Welcome!
The Creed
Session 2: “I Believe in Jesus Christ”
Who is Jesus,
and how do I know him today?
Session Schedule
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Opening Prayer
Paired Activity
Talk #1: The Incarnation and Jesus’ Identity
Standing Activity
Talk #2: Jesus’ Paschal Mystery and Mission
Small Group Activity
Closing Prayer
Opening Prayer
The “Jesus Prayer” and the Rosary…
- Practice in silence,
or amid your daily work…
- “Breathe in,” silently praying:
Lord Jesus Christ…
- “Breathe out,” silently praying:
…have mercy on me.
The First Joyful Mystery:
The Annunciation of our Lord
Our Father
Hail Mary (10x)
Glory be
Meditating on the Life of Jesus,
through the eyes of his Mother…
To Jesus,
through Mary…
Overview of the Catechism
Introduction:
Human desire for God;
God’s Self Revelation;
Our Faith Response
I. Profession of Faith
A. Father
B. Son
C. Holy Spirit
II. Celebration of the
Christian Mystery
IV. Christian Prayer
III. Moral Life in Christ
Paired Activity:
Apostles’ Creed
Nicene Creed
... and in Jesus Christ,
... I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
his only Son, our Lord,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light, true God
from true God, begotten, not made,
consubstantial with the Father; through him
all things were made.
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
For us men and for our salvation he came
down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit
was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and
became man.
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was
crucified, died and was buried; he
descended into hell;
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius
Pilate, he suffered death and was buried,
Paired Activity:
Apostles’ Creed
Nicene Creed
on the third day he rose again from
the dead;
and rose again on the third day in
accordance with the Scriptures.
he ascended into heaven, and is
seated at the right hand of God the
Father almighty;
He ascended into heaven and is
seated at the right hand of the Father.
from there he will come to judge the
living and the dead...
*Compare and contrast
*Discuss which word or phrase
speaks to you about who Jesus
is at this point of your faith journey
He will come again in glory to judge
the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end...
Talk #1: Mystery of the Incarnation
and Jesus’ Identity
• Jesus = “God saves”
• Christ / Messiah = “anointed one”
• Lord = “the One to whom
we must completely
submit our personal
freedom” (Comp. 84)
“Who do you say that I am?”
• Fr. Barron on “Who do you say that I am?”
Incarnation:
Both Fully Human and Fully Divine
“We believe and confess that Jesus of Nazareth, born a Jew of
a daughter of Israel at Bethlehem at the time of King Herod
the Great and the emperor Caesar Augustus, a carpenter by
trade, who died crucified in Jerusalem under the procurator
Pontius Pilate…is the eternal Son of God.” (CCC, n. 423)
Four Reasons for the Incarnation
1. The Word became flesh for us in order to
save us by reconciling us with God (CCC, n. 457).
2. The Word became flesh so that
we might know God’s love (CCC, n. 458).
3. The Word became flesh to be our
model of holiness (CCC, n. 459).
4. The Word became flesh to make
us “partakers of the divine nature”
(CCC, n. 460).
The Incarnation:
Christianity’s great “Both/And”
• Eternal God enters history
• Word made flesh
• Jesus became truly man
while remaining truly God
• Two natures—
human and divine—
united in one divine Person
Heresy
Orthodoxy (“right belief”)
Denying Christ’s humanity:
Gnostic Docetism
True Incarnation in the flesh:
John 1:14
Different substance than the Father:
Arianism
Consubstantial with the Father:
Nicea 325
Mary is mother of Jesus:
Nestorianism
Mary Mother of God Theotokos:
Ephesus 431
Human nature ceased to exist when the
divine Person of God’s Son assumed it:
Monophysites
“We confess that one and the same
Christ, Lord, and only-begotten Son, is
to be acknowledged in two natures
without confusion, division, or
separation. The distinction between the
natures was never abolished by their
union, but rather the character proper
to each of the two natures was
preserved as they came together in
one person (prosopon) and one
hypostasis (person).”
Chalcedon 451
Orthodoxy:
Only Human
Arians
Both Fully Human and Fully Divine
+
Nestorians
Only Divine
Gnostics
Docetists
Monophysites
Key truths of Orthodoxy:
• Eternal God entered history
• Jesus became truly man
while remaining truly God
• The Word was made flesh ord
made flesh
• Two natures—human and
divine—united in one divine
Person (Hypostatic Union)
Mary: Mother of God
• Catholic faith beliefs about Mary are
based on beliefs about Christ.
