Faith and Revelation

Knowing God Through Sacred Scripture

Chapter 2
Divine Revelation and Supernatural Faith

Chapter Objectives
The student will be able to understand:
Supernatural Revelation Gods motive for revealing himself How we can know Gods Revelation External evidence for Revelation Motives for credibility Miracles Miracles in human history The criteria for determining authentic miracles Classes of miracles Prophecy, the experience of Christians, and the Church herself are proofs of Divine Revelation Man is still free to reject Revelation Qualities of faith The motive and objects of faith

Keys to Chapter 2
God unveils himself to draw all people to him.
God provides much solid, external evidence that his Revelation can be trusted.

We are still in the age of miracles.

Christians believe what God reveals because he, who is trustworthy, reveals it.

In This Chapter We Will Discuss:

Divine or supernatural Revelation, and why it is needed.
How God has revealed himself to man.

How we can know that Divine Revelation is true.

Christ as the fullness of Revelation.

Introduction
Lesson Objectives
Supernatural Revelation Gods motives for revealing himself How one can know Gods Revelation

Introduction

Basic Questions
What is supernatural Revelation? In supernatural Revelation, God unveils truths about himself and mans salvation that exceed natural intellectual ability. Why does God reveal himself ? God draws human beings to himself because of his loving magnanimity.

Introduction

Basic Questions
How does God make it possible to know him? One can know God because he elevates the natural intellect through grace so people can grasp the supernatural truths he reveals through deeds and words.

Anticipatory Set
Incorporate John 11:1-44 into the Opening Prayer and then discuss:

How do Christs actions and the words he speaks relate to one another?

Focus Question
What is the difference between natural and Divine Revelation?
Natural revelation is how God reveals himself to people through his creation. Divine Revelation is how God reveals himself to people directly through particular individuals.

Focus Question
What is the meaning of the word revelation?
It means to uncover or unveil something hidden.

Focus Question
What does the word Revelation mean in theological terms?
Revelation refers to Gods manifestation of truth to his people.

Focus Question
What kinds of truths has God revealed?
God has revealed truths about himself and creation, especially the origin and destiny of man and of the world.

Focus Question
What is the intelligibility to the human intellect of Gods revealed truths?
Some are accessible to the human mind on its own; others exceed all created intellect.

Focus Question
What does it mean to say Christ is the one who both reveals and is revealed?
Christ is the definitive Revelation of God, and Christ is primarily revealed.

Focus Question
What is the double meaning of the phrase Word of God?
It refers to Sacred Scripture and Jesus Christ.

Focus Question
Why did St. Jerome write, Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ?
Because Christ is the subject of all the Scriptures, one cannot know him apart from them.

Focus Question
What are the two kinds of revealed truths?
Natural truths are accessible to natural reason, and supernatural truths (or mysteries) are beyond the ability of human reason.

Focus Question
What are some examples of supernatural truths (or mysteries)?
Supernatural truths include the existence of three divine Persons in one God, the union of the divine and human natures in the Person of Jesus Christ, and the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.

Focus Question
What does it mean to say Revelation is received mediately?
It is revealed to a person directly, who then transmits it to others. Most people receive Divine Revelation mediately.

Focus Question
Name some of the persons who have mediated Divine Revelation.
Abraham, Moses, the prophets, and, definitively, Jesus Christ have mediated Divine Revelation.

Guided Exercise
Free Write on the following questions:

Do you find in yourself an innate desire to know truth?

How does the desire for truth show itself in your life?

Focus Question
Why does God reveal himself ?
He wants to draw people to himself.

Focus Question
According to Dei Verbum, what is the relationship between words and deeds in the economy of Revelation?
The works performed by God in the history of salvation show forth and bear out the doctrine and realities signified by the words; the words, for their part, proclaim the works, and bring to light the mystery they contain.

