I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing.

I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from My Father. (John 15:15)
Communication is very important in a relationship. We need to speak our minds to our friends. We need to express our feelings to our loved ones. We share our stories, joys and problems with the people we trust. Communication is a two-way act. It is not enough that we just talk, we also have to listen. It is through talking and listening to them that we develop healthy relationships. The quality of time that we spend with them is proportionate to the quality of relationship we have with them. One of the reasons that relationships do not last is the lack of communication and when there is miscommunication. Parents are so busy that they do not have quality time with their children. A boyfriend is working abroad and does not exert extra effort to keep in touch with his girlfriend. A breakdown in communication may lead to a breakdown in relationships. There are many means through which we communicate with others. The simplest and the easiest is plain talking. Verbal communication is the act of using words to express what we think and how we feel. When you want to express your heart-warming feelings to the other, you use the words I like you, or I love you. These are not simply words, but a rich statement that captures what is in your heart and mind. It gets the message across because words are vehicles of ideas and feelings. But, those who are not good in verbal communication use gestures and actions to express themselves. This is non-verbal communication. Sometimes, it is not easy for us to say something to our friends, loved ones, and most especially to the person we may have a crush on. To express such feeling we give them cards, flowers, box of chocolates or gifts that will make them happy. We also do some acts of kindness such as helping our tired classmates carry their bags, kissing the hands (mano) of our parents, embracing our depressed friends, shaking the hands of people who are introduced to us, patting the shoulders of our siblings to encourage and motivate them in their tasks. It is through these simple yet meaningful acts that we may express our feelings. But how does this idea of revelation relate to ordinary Filipino life? The answer is in our personal relationships. One of the best things you can say about a Filipino is: Marami siyang kakilala (He knows many people), or Maraming nakakakilala sa kanya (Many people know him). On the other hand, one of the worst things to say about a Filipino is Wala siyang kakilala (Nobody knows him), or Walang kumikilala sa kanya (No one gives him recognition). So in our family relationships and friendships we reveal our personal selves to others, and openly receive their self-giving to us. This is what uplifts the Filipino. (Catechism for Filipino Catholics 62) If communication is very important in human relationships, it also plays a significant role in our relationship with God. God wants to share Himself with us. He wants us to be His friends. And so, He wants to offer His gift of life and love to us. This act of God is called Divine Revelation. God wants to have a meaningful relationship with us. It pleased God, in His goodness and wisdom to reveal Himself . . . By this revelation, then, the invisible God, from the fullness of His love, addresses men as His friends, and moves among them in order to invite and receive them in His own company (Dei Verbum 2) He will not literally speak to us, but He will use different creative ways and means to speak to us. He can speak through the pieces of advice of friends. He can speak through the lessons in your classroom. He can speak through the reminders of parents. He can speak through the blogs in the Internet. He can speak through your quiet time at prayer. You can experience His presence through the beauty of nature. You can find His message through His written Word: His text messages in the Scriptures or the Holy Bible. He can speak through the problems, joys and challenges that you encounter in life. God reveals Himself to us through: 1. His Creation, which is the first act of His revelation The first way God reveals Himself to us is through creation. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims His handiwork (Psalms 19:1). Since the creation of the world. . . Gods eternal power and divinity have become visible, recognized through the things He has made (Romans 1:20). (Catechism for Filipino Catholics 65)

