Foundations of Faith 5a - GOD'S REVELATION (PART 1) - WHAT WHY & HOW

Notes summarised from

1. The Study: "Foundations of Faith : A Journey Through the Catechism of the Catholic Church"
2. Notes from "Overview of CatholicTheology", Fr Michael Chan (CTIS Class of 2014)

WHAT? 

What is God's revelation?

God is a mystery.

There are truths which are beyond our grasp.

But God desires to reveal himself to us.

It is not possible for us to know God unless He chooses to reveal Himself to us.

This is God's revelation.

He reveals truths to man.

WHY?

God reveals himself to us for us to love Him.

And so that we can reach the supernatural end, which is to share in the life of the Blessed Trinity.

HOW?

God reveals truths to man by way of natural and supernatural orders of life.

The natural order of life 

what man is capable of accomplishing 

using his natural powers alone

without the help of divine grace

(eating, walking, building a house....

we can use our minds to know realities

of the natural order)

The supernatural order of life

refers to what man cannot achieve

using his natural powers alone

Man needs help from God

this help is called grace

it is freely given to man by God

NATURAL REVELATION

By way of natural reason, 

man can know God with certainty

on the basis of his works.

The manifestation of God 

brought about through the reflection 

of His perfection in the work of creation

God has created all that exists.

We come to know what God has created.

The work of God reflects his perfection.

SUPERNATURAL REVELATION

There is another order of knowledge 

which man cannot possibly arrive at

by his own powers

this is the order of divine revelation

Supernatural truths 

cannot be discovered by reason alone

and even after they have been revealed

reason cannot fully comprehend them

Eg the mystery of the Blessed Trinity

Supernatural realities are so rich in truth

that they exceed the natural capacity of reason

MYSTERIES OF OUR FAITH

This is why supernational truths are called mysteries

not because there is nothing to understand in them

but because there is too much to understand.

For a deeper understanding of Revelation, ref teaching of Vatican II on revelation, contained principally in the Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum: promulgated officially on 18 Nov 1965

Dei Verbum does not define Revelation, but describes it highlighting 5 aspects

1. It is the automanifestation of God
2. It is a Word
3. It is carried out in history
4. It is saving
5. It possesses the nature of a gift.