St. Jude Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults SIGN IN AT THE WELCOME TABLE AND ENJOY THE FOOD

RCIA Journey of Faith Practices Beliefs & Prayer Sacraments/Rites St. Jude Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults SIGN IN AT THE WELCOME TABLE AND ENJOY THE FOOD

RCIA Journey of Faith Practices Beliefs & Prayer Sacraments/Rites That Man is You and Alpha

RCIA Journey of Faith Practices Beliefs & Prayer Sacraments/Rites Prayer by Deacon John Boyle Lord, please look upon us and love us. Grant us the openness of heart to love others and to give freely of ourselves. To know what is your will in all things.

RCIA Journey of Faith Practices Beliefs & Prayer Sacraments/Rites Sunday Scripture Reading Reading 1 WIS 7:7-11 Reading 2 HEB 4:12-13 Gospel MK 10:17-30 Gospel Reflection By Deacon John Boyle

RCIA Journey of Faith Practices Beliefs & Prayer Sacraments/Rites Last Meeting October 2 A Walk Through The Mass By: Fr. Andrew Semler References: This Is Our Faith: Ch 14: pp 193-196

RCIA Journey of Faith Practices Beliefs & Prayer Sacraments/Rites Tonight s Meeting October 9 Nicene Creed I God the Father God the Son By: Steve Mauser Victoria Mauser References: This Is Our Faith: Ch 2, 3, 4, 6 Catechism of the Catholic Church: PART ONE

By: Steve Mauser Reference: This is Our Faith: Ch. 2-8 Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC): Part One, pp 13-276

The Nicene Creed There are four main professions I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. GOD the FATHER I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, 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. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit GOD was incarnate the of the SON Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. 1 2 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. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. GOD the HOLY SPIRIT I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen. GOD in HIS CHURCH 3 4

During Roman rule, Christianity was illegal - Christian persecutions (33 313 AD) During this time, transmittal of Christian beliefs was underground mostly verbal St. Helena was Empress of the Roman Empire and was the mother of Constantine the Great Constantine converted to Christianity and became emperor he legalized Christianity (around 313 AD) Constantine became a zealous Christian ruler

Some competing messages were spread among the underground Constantine was instrumental in getting the Church to call a council to unify its teachings Council of Nicea convened in 325 AD to iron out differences in teachings

Convened in 325 AD Approx 300 Bishops from all over the world Purposes: Unify teachings Beliefs associated with the mystery of the Trinity Beliefs about the Incarnation Arius was teaching that while God-the-Son was divine, he was not co-essential with God-the-Father because he was born as a human being (i.e. less than God-the-Father) To codify and enumerate core beliefs Establish a common methodology for calculating the date of Easter (1 st Sunday after the 1 st full moon on or after vernal equinox)

Main product was the Nicene Creed Approved overwhelmingly 2 dissenters of the 300 Bishops present Tweaked over the years Wording not core beliefs Trying to develop exact wording regarding the mystery of the Holy Trinity Incidental local language tweaking CAUTION: Translation from Greek to present-day English is inexact Greek written language is difficult to interpret (one word => many) Multitude of meanings for a single Greek word

Results: Teachings of 300 years were confirmed The doctrine of the Holy Trinity was clarified ( if you can clarify a Mystery ) Jesus is both God and Man Most Christian denominations hold to the Nicene Creed

This is a personal profession of faith Not We believe I believe Note: Changed We to I Nov. 27, 2007 to remain true to original Latin Not I understand I believe Believe a statement of faith - may grow to understanding But if we wait until we understand before we believe We may never get it

There are not multiple Gods Sun, Sea, Sky, Fire, etc. God is one God, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (Mt 22:32) His covenant of land, vast numbers of descendents, and blessings was constant and made with each of these forefathers throughout the Old Testament one and the same God made and repeated the covenant

Instills the feeling of love a father has for his child Caring, providing, teaching, consoling, and forgiving We have been adopted by God: Abba => my Father

God can do anything He can even smooth a course granite rock, a stubborn arrogant person like me.

Creator of all that is and shall be Note the Creed clearly states that there is a Heaven Nothing came into, or comes into, creation without God s willing it Big Bang or not (curious note: Big Bang theorized by Mnsgr. George Lemaître) Earth implies universe and everything in it Pillars of Creation Hubble Space Telescope

That pretty much covers it includes everything as being created by God

God is not today the imagined God I had as a child, a young adult, or adult He is not the God I imagined yesterday, nor the one I will imagine tomorrow His being is limitless while my imagination is limited It is only in trusting and accepting His fatherly love as a little child that I can grow in Him and better appreciate His love for me...unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3)

RCIA Journey of Faith Practices Beliefs & Prayer Sacraments/Rites Table Discussion What struck you or touched you in this presentation? Did anything puzzle you?

