This Is the Faith

A Complete Explanation of the Catholic Faith

Rev. Canon Francis Ripley

• Publisher: TAN Books
• Year: 1999
• ISBN:
  9781618901613
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Denominations

Originally published in 1951 (with minor updates in 2002), the book covers the nature of God, the nature of man, the meaning of life, the nature of religion, the sources of Faith, the necessity of prayer, the duty of belief, the consequences of sin, the Commandments of God, the Holy Trinity, belief in Christ, the Redemption, the supremacy of the Pope, the Mystical Body of Christ, the Sacraments, the Mass, the priesthood, devotion to Mary and the Saints, what happens after death, the devotional life of a Catholic. Very interesting and very popular!

Chapter 1

About God

Who made you? God made me.

Who is God? God is the supreme Being, who alone exists of Himself and is infinite in all perfections.

Why is God called Almighty? God is called “Almighty” because He can do all things: “With God all things are possible.” (Matt. 19:26)

Why is God called the Creator of Heaven and Earth? God is called the “Creator of Heaven and Earth” because He made Heaven and Earth and all things out of nothing, by His word.

Did God have a beginning? God had no beginning: He always was, He is, and He always will be.

Where is God? God is everywhere.

Does God know and see all things? God knows and sees all things, even our most secret thoughts.

Does God have a body? God has no body; He is a spirit.

Is there only one God? There is only one God.

How must we love God? We must love God above all things.

How must we learn to love God? We must learn to love God by begging God to teach us to love Him: “O my God, teach me to love Thee.”

What will the love of God lead us to do? The love of God will lead us often to think how good God is, often to speak to Him in our hearts, and always to seek to please Him.

ONE of the hardest things for thinking people to understand is the present-day neglect of God. It is not that men have ceased to believe in God, but that they have become completely indifferent to Him. Hence, it is very necessary to review the arguments for His existence and to discuss His nature and His claims.

God’s existence can be proved in many ways, but the simplest is that known as the argument from design. Not only must a watch come from a watchmaker, but every part of it must have had a designer who knew how to make it. Or, imagine a man entering one of the great stores in London or New York, Harrod’s or Macy’s, and on asking for the manager, being asked: “How did you know there is a manager?” Such a counter-question would rightly be taken as evidence of insanity.

The universe is full of design, infinitely more wonderful than the watch or the great store. Obviously, then, it must have had a designer with tremendous intelligence. More than that—even matter itself is designed. Therefore, not only the universe, but even the very matter of which the universe is made must have had a designer. Another word for the Designer of matter is the “Creator.”

The whole universe can be compared to a giant “Meccano” outfit, or an Erector set, in which the atoms are the various “meccano” parts. They can be fitted together to make all the countless substances useful to man.

Matter did not exist forever. It was created, and the Creator is called God.

The story is told of a famous astronomer who was being visited by a scientist friend who claimed to be an atheist. The latter was admiring a working-model of the solar-system that stood upon a table; by turning the handle, the planets could be made to revolve in their respective orbits around the sun.

“Very ingenious, indeed,” he remarked. “Who made it?”

“Oh, nobody particular.”

“Tell me; I want to know—who made it?”

“Nobody made it. It just happened—it made itself.”

The scientist realized he was being taught a lesson and became annoyed.

“You are trying to be funny,” he said.

“How silly you are!” exclaimed the astronomer. “You can’t believe that this little model made itself, and yet you can believe that the real sun and moon and earth, planets and stars, and everything else in the vast universe just came into existence without any Maker!”

What God has told us

God has spoken to us through Holy Scripture. Therein He has revealed much about Himself. For example:

His existence: “The fool hath said in his heart: ‘There is no God.’ ” (Ps. 13:1). “For the invisible things of him, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made; his eternal power also, and divinity: so that they are inexcusable.” (Rom. 1:20).

His name: At the Burning Bush, God told Moses He was to be the deliverer of the Israelites. Moses said: “If they [the Israelites] should say to me: What is his name? What shall I say to them?” God said to Moses: I Am Who Am. He said: Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: He Who Is hath sent me to you.” (Exodus 3:13-14). By this God reveals that His essence is subsistent being itself, that He is not dependent on any being for His existence, but subsists in His own right. Everything else has but a borrowed being; that is, all else is dependent on Him for its existence.

His nature: God is a pure spirit, incorruptible. (John 4:24; Rom. 1:23). There is no composition of any description in God. As St. Augustine put it: “What He has, He is.”

He is unchangeable: “For I am the Lord and I change not.” (Mal. 3:6).

He is eternal: He had no beginning and will never cease to be: “Before the mountains were made, or the earth and the world was formed; from eternity and to eternity thou art God.” (Ps. 89:2). “Before Abraham was made, I am.” (John 8:58).

