God and His Creation

We firmly believe and unreservedly confess that there is only one true God, eternal and immeasurable, almighty, unchangeable, incomprehensible and ineffable, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three persons but one absolutely simple essence, substance or nature. The Father is from none, the Son from the Father alone, and the Holy Spirit from both equally, eternally without beginning or end; the Father generating, the Son being born, and the holy Spirit proceeding; consubstantial and coequal, co-omnipotent and coeternal; one principle of all things, creator of all things invisible and visible, spiritual and material; who by his almighty power at the beginning of time created from nothing both spiritual and material creatures, that is to say angelic and earthly, and then created human beings composed as it were of both spirit and body in common. (Profession of Faith, Fourth Lateran Council, 1215).

Source EWTN

Jesus Christ

And we believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, born from the Father before all the ages, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one substance with the Father, through Whom all things were made. For us men, and for our salvation, He came down from heaven, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, He took on flesh from the Virgin Mary, and became man. (Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed A.D. 325, 381).

So, following the saintly fathers, we all with one voice teach the confession of one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: the same perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, the same truly God and truly man, of a rational soul and a body; consubstantial with the Father as regards his divinity, and the same consubstantial with us as regards his humanity; like us in all respects except for sin; begotten before the ages from the Father as regards his divinity, and in the last days begotten for us and for our salvation from Mary, the virgin God-bearer as regards his humanity; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only-begotten, acknowledged in two natures which undergo no confusion, no change, no division, no separation; at no point was the difference between the natures taken away through the union, but rather the property of both natures is preserved and comes together into a single person and a single subsistent being; he is not parted or divided into two persons, but is one and the same only-begotten Son, God, Word, Lord Jesus Christ, just as the prophets taught from the beginning about him, and as the Lord Jesus Christ himself instructed us, and as the creed of the fathers handed it down to us (Council of Chalcedon, 451).

Source EWTN

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is God and the third Person of the Blessed Trinity.

The Holy Spirit is also called the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, the Advocate, the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of Love.

The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.

The Holy Spirit does not proceed from the Father and the Son by spiritual generation. Only the Son proceeds from the Father by generation. This is one of the mysterious truths that we know only from revelation.

The Holy Spirit is equal to the Father and the Son, because He is God.

Because of the oneness of nature in the Blessed Trinity, the Father is entirely in the Son and in the Holy Spirit; the Son is entirely in the Father and in the Holy Spirit; and the Holy Spirit is entirely in the Father and in the Son. No one of the three divine Persons is outside the other, for none precedes the other in eternity, nor surpasses the other in power, nor exceeds the other in any way. This indwelling of one divine Person in the others is called circumincession.

The Holy Spirit dwells in the Church as the source of its life and sanctifies souls through the gift of grace.

Although the sanctification of mankind, like all other outward works of God, is performed by all three Persons of the Blessed Trinity, it is attributed to the Holy Spirit, the third Person. The sanctification of mankind is attributed to the Holy Spirit because He is the love of the Father and the Son and because the sanctification of man by grace shows forth God’s boundless love.

Source EWTNS

Mary the Mother of God

The Catholic Church teaches that by a free decision of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary was elevated to become the Mother of His Son Jesus Christ and Jesus’ worthy associate in redeeming mankind. She was prepared for this role by being preserved by God’s grace from all sin, original and personal, throughout her entire life, and was rewarded at the end of her life for her cooperation with God’s plan by being taken up, body and soul, into Heaven, where she reigns with her Son as Queen of the Universe, and whence she distributes to men all the graces which, with, through and under her Son, she helped to merit on Calvary.

