Today’s Question: What’s your personal image of God and how did you acquire it?

Question: What’s your personal image of God?

Answer: I know God the Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity, through my intimate and personal knowledge of Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God; knowledge which was primarily obtained through receipt of the Sacraments and by diligently studying the Holy Bible, as well as all the timeless, superb, theological and philosophical teachings of the Holy Catholic Church.

Through my constant, personal interaction with the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Holy Trinity, who facilitates all my prayers, indwells and sanctifies my immortal soul, I also know God the Father, who by his awesome power and divine provision, has always lavished on me and mine, from his supernaturally abundant supply, everything I ever needed and much, much more.

All of this is possible (as a practical matter) only by the grace of God and through through a regular program of prayer and study, along with my full, faithful, free-will participation in all the work, worship, sacraments and devotions of the Holy Catholic Church; the only Church that was ever personally founded, authorized, empowered and perpetually guaranteed by Jesus Christ, for the purpose of our eternal salvation.

There is no better or more effective way of “knowing” God … this side of Heaven.

This Week’s Ask Alice: Who should Christians pray to…the Father, or Jesus?

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Aldy asks:  Who should Christians pray to…the Father, or Jesus? Why?

Alice Answers: Catholics and all Christians pray to God the Father, Jesus … God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Christians (followers of Christ) are Trinitarians, i.e., believers in the Blessed Trinity. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three divine, rational “persons” who together constitute the One God of the Bible, known to Christians as the Holy Trinity.

This remains a mystery of our faith, since absolutely no human being … not the pope, cardinals, or any theologian … is capable of comprehending completely (or satisfactorily explaining) the mystery of our One, Triune God.

Scripture, tradition and personal experience teaches us to pray to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. When Catholics make the traditional sign of the cross, we address our prayers precisely that way.

During His life on earth Jesus, taught us to pray to His and our Heavenly Father. When we pray to God, our Father we, God’s children, are talking to our Dad in Heaven. God is our almighty fortress and our strength as he protects us from Satan and all earthly evils. Our loving Father provides our daily bread and all of our earthly needs. God is the giver of all gifts. He has given each of us the gift of life.

“This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and do not subject us to the final test, but deliver us from the evil one.” (Matthew 6:9-10)

We pray to Jesus, God the Son, as our Divine Brother, who is also our Heavenly High Priest, and the primary mediator between us and God the Father. Because he became man and lived here on earth for some 33 years, Jesus perfectly understands all that we are feeling and suffering. The visible marks on the hands, feet, head and side of his crucified, resurrected and glorified human body remind us of this. (See John 20:27-28)

We pray to Jesus the way we talk to our brother or best friend. Most importantly, praying along with Jesus himself, the Holy Spirit, and the whole church … Catholics offer Jesus and his one time, once for all, perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world, to God the Father, every time we celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass … which is being solemnly offered up, somewhere in the world (and for the world) …
every hour of every day, every day of every week,
365 days a year.

Jesus told His disciples that he always is ready and eager to listen and help us.” “If you ask Me anything in My Name, I will do it.” (John 14:14)

We pray to the Holy Spirit for enlightenment and inspiration. When sending a get well card or letter of encouragement, we pray that the Holy Spirit will give us perfect words to write. When we are unjustly accused of wrongdoing or persecuted for practicing our faith, we pray to the Holy Spirit to give us words to speak in our defense.

“….the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because it intercedes for the holy ones according to God’s will.” (Romans 8:26-27)

The Holy Spirit is also the official “facilitator” of every prayer … while Baptism serves to assure us of our right to a reliable and secure “connection” … so we might be absolutely certain that our prayers have truly been heard.

How blessed we are to have the Father, Son and Holy Spirit ever ready and waiting to love, assist, support and encourage us every moment of our day and night! In the Blessed Trinity, we have everything we need to live each day of our earthly journey. I can’t imagine getting through one day, or even one hour, without My awesome Father God, my loving Brother Jesus, and the inspiration and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

In Christ’s love,

Alice

*****

Doug Lawrence adds: The apparent confusion over precisely to whom we should address our prayers is the unfortunate result of the spread of limited and faulty Protestant theology, which fails to appreciate the critical reality and importance of the Sacraments … in this case, Baptism … which (among other things) serves to officially enroll us in the Church … and also makes us part of the Royal Priesthood of Believers … who, by virtue of our Baptism, have a divine right to approach God, in prayer … the Father, the Son, and/or the Holy Spirit … or approach him with and/or through other, church approved mediators … any time we like … according to the grace of Jesus Christ.

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Christians: Can a son be his own father?

Q: Christians: Can a son be his own father?

Jesus is son of God, and he is God. How can father and son be the same person?

A: God the Father is of an eternal, unique, uncreated, godly “essence”.

God the Son is eternally begotten of this same essence.

God the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, and is also of the same godly essence.

Each person of the Godhead is a divine and distinct person, yet all three together constitute the one, true, God.

The Father is distinctive from the Son and the Son from the Father and the Holy Spirit, yet all are of the same godly essence, so all constitute the one God.

Mathematically: 1 X 1 X 1 = 1.

Jesus also took on flesh and became man, in order to redeem the world from sin. This merely added a human body and soul to his unique godly identity.

So … Jesus and the Father are NOT the same person. They (along with the Holy Spirit) are equally God (consubstantial) but are also distinctive,unique, rational persons, in their own right.