Page 191 - Built For God Handbook (Annotated and Explained Edition) - The Christian Edition of the Tao Te Ching - The New Evangelization - Pope John Paul II
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It is God who has created all things ex nihilo, out of nothing. Those who
have faith and believe will prize an intimate relationship with God above all
things, while those who struggle to have faith will trust in God’s patient
forgiveness. God, who is love and forgiveness, is faithful to God’s self and
will never stop loving and forgiving. For everyone, salvation is a gift of life,
eternal, glorious, and overflowing with love, radiant with joy, open to all now
to embrace and to live.
We believe that our Trinitarian God is an eternal interchange of love among
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, a divine energy that sustains all
things. Nothing at all can compare with participating in this relationship out
of faith and love, imitating God, affirming others with our words, and caring
for them with our actions. The intimate participation in this eternal exchange
of love is our salvation, which alone fulfills all our desires and answers our
needs. It is our second chance to participate in the life of God. It is our
return to Paradise.
This faith in the Son of God as the Messiah who came to redeem and to
sanctify, to forgive and to heal, has been passed on to us as a priceless
legacy by our ancestors who have gone before us. Forgiven and healed, we
are set free from the tyranny of self and offered peace and joy that only He
can give.
b
a John 1:3-5; Matthew 5:43-48; Colossians 1:13-14; Psalm 18:2;
c
Psalm 18:30; Nahum 1:7; Matthew 11:28-30; Hebrews 4:12;
f
d Titus 2:7-9; John 3:16-17; 2 Timothy 2:11-13; Matthew 26:64;
e
h
g Revelation 7:11-12; Matthew 7:7-8; Hebrews 9:27-28; Romans 6:22.
i