However, Catholics do not at all make Mary equal to her Son, for He is true God, and she, though the most exalted of all creatures, is still only that-a creature. Only Jesus Christ, because he is both God and man, can be the perfect Mediator between God and men, and could offer to the Father a sacrifice of infinite value on behalf of the human race of which he was fully a member. The sacrifice which He offered was completely sufficient to redeem mankind; Mary’s cooperation was added not out of any necessity, but completely out of the marvelous generosity of our heavenly Father, His great love for us and for her. Finally, only Jesus Christ is Redeemer and Mediator by his own power. In all things, Mary works with, through, and under to her Son, completely dependent on Him.

Source EWTN

Holy Mary Mother of God 

The Catholic Church

The Church came into being when Christ died on the Cross, but it was formally inaugurated on Pentecost, when He sent the Holy Spirit as He had promised. St. Paul speaks of all Christians as members of Christ, so that with Him, they form one Mystical Body (Cf. 1 Cor 12:12-31; Col 1:18; 2:18-20; Eph. 1:22-23; 3:19; 4:13). St. Paul did not use the word Mystical. It was developed more recently to bring out the fact that this union is unique, there is no parallel to it. It is not the same as the union of a physical body, nor that of a business corporation.

The Church, the Mystical Body, exists on this earth, and is called the Church militant, because its members struggle against the world, the flesh and the devil. The Church suffering means the souls in Purgatory. The Church triumphant is the Church in heaven. The unity and cooperation of the members of the Church on earth, in Purgatory, in Heaven is also called the Communion of Saints. When St. Paul uses the word “Saints” in opening an Epistle, he does not mean they are morally perfect. He has in mind Hebrew qadosh, which means set aside for God, or coming under the covenant. Being such means of course they are called to moral perfection. But of course, not all have reached it in this world.

The word “Saint” in the modern sense means someone who has been canonized by the Church in recent times, or was accepted as such by the Church in earlier times. If a person is shown to have practiced heroic virtue–beyond what people in general do – in all virtues, the title “Venerable” is given; with two miracles by that one’s intercession, the title is “Blessed”; two more miracles can lead to canonization and the title of Saint.

Source EWTN

The Papacy

We also define that the holy apostolic see, and the Roman pontiff, holds the primacy over the whole world, that the Roman pontiff is the successor of blessed Peter, prince of the apostles, that he is the true vicar of Christ, the head of the whole Church and the father and teacher of all Christians, and that to him was committed in blessed Peter the full power of tending, ruling and governing the whole church, as is contained also in the acts of ecumenical councils and in the sacred canons (COUNCIL OF FLORENCE, 1439).

Therefore, faithfully adhering to the tradition received from the beginning of the christian faith, … we teach and define as a divinely revealed dogma that when the Roman Pontiff speaks ex cathedra, that is, when, in the exercise of his office as shepherd and teacher of all Christians, in virtue of his supreme apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the whole Church, he possesses, by the divine assistance promised to him in blessed Peter, that infallibility which the divine Redeemer willed his Church to enjoy in defining doctrine concerning faith or morals. Therefore, such definitions of the Roman Pontiff are of themselves, and not by the consent of the Church, irreformable (VATICAN COUNCIL I, 1870).

Source EWTN

The Holy Eucharist

The greatest of the seven sacraments is the Holy Eucharist. The Catholic Church teaches that in the Eucharist, Our Lord Jesus Christ, true God and true man, is really present under the appearances of bread and wine. Our Lord is not merely symbolized by the bread and wine; nor is he present only through the faith of those present. Rather, the two material things, bread and wine, are completely changed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ, leaving behind only their sensible appearances. Thus, through the words of consecration spoken by the priest, Jesus, without ceasing to be present in a natural way in heaven, is also present sacramentally, body, blood, soul and divinity, in many places throughout the world.

The Eucharist is not only a sacrament but also a sacrifice. In it Jesus, acting through the priest, makes present again in an unbloody manner the sacrifice which he offered once for all by shedding his blood on Calvary. In Holy Communion, by obeying Jesus’ command to eat his flesh and drink his blood, the faithful are also united spiritually with Jesus himself, and they unite their own prayers, works and sufferings to his perfect sacrifice.

