FAITH BITS FOR FAMILIES: The Catholic Catechism states that: The desire for God is written in the human heart, because we are created by God and for God. God has planted in every human heart the hunger and longing for the infinite—for nothing less than Himself. Only in God will we find the truth, peace, and happiness for which we never stop searching. Created in God’s image, we are called to know and love the Lord. God can be known with certainty from his works in creation and from the spiritual nature of the human person by the light of natural reason, although there are many difficulties in coming to this knowledge because of humanity’s historical and sinful condition. By our openness to goodness and truth, our experience, our sense of moral goodness, our listening to the voice of conscience, and our desire for happiness, we can discern our spiritual soul and can come to see that this could only have its origin in God. We can speak of God even if our limited language cannot exhaust the mystery of who he is. While we can come to know something about God by our natural power of reason, there is a deeper knowledge of God that comes to us through Divine Revelation. THE CRUCIFIX: Many Catholic place a crucifix in a prominent place in their homes so that all can see it. They do this as a sign of their faith. A crucifix is a cross with a representation of Jesus' body on it. The crucifix is the main symbol of Christianity. It is used to direct our attention to Christ's sacrifice — his death by crucifixion. The Latin crucifix consists of four points and a crosspiece where Jesus’ arms were nailed Catholics and other Christians sometimes wear a crucifix on a necklace as an item of jewelry, or attach one to a Rosary. A crucifix can be made out of a variety of woods, metals or even plastics. Christians often pray in front of a crucifix. The person may kneel, sit or stand in front of the crucifix and pray. At the beginning of the Catholic Mass, a crucifix is carried into the Church followed by the priest, lector and servers. To actually see Jesus hanging on the cross gives us a constant reminder of what happened in the past and the present suffering of Jesus. Jesus was an innocent man with the purest heart, and He decided to die for all of us. He loved us then and Jesus continues to love us today. Seeing the crucifix gives Catholics encouragement that Jesus is always with us, and there is life after death. He rose again as He promised. If you do not have a crucifix in your home, make plans to have one. SPAGHETTI DINNER: Everyone is invited to the St. Augustine’s Peru Knights of Columbus Spaghetti Dinner on Saturday February 10th at the Per u K.C. Hall. Serving will take place from 4:30 to 6:30 PM.