GOD WANTS US TO BE HIS FRIENDS

2. natural signs, which are ordinary human experiences, either positive or negative, which are opportunities for God to speak to us For us Filipinos, then, the world and everything in it are natural signs of God the initial way God makes Himself known to us. (Catechism for Filipino Catholics 67) 3. the Scriptures, which is the written Word of God God revealed Himself through biblical signs made up of both deeds and words. (Catechism for Filipino Catholics 69) 4. the Church, which is a community of believers who are living images of God in our lives What was handed on by the apostles comprises everything that serves to make the People of God live their lives in holiness and increase their faith. In this way the Church in her doctrine, life and worship, perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that she herself is, all that she believes. (Dei Verbum 8) 5. liturgical and ecclesial signs, which are sacred and visible signs and acts through which God communicates with us God continues to manifest Himself today through the Holy Spirit in the Church. He is present in the Churchs preaching the truth of Scripture, in its witness of loving service, and through the celebration of its Christ-given Sacraments. (Catechism for Filipino Catholics 72) 6. Jesus Christ, who is the full revelation of God Jesus Christ completed and perfected Gods revelation by words and works, signs and miracles, but above all by his death and glorious resurrection from the dead. (Dei Verbum 4) Truly, God is so excited to spend time and talk to us. Just like us who try to devote and spend time with our friends, God exerts extra effort and uses variety of ways to communicate with us. He uses our own language to convey His message. The Bible says, In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets. (Hebrews 1:1)

And for this reason we too give thanks to God unceasingly, that in receiving the word of God from hearing us, you received not a human word but, as it truly is, the Word of God, which is now at work in you who believe. (1 Thessalonians 2:13)
When someone is in love, he cannot help but always find opportunities to communicate with his beloved. When someone is full of love, he cannot but share and express this love, verbally or non-verbally, to his beloved. Both of them will not last a day without communicating with each other. The day starts with mushy text messages from the guy saying hi! gud am! Hop ur ok! luv u! J Then, the lady replies, hi baby! Tnx 4 ur msg! tc! mwah! J Then, this will be followed every minute by series of sweet text messages, like hw r u?, wat r u doing?, and the like, throughout the day. And in-between text messages are phone calls, emails, chats and instant messages wishing each another a good day, inquiring what each other is doing and expressing how much they love and care for each other. All these conversations and messages will be capped by a nyt nyt! mis u! luv u! mwah! message. Indeed, their text messages are their alarm clock in the morning and their lullaby at night. The following day, same thing happens. No wonder why the Philippines is considered the texting capital of the world. And so, much of the money and time of Filipinos are spent in texting, chatting and emailing. Filipinos love to express what they think and how they feel. They will always look for means and opportunities to speak their minds and pour their hearts out. It is not surprising that Filipinos are loving, friendly, caring and relational people. It is through communication, oral or written, that we create, establish, improve, deepen and enrich our relationships with each other. Nowadays, in this digital world there are more opportunities and means for us to communicate with people, most especially with those who are far away. We may use text messages, e-mails, fax machines, chat, Yahoo Messenger, Facebook, Multiply, Twitter, Friendster, Plurk, video conference, blogs, and the like. We just have to maximize and use the available resources responsibly to create healthy and meaningful relationships with others. God is also a lover who will look for creative, comprehensible and meaningful ways to talk and communicate with man, His beloved. He will utilize the resources available at a given period in a specific

