As a humble servant of the Lord our God, I shall endeavor to briefly write what I believe, given the limitations of my poor faculties of reason, body, writing and study.
I believe in one triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the necessary and essential being, the unmoved mover, exists above and beyond space and time, infinite in reason, knowledge, power, and love, lacks no attributes, without limit, unchanging, and has free will. He called the universe and all its physical laws and dimensions, and morals, which serve to model human statutes, into being out of nothing because of his pure and holy love. His guiding, gentle, and invisible hand moves the universe in progress to its conclusion and fulfillment. God created the universe out of his free will with love, enthusiasm, and a desire to express his creativity in infinite forms. He bestows his creation meaning, love, order, purpose, direction, and fulfillment.
God created the cosmos, stars, planets, and life through his physical laws being the divine author of creation, but he is more. He is the merciful and loving Father who conceived life on earth, including human beings, and endowed us with reason, language, emotions, and free will in his image. He seeks a mutually loving relationship with humanity, which originally lived in an innocent state of nature. Still, sin, the willful straying from God and his way, entered the world through the human free will of the soul and is now endemic to the human condition; all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and are subject to corruption and death.
God has planted the love of morality and justice into our hearts and entrusted us to nurture and develop them to be more in God’s image, enabling us to be capable of great virtue. As humanity has free will, we are capable of great vice, necessitating the law’s evolution and establishment. God has granted humanity stewardship of nature to treat all life as an endowment with the Father’s animation, dignity, respect, and sustainability.
As expressed in his gift of language, God created humanity to be social beings, making speaking, writing, reading, and listening civil and sacred. He gave humanity the gift of reason and our senses so that we may understand the world about us and know the truth, emotions to provide us with enthusiasm for life, and a love of beauty so that humanity may appreciate aesthetic wonder. He calls on humans to reproduce so our species may continue to exist into posterity, man and woman within the sacrament of marriage begetting life.
God has entered several covenants with humanity expressing his infinite love for us, but humanity has broken them in sinful rebellion, gone astray, and suffered accordingly. In his infinite mercy and in the fullness of time, God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, who was conceived without original sin, into the world and became flesh, truly human and divine, one substance with the Father. He ministered for three years and proclaimed the Gospel of unconditional love, the forgiveness of sins, and justice for the poor, marginalized, and estranged. Judas betrayed him with a kiss for 30 pieces of silver, the religious establishment condemned him, and Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilot to redeem the world from aimlessness and sin on the cross. The Suffering Servant and Prince of Peace died without sin of his own, a lamb without blemish, as the great atonement for the reconciliation of humanity and descended into the land of the dead. The Father rose him on the third day. Jesus showed himself first to Mary Magdalene and the women and then to the disciples, breathing on them the Holy Spirit.
During Jesus’ earthly ministry, he called on his followers to a life of service, action, power, simplicity, and humility. Furthermore, he urged them to not only love one another as he first loved them but to love God with all their heart, mind, and might. He made it concrete for them by asking them to love their neighbors as themselves, seek heavenly treasures, and relish the lilies of the field. He called on his followers to treat others as they wanted others to treat themselves. He commissioned the Apostles to go worldwide, proclaim the Gospel, and baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Also, he worked miracles during his ministry, healing the sick and the suffering and raising the dead so that we might believe. On Pentecost, after he ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit descended upon the 12 flames of fire, who proclaimed the Gospel in tongues to the crowd from all nations, each hearing it in their native language. This was the birth of the Church.
The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, goes by many names, advocate, counselor, and Paraclete. He descended on Jesus upon his baptism. The Holy Spirit comes from the Father and Son in love to enliven our hearts and guide our wisdom. He is mysterious, enigmatic, ever-present, animating, rejuvenating, and empowering our souls. He is the very breath of God and serves to seal all sacraments.
I believe in one Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church, the bride of Christ, the Holy Bible, God’s inspiration of scripture, and the role of tradition in the life of the Church. Humanity realizes our fullest expression of faith through bodily worship in the Church at the mass and partaking of the Eucharist, the actual body and blood of Christ. I believe in the power and effectiveness of the sacraments, the magisterium of the Church, and its authority to forgive and bind sins. Furthermore, I believe in one baptism for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting. Also, all who profess Jesus as Christ and their savior shall receive the gift of eternal life, dwelling in heaven with God, Mary, the mother of God and Queen of Heaven, angels, and the saints forever. I believe in the second coming when Jesus will fulfill the Apocalyptical promise to return as king to judge the living and the dead and establish his kingdom, which will have no end.
I am a humble servant of the Lord, a sinner who needs his forgiveness, love, sustenance, and grace. He has blessed me with many gifts, especially a modest mind. He has given me a hunger to learn, seek out knowledge, and share what I find through my writings as a social and spiritual being. He gives me meager attributes and thorns in the flesh and mind, so I have no reason to boast or become prideful as I strive to love him with my entire being. I endeavor to love my neighbor as myself and practice moderation in all things. The ultimate end of my life is to pray, worship, commune with, and contemplate the ideal form of God.