Human Nature

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Human Nature

• Who am I?

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Nature

• Nature A things nature is its basic identity
  what kind of thing it is and what purpose and
  goal it has.
• quiddity the essential nature of a thing

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Human Nature

• Imagio Dei Humans are made in the likeness and
  image of God. (Genesis 126-27)

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• Read CCC 355 358 Each person read one
  paragraph.

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Truths about Humans

• Man is in the image of God
• Human Nature unites spiritual and material worlds
• Male and Female
• God and man were created in good standing

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What does this mean?

• Individually - Humans have free will and an
  intellect/reason. Also we have immortal souls.
• Communally We are made for relationships (Holy
  Trinity).
• Note Humans are not God but like Him.

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Understanding of a Human Being

• Immortal Souls
• Soul gives dignity
• Ability to search for Truth
• Comprised of both body AND soul
• Death temporarily separates body and soul
• We live in the world but we are made for heaven.
• (Our Moral Life in Christ pg. 20-21)

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HUMAN

• Harmed by Concupisence
• -original sin wounded human nature
• -still desire what is good but inclined to sin
  (its a battle!)
• Unity of body and soul
• -spiritual and immortal soul
• -has power to think (intellect) to choose and
  love (will)
• Made by God in his image? to love and be loved
• - made by God, for God
• - gives us our dignity
• Able to be healed and transformed by grace
  (sacraments) n
• -we can have new life because Christ delivered
  us
• iNtellect and will
• - intellect helps us to know what is right and
  wrong
• - will can choose

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Play!

• Play body, mind, soul (rock/paper/scissors)
• Loser now must follow the winner around in a
  train.
• Find a new partner to play.
• Repeat 2 and 3 until there is one winner.
• Body gt Mind
• Mind gt Soul
• Soul gt Body

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Fan and Pick

1. Fan out cards, do not let others see.
2. Reads the card aloud to person 3
3. Answers the question
4. Positive comment

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Body/Mind/Spirit

• What is a good way to fortify your body?
• K. What is a good way to challenge your mind?
• Q. What is a good way to enrich your spirit?
• J. Which do you need to work on in your life and
  how can you do that?
• 10. Give an example of someone who has all 3 in
  harmony. How do they live their life?
• 9. Can you tell if one of these goes out of
  balance? What happens in your life when this
  occurs?

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Capabilities

• Self Knowledge
• Free will
• Enter into communion with others
• Knowledge of God
• Love (willing the good of the other)
• No other creature can do this

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So now what?

• We have free will and can do anything we want.
• What is it that we want?
• Happiness
• What must you to do be happy?

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Round Robin

• Things that make YOU happy.
• Read CCC 1718

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Transcendentals

• Good
• True
• Beautiful

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Secret to Life

• To seek only what is good and live according to
  nature, purpose and end.
• To know, love and serve God and to be happy with
  Him in the next life!
• You have made us for Yourself, O Lord and our
  hearts are restless until they rest in you. St.
  Augustine of Hippo

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Understanding God

• Existence
• Trinity
• Nature
• Action

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Gods response to us

• Love Will the good of the other. God wants what
  is good for us. Love is more than just a feeling.
• Free Will The gift from God which includes the
  power of directions ones own actions without
  constrain. This makes possible the choice to
  love.
• Grace Free and unmerited favor of God given
  first of through all the sacraments. Grace is a
  share in the divine life infused into the soul by
  the Holy Spirit to heal from sin and to sanctify.
  

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Thinking Thursday

• If you can get down off a duck can you get down
  off an elephant?

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4 Loves

• Storge
• Phileo
• Eros
• Agape

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Our Response to God

• Leading lives of love and virtue while being open
  to his grace.

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Timed Rally Robin

• (Same as round robin but with a partner instead
  of your group)
• Why are rules/laws important?

