- the God of Israel would be worshipped throughout the whole earth (Isaiah 2).
- would make a covenant with the whole human race, gentile and Jew. (Isaiah 49:6)
- God would pour out his spirit on all flesh. (Joel 2: 28-19)
- He would forgive sins.(Jeremiah 31:1)
- He would circumcise the heart, and not merely the flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26)
- time would arrive with the coming of a divine king (Isaiah 9:6),
- a descendent of King David (Psalm 89:20)
- a suffering servant who would make atonement for the world (Isaiah 53)
- They said where he would be born –Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). They even specified the time that these things would happen (Daniel 9:24-27).
- during the reign of Tiberius Caesar (right on schedule), a man appeared in Judea and Galilee who declared these things to be fulfilled. “The Kingdom of God is here,” he said.
- welcoming sinners and the outcast (Matthew 9:11).
- He seemed to overturn the ritual prescriptions of Mosaic law (Mark 7:14-23).
- alled mankind to a higher practice of virtue, charity, fidelity, and chastity. (Matthew 5-8, Matt. 19) For this great task, he promised the assistance of God’s spirit. (John 7:37)
- He offered the forgiveness of sins. (Luke 7:48)
- He claimed identity with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (John 8:58). He gave proof of these things by rising from the dead. (Acts 17:31)
- Echoing the prophecies of Isaiah, he called this death a ransom, a sacrifice, for the sins of the world (Mark 10:24).
- He called all men to share in this death by imitation (Luke 9:23), but also by a mysterious communion in a new rite of worship. More than a symbol, it is his very self — body, blood, soul, and divinity.
- he commissioned apostles, representatives to carry his message and mission to the world.
- He gave them to power to forgive sins. (John 20:21-23) He promised to ratify in heaven their decisions on earth. (Matthew 18:18)
- Before these men died, they appointed successors. (Titus 1:5)
- We call them bishops. (1 Timothy 3; 2 Timothy 1:14)
- their successors the bishops were clearly visible, their succession established by public and universally acknowledged fact. Among all the lines of succession, none was more eminent or important than that of Rome. (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, III, 23, 2-3)
- Throughout the world, we find believers who hold to the teachings of Jesus, practice the rites he commanded, and hold fellowship and obedience to the authorities he established. This community of faith is called the Catholic Church.
- Would you like to see the Catholic Church? You will find us with our bishop, gathered around the Eucharist.
