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Throughout the Gospels, Jesus never directly answered the question "What is the Kingdom of God?" but spoke in parables instead. He compared the Kingdom of God to the small mustard seed that springs up and becomes the largest of plants.
More InfoThe Church today is called to participate in the Kingdom of God. Those who live as Jesus did spread his kingdom through their everyday actions and attitudes when they act uprightly, practice patience, and love genuinely.
More InfoJesus has conquered death; this is the saving word that the Church proclaims through the last rites to those who are dying. The Resurrection of Jesus did not result in the abolition of physical death for humans, but it transformed physical death into a new life with God for all eternity.
More InfoWhether you were a babe in arms, an adolescent, or an adult, your Baptism united you to Christ Jesus. Whether the baptismal water was poured over your forehead or you were submerged, the sacred waters united you to the mystery of Christ's death and Resurrection.
More InfoSaint Paul called on the Philippians to be ever joyful and with grateful hearts to call upon God in prayer. Today, God's people rejoice and call on God in and through the saving actions of Jesus in the liturgy. In and through the sacramental celebrations, particularly the Eucharist, they take part in the Incarnation, life, death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus.
More InfoWhen a community of believers gathers, especially to celebrate the Eucharist, the group becomes a liturgical assembly. Believers are encouraged to be more than mere observers. Bishops at the Second Vatican Council sought to facilitate active participation of all the faithful in the Mass and other liturgical rites through mandated changes.
More InfoBecause of Original Sin, humans have a lifelong tendency to sin, but God's love and mercy are always available to them. When people act in a way that breaks their relationship with God completely, they commit mortal sin. When people act in a way that harms, but does not end their relationship with God or with others, they commit less serious, or venial sin.
More InfoGod wants humans to come freely to his love. Free will gives you the power to make choices and to act on them. This is both the right and the responsibility of Catholics trying to be disciples of Jesus. Humans don't always choose to do good. Sometimes they choose to sin.
More InfoThe world and our human limitations present us with many situations that require us to make choices. Some are relatively innocuous: white bread versus whole wheat, walking or riding a bus; making a telephone call now or later. Other choices however, reveal our true nature and show what we value most: Do I pay a fair price or try to make a deal that favors me?
More InfoThe Apostles are the "foundation stones" of the Church. (See the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 860). Chosen by Jesus to be his companions, the Apostles could speak with authority about the Lord's deeds and preaching. They were the primary witnesses to the Resurrection—the event upon which Christian faith rests.
More InfoMissionaries founded early Church communities by spreading the Good News from one town to the next. Saint Paul was the chief of these early missionaries. After he passed on, Paul wrote letters to the new communities in order to provide continued guidance.
More InfoJesus startled many of the people of his day with his teaching and his work. From the time Jesus appeared in the Temple as a young man, those who heard his message knew that it was unique. The people to whom Jesus reached out were often those who were poor "outsiders," or sinners.
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Jesus was a man of prayer. He prayed alone on a mountaintop; he prayed as he was baptized; he prayed before choosing his Apostles; and he prayed during his agony in the garden before his arrest. Jesus prayed often, and eventually his disciples asked him to teach them how to pray.
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The Paschal Mystery is the series of great events through which God brought about humanity's salvation—the passion, death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Christ. Although other historical events have had far-reaching consequences, those events cannot be "relived" except in the human imagination.
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Prophets were an important voice in Israel at a very difficult time. At one point the people were tempted to abandon the covenant. Later, their leaders were in exile. When the people experienced such hardships, they found it difficult to keep their focus on the one true God.
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Because humans are created in the image of God, they are given the gift of freedom. As Genesis recounts the story of the fall of the first humans, it becomes clear that sin entered the world through humans who turned away from God's love.
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Christians could never have discovered for themselves that the God they worship is one God in three Persons. They know this central dogma of Christian faith and life only because Jesus revealed it to the Apostles during his life on earth and because he sent the Spirit to confirm it after Jesus himself ascended to the Father.
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The kind of faith shown in Abraham's life is a gift. The same gift of faith is offered to all people. The truly extraordinary part of Abraham's story is his perseverance in his faith in God even in the worst circumstances. Faith also involves freedom.
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The word church comes from a word meaning "a gathering of people called by God." From the beginning, God has called humans to share in his life. With the passage of time, he has formed a people who know him, believe in him, and follow his plan.
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Around you are many signs of the presence of God. From the simplicity of a single cell to the vastness of the cosmos, you have much to marvel at and much that shows you the graciousness of our Creator. Who else but a loving God would begin and sustain such intricate patterns of life?
More InfoThe human heart longs for God. He planted this longing in you when he created you. Great Christian writers pointed to the restlessness of the human spirit. They saw it as proof that humans cannot find true satisfaction for their longings anywhere but in God.
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