Opening Prayer/Scripture Reading:

'O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.' (Psalm 8: 1)

'We proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us - that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.' (1 John 1: 2-3)

'It pleased God, in his goodness and wisdom, to reveal himself and to make known the mystery of his will. His will was that men should have access to the Father, through Christ, the Word made flesh, in the Holy Spirit, and thus become sharers in the divine nature.' (cf. Ephesians 1:9; 2:18; 2 Peter 1:4).

Catholic Update:

The Incarnation-Why God Wanted To Become Flesh

The Trinity

Summary:

By natural reason, we can know God exists with certainty on the basis of the created world. Revelation is the love and knowledge of God that we cannot possibly arrive at by our own powers of reason. Out of divine love, God has chosen to reveal Himself to the world. God's self-manifestation is the personal revelation of the mystery of His plan of salvation. The plan of divine revelation begins with creation and is perfectly fulfilled in the sending of God's own Son, Jesus Christ for the redemption of the world.

Your faith journey in the RCIA is an invitation to understand and accept the revelation of God in Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. By revealing Himself God wishes to make each of us capable of responding to Him, of knowing and loving Him far beyond our own natural human capacity. Faith is the human response to God who reveals.
a. By love, God has revealed Himself to humanity. Divine revelation provides the answers to the questions that human beings ask about the meaning and purpose of life (CCC 51-53)

b.d God reveals Himself in order to invite and receive us into His company. God's will is that humanity should have access to the Father, through Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, in the power of the Holy Spirit.

c. God's revelation is manifested in words and deeds that have an inner unity. The stages of revelation begin with the creation of the world and continue with the covenant with Noah, the call of Abraham and the people of Israel. (CCC 54-67)

d. God revealed Himself fully by sending His own Son, Jesus Christ in whom he has established his covenant forever.

e. What Christ entrusted to his apostles, they handed on by their preaching and writing, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to all generations till Christ's return in glory.

f. Scripture and Tradition make up the single deposit of divine revelation (CCC, 74-84)

g. Faith is our personal and free assent to the whole truth of divine revelation (CCC 88-95). Faith is a gift from God, it is an ecclesial act, and it is necessary for our salvation (CCC 142-184)

Discussion Questions:

1. Why do we need God's revelation? (CCC, 36-38)

2. How is God's revelation experienced in everyday life?

3. What does it mean to say that faith is our personal, free and ecclesial response to God's revelation? (CCC 179-181)

4. What is the nature of Christian revelation? (CCC 51-53)

Scripture References/Quotations:

Ephesians 1:9

Colossians 1: 15

1 Timothy 1: 17

'God desires that all be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth' (1 Tim 2:4); of Jesus Christ. Christ is proclaimed to all the nations and individuals so that his revelation may reach to the ends of the earth (CCC, 74).

'The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living, teaching office of the Church. Its authority in this matter is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ. The task of interpreting the Word of God is entrusted to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome.' (CCC 85)

Suggestions For Further Reading:

Universal Catechism, 50-184

Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, 1-10

Closing Prayer:

Psalm 8: 1 - 9