40. Conclusion: The truth is symphonic

40. CONCLUSION: THE TRUTH IS SYMPHONIC THE FOUR PILLARS OF FAITH PRESENTED IN THE CATECHISM ARE INTERCONNECTED PARTS OF A WHOLE 1. The first pillar of our faith is summarized in the Credo, the profession of our faith. But we must profess this faith not so much in words as in deeds. It is not by proselytizing that the Church grows but by "attraction." We must know, love and live our faith joyfully to fulfill our obligation to share it with our family, friends, neighbors and the world and even with our enemies. This is how we impact individual lives and transform the culture into a culture of life, hope, mercy and peace. The Kingdom of God is a delicious banquet to which we must witness and invite everyone without exclusion if we hope to enter ourselves. 2. Our faith is not a set of rules but a way of life. 3. The second pillar of our faith is the 7 sacraments, especially the Eucharistic banquet which is a foretaste of heaven on earth. How we believe gives rise to how we worship, pray and live. 4. Only in the mystery of the incarnate Word does the mystery of man take on light. 5. God is Love and the mystery of creation and redemption is that God made us in his image and likeness so that we could enter into a communion of love with him. 6. The third pillar of our faith is summarized by the Ten Commandments and Jesus’s Commandment of Love. After we estranged ourselves from him and one another through sin, he revealed himself to his chosen people and chose Mary to be the earthly mother of his divine son. The Ten Commandments tell us how to live, but rather than list all the things we are free to do (which would be an enormous unending list) the commandments list the few things we should not do. The Jews recognized that the commandments could be summarized by two positive commandments: love God (1-3), love of neighbor (4-10). But Jesus gives us a New Commandment: Love one another AS I HAVE LOVED YOU. Jesus died to himself for each of us. 7. By his life, death and resurrection Jesus has taught us that his and our Father's love is greater than sin and death. 8. Jesus established his Church so that through the power of the Holy Spirit we could share in his redeeming love until the end of time. 9. Human history is rife with the discordant notes of human infidelity but the love of God always prevails. 10. Scripture and Tradition speak with one divine voice and Faith and Reason together lift up the human spirit. 11. The Mass and the Sacraments are a graced response to God's love for us. 12. Morality is the coherent way that Christ's goodness resonates in our intentions, decisions and actions. 13. The fourth pillar of our faith is contained in the “Our Father.” Prayer is how we respond intimately and personally to Christ's love. We pray the Our Father before Communion and Communion makes real all that the Our Father promises. The Our Father reveals the mind of God and his loving plan for each and all of us: he wills us to be like him and share all that he is and has for an eternity of perfect bliss. No one can take this from us but we can choose to throw it away. 14. Let us be united in proclaiming and living our True, Beautiful, Good, Life-giving Faith for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. This is symphonic witness to the world.