I believe in Jesus Christ, his Son, our Lord, Religion for major of Educational applications

10. I believe in Jesus Christ, his Son, our Lord

Introduction

Sometimes, the newspapers have news about somebody- women, men or children- who heroically exposed their lives to save others, facing great dangers, or even death, to help people. They can be called “saviours”, and those who were saved remember with gratitude the people who help them in these difficult times. In the previous topic we learnt that God had mercy upon men and promised them a Redentor to save mankind from sin and its serious consequences. To save us, God sent his Son, Jesus, also called Jesus Christ or Christ.

The Gospel narrates what Jesus did and teach, demonstrating that He is a real man: he was born from a woman- the Virgin-, he has a body like us, he speaks, cries, is hungry, suffers...He also proclaimed his divinity: make miracles, forgive sins, proclaimed himself as the son of God and resurrects by his own virtue. As the faith of the Church claims, Jesus Christ is the true God and a real man.

Apart from Saviour and Redentor, Jesus Christ is the role model for men, specially for Christians. It is logical to have a strong interest in knowing him: his life on Earth; his passion, death and resurrection and ascension to Heaven; his doctrine. Christ lives, and we must not only know him but also love him, each day a little more. We love him if we have contact with him. And, how can we have contact with him? Through pray and sacraments.

A. Answer with one of the following words: saviour, traitor, rogue, Mary, Magdalene, Martha, miracles, riddles, athlete, singer, model.

If somebody save other from a danger he is a
We were saved from the original sin by
Jesus is a real man because he was born from
He was the true God and made
For mankind, Jesus is a role

Main ideas

1. God- despite sin- has not left mankind

In spite of sin, God still loved our first fathers and their progeny, and wanted to fix what sin has destroyed. He promised that men would be saved recovering the gift of grace: they returned to be sons of God and heirs of heaven, but without supernatural gifts, the privileges God gave to human nature: inmortality of the body, absence of illness, etc.

2. Throughout history, God remembers the promise maked to Adam and Eve

To prevent humanity forgetting the promised saviour, God frequently remembered them his promise by Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David... They are the prophets and, above the rest of them, those who speak about the Messiah, the Saviour that will come: Isahia (7,14) claimed that a virgin will give birth; Micah (5,2) indicated the place of the birth: in Bethlem.

3. The Saviour or Messiah is Jesus Christ.

To save the world from its sins, God did not send an angel: He sent his own Son. The Gospel says: '...how God loved the world: He gave his only Son...' The Saviour is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, born from the pure womb of Virgin Mary. For this reason the Lord is called Jesus, which means 'Saviour'. The archangel Gabriel said to saint Joseph: 'She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.' (Matthew 1,21).

4. Jesus Christ is the true God.

We know that Jesus is God because He told us and showed it with his deeds. He told us: 'The Father and I are one.' (John 10,30); 'Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father”(John 14,9); 'No one knows the Son except the Father.' (Matthew 11,27).

Jesus Christ makes things that only God can do. He heals mutes, blind men, leprous; he resurrects his friend Lazarus and Naim widow's son...; He forgives sins to the paralytic, to Magdalene, to the adulterous woman..., and he made all these by his own virtue, because he was God.

B. Choose the right answer from the following options:

Although the original sin, God still ( ) mankind.

With the Redemption, it is recovered the ( )

By the prophets, God remembered them the ( ) of Redemption.

Isaiah wrote that the Mesiah will be born from a ( )

Micah propheticed that Jesus would born in ( )

God sent his own ( ) to save the world from its sins.

Our Lord is called Jesus, which means ( )

He said: The father and I are ( )

5. The resurrection of Christ, the proof of his divinity.

Jesus Christ died and truly resurrected. He materialized many times in front of his disciples, and they testified it. His enemies wanted to hide this proof of divinity.(cfr. Mattew 28,11-15) The resurrection of Christ is the best proof of his divinity, because he resurrected by his own virtue or power.