GOD SENDS US A LOVE LETTER

setting to relay His message of love and life. Nothing will stop Him from expressing how much He loves His people. And so, thousands of years ago He decided to write a love letter to man. There were no computers, gadgets and cellphones then. People communicated then through word of mouth or through writing. In Sacred Scripture, the Church constantly finds her nourishment and her strength, for she welcomes it not as a human word, "but as what it really is, the Word of God". "In the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven comes lovingly to meet his children, and talks with them (Dei Verbum 24). Biblical Inspiration Biblical inspiration states that the Holy Spirit guided, inspired and enlightened selected human writers in writing down the message of God to His people. This includes the compiling, editing and preserving the Scriptures, the written Word of God. Those divinely revealed realities which are contained and presented in Sacred Scripture have been committed to writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. For holy mother Church, relying on the belief of the Apostles, holds that the books of both the Old and New Testaments in their entirety, with all their parts, are sacred and canonical because written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author and have been handed on as such to the Church herself. In composing the sacred books, God chose men and while employed by Him they made use of their powers and abilities, so that with Him acting in them and through them, they, as true authors, consigned to writing everything and only those things which He wanted (Dei Verbum 11). The Bible is the Word of God in the words of man. One of the things which distinguish the Bible from other publications is its authorship. Literary books, magazines and other written articles have only a single authorship, i.e., the author himself or a group of authors. The Bible has two authorships, namely, the primary author and the secondary author. The former is God and the latter is man. God and man worked hand-inhand in composing the Bible. It is a mutual interplay and collaboration of the divine and the human. The Bible is 100% human and 100% divine. The human authors were not used by God as His secretaries, tape recorders and puppets. God respected human freedom and creative expression in the composition of the Bible. Human authors were free to use any literary style or creative means to express Gods Word in the Bible. Biblical inspiration requires both human freedom and the presence of God. Inspiration is spirit-in-action. Biblical Inerrancy If God and man are the authors of the Bible, is the Bible perfect? Are there some consistencies, discrepancies and errors in the Bible? Therefore, since everything asserted by the inspired authors or sacred writers must be held to be asserted by the Holy Spirit, it follows that the books of Scripture must be acknowledged as teaching solidly, faithfully and without error that truth which God wanted put into sacred writings for the sake of salvation. Therefore "all Scripture is divinely inspired and has its use for teaching the truth and refuting error, for reformation of manners and discipline in right living, so that the man who belongs to God may be efficient and equipped for good work of every kind" (2 Timothy 3:16-17) (Dei Verbum 11). We must bear in mind that the Bible is neither like your science book nor your history book. Though sometimes it mentions dates, ages, people, places and events, and speaks about creation, nature, animals and heavenly bodies, the Bible must not be compared and should not be read like a science book or a history book. It is a book of faith, therefore composed by, within and for this reason and context. The aforesaid excerpt from Dei Verbum explains what biblical inerrancy is. It states that the Bible may have errors and discrepancies in other matters or areas, e.g., science and history. But it teaches faithfully and without error truths from God for the sake of our salvation, i.e., matters of faith, e.g., nature of God, compassion, sin, values, etc. Etymology The word Bible is from the Greek word byblos and Latin word biblia. Byblos is an ancient Phoenician city which was rich in papyrus, from which the word paper originated. Papyrus (papyri, plural) was the material of which ancient writing materials, most especially scrolls, were made. On the other hand, biblia means books, library or collection of books. Both byblos and biblia describe what a Bible is.

Sources of Catholic Faith Consequently it is not from Sacred Scriptures alone that the Church draws her certainty about everything which has been revealed. Therefore both Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture are to be accepted and venerated with the same sense of loyalty and reverence (Dei Verbum 9). Why are Catholics believing in and practicing things which are not in the Sacred Scriptures? This is one of the many questions and accusations which are thrown to Catholics by Protestants. There are Catholic doctrines and practices which are not found in the Bible. We cannot deny the fact this is true about the Catholic faith. The last verse of the Gospel of John may help us answer this question and understand more our Catholic faith. There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written (John 21:25). The aforesaid verse states and reminds us that there are other things that Jesus said and did which are not written in the Bible. The Bible is just one of the sources of faith. Unlike the Protestants who believe that the Bible should be the only basis of faith, sola fide, sola Scriptura (only faith, only Scriptures), Catholics have two main sources of their faith, which includes their doctrines and practices. They are Sacred Traditions and Sacred Scriptures. No one is greater or more credible than the other. Both have equal importance and value in the life of the Church. The former refers to the unwritten word of God, i.e., practices, beliefs and teaching which were handed down from the early Church to the present Church. The latter is the written Word of God, the Bible. Sacred Traditions and Sacred Scriptures form one sacred deposit of the Word of God, committed to the Church. Holding fast to this deposit the entire holy people united with their shepherds remain always steadfast in the teaching of the Apostles, in the common life, in the breaking of the bread and in prayers, so that holding to, practicing and professing the heritage of the faith, it becomes on the part of the bishops and faithful a single common effort (Dei Verbum 10). Canon of the Scriptures The Canon of the Scriptures is the official and complete list of books in the Bible, which is recognized by the Church as divinely inspired. The Church believes that the Holy Spirit was still at work in the selection and compilation of the books of the Bible. The total number of books in the Bible which the Church considers as divinely inspired is 73. These books were written by different authors in different places at different times. It took centuries for the books to be completely compiled and organized. Protestant bibles have only 66 books because their Old Testament books were derived from the Tanak, the Jewish Bible, which was completed in 100 BCE. Catholic bibles obtained their Old Testament books from the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek translation, which was finalized earlier than the Tanak, in 300-200 BCE. Martin Luther, who revolted against the Catholic Church, removed and excluded the 7 books from the Protestant Bible. The seven books, which are called deuterocanonicals, are Judith, Tobit, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus (Sirach), Baruch, 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees. Divisions of the Bible The Bible is mainly divided into two, namely the Old Testament and the New Testament. The word testament is from the Latin word testamentum which means covenant. A covenant is a solemn agreement, a sacred promise between God and man. The birth of Jesus Christ is the demarcation between the Old Testament and the New Testament. All events event before the birth of Jesus are in the Old Testament. The birth of Jesus commences the new covenant which God established with His people. Scholars are proposing novel terms which should be used in referring to the two divisions of the Scriptures. The terms old and new connote importance and preference of one to the other. The term old may imply negative and biased terms like obsolete, outdated, less important, and pass. Besides, the Jews do not call their Bible Old Testament. Both divisions of the Bible are of equal value and importance in our Faith. God, the inspirer and author of both Testaments, wisely arranged that the New Testament be hidden in the Old and the Old be made manifest in the New. For, though Christ established the new covenant in His blood (see Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25), still the books of the Old Testament with all their parts, caught up into the proclamation of the Gospel, acquire and show forth their full

