THE P RTAL
June 2014
Page 6
The A - Z of the Catholic Faith
R is for…
Redemption
To be redeemed is to be set free from sin,
suffering and death. The desire for redemption
is a universal human longing, but it only makes full
sense in the light of the Christian story.
Through this story we understand that God is love.
His love created and sustains the whole universe. His
love brings into being every human life. We were
meant to live in peace with God and with each other,
but this peace was broken through alienation and sin.
In the fullness of time, God sent his only Son, Jesus
Christ, to be our Redeemer. He came into the world to
reveal the love and mercy of God, and to lead us to the
Father. Through him we can find peace with God and
with each other.
His death on the Cross brings us forgiveness of
our sins. His Resurrection on the third day, and his
Ascension to heaven, give us the hope of an astonishing
new life, beyond suffering and death. And the gift of
the Holy Spirit allows us to share in that life even now
on this earth, through faith and through belonging to
the Church.
The heart of Christianity is not a theory or a
programme but a person: Jesus Christ. A person we
can come to know, above all through faith and the
sacraments. In this way the redemption he offers us
can touch and transform our lives.
Resurrection
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead on Easter Sunday is the crowning truth of the
Christian faith. After his death on the Cross, and his
descent to the realm of the dead, God the Father raised
Jesus to life through the power of the Holy Spirit. He
appeared to the women at the tomb, to Peter, to the
Twelve, to other select disciples, and at one time to
more than five hundred of the brethren.
Though it took place within history, and had
historical, verifiable effects, Christ’s Resurrection
transcends history because it is the entrance of his
humanity into the glory of God and into a completely
new way of being. It confirms the divinity of Jesus
which he preached and showed forth in his earthly
life; it manifests his final victory over sin and death; it
fulfils all the divine promises made to us; and it marks
the beginning of our own entry into the Divine life.
contents page
Through faith and baptism our own humanity is
united with his humanity and raised to new life with
him. He has gone before us as our Head. We hope to
follow him at our death. And even now we already
share in this life as members of his Body the Church,
through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, who is
breathed upon us from the Risen and Glorified Christ.
Revelation
The heart of Christianity is the belief that God
has revealed himself to us, as well as the mystery of his
loving plans for us. He has not left us alone. He has
come to our help. Christianity is as much about God’s
search for us, as our search for him.
He has spoken to us, through words and deeds, from
the very beginning of human history, inviting our first
parents into his friendship. He spoke to his Chosen
People, through the patriarchs and prophets, giving
them his law, the covenant of Mount Sinai, and the
promise of eternal redemption.
Then, in a full and definitive way, he revealed
himself through his Son; the Word mad