PL_U2_LESSON 1: SEARCH FOR TRUE HAPPINESS

SECULARISM

Letting lay (laicite, laicism) or secular part of the world play its legitimate role, free of improper control or dominance from religious authorities

SECULARISM

It denies belief in God or proposes a sociopolitical movement to make the roles of faith and religion largely irrelevant in the public arena

SECULARISM

The process ___ tends to reduce the faith and the Church to the sphere of the private and personal

SECULARISM

By completely rejecting the transcendent, it has produced a growing deterioration of ethics, a weakening of the sense of personal and collective sin, and a steady increase in relativism

negates

Happiness for a secularist ___ the idea that God is its ultimate source and destiny

SECULARISM

Pushes the belief that faith should be excluded from public life.

SECULARISM

It rejects the transcendent and reduces religion to something purely private

SECULARISM

This often leads to a decline in moral clarity and the rise of relativism

SECULARISM

Shuts God out

Regular Clergy

priests related to religious order

Secular Clergy

diocese priest

Secularization movement

that goes against the system that has been proclaimed by Isabella II of Spain and Ferdinand II

Obedience

to listen with a heart conversion of the heart.

RELATIVISM

As point of view, is the denial of the absolute because everything in reality changes

RELATIVISM

Holds that the meaning of happiness and its attainment depends on the subject or the person alone, hence, subjectivist

RELATIVISM

The idea that there are no absolute truths and that what is “true” depends entirely on individual perspective

RELATIVISM

Says truth is personal

INDIVIDUALISM

Has an interwoven definition with relativism and subjectivism

INDIVIDUALISM

It is “the tendency to magnify individual liberty, as against external authority, and individual activity, and against associated activity.”

INDIVIDUALISM

Views that any external authority should not define the meaning of happiness so it is the I-Me-My-Mine who is in-charge of my own happiness and no one can ever dictate to me what will make me happy

I-Me-My-Mine

it is the ___ who is in-charge of my own happiness and no one can ever dictate to me what will make me happy

INDIVIDUALISM

Insists that only the self can define what brings happiness, making personal preference the highest authority.

CONTRADICTION, TRIVIALITY, ABSURDITY

“My Truth is what I say.”

CONTRADICTION, TRIVIALITY, ABSURDITY

The Individual determines (not discovers!) truth.

Created

Reality is not Perceived, it is __

Contradiction

Triviality

Absurdity

By embracing relativism our culture has reached a point of insanity

HEDONISM

Doctrine that holds that the Good is whatever gives you Pleasure and, therefore, pleasure becomes the standard of morality

HEDONISM

For the hedonist, pleasure ranges from the physical exhilaration to the material things which the world cunningly offers

HEDONISM

Teaches that pleasure is the ultimate good, encouraging people to chase comfort and avoid pain at all costs

HEDONISM

Chases pleasure

MATERIALISM AND CONSUMERISM

Suggest that owning things, achieving worldly success, and consuming more are the keys to being happy

MATERIALISM AND CONSUMERISM

These philosophies may bring short-term satisfaction but often leave people feeling empty and restless

MATERIALISM AND CONSUMERISM

They focus on external gratification while ignoring the deeper needs of the soul

MATERIALISM AND CONSUMERISM

Say “buy more to be happy”

MATERIALISM

Suggests that material possession, success, and progress are the highest values in life

CONSUMERISM

The belief that personal well-being and happiness depend, on a very large extent, on the level of consumption, particularly on the purchase of material goods

chara

Comes from the Greek word “___” which means a state of happiness

charisma

From the Greek word chara comes the word “___” meaning grace or gift

joy, happiness

In the context of our faith, ___ or _ is grace, a gift given by God

God is the ultimate happiness of the human person

Is my happiness real?

True joy

is a gift from God, rooted in meaning and eternity

HAPPINESS

Connected to the meaning of life

HAPPINESS

It is the Absolute Truth that everyone yearns for.

HAPPINESS

Search for true happiness is a call to rise above temporary pleasures and empty promises.

