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YEAR OF FAITH

Diocese of WinonaOctober 12, 2012

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Porta

OF THE SUPREME PONTIFFBENEDICT XVI

FOR THE INDICTION OF THE YEAR OF THE FAITH

1. The “door of faith” (Acts 14:27) is always open for us, ushering us into the life of communion with God and offering entry into his Church. It is possible to cross that threshold when the word of God is proclaimed and the heart allows itself to be shaped by transforming grace. To enter through that door is to set out on a journey that lasts a lifetime. It begins with baptism (cf. Rom 6:4), through which we can address God as Father, and it ends with the passage through death to eternal life, fruit of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, whose will it was, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, to draw those who believe in him into his own glory (cf. Jn 17:22). To profess faith in the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is to believe in one God who is Love (cf. 1 Jn 4:8): the Father, who in the fullness of time sent his Son for our salvation; Jesus Christ, who in the mystery of his death and resurrection redeemed the world; the Holy Spirit, who leads the Church across the centuries as we await the Lord’s glorious return.

PORTA FIDEI

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Saint Thomas and the Risen Christ - Caravaggio

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Gospel of John 21: 24-30

It happened that one of the Twelve, Thomas (the name means “Twin”), was absent when Jesus came. The other disciples kept telling him: “We have seen the Lord!” His answer was, “I will never believe it without probing the nailprints in his hands, without putting my finger in the nailmarks and my hand into his side.”

A week later, the disciples were once more in the room, and this time Thomas was with them. Despite the locked doors, Jesus came and stood before them. “Peace be with you,” he said; then, to Thomas: “Take your finger and examine my hands. Put your hand into my side. Do not persist in your unbelief, but believe!” Thomas said in response, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus then said to him: “You became a believer because you saw me. Blest are they who have not seen and have believed.”

Jesus performed many other signs as well – signs not recorded here – in the presence of his disciples. But these have been recorded to help you believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, so that through this faith you may have life in his name.

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CREEDS IN THE OLD TESTAMNETDeuteronomy 6:4-9

SHEMA O ISRAEL

The Great Commandment. 4*+ ”Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! 5* Therefore, you shall love the LORD, our God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6* Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today. 7 Drill them into your children. Speak of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest. 8*+ Bind them at your wrist as a sign and let them be as a pendant on your forehead. 9* Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.”

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CREEDS IN THE OLD TESTAMENTDeuteronomy 26:6-10

5*+ Then you shall declare before the LORD, your God, ‘My father was a wandering Aramean who went down to Egypt with a small household and lived there as an alien. But there he became a nation great, strong and numerous. 6* When the Egyptians maltreated and oppressed us, imposing hard labor upon us, 7 we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and he heard our cry and saw our affliction, our toil and our oppression. 8* He brought us out of Egypt with his strong hand and outstretched arm, with terrifying power, with signs and wonders; 9* and bringing us into this country, he gave us this land flowing with milk and honey.’

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CREEDS IN THE NEW TESTMANETCorinthians 15:1-11

CHAPTER 15Christ’s Resurrection. 1+ Brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and in which you stand firm. 2 You are being saved by it at this very moment if you hold fast to it as I preached it to you. Otherwise you have believed in vain. 3 I handed on to you first of all what I myself received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; 4* that he was buried and, in accordance with the Scriptures, rose on the third day; 5* that he was seen by Cephas, then by the Twelve. 6 After that he was seen by five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still alive, although some have fallen asleep. 7 Next he was seen by James; then by all the apostles. 8 Last of all he was seen by me, as one born out of the normal course. 9* I am the least of the apostles; in fact, because I persecuted the church of God, I do not even deserve the name. 10 But by God’s favor I am what I am. This favor of his to me has not proved fruitless. Indeed, I have worked harder than all the others, not on my own but through the favor of God. 11 In any case, whether it be I or they, this is what we preach and this is what you believed.

