Catechetical Directory of the Ukrainian Catholic Church

Introduction

6. «In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God… Through him all things came to be, not one thing had its being bur through him. All that came to be had life in him and that life was the light of men, a light that shines in the dark, a light that darkness could not overpower… The Word was made flesh, he lived among us, and we saw his glory, the glory that is his as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth… Indeed, from his fullness we have, all of us, received — yes, grace in return for grace… No one has ever seen God; it is the only Son, who is nearest to the Father’s heart, who has made him known» (John 1, 1-18).

7. The excerpt from the Gospel cited above, which is read on Pascha or Easter Sunday, is the foundation and summary of all Eastern catechesis. It proclaims the glory of the Word who became the One who brought us back to God. St. Athanasius says: «God became one of us that we could become god». Humanity, created by the Creator, was missioned to draw all creation to God. Instead, humanity suffered a rupture of cosmic proportions and consequences. God alone could undo the damage. The Incarnation witnesses that the original bond between God and humanity — the «image and like- ness» — had indeed never been broken, even when humanity found itself unable to fulfill its original call to draw all creation to God. Thus, the Incarnation of the Son of God was and is an event of cosmic meaning.