Compiled ReEd 1 - A (For 1st Sem 2018-19)

MODULE 1: UNIT 1 – THE HCDC VISION-MISSION STATEMENT AND SPIRITUALITY
LESSON 1: THE HCDC VISION-MISSION GOAL STATEMENT
I – Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this lesson, the students shall:
1. discuss the HCDC VMG Statement and its Core Values
2. Recite HCDC VMG Statement and sing the HCDC Hymn
3. explain the Catholic identity of HCDC in its formation program in Religious Education
4. design a 4-year doable action plan on how to live the core Values of HCDC.
II – Instructional Sequence
A. Share (Activity)
1. Video Clip: Nick VuJicic Motivational Video – “Never Give Up” (8:04 min.)
2. From the Video Answer the following:
a. What does the video tell you about?
b. How do you apply the message of the video to your life?
B. Heed (Individual Ponderings/Group Sharing)

1. What is your greatest dream in life? Why?
2. How will you fulfill your greatest dream?
3. Who are involved to realize your greatest dream?
4. Are there foreseen difficulties or conflicts that may come along the way of realizing your dream?
Vision-Mission Statement in General: Meaning

A Vision-Mission Statement is all about ideals and commitment. It is a blueprint declaration of the ideals, commitment and
goals of an individual, community or institution based on a reality. It is a guide for day-to-day operations and the foundation
for strategic planning and future decision making. It serves as the life-blood, energy or force that makes all members in a
system alive and actively participates in all tasks in the achievement of the life’s purpose of community, institution or society.
a. Four Aspects of a Vision-Mission Statement: The Southeast Asian Interdisciplinary Development Institute-
Organizational Planning System (SAIDI-OPS) lays out the four aspects of a Mission Statement namely:
1. Vision is defined as the ideal situation or the desired future condition. This refers to the dream, aspiration or
ideal that gives an individual, movement, or an organization a reason to live or a reason for being (raison
d’etre). A Vision is a positive articulation of the desired future condition. It serves as guiding star or direction
of an individual, movement or organization. It necessitates a lifetime process of achieving. Moreover, it may
not even be attained in a life time. It is expressed in a noun phrase.
2. Mission refers to the commitment that is a personal investment that would continuously challenge the
individual, movement, or an organization to achieve the vision. This commitment may be in the form of beliefs,
values, conviction, principles, or virtues. It is expressed in an infinitive phrase.
3. Goal spells out the thrust which the individual, movement, or organization takes in order to respond to the
needs in solution to the problems. It is a change that an organization, movement, or individual introduces into
itself to respond to the needs and thereby realizes the vision. The Goal is characterized as time bounded,
changeable and abstract but less abstract than vision and mission. and It is expressed in an infinitive phrase.
4. Objectives refer to the target accomplishment to achieve the goal. They are goals in operation. In other
words, they translate the goal into operational terms and actions. They are expressed in infinitive phrases.
b. Characteristics of a Good Mission Statement:
A good mission statement is simply characterized by the following:
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a) A Mission Statement should be no less than a single sentence long.

b) A Mission Statement should easily be understood by a twelve-year-old.
c) A Mission Statement can be recited by memory even at gunpoint.
C. Understand Content Discussion
THE HCDC VISION-MISSION STATEMENT (Short Version)
The Holy Cross of Davao College through the years has wrestled with the changing demands of times and challenges of
quality catholic education. These challenges cannot and should not deter its direction as an academic institution.
1. The two Pillars of the HCDC Vision-Mission Statement
HCDC survived with the odds and ordeals for quality Catholic education since its establishment in 1951 (cf. Students’
Handbook pp.7-9) and had grown into what it is now. The School’s existence is grounded into two strong pillars, the Mission
of Jesus which is Salvation and the Mission of the Church which is also a proclamation of Salvation to all strata of society.
In her essence, HCDC cannot separate itself from the Mission of Jesus which Salvation that He entrusted to the Church
because as a Catholic institution, HCDC is a potent means of the missionary activity of the Church, the mission of
evangelization.
