Relation Between Revelation & Faith

Re: Revelation, what or Who is revealed

The Synod of Vatican II summed up Revelation with their quote of St. John’s words: “We announce to you the eternal life, which dwelt with the Father and was made visible to us. What we have seen and heard we announce to you, so that you may have fellowship with us and our common fellowship be with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.” Dei Verbum Prologue, & 1 John 1:2-3 The Lord Jesus Christ himself assured this fact of fellowship with God, even indwelling by God in them, who will want this fellowship or union with God when he said the following words to the apostles, “Anyone who loves me will be true to my word, and my Father will love him; we will come to him and make our dwelling place with him.” John 15: 23 Implicitly contained in the Synod’s summing up is the Revelation message’s “Trinitarian Christocentricity”. It states: “The Word of God, incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth, Son of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is the Word of the Father who speaks to the world through his Spirit.” GDFC # 99 The Lord Jesus told the apostles on the same occasion when he talked about God’s indwelling in anyone, who keeps his words, of this Holy Spirit God, whom he promised and identified as “the Paraclete”,...“..whom the Father will send in my name.. ”, and who according to the Lord, “..will instruct you in everything, and remind you of all that I told you”. John 15:26 The Holy Spirit’s descent upon the Apostles on Pentecost was the confirmation of Jesus’ promise, and the affirmation of his own presence in and with his disciples throughout this age of the Church after his ascension to heaven.

The Core of Revelation

Truly, the message of the Word of God is that this Word of the Father, who is the person, Jesus Christ, the redeemer of mankind, via the paschal mystery has come down to earth to become man, has lived as a most just human being, has taught us “..the double commandment of love of God and neighbor”,

(..“upon which depend all the Law and the Prophets”, and “..which sum up the Decalogue”, and by which is lived “..the spirit of the Beatitudes”, and which “..constitute the magna carta of the Christian life proclaimed by Jesus..”,) (GDFC # 115, Mt. 22, 40)

has died on the Cross, has risen from death, has ascended into heaven, and has sent the Holy Spirit in his stead. Then in culmination of his salvation work of mankind, at the End Times, he has indicated how as “...We shall know the ultimate meaning of the whole work of creation and of the entire economy of salvation and

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understand the marvelous ways by which his Providence led everything towards its final end. The Last Judgment will reveal that God’s justice triumphs over all the injustices committed by his creatures and that God’s love is stronger than death.” CCC Paragraph 1040 The above, thus, recaps the ending of the story and reality of salvation when ultimately shall have been secured for believers their happiness with the Trinitarian God-head in heaven together with all God’s Angels and Saints after faithfully journeying as members of Christ’s Mystical Body, the Church, throughout all ages through a lifestyle of obedient love of God and of neighbors. When that takes place, the Catechism states, “The Kingdom of God will come in its fullness. After the universal judgment, the righteous will reign for ever with Christ, glorified in body and soul...” CCC Paragraph 1042

Re: example of the faith of Simon Peter

The Prologue of the Synod’s Dei Verbum ends with the prayer and exhortation that with this Revelation of the message of salvation for all people handed on, “the whole world may believe, by believing it may hope, and by hoping it may love.” Dei Verbum Prologue, Part of the Last Sentence This brings to us the question of and about “faith”, or the faith response of the people of the whole world to the above revelation of God. From paragraph number 153 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is described for us the faith of Simon Peter. When the Lord asked his apostles what they thought he was, it was Simon who replied to Jesus, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!” To which answer, the Lord told him, “Blessed are you, Simon, son of John! No mere man has revealed this to you but my heavenly Father.” Mt. 16:16-17 Clearly, Jesus commended Simon for he called him blessed. But at the same time he made it known to Simon and the other apostles how Simon was able to say the words, namely by the direct inspiration of God on Simon. The Lord recognized Simon Peter’s complete awareness and honest belief in Him, whom he and the apostles just witnessed multiplying the bread & fish, and healing the sick; and therefore was absolutely struck how they have never known any man do such marvelous things that Jesus did. Simon Peter couldn’t help but assent to the marvelousness of the man they call their Master. And yet notwithstanding all these human and thus natural exuberance on the part of Peter about Jesus’ feat, Simon Peter’s most apt description of the kind of being his Master was could not have been spoken by Simon without the aid of the grace of God. The Catechism explains about this, thus, “Before this faith”, (this faith of Peter), can be exercised, man must have the grace of God to move and assist him; he must have the interior helps of the Holy Spirit, who moves the heart and converts it to God, who opens the eyes of the mind and makes it easy for all to accept and believe the truth.” CCC Paragraph # 153 But the following paragraph of the Catechism, indeed, as the Lord called Peter blessed for his witness of and about him, acknowledges the “authentic human act” of St. Peter. CCC. # 154

