At the core of sin is a rejection of God and the refusal to accept his love. This is manifested in a disregard for his commandments. [385-390] Sin is more than incorrect behavior; it is not just a psychological weakness. In the deepest sense every rejection or destruction of somethingContinue Reading
The soul is what makes every individual person a man: his spiritual life-principle and inmost being. The soul causes the material body to be a living human body. Through his soul, man is a creature who can say “I” and stand before GOd as an irreplaceable individual. [362-365, 382] MenContinue Reading
Angles are pure spiritual creatures of God who have understanding and will. They have no bodies, cannot die, and are usually not visible. They live constantly in God’s presence and convey God’s will and God’s protection to men. [328-333, 350-351] An angel, wrote Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, is “so to speakContinue Reading
Our faith calls “hell” the condition of final separation from God. Anyone who sees love clearly in the face of God and, nevertheless, does not want it decides freely to have this condition instead. [1033-1036] Jesus, who knows what hell is like, speaks about it as the “outer darkness” (Mt.Continue Reading
Heaven is God’s milieu, the dwelling place of the angels and saints, and the goal of creation. With the words “heaven and earth” we designate the whole of created reality. [325-327] Heaven is not a place in the universe. It is a condition in the next life. Heaven is whereContinue Reading
A good creation Genesis tells us that God’s act of creation occurred in and orderly fashion. On the first day, he spoke the words “Let there be light” (1:3), which separated the light from the darkness to from day and night. The events of the day then drew to aContinue Reading
I. NAME The word “testament”, Hebrew berîth, Greek diatheke, primarily signifies the covenant which God entered into first with Abraham, then with the people of Israel. The Prophets had knowledge of a new covenant to which the one concluded on Mount Sinai should give away. Accordingly Christ at the LastContinue Reading
(from Latin missio = sending): Mission is the essence of the Chruch and Jesus’ mandate to all Christians to proclaim the Gospel in word and deed, so that all men can freely make a decision for Christ.Continue Reading
(from the Latin caro, carnis = flesh, “becoming flesh”): God’s act of becoming man in Jesus Christ. This is the foundation of Christian faith and of hope for the redemption of mankind.Continue Reading
Revelation means that God opens himself, shows himself, and speaks to the world voluntarily.Continue Reading