In the year 2012, the HCDC Board of Trustees approved the short version of the Vision-Mission Statement containing the
Vision, Mission, Goal and its Objectives stated as follows:
The Holy Cross of Davao College is a community of Christ-centered evangelizers educated in the faith
and animated by the passion for truth, justice, peace and service.
As members of this Filipino, Archdiocesan, educational Institution, we commit ourselves
 To promote quality Catholic education to all, especially the less fortunate, and
 To create through dialogue a Christian environment for the integral formation of
persons who will be effective agents of social transformation.
2. HCDC’s Vision: A Community of Christ-Centered Evangelizers
In 2013, Msgr. Julius C. Rodulfa, the HCDC president, wrote an explanation on the HCDC Vision-Mission Statement
contained in his booklet “Catechesis on the Vision-Mission Statement.” This booklet is a supplementary material for better
discussion and understanding on the HCDC-VMG Statement. Rodulfa, 2013 explained Key-points in the HCDC VM
Statement one would capture how HCDC envisions a desired future condition as “A community of Christ-centered
Evangelizers” A community is defined as a body of people having common organization or interest or living in the same
place under the same laws.
The concept of the community in the Vision of HCDC is strongly grounded on the principle of community formed by Jesus
Christ, the First Christian Community, which the believers of Jesus today considered as the IDEAL COMMUNITY. The first
Christian community lived the true spirit of a community which imbibed the vision of Jesus as a restoration of the life of the
Community of Yahweh in the Old Testament, the “Qahal Yahweh”, which was made into a holy nation in Mt. Sinai. The
experience of the first Christian community is recorded by the Acts of the Apostles 2:44-47
“Now all the believers lived together and shared all their belongings. They would sell their property and all they had and
distribute the proceeds to others according to their need. Each day they met together in the temple area; they broke
bread in their homes; they shared their food with great joy and simplicity of heart; they praised God and won the people’s
favor.”
The spirit of this community formed by Jesus must be the guiding star of HCDC’s journey as a catholic institution whose
main commitment is to become a potent means of Church’s missionary activity. As Msgr. Rodulfa stated, as Christ-centered
Evangelizers, HCDC community participates in and makes an important contribution to the Church’s work of Evangelization.
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3. HCDC’s Mission
HCDC’s great commitment centered mainly on two aspects:
a. To promote quality Catholic Education to all, especially the less fortunate
Catholic means universal, and education means the process facilitating learning. This implies that the school’s commitment
is intended for genuine development of the whole person with special attention to the weakest and the less fortunate. This
quality Catholic Education is to serve what is best for students in terms of spiritual, intellectual, emotional, moral, cultural,
social and physical formation (Rodulfa, 2013, pp.8-12).
b. To create a Christian Environment
The HCDC’s commitment to create a Christian Environment is heeding a Gospel command which makes HCDC not only a
social institution but a theologically founded one (Rodulfa,2013. p.14). Dialogue is understood as an exchange of ideas or
opinions on a particular issue in the spirit of respect and harmony. This is vital in transforming society to become more
humane and peace-loving where everyone can breathe a freely a Christian life-giving spirit.
4. HCDC’s Core Values
From that Vision and mission, HCDC upholds to the Core values on: Truth, justice, peace, service and wisdom.
TRUTH Holy Crossian’s greatest achievement is discover the Truth and the person Jesus Christ.
JUSTICE Holy Crossian’sgreatest consciousness is always to be just and agent of justice in stewardship
PEACE Holy Crossian’s greatest inspiration is Peace, the person Jesus Christ, “Christ is our Peace.”
SERVICE Holy Crossian’s greatest responsibility is to be a servant-leader, a disciple of Jesus Christ.
