Engaged

This is an enquiry course for those curious about Jesus and the Catholic Church. Many people find it hard to believe in a loving God. They doubt his existence altogether, or their experience of suffering and human tragedy make them doubt his love. Scientists seem to be solving the great puzzles of the universe, and psychologists seek to unlock the deepest mysteries of the human heart. But there are some questions that don’t go away. What caused the whole universe to exist in the first place? Why is there so much suffering in the world? What is the meaning of human life? What is the point of my own individual life? Is there such a thing as life after death? These are huge questions. You would be suspicious if someone claimed to answer them with any certainty. There is a limit, surely, to what we can discover for ourselves, and very often we need to admit that some questions are simply beyond human understanding. GOD HAS NOT LEFT US ALONE The heart of Christianity, however, is the belief that God has spoken to us in human history, by sending us his Son. He has not left us alone. He has revealed himself to us. We don’t have to go round in circles trying to solve everything ourselves. He has come to our help. The idea that Christians claim to know the truth about God will sound arrogant to many people, even fundamentalist. But in fact there is a kind of humility behind this claim. It’s not that Christians, as people, are special — far from it. It’s that they have been given the most extraordinary gift: the knowledge of Jesus Christ. And their desire is simply to share that gift with others. It’s Jesus himself who taught that he is the Way to God, and the Truth, and the Life.