Christian Life Formation
Life and Death
● Resurrection- Is the event told about in the Bible in which dead people will be brought back to life
before the day of final judgment.
● Resuscitation- Would mean that Jesus was simply brought back to life and then resumed to live a normal life
within the confines of the current laws of nature Difference of Resurrection and Resuscitation
● One particular example of resuscitation is the raising of Lazarus by Jesus as narrated in the Gospel of John
11. This means that though Lazarus continues to live on earth, he will still die and be resurrected. On the other
hand, when Jesus rose from the dead, it is called resurrection for he conquers death and opens the gates of
heaven for us.
● “Talitha, koum” means “Little girl, I say to you, arise!” Why do we believe in the resurrection of the "body"?
● The biblical word "flesh" characterizes man in his weakness and mortality. Nevertheless, God does not
regard human flesh as something inferior. God does not redeem man's spirit only; he redeems him entirely,
body and soul. Eternal Life
● Eternal life begins with Baptism. It continues through death and will have no end.
Sacraments of Healing
1. Anointing of the Sick- This helps unite those who are suffering with Jesus' saving and healing power.
Through this sacrament people receive forgiveness for their sins and comfort in their suffering; they are
restored in spirit; and sometimes they even experience the return of physical health.
2. Reconciliation- The faithful are absolved from sins committed after baptism and reconciled with the Christian
community. During reconciliation mortal sins must be confessed and venial sins may be confessed for
devotional reasons.
Person and Community
● Levite- Member of a group of clans of religious functionaries in ancient Israel who apparently were given a
special religious status, conjecturally for slaughtering idolaters of the golden calf during the time of Moses.
● Samaritan- Member of a community of Jews, now nearly extinct, that claims to be related by blood to those
Jews of ancient Samaria who were not deported by the Assyrian conquerors of the kingdom of Israel in 722
bce. Person
Inviolability of every Human Being
● The word person has its roots in the Greek wordProsopon.
● Originally prosopon refers to the mask that is worn by actors in a theater play. Max Scheler (a Catholic
thinker) says that the very first truth that is given importance in the notion of “person” is uniqueness and depth.
Truth about being Human:
● Inherent - Person is being made in the Image and likeness of God .
● Inviolable- Person has dignity because of the Paschal Mystery done by Jesus Christ.
● Inalienable- Person’s value and dignity is a gift coming from the truth that she is the dialogue partner of God.
● The uniqueness of every human person finds expression in the ability of each human being to utter the
words, “I am.” I AM AN IMAGO DEI.
● IDENTITY-NEPHESH-SPIRIT- Is to mean what endures in a human person even beyond death and can only
be awakened in the depth of a human person in love and truth (GOD). Equal Worth of Human Being
● “Being You” can also be described in a community where you belong. “No man is an island.” The depth of
this dialogue is kept in the interpersonal encounter between an “I and you” relationship.
● Self-Care or loving others is to be dignified in one’s self-worth and value. Building positive relationships
allows us to know that each and every human being is worth the respect and
recognition of equal worth and dignity. Self-care and Fidelity will result in a higher virtue
which is Justice.
Community
● Communities- Are made up of individuals, familial units, services, organizations, and institutions. The various
communities to which we belong influence who we are socially and psychologically.
● A social-justice oriented community aims to build a community that values all members equally, listens to all
voices, acknowledges differences among community members and nonmembers, recognizes commonalities
among community members and nonmembers, shares resources equally, members of a community help each
other, and collectively seeks to remedy injustices. Complex Relationships
● St. John Paul II consistently tells us that a human person only finds fullness in her network of relationships.
The self finds the best version of herself in full participation in the community. Network of Communications
● The human person then finds herself always already in a community. The self is only self before a non-self.
This ability to say “I am” is therefore meaningful as given space in the hearing of another who communicates
with the self. The lifelong effort to build up who one wants to be is always made in the presence of other
human persons. The self of the human person is mediated by her use of language.
Teaching of St. Augustine
● It is short on regulations and ascetic advice because Augustine focused on getting right the foundation of
community life, accepting that the details would be worked out if the essential pattern was securely in place.
● "The whole group of believers was of one mind and one heart. No one claimed any of his possessions as his
own, but everything was held in common." Upon this passage from the New Testament, the Rule of Augustine
established that the community must live in harmony, "being of one mind and heart on the way to God."
Third Encyclical of Pope Francis
● If we want to encounter and help one another, we have to dialogue. There is no need for me to stress the
benefits of dialogue. I have only to think of what our world would be like without the patient dialogue of the
many generous persons who keep families and communities together. Unlike disagreement and conflict,
persistent and courageous dialogue does not make headlines, but quietly helps the world to live much better
than we imagine.
● All men are called to the same end: God himself. There is a certain resemblance between the unity of the
divine persons and the fraternity that men are to establish among themselves in truth and love. Love of
neighbor is inseparable from love for God. The human person needs to live in society. law and Grace
● The great commandment- The 10 Commandment are fulfilled in Jesus’ Great Commandment: “You shall
love..God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. You shall love your
neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:30-31)
● The new commandment- “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another”
(John 13:34) Hierarchy of Law
1. Divine Law- Which is enacted by God and made known to man through revelation. We distinguish between
the Old Law, contained in the Pentateuch, and the New Law, which was revealed by Jesus Christ and is
contained in the New Testament. The Divine Law of the Old Testament, or the Mosaic Law, is commonly
divided into civil, ceremonial, and moral precepts.
2. Moral Law- A work of divine Wisdom. It prescribes the ways and the rules of conduct that lead to the
promised beatitude and it forbids the ways that turn away from God.
3. Natural Law- Which is inscribed by the Creator on the heart of every person consists in a participation in the
wisdom and the goodness of God. It expresses that original moral sense which enables one to discern by
reason the good and the bad.
4. Old Law- Permitted one to know many truths which are accessible to reason, showed what must or must not
be done and, above all, like a wise tutor, prepared and disposed one for conversion and for the acceptance of
the Gospel.
5. New Law- Proclaimed and fulfilled by Christ, is the fullness and completion of the divine law, natural and
revealed. It is summed up in the commandment to love God and neighbor and to love one another as Christ
loved us. It is “the law of freedom” because it inclines us to act spontaneously by the prompting of charity. The
Relation between Grace and Free Will
● A law of grace, because it confers the strength of grace to act, by means of faith and the sacraments; a law
of freedom, because it sets us free from the ritual and juridical observances of the Old Law, inclines us to act
spontaneously by the prompting of charity.