He is everywhere; He knows and sees all things: “Neither is there any creature invisible in his sight: but all things are naked and open to his eyes …” (Heb. 4:13). “For in him we live, and move, and are.” (Acts 17:28). Psalm 138 is a good meditation on the omnipresence of God.

He possesses each and every perfection in an infinite, unlimited degree: “They shall speak of the magnificence of the glory of thy holiness.” (Ps. 144:5); “Neither is he served with men’s hands, as though he needed anything; seeing it is he who giveth to all life, and breath, and all things.” (Acts 17:25).

He is one: Not only is He one in that He is absolutely indivisible, but also He is one in that there can be no other like Himself, no other God. “The Lord, our God, is one Lord.” (Deut. 6:4). “I alone am, and there is no other God besides Me.” (Deut. 32:39).

He is holy: For the angels cry out ceaselessly in His honor, “Holy, holy, holy.” (Is. 6:3).

He is love and Our Father: St. John defines Him as love: “God is charity.” (1 John 4:16—“charity” is divine love). Our Lord tells us to pray to God as “Our Father” and continually refers to Him by this title. “Is He not thy Father, that hath possessed thee, and made thee, and created thee?” (Deut. 32:6). “Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of her womb? And if she should forget, yet will not I forget thee.” (Is. 49:15).

He is just and merciful: Thou art just, O Lord: and Thy judgment is right.” (Ps. 118:137). “The Lord is sweet to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.” (Ps. 144:9).

He is all powerful: “For all things are in Thy power and there is none that can resist Thy Will.” (Esther 13:9).

He cares for all things, even the smallest, by His providence: “He made the little and the great, and He hath equally care of all.” (Wis. 6:8). “Good things and evil, life and death, poverty and riches, are from God.” (Ecclus. 11:14, cf. Matt. 6:26-32).

He wants all men to be saved: “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim. 2:4).

“The study of God is the only study which can be called wisdom in the fullest sense of the word.” (St. Thomas Aquinas).

Evil: Sometimes it is objected that the presence of evil or disorder in the world proves that the world was not created by God. That is no more true than the fact that one unmade bed in a dormitory containing nineteen beds which have been made proves that there was no bed-maker there. It would be obvious that for some reason known to himself the person who made the nineteen beds left the other one unmade. So it was that, when God made the world, for reasons best known to Himself, He permitted evil to exist in it. Of course, evil is not a positive thing, which can be the result of a direct creative act. It is the absence of good, or of due order, just as a shadow is the absence of light. Men always tend to exaggerate the amount of evil present in the world. Death, for instance, is really the beginning of life; suffering is always a grace.

The facts are that God exists and that He is Goodness, Wisdom, Love and Power. He knows everything; our knowledge is very limited. Therefore, it is absurd for us to sit in judgment on God. Reason alone tells us that He is to be trusted by us. Revelation tells us how He died for love of us, embracing the most bitter suffering in the process. We must bow down in faith, trust and love before His Will.

“God Almighty would in no way permit evil in His works were He not so omnipotent and good that even out of evil He could work good.” (St. Augustine).

Evolution: It has been suggested that Evolution, as accepted by some modern scientists, ...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Other Works by the Author
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Foreword
• Publisher’s Preface
• Contents
• 1. About God
• 2. What is Man?
• 3. The Necessity of Religion
• 4. The Sources of Faith
• 5. Prayer
• 6. What is Faith
• 7. Sin
• 8. The Commandments of God (1)
• 9. The Commandments of God (2)
• 10. The Commandments of God (3)
• 11. The Commandments of God (4)
• 12. The Doctrine of the Holy Trinity
• 13. Belief in Jesus Christ
• 14. Redemption
• 15. Why Organized Religion? (1)
• 16. Why Organized Religion? (2)
• 17. The Supremacy of the Pope (1)
• 18. The Supremacy of the Pope (2)
• 19. Infallibility
• 20. The Commandments of the Church
• 21. The Mystical Body of Christ
• 22. The Sacramental System
• 23. Baptism
• 24. Confirmation
• 25. The Holy Eucharist (1)
• 26. The Holy Eucharist (2)
• 27. Holy Mass–The Eucharistic Sacrifice
• 28. The Sacrament of Penance (1)
• 29. The Sacrament of Penance (2)
• 30. The Catholic Priesthood
• 31. Extreme Unction and Indulgences
• 32. Marriage (1)
• 33. Marriage (2)
• 34. Devotion to Mary and the Saints
• 35. What Happens After Death (1)
• 36. What Happens After Death (2)
• 37. The Devotional Life of a Catholic (1)
• 38. The Devotional Life of a Catholic (2)
• 39. The Reformation
• 40. Some Catholic Social Principles
• Appendix I—The Church Through The Centuries
• Appendix II—The Principal Heresies
• A Testimonial
• An Afterword—“What Should I Do Now?”