[THY4] Prelims

Why do I Exist? - (The Problem)

What’s the main question of:

• What is the MEANING of my existence?

• What is the PURPOSE of my existence?

Ethics and Morality

What are the two schools of thought?

Man

What is composed of Body (Corpus) and Soul (Anima)?

Soul

• has a form we don’t know, genderless

• has a spirit

Hylemorphism / Hylomorphism

What is the union of body and soul called?

Genesis 1:27

“Let us make man in our own image and likeness” is from what Book and Verse?

Image and Likeness of God

• Does NOT refer to Physical Body, as God has none, but pure spirit.

• Refers to His knowable attributes and characteristics

• God dwells on us through “Ruah”

• We are subject to God’s Judgement Alone

• Imago Dei

• Omniscient (all-knowing)

• Omnipresent (all-present)

• Omnipotent (all-powerful)

• Omnibenevolence (all-loving)

What are the characteristics of God?

• Sacred

• Good (Holy) - “Qodesh” - Hebrew for “kakaiba”

• Equal

What does the image and likeness of God make us (Dignity)?

Ruah (or Ruach)

What is the ancient Hebrew word that means “wind”, “breath”, or “spirit”?

Dignity

• “Dignitas” - worth of a person

• Inviolable, Inalienable, and Universal

• The inherent right of a person to be valued, respected, and treated ethically

• We live it out through vocation

Spirit

What is the threshold to the divine?

Spirituality

• begins with discontent; once we do all desires, we reach “Absolute End”

  • “Discontent is the first necessity in progress” - Edison

• awareness we have a soul, more to life than we see

• nurturance of spiritual life, growing friendship with Christ

• ways to live out our baptismal promise

Identity (Inward)

• the movement of spirituality that answers “Who am I?”

• rationality and consciousness

• to align self with God

Destiny (Upward)

• the movement of spirituality that answers “Why was I created?”

• to know, love, and serve God and be happy through Faith to reach Heaven

• Faith is nurtured through:

  • Piety, Charity, and Virtue

Heaven

• union with God (Beatific Vision)

• forever having God

• tastes: Sex, Life, Love, etc.

Relevance (Outward)

• the movement of God that answers “How can I make a difference?”

• open and relational, it’s by being with others, ourselves, and God

• it is through our vocation, others, to learn the greatest lessons in life.

Knowledge

• constituent of the Human Act based on the plan of God

• based on Ethics (universal objective truth) and Morality (particular truths that still follow Natural Law)

Ethics

What studies morality if it follows the Natural Law?

Freedom

• constituent of the Human act that executes our Dignity

• only towards good

Voluntariness

• constituent of the Human Act that desires the good

• purification of intention

Voluntas

What Latin word means “Will”?

Dominican Spirtuality

What spirituality talks about Preaching and Studies?

Ignatian Spirituality

What spirituality talks about Active Contemplation, finding God in all things?

Carmelite Spirituality

What spiritually talks about Emptiness, before God we are nothing?

Franciscan Spirituality

What spirituality talks about Poverty and Nature?

Benedictine Spirituality

What spirituality talks about Prayer and Work?

Contemplative Spirituality

What spirituality talks about Monks and Nuns, detachment from the world?

Vocare

What Latin word means “Calling”?

Vocation

What is the calling from God, the life destined for us?

• Lifestyle - we want to do

• Profession - we do for a living, career

• Mission - what we do out of love, responsibility, and noble purpose

We obey our vocation because it’s our? (LPM)

• Desires - our inclinations

• Resources, Skills, Capabilities

• Opportunities

• Joy and Fulfillment

How do we discover our vocation? (JORD)

Ultimate Vocation

• What type of vocation talks about the universal call to Holiness

• Achieved through faithfulness to Faith, Good Works, and Call of the moment.

Call of the Moment

What are the things to do at the right time?

General Vocation

What type of Vocation talks about the usual paths people take?

• Married Life

• Holy Orders/Consecrated Life

• Single Blessedness (Celibate)

• Religious - “O.P., S.J., O.F.M” (Take care of the poverty)

• Diocesan - No title (Can have bank accounts, not rich though)

What are the two types of priests?

