hunger because he placed it in us! St. Augustine: “Our heart is restless until it rests in you.”

Questioning Minds Do you ever wonder what is beyond the stars? Do you ever question the meaning of life? Do you ever think about where your life is going? Do you ever wonder what will happen to you after you die? Humans have searched for answers to these questions from the beginning.

We Are Religious by Nature In spite of the prevalence of irreligion and secularism, most people still belong to an organized religion. We have always searched for God and given expression to this quest. God speaks to us through our human reason, through prayer, and through our hearts. He calls us first.

Knowing God through Natural Revelation Something does not come out of nothing!

Contemplating Creation Because we are created in God’s image, we are endowed with intelligence. Look at the world around us. Where did all these beautiful things come from if not from the beautiful One who made them? The Church teaches that human intelligence can discover God.

“Converging and convincing arguments” of God’s existence (according to St. Thomas Aquinas) Unmoved Mover First Cause Everything comes from Something ”Cosmological Argument” Supreme Model Grand Designer

Contemplating the Human Person Our lives have meaning! Beauty Truth Moral goodness Personal Conscience Justice Love Intelligence

Knowing God through Divine Revelation Human language and human reason cannot fully describe God or really know what God is like. God is truly a mystery! That is why God does not leave us to our own limited knowledge. He gives us Divine Revelation.

What Is Divine Revelation? God’s free gift of self- communication by which he makes known his divine plan God tells us who he really is through the events of Salvation History God invites us to live in covenant with him The greatest sign of God’s love was the sending of his Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Savior from sin and death

Salvation History God’s creation of the world begins Salvation History (the account of God’s saving activity for humankind). God intended from the very beginning to invite humans to live in intimate union with him. God remains faithful to us despite our sinfulness.

God’s Covenants with Humankind Covenant with Noah Covenant with Abraham Covenant with Moses, the Sinai Covenant Kings and Prophets Wisdom Literature Jesus Christ, the New Covenant— the climax of Salvation History

Handing Down Divine Revelation Sacred Tradition The word tradition means “handing down.” The Apostles preached the Gospel to all nations. They chose men to succeed them (bishops headed by the Bishop of Rome). Sacred Scripture The word bible means “books.” Jesus gave the Apostles the authority to interpret the divinely inspired Scriptures. This teaching authority is known as the Magisterium. “Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sends me.”

Faith: Our Response to Divine Revelation FAITH: a theological virtue Makes it possible for us to accept Jesus Christ Require free acceptance Opens up the gates of Heaven for us Enables us to partake in the life of the Holy Spirit

St. Peter IMPETUOUS BRAVE HEADSTRONG COMPASSIONATE HEROIC BORN LEADER “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the key of the kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Mt 16: 18-19).