In general, God’s plan for us is the carrying out of our Salvation, which is to culminate in forming His faithful followers to become one in mind and will with Him for all eternity. Thus, we become permanent members of the new People of God, with Jesus as our Head—we become the “Whole Christ.” In the Creed we say, “He …
Yes, Jesus Christ is the center of all of God’s saving work, because the Father chose Him to be so in view of His Incarnation, birth, Death, and Resurrection. Jesus Christ became man so that He might save all men and re-establish in Himself all things which were hurt by the fall of man. Thus, by His Death and Resurrection, …
Jesus led His Apostles to believe in His Resurrection by His being present among His followers for forty days in His resurrected and glorified body, by eating with them, by speaking to them, and by allowing Himself to be touched and felt. Clearly He, Whom they saw, touched, and heard, was neither a disembodied spirit nor an illusion.
The Holy Spirit, by the means of the inner gift of faith, confirmed the Apostles in their outward acceptance of Jesus’ Resurrection, as evidenced by St. Thomas and all the Apostles during the early days and years of the Church.
The Catholic Church teaches that Jesus was raised bodily from the dead by the power of the Father and by His own power.
To believe in the bodily Resurrection of Jesus from the dead is to believe that God, Who became man, has conquered sin and death. We must also believe that this victory is made available to us through His Church.
When Christ passed from death to life, He made possible our passing from the death of sin to life in Him. Being the firstborn of the dead, Jesus Christ offers eternal life to all. In Him we are made spiritually renewed persons. We receive the new life of grace in Baptism, where we become God’s children. St. Peter says, “Blessed …
The risen Jesus helps us by: (1) giving us the supernatural life of grace and (2) pouring out His Holy Spirit upon us. 1. The risen Jesus helps us by giving us the supernatural life of grace. By dying and rising, our Lord Jesus saved us from death and restored us to life. He continues to give us the supernatural …
The Ascension of Christ means that Jesus “was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their [the disciples’] sight” (Acts 1:9). His glorified body and soul, which had risen from the dead, now ascended into Heaven.
The two distinctive aspects of the mystery of the Ascension are: (1) the fullness of the glorification of Jesus’ victorious humanity in Heaven and (2) the completion of His visible ministry on earth.