chapter 17: epilogue: living the christian life our moral life in christ

Chapter 17: Epilogue: Living the Christian

LifeOUR MORAL LIFE IN CHRIST

ANTICIPATORY SET Discuss how 1 John 1:1-4, the beginning of St. John’s first letter, describes a personal encounter with Jesus Christ.

1. The Imitation of Christ and Encounter with Christ (pp. 402-404)

BASIC QUESTIONS What does imitation of Christ mean? How can we personally encounter Christ today?

KEY IDEAS The Christian vocation is a call from God to each

individual to imitate Christ by living according to his moral perspective and example.

The Christian vocation is the result of a free, personal encounter with Christ, whom we get to know through the Church and the Sacraments.


GUIDED EXERCISE

Think/Pair/Share on the following question: Why would simply growing a beard, wearing a robe

and sandals, eating first‑century food, not owning anything, and traveling around the country preaching not be adequate ways of imitating Christ?


FOCUS QUESTIONS What is morality? Morality is the principles of right conduct. What kind of morality is Christian morality? It is a morality of love as taught by Jesus Christ.


FOCUS QUESTIONS Why is Christian life a vocation? It is a call from God. What is necessary for the Christian’s vocation to flourish? It is necessary to say “yes” to God’s call.


FOCUS QUESTIONS What does imitation of Christ mean? It means to live according to Christ’s moral perspective and example. How is every Christian “another Christ”? Christ dwells in the soul of each Christian through Baptism and helps the Christian turn to him and act more like him.


GUIDED EXERCISE

Perform a focused reading on the three paragraphs that begin, “How is it possible for us…” (p. 404) using the following question. How is it possible for us personally to encounter

Christ today?


FOCUS QUESTIONS How is the Christian life different from learning a skill? The Christian life and morality are not merely exercises that reach perfection through practice; they require God’s grace. What are the normal ways through which Christ and the Holy Spirit act? They act through the Christian’s prayer and the transforming grace of the Sacraments (particularly the Eucharist and Penance).


FOCUS QUESTIONS What is the essence of Christ’s life, which we are to imitate? Christ became a servant even to the point of giving himself on the Cross. What is the first step in the Christian life? It is an encounter with Christ, who comes seeking us.


FOCUS QUESTIONS What is the role of freedom in the Christian vocation? Each person can freely choose to accept or reject the divine call. Why would it be wrong to say that the Christian vocation is simply an invitation to live according to a philosophy? The Christian vocation is based on a personal relationship with Christ, not a set of philosophical precepts.


HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Workbook Questions 1-4 Read “The Spiritual Life of a Christian” through

“Conclusion” (pp. 405-408)


CLOSURE Free write for five minutes, summarizing the main ideas of this lesson.


ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Revisit 1 John 1:1-4 and free write on the following: In what ways does this passage exemplify the two Key

Ideas of this lesson (1) that the Christian vocation is a call from God to each individual to imitate Christ, living according to his moral perspective and example, and (2) that the Christian vocation is the result of a free, personal encounter with Christ, whom we normally get to know through the Church and the Sacraments?


ANTICIPATORY SET Incorporate into the opening prayer Christ’s reaffirmation of St. Peter’s vocation as chief pastor of the Church in John 21:1-19.

2. The Spiritual Life of a Christian and the Universal Call

to Holiness (pp. 405-409)

BASIC QUESTIONS Of what does the Christian life basically consist? What is the universal call to holiness?

KEY IDEAS The spiritual life of a Christian can be summarized as

knowing God, loving God, and serving God. We know God through Sacred Scriptures and Sacred

Tradition as taught by the Catholic Church. Loving God means loving our neighbor as Christ has loved us. Love of neighbor shows itself in sacrificial service. Every person is called to holiness through an interior life

united to God through his Church and concretized in our daily lives.



GUIDED EXERCISE Mini‑lecture on how the Catechism of the Catholic Church is organized, using the table of contents.



GUIDED EXERCISE Review the corporal and spiritual works of mercy and brainstorm ways you can live these works in your everyday lives.



