Incarnation

• Incarnation


  The idea that God was made flesh, became human, and lived among human beings in the person of Jesus
• Son of God


  Communicates the nature of Jesus as being both God and human
• Son of Man


  Communicates the nature of Jesus as being human, he drank with people, ate with people, experienced joy and sorrow, felt compassion, etc.
• Jesus directly declared himself to be the Son of God when questioned by the High Priest of the Sanhedrin
• Jesus' divinity is centrally important to his understanding as he is believed to be God in human form
• Grace


  The life-providing and sustaining force which binds not only the Trinity together but also man with God, it is freely available for all humans and cannot be earned
• The Catholic Church teaches that life begins at conception, and, therefore, foetuses qualify as human beings
• Abortion is considered to be wrong by Catholics as they view a foetus as a human being with inherent dignity and rights
• The Seven Sacraments

  • Baptism
  • Confirmation
  • Eucharist
  • Marriage
  • Ordination
  • Reconciliation
  • The Sacrament of the Sick
• Chi-rho


  A symbol made up of the first two letters of Christ in Greek, it functions as a symbol of Jesus' death
• Alpha and omega


  The first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, they represent the eternal nature of God, and the participation of God in all things from the very beginning to the end of time
• Crucifix


  A representation of Jesus on the cross, used to remind Catholics of the sacrifice made by Jesus on the cross, so that sins could be forgiven
• Because God took on the limitations of human beings, it would then be considered okay to represent God in a limited way-in a human way
• Some people disagree and would equate using works of art in worshipping God with idolatry, which is prohibited in one of the Ten Commandments
• It is impossible to represent accurately an infinite deity in finite stone or paint
• The underlying teaching of the Magisterium is that Jesus is fully man and fully God
• God intentionally limited himself by becoming man in order to be able to communicate his messages with the limited understanding of humankind
• Emmanuel


  Means God with us
• Virgin Birth


  The belief that Jesus was fully human but did not have a human father
• The birth of Jesus took place in a unique way
• Mary and Joseph were engaged however Mary was chosen to be the Mother of baby Jesus who was conceived by the holy spirit
• Joseph planned to depart from Mary quietly because he was a righteous man who did not want to expose Mary to public disgrace
• To Joseph's surprise the angel Gabriel, who was sent by God appeared to him in a dream and confirmed that the child Mary is carry was conceived by the holy spirt
• The connection between Mary and the Holy Spirit, Jesus and Joseph to pace to fulfill the words of God
• When Joseph woke from his dream he followed what the Angel Gabriel revealed to him in the dream and went to join Mary
• In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee
• to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary
• The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you"
• Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be
• But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favour with God
• You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus
• He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever; his kingdom will never end
• "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
• The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God
• Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month
• For no word from God will ever fail
• "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May your word to me be fulfilled." Then the angel left her
• Word of God


  The second person of the Trinity, God the Son, who became flesh in Jesus
• Eternal


  Without beginning or end
• Co-exist


  Live together in harmony