Lesson 2

Coming to believe in actual truth is an important condition for living a righteous life. Living by such truths exudes importance because of their lasting and/or ending results. By nature, you tend to move towards that which is true.  This makes it extremely important for any actual truth to be authoritative by source, authentic, and absolute. Because if your beliefs are not actual truths, then they are a concoction of lies, myths,  illusions, or misperceptions.

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[1] CCC 2467  - Living in Truth CCC 2465-2470

 A Brief Discussion on Believing.

Certain things believed have been reasoned to be true by observation or testing objective empirical information. In such instances, you either witness this, analyze empirical data that affirms a certain truth, or objectively they have been tested against other known truths. In addition, some things you believe have come from authoritative and reliable sources.

While beliefs are important, it is possible certain things believed may not have been ascertained using good reasoning, founded on truths or reliable sources. With any person, there can be a propensity to maintain certain beliefs because originally they were founded on personal likes and dislikes. There can be a tendency to believe or react a certain way because of some traumatic or imposing experience. While it may seem reasonable, it is not. Unreasonable beliefs may come from a deep-rooted obsession, fear, or subconscious reaction that develops a ‘perception’ concerning certain things or situations. Such perceptions manifest into habits or beliefs (delusions) that are maintained because of some impact they had or may still have.  

An open fear (phobia) or even a prejudice can manifest into a Pavlovian response transmuting into irrational behavior. Most irrational behavior comes from a perception and the response can seem reasonable at first. Certain perceptions may develop into beliefs that are not tested against actual truth, known absolutes, and good reason. A skewed belief results in odd or irrational behavior, poor judgment, and bad habits, and causes doubt.

It is important to realize, the glaring difference between, believing in absolute truths versus making true what you believe. Incorrect beliefs or having skewed beliefs can cause you to have a skewed view of life, resulting in the making of poor decisions. This results in unreasonable behavior. Your beliefs may or may not be real or a full sense of truth. Real absolute truth has authoritative certitude[1] and is authentic.[2] Therefore obtaining truths that are authentic and absolute is very important. 

In Christianity, there must be a departure from the idea which foists a simplistic sense, where “belief” is relegated to “opinions or conjectures.” This only suggests the idea that certain beliefs contain or imply uncertainties. Note that uncertainties are different from mysteries. Additionally, some people create the idea that “belief” as it is applied in religious circles, is pressed upon as a method of rote or thematic assent without containing an understanding of the certainty or authority behind the belief. Almost like goose-stepping through a religious process without conscience or intentional desire for an authentic encounter with God. In both situations, this is not believing or belief as understood and practiced with Christianity.

For within the Catholic Faith, there is nothing uncertain or unreasonable about what is given and taught as the truth in Christ. So when you come to Catholicism you come to encounter through Christ’s church which teaches with His authority, the truths as conveyed and revealed by God. True believing or the idea of belief is to accept the truth from the testimony of another.[3]

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[1] That which is authoritative in source, stands on its own merits, does not contradict other truths and is reasonable. When used in “truth” it never contains a contradiction of faith and reason.

[2] Authentic: That which is original, primary, and corresponds to factual situations. It is the reality given without illusions or perceptions both subjective or implied.

[3] This Tremendous Lover – M. Eugene Boylan, OCR, Christian Classics, 1987. Chapter 6 Page 56 - 57

The second understanding or use of faith is those things taught as religious truths. Examples would be; God exists, there is only one God and God must be worshipped. This is just a short sample of the truths of the faith and what is referred to using the term tenets. A tenet is a principle, rule, or core belief. When understood properly you will notice these tenets of faith do not oppose reason. At this point of your journey, you will dive into the truths the Catholic Faith teaches and believes.

A “tenet” is a principle, rule or core belief.

Early Christianity taught ‘the faith’ using a process called catechesis and one tool used were creeds. To be identified as a Christian you would declare what you believed by reciting a creed. From these early times are two creeds which in certain forms have been handed down through the ages. They are the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed, which are still used today.

One more thing about faith.” It is one of the three “theological virtues (Faith, Hope, and Love) given to mankind in order for us to choose to know and love God.  More on this is discussed in a later lesson.

The Catholic Church is the “Pillar and foundation of Truth"

Many ideologies are poorly formed beliefs. Stemming from a nugget of truth, they pose a myopic servitude to a subjective element of that truth while disregarding or negating other truths. This tendency leads to a life of uncertainty and resistance to the truth. It is like being on a ship without a rudder to steer it. Thrown about the sea by any prevailing wind or current, it can never have a planned destination nor a port to call home! Living your life in such a way means bouncing around the ocean of popular beliefs of the day. Holding to an attitude in life based on poorly formed beliefs or misinformation is like a rudderless ship, ending up at the wrong destination for sure.