Source EWTN

Eucharistic Adoration

The Last Things

The last things are death, judgment, heaven and hell.

Death is the separation of man’s mortal body and immortal soul. It comes to all men as a result of original sin. It is a temporary state, for at the end of the world, all men shall rise again to be judged by Christ. Thus the whole man, body and soul, will be rewarded for the good or evil that he has done, body and soul, in this life.

At the moment of death, each human person is judged by God based on his conduct in this life, and goes immediately to his reward or punishment. Moreover, at the end of the world, Jesus Christ will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. At that time, God’s whole plan for the world shall be revealed, and his mercy and justice demonstrated.

Heaven is the eternal state of perfect happiness resulting from the face to face vision of God, which is the reward of those who have served Him in this life.

Hell is the eternal state of torment and despair which awaits those who, in this life, have freely rejected God and the happiness which He offers.

Before the end of the world, there will be an intermediate state called purgatory. There, those who are bound for heaven, but whose love for God is still marred by some imperfection, undergo a temporary period of purifying suffering. When this purification is complete, they are fit to enter God’s presence and are admitted to the joys of heaven.

Source EWTN

The Seven Corporal Works of Mercy

To feed the hungry
To give drink to the thirsty
To clothe the naked
To shelter the homeless
To visit the sick
To visit the imprisoned
To bury the dead

See Matthew 25

The Seven Spiritual Works of Mercy

To counsel the doubtful
To instruct the ignorant
To admonish the sinner
To comfort the sorrowful
To forgive all injuries
To bear wrongs patiently
To pray for the living and the dead

See Catechism of the Catholic Church

The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Wisdom
Understanding
Counsel
Fortitude
Knowledge
Piety
Fear of the Lord

See Isaiah 11:2

The Twelve Fruits of the Holy Spirit

Charity
Joy
Peace
Patience
Benignity
Goodness
Longanimity
Mildness
Faith
Modesty
Continency
Chastity

See Galatians 5:22

The Ten Commandments

Thou shalt not have other gods besides Me
Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain
Remember to keep holy the Lord’s day
Honor thy father and thy mother
Thou shalt not murder
Thou shalt not commit adultery
Thou shalt not steal
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods

See Exodus 20

The Two Greatest Commandments

To love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind and strength.
To love thy neighbor as thyself.

See  Mark 12:30,31

The Six Precepts of the Church (The Duties of a Catholic)

To go to Mass and refrain from servile work on Sundays and holy days
To go to Confession at least once a year (traditionally done during Lent)
To receive the Eucharist at least once a year, during the Easter Season (known as the “Easter duty”)
To observe the days of fasting and abstinence
To help to provide for the needs of the Church according to one’s abilities and station in life
To obey the marriage laws of the Church

