Fundamentals of Faith II LESSON 1 – The
Profession of Faith certain signs of divine Revelation, adapted to the
• Humans are called to communion with God…
Faith is our response to God, who reveals
himself and gives himself to us. (CCC 26)
• The desire for God is written in the human
heart. (CCC 27)
• Faith means to obey (Latin ob - audire): to hear,
to listen to
• To submit freely to the word that has been
heard, because its truth is guaranteed by God
who is Truth itself.
• “Anyone who wants to believe needs a heart
that is ready to listen.” (1 Kings 3:9)
• “Faith comes from hearing, and by hearing the
word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)
The Characteristics of Faith (CCC 153-165)
I. Faith is a Grace
• Before faith can be exercised, man must have
the grace of God to move and assist him; He
must have the interior help 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 in the truth.
• Faith is a gift from God, a supernatural virtue
infused by him.
II. Faith is a Human Act
• Acts that proceed from the reason and free will
are rightly called “personal acts.” Believing is
an authentically human act.
• In faith, the human intellect and will cooperate
with divine grace: “Believing is an act of the
intellect assenting to the divine truth by
command of the will moved by God through
grace.”
III. Faith and Understanding
• What moves us to believe is not the fact that
revealed truths appear as true and intelligible in
the light of our natural reason; we believe
“because of the authority of God himself who
reveals them, who can neither deceive nor be
deceived.” (CCC 156)
• Thus, the miracles of Christ and the saints,
prophecies, the Church's growth and holiness,
and her fruitfulness and stability “are the most
intelligence of all” (CCC 156)
• Faith is certain: Faith is founded on the very
words of God who cannot lie… “the certainty
that the divine light gives is greater than that
which the light of natural reason gives” (CCC
157).
• Faith seeks understanding: The grace of faith
opens the “eyes of the heart” to a lively
understanding of the contents of revelation.
(CCC 158)
• “The Holy Spirit constantly perfects faith by his
gifts so that Revelation may be more and more
profoundly understood.”
• St. Augustine: I believe in order to understand;
and I understand, the better to believe.
• St. Thomas Aquinas: In knowing comes loving.
• Faith and science: All branches of knowledge
carried out in a truly scientific manner can never
conflict with faith, because the things of the
world and the things of faith derive from the
same God. (CCC 159)
IV. Freedom of Faith
• Man’s response must be free, nobody is to be
forced to embrace the faith against his will. The
act of faith is of its very nature a free act.
• “God calls men and women to serve him in spirit
and in truth, they are bound to him in
conscience, but not coerced...
• Jesus invites people to faith and conversion, but
never coerced them…
• His kingdom grows by love with which Christ,
lifted up on the cross, draws men to himself.
V. The Necessity of Faith
• Believing in Jesus Christ and in the One who
sent him for our salvation is necessary for
obtaining that salvation. Since without faith it is
impossible to please God and to attain to the
fellowship of his sons. (CCC 161)
VI. Faith – the beginning of eternal life
• Faith makes us taste in advance the light of the
beatific vision, the goal of our journey here
below. Then we shall see God face to face, as he
is. (CCC 163)
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 Faith is a personal act - the free response of the
human person to the initiative of God, yet faith
is not an isolated act. No one can believe alone,
just as no one can live alone. (CCC 166)
Hence… WE BELIEVE
• Whoever says “I believe” says “I pledge myself
to what we believe.”
• Communion in faith needs a common language
of faith, normative for all, and uniting all in the
same confession of faith.
Professions of Faith
• Such “syntheses of faith” are called “professions
of faith” - they summarize the faith that
Christians profess.
• They are called “creeds” (Lat. “credo” which
means, “I believe”).
• They are also called “symbols of faith.”
The Symbols of Faith
• The Greek word Symbolon means half of a
broken object presented as a token of
recognition.
• It is a sign of recognition and communion of
believers
• Symbolon also means “a gathering, collection or
summary.”
