The Two Vatican Councils: Journey of Faith in the Modern World

Many people would agree that without faith, the world would be in chaos. The book Christian Foundation by Kathleen Fischer and Thomas Hart gives an interpretation on faith in our time. Many people would question the definition of faith. Faith is a gift, which is given by God to have trust in him and belief in him. This book is a great entry in anyone's life that has speculation on his or her own faith. The book has many ways into understanding ones own religion. It discusses the Bible, Jesus, Church, God's existence and Images of God. All of these chapters helped me get a better interpretation of what my religion entailed.

As time constantly presses forward and the earth continues to revolve, the world will never stop progressing and adapting to better suit the needs of mankind. The evolution of religion has greatly enhanced the quality of life for humanity by providing individuals with a strong belief system that is now the foundation of many peoples’ core values. One universal religion that has undergone extensive amounts of reform is Christianity. In particular, the Catholic church is well-known for the development of their famous ecumenical council meetings that help determine the future of the church. Numerous Councils have been conducted throughout the course of history, but none more significant than the most recent, the Second Vatican Council or Vatican II. The Catholic church was operating as if it was still the medieval period and desperately needed to be modernized. As a result, every Roman Catholic Church official was gathered to meet and devise a plan for how to introduce the church to the modern world. Consequently, the following will reveal the Second Vatican Council and the ramifications of the agenda, history and theology evolution, significant texts, and new developments.

Faith is the belief in a person, thing, or idea without concrete evidence of its certainty. Although in some arenas, such as science, it is looked down upon, faith is ever presence in people's lives. It takes faith to belief that a chair will support one’s weight. It takes faith to belief that others will fulfill their promises and responsibilities. John Donne, Robert Fink, and Annie Dillard are three authors who use faith as a topic for one of their works.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church was written to clearly present the deposit of Christian doctrine so that it may be easily accessible to all people. It includes the “teaching of Sacred Scripture, the living Tradition and the authentic Magisterium, as well as the heritage of the spiritual Fathers, Doctors and saints of the Church.”3 Within the four sections of the Catechism, the Profession of the Faith, the Celebration of the Christian Mystery, Life in Christ and Christian are addressed in depth and articulated in a way that can be understand by all. With great excitement, St. John Paul the Great declared it to be a sure norm for teaching the Catholic faith.

We called to dismiss the word Pope and look at the broader influence and work this man did for the church. Where protestants would argue with Pope Gregory in regard to the Sacraments and the works being aspect of salvation the focus needs to be on what he did for the larger church. Thus, the conclusion of this paper is the Pope Gregory is truly sitting in the presence of our Lord because of the work and faith he displayed on earth. Therefore, we will move past the argument of the Protestant and Catholic positions and look at the Gregory’s record in helping strengthen and solidify a heterogeneous church during great upheaval, and

During the Medieval period the Roman Catholic Church was one of the most vital institutions in people’s everyday life and held influence over the affairs of everyone from peasants to monarchs. The Church played a central role in society with Bishops and Archbishops playing a major role in governments and the belief among citizens that the only way they could attain salvation was through the Roman Catholic Church. The Church’s religious ideals permeated society influencing the calendar, daily activities, monumental occasions in people’s life, and the teachings of the Church underpinned mainstream ethics and beliefs of people. The Church operated under a highly developed and sophisticated system of governance, law and economy that allowed it

Gaudium et Spes, Second Vatican Council, 1965 Vatican II’s The Church in the Modern World is seen by many to be the most important document in the Church’s social tradition. The Council emphasizes the importance of the Church in dialogue with the world. It states that change characterizes the world. The Council expresses a longing to engage in conversation with the entire human family, so that the Church can shed light on the human mystery and cooperate in solving current problems. It addresses this to Catholics, to all Christians, and to the whole humanity. It focuses on the human person as the starting point for all society and its structures culturally, economically, and politically. The Council states that the modern would shows itself

Faith; a noun, complete trust or confidence in someone or something. This definition is from the Oxford Dictionary. In order to believe in God, you must have faith. God really does exist for three main reasons; one, where there is motion, there is a mover. Two, the beauty of the earth, and three, how where the first humans brought to life if it was not by God?

While no changes were made to the doctrinal structure of the Church following Vatican II, Pope Paul did promulgate one new doctrine, which asserts that “Mary is the Mother of the Church.”

Vatican II made five notable contributions to the reform of the church. Those contributions were the reform of the liturgy, the self-understanding of the church as “the people of God”, relations with other Christian churches and with non-Christian religions, the churches

declared that primacy conferred on Peter be extended to all Roman Pontiffs, and also that The Pope has Supreme Full, Immediate, and universal ordinary power in the Church. This meant that the Pope was not subordinate to others, and did not need councils to decree something and once decreed it applied to the entire church. Vatican II affirmed Vatican I’s Papal Primacy but added balances by placing episcopal collegiality beside it which was done in order to elevate the status of bishops. Infallibility in Vatican I was a power only the Pope had meaning if said ex cathedra it was irrefutable. Vatican II reaffirmed this but then extended the notion to bishops giving them more power and allowed then to decree something as infallible if they all met

In Catholic understanding, the Church is not solely that which bears the teachings of Christ himself, thus the Christian belief of hope and love, but also the instrument of divine justice and worldly responsibility. Within these premises, the council's mission is not limited at reminding individuals of the righteous teaching, but can incorporate several other actions such as the enacting of the religious mass, how the Church manifests itself or issues pertaining to how the Church acts within certain periods of time. Thus, one such council holds the power to not only to change the patterns of

Convened on October 11, 1962, the Second Vatican Council addressed many different facets of the Catholic Church and faith. Tasked with aggiornamento, or the updating and renewal of the Church, Vatican II sought to reform many of the Church’s ideas and views in response to an increasingly modern world (270). The Council’s influence extended to the topic of ecclesiology, of course, but its scope and breadth of discussion stretched well beyond a singular topic; some other notable concerns of the Council included religious freedom, ecumenism, and dialogue with

One branch of faith is assenting. Comprised of “knowledge, trust, and acceptance,” it is the standard faith that most Christians think about. Thomas Aquinas, the Doctor of the Church, was and is a brilliant theologian. His work, the Summa Theologica, is unmatched in depth and wisdom. Through it, Aquinas wrote a masterful detailed overview of all theology. In the Summa Theologica, Thomas Aquinas defines this faith as “an infused virtue by reason of which we accept on God’s authority what he has revealed to us” (Nature and Grace, Aquinas). In other words, faith is within us and by it we accept what God has revealed to us.

Faith ~ An unmovable trust in God that results in encouraging others to trust God more, no matter what the circumstances.