Catholic Christianity promotes a Christian lifestyle based on revealed truth coming from God. This truth is the foundation which the Catholic faith with all of its tenets is firmly set upon. The Catholic Church is the “Pillar and foundation of Truth.”[1] This is not a romantic notion nor a simpleton’s argument, and should not be considered as such. Catholicism has as its foundation an unshakable pillar of truth that prevents the faithful follower from being thrown adrift in the stormy sea of life. The Christian consents to “live in the truth,”[2] by clinging to God, who is the source of all truth. This consent is done, so as not to deny or doubt His truth, thus remaining in darkness.[3]

The rock-solid foundation of Catholicism provides the truth from which you develop a relationship with God. It is an enriched sense of life for your journey towards God. The truth taught about God has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Believing in this truth can transform your life through its entirety up to the end. Such truths are stated with a beginning, a middle, and an end, in The Apostles Creed and The Nicene Creed. The two creeds begin with God as the creator, in the middle is the saving act of Jesus, God’s continued benevolence and the end is everlasting life.

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[1] 1 Timothy 3:15  But if I should be delayed, you should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth.

[2] CCC 2470  

[3] 1 Jn 1:6 :  

The Apostles Creed is the ancient baptismal symbol of the Church of Rome.[1] As such it was the earlier of two creeds and was part of the Baptismal service in the Church of Rome.[2]

The Nicene Creed expands upon the roots of the Apostles Creed. The content of the creed was first confirmed and amended during the ecumenical Council at Nicaea in the year 325 AD. This was done to combat a grave heresy known as the ‘Arian heresy’[1]. To correct the wrongs of the heresy, the following was included in the Creed:

I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Begotten Son of God

Born of the Father before all ages,

God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God,

begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father.

Through Him all things were made.

With the additional wording, the Council confirmed the Church’s belief in the oneness of God the Father and God the Son. It also addressed a theological point regarding the two natures of Jesus Christ; the following was added to reaffirm what was already believed from the beginning regarding the humanity of Jesus. 

For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven.

and by the Holy Spirit he was incarnate of the Virgin Mary

and became man.

In 381AD at the Council of Constantinople, clarity was provided regarding what was already believed concerning the divinity of the Holy Spirit. This pointed to the tenet concerning the Holy Trinity[2]. So, the following was added to the creed.[3]

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord the giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son,

who with the Father and the Son he is adored and glorified,

who has spoken through the prophets.

The Creed concludes with the four identifying marks of the true Church of Jesus Christ One, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.

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[1] Arian Heresy – Denied the divinity of Jesus. It Denied that Jesus was one with and equally God.

[2] The trinity is “God the Father, God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit.” More on this in a later lesson.

[3] A Short History of the Mass – Alfred McBride, O/ Praem: St. Anthony’ Messenger Press 2006. Chapter 3 page 55.

As you begin to know who God is, your initial response will be to trust Him with faith. This is not referring to a trust in “Who God is to You,” because God is never relegated to opinion. You cannot know God by relying on human-oriented thinking or feelings. You can only know God by what He does and how He chooses to reveal Himself. God reveals Himself as the creator of all existence, He is not aloof, nor does He remain away from His creation. God’s love, mercy, power, and grace permeate creation.

To say, “I believe in (one) God,” is placing your trust in God. In one sense it is a constant invitation from God to surrender more and more of yourself to Him. You demonstrate this by seeking and following His will. This belief is far removed from the idea of: “Well, I believe there is a God out there somewhere.” God is not impersonal. Christianity teaches and believes in a God who cares deeply for mankind, is personal, and wants you to get to know Him. And there are ways to do that.

As a human, you understand physical things as well as abstract things by way of a tangible sense. After all that is how you operate as a physical creature. The use of symbols (language) in an organic and/or systemic way begins to transcend the physical to convey a thought or idea. This then leads to learning. To learn integrated subjects and abstract topics qualifies as a “Study.” There are studies about God,  where you can learn what comes from God. “The Study of God,” is certainly worthwhile and is called “Theology.”  Theos is the Greek word for “God” and “ology” which is Greek for “The study of.”