Focus Question
What does it mean to say the created intellect has a basic and radical capacity to be elevated beyond its natural powers?
It means that human intellect, with the help of grace, can understand supernatural truths. More grace leads to a better understanding of supernatural truths.

Focus Question
What is the normal subject of the natural drive and capacity of our intellects?
The normal subject is to understand the essence of material things in the world.

Focus Question
What is the appropriate (or exact) object for which the human intellect is searching?
It is searching for truth in its entirety

Guided Exercise

Read John 11 and explain how the word God spoke was connected to the deed he subsequently worked.

Focus Question
How is a human being able to know supernatural truths?
God elevates human intellects to see things ordinarily impossible.

Focus Question
How is Gods Revelation transmitted to people?
It is transmitted mediately through the Church.

Focus Question
What keeps the message of Revelation from being confused or corrupted?
When establishing his Church, Christ guaranteed the assistance of the Holy Spirit to ensure the faithful transmission of Divine Revelation. The Holy Spirit guides the Church and her teaching authority (or Magisterium) when confirming the teachings of Christ and applying those teachings to temporal situations.

Guided Exercise
Discuss the following question:

How does the passage from Dei Verbum (p. 34, It pleased God) reveal Gods magnanimity?

The Truthfulness of Divine Revelation

Lesson Objectives
External evidence for Revelation Motives of credibility Miracles

The Truthfulness of Divine Revelation

Basic Questions
How does one know if a revelation is actually from God? Because the content of revealed truth is not self-evident, God provides external evidence for believing the revealed truths. These evidences are termed motives of credibility.

What are the motives of credibility? The chief motives of credibility are the miracles of Christ and his saints; the fulfillment of prophecies; the sublimity or dignity of the message itself; and the growth, holiness, fruitfulness, and stability of the Church.

The Truthfulness of Divine Revelation

Basic Questions
What is a miracle? A miracle is an extraordinary and observable fact or action performed by God that defies the laws of nature.

Anticipatory Set

Incorporate Mark 2:1-2 into the Opening Prayer and then identify the reason Christ gives for healing the paralytic.

Focus Question
Why must any Revelation from God be true?
God can neither deceive nor be deceived.

Focus Question
Why does reason dictate people need some evidence to confirm the source of a particular Revelation is God?
Reason dictates one should only believe something to the extent the truth of a particular statement can be reasoned or the mediate source of the statement is known to be reliable. Extension: One may be able to reason as to why the method of long division taught by a grade-school teacher works or it may be taken on faith because that particular teacher is trustworthy.

Focus Question
What are the four main signs (or motives of credibility) God provides to assure people his Revelation is trustworthy?
He provides: 1. the miracles of Christ and his saints; 2. the fulfillment of prophecies; 3. the sublimity or dignity of the Gospel message; and 4. the growth, holiness, fruitfulness, and stability of the Church.

Focus Question
Why is external evidence required to know a particular Revelation comes from God?
The content of revealed truth is not self-evident; therefore, it needs external evidence.

Focus Question
Why are miracles ascribed to God?
By definition, miracles do not have natural causes; miracles can only have God as their immediate cause.

Focus Question
If God did not exist, why would miracles be impossible?
Only God can set aside the laws of his creation.

Guided Exercise
Discuss the following question:

How does the tale The Boy who Cried Wolf illustrate the principle that belief in what an intermediary testifies depends on his trustworthiness?

Focus Question
Is the Church credulous when it comes to miracles?
No; the Church regards miraculous claims with a healthy skepticism and carefully scrutinizes them.

Focus Question
What is a favorable outcome of the Churchs examination of a miracle or apparition?
It says there is no viable natural explanation for the phenomenon and the message of the Revelation, if any, is in no way incompatible with what the Church teaches.

Focus Question
Why does God work miracles in the modern era?
God calls peoples attention to something important for their salvation.

Focus Question
What is the greatest miracle in all of history?
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest miracle.