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We might fancy some children playing on the flat
grassy top of some tall island in the sea. So
long as there was a wall round the cliffs edge
they could fling themselves into every frantic
game and make the place the noisiest of
nurseries. But when the walls were knocked
down, leaving the naked peril of the precipice,
they did not fall over . . . they were all
huddled in terror in the centre of the island
and their song had ceased. G.K. Chesteron
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Christian Morality

• Study of all rationale and deliberate acts which
  lead us toward or away from God and neighbor.
• - Morality is the proper way to respond to God
• - Moral Theology helps us understand and discern
  what is good and just.

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Vocabulary

• Morality The doctrine or system by which
  actions are judged to be good or evil. Morality
  looks to those human acts that impact the human
  person and affect his or her eternal destiny.
• Moral Theology The subset of theology that
  makes use of reason to offer practical judgments,
  under the guidance of divine revelation, in order
  to direct human acts towards their supernatural
  end God.

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Moral Theology

• Based up on Divine Revelation
• Scripture, Tradition provide us with information
• Beyond Human Reason but not against it
• Morality must always be understood within context
  of God. Pure reason alone is not enough.
• Compatible with natural Sciences
• Science is not embattled against Theology, they
  can go hand in hand.
• Recognizes and understand the dignity of the
  Human person.
• All persons, made in the image of God are due
  respect and love.

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Textbook

• 1. What the Moral Law is not
• 2. Characteristics of the Moral Law
• 3. Christian Morality in Action
• 4. Effects of the Moral Life in Christ
• 5. Personal Fruits of the Moral Life in Christ
• 6. Sources of Moral Theology

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Directions

• As a group
• Read your section individually/silently
• When everyone is done reading quietly going in a
  circle share one point (round robin)
• Everyone writes it down
• When all group are done come up with a secret
  group hand shake

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Directions Continued

1. Silently stand up
2. Hold up your hand to indicate which section your
   group did (1-5, 6- fist)
3. Find a partner from another group and get the
   information their group has compiled.
4. Share, Listen, Record. DO NOT COPY
5. Bid your partner farewell and repeat.
6. When all sections have been compiled sit down at
   your desk.

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• Meditation Monday Fruits from God
• In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love,
  joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity,
  faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against
  such there is no law.  Gal.5.22-23
• God is Spirit and He is bringing fruits to your
  life! When you spend time in His presence praying
  and meditating when you read the Holy Scriptures
  or go to the mass when you take communion - his
  Spirit is working in you, bringing wonderful
  fruits to you life.
• There are many different fruits you can bring in
  the Kingdom of God. Those described above are the
  fruits of your internal transformation. God is
  changing you when you spend time with Him! His
  Holy Word is filling your soul when you read it. 
• How in short we can describe those fruits? They
  are features of Gods character. If you are
  changed and people can see those fruits in your
  life, they can see God in you! As children of God
  we should manifest his character!
• It is one of our main aims to be like Him! And
  it is possible my dear! It is possible for the
  least important lay person, not only for
  religious people! It is possible for you and me.
  You can resemble Gods character, because God
  said so!

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Character Formation

• The totality of a person integrated around good
  or bad choices the summation of virtues and
  vices.
• How do we do this?
• Practice Virtue
• Gods Grace

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Character Formation

• Operatio sequitur esse. - Actions follow being.
  How we act is who we are.
• Consider someone who says one thing but does
  another. What do we call them?

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On your own

• Think about what you did this weekend. What would
  your actions say about you?

Are you happy with what your actions say about
you?
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• On a scrap piece of paper write what you watched
  this weekend? (movie, tv show, youtube etc.)
• No name, 1 scrap per thing you watched

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Examination of Conscience
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How to Develop Strong Moral Character

• Movement of the will
• - You must resolve to make a decision
• Practice good action
• - It can be difficult to always think about and
  do the good therefore it is necessary to repeat
  good actions.
• Grace
• - Recognize that we NEED Gods help in becoming
  better because of our brokeness.

