ARTICLE ONE
I BELIEVE IN GOD, THE ALMIGHTY FATHER, CREATOR OF HEAVEN AND EARTH.
44. God our Lord is the infinitely perfect Being, Creator of heaven and earth.God is the infinitely perfect Supreme Being, Creator and Lord of heaven and earth.God alone has not received being from anyone.God alone is absolutely independent: all other beings depend on God.God has all perfections in infinite degree, that is, without limits.
PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD.
1º All things are telling us: God has given us the being and not ourselves.The beings we see have not created themselves; therefore there is a Creator.I did not give myself being: my parents did not give it to themselves; therefore it is necessary to arrive at a first cause, which is God.Without a first cause there is no second or third cause.
2º The whole world, with its admirable order, reveals the existence of God, infinite wisdom.
3º We all hear in the depths of our consciences, a voice that tells us:You cannot kill, steal; do good, avoid evil, the good will be rewarded, the bad punished.
Only the Supreme Being can speak equally and with so much empire to all men.
The existence of God is denied by those who would that there were none, so that they might sin without remorse of conscience.
The impious say: “If there were a God, He would not permit so many evils on earth.
God permits evil in order to bring about a greater good.
Our small understanding often cannot comprehend the good that results from the evils that afflict us.
The prophet David (Psalm 91), says:
“How great, O Lord, are your works! How unsearchable is the depth of your designs! The foolish man does not know these things, nor does the fool understand them"
But the words of the Apostle Paul will always be true (Romans VIII, 28):
"We know that for those who love God, all things turn to good".
Let us therefore strive to love God truly, and let this be our chief desire.
[My enemies have erased a lot of photos with the pages in Spanish, so, please copy and save as I publish the translations.]
UNITY OF GOD.
45. There is only one true God, creator of heaven and earth, who rewards the good and punishes the bad.
There can be but one Supreme Being.
To admit several gods is to deny the true God.
In the supposition of several gods, they would have more power all together than one; consequently, none would be omnipotent, none would be true God.
46. God has no body as we have, because he is the purest spirit.
God is a most simple Being: He has no part, no mixture, no composition.
47. God has always existed and will always exist, because He is eternal.
God could have no beginning: for if He had not always existed, from whom would He have received existence?
God is immutable: He is not subject to any change. Change is only in creatures.
48. We say that God is Almighty because by His will alone He does all that He wills.
However, God cannot sin, nor can He do that which implies a contradiction. To be able to sin is an imperfection, it is a lack of power; that which implies a contradiction is an absurdity.
49. God is in Heaven, on earth, and in every place.
God is immense: He is everywhere and He is not limited by space or place.
God is in Himself, and all things are in God.
It is God who contains and sustains all things, and not things in God.
God is everywhere.
By essence, with all His Being;
By presence, seeing everything, even our most hidden thoughts;
And by power, giving and preserving being to all things.
God is in a special way: in heaven, where He lets His divine essence be seen, causing immense joy to the blessed;
In the soul of the just, God is by grace and charity.
And in the temple, which is the house of prayer, God is as in a throne of mercy, dispensing particular favors.
Since God is and sees us everywhere, out of respect for His presence let us always abstain from sin.
God is the beginning of all things because He created them all.
God is the end of all things, because He has made all things for His greater glory.
All things give glory to God, even evil men; for with them especially the patience, mercy and justice of God are manifested.
God alone is Lord and absolute Owner of all things.
God has wealth, peace, joy, beauty, and all good things without limit; He Himself is the infinite Good.
God has understanding and will.
God has no memory: He has no need of it, for everything is present to Him, even the past and the future.
God is infinitely Holy: He loves virtue and abhors wickedness.
God is infinitely just: he rewards or punishes each one according to his works.
God is infinitely merciful: He calls the sinner and forgives the one who repents from the heart.
God is truthful: He cannot deceive or mislead.
God is infinitely faithful: He fulfills his promises and threats.
God is infinitely great: the whole world compared to God is less than a drop of water compared to the immensity of the seas. The whole world being as nothing compared to God, I compared to God, who am I?
God is infinitely good: He is goodness by essence.
God is infinitely wise: He knows everything; He knows the past, the present and the future.
50. God sees everything, even our thoughts.
51. We cannot see God, because, being the purest spirit, He has no body as we have.
TRINITY OF GOD.
52. The Holy Trinity is the same God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three distinct persons, and one true God.
53. The first Person of the Holy Trinity is the Father.
The Father is the first Person, because He does not proceed from another person, and from Him proceed the Son and the Holy Spirit.
54. The second Person of the Blessed Trinity is the Son.
He is the second Person because from all eternity he is begotten of the Father; from Him and from the Father proceeds the Holy Spirit.
The third Person of the Blessed Trinity is the Holy Spirit.
He is the third Person because He proceeds from the Father and the Son.
The Father knows Himself, and in knowing Himself, He forms a living and consubstantial image of Himself; this is the Person of the Son.
The Father and the Son love one another; that living and consubstantial love of the Person is the Holy Spirit.
56. The Father is God.
57. The Son is God.
58. The Holy Spirit is God.
59. The three persons of the Holy Trinity are one true God.
They are one God, because the three Divine Persons are one and the same God, that is, one and the same essence or divine nature.
The Father is the same God as the Son and the Holy Spirit.
[The Son is the same God as the Father and the Holy Spirit].
The Holy Spirit is the same God as the Father and the Son.
60. The Father is not the Son.
61. The Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son.
62. One person of the Holy Trinity is not the other, because they are distinct persons, although all three are one true God.
Three really distinct persons means that one person is not the other.
Examples: Three branches of a tree are distinct, but they are from one tree.
The color, smell and taste of an orange are three distinct things, but it is one orange.
Three angles of a triangle are different, but they are one triangle.
However, a branch is not the whole tree, nor is the color the whole orange, nor is the angle the whole triangle.
But in God, the most simple Being, the Father is all God, the Son is all God, and the Holy Spirit is all God.
Since the three Divine Persons are really distinct and one God, it is a mystery. This mystery is called the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity.
The three Persons are eternal; all three have always existed, and none existed before the other.
The three Persons are in all things equal, because all three are one and the same God.
Therefore the three Persons are equally good, wise, and so on.
To the Father is attributed omnipotence, because He is the principle of the other two Persons.
To the Son is attributed Wisdom, because He is the thought, the idea, the Word of the Father.
To the Holy Spirit is attributed goodness, because He is the love of the Father and the Son.
The Father and the Holy Spirit have no body; the Son has a body as man.
The Holy Trinity is represented:
The Father in the form of an old man, because He is the first Person.
The Son in the form of a young man, because He became man and died young.
The Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, because that is how He appeared when Our Lord Jesus Christ was baptized.
63. In God there is one nature, one understanding, and one will.
64. In God there are three equal and distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.