“FAITH, ACT OF. The assent of the mind to what God has revealed. An act of supernatural faith requires divine grace, either actual or sanctifying or both. It is performed under the influence of the will, which requires its own assistance of grace to render a person ready to believe. And if the act of faith is made in the state of grace, it is meritorious before God. Explicit acts of faith are necessary, notably when the virtue of faith is being tested by temptation or one’s faith is challenged, or one’s belief would be weakened unless strengthened by acts of faith. A simple and widely used act of faith says: “My God, I believe in you and all that your Church teaches, because you have said it, and your word is true. Amen.”
Okay, but who are you to take issue with the truth given by the Holy Ghost, the author of life, recorded here in the dictionary? And if you do take issue with it, what is the substance of your contention?
How could your theological perspective, which is what you compare to his to find it wanting, be any loftier than revealed truth?
Then you’re saying that Jesus is nothing other than an isolated, abstract concept. It’s a very odd theory.
The Church is Christ
To a Catholic there is nothing credible in the Church apart from Christ who lives in it. If we did not believe that our Lord was God, if we said that he was only a good man, we would never believe in the Eucharist or the Trinity. If we believed that Jesus was simply a human being who perished in the dust, we would not believe in the forgiveness of sins. But we know that our Lord once taught, governed, and sanctified through a physical body which he took through his Mother, and now we know that he continues to teach and govern and sanctify in the mystical body which he took from the womb of humanity. His first body was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit; his mystical body was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Therefore we accept every single word of his-not just what his secretaries wrote, but we receive his living words, living through the centuries. You have heard it said, “I want no church standing between me and Christ.” There is no Church standing between us and Christ. The Church is Christ, for the Church no more stands between him and us than my body stands between me and my invisible mind. The Church is what St. Augustine called the totus Christus--the whole Christ-and therefore his truth living through the ages. Thank God for your faith, your faith in the Person of Christ who is the eternal contemporary.
Why would Jesus not be active in the life of the Church in all the ways you point out, revelation, etc. It’s why it strikes me that you think of Jesus Christ as a theoretical “Fathers knowledge of his own self” with no involvement in life in any degree. Also, see the explanation of Bp Sheen. Christ is the Church.
“FAITH, ACT OF. The assent of the mind to what God has revealed. An act of supernatural faith requires divine grace, either actual or sanctifying or both. It is performed under the influence of the will, which requires its own assistance of grace to render a person ready to believe. And if the act of faith is made in the state of grace, it is meritorious before God. Explicit acts of faith are necessary, notably when the virtue of faith is being tested by temptation or one’s faith is challenged, or one’s belief would be weakened unless strengthened by acts of faith. A simple and widely used act of faith says: “My God, I believe in you and all that your Church teaches, because you have said it, and your word is true. Amen.”
Excerpt From
Catholic Dictionary
John Hardon
https://books.apple.com/us/book/catholic-dictionary/id590717769
Okay, but who are you to take issue with the truth given by the Holy Ghost, the author of life, recorded here in the dictionary? And if you do take issue with it, what is the substance of your contention?
How could your theological perspective, which is what you compare to his to find it wanting, be any loftier than revealed truth?
Then you’re saying that Jesus is nothing other than an isolated, abstract concept. It’s a very odd theory.
The Church is Christ
To a Catholic there is nothing credible in the Church apart from Christ who lives in it. If we did not believe that our Lord was God, if we said that he was only a good man, we would never believe in the Eucharist or the Trinity. If we believed that Jesus was simply a human being who perished in the dust, we would not believe in the forgiveness of sins. But we know that our Lord once taught, governed, and sanctified through a physical body which he took through his Mother, and now we know that he continues to teach and govern and sanctify in the mystical body which he took from the womb of humanity. His first body was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit; his mystical body was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Therefore we accept every single word of his-not just what his secretaries wrote, but we receive his living words, living through the centuries. You have heard it said, “I want no church standing between me and Christ.” There is no Church standing between us and Christ. The Church is Christ, for the Church no more stands between him and us than my body stands between me and my invisible mind. The Church is what St. Augustine called the totus Christus--the whole Christ-and therefore his truth living through the ages. Thank God for your faith, your faith in the Person of Christ who is the eternal contemporary.
Bp. Fulton Sheen
Why would Jesus not be active in the life of the Church in all the ways you point out, revelation, etc. It’s why it strikes me that you think of Jesus Christ as a theoretical “Fathers knowledge of his own self” with no involvement in life in any degree. Also, see the explanation of Bp Sheen. Christ is the Church.