Basic statement of faith

First there is the Nicene Creed, but here I would rather simply state my creed in my own words. My faith hinges upon both the realm of possibility and the pedigree of transmitted teachings.  Thinking logically, if something is possible, then it might be right.  In view of possibility, I cannot logically assault a teaching as untrue given the possibility that it might be true.  I cannot be so arrogant to think that I have some sort of corner on the truth in the face of the possibility that something with a greater pedigree of teachings might be true.  By pedigree I here mean that dictionary definition given in the sense of derivation, origin, or history.  Therefore it is difficult for me to dismiss teachings that have a line of derivation or origin much earlier, historically, than teachings that have come later.  It is difficult to dismiss teachings that have a literary richness, long history, and wealth of and weight of evidence relative to its origins to which no other tradition can compare.   Of course I am talking about my Catholic faith.  

 There is more to the universe, and to all existence, than what our senses can perceive or measure, even with the help of all of the scientific instruments. What we can perceive is only a small fraction of what is really there. It is like sound; we can only hear within a certain range but there are sounds beyond the measure of our perceptions. The same can be said of light. We can only see within a very narrow band, yet there is much more beyond our capabilities to see. Much more exists than we know. The so-called spiritual universe consists of this unknowable universe, a universe we may come to know better after we die to this very limited existence. What we know of the universe barely scratches the surface and each new discovery only creates more questions. If what we know and perceive is all there is, then this pathetic existence, this pathetic world, is really not worth it. There is a universe which our senses cannot see. Part of that consists of an omnipotent God. This God is the prime creative and maintaining force in the universe, a universe which consists of much more than what astronomers say was created by the so-called "Big Bang." This God is beyond our understanding and, being omnipotent, can do anything. Therefore He is capable of creating the universe and of knowing every hair on every head. He is a personal God who is aware of each of us more intimately than we know ourselves. He can interact with our material world. We can interact with the spiritual world in some ways, usually by means of prayer. This God hears our prayers, knows our desires, and our needs, for this God is part of the reality of the nature of the universe.  The universe is in constant flux; there is a power behind this.  Call it what you will.  One name for it is God.  Of the nature of this God, only so much has been revealed to us.

Among this revelation is the teaching that this God consists of three persons occupying one nature. This concept of the Trinity is beyond our grasp, as is most of creation. This God, in the form of the second person of this Trinity became one of us; He became man incarnate and dwelt among us. This person was, and is, Jesus of Nazareth. He was born, lived for about 30 years, and was executed by crucifixion under the Roman governor of Judea at that time, Pontius Pilate.

THE definition of God is this: God IS Love. This life He lived among us was for the purpose of manifesting His love for all of us.

As the Nicene Creed states, Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, lived among us, died, was buried and rose again on the third day. He did this to exonerate humankind from our sins. Man has a proclivity to sin because of the Original Sin, or as St. John Vianney wrote, "Sin is the executioner of the good God, and the assassin of the soul. It snatches us away from Heaven to precipitate us into Hell. And we love it!" [from his work On Sin] This execution is God’s way of showing us His love for us, for "greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." [John 15:13]

While Jesus was living among us, He taught many things, much of which is not necessarily in Scripture alone. These teachings were either eventually written down and gathered together to form what we call the New Testament, or were passed down by means of Sacred Tradition through the centuries to our present day, as protected and taught by the Holy Spirit, as Jesus had promised. All that is written in the New Testament was originally passed down by means of Tradition also, because Tradition, i.e., word of mouth, was all there was at the beginning of the Christian era.

While Jesus was living among us, He founded a Church (Latin "Ecclesia"). When He said to Peter that "upon this Rock I will build my Church [Matthew 16:18] He was talking about this Ecclesia or Assembly of the People who make up His Church, which we know as the Mystical Body of Christ and Communion of Saints. It consists of the souls in Purgatory, those still on their journey on earth, and those in Heaven. And we are all Brothers and Sisters in Christ and are all much closer to each other than we realize.

This Church is the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church, also known in today’s world as the Catholic Church, centered in the Vatican under the auspices of the successor of the Rock, the Pope. Therefore what is taught today by the Church, in dogma and morals, is what was taught by Jesus, who is God. The Church has unswervingly taught these things, unchanged, through the last 2,000 years. Therefore one should pay attention to the teachings of the Church, no matter if some of them seem difficult, because they are the teachings of Jesus, i.e., God, and the possibility exists that this may very well be true.

Jesus, being God, rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven where He sits at the right hand of the Father, as the Nicene Creed states. This is by way of symbolically stating the position of Christ in eternity, as God, the son, of God, the Father. God, the Holy Spirit is the personification of the Love that exists between God the Father and God the Son.

I believe that we will all be physically together in Heaven for eternity in a state of total love, happiness, satisfaction, and ecstasy that is beyond our understanding. I believe that no complete love, happiness, or satisfaction is attainable in this life, but only in the next life, the next realm, oft referred to as Heaven. I believe God has given us free will and we can reject His love and his saving grace by the free will to sin. For love is a free gift and not even God can force anyone to love Him. Hence He has given each of us this free will to choose for ourselves. We have the freedom to reject the redemptive act of His Passion and Death. For love is a conscious act and overcoming the temptation to sin is a conscious act which manifests our love of God.

If we accept God as our savior from our sins, we gain the gift of grace. And without His grace, we can really do nothing on our own toward our eternal happiness and love.