WISDOM Holy Crossian’s greatest commitment is to establish proper relationship with God in Jesus Christ
5. Institutional Intended Learning Outcomes
In our commitment to the “integral formation of persons who will be effective agents of social transformation,” we intended
to graduates who are God-fearing, globally competitive and equipped with the 21st –century skills, namely, Life and Career,
Learning and Innovation (4Cs), Information, Media and Technology skills.
Hence, HCDC graduate is:
1) A “CROSSIAN CRITICAL THINKER”: one who insightfully discerns complex realities, accurately evaluates
evidences, interpreting them truthfully based on moral standards, and comprehensively seeks out both conventional
and innovative ways to solve a variety of non-familiar problems.
2) A “CROSSIAN INNOVATOR”: one who is aware of his own creativity and how it can contribute to the community,
maximizes creative efforts using a wide variety of techniques and approaches and is responsive to constructive
feedback with eagerness to learn from mistakes.
3) A “CROSSIAN INFOTECH SAVVY”: one who competently gathers and organizes information, critically analyzes
and evaluates them based on established moral criteria, and efficiently and effectively applies them, thereby
providing appropriate solutions to various needs.
4) A “CHRISTIAN ‘KENOSIS’ (selfless person)”: one who embraces with conviction the Christ-like character of
emptying one’s self in order to obediently follow the will of God (Maka-Diyos), to humbly seek the welfare of others
(Maka-Tao), to justly advance the interest of one’s country (Maka-Bayan) and to diligently take care of creation
(Maka-Kalikasan).
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5) A “CROSSIAN TEAM PLAYER”: one who consistently commits to personal and shared responsibilities,
constructively contributes ideas and resources to improves team efforts, generously assists others in their roles, and
harmoniously works with people with different viewpoints.
6) A “CROSSIAN EVANGELIZER”: one who listens reflectively, articulates thoughts and ideas effectively through
appropriate media and techniques, and communicates efficiently truths and values that are inspired by the Gospel.
THE RELIGIOUS EDUCATION PROGRAM IN THE HCDC-VMG
True to its Vision-Mission Statement, the Holy Cross of Davao College sees to it that it aligns itself to the evangelizing mission
of the Church, the proclamation of the Good News of Salvation through its priority program as a Catholic institution. Like any
other Catholic academic institution, HCDC upholds Religious Education as core subject in the college curriculum.
1. Religious Education
Religious Education is understood as catechesis in the school setting. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines
catechesis as “an education in faith” of children, young people and adults (CCC 5). Without doubt the Religious Education
in HCDC is a formal education in the Christian Faith in the School setting. It is by nature a formation program of the catholic
institution. It aims at bringing the believer into a personal encounter with the person of Jesus Christ (CT no. 5), the heart of
Catholic Education.
In HCDC, Religious Education is both a program and a course in the College Curriculum.
a) As a school program, Religious Education stands as the bearer of the Catholic identity of HCDC and allows the school
to fulfill the Church’s mission of integral evangelization with preferential option for the poor. (Student Handbook p.22) The
Religious Education Program is in communion with other entities of the institution like, Campus Ministry and Community
Extension Service to complete the three dimensions of faith life for the Christian formation of the young. Msgr. Julius Rodulfa
(2012) classified these entities under the Office of Integral Evangelization (OIE) (Integral Evangelization booklet p.3-6). The
Program always discerns how to know the faith, how to experience the faith and how to share the faith of the young people
to become informed, formed and transformed into a Christ centered evangelizers who are always shaping their lives into
integration of Gospel values to their daily life for transformation and renewal within the community of believers.
b) As a course in the tertiary curriculum, Religious Education is regarded as General Education Course (GEC) as
institutional requirement. In execution of the Catholic Church’s mandate urging the Catholic schools fulfill its role as means
of evangelization. It is treated as the core subject of the curriculum in the Catholic School as PCP II decrees, “Religious
Education as the core subject of the curriculum” in the Catholic academic institution (no. 369). It is designed according to the
mind and principles of the Church that are founded on the Sacred Scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC).
