1.2 – Catholicism Beliefs

Beliefs Practices Places and Things People

Important Catholic Beliefs About God and Jesus About Humanity About Eternity About the Church and Bible About the World

Catholic Beliefs About God Only One God (monotheism) God exists mysteriously as a Trinity of three distinct but united “persons” – Father, Son, Holy Spirit God the Son came to earth and became a human – as Jesus Christ. This is known as the Incarnation. Jesus was fully God and fully human.

Analogies help us understand the mystery of the Trinity: 1.St. Patrick used a 3-leaf clover. 2.St. Augustine said God is like the Sun – the Father is like the orb of the sun, Jesus like the rays that reach out to Earth, and the Holy Spirit like the sun’s warmth. 3.Water (H2O) exists as solid (ice), liquid, gas (steam) – but all 3 are H2O. 4.An apple has skin, fruit, core – but it is still an apple.

Beliefs About Jesus 1.Jesus is fully God. He is the 2 nd person of the Trinity (the Son). 2.Jesus is also fully human. He became human (the incarnation, celebrated on Christmas). 3.Jesus is the Savior (Messiah) who rescues humanity from sin. 4.Jesus died on a cross. 5.God the Father raised Jesus from the dead (the resurrection, celebrated on Easter)

Beliefs About Humanity 1.God created the world (and humans) as good. 2.Humans disobeyed God – original sin. 1.Humans continue to sin. 2.God the Father sent his Son Jesus into the world to restore and save humans from their sin.

Catholic Beliefs about Eternity Catholics believe all people are destined for eternal life after death: 1.Those who trust and follow God go to Heaven. Angels and saints also live in heaven. 2.Those who reject God go to Hell, which is ruled by Satan (the Devil), a fallen angel who rebelled against God. 3.Catholics (but not Protestants) also believe in a third place, Purgatory, a midway “place” or “process” in which people are “purged” or “cleansed” of their sin, before entering Heaven. Catholics NO LONGER believe in Limbo, a place where unbaptized babies go if they die. In the past, it was believed that no unbaptized person could enter into Heaven, even innocent babies – hence, Limbo.

Catholic Beliefs about Church and the Bible 1.Catholics believe Jesus founded a Church on the foundation of the apostles. It is a family, the “body of Christ” with all Catholics as different parts of the Body. 2.Catholics believe God reveals the fullness of spiritual truth in Sacred Tradition, which is alive in the Church and has been passed down from the apostles; in the Bible; and in the Magisterium, the leaders of the church (Pope, bishops, etc.).

Catholics believe that the Church is: ONE: Jesus founded one church. Catholics believe the “fullness” of Christianity is found only in the Roman Catholic Church. HOLY: Pure, sacred, set apart for carrying out God’s plans on earth. CATHOLIC: Universal – not limited to time, place, race or culture. APOSTOLIC: Derives its authority from a continuous, unbroken line of tradition that has been passed down from the original apostles of Jesus.

Catholic Beliefs About the World 1.Catholics believe in the sacredness of all life, especially human life. For this reason, they oppose abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty, etc., and oppose unjust wars or the use of violence. 2.Catholics believe all people must take care of God’s world. This includes promoting peace and justice. 3.Catholics believe in loving all people as children of God. They follow the Ten Commandments and other teachings of Jesus to love God and neighbor.

Catholic Beliefs About Other Religions Catholics believe the fullness of God’s truth resides only in the Roman Catholic Church. However, Catholics dialogue and talk with non-Catholic Christians, in the hope that someday, divisions will be healed. This dialogue is known as ecumenism. Christians also dialogue with other religions – Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, etc. – searching for common ground. This is known as interreligious dialogue.