HAPPINESS

It is a journey toward fullness of life in God, guided by truth, love, and grace

Real happiness

___is not about having more, it is about becoming more: more faithful, more loving, more aligned with the life God desires for us

True happiness

___is not found in wealth, pleasure, or fame. It is found in living God’s way, rooted in the commandments, shaped by the beatitudes, and fulfilled in Christ

ST. JOHN PAUL II

“In the depths of his heart there always remains a yearning for absolute truth and a thirst to attain full knowledge of it.”

ST. JOHN PAUL II

“Man tirelessly searches for knowledge in all fields. It is proved even more by his search for the meaning of life.”

Authentic happiness

is not found here on earth but on God.

Happiness

A Call towards the Fullness of Life

St. John Paul II

Man “is called to a fullness of life, which far exceeds the dimensions of his earthly existence, because it consists in sharing the very life of God.”

St. John Paul II

It reminds us that at the core of every human being is a longing for absolute truth—a truth that can only be found in God

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS II

Happiness is: “nothing else than to desire that one’s will be satisfied.” And yet, all do not know happiness because not all know what will really make them happy.

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS II

Informed by both natural reason and Christian revelation, acknowledges that we strive for twofold happiness - imperfect and perfect

imperfect and perfect

twofold happiness:

imperfect happiness

while here on earth

perfect happiness

consisting of the beatific vision of God in heaven

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS II

Teaches that happiness is the satisfaction of the will.

Pleasure, power, possessions

What’s blocking our happiness?

GOD’S COMMANDMENTS

The Decalogue teaches man’s true humanity

GOD’S COMMANDMENTS

CRITERIA IN ATTAINING ETERNAL LIFE

GOD’S COMMANDMENTS

They shed light on the essential duties, and so indirectly on the fundamental rights inherent in the nature of the human person.

GOD’S COMMANDMENTS

They lead us to act according to our true nature

Old Testament

emphasized the external actions we need to follow

New Testament

emphasized the internal dispositions we need to have

Ten Commandments

A map for life

Ten Commandments

Are not rules to restrict us, they are guideposts to freedom

Ten Commandments

Teach us how to live as fully human, aligning our lives with truth and love

Ten Commandments

Show us how to choose what is right

BEATITUDES

Not simply statements of ‘if and then’ or ‘cause and effect’.

BEATITUDES

They suggest commitment to live out the different suggested attitudes to attain the graces promised by God

BEATITUDES

Gives us an idea that the true happiness that we should pursue cannot be totally attained in this world through temporal things but eternally reside in heaven.

Blessed are you Poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

Refers to the need for detachment either from riches or honours, which results from humility

Blessed are you Hungry, you shall be satisfied.

Gives to everyone what is due to them because one’s duty to one’s neighbor is a matter of justice, not as one who is pressed into service but ardently and willingly

Blessed are those Mourn, they shall be comforted

Moderates man’s desire for pleasure by keeping it in proportion, which is the effect on us when we suffer trials, tribulations and the death of loved ones

Blessed are the Meek, they shall inherit the earth

Protects man’s irascible nature from falling into excessive anger and keeps it within the bounds of reason

Blessed are the Merciful, they shall obtain mercy

Goes beyond what is strictly due to others and shows them generosity, understanding and forgiveness, without expecting anything in return

Blessed are Pure in Heart, they shall see God

The effects of the active life, which lead to contemplation and which perfect man himself who triumphs over the passions

Blessed are the Peacemakers, they shall be called children of God

Man in his relations with his neighbors, have peace as their effect, as we read in Isaiah 32:17: “The work of justice shall be peace.”

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
Blessed are you that Weep, you shall laugh.

Other beatitudes

BEATITUDES

Do not suggest certain actions but correct dispositions and attitudes

BEATITUDES

They remain necessary in forming our will to choose the Good and turn to God

BEATITUDES

Indicate a way of life, a life that finds its full actualisation in God, the one true source of happiness

BEATITUDES

Not promises of instant rewards but invitations to adopt attitudes that lead to deep, lasting joy

BEATITUDES

They form our hearts to seek God above all and to love others with humility and justice

BEATITUDES

Focus on the heart, our dispositions

BEATITUDES

Each points beyond this world