6. Jesus Christ is a real man.

Jesus Christ is like us, but without sins or failures. He had not any sin and never had a mistake. But he had a mother, like we have; he worked with his hands, helping Saint Joseph; he had hunger and thirst, he ate and drank; he was tired after working hard; he has friends and cried when his friend Lazaro died; he was happy with his disciples, with children... Jesus Christ is not only a perfect God; he is also a perfect man.

7. Jesus is alive and is our role model.

Jesus Christ defeated Death, resurrected and ascended to Heaven. As God, he is everywhere and sees and ears everything. Jesus is in Heaven and also in the Eucharist.

We can speak with him of his things and of our things. He listens and speaks us, not by words but in our hearts. We must learn from Jesus, because with his life, deeds and words, he teaches us about what we must do to save us and how we must do it. He said about himself: 'I am the Way; I am Truth and Life.' (John 14,6).

8. We must know Jesus and have contact with him.

Friends go out together, know where each other live, how they think, how have been his life. They chat about their interests. With Jesus it could be the same. If we want to be with him, we find him in the gospel, the prayer and the tabernacle.

- The Gospel. When we read the Gospel, we know Jesus' life in a better way: how he was, how he behave with his friends, what he expects from them. For that, we must read the gospel every day, even a few minutes.

- The prayer. We can pray in the church or in our house, in a place where we are calm and quiet, to speak with him about the things that worried us, asking for help, aid and thanking him for what He give us.

- The Visit to the Blessed. Although Jesus is everywhere, because is God, he is in a special way in the tabernacle. It is very good to go every day, even if it is a brief visit, to speak, greet and listen him. He speaks us to the bottom of our soul. We can also greet him when we see a church, because He is on the tabernacle.

Curso de Catequesis. Don Jaime Pujol Balcells and Don Jesús Sancho Bielsa. EUNSA. Navarra. 1982. Reproduced with the permission of the authors.

C. Choose a proper answer:

Jesus Christ died and ( ) in a true manner.

Resurrection is the highest ( ) of his divinity.

Jesus Christ is like us, but without ( ) or failures.

He worked with his hands, ( ) with saint Joseph.

He cried when his ( ) Lazarus died.

Jesus is in the ( ) and in the Eucharist.

When we read the ( ) we know Jesus better.

We can ( ) talking with the Lord.

We can ( ) in the tabernacle of a church.

Questions from the catechisms.

1. What is faith? Faith is a supernatural virtue by which- supported by God's authority- we believe in the truths He has revealed, knowing that it is impossible for him deceive himself or deceive us.

2. What means the word “creed”? The word “creed” means: I firmly accept the truths revealed by God.

3. What truths must we believe? We must believe in the truths revealed by God and teached by the Church.

4. Where are the main truths we must believe? The main truths we must believe can be found in the Creed.

D. Choose the right answer from the following questions:

QUESTIONS	ANSWERS
Has God leave men after the original sin?
How God Father fulfill his promise?
Who is Jesus Christ?
How many aspects are in Jesus?
How many people are in Christ?
Where is Jesus Christ now?

	POSSIBLE ANSWERS
A	There are only one person, who is divine, and it's the second in the Holy Trinity.
B	No. After the original sin, a Saviour was promised.
C	He is the Son of God, borned of Mary, Perfect God and perfect man.
D	He was glorious in Heaven and in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar.
E	Two natures: a divine one, because He is perfect God, and a human one, because He is perfect man.
F	Sending his own Son, who saves us from our sins.

Intentions for a Christian life

- To read every day the Gospel for a few minutes, to have a better understanding of Jesus' hidden life and doctrine.

- To make a brief visit to the tabernacle to be with Christ, truly present.

Record of intellectual property of Teruel (Spain) No 141, of 29-IX-1999 Plaza Playa de Aro, 3, 1º DO 44002-TERUEL