Eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and him whom you have sent,

Jesus Christ.
John 17:3

Prepared by: Richard G. Pazcoguin UST-IR

FRIENDSHIP BEGINS WITH ONE HELLO

It is impossible to love or to have a relationship with someone who is not known. Introducing ones self to another in basic in initiating friendship. This introduction should be sustained by constant communication through which the unfolding of self takes place.

God, in his desire to enter into a loving relationship with humanity, took the initiative of introducing himself to us, and of communicating with us both through natural and supernatural means. GODS DISCLOSURE OF HIMSELF IS CALLED:

Revelation is Gods personal loving communication to us of who He is and His plan to save us all in His love. It is Gods reaching out to us in friendship, so we get to know and love Him.
CFC no.101

THE LIMITATION OF HUMAN REASON: The fact that natural reason can prove Gods existence is in itself revelation.
But while human reason can tell us that God exists, it cannot tell us WHO GOD IS.

In order for us to know who God is, we have to pay attention to the different avenues by which God communicates with us.

Rev. Fr. Ian Knox, C.S.Sp.

EVENTS

CREATION HISTORY PROPHETS

JESUS CHRIST

PERSONS

CHURCH

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims His handiwork Psalm 19:1 The beauty of nature awakens our religious sense. Realizing that we cannot be responsible for the grandeur of creation, we end up concluding: there must be a God who is the cause of everything.

CREATION IS THE FIRST ACT OF GODS REVELATION.

Ever since the creation of the world, his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. Romans 1:19-20

For history to be revelatory, we have to learn looking at history with the eyes of faith.

We have to realize that God is not merely watching us from a distance. Rather, he is actively involved in the story of our lives, both as individuals and as a people. Even the most secular historical events, when seen with faith, become evidences of Gods divine plan gradually unfolding through time.

Historians enable us to remember significant events. The PROPHETS of God, both ancient and modern, help us to see historical events with Gods own eyes. While prophets may tell future events, prediction of the future is just incidental to prophecy. The main task of a prophet is to convey the message of God by interpreting the SIGNS OF THE TIMES. The meaning of historical events as revealed by God through the prophets are at times unpalatable. Often, prophets speak the uncomfortable truth, hence they are often persecuted.

In times past God spoke in varied ways to our fathers through the prophets; in this, the final age, He has spoken to us through His Son Hebrews 1:1-2 No one has ever seen God, but the only Son, who is the same as God, made Him known John 1: 18

JESUS CHRIST IS THE FULLNESS OF GODS REVELATION

By becoming man like us, he revealed to us everything we need to know about God, using a language that we can understand and relate to.

As goal, Jesus is the key, the center and the purpose of the whole of mans history (GS 10), in whose image we all are to be conformed (cf. Rom 8:29).

But Christ is not only the goal of Gods revelation, He is also its content, the Revealed One. In himself, Jesus reveals both God and ourselves. Christ, the new Adam, in the very revelation of the mystery of the Father and of His love, fully reveals man to himself and brings to light his most high calling (GS 22).
Christ is revealer through his part in creation, through his becoming man, through his hidden and public life, and especially through his passion, death and resurrection. After his resurrection, the Risen Christ continues his revelation by sending us his Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth (cf. DV 4).
CFC nos. 77-79

God speaks to us in and through the life of the church. God speaks to us through the lives of holy people who have evidently taken Jesus message to heart and serve as an example to all. As we participate in the life of the church, we participate in revelation. We believe that Jesus is still speaking and acting through the church, that is through us and our participation in the life of the community. We believe that we as a church, continue Jesus preaching and mission to the world.
Fr. Ian Knox THEOLOGY FOR TEACHERS,p.88

GODS REVELATION IS CONTAINED IN:

God, the one and only source of revelation, so willed that his revelation be transmitted to us through two modes: Sacred Scriptures and Sacred Tradition, two phases of the same revelation forming one sacred deposit of the word of God entrusted to the Church

OUR RESPONSE TO REVELATION IS

ACT OF FAITH
O MY GOD, I FIRMLY BELIEVE ALL THE TRUTHS WHICH THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH TEACHES BECAUSE YOU HAVE REVEALED THEM WHO NEVER DECEIVE, NOR CAN BE DECEIVED. AMEN. Many of the truths revealed by God to us are beyond the power of our human comprehension. Yet because we believe that God, who is all good "cannot deceive nor be deceived we say AMEN even to things we do not fully understand.

Avery Cardinal Dulles, SJ

Each model presents a definition for revelation and faith, and presents the role of God and the recipients of revelation.

REVELATION Divinely authoritative doctrine inerrantly proposed by Gods word in the Bible or by official church teaching FAITH Firm assent to the revealed truths contained in the written or transmitted word of God ROLE OF GOD TEACHER who communicates knowledge by speech or writing ROLE OF RECIPIENTS Pupils who are expected to be attentive and docile

REVELATION Manifestation of Gods saving power by His great deeds in history FAITH Trust in God as the Lord of history who has repeatedly proven his power, goodness and fidelity on those who rely on Him ROLE OF GOD TRANSCENDENT AGENT who brings about revelatory events of signs to his people ROLE OF RECIPIENTS Discernment and interpretation of signs given in salvation history

REVELATION Self-manifestation of God by His intimate presence in the depths of the human spirit FAITH Prayer of the heart, pious affections, or some such loving and devout response ROLE OF GOD DIVINE VISITOR, the guest of the soul ROLE OF RECIPIENTS Openness to Gods presence.

REVELATION Gods address to those whom he encounters with His word in Scripture and Christian proclamation FAITH Personal acceptance of ones status as a forgiven sinner, thanks to Gods mercy in Jesus Christ ROLE OF GOD MERCIFUL JUDGE who pronounces sentence of condemnation and pardon ROLE OF RECIPIENTS Obedient submission to the power of the word

REVELATION A breakthrough to a higher level of consciousness as humanity is drawn to a fuller participation in the divine creativity FAITH A commitment to / and participation in, the movement where the divine Spirit continually leads creation forward to its ultimate fulfillment. ROLE OF GOD ATTRACTING the imagination to envision the world in a new way ROLE OF RECIPIENTS Responsive to the call to build a fully human world

Revelation is both a gift and a task.

Revelation is Gods free, undeserved act of love by which he enables us to have knowledge of him and of the salvation that he offers. Revelation likewise challenges us to interpret the events in our lives in the light of the life-changing Gospel of Jesus, that we might know and obey Gods will and thus become tangible signs of Gods loving presence.

Fr. Ian Knox, C.S. Sp.

THEOLOGY FOR TEACHERS

Ottawa: Novalis Press, 1994
Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines ECCCE

CATECHISM FOR FILIPINO CATHOLICS

Makati: Word and Life Publications, 1997 Erlinda Bragado and Arnold Monera

KALOOB: Interweavings on the Christian Story

Manila: De La Salle University Press, 1998