ON CHRISTIAN HOPE
According to the Christian faith, “redemption”—salvation—is not simply a given...
the First Letter of Peter exhorts Christians to be always ready to give an answer...
We see how decisively the self-understanding of the early Christians was shaped by their having received the gift of a trustworthy hope...
compare the Christian life with life prior to faith...
a distinguishing mark of Christians...
Christianity was not only “good news”—the communication of a hitherto unknown content....
In our language we would say: the Christian message was not only “informative” but “performative”...
We who have always lived with the Christian concept of God, and have grown accustomed to it, have almost ceased to notice that we possess the hope that ensues from a real encounter with this God...
this is how Christians addressed one another...
Hebrews says that Christians here on earth do not have a permanent homeland...
present society is recognized by Christians as an exile...
many of the early Christians belonged to the lower social strata...
is the Christian faith also for us today a life-changing and life-sustaining hope?
this is what being baptized, becoming Christians, is all about: it is not just an act of socialization within the community, not simply a welcome into the Church...
After his conversion to the Christian faith...
Hope in a Christian sense is always hope for others as well...
fundamental requirements of the Christian life
it was the Christian faith that had the particular merit...
The Christian faith has shown us that truth, justice and love are not simply ideals...
Paul begins by saying that Christian life is built upon a common foundation: Jesus Christ. This foundation endures...
As Christians we should never limit ourselves to asking: how can I save myself?
The word appears 55 times in that document, the word Catholic only 10, 8 of those being in the footnotes with reference to the CCC.
The Church DOES identify herself as Christian, at the same time "Wherever the bishop appears, there let the people be; as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church."