Resources for catechists and teachers † The word of God was made flesh Resources for catechists and teachers Visit www.sdc.me.uk

WHAT DO CATHOLICS BELIEVE? This Powerpoint presentation looks at what we believe, or in other words, the articles of our creed.

What do Catholics believe? WHAT IS FAITH? What do Catholics believe? Faith is a GIFT of GOD. Faith is certainty about God and what he says to us. Faith leads to good deeds of Christian love. What is Faith: Faith is a gift from God that invites us to BELIEVE in him. Although it deals with things we cannot see, we believe them with CERTAINTY and not half heartedly or with doubts. Faith should move us to do good things in our life. It should not remain static or the same all the time but it should grow if we always listen to what God says to us, we pray and do similar things. Faith can grow in us when we listen to the word of God and pray.

What do Catholics believe? RESPONDING TO FAITH By being ready to listen to God who calls us his friends…. How does he talk to us? We receive the gift of Faith in Baptism. This gift should not remain untouched but should be used throughout our entire life. We should respond to the gift of faith especially by listening to God who talks to us in various ways such as in the Holy Bible, in our conscience and in everyday life experiences. - Through his written Word: The Bible - In our conscience - In other day to day experiences

What do Catholics believe? I BELIEVE WE BELIEVE I BELIEVE Faith is personal but it shouldn’t be private. WE BELIEVE We also believe as part of the Church Community. We believe and worship together. There are two aspects of this gift of Faith. This is because we believe both on a personal level as well as on the level of a Church Community. Hence sometimes we say I BELIEVE and other times we say WE BELIEVE.

What do Catholics believe? THE CREED What do Catholics believe? THE APOSTLES’ CREED I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, The holy Catholic Church. The communion of saints, The forgiveness of sins, The resurrection of the body, And the life everlasting. There are two versions of the Creed that we often use. These are the Apostles Creed and the Nicean Creed. Although some of the words are different, the contents and the articles we say we believe in are exactly the same.

What do Catholics believe? ONE GOD What do Catholics believe? The most important article of our Creed is the first one. This is when we say that we believe in ONE God. Our Christian faith is one of the Monotheist religions. God is above everyone. He was not created but he is eternal.

What do Catholics believe? THE HOLY TRINITY What do Catholics believe? Although we believe in only ONE God, at the same time we believe that there are three Persons in God, namely Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Together these three persons are called the Holy Trinity. Although each of these persons individually is a divine person – that is God, we do not believe in three Gods. This is a mystery of our Faith. Each of these three persons is distinct and equal in importance. No one is more important than the other. The slides which follow are about these three persons. GOD THE FATHER GOD THE SON GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT

What do Catholics believe? GOD THE FATHER What do Catholics believe? God the Father, the first person of the Trinity is the one most often associated with Creation, although we regard creation as an act of the three persons working together. There are and there can not be images of the true God. In Christian art however some artists have tried to portray God as an all knowing male figure with beard etc. as is the case of Michelangelo's creation painting at the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. CREATOR

What do Catholics believe? GOD THE SON What do Catholics believe? BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY SUFFERED, DIED AND WAS BURIED God the Son is the second Person of the Holy Trinity. This is the one who became a human being like us. His name is Jesus. In the creed we say a long list of things he went through in his life on earth, among them being born of the Virgin Mary, suffered, died and was buried, and on the third day rose from the dead. The gospels naturally give us a lot of detail about his life on earth, places he went to, people he met, things he did, etc. ROSE FROM THE DEAD

What do Catholics believe? GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT What do Catholics believe? PARACLETE HELPER GUIDE The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Holy Trinity. As he is a spirit we can have no real images of him but is shown in biblical language and in art using the symbols of a dove or a flame of fire. He is referred to in the Bible as the Paraclete, the helper and our guide. SYMBOLS: DOVE, FIRE

What do Catholics believe? THE CHURCH What do Catholics believe? THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH THE BIG FAMILY OF GOD A COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE THE SAME CREED In the Creed we also say that we believe in the Catholic Church. This is the ONE church which Jesus started. It is Holy, Apostolic and Universal…it can be found anywhere and is open to anyone who wants to be part of this community of believers in Jesus Christ. Jesus was the one who started this Christian Church. His vicar on earth is the Holy Father the Pope, the head of the Catholic Church on earth. EVERYONE - EVERYWHERE JESUS STARTED ONE CHURCH

THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS What do Catholics believe? THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH ON EARTH, PURGATORY AND HEAVEN When we say we believe in the COMMUNION OF SAINTS we refer to all those who form part of this big family of God. They are all those still on Earth as well as those who passed away to new life and are now in heaven or in purgatory.

THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS What do Catholics believe? THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS GOD CAN FORGIVE ALL OUR SINS We also say that we believe in Forgiveness of sins. Sins are first forgiven when we are Baptised but they are then also forgiven every time we celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation/confession. God is always ready to forgive us. By his death and resurrection Jesus made up for all our sins. GOD FORGIVES US AT BAPTISM OR RECONCILIATION / CONFESSION

THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD What do Catholics believe? THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD WE RISE AGAIN AFTER WE DIE We do not believe that death is the end of everything. We believe that it is a passage into eternal life. Therefore when we die we will rise again in the same way Jesus did. He himself promised us eternal life in heaven. OUR BODIES WILL ONE DAY COME TO LIFE AGAIN

What do Catholics believe? LIFE EVERLASTING What do Catholics believe? WE WILL THEN LIVE FOREVER GOD WILL JUDGE US ACCORDING TO OUR FAITH AND WORKS As Christians we believe that we are called to live forever with God and the saints in the glory of Heaven. After our life on earth God will judge us according to our works and as long as we have been faithful to him he will take us with him for eternal life.

What do Catholics believe? Yes, I Believe The word AMEN which we say at the end of our Creed is an affirmation through which we confirm we believe in all that is contained in the articles of the Creed which we profess.

your Christian Catholic Faith Celebrate your Christian Catholic Faith Do something about it Be a witness

Resources for catechists and teachers † The word of God was made flesh Resources for catechists and teachers Visit www.sdc.me.uk