Catholics believe that this world we live in is not the product of chance, but of the express design of a supremely intelligent, powerful and loving being, God. Science can form theories about how our world came to be – the Big Bang, the evolution of species, etc. – but it cannot tell us whether there is a purpose to our life here and what that purpose is.

 According to Catholic faith, God created the first human beings in a state of freedom, goodness and close friendship with him. However, because they disobeyed God, they passed on to all subsequent generations a sorry state in which we are torn apart by conflicting desires and separated from God’s friendship: the state of sin.

 God did not abandon us to this fate, however. He devised a plan to save us which gradually unfolded over the centuries. Revealing himself first to great figures such as Abraham and Moses, and bringing into being a people of his very own, the Jewish people, he made promises to them which came to fulfilment in Jesus Christ.

 Catholics believe Jesus is both human and divine, the Son of God. He was conceived without a human father in the womb of Mary, who was and remained a virgin; he taught people how to come back to friendship with God through the way of love; he worked powerful miracles of healing; but above all he died on a cross to save us from sin, rising from the dead after three days to show his complete victory over evil, and ascending to heaven.

 Before his death Jesus chose twelve of his followers whom he called apostles, thus establishing a new community based not on nationality but on faith and love: the Church. He commanded them to carry out certain actions called sacraments, such as Baptism, by which we enter the Church, and the Eucharist, also called the Mass, a sacrificial meal which commemorates and makes present Jesus’ saving actions on the Cross and his Resurrection.

 To empower the Church for its mission, he sent from heaven the gift of God’s Holy Spirit, who lives in the hearts of Christians and restores to them the gifts of knowing God and acting freely in his service. Hence Catholics believe that, while there is only one God, not many gods, there are three persons in this one God: the Father who originates everything; the Son, Jesus Christ; and the Holy Spirit. This most fundamental of all Catholic beliefs is called the Holy Trinity.

 The Church founded by Christ enjoys four characteristics: it is one, a body united in one faith under Christ and his deputy on earth, the Pope; it is holy, because Christ is continually acting through the sacraments to share himself with its members; it is Catholic, a word which means “for everyone;” and it is apostolic, meaning that it is in continuity with the Church founded by Christ and sent out to preach the Good News to all.

 Among the members of the Church who have gone to heaven Catholics have a special love for Mary, the mother of Jesus, and for other holy people whom the Church has declared to be saints. We ask for their prayers, since they are very close to God. In particular we believe that Mary was given to us all as a mother when Jesus died on the Cross, and that because of her special closeness to Christ, she was conceived without sin and was taken into heaven body and soul at the end of her life.

 Catholic belief is based on both Scripture (the Bible) and Tradition, the oral teaching of the apostles which was not written down. The Pope and other church leaders known as bishops, who are successors of the apostles, have the role of clarifying what is or is not in accordance with Catholic faith, and for this task they enjoy a special gift of the Holy Spirit.

 At the end of our lives Catholics believe we shall all appear before God to be judged on the basis of our faith in Christ and the kind of lives we have led. To help us lead good lives, we have the sacrament of Confession, by which God forgives our sins through the ministry of a priest, and gives us strength to do better. We hope through God’s grace to enter heaven after our death, either directly or after first entering a place of purification called purgatory. There remains the awful possibility of the eternal loss of God in hell if we persist in rebellion against God.

 Hence Catholics attach great importance to making the right moral choices in our lives and avoiding sin, which is a deliberate action against God’s will for us. Through the “Natural Law,” written into our consciences, we can know the essence of what is good for our human nature because it is founded on God’s design. This knowledge is strengthened by the “Ten Commandments” revealed by God to Moses and the Jewish people, and fulfilled in Christ’s teaching that we should love God and our neighbour.

Although it is up to us to struggle against the temptations we encounter every day, which come from our own wounded nature and from the action of fallen angels (evil spirits), we have the help of God’s grace which comes to us especially through the sacraments and through prayer. In this way we can not only grow in the practice of the virtues such as courage, moderation, justice and prudence, but we can also find our true vocation in society and share with others the good news Christ came to bring us.

 

If you would like to read more about the Catholic faith, here are some key books:

  • Catechism of the Catholic Church, published by Geoffrey Chapman. (691 pages!)
  • Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, published by Catholic Truth Society (CTS). (A summary of the Catechism.)
  • Credo: The Catholic Faith Explained, by Fr. Marcus Holden and Fr. Andrew Pinsent. A 100 page booklet published by CTS.
  • 25 Tough Questions on the Catholic Faith with 25 Expert Answers, edited by Mgr. Keith Barltrop, published by CTS.

 The complete text of the Catechism is also available online at the Vatican website.

If you would like to ask about the Church’s teaching, click here, or email: bayswater@rcdow.org.uk