• A symbol of faith is a summary of the principal
truths of the faith and therefore serves as the first
and fundamental point of reference for
catechesis.
The Two Creeds that occupy a special place
in the life of the Church.
1. Apostles’ Creed - The faithful summary of the
apostles’ faith. o It is the ancient baptismal
symbol of the Church of Rome; adopted by the
Early Church before the middle of the 2nd
Century.
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of
heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only
Son, our Lord Who was conceived by the Holy
Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under
Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was
buried. He descended into hell; the third day He
rose again from the dead; He ascended into
heaven, is seated at the right hand of God the
Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to
judge the living and the dead. I believe in the
Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the
communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.
Amen.
2. Niceno-Constantinopolitan or Nicene Creed -
The Creed used by both Churches in the East
and West. It draws it great authority form the
first two ecumenical councils in 325 and in 381.
I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker
of heaven and earth, of all things visible and
invisible.
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. 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.
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
LESSON 2 – The Mystery of God
The Most Blessed Trinity
• The mystery of the Holy Trinity is the central
mystery of Christian Faith and life. It is the
center of all mystery the light that enlightens
them.
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 • The revealed truth of the Holy Trinity is at
the root of the Church’s tradition, by means
of baptism.
• It finds its expression in the baptismal faith,
formulated in the preaching, catechesis and
prayer of the Church.
GOD THE FATHER
• The Church recognizes that many religions
invoke God as “Father”
• Being called “Father” the language of faith
indicates two things about God: 1. God is the
first origin of everything and transcendent
authority. 2. He is good and loving to all of
his children.
GOD THE SON
• Jesus revealed God as Father not only in
being a Creator; he is eternally Father in
relation to his Son, who is eternally Son only
in relation to his Father
GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT
• Before his Passover, Jesus announced to his
disciples that he will send the Paraclete
(Advocate).
• The Holy Spirit is sent to teach and guide
them “into all truth.” The Holy Spirit is
revealed as a Divine Person with Jesus and
the Father.
THE DOGMA OF THE HOLY TRINITY
Terminologies:
• Substance – can also be called essence or
nature. To designate the divine being in its
unity.
• Person or hypostasis – to designate the
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the real
distinction among them
• Relation – to designate the fact that their
distinction lies in the relationship of each to
the others
1. The Trinity is One.
- The divine persons do not share the one
divinity among themselves but each of them is
God whole and entire. The Father, Son, and
Spirit by nature is one God.
2. The Divine Persons are really distinct
from one another.
- God is one but not solitary.
- “Father,” “Son,” and “Holy Spirit” are not
simply names designating the persons of the
divine being, they are really distinct from one
another in relations of origin.
3. The Divine Persons are relative to one
another.
- The distinction of the persons from one
another resides solely in the relationships
which relate them to one another
• The Father is he who begets, the Son who is
begotten, and the Holy Spirit who proceeds from
both. Paternity is proper to the Father, filiation to
the Son, and procession to the Holy Spirit.
• Inseparable in what they are, the divine persons
are also inseparable in what they do. But within
the single divine operation each shows forth
what is proper to him in the Trinity, especially in
the divine missions of the Son’s incarnation and
the gift of the Holy Spirit.
• The Father is God outside us. The Son is God
beside us. The Holy Spirit is God inside us. The
Father is Lover. The Son is Beloved. The Holy
Spirit is Love. Mary is Daughter of God, Mother
of God, and Spouse of God.
“I believe in God”
• The first affirmation and the most fundamental
part of the Creed.
• It speaks of humans and the world in relation
to God.
The Attributes of God
I. God is One
• The Church tells that Jesus revealed God as the
One Lord whom we must love with “all our
heart, soul, mind and strength”
• Jesus also reveals that he himself is “The
Lord”
• The Church also proclaims the Holy Spirit as
“Lord and giver of life”
II. The Living God
• God moves beyond space and time to put his
almighty power at work for his plan.