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Consider
Daily Diet 2 glazed donuts 3 pancakes with
syrup 12 oz Sunny D 1 bag of Cheetos 2 McDoubles
1 Med. Fry 22 oz Coke 1 Snickers 1 Fried
Chicken Breast 1 Fried Chicken Leg 1 serving of
mashed potatoes 1 serving of canned corn 2 cups
Chocolate Icecream
What are the results of this diet after 1 day? 1
week? 1 month? 1 year? What do you feed your
minds?
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Wreview Wednesday

• Fan and Pick using flash cards
• Fan
• Pick and ask question
• Answer
• Check if correct ? Praise/Coach

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Role of Habit

• Habit a settled or regular tendency or
  practice, especially one that is hard to give up.
• Round Robin
• What are some habits (good or bad) that you have?

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Habits

• Can support or undermine good character.
• Habits make actions easier.
• Specific actions come form previous habits and
  attitudes.
• Habits in small matters can lead to virtue or
  vice in big matters.

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Virtue

• Habitual and firm disposition to do the good
• Or
• A good habit that leads us towards God.

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Round Robin

• Identify virtues
• 1 per person
• Continue in circle until I stop you
• The Golden Mean

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Theological Virtues

• The theological virtues dispose Christians to
  live in a relationship with the Holy Trinity.
  They have God for their origin, their motive, and
  their object - God known by faith, God hoped in
  and loved for his own sake. CCC 1840
• Faith
• Hope
• Love
• See also 1 Corinthians 1313

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Faith (1814-1816)

• Believing in God and all the he has revealed
• - Belief in Church teaching
• - Seek Gods will
• - Must be lived out
• - Profess and evangelize

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Exemplar of Faith

• Blessed Virgin Mary
• Her yes to being Mother of God.
• Immense trust in God despite not knowing.
• Suffered and still had faith.

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Exemplar of Faith

• Therese of Liseux
• Was having temptations of doubt.
• Wrote out the entire Apostles Creed.
• IN HER OWN BLOOD!

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Hope (1817- 1821)

• Trust in Gods goodness, mercy and power to save
  us.
• - Gives perspective in this world as we
  long long for the next.
• - The glory of God is known to those who have
  hope.

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Exemplar in Hope

• St. Monica
• Mother of St. Augustine
• Prayed unceasingly for the conversion of her
  family especially her son.

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Charity (1822-1829)

• Virtue by which love God above all things for his
  own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the
  love of God.
• - The New Commandment
• - Greatest of the 3 Theological virtues
• - All other virtues flow from it
• - The only Theological virtue in heaven

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Exemplar of Charity
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Exemplar of Charity

• Maximilian Kolbe
• Imprisoned by the Nazis and sent to Auchwitz.
• A young father and husband was chosen to be
  killed by the Nazis. Kolbe offered to switch
  places with the man.

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Thinking Thursday

• I am in heaven but not in hell.Im in the devil
  but not in god.Im in the river but not in the
  sea.
• What am I?

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Cardinal Virtues

• Cardinal comes form the Latin root cardo/cardin-
  which means hinge
• See Wisdom 87
• All other virtues hinge or pivot off these four
  virtues.
• Prudence
• Justice
• Fortitude
• Temperance

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Prudence (1806)

• Deciding the best thing to do and the proper way
  to do it.
• - The Charioteer or mother of all virtues.
• - It is the bridge between the intellect and
  will.
• - Discern reality ? make a decision ? act
  concretely.

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Exemplar of Prudence
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Justice (1807)

• Giving the other his due.
• - Worshipping and respecting God
• - Recognizing and upholding human rights
• - Promoting fairness and righteousness

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Fortitude (1808)

• Doing the right thing, especially when it is
  difficult.
• - Conquers fear, even death.
• - Resist temptations
• - Pursues the good no matter what

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Temperance (1809)

• Enjoying Gods gifts in moderation.
• - Allows for control over instincts and
  desire.
• - Frees us from the enslavement of our
  appetites.