• What the Church teaches about Mary
illumines in turn its faith in Christ…
• Immaculate Conception: “thanks to
the grace of God and in anticipation
of the merits of Jesus Christ.”
(Comp., 96)
Mary: Ever-Virgin and New Eve
• Mary conceives “by the Holy Spirit.”
• Jesus has only God as Father.
(CCC, n. 503)
• “Brothers and sisters” of Jesus are
his close relations.
• “Standing at the side of the New
Adam, Jesus Christ, the Virgin is the
new Eve, the true mother of all the
living…in the order of grace.”
(Comp., 100)
Jesus’ “Hidden” and “Public” Life
• Fellowship in a daily life marked by
prayer, simplicity, work and family love
• Prefiguring the gift of Baptism
• Recapitulating the temptations of Adam
in Paradise and the Israelites in the
desert (Comp. 106)
• Announcing and bringing
about the Kingdom of God
• Working signs and miracles;
calling and teaching disciples
Standing Activity:
Luminous Mysteries
1) Review and discuss key details in the Scripture verses below:
* How would you explain its importance to
someone who doesn’t know the story?
* Bonus: How is it related to the Incarnation?
2) Role play a conversation in which an inquiring person(s) asks about one of these
events and a believer(s) explains its significance in relation to Jesus’ identity
and mission.
Scripture Verses:
1. Baptism in the Jordan (Mt 3:13)
2. The Wedding at Cana (Jn 2:7,9)
3. Proclamation of the Kingdom of God (Mk 1:15)
4. The Transfiguration (Mt 17:2)
5. Institution of the Eucharist (Lk 22:19-22)
Talk #2:
Jesus’ Paschal Mystery and Mission
How can we believe in a
God who is good and
loving when we see so
much suffering in our
world--especially the
suffering of the innocent?
The Problem of Evil
How can a world marked by so much injustice,
innocent suffering and cynicism of power
be the work of a good God….
The Passion in the Creed
“For our sake he was crucified under
Pontius Pilate, suffered, died and was
buried. On the third day he rose again
in fulfillment of the Scripture. 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.”
The Passion
“Man is worth so much
to God that he himself
became man in order to
suffer with man in an
utterly real way—in
flesh and blood—as is
revealed to us in the
account of Jesus’
Passion.”
Pope Benedict XVI
Christ: Redeemer of the World
* Christ came to set us free from being
slaves of sin -- He redeemed us
* Christ’s death is:
-- An offering from the Father to us
to reconcile us with him
-- An offering of Christ’s obedience to
the Father to make up for our
disobedience
* The Cross is what the love of the
Father, Son and Spirit looks like
when it is lived out in this world.
The Resurrection
• Jesus’ Passion, Death,
Resurrection & Ascension
– The Paschal Mystery
(Jesus’ “Passover”) as
one inseparable event
– Resurrection shows us
that Jesus is who he said
he was – the Son of God
• The Resurrection changes
everything:
– From divine tragedy
to triumphant drama
Four Last Things
• Death
• Judgment
• Heaven
• Hell
Christ and our Lives
Because we know who Christ is
and what he did, we are:
– incorporated into his life through Baptism,
the Eucharist, and the other Sacraments
– able to live in the New Law of the Beatitudes
– able to pray, that is, be in communion with
Christ--within the communion of the Church
Jesus is always present
Jesus Christ, You are My Life
Partner Activity:
Billboard or Mind Mapping
Create a "Billboard" or “Mind Map” for your term:
– Use a sign or symbol to represent it
– Create a catchy slogan to help explain the concept to others
-
Annunciation
The Incarnation
Jesus’ identity & mission
Paschal Mystery
Physical Resurrection
Ascension
- The Blessed Trinity
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Immaculate Conception
Covenant
Jesus and the Law
-
Jesus’ New Covenant
Who is Jesus Christ,
and how do I know him today?
Follow-up Reflection and Resources
1) Session Evaluation & Feedback
2) Recommended follow-up:
US/CCA, ch. 7
“The Good News:
God has sent his Son”
3) For Catechists & Catholic School Teachers:
“Record of Formation,” including:
required reflection & documentation
Act of Hope
O my God,
relying on Your almighty power
and infinite mercy and promises,
I hope to obtain pardon of my sins, the
help of Your grace
and life everlasting,
through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord
and Redeemer. Amen.