Q: What are we by nature?
A: We are part of God's creation, made in the image of God.
Q: What does it mean to be created in the image of God?
A: It means that we are free to make choices: to love, to create, to reason, and to live in harmony with creation and with God.
I read through the Catechism this morning, looking for a source of information in which to somewhat quell my distress. Since I've been focusing on the negative aspects of human nature, I've grown to hate it, citing it as the main reason why we've been straying from God. But I love the response to the second question in the Catechism, because it oulines (albeit vaguely) what we are able to do in life.
Q: Why then do we live apart from God and out of harmony with creation?
A: From the beginning, human beings have misused their freedom and made wrong choices.
Q: Why do we not use our freedom as we should?
A: Because we rebel against God, and we put ourselves in the place of God.
I already covered about the bad aspects of human nature, and the reasons given in the second set of responses pretty much covers my thesis (although I haven't written one yet) as to why it's so hard to live the life God wants for us.
Q: What help is there for us?
A: Our help is in God.
This is where, I believe, the necessary intimate relationship with God comes in. It's where we trust everything of our being to him and know that he will guide [help] us in our lives. I know this because even as I've strayed I'm still here, and upon learning more about things that have happened in my life I've realized that he's always been looking out for me, regardless of what I do.
Skipping ahead, here's what the Catechism had to say about the Bible...
Q: What are the Holy Scriptures?
A: The Holy Scriptures, commonly called the Bible, are the books of the Old and New Testaments; other books, called the Apocrypha, are often included in the Bible.
Q: Why do we call the Holy Scriptures the Word of God?
A: We call them the Word of God because God inspired their human authors and because God still speaks to us through the Bible.
I think one area where many people get confused is when they think that God himself wrote the Bible. Here, that is clearly not the case. Of course the Bible couldn't have been written without God's inspiration (also called the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in another question); otherwise it is merely another book written long ago. However, as it was written down by human hands we still must take into account the language and individual interpretation. This is especially important when dealing with various social issues, specifically considering issues where the scripture appears to support or ban a social act, but either doesn't explain its reasoning or does so in a vague manner.
Q: What is the Church?
A: The Church is the community of the New Covenant.
Q: How is the Church described in the Bible?
A: The Church is described as the Body of which Jesus Christ is the Head and of which all baptized persons are members.
I think as a kid I thought the church was the building itself. Actually I think most people do. When I read this it again confirmed for me that one needs to be part of a community in order to successfully live and spread the Word of God. The Left Hand of God by Michael Lerner, a book I started last summer and still haven't finished, bemoans the selfishness that drives the business of the world, and clamors for a need of reliance on each other--a community--through which we could live out God's vision for all of humankind. It's kind of funny when you think of how things operate, and how many of these things have many, many parts. Whether it's something complicated like a car or a human body, or simple like an atom or molecule, each section of this being or object needs to do its part. Even Jesus talked about the importance of the unity of the body (in metaphors of course) and explained that each section needed to do its part in order for the body to function properly. It's amazing that these things work so well because of its unity. It's just downright sad that it's nearly impossible for human society to do the same, because it makes complete sense.
I thought this little question was interesting:
Q: Why is the Church described as catholic?
A: The Church is catholic, because it proclaims the whole Faith to all people, to the end of time.
I'm kind of curious to see what the writers meant by "catholic". It's curiouser to note that the word was spelled with a lower-case "c", which has to mean something a little different than the definition that we generally know.
Q: Who are the ministers of the Church?
A: The ministers of the Church are lay persons, bishops, priests, and deacons.<br /><br />
Q: What is the ministry of the laity?
A: The ministry of lay persons is to represent Christ and his Church; to bear witness to him wherever they may be; and, according to the gifts given them, to carry on Christ's work of reconciliation in the world; and to take their place in the life, worship, and governance of the Church.
I'm not going to post the ministry of the other three positions, as most people I know aren't bishops, priests or deacons (or pastors). But I wanted to post the ministry of the laity because that's what I am (right now, anyway), and it more or less covers what I think I'm called to do. One bit of language that concerns me is the phrase "take their place," which on the surface suggest that they need to be put low so they can't rise too high, but in a larger frame concerns the issue of corruption across the many denominations of the Church. Reading this answer and focusing on the spirit of the word, it suggests that everyone has a certain range of tasks in their calling and no one goes further (higher or lower) than their necessary tasks. It is necessary, per se, that the bishop holds a certain amount of power. If he/she takes too much, it is viewed as corruption; if he/she takes too little, it is viewed as hesitation and weakness. Unfortunately, as most people are wont to do, they go after what they want instead of trying to figure out what God has planned for them. I know, because I'm guilty of it, and I've seen what happens to the Church (i.e. community) when persons in power corrupt their position by running things their way.
Q: What is prayer?
A: Prayer is responding to God, by thought and by deeds, with or without words.
[Note: the following question asked about Christian prayer, which is pretty much the same thing but apparently stresses God in his Trinitarian form.]
Q: What are the principal kinds of prayer?
A: The principal kinds of prayer are adoration, praise, thanksgiving, penitence, oblation, intercession, and petition.
Prayer has been a big part of my faith, possibly the biggest aspect of how I've been growing. Through my ups and downs in life I've been able to cover all the different kinds of prayers save for one. I'd never really understood oblation, or what it meant, but as I read on I gained a bit more knowledge on the subject:
Q: What is prayer of oblation?
A: Oblation is an offering of ourselves, our lives and labors, in union with Christ, for the purposes of God.
Through this I began to understand that perhaps I needed to do more in offering myself to do God's work. Before, I kind of figured that I should just do something that I thought God would want me to do, and just do that. It's going to be kind of a struggle as I try to understand this, because in order to really offer myself (instead of just giving myself, maybe) I have to listen as best as I can to what God might have me do and jump on those opportunities as they present themselves.
Over the years, as I've gotten less afraid of death, one of the things that's helped is my shift of concern towards what can I do before I die that will help spread the ministry of God's church (so to speak)? It became less a worry of, when will death come; and more, how can I make sure that I've done everything I've needed? But part of what's helped with my shift in view on death (besides reading through the Weird Illinois book about restless spirits roaming about) is that I believe that part of me will still live on even after the body stops working (and I believe this is true for everyone as well). Since I'm trying to maintain a close relationship with God, that relationship will endure long after I leave. In this is the hope and excitement for eternal life, and it's why the last couple questions in the Catechism stick out to me.
Q: What do we mean by everlasting life?
A: By everlasting life, we mean a new existence, in which we are united with all the people of God, in the joy of fully knowing and loving God and each other.
Q: What, then, is our assurance as Christians?
A: Our assurance as Christians is that nothing, not even death, shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The last response is pretty much my starting point for trying to get people to really understand what Christianity is supposed to be. Many of the different denominations cut-out crucial parts of the ministry and add-in non-Christian things, and through that many people have distorted views of what the kingdom of God is supposed to be. It is important to focus on the whole faith, not just bits and pieces of it. And when we start spreading Christianity, whole and pure, perhaps it will become easier to convince others (non-Christians) to follow and love God as we all should.
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