Thus it is intended for the total formation and personal development of a true Christian faithful as it molds him/her into person,
who knows the faith, lives the faith and professes the faith within the communion of the Church and society.
Following the CCC, the ReEd courses are offered in the curriculum as essential element to Christian Formation Program, as
follows:
Course Number Course Title
ReEd 101 Faith and Reason: Discerning God’s Actions in Human History
ReEd 102 God Among Us: Believing the Trinitarian God
ReEd 203 The Catholic Church: Valuing Her Identity and Mission
ReEd 204 Liturgy and Sacraments: Participating in the Divine Life
ReEd 305 Christian Morality: Knowing and Loving God
ReEd 306 Christian Prayer and Vocation: Deepening one’s Intimacy with God
2. The Catholic Schools and Religious Education

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The Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education waved the banner of the religious dimension of Education in a Catholic
School by emphasizing that:
“the overall mission of the Church is to evangelize for the interior transformation and the renewal of humanity. The special
character of the Catholic School, and the underlying reason for its existence, the reason why Catholic parents should prefer
it, is precisely the quality of Religious instruction integrated into the overall education in a catholic School.” (SCCE No. 66)
It is the identity of the Catholic schools to participate actively in the evangelizing mission of the Church by integrating religious
education as the core subject within their curriculum. The curriculum in Roman Catholic schools will build on the openness
of Catholic schools to young people regardless of denominations and faiths to become a principled person who will face the
challenging social realities of their own times.
3. Institutional Policies on Religious Education Courses:
All the Academic Program curricula bear the eighteen (18) units requirement of Religious Education subjects before the
student can graduate a four-year course. It is in principle understood that a bona fide student must enroll and attend one
ReEd subject in a semester until 18 units are completed. The Student Handbook (SH) states the following:
a. As a matter of policy, all students are required to enroll and attend . . . Religious Instruction. (SH p.39)
b. An Old Student MAY NOT BE ADMITTED to the College if he/she has dropped his/her ReEd subject (College
Student Handbook Rev. 2016 p.39)
4. Reinforcement on Policies for Admission:
Every student is advised to enroll one (1) ReEd Subject in a semester. ReEd 101 and 102 are prerequisites to all other ReEd
subjects. The remaining ReEd subjects i.e., ReEd 203, 204, 305, 206 shall be enrolled in a sequential order whenever
possible.
Any student who wishes to enroll two (2) ReEd subjects in a semester must seek an approval from the ReEd Program with
the recommendation of the academic program head.
a) Any student who would drop or add a ReEd subject during adding or dropping period must get an approval from
either the ReEd coordinator or the Chaplain
b) Transferee students from both Catholic and non-Catholic Colleges/Universities shall pass through the ReEd Office
for evaluation of the ReEd courses to be enrolled.
D. Believe Integration
a. College Life Project: (Write “a four-year Life Project” and state the reason must you achieve it.)
What do you want to achieve in your four-year stay in HCDC? Why you should do it?
What do you want to achieve? (doable action) Why must you achieve it?
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
b. Learn to Sing the HCDC Hymn:
c. Memorize of the HCDC VM Statement
III- Comprehensive Evaluation
Test l: Matching Type: Match the descriptions in column A with the terms in column B. On your paper, write only the letter
which corresponds to the letter of your answer.
Set A
_____ 1. It is the goals in operation Set A
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_____ 2. It is defined as the ideal situation or the desired future condition. A. Goals
_____ 3. It spells out the thrust which the organization or movement takes in B. Vision
order to respond to the needs in solution to the problems. C. Mission
_____ 4. It is a blueprint declaration of the ideals, commitment and goals of D. Objectives
an individual, community or institution based on a reality. E. Mission Statement
_____ 5. It refers to the commitment that is personal investment that would
continuously challenge each member to achieve the vision.
