The Catholic faith

The knowledge that the Catholic faith gives is not, however, a merely intellectual knowledge. More importantly, it gives us a living relationship with Jesus Christ. Through soaking ourselves in the faith of the Church, we become holy, and inspired to live not just for ourselves but for God and for our neighbour. This is the purpose of our existence.

We also know, through the gift of faith, that this earthly life is a preparation ground for the bliss of heaven. So knowing God by faith can inspire us to live for him at every moment, despite the problems we all face, because we know that he is waiting for us in heaven. And the good news is that all men and women are destined for heaven, where, as Saint Augustine of Hippo said, “There will be no more sorrow or trials”, and where we will see God face-to-face.

Faith offers us the exciting prospect of conversing with God, in learning and understanding his ways. When we start on this journey God reveals himself little by little, teaching us that he is close. In fact, our faith tells us, God is so close that he actually lives within us.

In this section, many topics are introduced. The aim is not to give an exhaustive account, but rather to offer an introduction to the main teachings of the Church. Links are also provided to external sites where you can find out more.

Indeed it is worth bearing in mind the reason why it is a good idea to think about what we believe: we need to understand our tradition in order to dialogue with today’s culture, as Fr Robert Barron suggests below:

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