Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abbreviations Used for the Books of the Bible

General Abbreviations

Catholic Prayers and Devotions

Chapter 1:
Faith and Revelation

Chapter Planning Guide

Chapter Objectives

Keys to this Chapter

Man in Search of God

Sidebar: The Human Desire to Know God

Sidebar: Do You Know, or Do You Really Know?

God in Search of Man

Where Can God Be Found?

Certainty of Truth Is Only Given by Faith

The Human Heart Is Satisfied by God Alone

Reasoning God’s Existence

Sidebar: Not Such a “Dumb Ox” After All

St. Thomas Aquinas on Reason

The First Mover

The First Cause

The Grand Architect

Limitations of Human Reason

Sidebar: Seeing God Face-to-Face

Divine Revelation in the Old Testament

Jesus as the Ultimate Truth of Revelation

An Encounter with Jesus Christ

How Christ Is Present Among Us

Christ Is Present in His Church

Christ Is Present in His Sacraments

Sidebar: Christ Present in the Liturgy

Christ Is Present in His Word

Sidebar: St. Jerome, The Passionate Scholar

Christ Is Present in Our Prayer

Christ Is Present in His Followers

Effects of the Encounter

Sidebar: Are You Blind, Like Bartimaeus?

The Beginning of Faith

Faith in God Is Received from Others and for Others

Sidebar: Faith Calls . . .

Faith Is Verified by Our Personal Experience

Faith Comes Alive when Lived in Communion

A Faith Professed

The Deposit of Faith

Sacred Tradition

Sacred Scripture

Sacred Scripture Is Inspired

Sidebar: How the Bible Came to Be

Sacred Scripture Is Inerrant

The Magisterium

Sidebar: The Apocryphal Books of the Bible

Sidebar: Bible Translations: The Word in Words

Supplementary Reading

Study Questions

Practical Exercises

From the Catechism

Chapter 2:
Understanding the Trinity

Chapter Planning Guide

Chapter Objectives

Keys to this Chapter

Part I: Getting to Know God

God’s People, God’s Covenants

Sidebar: Abraham, Our Father in Faith

The Name of “YHWH”

Sidebar: God Reveals His Name to Moses

Attributes of God

God Is Pure Spirit

Sidebar: Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist

God Is Immutable (Unchanging)

God Is Omnibenevolent (All-Loving)

God Is Omniscient (All-Knowing)

Sidebar: The Problem of Evil

God Is Omnipotent (All-Powerful)

God Is Omnipresent (Present Everywhere)

Part II: God as a Trinity of Persons

Understanding Three-in-One

The Language of the Trinity

The Trinity Is One God in Three Divine Persons

The Trinity Is of One “Substance” or Nature

St. Patrick: the “Apostle of Ireland”

The Trinity Revealed

The Trinity Foreshadowed in the Old Testament

“In Our Image”

Abraham and the Three Visitors

The Blessed Trinity Revealed by Christ

God the Father in Scripture

Sidebar: St. Augustine: How Late He Loved God

God the Son in Scripture

God the Holy Spirit in Scripture

The Blessed Trinity and the Christian Life

Part III: Early Trinitarian Heresies

The Blessed Trinity in the Early Church

Heresies that Challenged the Doctrine of the Blessed Trinity

Tables on the Heresies

Sidebar: St Athanasius: Defender Against the Arian Errors

Heroes in Defense of the Faith

The Ecumenical Councils

Table of Ecumenical Councils

Sidebar: The Nicene Creed

Supplementary Reading

Long-Term Assignment

Study Questions

Practical Exercises

From the Catechism

Chapter 3:
God the Father

Chapter Planning Guide

Chapter Objectives

Keys to this Chapter

Sidebar: The Our Father

God the Creator

Why Did God Create the Universe and Human Beings?

The Beginning of Creation

Sidebar: Creation and Evolution

God Created a World that Is Good

Preservation, Providence, and Government

Sidebar: The Sacrament of Marriage

Sidebar: Hierarchy of Angels

The Fall of the Angels

The Ministry of Angels

Sidebar: Guardian Angel Prayer

God Creates Man in His Own Image and Likeness

The Nature of the Soul

The Nature of the Body

Mind and Free Will

The Fall of Humanity

Man’s Original State

The Original Sin

The Transmission of Original Sin

Sidebar: Raising Cain: Offering our Best to God

Holiness: Humanity’s Purpose

Sidebar: St. Dominic and the Dominicans

Supplementary Reading

Study Questions

Practical Exercises

From the Catechism

Chapter 4:
The Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ

Chapter Planning Guide

Chapter Objectives

Keys to this Chapter

The Early Life of Jesus

Jesus’ Infancy

Jesus as an Adolescent

The “Hidden Life” of Jesus

Lessons from Jesus’ “Hidden Life”