Re: understanding faith

The Catechism stipulated other characteristics of faith; namely to believe is to believe in something to be certain because the authority that backs up our believing, for example, an article of faith is the supernatural & supreme Being himself, God. His word surely is absolutely above any human word, or any human institution’s statements, which per human experience are not always true, unlike the word of God, who can not lie, ie. can not contradict his essence of being truthful. CCC Paragraph 157 Moreover, in so far as man’s knowing of God is precisely in a realm above the human and natural realm, namely the experiencing of the Divine through His sacraments, and with the assistance of the Divine, (the Holy Spirit), the act and the result of such experience of God, encounter with God necessarily is perfected both by the Divine sacraments, and by the Divine perfecting by the Spirit of his gifts “.. so that Revelation may be more and more profoundly understood”. CCC Paragraph 158 Further characteristics of faith are that the act of faith is a free act, yet a necessary act. Again in that higher realm of man’s being, in this realm of supernatural believing, whereas man even from factual experience attest to his many errors and sins – (acts of unfairness, for instance) –, and in the light of further factual experience how with at least some of his actions or behavior man is inclined to evil, it becomes a necessity for man a supernatural power that will enable him both reliability and steadfastness in the spiritual endeavor of becoming just; and for this God alone is the power that can enable him. Then this same act of faith is a free act, the Catechism states, “.. Christ invited people to faith and conversion, but never coerced them.” CCC Paragraph 160 Hanging on the Cross, Jesus did not stop the irreverent thief Hestas from ridiculing and spiting him, who was hanging there un-deservedly on a cross along with them thieves. But to the sympathetic other thief, Dimas, who himself apologetically tried to stop Hestas from his blasphemous obscene spiting of our Lord, Jesus assured instant promise of Paradise on that very day. And truly, as the Catechism says, “Faith” is “beginning of eternal life”, with Dimas’ faith, while hanging on the cross on account of his admitted wrong-doing and while simultaneously showing compassion on the unjustly hung Lord, Dimas, indeed began his eternal life right at the moment when he asked Jesus to remember him when He enter into His Kingdom even as he was seeing him there hanging on the cross. Yet even more wonderfully, most speedily, too, immediately, henceforth, upon his own passing, on that same day Dimas proceeded to his eternal life in ‘Paradise’ as promised him by the Lord. CCC Paragraph 163

Re: faith as the Life in God, but not yet the “face-to-face vision of God” in heaven

Equipped as we are in our believing by the grace of God, like St. Paul said God’s grace is sufficient; nonetheless, the Catechism also tells us how realistically with faith, “.. we,” indeed, “..walk by faith, (but) not (yet) by sight”. Therefore, the Catechism goes on to warn us that in this journey of life, notwithstanding the assurances of an abundant life in Christ in faith, nevertheless, between our present living and the final rewarding with the fulfillment of heaven there remain the many crosses of life, which need to be borne along this journeying in faith. Whereas the Catechism mentioned how we do already in this life perceive of God because He is with us & among us; yet we could only see Him, “as in a mirror, dimly”, and “only in part”. CCC Paragraph 164 The Catechism, thus, points us to realism. It reminds us how “Our experiences of evil and suffering, injustice and death seem to contradict the Good News; they can shake our faith and become a temptation against it.” CCC Paragraph 164 St Paul has spoken about those moments of “groaning”, and the experiencing of “fear & trembling” lest we fall and go astray. In other words, we could always aim to have the best intentions and to do our best efforts; and often come short of our desired ends. For until before Christ shall have come with his New Heaven and New Earth, we live in an imperfect world; or rather, as man we are limited and imperfect creatures. The Gospel also speaks about “the wheat & the weeds” having to be left to grow side by side through time; thus, leaving the weeds un-uprooted lest the wheat get uprooted itself, no matter how the weeds might crowd out the wheat. At least not till the “harvest” or opportune time. Not till after each man has died to himself, not till after man has been through yielding to all his temptations of selfishness; then, and only then will it be his opportune time of final heavenly relief & ultimate rest with God that St. Augustine has referred to which alone man’s existence is destined for. Meanwhile, thus, this is where we are called to persevere in the faith; as such are moments of the test of our faith. From St. Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians, the apostle radically and categorically admonishes them how to persevere in believing. He thus affirmed to them how although we as believers possess our Gospel treasure “.. in earthen vessels” is “..to make it clear that its surpassing power comes from God and not from us.” Then St. Paul recounted to them the Christians’ plight in survival for the faith. Thus, he reminded them how “..We are afflicted in every way possible, but we are not crushed; full of doubts, we never despair. We are persecuted but never abandoned; we are struck down but never destroyed..” and on and on. 2 Cor 4:7-9 In another occasion, he again categorically with the full conviction of his faith, assures his disciples that “Nothing can separate us from the love of God!”

Submitted to: Deacon Ray Helgeson By: Renato C Valdellon, February 10, 2011