Theology is a beneficial way of understanding or knowing “About” God and seeks to answer the question, “Who is God?” It can help to develop a personal relationship with God, which is your main goal in life. As an example, when you set out to get to know someone, you may go to another person and ask, “What is he/she like?” They answer by giving a way to identify the person. So, when you meet that person you can say, “Aha, this is that person!” (At least in your mind.) Then you begin to get to know the person at a personal level. Theology can work to determine “Aha this must be God or from God.” A deeper understanding of theology comes much later in Christianity, after your initiation and maturity in the faith.

You do not need to be versed in theology to know God. Knowing God is choosing to love God. However, getting to know God initially, begins with having to learn a little about Him. You start with some very simple Theology to help validate and understand something about Him. You have already encountered some basic theology when you learned that God IS being. And a little theology like that goes a long way.

Theology helps, but it is the gift of “faith” freely given by God that aids in a deeper belief in God. Faith helps you grasp God’s revelation found in scripture. God reveals himself to individuals as is found in the spiritual experiences of the saints disclosed in their writings. As wonderful as this revelation is, along with the inspired writings of saints, all this only begins to scratch the surface of all there is that God can be for you. 

The use of Faith, allows you to answer the question, “Does God Exist?” with assurance. When you answer with belief and say, “Yes God does exist,” you should thank God because this is from His gift of faith to you.

Many reasonable arguments wrangle within the froes of logic, providing reasonable conclusions for the existence of God. There must be a God because God is a reasonable and suitable conclusion for creation. It should be noted that logic and science cannot disprove the existence of God. This, for the person of faith, is a bonus. The person relying on logic alone for inconclusive evidence of whether God exists or not uses an approach that can easily turn on them. Their search becomes a web of denial filled with deep-rooted prejudices. “Oh, what a tangled web we weave…”[1]

Never fall into the trap of thinking, that to know God is left alone to reason, speculation, or feelings. And never set out to believe you can ever know all there is to know about God (this is foolishness as well as impossible). Always remember Faith is the assurance of things unseen. St. Paul in his second Epistle to the Corinthians writes “ for we walk by Faith and not by sight.” ( 2 Corinthians 5:7)

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[1]Though commonly attributed to Shakespeare; he never wrote or said, "Oh what a tangled web we weave/ When first we practice to deceive." The line belongs to Sir Walter Scott, from his 1808 poem Marmion.

God in His commandments.

Revelation from God includes what He spoke to Moses about Himself in the Book of Exodus. In Exodus God gives His ten commandments to Moses for us to follow. The first three commandments are specific to God.

I.    I AM THE LORD THY GOD: THOU SHALT NOT HAVE STRANGE GODS BEFORE ME.

II.  THOU SHALL NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD THY GOD IN VAIN.

II.  KEEP THE SABBATH HOLY.

His Nature:

God is pure spirit, infinite with no beginning and no end. He is incorruptible and indivisible. There is no breakdown or components whose whole constitutes God. He just is![1] This revelation is also disclosed in His name “I Am.”

His existence:

God revealed Himself to many personages in the Bible and inspired the writers to declare His existence. Genesis starts with God there at the beginning.[2]  The Psalmist declares that only fools have no belief in God.[3] Later St Paul’s writes to the Romans asserting God’s existence.[4]

His Name:

In the Old Testament Book of Exodus, you will find where God speaks to Moses for the first time. During this encounter, Moses asks God for His name. God answers “I Am who Am,” and instructs Moses to tell the Israelites, “‘He Who Is,’ has sent me to you.”[5] By His name, as given to Moses, God reveals that His essence is, a subsistent being itself. As such God declares He owes His existence to no other being. All beings and things in this universe are dependent on Him for their existence. 

He is eternal:

Since God’s nature is pure spirit and His name declares Him to always be, therefore, He had no beginning and will never cease to be. [6]

He is Holy:

The prophet Isaiah revealed that the angels pronounce God’s Holiness[7]

He is Love and Our Father:

The Gospel writer St. John reveals in one of his epistles that “God is charity.” Charity is another word for love.[8] Since God is boundless, all-powerful, and purest essence of being, then God can only love perfectly. Jesus tells us to Pray to God as “Our Father.” 

He wants all men to be saved:

This aspect is explained more fully through the various lessons. However, St. Paul inspired by the Holy Spirit reveals in His letter to Timothy that God desires all men to be saved. [9] 

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[1] What He has, He is!”  St Augustine

[2] Genesis 1:1   In the Beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

[3] Psalm 14:1  “The fool says in his heart “there is no God.”

[4] Romans 1:20  Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made. As a result, they have no excuse;

[5] Exodus 3:13-14  “But,” said Moses to God, “if I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what do I tell them?”14 God replied to Moses: I am who I am.* Then he added: This is what you will tell the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.