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 III. I AM WHO I AM (YHWH)
• A name expresses a person’s identity.
• To give one’s name is to make oneself
accessible and capable of being known
intimately and address personally.
• God revealed himself progressively under
different names to his people but there is one
fundamental name for both the Old and New
Covenant. This is the revelation of God to
Moses in the theophany of the burning bush.
Read: Exodus 3:13-15
• The name that expresses the mystery of God is
beyond words or indescribable; that is above
everything that we can understand and say.
• The name reveals his faithfulness to his
covenant which is everlasting
• “I am the God of your Father” – past “I will be
with you” – future “I Am” – present
• The tetragrammaton YHWH is replaced with the
following titles which mean “Lord” respecting
the holiness of God.
ADONAI (Hebrew) KYRIOS (Greek)
IV. God is merciful and gracious
• Even after his people turned their backs away
from God to worship the Golden Calf, God
continues to express goodness to his people.
• Moses confesses the Lord YHWH is a forgiving
God.
• “YHWH, YHWH, a God merciful and gracious
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love
and faithfulness”
V. God is Truth
• God‟s truth is his wisdom, which commands
order and governs the world.
• God is also truthful when he reveals himself. His
teaching is true instruction. He is Truth himself.
VI. God is Love
• His love is victorious over worst infidelities
• Out of love, God never stopped saving Israel and
pardoning their unfaithfulness.
John 3:16
• His love is “everlasting”
• God himself is an eternal exchange of love.
VII. GOD THE ALMIGHTY
• “„Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty,
who was, and is, and is to come.” -Revelation
4:8
• God who is the Creator of everything rules
everything and can do anything. Nothing is
impossible with God, who disposes his work
according to his will. In his infinite mercy, he
displays his power at its height by freely
forgiving sins.
LESSON 3 – The Creation and Fall of Man
The Creator
• Creation is the foundation of “all God‟s saving
plans” that culminates in Christ.
• Creation concerns the very foundation of human
and Christian life. It answers the fundamental
questions of human existence. Human reasoning
ascertains the existence of God the creator. The
fundamental questions are: Where do I come
from? Who am I? Where am I going to?
• Creation is the Work of the Holy Trinity.
Though the work of creation is attributed to the
Father, our Faith teaches that He did this
indivisibly together with God the Son and the
Holy Spirit.
GOD THE CREATOR “OF HEAVEN AND
EARTH”
• The creation of the world and man witness to:
His almighty love and His wisdom - The Glory
of God.
• God created the world out of his wisdom and
love, „out of nothing, ‟ freely, directly and
without any help.
• The world was created “for the Glory of God” -
the realization, manifestation and
communication of His goodness. God created an
ordered and good world. God upholds and
sustains creation.
God carries out His plan: DIVINE PROVIDENCE
• The universe was created “in a state of
journeying” (in statu viae) toward an ultimate
perfection yet to be attained, to which God has
destined it.
• “Divine Providence”- the dispositions by which
God guides his creation toward this perfection
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 Genesis
• It is the first book in the bible that means
“Origin, beginning, source, and creation”
• It is not a scientific book.
• It does not give scientific accounts of the origin
of the world and humankind.
• This book uses the literary form “religious
myth” – imaginative stories that uses symbolism
to speak about reality.
Genesis 1:1-2:3 | The First Account of
Creation
• The account gives a description on how God
created the universe in six days and rested on the
seventh day.
Theological Implications of the First Account
of Creation
1. God is the origin of everything especially life.
- God is the creator as well as the final goal of
everything that exists.
2. Creation is orderly and good.
- Each creature possesses its own particular
goodness and perfection.
- Each creature reflects in its own ways God’s
infinite wisdom and goodness. Humans must
therefore respect the particular goodness of
every creature to avoid any disordered use of
things that would be in contempt of the Creator
and would bring disastrous consequences for
human beings and their environment.