Guided Exercise
Complete a paragraph shrink on:

The selection from Vatican I (p. 37, For the submission)

Graphic Organizer
Complete the following table on the kinds of evidence.
Kind of Evidence External Internal to the revealed truth itself Inherent in mankind Example Explanation

Focus Question
What is the original meaning of the word miracle?
It meant something admirable or astonishing.

Focus Question
What does the term miracle mean in theological terms?
It refers to an extraordinary and observable fact or action that defies the laws of nature.

Focus Question
What do miracles display?
They display Gods omnipotence and external proofs of his Revelation.

Focus Question
How does Gods existence explain the possibility of miracles?
With God nothing is impossible.

Test All Things

Lesson Objectives
Miracles in human history The criteria for determining authentic materials Classes of miracles

Test All Things

Basic Questions
When have miracles occurred? God worked miracles as recorded in the Old Testament and the New Testament to the present day. How does the Church determine if a miracle has occurred? The Church requires a lengthy and rigorous process to determine if a miracle has taken place.

Test All Things

Basic Questions
What are the three most common categories of miracles? Three common categories of miracles are apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, miracles of the Eucharist, and miracles of healing.

Anticipatory Set
Imagine the case of a person who had incurable cancer. The person prayed to a specific saint and was completely cured.

How can we be sure that such a cure is truly miraculous?

Focus Question
What are some of the examples of miracles in the Old Testament?
The plagues of Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, the manna sent from Heaven, and the destruction of Jericho.

Focus Question
What isthe difference between the miracles the Apostles performed after the Ascension and those Christ performed while on earth?
The Apostles miracles were done in Christs name to show they acted with his authority, whereas Christ performed miracles by his own authority.

Focus Question
What was the first miracle worked by the Apostles at Pentecost?
The miracles of speaking in tongues was the first miracle they worked.

Focus Question
What are the three major categories of miracles during the past two millennia?
Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, miracles of the Eucharist, and miracles of healing have occurred.

Focus Question
Search the internet to learn more about one of these approved but lesser known Marian apparitions:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Laus (1664-1778) Paris (1830) La Sallette (1846) Pontmain (1871) Beauraing (1932-33) Banneux (1933) Akita (1973)

Focus Question
What aspects of an alleged apparition are investigated?
The investigation considers the probability of a supernatural occurrence, the personal qualities of the person(s) receiving the vision, the content of the message (if any), and the fruits of the revelation.

Focus Question
What are some factors that result in negative judgments?
Errors in fact or doctrine, evidence of financial profit, immoral acts, and psychological disorders of the visionary result in negative judgments.

Focus Question
What are the three findings of an investigation into a claim of an apparition, and what does each mean? 1. Judged as supernatural means the apparition seems authentic 2. Judged as not supernatural means the apparition is not authentic; 3. Not judged supernatural is a neutral statement.

Focus Question
How long do investigations take?
They can take decades or centuries.

Focus Question
If the event is judged as supernatural, what can happen?
The bishop (or bishops) may permit public devotion.

Focus Question
How many claims of Marian apparitions were there in the twentieth century?
There were at least 386.

Focus Question
How were the 386 cases disposed?
Seventy-nine were judged as not supernatural, and nearly all the rest have received a neutral verdict.

Focus Question
How many Marian apparitions in Church history has the Church fully approved?
Ten have been approved.

Focus Question
What were the three most popular Marian apparitions?
They are in Lourdes, Fatima, and Guadalupe.

Focus Question
What is the significance of the name that Our Lady gave to St. Bernadette?
Our Lady said to St. Bernadette, I am the Immaculate Conception, a dogma about the Blessed Virgin Mary the Pope had solemnly defined four years earlier.

Focus Question
What kind of miracle is today associated with Lourdes?
Miracles of healing occur there.

Focus Question
How many miracles have been certified at Lourdes?
Sixty-seven people have been declared to have been miraculously healed, and thousands more have claimed physical and spiritual healings resulting from visits there.

