Day Eighteen: My Beliefs

Day 18 of the 30 Day Writing Challenge

Day Eighteen: My Beliefs

When I read that this was my next challenge, I thought, oh boy... where do I begin? That topic alone is worth an essay, not a mere blog post. But this is the challenge. How do I convey my beliefs in a quick and efficient way that gets the point across without getting bogged down in theology or going off on tangents? I first went snooping around the web for other Catholics who have written about their beliefs. The problem is that no two Catholics believe exactly the same thing. Even the most conservative Catholics who adhere to everything in the Catechism of the Catholic Church will most likely differ on how it is understood.
Then I thought about the words that Catholics recite every Easter: the renewal of our baptismal vows.

Do I reject Satan? And all his works? And all his empty promises?

Yes, I do. Note that this implies you believe Satan exists. Yes, I believe Satan exists. Yes, I believe Satan is at work in the world.
The Enemy will not see you vanish into God's company without an effort to reclaim you. ~ C.S. Lewis

Do I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth? 

Yes, I believe in a higher power that is neither female or male, that is both female and male. I believe that God created all things, although not as Genesis describes.
What can be seen on earth points to neither the total absence nor the obvious presence of divinity, but to the presence of a hidden God. Everything bears this mark. ~ Blaise Pascal  

Do I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father?

Yes, I do. I believe God became human and was born of a woman. I don't think her virginity should be an issue. I believe he was crucified by the orders of a Roman prefect, that he was buried and rose from the dead and that He returned to heaven.
If you have to be reasoned into Christianity, some wise fellow can reason you out of it! If you come to Christ by a flash of the Holy Spirit so that by intuition you know that you are God's child, you know it by the text but you also know it by the inner light, the inner illumination of the Spirit, and no one can ever reason you out of it. ~ A.W. Tozer

Do I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting? 

Yes, I believe in the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, equal to God the Father and God the Son, but all one in the Godhead. Yes, I believe in the catholic (i.e. universal not big 'C' Catholic) church. I think the people we call saints were interesting people, they have a lot of wisdom to offer us but I don't believe I need their intercessions. I understand that some people honor the saints because they identify with a particular saint for a particular reason but I don't feel that need. I believe in the forgiveness of sins but I don't believe I need to go to a priest for confession to receive that forgiveness. I believe in the resurrection of the body when Jesus will come again. I believe in life everlasting although not the heaven that most people think about. I believe in this world transformed and this is the world we will live in.
Jesus's resurrection is the beginning of God's new project not to snatch people away from earth to heaven but to colonize earth with the life of heaven. That, after all, is what the Lord's Prayer is about. ~ N.T. Wright
 
So despite the fact that I said I would try to be brief, I couldn't do it! And this is only the tip of the iceberg! Anyhow, this gives you something of an idea but definitely not all encompassing.