Set B
_____ 6. It is the Catechesis in the School Setting Set B
_____ 7. Its overall mission is to evangelize for the interior transformation and A. Community of Disciples
the renewal of humanity. B. Salvation
_____ 8. It is described as living all things in common in Acts 2:44. C. Church
_____ 9. It the original Mission of Jesus when He appeared on earth. D. Quality Catholic Education
_____ 10. The commitment of HCDC as academic institution. E. Religious Education
Test ll : True or False: Read each statement carefully to determine the truth and falsity of the idea expressed in the
statement. On your paper, write + if the idea expressed in the statement is true and if false, write 0.
______ 11. Achieving the mission is a lifetime process
______ 12. Objectives translate the goals in operational terms and actions.
______ 13. Goals are time bounded, changeable and less abstract than vision and mission.
______ 14. HCDC is subservient to the interests of the ruling elite at the service of the business world.
______ 15. Religious education is a formal education in Faith in the school setting with academic elements.
______ 16. The vision serves as the lifeblood of the institution especially Holy Cross of Davao College, Inc.
______ 17. Religious Education aims at bringing the catechized into a personal encounter with Jesus Christ, the heart of
Catholic Education.
______ 18. Catholic schools participate actively in the evangelizing mission of the Church by integrating religious
education as the core subject within their curriculum.
______ 19. The overall mission of the Church is to evangelize for the interior transformation and the renewal of humanity.
______ 20. HCDC dreams of becoming a global commercial center where everything can be bought by money and
everybody can shop at the top of their satisfaction.
Test III: Identification. Write your answer on the space provided before each item.
_______________________ 21. It is the blueprint declaration of the vision, mission, goals and objectives of an individual
or community or institution.
_______________________ 22. It is defined as a body of people having common organization or interest or living in the
same place under the same laws.
_______________________ 23. The term that refers to the one who insightfully discerns complex realities, accurately
evaluates evidences, interpreting them truthfully based on moral standards, and
comprehensively seeks out both conventional and innovative ways to solve a variety of
non-familiar problems.
_______________________ 24. What waved the banner of the religious dimension of Education in a Catholic School.
_______________________ 25. It refers to the Holy Crossian’s greatest responsibility to be a servant-leader, a disciple of
Jesus Christ.
Test IV: Enumeration: List down what is asked below.
26. The two pillars of HCDC VM Statement

a. ______________________________________________________
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b. __________________________________________________________
27. The four aspects of a Vision-Mission Statement
a. _________________________________________________________
b. _________________________________________________________
c. _________________________________________________________
d. _________________________________________________________
28. Identify the HCDC core values:
a. __________________________________________________________
b. ___________________________________________________________
c. ___________________________________________________________
d. ___________________________________________________________
e. ___________________________________________________________
29. The six intended learning outcomes of HCDC education
a. _________________________________________________________
b. _________________________________________________________
c. _________________________________________________________
d. _________________________________________________________
e. _________________________________________________________
f. _________________________________________________________
IV- Enrichment Exercises
Compose a Song using the texts of the Institutional Intended Learning Outcome.
MODULE 1: UNIT 1 – THE HCDC VISION-MISSION STATEMENT AND SPIRITUALITY
LESSON 2: THE HCDC SPIRITUALITY

I – Learning Outcome:
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At the end of this lesson, students:
1. discuss the Spirituality of the Cross as practiced in Stewardship

2. design a Plan of Action to live by
3. write a poem for the care of Mother Earth
A. Share (Activity)
a. Video Clip on ESWM, Water Disaster
b. Activity: Song Analysis: Song: WHO WILL SPEAK IF WE DON’T
B. Heed Testimony
Personal Experience: on typhoon Pablo or Vinta, flashfloods, earthquake, fire disaster, war or any man-made
calamity.
a. What natural calamity or man-made disaster you or your family experienced?
b. What word captures you wish to describe that experience? Why?
1. The Spirituality of a Holy Crossian
A faithful Christian Catholic always desires transformation. Any spiritual path that does not lead to a real transformation is
useless. At worst, we can fool ourselves into thinking we’re engaged in something deep when we’re engaged in nothing of
substance. A full-blooded Holy Crossian would surely ask, “Am I transformed?” Surely, cannot fool ourselves the fact, we
always search for spirituality that would transform us.
