Catholics are a diverse group of people coming from all different walks of life. Our own Melbourne Catholic community is no different. Despite our own unique attributes, stories and histories, we are united by our faith. While there are many aspects to our faith and worship, we hold the following core beliefs:
There is one God, whose divine nature is love.
We know God as a perfectly loving and unified community (or ‘communion’) of three Divine Persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—also known as the Trinity.
God desires to extend this communion to us and yearns to be in relationship with us.
All human beings are created in God’s image and we are uniquely loved by him.
Jesus is the Son. He became a human person to reveal God’s love and bring us to wholeness and fullness of life through his life, death and resurrection (rising from the dead).
The Holy Spirit is likened to the breath of God. The Spirit, given to us in baptism, enlivens, animates and dwells in our hearts.
The Apostles’ Creed, an ancient statement of belief, encapsulates the faith of Catholic people.
The Catholic Church makes visible God’s infinite love and care for each one of us through the recognition and celebration of seven milestones, known as sacraments. These rituals use words and symbols to engage our hearts, minds and senses, and help us recognise, name and invite God’s presence and participation in our lives.
Through baptism, we are adopted and become children of God and members of the ‘Communion of Saints’, comprising all the baptised who have gone before us and those here on earth now.
Catholics are called to live their lives in a way that makes visible their commitment to the faith they profess and celebrate. Catholics grow in their love and relationship with God through private and communal prayer (dialogue with God) and worship.
Catholic Social Teaching (CST) covers all spheres of our lives—the economic, political, personal and spiritual. CST is a rich treasure of wisdom, assisting us to build a more just society and to live holy lives. Central to CST is the belief that all life is sacred and each human life has an inherent dignity.