• Poverty

• Obedience

• Chaste / Celibacy (Purity of Heart/Mind/Body)

What are the 3 vows of the Holy Order?

Specific Vocation

What type of vocation talks about careers and professions that people pursue?

Ministries of Christ

What is the summary of Christ’s life, all vocations participate in these?

Priestly Ministry (PRAYER, WORSHIP)

• Ministry that proclaims the Word of God

• Mediator of God and His people

• Offer prayers for the community (esp. those who hate us)

• Bring people closer to God

Prophetic Ministry (GOSPEL)

• Ministry about being the Spokesperson of God

• Standing up for Gospel values even if inconvenient

• Reading the sign of times

Kingly Ministry (LEAD, SERVE)

• Ministry about Leading and Serving for the people despite differences

• Authority coming from service

Scriptures

• Source of faith that corresponds to Old (promise of God) and New Testament (fulfillment of promise)

• Exegesis - study of bible

• Eisegesis - personal study of bible

Tradition

What’s the source of faith that has the Didache?

Didache

What is the 2nd Most Important Book of Christianity, that has compilations of teachings?

Magisterium

What is the source of faith that’s the official teaching authority of Scriptures/Traditions?

Prophets

Who observes, extracts, and brings people back to God?

Navi

What Hebrew word means “To proclaim, call”?

Sukkot

What is the Feast of the Light / Tabernacles, Cleansing day? Held September 14-24

Religion

What is complementary to individual spirituality?

Re Ligare

What Latin word means “To bind again”?

Re Eligere

What Latin word means “To choose again”?

Sa baba, tayo, incense

Sa taas ng Temple of Solomon, holy of the holies, arc of covenant, staff of aaron, stones of 10 commandments, etc.

New Testament

• Jesus

• Church / Mary

• Cross

• Gethsemane

Old Testament

• Adam

• Eve

• Tree

• Eden

Eudaimonia (Aristotle)

• HAPPINESS

• An ancient Greek concept representing the highest human good / ultimate purpose of life

• “Man is to live in a way befitting of his human nature, made for virtue, for perfection.”

Aretè (EXCELLENCE)

What Greek word means “Excellence in everything we do, we give our best”

Virtue

What means always doing the good in everything we do?

Union with God, the Supernatural End.

What do Christians believe about our absolute purpose?

God’s Will

• the REAL Good

• the HARD Way

• entails SELF-DENIAL and SACRIFICE

• gives us PEACE and JOY

• makes us grow in VIRTUES

• Knowledge

• Freedom

• Voluntariness

What are the 3 Constituents of Human Acts?

• Who - subject/person receiving action

• Where - place of action

• What - object

• By What Means - means of attaining end

• Why - intention/motive

• How - modalities (voluntariness, force, ignorance, etc.)

• When - time the action was done

What are the conditions/circumstances that modifies the Human Act?

Discernment

• choice between two goods

• no evil, because evil has no place in the life of Christian

Election

What do you call the choice of the conscience?

Spiritual Consolation

• experience on being so on fire with God’s love

• we feel impelled to praise and share God

• encourages and facilitates deep sense of gratitude to God

• we feel more alive and connected with others

• does not always mean happiness

Spiritual Desolation

• experience of the soul in heavy darkness/turmoil

• we get assaulted by doubts, temptations, and self-preoccupations

• excessive restlessness, anxiety, and the feeling of being cut off from others

• the lack of faith, without hope and love

• does not always mean sadness

Discerning the Spirits

• sometimes suffering can be moments of great grace and intimacy with God

• happiness can be illusory, leaving us with a feeling of emptiness

• the devil makes us complacent

• good spirits disturbs us on evil deeds we do

Mature Person

Who follows the precepts of what is right and good?

A Person of Integrity

Who always does what is good even if no one’s looking or saying?

