Session #3

Lecture Text

This sessions reading has taken us through the Middle of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed:

"by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, 

and became man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,

he suffered death and was buried,

and rose again on the third day

in accordance with the Scriptures.

He ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory

to judge the living and the dead

and his kingdom will have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit"

We have now completed the Trinity and the Hypostatic Union. We have looked into the efficient and final causes of the Incarnation aka Hypostatic Union. We have seen how our belief in the Hypostatic Union has moved us to assert Mary's being saved from the stain of original sin from here conception. It is important to remember 3 things when witnessing our beliefs about the Immaculate Conception:

1. Original sin is "transmitted" not "committed."

2. Christ had two natures one Divine and One human forming a single person of the Trinity.

3. Human nature was made from a single human on account of the virgin birth of Christ as foretold in Isaiah.

Therefore, The Immaculate Conception dogma is bound up in our faith in Christ, we cannot hold our beliefs in the nature of Christ without also affirming premises 2 and 3. Even if some disagree about the nature of original sin, they usually agree on its source and existence. This makes this very defensible, as we see it empirically, even in saintly families like the Martins of France, we find the need for conversion from the outset of their conscious and unconscious lives. Thus without any "personal" contribution to humanity's fallen state, we participate in it. It is also worth noting that our belief is not that Mary did not need a Savior but that Her conception and life were so bound up in grace that evil was never sufficiently appealing to her, and this was already an act of grace from Her savior whose life she is and was always bound up in. The Catechism takes us through other objections as well. 

Let us return to the Incarnation. This reading has completed the essential information about the Incarnation. Last time we discussed quite a bit of the same material but more focused on who and what of Christ. In this session, we look at what He did for us and its extent. He was truly of "human estate" as St. Paul states, we know this from His hidden life, living as one among many. The Catechism, "He lives completely for us". Would that we return the favor. He is our model in this way all our mundane tasks are opportunities to be like Him. In His circumcision, He was one among the Hebrews. By the mystery of His birth and Epiphany, we know He is the Savior Messiah. How was it physically possible for the Creator/God, who is not even capable of evil, and that in whom we live move and have our being, who is Existence Itself to die? We would have to say His Baptism which He instituted for us in receiving a Baptism of repentance Himself and then in a particular way in the Garden. His temptation in the desert extends His reach to all the poor. No one can outrun the love of God, all are called into God's love and will be brought sooner or later to accept or deny this love. The Transfiguration and Keys to the Kingdom give the particular gifts the lead Apostles will need to go about their missions. 

"It is you who have crucified him and crucify him still when you delight in your vices and sins" Christ's death proves we are predictable when we sin, love is what our enemies don't see coming, but sin is what they can expect. Every bit of Christ's life was an offering for the Father and for us. We are invited into the same sacrifice "come Christians follow where the Master trod" and "apart from the cross there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven." Don't run from the cross, it will find you any way. It is the Church's belief that Christ even save those who came before Him in time.

The resurrection was hardly believed by them but Christ made sure their faith was complete. He did not even allow for us to have a reasonable doubt as He made Himself the central issue and confirms it by His resurrection. Jesus fulfills all aspects of Jewish life meals, sacrifices, the temple, the laws, and the covenants. Everything He left with His Apostles is the fullness of His work short of the Final Judgement and Second coming. The Jews would long to experience what we do in sacraments.

His ascension is proper for us to know where Christ is, where we will find Him at the end, and also the sending of the Spirit. The spirit is very illusive, we can only find Him in action, and every symbol we have of the Spirit is active with the arguable exception of the seal but this too was an action. But more about the spirit next time.

Paragraph Sets Covered

PART ONE - THE PROFESSION OF FAITH

SECTION TWO: THE PROFESSION OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH

    ARTICLE 3: "HE WAS CONCEIVED BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, AND WAS BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY"

      Paragraph 2. "Conceived by the Power of the Holy Spirit and Born of the Virgin Mary"

          I. Conceived by the Power of the Holy Spirit. . .

         II. . . .Born of the Virgin Mary

             IN BRIEF

      Paragraph 3. "The Mysteries of Christ's Life"

          I. Christ's Whole Life Is Mystery

         II. The Mysteries of Jesus' Infancy and Hidden Life

        III. The Mysteries of Jesus' Public Life

             IN BRIEF

    ARTICLE 4: "JESUS CHRIST SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE, WAS CRUCIFIED, DIED, AND WAS BURIED"

