ONE FAITH, ONE LORD - Chapter 1
1. Our Catholic faith helps us to discover the meaning of life.
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Reason and experience have never fully answered the questions: “Where do things
come from?” “Why are things the way they are?” or “What is the meaning of life?”
Faith is a gift from God that helps us to begin to see our lives and the world as God
sees them
Through faith, we know that God is the source of all life
Faith brings a whole new way of looking at life, and it shows us answers that we
wouldn’t have been able to discover by ourselves
2. Through faith we come to know God.
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All human beings search for God
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “the desire for God is written in the
human heart” (CCC, 27).
o God creates us and wants us to know Him.
Divine Revelation – God’s making Himself known to us
o God’s way of telling us about Himself
o God’s full and complete Revelation is in Jesus Christ, and our response to this
Revelation is faith
o No matter what God has revealed, we will never totally understand Him –
God remains a mystery
Faith – the gift from God by which we believe in God and all that He has revealed,
and all that the Church proposes for our belief
o Faith is a choice and a free response
o We can also respond to God by living out our faith – taking care of ourselves,
others, and the world
3. In the Bible, we read about God’s relationship with our ancestors in
faith.
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Bible – (Scripture) – the written account of God’s Revelation and His relationship
with His people
o It is a collection of 73 books divided into two main parts:
 Old Testament – contains 46 books and is about the relationship
between God and the Israelites
 New Testament – contains 27 books and is about Jesus Christ, his
message and mission, and his first followers
The Bible was written over many centuries and had many human authors, all
inspired by God. Because God inspired the human authors, God is also the author of
the Bible
Divine Inspiration – the special guidance that the Holy Spirit gave to the human
authors of the Bible
Belief in the God’s Word (Bible) is a vital part of what it means to be Catholic