The Twelve Apostles

Peter		Formerly “Simon,” renamed “Kepha” or “Cephas” by Our Lord; preached in Antioch, Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, and Asia Minor, Rome; headed Roman Church (was first Pope); crucified upside-down in Rome, Italy. Symbols: the Keys; upside-down Latin Cross; book. Relics: St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City. Feast: June 29 (along with St. Paul); August 1 (St. Peter’s Chains).
Andrew		Peter’s brother; preached in Scythia; Epirus; Achaia; Hellas; Cappadocia, Galatia, and Bithynia, Scythian deserts, Byzantium;Thrace, Macedonia, Thessaly, and Achaia; crucified in Patrae in Achaia. Symbols: X-shaped Cross; anchor; fish; fishing net. Relics: Cathedral of Amalfi, Italy, and in St. Andrew’s Church, Patras, Greece. Feast: November 30.
James the Greater		He and his brother (John) nicknamed by Jesus “Sons of Thunder” (Boanerges); a son of Zebedee; preached in Spain; beheaded by Herod Agrippa I to please the Jews. Symbols: seashells; pilgrim’s staff; scroll; book; floppy hat; trampling a Moor; mounted on horseback. Relics: Compostela, Spain. Feast: July 25.
John		He and his brother (James the Greater) nicknamed by Jesus “Sons of Thunder” (Boanerges); a son of Zebedee; the disciple whom Jesus loved; Evangelist; preached in Asia Minor (Ephesus). Symbols: chalice; eagle; serpent; sword; cauldron. Relics: Basilica of St. John, Ephesus, Turkey. Feast: December 27.
Philip		Preached in Hieropolis in Asia (?); relics at church of the Dodici Apostoli in Rome, Italy. Symbols: basket of loaves; T-shaped Cross. Relics: Holy Apostles Basilica, Rome, Italy. Feast: May 11 (with St. James the Less)
Bartholomew		Preached in India, Mesopotamia, Persia, Egypt, Armenia, Lycaonia, Phrygia, shores of the Black Sea (?); flayed alive and crucified, head downward in Albanopolis in Armenia. Symbols: tanner’s knife; flayed skin. Relics: St. Bartholomew-in-the-Island, Rome, Italy. Feast: August 24.
Matthew		“Levi”; Evangelist; preached in Ethiopia to the south of the Caspian Sea (not Ethiopia in Africa), Persia and the kingdom of the Parthians, Macedonia, and Syria, and to the Hebrews generally (?). Martyred by sword. Symbols: angel/man/winged man holding a pen or inkwell; bag of coins, money bag, money box, or purse; spear; sword; halberd; lance. Relics: Cathedral of Salerno, Salerno, Italy. Feast: September 21.
Thomas		“Didymus,” meaning “Twin”; familiarly (not Scripturally) known as “Doubting Thomas”; preached in India; pierced through with spears by four soldiers at Syriac Mazdai. Symbols: T-square; spear. Relics: Basilica of St. Thomas, Ortono, Italy, and Santhome Cathedral, Chennai, India. Feast: December 21.
James the Less		“James the Just” or “James the Younger”; son of Alphaeus (Clophas) and “brother of the Lord”; Bishop of Jerusalem Church; epistle writer; killed by Jews by being thrown off the Temple and clubbed to death. Symbols: fuller’s club; book; windmill. Relics: Holy Apostles Basilica, Rome, Italy. Feast: May 11 (with St. Philip)
Jude		“Thaddaeus”; “brother of James (the Less)”; epistle writer. Symbols: shown with medallion with profile of Jesus around his neck; shown with flame above his head; oar; boat; axe; book; pen. Relics: St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City. Feast: October 28 (with St. Simon).
Simon		“Simon the Zealot” or “Simon the Canaanite.” Symbols: fish(es); man being sawn in two longitudinally; saw; lance. Relics: St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City. Feast: October 28 (with St. Jude).
Judas Iscariot		Replaced after his suicide by Matthias (St. Matthias’s Feast: February 24).

The Twelve Tribes of Israel

Reuben
Simeon
Levi
Judah
Zabulon
Issachar
Dan
Gad
Asher
Naphtali
Joseph (Menasseh and Ephraim)
Benjamin

The Eight Beatitudes

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall posses the land.
Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy
Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called children of God
Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven

(see Matthew 5:3-10)

The Fourteen Stations of the Cross

Jesus is Condemned to Die
Jesus is Made to Bear His Cross
Jesus Falls the First Time
Jesus Meets His Mother
Simon Helps Jesus Carry His Cross
Veronica Wipes Jesus’ Face
Jesus Falls the Second Time
Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem
Jesus Falls the Third Time
Jesus is Stripped
Jesus is Nailed to the Cross
Jesus Dies on the Cross
Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross
Jesus is Laid in the Tomb

The Last Words of Christ

The 7 Last Words of Christ

Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Luke 23:34

Christ’s first words from the Cross, in the earliest throes of His agony, are to ask God to forgive the very people who placed Him there. How many of us are lonely because of estrangement from someone once close to us whom we have refused to forgive or who has been unforgiving of us? Can we make a gesture to reach out to that person while our arms remain free to move? Even if we should be rebuffed, can we do as Christ did and pray that God will forgive that person — and us, too?