[6] Psalm 90:2  Before the mountains were born,  the earth and the world brought forth, from eternity to eternity you are God.

[7] Isaiah 6:3  “Holy, holy, holy  is the LORD of hosts!  All the earth is filled with his glory!”

[8] 1 John  4;16   We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.  God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.

[9] 1 Tim 2:3-4   This is good and pleasing to God our savior, 4who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.

The Host and His Invited Guests

A Story by Marcus J. Tamayo.

The early evening is quite pleasant, and you are filled with excitement because you have been invited to a formal gathering. You arrive at the much-anticipated event. As you approach the entrance you see some guests exiting limousines and are dressed quite exquisitely. You make your way to the entrance. You are cordially greeted by many servants. Many other people have arrived for this occasion as well. The host of the gathering, who has yet to appear, has made sure you as well as all the other guests are cordially greeted by his staff and comfortably situated.

The environment for the gathering is filled with elegant furnishings which are breathtaking. The arrangements are both comfortable and artfully decorated. Every detail for the total ambiance is exquisite. There is ample food and beverages. In the background, there is nice music being played.  As if all this was not enough, the host even provided five-star accommodations and luxurious transportation to the gathering for most of his guests.

As the host makes his way through the gathering, he politely addresses each person one by one. With the same indifference[1] as before, many guests turn their backs and ignore him. Others just give him a side glance or give him a condescending glare. The host extends his hand to everyone only to be met with a scornful glare or just plainly ignored. Some hold out a loose-fitted hand, but their expressions are hardly warm. They quickly turn and resume their mingling and proceed to ignore him. Not a single person offers a genuine acknowledgment and gratitude for being invited to the gathering.

The host finally makes his way to you. He sees the puzzled and astonished look on your face. He holds out his hand and you grasp it in a cordial manner. Seeing compassion in your eyes, He asks you; “What have I done wrong so as to deserve to be ignored in such a way?”  “Have I not done all this for them?”  “What more should I have done?”

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[1] St. Maximillian Kolbe: “The most deadly poison of our time is indifference.”

17 Someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I have brought to you my son possessed by a mute spirit.  18  Wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable to do so.”  

19  He said to them in reply, “O faithless generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring him to me.” 

 20  They brought the boy to him. And when he saw him, the spirit immediately threw the boy into convulsions. As he fell to the ground, he began to roll around and foam at the mouth.  

21  Then he questioned his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” He replied, “Since childhood.  22  It has often thrown him into fire and into water to kill him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”  

23  Jesus said to him, “ ‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.”   24  Then the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief!”  

25  Jesus, on seeing a crowd rapidly gathering, rebuked the unclean spirit and said to it, “Mute and deaf spirit, I command you: come out of him and never enter him again!”  26  Shouting and throwing the boy into convulsions, it came out. He became like a corpse, which caused many to say, “He is dead!”  

27  But Jesus took him by the hand, raised him, and he stood up.  

28  When he entered the house, his disciples asked him in private, “Why could we not drive it out?”  29  He said to them, “This kind can only come out through prayer.”

(Mark 9:17-29)

The passage from the evangelist Mark’s Gospel provides insight as to how much Jesus cares for us. The daily challenge for the Christian will often be one of faith (having faith in Jesus) and to believe Jesus himself truly wants to help us.

Look at verse 23. Notice Jesus response begins with “If !” This is not a rebuke to the poor father of the possessed boy. It is an honest assessment that you can expect from Jesus always. It points into the soul, the very core of the person to reveal those moments of lingering doubts. In other words, Jesus tells us to face our doubts and areas where we lack faith or when we have chosen not to use faith. We take all of that and it to Jesus the perfecter of souls. Jesus continues by saying, “ Everything is possible to one who has faith.” Jesus never said, “Everything is possible for one who has knowledge or thinks positively!”  It is through faith that we can see God bending down towards us to lift us. We are to have faith in Jesus Christ.

Notice the father's humble reply and prayer, “ I do believe, help my unbelief!” This is a great prayer for any Christian when confronted with trials. We call out to Jesus for help. Such a prayer in its utter basic honesty acknowledges we get our faith from Jesus. When we struggle to “have faith” we can even lay that before God in prayer. God provides faith, all that is needed from us is to go forth, ask, and believe. 

The last part of this passage has the disciples asking Jesus a question. Jesus responds to the disciples by stressing the importance of prayer. 

• Face your doubts and give them to Jesus

• Have faith in Jesus in all things

• Pray constantly and seek/listen to His word in Scripture.