Church

• God is a God of love
• God's plan from the beginning is for the good of every human being that he created
• Despite their unfaithfulness and rejection of God, God remained faithful and did not abandon them; instead, he called and restored them from sin
• The promised Savior would liberate humankind
• Jesus, the son of God is the fulfillment of this promise
• Jesus is our way back to God
• Jesus' whole life is a mission of love for you and me and the whole of mankind
• Jesus' love


  Heals, sets free, is kind and patient, unconditional and impartial to every human being
• Jesus' whole life is fulfillment and proof of God's love
• UNIT THE SACRED SCRIPTURE AND DIVINE REVELATION
• Infancy narrative of Jesus Christ

  According to Matthew 1:18-25
• Immanuel


  Means "God with us"
• Jesus our savior had incarnated to save humankind but was rejected for He did not fit in their man-made picture of God
• Let us turn to God

  For his mercy and forgiveness and thank him for the gift of Jesus, 'Immanuel' who has chosen to be with us rather than watch us from a distance
• Jesus Christ is the true God and the true man
• Conception of Jesus


  1. Conceived by the Power of the Holy Spirit

  2. Born of the Virgin Mary
• The Epiphany


  • Manifestation of Jesus as Messiah of Israel, Son of God, and Savior of the world
• The presentation of Jesus in the temple

  • Shows Him to be the firstborn Son who belongs to the Lord
  • All Israel awaits its encounter with the Savior- the long expected Messiah, the "light to the nations," the "glory of Israel," and also "a sign that is spoken against"
• The finding of Jesus in the temple

  • The only event that breaks the silence of the Gospels about the hidden years of Jesus
  • Jesus lets us catch a glimpse of the mystery of his total consecration to a mission that flows from his divine sonship
  • Mary and Joseph did not understand these words but they accepted them in faith
• Jesus' life at Nazareth

  • Allows us to get to know Him in the ordinary events of daily life
  • His obedience to Joseph and Mary inaugurates His work of redemption, restoring what had been destroyed by the disobedience of Adam
  • Lesson of silence
  • Lesson on family life
  • Lesson of work
• Baptism of Jesus


  Marks the beginning of His public ministry, which is the heart of His mission
• Jesus' public ministry


  • Proclamation of the kingdom of God
  • Announcing God's invitation for all to enter the kingdom
  • Requiring humble acceptance from those who choose to enter
• Jesus' teaching method


  1. Used parables based on familiar life experiences

  2. To present lessons

  3. To help people comprehend the meaning of the "kingdom of God"
• Jesus' miracles


  • Performed signs to ease people's pains and sufferings
  • To let them have a foretaste of the kingdom
• People's response to Jesus

  • Some reject Him and accuse Him that His power comes from evil
  • Some affirm their faith like the apostles who became witnesses of His love and mercy
• Keys of the kingdom

  Entrusted to the apostles
• Baptism of Jesus


  • Acceptance and inauguration of His mission as God's suffering Servant
  • He allows Himself to be numbered among sinners
  • He is the "Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world"
  • He is submitting Himself entirely to His Father's will
• At Jesus' baptism, the heavens were opened, which Adam's sin had closed, and the waters were sanctified by the descent of Jesus and the Spirit, a prelude to the new creation
• Jesus' temptations in the desert

  1. Driven by the Spirit

  2. Remained 40 days without eating

  3. Lived among wild beasts and angels ministered to Him

  4. Satan tempted Him three times
• Kingdom of God


  • Intended to accept men of all nations
  • One must accept Jesus' word to enter it
  • It belongs to the poor and lowly who accept it with humble hearts
  • Jesus identifies Himself with the poor and makes active love toward them the condition for entering His kingdom
  • Jesus invites sinners to the table of the kingdom
• Parables of Christ


  • A characteristic feature of His teaching
  • Used to invite people to the banquet of the kingdom
• Parables of Christ


  • The Sower
  • The Hidden Treasure
  • The Good Samaritan
• To gain the kingdom, one must be willing to give up everything and live out the love command
• Jesus' miracles


  • The Wedding at Cana
  • The Multiplication of the Loaves
  • The Healing of a Paralytic
• Reason for the Incarnation

  • To save us from the slavery of sin
  • To reveal God's unending love for us
  • To be our model as the Way, Truth and the Life
  • To share His divine sonship with us
• John 15:13: '"No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends"'
• Love is the most precious gift one can ever give and receive
• Everyone is truly blessed to have Jesus as a friend and savior who has loved each one of us to the extent of laying down His life to free us from the bondage of sin
• Jesus' whole life is a testament of God's saving love which culminated in His Paschal Mystery: His suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension
• Reflecting on the Paschal Mystery of Christ as the core doctrine of the Church in the light of faith will make us realize the depth of God's love for humankind and the evilness of sin that resulted in poverty, disease, and death