meaning in the New and in turn shed light on it and explain it (Verbum Dei 16).
And so, the terms First Testament and Second Testament are the proposed terms to be used in referring to the two divisions of the Bible. The terms first and second imply continuity and flow. And this is how the two divisions should be considered and treated. Gods plan of salvation for mankind started through the chosen people in the First Testament and continued through Jesus Christ in the Second Testament. The First Testament is also called Hebrew literature since it contains Hebrew writings and stories of the Hebrews. It has 46 books which are grouped into four, namely, Pentateuch, Historical Books, Wisdom Books and Prophetic Books. Pentateuch first five books of the Bible Genesis Leviticus Exodus Numbers

Deuteronomy

Historical Books experiences of the chosen people in the Promised Land, and stories of their leaders Lamentations Ruth Esther Nehemiah Joshua 1 & 2 Samuel 1 & 2 Maccabees 1 & 2 Chronicles 1 & 2 Kings Judith Judges Ezra Tobit Prophetic Books writings of the people who where chosen by God to warn and remind the people Isaiah Amos Nahum Malachi Ezekiel Joel Zephaniah Baruch Jeremiah Obadiah Zechariah Daniel Habakkuk Haggai Hosea Micah Jonah Wisdom Books sayings full of wisdom and songs of praise Psalms Job Song of songs Proverbs Sirach Book of Wisdom

Ecclesiastes

The Second Testament is also called Christian literature because it contains the life and teaching of Jesus Christ, and stories and writings of early Christians. It is the fulfillment of the First Testament promises and prophecies. It has 27 books which are grouped into four, namely, Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, Apostolic Letters and Book of Revelation. Gospels life and teachings of Jesus Matthew Mark Acts of the Apostles stories of early Christians Apostolic Letters writings of apostles to early Christian Romans 1 & 2 Timothy Galatians Hebrews Ephesians 1 & 2 Corinthians Colossians 1 & 2 Thessalonians communities Titus Philemon Philippians James

Luke

John

1, 2 & 3 John 1 & 2 Peter Jude

Book of Revelation visions about the completion of the Kingdom of God

Source: Cruzado, Chester, R. Our Faith Walk: A Story of Love. Quezon City: BC Educational Incorporated, 2010. Copyright 2010 by Chester Roxas Cruzado. All rights reserved. This material may be freely copied and distributed subject to inclusion of this copyright notice and the World Wide Web URLs https://www.faith20.net This material may not be duplicated for any profit-driven enterprise.