e is the Son of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, and has a body and soul like ours.
He has all that we have by nature, but not the things we have acquired
such as deformities, imperfections, and the like. Everything in Our Lord
was perfect. Above all, He had no sin of any kind; nor even inclination
to sin. He could be hungry, as He was when He fasted forty days in the
desert. (Matt. 4:2). He was thirsty, as He said on the Cross. (John
19:28). He could be wearied; as we read in the Holy Scripture (John 4:6)
that He sat down by a well to rest, while His disciples went into the
city to buy food. All these sufferings come from our very nature. We say
a thing comes from our very nature when everybody has it. Now, everyone
in the world may at times be hungry, thirsty, or tired; but everybody in
the world need not have a toothache or headache, because such things are
not common to human nature, but due to some defect in our body; and such
defects Our Lord did not have, because He was a perfect man. Therefore,
Our Lord had a body like ours, not as it usually is with defects, but as
it should be, perfect in all things that belong to its nature, as Adam's
was before he sinned.
*65 Q. How many natures are there in Jesus Christ?
A. In Jesus Christ there are two natures: the nature of God and the
nature of man.
He was perfect God and perfect man. His human nature was under the full
power of His divine nature, and could not do anything contrary to His
divine will. You cannot understand how there can be two natures and two
wills in one person, because it is another of the great mysteries; but
you must believe it, just as you believe there are three Persons in one
God, though you do not understand it. Those who learn theology and study
a great deal may understand it better than you, but never fully. It will
be enough, therefore, for you to remember and believe that there are two
natures--the divine nature and the human nature--in the one person of
Our Lord.
*66 Q. Is Jesus Christ more than one person?
A. No, Jesus Christ is but one Divine Person.
"But one," so that the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Son of
God, the Messias, Christ, Jesus, Our Lord, Our Saviour, Our Redeemer,
etc., are all names for the one Person; and, besides these, there are
many other names given to Our Lord in the Holy Scripture, both in the
Old and the New Testaments.
*67 Q. Was Jesus Christ always God?
A. Jesus Christ was always God, as He is the
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