Sidebar: Jesus and the Essenes

The Baptism of Christ

Sidebar: The Mystery of the Lord’s Baptism by St. Maximus of Turin

Temptation in the Desert

Sidebar: Forty Days and Forty Nights

The Call of the Apostles

Sidebar: St. John Chrysostom, On St. John’s Gospel, “We Have Found the Messiah”

Jesus’ Healing Ministry

Sidebar: St. John Paul II and Youth

The Parables of Jesus

Sidebar: Who Is My Neighbor? by Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 15

Sidebar: The Good Samaritan

Proclaiming the Kingdom

The Sermon on the Mount

Sidebar: St. Francis of Assisi

The Perfection of the Mosaic Law

Motivated by Love: Purity of Intentions

The Last Supper

The Washing of Feet and the New Commandment

Passion and Death

The Resurrection

Supplementary Reading

Long-Term Assignment

Study Questions

Practical Exercises

From the Catechism

Chapter 5:
Jesus Christ — True God and True Man

Chapter Planning Guide

Chapter Objectives

Keys to this Chapter

Sidebar: Non‑Biblical References to Christ

The Humanity of Christ

Christ was Fully Man

Christ, Like Us, Is a Descendant of Adam

Like Us, Christ Felt Emotion, Pain, and Suffering

The Divinity of Christ

Christ Is the True and Only Son of God

Scripture Attests to Christ’s Divinity

True God, True Man

Christ Has Two Distinct Natures

Sidebar: The Difference Between Nature and Person

The Promised Messiah

Only God Could Redeem Mankind

Christ Freely Embraced the Father’s Plan of Redemption

Christ Freely Gives Us the Grace to Follow Him

Christ as Viewed in Other Religions

Christ in Judaism

Christ in Islam

Christ in Buddhism

Christ in Hinduism

Supplementary Reading

Study Questions

Practical Exercises

From the Catechism

Chapter 6:
The Holy Spirit, Third Person of the Blessed Trinity

Chapter Planning Guide

Chapter Objectives

Keys to this Chapter

The Holy Spirit and Pentecost: The Foundation of the Church

Awaiting the Promised Spirit

Sidebar: The Upper Room

Descent of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit Enables us to Perceive God

The Holy Spirit and the Sacrament of Confirmation

Sidebar: Symbols of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Church

Sidebar: The Charismatic Gifts of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit in Sacred Scripture

Inspiring the Authors of Scripture

Revealing Christ in Scripture

The Work of the Holy Spirit

Revealed as Third Person of the Blessed Trinity

Theological Virtues of the Holy Spirit

Sidebar: Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Sidebar: Prayer to the Holy Spirit

1. Wisdom (Enjoying the Presence of God)

2. Understanding (Discerning Divine Truths)

Sidebar: St. Simeon

3. Counsel (Making Wise Decisions)

Sidebar: St. Philip and the Ethiopian

4. Fortitude (Having Strength of Character)

5. Knowledge (Using Created Things Wisely)

Sidebar: St. Maximilian Kolbe

6. Piety (Knowing God as “Abba” Father)

Sidebar: St. Stephen

7. Fear of the Lord (Serving God Faithfully)

Sidebar: The Early Christians and Possessions

The Fruits of the Holy Spirit

Sidebar: St. Therese of Lisieux

Sidebar: St. Faustina Kowalska

Supplementary Reading

Long-Term Assignment

Study Questions

Practical Exercises

From the Catechism

Chapter 7:
The Blessed Virgin Mary: Mother of Jesus Christ, God the Son

Chapter Planning Guide

Chapter Objectives

Keys to this Chapter

The Life of Mary

Mary, Mother of God

Sidebar: St. Joseph

Immaculate Conception

Mary Ever Virgin

Sidebar: Our Lady of Lourdes

Mother of the Church and all Christians

Intercessor for Mankind

Sidebar: Mary’s Song of Praise: The Magnificat

Veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Sidebar: Our Lady of Guadalupe

Supplementary Reading

Study Questions

Practical Exercises

From the Catechism

STUDENT WORKBOOK

Student Workbook

RESOURCE MATERIALS

Chapter Quizzes

Vocabulary Reviews

The Blessed Trinity | TM

The Blessed Trinity