Amen I say to thee; This day thou shalt be with me in paradise. Luke 23:34

The completely innocent Christ was given two criminals as His companions as He hung from the Cross. One of them railed at Him, demanding that He save them all if He truly was the Christ. The other rebuked the first for not fearing God present in Christ, who suffered the same punishment as theirs even though He was innocent.

When that “good thief” asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His kingly power, Jesus uttered His second word from the Cross: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” These words certainly brought that thief incredible solace and joy. If we are or should become victims of severe emotional or social isolation, how might we treat those in the same boat, bearing a similar cross? Will we recognize Christ in them and treat them accordingly? Our ultimate reward will be great one day should we, too, share Paradise with Christ.

Woman, behold thy son. . . .Behold thy mother John 19:26-27

Now imagine Christ’s loneliness as He looks down at His totally loving, devoted, and sinless mother, beside John, His “beloved disciple.” He knows how they share His tortures and will soon have to cope with His loss in their earthly existence, but He is anything but paralyzed by His distress. He wants those whom He loves to continue to love and care for each other in the most intimate of ways, as that between a mother and her child, a child and his mother. Of course, Jesus grants Mary as Queen of Heaven to be mother not only to John but to every man and woman on earth. She is as willing to fly to our aid today as she was to John’s on the day of Christ’s Crucifixion.

Centuries after that day, St. Thérèse of Lisieux would ponder the strength of the Blessed Mother in enduring so many sorrows, noting that, unlike all of us, Mary herself did not have a Blessed Mother to pray to (although, of course, she had her Son)! So, is there a lonely person in your life, perhaps someone bereaved of a parent, or a child, for whom you might step forward and offer love and support, as John and the Blessed Mother offered each other love and support?

Eli, Eli, lamma sabacthani? (My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?) Matthew 27:46, ref. Psalm 21

Christ here echoes the Psalm, which expresses the desolation He felt in His human nature. Here is Christ suffering. Here is another example of how we can join our suffering with Christ’s. In our loneliest hours, do we feel that we are forsaken not only by man, but by God? If so, can we still call out to God in prayer, expecting that He will hear us?

I thirst. John 19:28

Here is another reminder that Christ joined us in our humanity. The eternal Word who was in the beginning, who was with God, and who was God (see John 1:1) has agreed to take on the weakness, the cravings, and the gnawing of the human flesh of His creatures, for our own sake, and yet we let Him suffer.

Do we take much time to think of the lonely people in our lives for whom Christ died and of how they might thirst for attention? And we needn’t get too metaphorical, for sometimes the lonely are isolated and may experience physical thirst and hunger that we might help relieve. The Church has always recognized that we are not disembodied souls, but ensouled bodies and both elements of our unity are good and deserving of care. This is why she has long encouraged both spiritual and corporal (fleshly, bodily) works of mercy.

In fact, sometimes we spend so much time in the virtual, elec­tronic world that we forget that we all have bodies with needs we can help each other fulfill. When a text or an e-mail replaces a phone call, we have cut ourselves off from the recipient’s voice.

When a call replaces face-to-face contact, we have cut ourselves off not only from that person’s face, but from his or her body language, all those subtle ways that God has given us to communicate with one another by virtue of having bodies. When we connect only over distant airwaves, we can certainly suggest that a thirsty friend get a drink, but we are in no position to hand him one.

It is finished. John 19:30

What a relief Christ must have felt when His task, the most gruesome yet important task ever assigned on earth, was complete! He expressed it in these simple words: “It is finished.” Our own life task is clearly not finished.

What, then, will we do to establish new emotional and social connections and strengthen the ones we already have in our time left on earth before, God willing, we pass through the gates of heaven Christ opened for us by completing His mission on the wood of the Cross?

Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit. Luke 23:46, ref. Psalm 30:6

These are the very last words Jesus breathed on earth before His spirit returned to His Father. Will our focus be on God in our last moment? It is, after all, “in Him that we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Are we willing to commit our spirits to God now? Such commitment to God, who is no mere abstract power or force, let alone an uncaring ruler, but is our Father, who has given His Son for our salvation, and who gives us His Holy Spirit to dwell in the temples of our bodies, cannot help but provide relief to our deepest feelings of loneliness, and motivation to reach out with His love to the lonely around us.

Let’s ask ourselves how we might unite our sufferings with Christ’s and, despite what may befall us, resolve to trust in Him and commit our spirits to the Father’s loving hands.

The Order of Creation

1st Day:	A dividing of light from darkness brings forth Heaven and a formless, water-covered Earth, then Light
2nd Day:	A dividing of the waters above from the waters below to create the Firmament of Heaven
3rd Day:	A dividing of the waters under the heavens to form dry land; then grass, herbs, and fruit trees
4th Day:	Sun, Moon and Stars
5th Day:	Creatures of the waters and of the air
6th Day:	Creatures of the land, then Man

Note:
God, Who is of the supernatural order, created the natural and preternatural (e.g., the angelic) orders out of nothing (ex nihilo), in time (“in the beginning”), and for His own pleasure. Only God can “create,” and because of this, in the strict sense, it is actually rather blasphemous to refer to man as “creating” anything (“create” and “creation” have come to have everyday meanings, so don’t be ridiculous about that). Man can produce, re-produce, manufacture, form, fashion, fabricate, design, shape, or make — but he cannot bring into existence anything out of nothing. Angels and demons, too, are limited and cannot do the truly miraculous. They are able, however, to take what is created and manipulate it in ways that seem miraculous and are able to influence our perceptions and imaginations.

You can remember the Order of Creation by thinking of the first three days as days which God spent creating forms and frameworks by dividing the elements, and the last three days as the days He spent creating things to fill those forms created by dividing the elements, e.g.:

Day 1 Light		Day 4 specific forms of light in the Sun, Moon, and Stars
Day 2 the Firmament/waters		Day 5 birds to fill the firmament, and fish to fill the waters
Day 3 dry land		Day 6 land animals and man

The Nine Choirs of Angels

In ascending order:

Angels
Archangels
Principalities
Powers
Virtues
Dominions
Thrones
Cherubim
Seraphim

Note:
The Choir of Angels is divided into three triads with specific concerns:

The 1st triad:	Angels, Archangels, and Principalities: concern themselves with the minute ordering of the universe and specific causes, including the welfare of people. Each human being, each church, and each country has a Guardian Angel. The Feast of the Guardian Angels is October 2.
The 2nd triad:	Powers, Virtues and Dominions: known as the “angels of creation” because they concern themselves with the ordering of the universe and a plurality of causes.
The 3rd triad:	Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim: concern themselves with contemplating the glory of God. It is the 6-winged Seraphim who sing the Sanctus, “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of Hosts” (Isaias 6:3).

Angels (the word means “Messengers”) are spirits (there was and is debate as to whether they are pure spirit like God or whether they are possess “subtle matter” and are corporeal in a different way from us), created before man, who were given one choice at the beginning of Creation: the Kingdom of God — or the Absence of God, which is the Kingdom of Satan, the first Angel who rebelled.

There are 7 Archangels (Tobias 12:15). We know the names of 3 of them from Scripture:

• Michael (Daniel, Epistle of St. Jude, Apocalypse of St. John), whose name means “Who is like God” and whose Feast is September 29;
• Gabriel (Daniel and Luke), whose name means “Strength of God” and whose Feast is March 24; and
• Raphael (Tobias), whose name means “Medicine of God” and whose Feast is October 24.