Saturday, May 30, 2015
Youcat commented through CCC. Question n. 37 – Part I.
(Youcat answer) We revere God as Father first of all
because he is the Creator and cares lovingly for his creatures. Jesus, the Son
of God, has taught us, furthermore, to regard his Father as our Father and to
address him as “our Father”.
A deepening through
CCC
(CCC 238) Many religions invoke God as "Father".
The deity is often considered the "father of gods and of men". In
Israel, God is called "Father" inasmuch as he is Creator of the world
(Cf. Dt 32:6; Mal 2:10). Even more, God is Father because of the covenant and
the gift of the law to Israel, "his first-born son" (Ex 4:22). God is
also called the Father of the king of Israel. Most especially he is "the
Father of the poor", of the orphaned and the widowed, who are under his
loving protection (Cf. 2 Sam 7:14; Ps 68:6). (CCC 511) The Virgin Mary
"co-operated through free faith and obedience in human salvation" (LG
56). She uttered her yes "in the name of all human nature" (St.
Thomas Aquinas, STh III, 30, 1). By
her obedience she became the new Eve, mother of the living. (CCC 512)
Concerning Christ's life the Creed speaks only about the mysteries of the
Incarnation (conception and birth) and Paschal mystery (passion, crucifixion,
death, burial, descent into hell, resurrection and ascension). It says nothing
explicitly about the mysteries of Jesus' hidden or public life, but the
articles of faith concerning his Incarnation and Passover do shed light on the whole of his earthly life. "All
that Jesus did and taught, from the beginning until the day when he was taken
up to heaven", is to be seen in the light of the mysteries of Christmas
and Easter.
Reflecting and
meditating
(Youcat comment)
Several pre-Christian religions had the
divine title “Father”. Even before Jesus, the Israelites addressed God as their
Father (Deut 32:6; Mal 2:10), realizing that he is also like a mother (Is
66:13). In human experience, father and mother stand for origin and authority,
for what is protective and supportive. Jesus Christ shows us what God the
Father is really like: “He who has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn 14:9). In
the parable of the prodigal son, Jesus addresses the most profound human
longings for a merciful father.
(CCC Comment)
(CCC 513) According to circumstances catechesis will make
use of all the richness of the mysteries of Jesus. Here it is enough merely to
indicate some elements common to all the mysteries of Christ's life (I), in
order then to sketch the principal mysteries of Jesus' hidden (II) and public
(III) life. (CCC 514) Many things about Jesus of interest to human curiosity do
not figure in the Gospels. Almost nothing is said about his hidden life at
Nazareth, and even a great part of his public life is not recounted (Cf. Jn
20:30). What is written in the Gospels was set down there "so that you may
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may
have life in his name" (Jn 20:31).
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