Focus Question
Name the three children to whom the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared at Fatima.
Jacinta Francisco Lucia

Focus Question
What did our Lady ask the children to do?
She asked them to pray the rosary, offer themselves to God, and bear suffering as reparation for the conversion of sinners.

Focus Question
What public miracle occurred at Fatima?
The lady told the children she was the Lady of the Rosary, and a crowd of many thousands saw the sun dance in the sky.

Focus Question
Where and when did the miracle of Guadalupe occur?
It occurred outside Mexico City in 1531.

Focus Question
To whom did the Blessed Virgin Mary appear?
She appeared to an indigenous Mexican, St. Juan Diego.

Focus Question
What sign did she use to show Bishop Zumarraga she had really appeared?
Her image was miraculously imprinted on St. Juan Diegos tilma.

Focus Question
What is miraculous about the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe?
Modern scientific tests have failed to identify how the image was made or why it has not faded or deteriorated over the past 500 years.

Focus Question
Who is the patroness of the Americas?
Our Lady of Guadalupe

Focus Question
Why is there such a difference between the number of unexplained healings credited to prayer and the number of proven miraculous interventions?
The criteria for establishing miracles of healing are very strict, and unexpected healings must be rigorously studied.

Guided Exercise
Discuss the following:

Why is it prudent for the Church to have such strict guidelines to determine whether or not a healing is miraculous?

Focus Question
What is the Real Presence?
It is the Catholic doctrine that Jesus Christ is really and substantially presentBody, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the Eucharistic species after the consecration of bread and wine.

Focus Question
What is the Eucharistic miracle that occurred in Bolsena-Orvieto, Italy?
A German priest had trouble believing in the Real Presence. When he stopped to say Mass on his way to Rome, the consecrated Host began to bleed.

Focus Question
Where are the Host and bloodstained corporal today?
They are in the Orvieto cathedral.

Focus Question
What did Pope Urban IV do when he learned of this event?
He instituted the feast of Corpus Christi (the Body of Christ).

Focus Question
What are the criteria for a cure to be declared miraculous?
1. There must be an accurate diagnosis of a permanent illness or infirmity by competent medical authority; 2. The prognosis must be grim; 3. The cure itself must be immediate, complete (no need for rehabilitation or convalescence), and permanent; and 4. The medical treatment prescribed must not be a contributing factor in the healing.

Focus Question
How is an alleged healing at Lourdes investigated?
The claimant presents his or her case at the Lourdes Medical Bureau. If it passes scrutiny, the case is presented to the Lourdes Medical Committee, which is populated by nearly two dozen physicians from around the world. Their investigation usually takes five to ten years; if they rule an alleged healing as medically inexplicable, then the case is sent to the cured persons bishop. The bishop will consult local experts and the Vatican before deciding whether to formally recognize a miracle has occurred.

Focus Question
In the case of a person whose cause for canonization is underway, who makes the final determination as to whether a miracle has taken place?
After a thorough and many-leveled investigation, the Pope makes the final decision.

The Truthfulness of Divine Revelation

Lesson Objectives
Prophecy, the experience of Christians, and the Church herself are proofs of Divine Revelation Man is free to reject Revelation

The Truthfulness of Divine Revelation

Basic Questions
How are prophecy, the experience of Christians, and the Church motives of credibility? Prophecy is a motive of credibility because prophets speak in the name of God and their fulfilled prophecies are signs of the truthfulness of their message. The Christians experience of Christ offers internal proof of the truth of Revelation because Christ satisfied the highest human aspirations. The propagation, sanctity, fruitfulness, unity, and stability of the Church provide a motive of credibility for her divine mission.

The Truthfulness of Divine Revelation Basic Questions

What is the role of freedom in accepting Revelation as true? People have the freedom to accept or reject the truthfulness of Divine Revelation.

Anticipatory Set
1. The Roman Empire 2. Arianism 3. The French Revolution 4. The U.S.S.R. 5. Nazi Germany

What do these have in common?

Focus Question
To what extent does the word prophet refer in Hebrew?
It refers to one who talks to man in the name of God.

Focus Question
How does this definition relate to Christ as a prophet?
Christ spoke to man in the name of God.

Focus Question
Who are some of the prophets of the Old Testament?
Jeremiah, Isaiah, Daniel, Micah, Hosea, and Nehemiah are Old Testament prophets.

Focus Question
What is a prophecy?
It is an infallible predication of a contingent future event, which can be foreseen with certainty only through supernatural illumination.

Focus Question
Who, then, is the ultimate author of every prophecy?
God is the author of prophecy.

Focus Question
How is Isaiahs prophecy about the Virgin Birth a sign that offers verification of its own truthfulness?
Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son (Is 7:14; New American Bible); when this was fulfilled in Christ, it gave credibility to Isaiahs prophecy and to everything else he said. It also lent credibility to Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah.

Guided Exercise
Complete a focused reading of the section Christ Satisfies.. (pp. 43-33) and discuss the following:

How does the experience of living the Faith provide an internal proof that the Faith is true?

Guided Exercise
Islam teaches Jesus was one of many prophets but Mohammed (early seventh century) is the final and greatest prophet of God. Based on the Steps of Divine Revelation (p. 45) discuss the following:

Why can Catholicism not accept Mohammeds testimony in the Koran?

Guided Exercise

Read The Life of the Church (p. 44) and create a bullet-point summary in favor of the assertion that the Church herself is a miracle.

Focus Question
Do miracles, prophecies, and other motives of credibility prove with absolute certainty that the truths taught by the Church come from God?
No; each person has to be open to receiving the truth.

Focus Question
What factors hinder acceptance of Divine Revelation despite good evidence?
Original Sin and its consequences prompt people to reject Divine Revelation.

Focus Question
What helps a person accept Divine Revelation?
Love of the truth and the desire to find God inclines one to accept Revelation.

The Act of Faith

Lesson Objectives
Qualities of Faith The motive and objects of faith

The Act of Faith

Basic Questions
What are the qualities of faith? Faith is a certain and free supernatural assent of the intellect through which a truth revealed by God is believed on the authority of God, who reveals it.

What are the motives and objects of faith? The motive for faith is the authority of God, who reveals. The objects of faith are God himself, all other supernatural truths God wished to reveal, and those natural truths God wished to confirm.

Anticipatory Set
Incorporate Mark 9:14-29 into the Opening Prayer. Picture Christ has just returned from the Mount of Transfiguration with Sts. Peter, James, and John. A large crowd has gathered and several scribes are arguing with the disciples.

What does this epistle seem to say about faith?

Focus Question
Is faith a feeling?
No; it is the assent of the intellect.

Focus Question
Is Divine Revelation self-evident to human intellect?
No; it must be tested and accepted.

Focus Question
What is the role of the will in the act of faith?
Though the senses and intellect tell a person something that is true, he or she must choose to believe.

Focus Question
What is faith?
It is a certain and free supernatural assent of the intellect through which a truth revealed by God is believed on the authority of God, who reveals it.

Focus Question
What does it mean to say, We do not just believe; rather, we believe in something?
Faith has a content. A person does not simply believe God exists; he or she believes in God himself and in his Revelation, that is, his attributes and his relationship with us and with his creation.

Focus Question
What is the motive (or reason) for making the act of faith?
The motive for the act of faith is the authority of God.

Focus Question
What are the three objects of faith?
The objects are: 1. God himself; 2. truths that can only be known through Revelation; and 3. natural truths God wishes to confirm.

Guided Exercise
Discuss the following:

What is an example of each of the three objects of faith?

Graphic Organizer
Complete the following table about the qualities of the act of faith.
Quality Explanation

Supernatural
Free

Certain