Warm up question… 1.Why do you think evils exist in the world? 2.What do you know about God’s covenant with: Noah? Abraham and Sarah? Moses and the Israelites? Us? Today’s objective: Understanding our longing for God in our lives Understand what Divine Revelation is

What lies behind our deepest longing? Longing for More The Psalms are biblical prayer songs inspired by the Holy Spirit that express the deepest feelings of the human heart. St. Augustine wrote: ‘You have made us for yourself alone, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.’ We will never be truly satisfied with anything less than God. God is with us on every step of our life’s journey. He is always trying to speak to our hearts, calling and empowering us to live as his people.

What lies behind our deepest longing? Divine Providence God’s loving care and concern for all he has made; he continues to watch over creation, sustaining its existence and presiding over its development and destiny. USCCA, 510

God always wants best for us… (p. 9) Evil is a reality and mystery – God only brings about what is good because he is goodness and love itself but he permits evil and suffering for reasons we cannot know/understand We reject God’s plan of Creation. We misuse God’s gift of free will to sin Physical suffering, resulting from sickness or natural disasters, arises from the disorder that entered the world at the time of the Fall. We need to be stewards and stop contributing to this disorder Some evil and suffering are the results of work of the Devil or Satan Jesus worked to help alleviate suffering – we need to do the same In the suffering and Death of Jesus, we see how to respond to God with faith, hope and courage God speaks the final word in all suffering

God continues to make himself known to us Art, like music and literature, can be an expression of faith Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 – 1564) is one of the best known Christian artists – his art helped people both Christian and Non-Christian to understand the mystery of God Pope Julius II requested Michaelangelo to paint the story of Creation on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican in Rome

God continues to make himself known to us Divine Revelation God’s communication of himself and his loving plan to save us. This is a gift of self-communication, which is realized by deeds and words over time and most fully by his sending us his own divine Son, Jesus Christ. USCCA, 526 Through Revelation, we experience God’s loving outreach and we receive the gift of spiritual wisdom for our lives and the gift of Grace that enables us to live it. Example of Revelation: the Church - through Sacred Tradition

God continues to make himself known to us Covenant: two-way agreement between God and the people – God promises to care for his people, and in return they are to love ONLY him and caring for one another and the earth God and Humankind: A Covenant Relationship The Covenant with Noah (to have special care ‘for human life’) The Covenant with Abraham (they will have many descendants who would bring a blessing for all the nations on earth) The Covenant at Sinai (Israelites committed themselves to living as God’s own people – they received 10 Commandments) The Prophets

Objectives Today Give examples of Revelation from Salvation History and from your own life Define Sacred Scripture as the inspired written record of God’s Revelation in History Jesus is the highest point of D.R. Warm-up question: What examples of revelation can you give from your own life?

God continues to make himself known to us Jesus, the Human Face of God (TRUE GOD AND TRUE MAN) The New Testament proclaims, loud and clear, the faith of the Church in Jesus Christ, the fullness of God’s Revelation, the new and everlasting Covenant. ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth… From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.’ (John 1:1, 14, 15) ‘He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word.’ (Hebrews 1:3)

God continues to make himself known to us Salvation History – the inspired record of the saving words and deeds and presence and action of God in the world throughout time. Examples: God’s promise of Salvation to Adam and Eve and Covenants with Noah, Abraham, and Moses…leading to Jesus Christ, in his life, Death, Resurrection and Ascension Through reflection on Salvation History, we come to God’s plan for the world – a plan that seeks the redemption of all people and all of creation Redemption – that Christ freely paid the price to set us free from the slavery of sin and healed the brokenness of the world that has resulted from Original Sin

The role of Sacred Scripture in God’s ongoing revelation to us That Which Is Written Sacred Scripture is the inspired written record of God’s Revelation in history. God is the author of Scripture because he inspired its human authors. The word ‘scripture’ means literally ‘that which is written’. ‘Scripture is the speech of God as it is put down in writing under the breath of the Holy Spirit’ (CCC, no. 81). Canon of Scripture: List of books accepted by the Church

The role of Sacred Scripture in God’s ongoing revelation to us The Magisterium The living transmission of the Gospel by the Church is called Sacred Tradition, or simply Tradition. Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition make up a single sacred Deposit of Faith. The Church’s Magisterium—her teaching office—is entrusted with authentically interpreting Revelation.

The role of Sacred Scripture in God’s ongoing revelation to us Five Simple Guidelines for Reading Sacred Scripture 1.Pay careful attention to how the different pieces of Scripture fit together to give the overall meaning. 2.Keep in mind the Tradition of the Church—her teachings and doctrines, worship, practices and customs—when reading Scripture. 3.Bring your own life to your reading of the texts of Scripture. 4.Approach the Bible with expectancy. 5.Be open to hearing something new.

Tradition as living transmission of the Living Word of God Tradition with a big ‘T’ and a small ‘t’ Tradition: tradere (Latin); ‘to hand on’. Tradition: the living and lived faith of the whole Church which has been passed down from the Apostles. tradition: the multiple and diverse ways in which a particular people in a particular place practice the faith of the Church.

Tradition as living transmission of the Living Word of God Tradition—Spiritual Wisdom for Life The Tradition that comes from the Apostles makes progress in the Church, with the help of the Holy Spirit… Thus, as the centuries go by, the Church is always advancing toward the fullness of divine truth, until eventually the words of God are fulfilled in it. Constitution on Divine Revelation, no. 9

Blessed Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( ) Born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli in Bergamo, Italy. Ordained a priest in Drafted into the Italian Army and served in the medical corps in Ordained a bishop in Elected Pope on October 28, 1958 and within first 100 days called Vatican Council II. Died on June 3, 1963 before the Council closed. Named a ‘Blessed’ of the Church on September 3, 2000 by Pope John Paul II.

Blessed Pope John XXIII Pope John Paul’s Reasons for Calling the Council He believed Jesus’ promise that the Holy Spirit would always be at work in the world. He emphasized that the Church needed to look at the ‘signs of the time’ to discern this work of the Spirit. To renew and speak the Tradition in ways that mattered to people of the twentieth century and in the future.