Cathal BarryCatholics believe and confess that Jesus of Nazareth, born a Jew of a daughter of Israel at Bethlehem at the time of King Herod the Great and the emperor Caesar Augustus, a carpenter by trade, who died crucified in Jerusalem under the procurator Pontius Pilate during the reign of the emperor Tiberius, is the eternal Son of God made man.
He ìcame from Godî (Jn 13:3), ìdescended from Heavenî (Jn 3:13-6:33) and ìcame in the fleshî (1 Jn 4:2).
For ìthe Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father… and from his fullness have we all received, grace upon grace.î (Jn 1:14, 16)
Moved by the grace of the Holy Spirit and drawn by the Father, Catholics believe in Jesus and confess: ìYou are the Christ, the Son of the living God.î (Mt 16:16) On the rock of this faith confessed by St Peter, Christ built his Church. ìTo preach… the unsearchable riches of Christ.î (Eph 3:8)
The transmission of the Christian faith consists primarily in proclaiming Jesus Christ in order to lead others to faith in him. From the beginning, the first disciples burned with the desire to proclaim Christ: ìWe cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.î (Acts 4:20) It and they invite people of every era to enter into the joy of their communion with Christ.
The Church teaches that Christ is at the heart of catechesis. According to Saint John Paul II, Pope: ìAt the heart of catechesis we find, in essence, a Person, the Person of Jesus of Nazareth, the only Son from the FatherÖ who suffered and died for us and who now, after rising, is living with us forever.î
In Catechesi Tradende on catechesis in our time, he wrote, to catechise is ìto reveal in the Person of Christ the whole of Godís eternal design reaching fulfilment in that Person. It is to seek to understand the meaning of Christís actions and words and of the signs worked by him.î Catechesis aims at putting ìpeople…in communion… with Jesus Christ: only he can lead us to the love of the Father in the Spirit and make us share in the life of the Holy Trinity.î
In catechesis ìChrist, the Incarnate Word and Son of GodÖ is taught ñ everything else is taught with reference to him ñ and it is Christ alone who teaches ñ anyone else teaches to the extent that he is Christís spokesman, enabling Christ to teach with his lips… Every catechist should be able to apply to himself the mysterious words of Jesus: ëMy teaching is not mine, but his who sent meí.î
Whoever is called ìto teach Christî must first seek ìthe surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesusî; he must suffer ìthe loss of all things…î in order to ìgain Christ and be found in himî, and ìto know him and the power of his resurrection, and (to) share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that if possible (he) may attain the resurrection from the deadî.
From this loving knowledge of Christ springs the desire to proclaim him, to ìevangeliseî, and to lead others to the ìyesî of faith in Jesus Christ.