C H A P T E R O N E

CALLED TO HOLINESS

PERFECTION

• How do you define perfection?• How do your parents define perfection?• How does God define perfection?

• According to SFDS, perfection is defined as:“Be who you are and be that well”• Is this reasonable?• What goes into this perfection?

INGREDIENTS FOR PERFECTION

• Holiness- not foreign to human nature• Sanctification- another word for_____________• Living as God calls us to be alive

• What detracts from our perfection?• Original Sin- the first sin of Adam and Eve in

disobeying God’s commandment• How do we allow Original Sin to distort our

perfection?

ORIGINAL SIN

• Many areas of our life are impacted by Original Sin• What sacrament cleanses us of Original Sin?• Why do we continue to sin if we are cleansed?• There is a complementary but respective role for

men and women• Our original state was one of intimacy• Which sacrament offers us God’s grace?

____________

AUGUSTINE VS. PELAGIUS

Augustine stressed the need for God’s grace.Pelagius stressed we could reach God on our own merit.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

• Turn to a partner and discuss whether or not we need God’s grace or not? • If not, what provides guidance to us?• If yes, how do the sacraments help us?• Not sure, think about your life; what helps you

make the right decision in light of salvation? • Does salvation factor into your life? Again, why or

why not?

BODY AND SOUL

• We are created by God with a body and soul• What is the soul?• The innermost part of a human being that makes us

spiritual people in the image of God

The body is shares in the dignity and image of God as wellWhat is the body a temple for?

God created body and soul.What affects all aspects of the human person?

OUR SEXUALITY

• More than bodily responses• Deeply connected to our passions and emotions• Must acknowledge who we are• Dignity for all persons• Chastity- virtue of temperance• Regulates our attraction to pleasure and provides

balance• Control• Mastery of passions

SEXUALITY IN OUR WORLD

• What message does our society provide today about sex? (hint- see below)• Do you think that you can ever regret an act that

you do today?• Why or Why not?• Why is chastity more important • now then ever before?• What is the basic principal that • God intended for sexual • intercourse?

IN UNION WITH CHRIST

• Can we be holy apart from Jesus Christ?• How does union with Christ take form?• The word “disciple” means _________________.• Through discipleship we learn and follow Jesus• How can we deepen this relationship?

CHILDREN OF GOD

• Adopted children• Father, Son, Holy Spirit• This makes us capable of acting rightly and doing

good.

SAINT ALOYSIUS OF GONZAGA

• Born in 1568 to a wealthy family• Resisted father’s wish to be a soldier• Entered the Jesuits with father’s blessings• Had a vision of an early death• Died in 1591 of a fever that had spread

throughout Italy and he contracted through caring for the sick• Continued to whisper, “Into thy hands” on his

death bed• Martyrdom is to give one’s life for one’s faith.

THE ROAD TO SAINTHOOD

• Know Jesus• Forgive your enemy (and sometimes even

yourself)• Love Others• Show Courage• Serve• Go to Mass• Pray to a saint

MYSTERY

• What is a mystery to you?• In a religious sense, a truth that is

incomprehensible to reason and knowable only through God’s revelation.• To whom did God reveal his • sacred name to in the Old• Testament?• Christ reveals God’s mystery in • the New Testament

TWO SOURCES OF GOD

• Entrusted to two sources:• Apostolic Tradition- sharing the message of Christ

through preaching, witness, institutions worship and inspired writings• Sacred Scriptures- the living transmission of the

entire Word of God • Together these two modes form the Sacred

Deposit of Faith and this is entrusted to the Magesterium

HOLY TRINITY

• What is the Trinitarian Formula?• That three are distinct but one is• the central mystery of our faith• Three distinct but one is the Holy• Trinity• The mystery was revealed with the coming of

Christ• Jesus called God father• Jesus is distinct from the father and so is the Holy

Spirit but the Father sent both

OKAY VOCABULARY TIME

• Dogmas-• Magesterium-• Divine economy or economy of salvation-• Who is the source of all blessings of creation and

salvation?• Remember from St. Augustine:• “…for you have made us yourself, and our • heart is restless until it rests in you” Also• “The desire for God is written in the human• heart …” (p 29

WAYS TO KNOW GOD

• God’s self-revelation is pure gift• Ways of approaching God- three examples• Nature• Passion• Reflection