The
first and most fundamental definition that the Creed teaches us about God is
that He is the Almighty Father. This was the theme of His Holiness Pope
Benedict XVI's catechesis during the 30 January 2013 general audience.
"It
isn't always easy today to speak about fatherhood," the Pope began,
"...and, not having adequate role models, it even becomes problematic to
imagine God as a father. For those who have had the experience of an overly
authoritarian and inflexible father, or an indifferent, uncaring, or even
absent one, it is not easy to calmly think of God as Father or to confidently
surrender themselves to Him. But Biblical revelation helps us to overcome these
difficulties by telling us about a God who shows us what it truly means to be a
'father'. Above all it is the Gospel that reveals to us this face of God as
Father, who loves us even to the point of giving us the gift of His Son for the
salvation of humanity."
In
the light of the Scriptures and the writings of the evangelists, the Holy
Father explained that God is our Father because "He has blessed us and
chosen us before the foundation of the world. He has truly made us His children
in Jesus. And, as Father, God accompanies our existence with love, giving us
His Word, His teaching, His grace, His Spirit. ...If He is so good as to 'make
His sun rise on the bad and the good and … rain to fall on the just and the
unjust', then we can always, without fear and in complete faith, entrust ourselves
to His forgiveness as Father when we choose the wrong path."
…Psalm
136 repeats "for his mercy endures forever", and the pontiff
emphasized, "The love of God the Father never fails, never tires of us. …
Faith gives us this certainty that becomes the sure rock upon which to build
our lives. We can face every difficulty and every danger, the experience of the
darkness of times of crisis and pain, sustained by the confidence that God does
not abandon us and is always near to save us and bring us to everlasting
life."
The
kind face of the Father who is in heaven is fully shown in the Lord Jesus.
"Knowing Him we know the Father and seeing Him we can see the Father. …
Faith in God the Father requires that we believe in the Son, through the action
of the Spirit, recognizing the Cross that saves as the definitive revelation of
divine love. God is our Father, forgiving our sins and bringing us to the joy
of the risen life."
For
more information, please visit:
http://www.news.va/en/news/saying-i-believe-in-god-the-father-almighty-is-say
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Praise the God of gods; God's love endures forever;
Praise the Lord of lords; God's love endures forever…
Praise the God of heaven, God's love endures forever.
Psalm
136
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