“You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.” – PS 2: 7(bc)

 

Jesus tells us today, you have Faith in God, have Faith in Me.  To have Faith is to believe everything that God has revealed in Sacred Scriptures, Sacred Tradition, and in the teachings of the Magisterium.  While we know this definition from the Catechism, do we actually accept it? 

Pope St. John Paul II shared these thoughts on these words of Jesus, “The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe because of the works themselves" (Jn 14:9-1).

One cannot escape the grip which this statement of Jesus has on human intelligence unless one begins from an a priori prejudice against the divine. To those who admit the Father and sincerely seek him, Jesus showed himself and said, "Behold, the Father is in me!"

If motives of credibility were needed, Jesus appealed to his works, to all that he did before the eyes of the disciples and the whole people. These were holy and frequently miraculous works which served as a confirmation of his truth. For this reason he is worthy of belief. Jesus said so not only in the circle of the apostles, but also before the entire people. We read that on the day following his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the large crowd who had come for the paschal celebrations were discussing the figure of the Christ, and generally they did not believe in Jesus, "although he had performed so many signs in their presence" (Jn 12:37). At a certain point "Jesus cried out, 'Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me, and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me'" (Jn 12:44). It can therefore be said that Jesus Christ identified himself with God as the object of the faith asked of and proposed to his followers. He explained to them, "What I say, I say as the Father told me" (Jn 12:50). This is an obvious allusion to the eternal utterance whereby the Father generates the Word-Son in the trinitarian life.

This faith, linked to the works and words of Jesus, becomes a logical consequence for those who honestly listen to Jesus, observe his works and reflect on his words. But it is also the presupposition and indispensable condition which Jesus demands of those who wish to become his disciples or benefit from his divine power.”

I think that perhaps C.S. Lewis described it best in Mere Christianity: “We don’t use the words begetting or begotten much in modern English, but everyone still knows what they mean. To beget is to become the father of: to create is to make. And the difference is this. When you beget, you beget something of the same kind as yourself. A man begets human babies, a beaver begets little beavers, and a bird begets eggs which turn into little birds. But when you make, you make something of a different kind from yourself. A bird makes a nest, a beaver builds a dam, a man makes a wireless set—or he may make something more like himself than a wireless set: say, a statue. If he is a clever enough carver he may make a statue which is very like a man indeed. But, of course, it is not a real man; it only looks like one. It cannot breathe or think. It is not alive.

Now that is the first thing to get clear. What God begets is God; just as what man begets is man. What God creates is not God, just as what man creates is not man.

By saying that Jesus is begotten from the Father, we are saying that Jesus is fully God and not a creation of God (Arianism), nor is the Son of God simply a mode or action of God (Sabellianism).”

After hearing God speak His Words in our Mass Readings this morning, and reading the insights of both St. Pope John Paul II and C. S. Lewis we are given good understanding about our Faith. The question of how we come to know God is central to the human experience. From a Catholic perspective, knowing God is both a natural desire of the human heart and a divine gift made possible through Revelation, Faith, and Reason. Catholics believe that God, the Creator of the universe, desires to be in a personal relationship with every human being. This relationship is not only possible but also necessary for true happiness and fulfillment.  Therefore, have Faith.

 

May God’s Grace and Blessings Always be with You and Yours!!

Shalom,

Deacon Bob

St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Church

Houston, TX