Spirituality may be understood in different manner but the simplest way to it is to understand it as a way of life or an
engagement with God as God has revealed himself in Jesus Christ. It also has to be grounded in a religious tradition. The
term spirituality refers to both a lived experience religious and academic discipline. For Christians, it means one’s entire life
as understood, felt, imagined and decided upon in relationship to God, self, others and nature in Christ Jesus empowered
by the Holy Spirit
2. The Spirituality of the Cross
The Catechism for Filipino Catholics (CFC no. 557-559) taught that the Cross is a symbol of saving love. The cross is the
glory of the Christians not because of the suffering that it brings but because of the Good News that it exalts. The Cross and
the resurrection are paired as one saving event in the life of Christians and it is the central teaching of Christian doctrine and
theology. The Cross of Jesus becomes the saving cross because of the sacrificial submission to offer His life for the Salvation
of all humanity, world and history. This also serves as the summit of the total life story of Jesus. Thus the way of life of a
Holy Crossian is a reflection of this way of life of Jesus Christ on the Cross who is triumphant over all forms of human evils.
Hence the HCDC community of Christ-centered Evangelizers upholds that the Spirituality of the Cross must always be
concretized in our daily life especially in the task of taking care of the property of God as Jesus did on earth.
The sign of the Cross:
The sign of the cross or in Latin, “signum crucis”, is the shortest prayer that a Christian does. It is a powerful sign that marks
us as children of God who have thrown off the slavery of Satan and embraced the Cross of Christ as the way to salvation.
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The Cross destroyed death and hell, and through it, Jesus redeemed the world. By make the sign of the cross, we
acknowledge that he has redeemed us, and that through baptism we have become the children of God.
Because the sign of the Cross is the mark of our redemption, Satan hates it. Demons flee from the sign of the cross when it
is devoutly made. St. Cyril of Jerusalem (AD 386), Bishop of Jerusalem, says the following of this powerful sign:
“Let us, therefore, not be ashamed of the Cross of Christ; but though another hide it, do thou openly seal it upon
thy forehead, that the devils may behold the royal sign and flee trembling far away. Make then this sign at eating
and drinking, at sitting, at lying down, at rising up, at speaking, at walking: in a word, at every act.”
In the sermon of St. Theodore, the Studite: Oratio in adorationem crucis: PG 99, 691-694, 695,698-99., He said:
“By the cross, death was slain and Adam was restored to life. The cross is the glory of all the apostles, the crown of
the martyrs, the sanctification of the saints. By the cross, we put on Christ and cast aside our former self. By the cross,
we, the sheep of Christ, have been gathered into one flock, destined for the sheepfolds of heaven.”
3. The Spirituality of the Cross is concretized in Stewardship
Stewardship is simply rooted on the truth of Creation with its Biblical basis on Genesis 1:1-2:4a and Genesis 2:1-15.
Christianity upheld on the belief that God is the owner of all things that everything is from God and it belongs to God. GOD
is THE CREATOR/TRUE STEWARD, God is the Source of all good things and He manifests Himself through the goodness
of His creation.
a. Human Person: Co-creator, Steward of God’s Creation
God set man and woman over the whole world, and he provided for their well-being and benefits (Genesis 1.28-30. He also
made them stewards of his creation. The Spirituality of Stewardship is a faithful adherence to the understanding that the
human person is created in the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:26-27), the human person is called to have an INTIMATE
relationship with God (Gen. 2:7), and he is called to TILL and CARE for GOD’S CREATION (Gen. 2:15). The human person
is called to be a faithful manager of what belongs to God and to others. The human person is therefore accountable to God,
the owner of all Gifts.
b. Jesus Christ: The True Steward
However, humans whom God has entrusted to take care of His creation failed to be a faithful manager of God’s beautiful
Creation (Gen. 3:1-24), Jesus committed to take a stand in the presence of His Father, He modeled to be the true Trustee
of God, He made Himself a Steward in His proclamation of the Reign-Kingdom of God, He defended life, humans, nature,
society against all forms of destruction even until death and Jesus invited us to follow Him (Jn. 21:15-19)
c. Stewardship as a Spiritual Practice (Gen. 1:28)
Stewardship is simply understood as a way of Life, a call to live a Holy life and a call to become a Mature Disciple of Jesus.