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CREEDS IN THE NEW TESTAMNET

Letter to Philippians 2:5-11

Your attitude must be that of Christ:Though he was in the form of God,he did not deem equality with Godsomething to be grasped at.Rather, he emptied himselfAnd took the form of a slave,Being born in the likeness of men.

He was known to be of human estate,and it was thus that he humbled himself,obediently accepting even death,death on a cross!

Because of this, God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the nameabove every other name,

So that at Jesus’ nameevery knee must bend in the heavens, on the earth, and under the earth, and every tongue proclaimto the glory of God the Father:JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!

Letter to Hebrews 1:1-4

1+ In times past, God spoke in fragmentary and varied ways to our fathers through the prophets; 2* in this, the final age, he has spoken to us through his Son, whom he has made heir of all things and through whom he first created the universe. 3* This Son is the reflection of the Father’s glory, the exact representation of the Father’s being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven, 4* as far superior to the angels as the name has inherited is superior to theirs.

Resurrection is decisive. Makes explicit that Jesus Christ is Messiah, Lord, Son of God.

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REASONS FOR CREED

1. Creeds were part of the Church and integral to the Sacrament of Baptism.

2. Church was Universal – needed a Rule of Faith to ensure conformity to Apostolic Faith.

3. Due to heresy – Church utilized philosophical language to preserve the truth of Divine Revelation contained in Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture.

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SOME HESESIES OF 2ND AND 3RD CENTURIES

Gnosticism

Docetism

Adoptionism

Modalism Patripassionism

Marcionism

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COUNCIL OF NICEA 325AD

CORRECTS ARIANISM THAT TAUGHT1. Father is eternal, Son has a beginning2. Son is created out of NOTHING3. Son is a lesser God

COUNCIL OF NICEA TAUGHT4. Son is Eternal – Truly God5. Homoousios – Same substance as the

Father6. Consubstantial with Father7. God from God, Light from Light, True God

from True God8. Only God can save us

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1. Reaffirms the Creed of Nicea.

2. Deepens the teaching on the Holy Spirit

3. The Holy Spirit is God – Lord – Adored - Glorified

COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE 381AD

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Ibelieve in one God,

the Father almighty,Maker of heaven and earth,of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,the Only Begotten Son of God,born of the Father before all ages,God from God, Light from Light,true God from true God,begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;through him all things were made.for us men and for our salvationhe came down from heaven,

At the words that follow, up to and including and became man, all bow.

and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,and became man.

CREED OF NICEA - CONSTANTINOPLE

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For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,he suffered death and was buried,and rose again on the third dayin accordance with the Scriptures.He ascended into heavenand is seated at the right hand of the Father.He will come again in glory to judge the living and the deadand his kingdom will have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,who proceeds from the Father and the Son,who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,who has spoken through the prophets.

I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the deadand the life of the world to come. Amen.

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Triumph of the Elect. 9+ After this I saw before me a huge crowd which no one could count from every nation and race, people and tongue. They stood before the throne and the Lamb, dressed in long white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. 10 They cried out in a loud voice, “Salvation is from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb!” 11 All the angels who were standing around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures fell down before the throne to worship God. They said: 12 “Amen! Praise and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving and honor, power and might to our God forever and ever. Amen!”

13 Then one of the elders asked me, “Who are these people all dressed in white? And where have they come from?” 14+ I said to him, “Sir, you should know better than I.” He then told me, “These are the ones who have survived the great period of trial; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

BOOK OF REVELATION 7:9-14

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ADORATION OF THE LAMBBy Jan van Eyck

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By faith, across the centuries, men and women of all ages, whose names are written in the Book of Life (cf. Rev 7:9, 13:8), have confessed the beauty of following the Lord Jesus wherever they were called to bear witness to the fact that they were Christian: in the family, in the workplace, in public life, in the exercise of the charisms and ministries to which they were called.

By faith, we too live: by the living recognition of the Lord Jesus, present in our lives and in our history.

DOOR OF FAITHPOPE BENEDICT XVI