The Crisis of Relativism

Situation when:

• Person is arbiter of truth

• Everything is acceptable

• Social media is influencer

• Wide-range confusion

• “Death of God” -Nieztsche

Problem of Relativism

• No permanent/universal truths

• All truths are dependent on individual, on popular opinion, society, NEVER an objective basis (God)

• All opinions are true and valid even if they contradict

• One who isn’t a Relativist is called

  • Fundamentalist, Moralist, Archaic, Medieval, Arrogant, or Intolerant

• Pope Benedict XVI addresses this

Relativism of Faith

• talks about no absolute faith

• results in Religious Indifference

• gives rise to Cafeteria Catholicism

Cafeteria Catholicism

what talks about choosing religion based on preference, disregards uncomfortable?

Moral Relativism

• no absolute right or wrong, no absolute morals

• good for you may be not good for me

• people incline to be Utilitarian and Hedonist

• “if there’s no God, everything is permissible” -Eyodor Dostoevsky

Utilitarisnism

What states that what is useful is good?

Hedonism

What states that what is pleasurable is good?

Practical Relativism

• form of moral relativism

• self-centered, indulgent, and grounded on convenience

• circles Materialism and Consumerism

• acting as if other people don’t exist, doing stuff as if no one’s being affected

Truth

• “equation of mind and thing” - St. Thomas (Summa Theologiae 1:12:2)

• should be a way of life

• not only an idea, but a person (Jesus)

Correspondence

What theory of truth corresponds to facts?

Coherence

What theory of truth coheres with the rest of our knowledge?

Pragmatic

What theory of truth is what works or serves our purpose?

Logical Truthfulness (Verifying)

What qualification of truth is when a person’s mind conforms to reality?

Moral Truthfulness (Living Out)

What qualification of truth is when a person’s words conform to what’s in their mind?

Ontological Truth (Natural Law) (Actualizing the Truth of Who, Whose, For whose I am)

What qualification of truth is when something is true so far as it corresponds to the mind of its Maker (God)?

Universal

What means truth is same at all places at all times?

Objective

What means truth is discovered, not made, not thought or believed?

Transcultural

What means truth is same for all people?

Jesus

• the Truth Incarnate

• not a mere legend, but a historical figure

• his teachings correspond to Universal and Absolute Values

• his teachings set us to Genuine Freedom

• History restified on people who were changed by Jesus

• ‘I came to testify to the truth.’ – John 18:37

• ‘I am the way, the truth and the life.’ – John 14:6

What are the two quotes about Jesus being Truth Incarnate?

• Appeal to dignity

• Be faithful to your vocation

• Participate in the Ministries of Jesus

• Undergo Discernment

• Pray and Contemplate on Word of God

How do we know the truth?

Throwaway Culture

• The idea that EVERYTHING is disposable

• first was ascribe to things

• Pope Francis said applied na to sa tao

• Dilapidated Dreams / Abandoned Beliefs

• Hakot/Tambak System

• Quickly reduces things to reduce

• Wasting resources by consumerism

• Insatiable wants

• Practice of Contraception and Abortion

• Abandonment of Elderly, Sick, and Handicapped

• Exclusion of Poor

• Discarding of Genuine Relationships, Marriage

What are indicators of Throwaway Culture?

Hedonism and Consumerism

What is the basis of Throwaway Culture?

Hedonism

• Greek word “hedone” - pleasure

• doctrine that exalts that the ultimate goal of life is highest good and happiness is PLEASURE

• devotion to pleasure as way of life

• avoid suffering, only pleasurable life

Benedict XVI

Who said about Hedonism “Considers the natural environment only as raw material to be manipulated for our pleasure”

St. John Paul II

Who said about Hedonism “Will result in the loss of interest in others and the world”

• Sexual Pleasure

• Substances

• Luxury

What are the extremes of Hedonism?

Egoism

What is the root of Hedonism?

Egoism

• belief that we ‘do’ and ‘should do’ things for our OWN SELF INTEREST

• sole objective is for self-promotion

• we shouldn’t be anyone’s keepers cuz no one really understands others

• EVERY MAN FOR THEMSELVES

• denies concern for others

Consumerism

• equation of personal happiness by material possession and consumption

Spending on unnecessary stuff makes rich richer and poor poorer

What’s the negative effect of CONSUMERISM on SOCIETY?