If you are Catholic, this is post-Vatican II wrap-up and short
catechism, and an invitation to deeper faith. If you are a
no-longer-practicing Catholic, this is an invitation to take a
fresh look at your old family. If you come from a different
religious tradition, welcome to this overview of what Catholics
stand for. If you have no religion, we hope this will be a new
opening to God.
Jesus grew to manhood in a little town in Israel. Around the
age of 30, he began his "public" life. He went out to the
ordinary people and told them, in many little stories called
parables, about their Father-God's love for them, about the
"Kingdom." He preached repentance: "Reform your lives! The
kingdom of God is at hand!" (Matthew 4:17). That meant: Turn
your life around, and let God give you a new
life—forgiveness, love, eternal happiness.
Jesus' teaching turned worldly values
upside down: If you "save" your life, that is, live for
yourself alone, you will "lose" it. If you "lose" your life,
that is, put it into God's hands absolutely, you will "save"
it (see Matthew 16:25). He said the truly blessed were the
poor who know and accept their total dependence on God,
those who hunger for holiness, those persecuted for his
sake. He said, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny
himself [self-sufficiency], take up his cross [any sacrifice
to be with him], and follow me" (Matthew 16:24).
He had power over sickness and death,
sin and the devil. He performed many "signs" (miracles), not
to dazzle people but to indicate his mission: to destroy
evil, save his brothers and sisters, and give them his
Father's love and life-grace.
He chose 12 men to be his lieutenants,
the 12 apostles. He gave them his power: "Go into the whole
world and proclaim the good news to all creation" (Mark
16:15). After he rose from the dead, he breathed on his
"Twelve" and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you
forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are
retained" (John 20:22-23). At the head of the Twelve he
named Peter: "...You are 'Rock,' and on this rock I will
build my church…" (Matthew 16:18). Again to Peter: "I have
prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and once you
have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers" (Luke
22:32). This rudimentary structure continued through the
bishops as successors of the Twelve, and through the pope
("Father," "papa"), the bishop of Rome, as the successor of
St. Peter.
Jesus was rejected by most of the
people, and so began to concentrate on training those who
would carry on after his death. By fearlessly proclaiming
the truth, he hit a nerve in the powers-that-be. They
plotted against him, rigged a set of phony accusations and
persuaded the Roman procurator, Pilate, to put him to death.
Jesus was not "caught"—he walked boldly to Jerusalem knowing
what was coming. He died the most shameful of criminal
deaths—nailed to the cross.
Contrary to what his weak-willed
followers expected, he rose from the dead on the third day
(our Sunday) and showed himself to his friends. He had a new
but real body—he was not a resuscitated corpse. Only those
who believed in him experienced his presence. It was a real,
person-to-person experience. He repeated his injunction to
his followers that they go to the whole world and tell
everyone that Good News of salvation. He was taken from
their sight and resumed the glory of which he had "emptied"
himself. Jesus' resurrection is our hope for resurrection.
We believe that Mary, his mothers, already had this gift
(hence, the Assumption of Mary into heaven), just as she was
given the grace of God from the moment of conception (her
Immaculate Conception).
How does Jesus' death/resurrection save
us? Not because God the Father was pleased with
"punishing" Jesus. Rather, God gave his Son to enter the
depths of human life, including its pain and death. While
doing so, he maintained his perfect human love and trust
in his Father—total, childlike, trusting obedience, even
though this brought him to his death. This was precious not
only as a human act: It was infinitely valuable as a divine
act. So the human race, through its representative, Jesus,
was permanently united with God. This is what we mean when
we say that Jesus died for us. His brothers and sisters have
only to accept the gift of union with Jesus and they share
the eternal life of God. "Your attitude must be that of
Christ" (Philippians 2:5).