THY U4 L1: gaudete et exsultate

gaudete et exsultate

• pope francis’ third apostolic exhortation “on the call to holiness in today’s world”

• meaning: “rejoice and be glad”

• message of the document: an invitation to be holy addressed to every christian believer

5 sections / chapters of gaudete et exsultate

1. call to holiness

2. two subtle enemies of holiness:gnosticism and pelagianism

3. the beatitudes as pathway to holiness

4. signs of holiness in today’s world

5. spiritual combat, vigilance, and discernment.

saints

• a person acknowledged as holy or virtuous and regarded in christian faith as being in heaven after death.

• also pertains to all the faithful, that is, to all believers

how to officially become a saint of the catholic church?

1. wait at least five years

2. become a “servant of god”

3. become “venerable”

4. be beatified as “blessed”

5. be canonized as “saint”

2 concepts closely linked to communion of saints

1. sancta

2. sancti

sancta

communion in holy things

sancti

communion among holy persons

church

a communion of saints

church triumphant

saints in heaven who have already been fully sanctified

church militant

saints who are still being sanctified on earth

church suffering

saints in purgatory who are undergoing their final stage of purification

holiness

• does not require being a bishop, priest or religious

• called by living our lives with love and bearing witness in everything we do wherever we find ourselves

• about finding our specific mission in life and following the dream the lord wants to dream with us

obstacles today

• constant distraction, recreation

• lack of silence

• consumerism

• discontent / emptiness

• spiritual corruption / comfortable & self satisfied form of blindness

2 subtle enemies of holiness

1. contemporary gnosticism

2. contemporary pelagianism

gnosticism

• has to do with knowledge

• in the early church, there was an elitist group who thought that they were better than the others because they had some secret knowledge, which the others did not know about

• in present manifestation, gnosticism takes on the same “superiority complex” and religious elitism

• those who think themselves to be more learned act like know-it-alls and begin to look down on everyone else

• absolutize their own theories and force others to submit to their way of thinking

pelagianism

• named after pelagius, a monk who denied the doctrine of original sin and overemphasized the power of human will

• the belief that people can be saved just by their own efforts rather than by the grace of god

• count on merits to be worthy of god’s love rather than relying on god’s unconditional mercy

• share the same “superiority complex” and religious elitism

• tend to look down on others who are not as good as they think they are

• rigidly insist on laws and structures while forgetting to be considerate to people and compassionate especially to the weak

theological virtue that sanctifies

• inner disposition of faith

• hope in god’s grace

• most important: love for him and our neighbor

beatitudes

• happy saints

• beati: happy / blessed

• a christian’s identity card

• path to holiness and happiness

meek

• synonym for being poor in spirit

• those who refuse to engage in power play / compete in rat race

• focus on what is truly important in life

• lowkey ang contradicting hindi ko gets (???)

anawim

those who put their trust in god rather than in wealth / power

aspects of mercy

• giving

• helping

• serving others

• forgiveness

• understanding

heart

• the seat of a person’s intentions and emotions

• the core of one’s being

• to love with pure / self less intention

different meanings of peace

• st. thomas: the proper effect of charity according to

• opus iustitiae pax: “peace as the work of justice”

• second vatican council: “fruit of love”

opus iustitiae pax

peace as the work of justice

what makes a saint

• mercy and charity → the key to heaven

• “the great criterion” → our lives will be judged

• the noblest of our actions

spiritual combat, vigilance and discernment

• the christian life is a constant battle

• we need strength and courage to resist temptation and proclaim the gospel

• “this battle is sweet” → we rejoice whenever the lord triumphs in our lives

• the evil one’s presence should not be ignored or trivialized → ignoring evil makes us careless, lowers our guard, and makes us more vulnerable

ikigai

• japanese word translated as:

  • “reason for being”

  • “that thing you live for”

  • “the reason u wake up in the morning”

• the intersection of:

  • what we love

  • what we are good at

  • what we can be paid for

  • what the world needs

• to discover this, we need self knowledge

• achieved through consistent silent / prayerful reflection