3. Humankind is the summit of God’s creation
- The individual possess dignity. Human beings
(male and female) are created last, therefore they
are the most important.
4. Humans are stewards over all creation
- This subduing is not about arrogant power, but
responsibility. Therefore, we should treat
creation as intelligent and responsible
administrators or stewards not as ruthless
exploiters.
- Pope Saint John Paul II: “It is the duty of all
who look to God as the Creator to protect the
environment by restoring a sense of reverence
for the whole of creation.”
- Pope Francis: “When we exploit creation, we
destroy that sign of God‟s love. To destroy is to
say to God: „I don’t care. ‟ And that is not good:
this is sin.”
- Pope Francis: “Man has slapped nature in the
face.”
Genesis 2 | The Second Account of Creation
• It emphasizes God’s relationship to all human
being represented by the figures of Adam and
Eve.
• “Adam” – Man or human
“Eve” – Living for she is symbolically the
mother of all living people.
• “In the image of God” The human individual
possesses the DIGNITY of a person capable of
self-knowledge, self-possession and of freely
giving himself and entering into communion
with others called by grace to a covenant with
his Creator, to offer him a response of faith and
love that no other creature can give
Theological Implications of the Second
Account of Creation
1. We are connected to the earth.
- He was created from it, he is to cultivate it, and
return to it in death.
- God formed man from the ground… the
Hebrew words Adam: man and Adamah means
“earth, soil, and land”
2. The human being is both body and soul.
- The human being has the divine breath which
is the cause of his life.
- “The unity of soul and body is so profound
that one has to consider the soul to be the form
of the body. it is because of its spiritual soul that
the body made of matter become a living, human
body” (CCC 365)
- Every spiritual soul is created by God and not
by the parents. It is immortal. It does not perish
when separated from the body at death. It will be
reunited with the body at the final Resurrection
- The human body shares in the dignity of the
image of God; it is animated by the soul it is the
human person that is intended to become the
temple of the spirit. (CCC 354)
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 Body and Soul but truly one
• “Soul” - innermost aspect of man;
spiritual principle in man
• “Body”– animated by the spiritual soul
• The Soul is the form of the Body. The
Body, made of matter becomes a living
human body because of the Spiritual
Soul.
• Spirit and matter, in man, are not 2
natures united but forms a single nature.
• All souls are spirits, but not all spirits
are souls
3. Eden is the original locale of human beings
- Paradise is a picture of harmony between God
and human beings, one human beings with
another, of human beings and the world.
- Eden – from Hebrew: “Pleasure, delight”
- Persian word “a royal garden
Man in Paradise
• State of Original Holiness
• Participation in the intimate divine life.
• The Most Holy Trinity dwells in the
soul: (Sanctifying Grace) o State of
Original Justice
• Man’s first nature was endowed with
preternatural gifts: INTEGRITY
IMMORTALITY IMPASSIBILITY
INFUSED KNOWLEDGE
• Established in friendship with his
Creator, himself and with the Creation
around him
• Work is not seen a burden but rather a
collaboration with God in perfecting the
visible creation.
4. Humans have the vocation to care for and
cultivate the world
- Whatever the man called each of them would
be its name
- The power to name possessed by the one who
has power to rule
5. Man and woman complement each other
- “Woman was not taken from man’s head to be
ruled by him nor from his feet to be trampled by
him but from near his side to walk beside him”
Male and female He created them.
• Each for the other
• Created to be a communion of persons,
a „helpmate‟ to the other,
complementary to one another o
• Co-creators: Forming „one flesh‟ they
can transmit human life
• EQUALITY and DIFFERENCE are
good and willed by God o Both with one
and same inalienable dignity
• In their being man and woman, they
reflect the Creator’s wisdom and
goodness
6. Human Love and Marriage are divinely
ordered
- It is not good for man to be alone
- Man and woman are made for each other
- Human beings are meant for community
Angels: A Truth of our Faith
• The English word "angel" comes from the Greek
angelos, which means 'messenger'.