FOCUS QUESTIONS What are two kinds of religious truths that we can gain by reason alone? We can know the existence of God and the principles of the moral law. How is it possible to attain the fullness of knowledge of God and morality? It can only be revealed by God, something he has done first through his Chosen People and finally through his Son, Jesus Christ.



FOCUS QUESTIONS How can the spiritual life of a Christian be summarized? It can be summarized as knowing God, loving God, and serving God. Where does the journey of the spiritual life begin and end? It begins in this life and culminates in eternal life with God in Heaven. Why does knowing God come first on the Christian journey? We must get to know a person before we can love him or her, and we must love a person before we can truly serve him or her.



FOCUS QUESTIONS How do we know if we love God according to John 14:15? We keep his Commandments. Why must our love for God be shown in deeds or works? If we do not make it concrete through actions, our love is only philosophical or theoretical.



FOCUS QUESTIONS What is the greatest and most basic of Christ’s commands? We should love one another as Christ has loved us. Why did Christ wash his disciple’s feet at the Last Supper? He gave an example of service that the leaders of his Church must follow.



FOCUS QUESTIONS What was the ultimate expression of Christ’s service? He died on the Cross. “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (Jn 15:13). What is the relationship between works of service and salvation? Salvation comes from God’s grace. We hold on to and complete the holiness God gives us through our works of service.



FOCUS QUESTIONS What did the lawyer want to know with certainty? He wanted to know whom the Law obligated him to love and whom he was allowed to hate. What answer did Christ give the lawyer through the Parable of the Good Samaritan? Every person is our neighbor, so we ought to love every person. Why is it difficult for us to love God and neighbor? It is difficult because of the wounds of Original Sin.



FOCUS QUESTION What teaching office did Christ establish? He granted divine authority to his Apostles and entrusted them with transmitting his salvific message to all nations. This authority has been passed down to their successors, the bishops. The teaching office of the Church is referred to as the Magisterium.



FOCUS QUESTION What was Christ’s threefold response to the young man? First, “No one is good but God alone” (Lk 18:19); second, “If you would enter life, keep the commandments” (Mt 19:17); and third, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” (Mt 19:21).



FOCUS QUESTIONS What did Christ mean by saying, “Only God is good”? He meant only a total union with God can satisfy the longing of the human heart. What is interior life? It is a life of prayer, nourished by the Sacraments, in communion with the Church.



FOCUS QUESTIONS How does a life of holiness affect our daily lives? It transforms the ordinary things of life because they are all ways of loving God and serving our neighbor. How do we know that there is a universal call to holiness? Christ said, “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48).



FOCUS QUESTIONS What is holiness according to Vatican II? It is the fullness of Christian life and the perfection of charity. How did the early Christians live the call to holiness? “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42).



FOCUS QUESTIONS Put into modern language, how did early Christians live the call to holiness? They prayed and attended Mass together, were united to the Pope and bishops, and adhered to the Magisterium of the Church. What is the connection between holiness and happiness? Holiness unites us to God and is the way to achieve true happiness.



FOCUS QUESTIONS What is the purpose of keeping the Commandments in the Christian life? The Ten Commandments are not ends in themselves but means of seriously following Christ. They lead a person toward the fullness of Christian love. What does, “If you would be perfect, go, sell all what you possess and give to the poor and you will have treasure in Heaven, and come follow me” mean? Christ himself is eternal life, which can only be reached through a total gift of self to God through one’s whole heart, mind, and strength.



HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Workbook Questions 5-9 Read “Christian Morality” (#1-5) (pp. 410-412)



CLOSURE Write a paragraph in which they summarize what it means to know, love, and serve the Lord.



ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Free write on how Christ’s dialogue with the young man relates to the universal call to holiness.



ANTICIPATORY SET Review the first paragraph of this section, beginning “Now that you have completed…” (p. 410) to understand the purpose of the next two lessons.

3. Program of Christian Morality (part one) (pp. 410-412)

BASIC QUESTIONS What is our purpose in life? How do we achieve true happiness? How do we know the will of God? How does God reveal his law? How did Christ perfect the moral law given through the

prophets?

KEY IDEAS Our purpose in life is to share divine life with God in Heaven. We achieve true happiness by living in personal friendship with

God. We know God’s Law through a properly formed conscience. God revealed the fullness of the Law in the Person of Jesus

Christ. Christ perfected the moral law with the law of love.


FOCUS QUESTIONS Why did God create us? He created us to share in his divine life and, in doing so, to enjoy eternal happiness. What is the happiness God destines for us? He desires the happiness of genuine friendship with God, i.e., the friendship of being a son or daughter.


GUIDED EXERCISE

Work with a partner to review the excerpt from Plato’s Republic cited in Chapter 16 (p. 394) and relate what Socrates said to what Paul said in Romans 2:14-16 (p. 411).


FOCUS QUESTION How does St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans show that every person has a conscience, which is in relationship with God? St. Paul said that when the Gentiles obeyed the moral law, they showed that what the Law required was written in their hearts. Their consciences accused or excused them based on their actions.


FOCUS QUESTION How do we know the will of God? We know it through a properly formed conscience. How do we properly form our consciences? We inform our consciences in accordance with Divine Revelation given by Jesus Christ and transmitted by the Church.


GUIDED EXERCISE Perform a focused reading of the paragraph beginning, “Through the Incarnation…” (p. 410): How has God made himself accessible to mankind

in the Incarnation?


FOCUS QUESTIONS What did Christ do in relation to the Ten Commandments? Christ did not abolish the law but came to perfect it. Where is the perfection of the Law found? It is found in Sacred Scripture, primarily in the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes.


HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Read “Christian Morality” (#6-10) (pp. 412-415)


CLOSURE Summarize in one paragraph the five points of this lesson.


ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Free write for five minutes on the point in this chapter that was the most difficult for you to understand or to live.


ANTICIPATORY SET Complete the following table to review yesterday’s lesson.

4. Program of Christian Morality (part two) (pp. 412-415)

BASIC QUESTIONS Why do we need to educate our consciences? How do we exercise our freedom wisely? What kind of love is demanded for those who are children of God? How is this new commandment of love put into practice? What do we accomplish by following the Law of Christ?

KEY IDEAS We need to educate our consciences so as to make decisions

based on the best possible criteria, God’s Law. We exercise our freedom wisely by freely conforming our will to

the will of God. God wants his children to love everyone, beginning with those

naturally closest to us but including even those difficult to love. We put the new commandment of love into practice by first

embracing it and then living out its demands day by day. By following the Law of Christ, we experience a foretaste of

Heaven on earth and will possess eternal happiness in Heaven.


FOCUS QUESTIONS Is it possible to separate love of God and neighbor? No. It is impossible to love God and hate one’s neighbor. Extension: It is probably also impossible to hate God and love neighbor. According to the New Testament, what is the relationship between love and good works? Our interior attitude of love of God and neighbor must be reflected in our external actions. Therefore, our good works reflect our love of God and neighbor.


FOCUS QUESTION What is the natural hierarchy of love? It is natural that we first love those closest to us—parents, brothers and sisters, relatives, friends, classmates, and so on. We cannot truly live as followers of Christ if we do not show love and consideration to those who are intimately connected to our lives.


FOCUS QUESTIONS How did Adam and Eve exercise their freedom? They used it to lose their friendship with God and to introduce sin and suffering into the world. Why is freedom necessary to friendship, including friendship with God? For friendship to have value, we must enter into it freely. How are Christians recognizable? They love their neighbors.


GUIDED EXERCISE Perform a focused reading on the paragraph beginning, “Considering all the human suffering…” (p. 413): Is freedom truly worth it?


GUIDED EXERCISE Think/Pair/Share on the following question: Why does following God’s will make us free?


GUIDED EXERCISE Work with a partner to summarize the relationship between conscience and the moral law.


FOCUS QUESTIONS What is integrity of life? The life of a Christian must be a unified whole reflecting in deeds the faith that exists in the heart. Is it possible to live integrity of life? Yes. Even though it means carrying our own crosses, God will help us with grace.


FOCUS QUESTIONS What is the relationship between the Law and joy? Obedience to the moral law will result in eternal happiness with God. Even on earth, obedience to the moral law gives a joyful foretaste of Heaven. What do we accomplish by following the Law of Christ? We receive a foretaste of Heaven on earth and ultimately eternal union with God.


FOCUS QUESTIONS What does conscience do? It allows us to discern good from evil. How did the criteria of good and evil shift after the Fall? Adam and Eve moved the criteria of good and evil from God’s standard to their own.


FOCUS QUESTIONS How does concupiscence warp our own understanding of good and evil? Concupiscence makes us want to make ourselves the center of moral truth. What is the logical extreme of our desire to be our own arbiters of good and evil? It is moral relativism, which denies the existence of moral law and makes the individual the only standard for deciding right and wrong.


FOCUS QUESTIONS Why is the Church the best place to educate our consciences? Christ gave the Church the fullness of Revelation, guaranteeing that his truth would be transmitted in its entirety and without error. Is a well‑formed conscience enough for us to follow the moral law? No. In our weakened condition, we also need God’s grace.


FOCUS QUESTION What is the fullness of love in this life? We must love our enemies, the poor, the sick, the homeless, and the imprisoned. It is in our love for those who are difficult to love that we conform our lives and our hearts to Christ.


FOCUS QUESTIONS What kind of love is demanded of children of God? Love for everyone, especially those who are difficult to love. What is the first thing we must do to put the new Commandment of Love into practice? We must first say “yes” to it.


HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Read “Vocations in the Christian Life” (pp. 416-

418)


CLOSURE Complete the following table to summarize the five points of today’s lesson.


ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Free write for five minutes on the point in this chapter that you find the most difficult to understand or to live.


ANTICIPATORY SET Read aloud the quote from Lumen Gentium (p. 416), and then discuss the following question: What is the general vocation of every Christian?

5. Vocations in the Christian Life (pp. 416-418)

BASIC QUESTIONS What is the general vocation of every Christian? What are some organizations through which many of

the laity live out their vocations? KEY IDEAS The general vocation of every Christian is holiness. Many of the laity live out their vocations through the

consecrated life, societies of apostolic life, third orders, lay ecclesial movements, personal prelatures, military ordinariates, and associations of the faithful.


GUIDED EXERCISE Discuss the following questions: What is the universal call to holiness? How can a person recognize his or her specific

vocation?


FOCUS QUESTIONS Who calls the followers of Christ? God calls them. What does the word vocation mean? From the Latin to call, it is God’s call to each person. What are the three evangelical counsels of the consecrated life? They are poverty, chastity, and obedience.


GUIDED EXERCISE Mini‑lecture on the topic of the universal call to holiness.


GUIDED EXERCISE Work with a partner to do a bullet‑point summary of the first three paragraphs on page 416 (“The Second Vatican Council… to the Consecrated Life”). Then free write on the implications of the statement in the excerpt from Lumen Gentium that reads, the baptized “truly become sons of God and sharers in the divine nature” for you.


FOCUS QUESTIONS In what do religious orders have their origin? Their origin is in the monasticism of the early Church. What are some of the works performed by members of societies of apostolic life? Members perform missionary activities, charity, social work, education, and health care.


FOCUS QUESTIONS How do members of third orders differ from those consecrated to the orders to which they are attached? They do not live in community, and they live the charism of the orders in the world. Whose teachings and example serve as an example for members of lay ecclesial movements? The founder of each movement provides the teachings and example.


CLOSURE Free write for five minutes about the universal call to holiness.


ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Discuss the following questions: Which organizational structure in this lesson do you

think best fits the modern world? Which organizational structure do you think provides

the most stability for its members?


THE END

chapter 17: epilogue: living the christian life our moral life in christ

Documents

imitation of christ

jesus christ

christ dwells

christian vocation

christian morality

personal encounter

christian life chapter

christian turn