      Paragraph 1. Jesus and Israel

          I. Jesus and the Law

         II. Jesus and the Temple

        III. Jesus and Israel's Faith in the One God and Savior

             IN BRIEF

      Paragraph 2. Jesus Died Crucified

          I. The Trial of Jesus

         II. Christ's Redemptive Death in God's Plan of Salvation

        III. Christ Offered Himself to his Father for Our Sins

             IN BRIEF

      Paragraph 3. Jesus Christ Was Buried

             IN BRIEF

    ARTICLE 5: "HE DESCENDED INTO HELL ON THE THIRD DAY HE ROSE AGAIN"

      Paragraph 1. Christ Descended into Hell

             IN BRIEF

      Paragraph 2. On the Third Day He Rose from the Dead

          I. The Historical and Transcendent Event

         II. The Resurrection - A Work of the Holy Trinity

        III. The Meaning and Saving Significance of the Resurrection

             IN BRIEF

    ARTICLE 6: "HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN AND IS SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER"

             IN BRIEF

    ARTICLE 7: "FROM THENCE HE WILL COME AGAIN TO JUDGE THE LIVING AND THE DEAD"

          I. He Will Come Again in Glory

         II. To Judge the Living and the Dead

             IN BRIEF

  CHAPTER THREE: I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT

    ARTICLE 8: "I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT"

          I. The Joint Mission of the Son and the Spirit

         II. The Names, Titles, and Symbols of the Holy Spirit

        III. God's Spirit and Word in the Time of the Promises

         IV. The Spirit of Christ in the Fullness of Time

Compendium of the Catholic Church Reading

Questions 95-141

Questions answered by the Catechism and Compendium.

1. “...Born of the Virgin Mary”: Why is Mary truly the Mother of God?

2. What does the “Immaculate Conception” mean?

3. How does Mary cooperate in the divine plan of salvation?

4. What does the virginal conception of Jesus mean?

5. In what sense is Mary “ever Virgin”?

6. In what way is the spiritual motherhood of Mary universal?

7. In what sense is the life of Christ a Mystery?

8. How did God prepare the world for the mystery of Christ?

9. What does the Gospel teach about the mysteries of the birth and infancy of Jesus?

10. What does the hidden life of Jesus in Nazareth teach us?

11. Why did Jesus receive from John the “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 3:3)?

12. What do we learn from the temptations of Jesus in the desert?

13. Who is invited to come into the Kingdom of God proclaimed and brought about by Jesus?

14. Why did Jesus manifest the Kingdom by means of signs and miracles?

15. In the Kingdom, what authority did Jesus bestow upon his Apostles?

16. What is the meaning of the Transfiguration?

17. How did the messianic entrance into Jerusalem come about?

18. What is the importance of the Paschal Mystery of Jesus?

19. What were the accusations by which Jesus was condemned to death?

20. How did Jesus conduct himself in regard to the Law of Israel?

21. What was the attitude of Jesus toward the temple in Jerusalem?

22. Did Jesus contradict Israel's faith in the one God and savior?

23. Who is responsible for the death of Jesus?

24. Why was the death of Jesus part of God's plan?

25. In what way did Christ offer himself to the Father?

26. How is Jesus’ offering expressed at the Last Supper?

27. What happened in the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane?

28. What are the results of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross?

29. Why does Jesus call upon his disciples to take up their cross?

30. In what condition was the body of Christ while it lay in the tomb?

31. What is the “hell” into which Jesus descended?

32. What place does the Resurrection of Christ occupy in our faith?

33. What are the signs that bear witness to the Resurrection of Jesus?

34. Why is the Resurrection at the same time a transcendent occurrence?

35. What is the condition of the risen body of Jesus?

36. How is the Resurrection the work of the Most Holy Trinity?

37. What is the saving meaning of the Resurrection?

38. What does the Ascension mean?

39. How does the Lord Jesus now reign?

40. How will the coming of the Lord in glory happen?

41. How will Christ judge the living and the dead?

42. What does the Church mean when she confesses: “I believe in the Holy Spirit”?

43. Why are the missions of the Son and the Holy Spirit inseparable?

44. What are the names of the Holy Spirit?

45. What symbols are used to represent the Holy Spirit?

46. What does it mean that the Spirit “has spoken through the prophets”?

47. What did the Holy Spirit accomplish in John the Baptist?