Whether you are exploring Catholicism for the first time or are a long-time Catholic, we hope that this eNewsletter will be a useful resource as you (re)discover the fundamentals of the Catholic faith. From September through May, we are following along with the topics discussed in our Becoming Catholic (RCIA) process. Our goal is to share practical, credible Catholic resources that are freely available to anyone. Enjoy!

Today we encounter the second Person of the Trinity, the Son, who through the Incarnation takes on our humanity in order to save us. The Incarnation is actually the mystery of faith that we celebrate each Christmas! Although there's no substitute for encountering Jesus through the Eucharist and in Scripture, below are some resources to help you articulate your own answer to Jesus' question in the Gospel of Mark, "But who do you say that I am?" (Mark 8:29).

This week, our Becoming Catholic group read the first half of the Gospel of Mark (Mark 1:1 - Mark 8:30) as a way to get to know Jesus as he is revealed in Scripture. Have you ever read the Gospels yourself? If not, now's a great time to start! Sunday School is a Bible study podcast produced by Pillar Catholic Media, and in 2022 they did a series of very helpful episodes on the Gospel of Mark with Scripture scholar Dr. Scott Powell.

From Episode 5 of The Search, "Who is Jesus?":

The most beautiful part of this story is this: we can know God's love, personally. This is the person of Jesus. But how did this seemingly insignificant carpenter born into poverty in a dusty corner of the Roman Empire become the most pivotal figure in all of history? Christianity isn’t simply a philosophy for life – the center of Christianity is a person. We look at the life of Jesus and what he came to do. Ultimately, we need to decide if Jesus really was who he said he was. We can’t sit on the fence. Because if Jesus really was who he said he was, we need to make him the Lord of our lives, and everything changes.

Watch for free on Formed.org through our parish subscription. If this is your first time using Formed.org, click here to get started.

What did Jesus look like? The Bible doesn't provide a physical description of Jesus, so artists throughout history have used the artistic conventions of their time to create visual images of Christ. In this article "The Six Oldest Images of Jesus," see how some of the most ancient depictions of Jesus imagined him.

It's thanks to the four Evangelists - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John - that we have received the story of Jesus' life in the Gospels. Click below to get to know each of the Evangelists!

• Saint Matthew
• Saint Mark
• Saint Luke
• Saint John

Bonus points: next Sunday, look up in the crossing of our church here at Saint Pius X for symbols representing the four evangelists!

Looking for more opportunities to deepen your faith here at Saint Pius X? Visit our website to learn more!

• StPius.net/Faith Homepage for seasonal adult faith formation programs
• StPius.net/Bible Bible studies and Bible study resources, including our Living Water Bible Study blog
• StPius.net/Groups Grow in faith with a group! Check out That Man is You! and She Shall Be Called Woman
• StPius.net/Resources Parish lending library, subscriptions to Catholic periodicals, and instructions for accessing Formed.org