STEWARDSHIP is a Life style that depicts Who and What we are and what we believe. It is an expression of discipleship
with the power to change, understand and live out our lives.
Stewardship as a kind of Spirituality has a purpose of bringing us closer and to a greater awareness of God and to nurture
our relationship with him. It intends for us to cultivate our faith in God, so that we will make Him as the priority and focus of
our lives. As believers of God we have the responsibility to cultivate trust, so that will submit ourselves to God with confidence
that he will always provide for us and take care of us. With this trust, we then appreciate and be satisfied with all that he
gives us, and use God’s gifts for our own benefit prudently, for the good of others generously, and for God’s glory ultimately.
Presented below is a diagram of Spirituality of Stewardship:
Diagram of STEWARDSHIP
GOD IS THE OWNER OF ALL GOOD THINGS

“Everything is a Gift”
Human Person is. ... *Image & Likeness of God (Gen. 1:26 – 27)
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Therefore, stewardship is not a noun. This means, it is not just a concept to be thought of but stewardship is an action
word in which it is dead when it is not put into action. It is something that a believer of God has to live as a lifestyle.
D. Believe Steward in Action
Stewardship cannot be seen when it is not acted upon. Since Stewardship is a CALL, it is to be RESPONDED through
the simplest and doable actions in our daily living.
a. CONSERVATION means maximum utilization of resources both Human and material resources. This would
include budget optimization, minimization of expenses (Living according to Means), wise use of ENERGY –
putting off Lights when not in use and water conservation and many others which avert the truth that resources
are now depleted.
b. SIMPLE LIFESTYLE means to become contented with the art of living simply and to be content with the basic
needs without any color of complexities and luxuries. This invites everyone to live a life according to our means
with a simple art of financial management (Thrifty) and develop a culture of saving and sense of contentment.
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c. ECOLOGICAL ADVOCACY means that Holy Crossians are advocates to of the welfare of our one and only
home, the mother earth. Recognizing the great problem faced by the whole world, the Holy Crossians dreams of
a Zero waste environment and targets total waste management. This would mean segregation from the source
and development of 4Rs mentality (Recycle, Re-use, Reduce and Restore).
d. SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE refers to the intentional development of authentic Spiritual life and intimacy with God.
This would include values re–orientation according to God’s plan for us (likeness/ image of God), following the
sense of TAKING and GIVING, developing a lifestyle of sharing of time, talent and treasure, developing a sense
of commitment, consciousness of what is RIGHT and WRONG, developing a hunger for PRAYER. They are
called disciplines because they are to be done consciously and not out of natural intuition, we need to become
conscious in our choice to engage them.
e. CO-RESPONSIBILITY refers to ongoing realization of the spirit of ecclesial communion that is the fundamental
idea of the Vat. II documents. This will bring us to reality that the HCDC is an institution dreaming to become a
community where there is respect of the life and choices of others, the observance of fraternal correction for
transformation and renewal, thereby bringing others towards the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God and realizing
that we are co-journeyers in the life of faith.
These are just simple actions that will shape each Holy Crossian to a life pleasing to our God, the Source of all good things.
There are other concerns that will make everyone in the academe great in the spirituality of stewardship.
1. Plan of Action for Stewardship
Please fill in the table below by supplying the data in columns 2, 3 and 4 according to your personal capacity.
Column 1: Column 2: Column 3: Column 4:

Doable Areas Personal Stewardship Activity Time Frame Expected Outcome
1. Conservation
2. