Cosmic Symphony
Features | Posted by Pat Gohn in Faith on Sunday, August 22, 2010
Creation reveals God’s majesty and mystery in the universe … like a dramatic melody establishing a familiar refrain within the first movement of a cosmic symphony in four parts: creation, the fall, redemption, and finally, heaven. (You’ll never appreciate the finale unless you’ve heard the previous three movements.)
What’s more, creation is God’s first movement or step toward us in his divine plan.... READ MORE
In Him All Things Hold Together
Features | Posted by Pat Gohn in Family on Sunday, August 08, 2010
Creator.
God as the creator, and our creator is a central tenet of Christian belief. It’s a title we Catholics use while praying the Apostles Creed. I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. The Nicene Creed – prayed at Mass – uses “maker” in lieu of “creator.” God is maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. Both texts point to the same truth.
Understanding... READ MORE
How Big Is Your God?
Features | Posted by Pat Gohn in Faith on Sunday, July 25, 2010
Reading about the Creed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), paragraph 278, you come upon a compelling question:
If we don’t believe that God’s love is almighty, how can we believe that the Father could create us, the Son redeem us, and the Holy Spirit sanctify us?
It might as well have asked me: “How big is your God?” Or even, “How small is your faith?”
It got my attention and it made... READ MORE
Describing an Indescribable Mystery
Features | Posted by Pat Gohn in Faith on Thursday, July 08, 2010
As I read the Catechism of the Catholic Church, my mind often hears the distant voices of my grammar school teachers enjoining me to “look up the words I do not know.” As one traverses the landscape of the Catechism, one encounters language requiring translation and definition. This is especially true in understanding the Trinity. Today’s column seeks to build our vocabulary!
For centuries the Catholic... READ MORE
The Revelation of God as Trinity
Features | Posted by Pat Gohn in Faith on Monday, June 21, 2010
Growing up Mom used to say, “Actions speak louder than words.” A person’s actions disclose hints about the truth of who they really are. The better we know a person, the more likely we will understand their actions, and what is communicated by those actions.
Applying Mom’s wisdom, the reason Christians know about the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is due to the actions of God breaking into human... READ MORE
What Faith In One God Implies
Features | Posted by Pat Gohn in Faith on Thursday, June 03, 2010
We continue to examine the Creed and “We believe in one God.”
There are 5 implications of belief in the one God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, in CCC 222, reads:
Believing in God, the only One, and loving him with all our being has enormous consequences for our whole life.
These “enormous consequences” affect us now, plus they have eternal ramifications!
1. Faith in God means coming to know... READ MORE
God is Love
Features | Posted by Pat Gohn in Faith on Thursday, May 20, 2010
What is God’s innermost secret? Who or what is at the core of God?
For us humans, the revelation of one’s deepest self to another requires total trust and security in the knowledge that what is shared will be respected and valued. Now, imagine knowing that inner mystery about God! Do you wonder what that might be? And, if we knew what that innermost secret is, what would it mean for us?
Indeed, we... READ MORE
What's in a Name?
Features | Posted by Pat Gohn in Faith on Thursday, May 06, 2010
What does the name of your beloved mean to you? Or the name of your child? Your best friend? The name of a dear Mama or Papa?
It means everything, doesn’t it? These are the names that mean the most to us. For the name of the one you love rings and resonates with deep significance.
To learn a person’s name is the first step toward loving them.
Throughout the early history of the Old Testament, God... READ MORE
One and Only God
Features | Posted by Pat Gohn in Faith on Thursday, April 22, 2010
God is big. Way bigger than I can imagine or, frankly, write about. When I start to dwell on the magnitude of God, where God begins and ends, well, actually, my brain starts to hurt. There really is no beginning and end to God.
When we humans contemplate the stuff of heaven… we often do it precisely in terms of “stuff”. You know, we think in finite material terms, most often. Or else we lapse into... READ MORE
The Central Mystery
Features | Posted by Pat Gohn in Faith on Thursday, April 08, 2010
When I teach from Part One of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, I begin class by asking this question: “What is the central mystery of the Christian faith and the Christian life?” I get many enthusiastic guesses:
“God loves me!” “God became man.” “God exists!” “The Eucharist!” “The Resurrection!” “Salvation!”
All these answers are wonderful and good. But they are not the central mystery... READ MORE