• With their whole beings the angels are servants
and messengers of God.
• As purely spiritual creatures, angels have
intelligence and will: they are personal and
immortal creatures.
• Christ is the center of the angelic world
• The angels play a major role in the history of
God's dealing with the human race. From the
dawn of creation to the Incarnation. Since the
coming of Christ, angels are more than ever the
messengers of the Good News.
• The whole life of the Church benefits from the
mysterious and powerful help of angels.
• GUARDIAN ANGEL - Our heavenly Father has
placed over each of us an Angel under whose
protection and vigilance we may be enabled to
escape the snares secretly prepared by our
enemy
The Fall of Man
Fall of Angels
Read: Revelation 12:7-8 Isaiah 14:12-15 2 Peter
2:4 Jude 6
• Fallen Angel – Satan/ Lucifer or the Devil
• Naturally good but became evil by their own
doing (CCC 391)
• Free choice of radical and irrevocable rejection
of God and His reign (CCC 392)
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Fall of Man
• Tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator
die in his heart and, abusing his freedom,
disobeyed God‟s command (CCC 397)
• Man preferred himself, chose himself over
against God
• Wanted to “be like God”, but without God,
before God, and not in accordance with God”
(CCC 398)
Sin
• BROKEN RELATIONSHIP
• Humanity‟s rejection of God and opposition to
Him (CCC 386)
• Abuse of the freedom that God gives to created
persons so that they are capable of loving him
and love one another (CCC 387)
Consequences of man’s first sin
• Loss of grace of original holiness
• Distorted image of God
• Destroyed original justice (Harmony) -
Broken harmony with creation
• Control of soul’s spiritual faculties over
the body is shattered
• Lust and dominations between man and
woman
• Death makes its entrance into human
history
Original Sin
• Transmission of the first sin to his descendants
• The whole human race being in ADAM (as one
body of one man) represents the whole of human
nature (CCC 404)
• “Fallen state”
• Transmission of a human nature deprived of
original holiness and justice
• A sin “contracted” not committed – a state and
not an act (CCC 404)
Concupiscence
• Human Nature is wounded not corrupted
• Subject to ignorance, suffering and death
• Inclined to SIN
• Tendency to do evil (CCC 405)
Sinful Social Structures
• Ignorance of the fact that man has a wounded
nature inclined to evil gives rise to serious
errors…in morals.
• The sin of the world – consequences of original
sin and all of men’s personal sins put the whole
world as a whole in sinful condition
• Negative influence exerted on people by
communal situations…that are fruit of men’s
sins. (CCC 408)
The Protoevangelium
• Genesis 3:15
• Mary was preserved from all stain of original
sin and by the special grace of God committed
no sin during her earthly life
• First Gospel: first announcement of Messiah and
Redeemer, of a battle between the serpent and
the Woman, and of the final victory of a
descendant of hers.
• New Adam = Jesus, who is obedient unto death,
even on the Cross
• Woman/ New Eve = Mary, the Mother of Christ
The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed
Virgin Mary
• The Blessed Virgin Mary, from the first moment
of her conception, by a singular grace and
privilege from Almighty God and in view of the
merits of Jesus Christ, was kept free of every
stain of original sin.
• Kecharitomene (“Full of grace”)
- Unique name, unique identity,
unique role
• Panagia (“All-holy”)
- By the grace of God, Mary remained
free of every personal sin her whole
life long.
• The Immaculate Conception was demanded by
the Incarnation. It was demanded by the holiness
of God and it is necessary to safeguard the honor
of the Son.
Christ’s Redemption
• Universality of Sin and death contrasted with the
universality of the salvation of Christ
• “As one man’s trespass led to condemnation for
all men, so one man’s act of righteousness leads
to acquittal and life for all men” – Romans 5:18
(CCC 402)
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