Practices Beliefs & Prayer Sacraments/Rites RCIA Journey of Faith

RCIA Journey of Faith Practices Beliefs & Prayer Sacraments/Rites Catholic Fun Fact Deacon John Boyle

By: Victoria Mauser Reference: This is Our Faith: Ch. 2-8 Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC): Part One, pp 13-276

The Nicene Creed I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. GOD the FATHER I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, 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. 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. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. 1 2 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. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. GOD the HOLY SPIRIT I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen. GOD in HIS CHURCH 3 4

YHWH (Yahweh) => LORD Implies respect, trust, healing, saving The Gospels give Jesus the name of LORD Mark 1:3 foretells John the Baptist by referring to Isaiah: A voice of one crying out in the desert: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. (Isaiah 40:3 ) In dialog with the Apostles (Luke 17:5-6) Why do you call me Lord, Lord? But do not do what I command? (Luke 6:46)

In Hebrew, Jesus means God saves Angel Gabriel told Mary the baby s name was to be Jesus Mt 1:21) The name of Jesus is the only name by which we are saved (Acts 4:12) The very name of Jesus signifies that God is present in the person of his Son, made man for the universal and definitive redemption from sins. (CCC 432)

Christ is from the Greek Messiah Angels proclaimed: For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord (Lk 2:11) Peter to Jesus: You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. (Matt 16:16) Jesus accepted the title Messiah During questioning by the High Priest (Mark 14:61-62)

Greek Monogenes => begotten Pertaining to being the only one of its kind within a specific relationship (Webster) God the Father claims Jesus as Son: And a voice came from the heavens, saying, This is my beloved SON, with whom I am well pleased. (Matt 3:17) Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice: This is my beloved SON, Listen to him. (Mark 9:7)

Jesus existed with God the Father from before time In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through Him, and without Him nothing came to be.. (John 1:3) Jesus ( The Word ) is the personification of God s word

Again, stressing Jesus is God, from/to all eternity! Incarnation (taking human form) did not affect his God-presence in any way Incarnation added a human form Both God and Human co-exist in Jesus

Begotten, not made God did not create Jesus, Jesus is God and has existed for all time Consubstantial => of the same substance. Jesus was not created He is of the same nature as God the Father

For in him (Jesus) were created all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Col 1:15-17)

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption. (Gal 4:4-5)

At this point in saying the Nicene Creed, we bow our heads in reverence to the Virgin Mary Incarnate => to become human, but not change in essence God is still God

Passion, death, and resurrection => Paschal Mystery Why mention Pontius Pilot?

Jesus was humanly alive after his resurrection from the dead He ascended as a live human being When he [Jesus] had said this, as they were looking on he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. (Acts 1:9) His taking his place at the right hand of the Father signifies the inauguration of the Messiah's Kingdom He reigns through his Church

"The Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning that flashes from one end of the sky to the other" (Lk 17:24). When He comes at the end of time to judge the living and the dead, the glorious Christ will reveal the secret disposition of hearts and will render to each man according to his works and according to his acceptance or refusal of grace (CCC 682) Christ is Lord of eternal life. Full right to pass definitive judgment on the works and hearts of men He acquired this right by his cross.. (CCC 679) Angel Gabriel and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end (Luke 1:33)

RCIA Journey of Faith Practices Beliefs & Prayer Sacraments/Rites Table Discussion What struck you or touched you in this presentation? Did anything puzzle you?

RCIA Journey of Faith Practices Beliefs & Prayer Sacraments/Rites Tonight s Presentations Questions and Answers

RCIA Journey of Faith Practices Beliefs & Prayer Sacraments/Rites Announcements Schedule Welcome Meetings with Della Doss or Dahl Gomez Call St. Jude Office at (972) 727-1177 Complete and return information forms and turn in to Dahl Gomez Saturday make-up sessions are at 10 am in Room 311 The presentations from each evening are posted at: https://stjudeparish.com/rcia-presentations

RCIA Journey of Faith Practices Beliefs & Prayer Sacraments/Rites Next Meeting October 16 Nicene Creed II God the Holy Spirit God in His Church By: Dahl Gomez Dale Brooks References: This Is Our Faith: Ch 5, 7, 8 Catechism of the Catholic Church: PART ONE

RCIA Journey of Faith Practices Beliefs & Prayer Sacraments/Rites Q&A: Fr. Abraham Thomas Fr. Joel Bako