45. Can the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity be known by the light of human reason alone?

God has left some traces of his trinitarian being in creation and in the Old Testament but his inmost being as the Holy Trinity is a mystery which is inaccessible to reason alone or even to Israel’s faith before the Incarnation of the Son of God and the sending of the Holy Spirit. This mystery was revealed by Jesus Christ and it is the source of all the other mysteries.

39. Is God the only One who “is”?

Since creatures have received everything they are and have from God, only God in himself is the fullness of being and of every perfection. God is “He who is” without origin and without end. Jesus also reveals that he bears the divine name “I Am” (John 8:28).

The Symbols of Faith

33. What are the symbols of faith?

The symbols of faith are composite formulas, also called “professions of faith” or “Creeds”, with which the Church from her very beginning has set forth synthetically and handed on her own faith in a language that is normative and common to all the faithful.

The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed

I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

I believe one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father. Through Him all things were made.

We Believe

31. Why are the formulas of faith important?

The formulas of faith are important because they permit one to express, assimilate, celebrate, and share together with others the truths of the faith through a common language.

Section One Chapter Three - God Comes to Meet Man (continued) - I Believe / We Believe

27. What does it mean in practice for a person to believe in God?

It means to adhere to God himself, entrusting oneself to him and giving assent to all the truths which God has revealed because God is Truth. It means to believe in one God in three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Section One Chapter Two - God Comes to Meet Man (continued) - Sacred Scripture

23. What is the unity that exists between the Old and the New Testaments?

Scripture is one insofar as the Word of God is one. God’s plan of salvation is one, and the divine inspiration of both Testaments is one. The Old Testament prepares for the New and the New Testament fulfills the Old; the two shed light on each other.

Section One Chapter Two - God Comes to Meet Man (continued) - The Transmission of Divine Revelation

18. Why does Sacred Scripture teach the truth?

Because God himself is the author of Sacred Scripture. For this reason it is said to be inspired and to teach without error those truths which are necessary for our salvation. The Holy Spirit inspired the human authors who wrote what he wanted to teach us. The Christian faith, however, is not a “religion of the Book”, but of the Word of God – “not a written and mute word, but incarnate and living” (Saint Bernard of Clairvaux).

Section One Chapter Two - God Comes to Meet Man (continued) - The Transmission of Divine Revelation

13. In what ways does Apostolic Tradition occur?

Apostolic Tradition occurs in two ways: through the living transmission of the word of God (also simply called Tradition) and through Sacred Scripture which is the same proclamation of salvation in written form.

Section One Chapter Two - God Comes to Meet Man (continued) - The Revelation of God

9. What is the full and definitive stage of God's Revelation?

The full and definitive stage of God’s revelation is accomplished in his Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, the mediator and fullness of Revelation. He, being the only-begotten Son of God made man, is the perfect and definitive Word of the Father. In the sending of the Son and the gift of the Spirit, Revelation is now fully complete, although the faith of the Church must gradually grasp its full significance over the course of centuries.

Section One Chapter One - Man's Capacity for God (continued)

5. How can we speak about God?

By taking as our starting point the perfections of man and of the other creatures which are a reflection, albeit a limited one, of the infinite perfection of God, we are able to speak about God with all people. We must, however, continually purify our language insofar as it is image-bound and imperfect, realizing that we can never fully express the infinite mystery of God.

Section One “I believe” – “We believe”

1. What is the plan of God for man?

God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. In the fullness of time, God the Father sent his Son as the Redeemer and Savior of mankind, fallen into sin, thus calling all into his Church and, through the work of the Holy Spirit, making them adopted children and heirs of his eternal happiness.

As we slowly begin to return to some sense of normalcy with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic I would like to make you aware of the following:

• Effective on the weekend of June 5/6, all able Catholics are obliged to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation. This is because the dispensation granted by the New Jersey Catholic Bishops during the pandemic is now being lifted.
• Effective immediately, all those who have been fully vaccinated are no longer be required to wear masks while inside the church or any of our parish buildings. Please be aware that if you have not been vaccinated, as per the directives given by the state of New Jersey, you must continue to wear a mask.
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On this the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, we celebrate the real Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. May we always glorify the Father, Son and Holy Spirit by our lives of intense prayer, fidelity to the Gospel and charity to others.

As we slowly begin to return to some sense of normalcy with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic I would like to make you aware of the following: