Title: The Christian vocation
1The Christian vocation
CARAVAGGIO The Calling of Saint
Matthew 1599-1600 Oil on canvas, 322 x 340
cm Contarelli Chapel, San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome
2Compendium of the Catechism
- 362. What is eternal happiness?
- 1720-17241727-1729
- It is the vision of God in eternal life in which
we are fully partakers of the divine nature (2
Peter 14), of the glory of Christ and of the joy
of the trinitarian life. This happiness surpasses
human capabilities. It is a supernatural and
gratuitous gift of God just as is the grace which
leads to it. This promised happiness confronts us
with decisive moral choices concerning earthly
goods and urges us to love God above all things.
3Introduction
- The Catechism of the Catholic Church, when
teaching about the commandments, opens with the
beautiful title Life in Christ. - When teaching about the Creed (first part), it
describes the gifts given to man by God in
creation and more abundantly still in his
redemption. - When teaching about the sacraments (second part)
it shows how in the celebration of the mystery of
Christ we receive Gods grace, which through
baptism makes us participants in the divine
nature and sons of God. After baptism a new life
begins within us, life in Christ.
CARAVAGGIO The Calling of Saint Matthew (detail)
4Main ideas
51. Christ reveals who man is
- The Second Vatican Council teaches that Christ
fully reveals man to man himself and shows him
the greatness of his vocation (Gaudium et Spes,
22). - Christ, the Son of God made man perfect man,
sent by God the Father to save us and give us
example, is like a mirror in which man can know
who he is and what his divine vocation is.
Caravaggio (1571-1610) The Raising of Lazarus Oil
on canvas, 1608-1609 149 1/2 x 108 1/4 inches
(380 x 275 cm) Museo Nazionale, Messina
62. The meaning of life and the vocation of man
- Man has been created by God and is the only
creature on earth that God has loved for his own
sake. - The human person from the first instant of his
conception, has been ordained to eternal
beatitude. Man attains perfection, seeking and
loving truth and goodness. - We have been created by God, and the meaning of
life consists in walking towards God so as to
live forever with Him this is mans vocation.
LAURENT DE LA HIRE Moses and the Tablets of the
Law Private collection
73. To live in accordance with ones vocation
- Man has to live according to the vocation to
which he has been called by God he has to follow
the moral law inscribed by God himself in the
innermost part of his being, urging him to do
good and to avoid evil. - Everybody should follow this law, which speaks to
his conscience, because this law is universal and
immutable. - Christians know the way to obtain eternal
beatitude keep the commandments.
TERBRUGGHEN, Hendrick The Calling of St
Matthew 1621 Oil on canvas, 102 x 137 cm Centraal
Museum, Utrecht
84. Mans freedom
- But man is free and, since our freedom is weak,
man may obey or disobey Gods calling. - Freedom is at the root of human acts, and that
makes man responsible for his freely taken
decisions. - Although man by nature desires the good, because
of original sin, human nature, in the exercise of
freedom, is subject to error and inclined towards
evil. - So while we have to love and defend freedom, we
also have to guide it so that it becomes the
freedom that Christ won for us.
REGNAULT, Jean Baptiste 1784-95 Freedom or
death Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany
95. Mans vocation
- The death of Christ on the Cross has freed man
from the devil and sin, and has won for all men
new life in the Holy Spirit. By his grace,
Christ has restored what sin had destroyed. He
has traced the path that has to be followed by
his disciples, so as to be united and identified
with him. There is no other way. - Through union with Christ one reaches the
perfection of charity, the sanctity to which all
men have been called.
FETI, Domenico (1589-1623) Moses before the
Burning Bush Oil on canvas, 1613-1614 66 1/8 x 44
inches (168 x 112 cm) Kunsthistorisches Museum,
Vienna
106. The vocation of man to happiness
- Besides wanting us to be holy, God wants us to be
happy even if, while as pilgrims in this world,
we have to carry the cross, which is the
condition of Christian existence. - This paradox can be seen in the beatitudes, where
Jesus teaches what the real goods are. We are
heirs to the kingdom of God, and our true and
complete happiness will be fulfilled in seeing
God, and resting with Him.
MEYER, Conrad The Last JudgementPrivate
Collection
117. Christ, beginning and goal of all life
- Christ, Lord of the cosmos and of history, is for
men, the way, the truth and the life (John 14,
6). Being God, he is the creator of the universe
and sustains it with his powerful word. As man,
he is the only redeemer of the world, because
there is no other through whom we may be saved. - If you know Christ you know everything, if you
ignore Christ you know nothing - In our times man has a special need to seek and
find Christ - "Christ is the hope of all men, because Christ is
the love that loves, the path to walk on, the
light to be kindled, the love worth been loved "
(Mother Teresa of Calcutta).
DA FORLI, Merlozzo (1438-1494) Triumphant
Christ Fresco transferred to canvas,
1481-1483 Private collection
12Resolutions for Christian life
13Resolutions to move forward
- Meditate on the words of Saint Leo the Great
Christian, acknowledge your dignity, and draw
out its consequences for you personally. - Study eagerly this course on catechesis, not just
to know what living in Christ means, but also to
put it into practice. - Since most people ignore Christ, make a
resolution to seek Christ, so as to know and love
him.