Core beliefs of the Catholic tradition

The following is my summary report on area of study one of unit one for my Religion & Society course. I'm not sure why I'm publishing it on here... but here it is anyway...

Through the person of Christ, Catholicism gains its understanding and conception of ultimate reality.
Catholics believe that God is the “Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth” (Nicene Creed) - the transcendent Creator (Gen. 1:1), immutable (James 1:17; Malachi 3:6), omniscient, omnipresent and a compassionate parental figure to humanity. (Mt. 6:9)
Catholics believe that God is specially revealed and incarnate in the “One Lord Jesus Christ” (Nicene Creed), who humbles himself to share in our humanity (John 1:14) and offers, in word and demonstration, the ultimate message of the New Covenant- the Law of Love. (John 15:12)
Catholics believe that God is “the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life.” (Nicene Creed), who descends upon the world and binds together each person in the Mystical Body of Christ (I Cor. 12:12) and gives perpetual life to all in the resurrection. (I Cor. 15)
From these core beliefs, Catholicism derives its understanding of an all-powerful, loving and compassionate God who creates and sustains the world in love, and in love, humbles himself to reach out to his children.

From this understanding of the nature of God, demonstrated through the person of Jesus, Catholics believe that the meaning and purpose of human life is quintessentially to build towards the Kingdom- a scriptural metaphor for the almighty reign of God over all creation, recognised through the qualities of peace, justice, forgiveness, service, equity, compassion and love (Mt. 5:3-13; Gen. 1:26-27; Jn. 13:14-15; Jn 15:12)
Catholics believe that God-Incarnate- Jesus demonstrates the qualities of the Kingdom, in word, through sacred stories such as the Good Samaritan (Lk 10. 30-38) and in action, through his Passion, death and Resurrection, which Catholics uphold is the atonement for sin., thereby “opening the possibility of salvation to all men.” (Catechism)
Catholics understand that to build towards the Kingdom is to follow the example of Jesus through the synthesis of ethical codes, such as the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17) and the Beatitudes (Mt. 5:3-13) which call for justice, equity and peace, in a practical sense. Catholics believe that humanity is in a covenant relationship with God, and that to build toward the Kingdom through applying the Law of Love (“Love one another.” – John 15:12) is a fulfilment of this New Covenant, meditated by Christ. (Heb. 9:15)
In Catholic understanding, humanity is “made in the image/likeness of God” (Gen. 1:26-27) and thus retains innate dignity; each person is a member of the Mystical Body of Christ (I Cor. 12:12) and thus God abides in each person. This gives meaning to Jesus’ statement in Matthew’s gospel that, “Whatever you do to the least of my brethen, you do unto me.”
Catholic tradition believes that humanity is charged with stewardship over the natural world, as indicated by Gen. 2:15, in which, after creating humanity, represented by Adam, God places him into the Garden to ‘tend it.’ Humanity is part of the created order (Gen 1-2) and through sensory experience in the cosmos, and general revelation, gains an insight into the nature of God the Creator. As Wis. 3:15 states: “From the beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of the Creator.” In other terms, humanity can find insight into the nature of God through its experience of the created world, which humanity is ascribed to as steward.

The core beliefs of Catholicism are expressed through the sacred texts of the Christian Writings, including the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, which recount and testify to the works of Jesus and contain numerous religious narratives and parables which use analogy and metaphor to convey meaning, such as the parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk. 10:30-38) which expresses the notion of faith in action and the ethic of compassion.
The ritual ceremony of the Eucharist, involving the consecration of bread, wine and water as the Body and Blood of Christ is “the source and summit of Christian life” (Catechism) and recalls the belief in “One Lord Jesus Christ.” (Nicene Creed) and his Passion, death and Resurrection.
The symbol of the commonly known ‘Jesus Fish’ highlights the Catholic understanding of the nature of Christ, as in Greek word for fish- Ichtus is a mnemonic device, which is interpreted to state: “Jesus Christ. God and man. Saviour.” The recognisable symbol of the cross and crucifix also highlights and the belief that Jesus came “For us and for our salvation” (Nicene Creed) and recalls the Passion, death and Resurrection of Christ, whilst reminding Christians’ of the meaning of life itself- to love unconditionally and without boundaries.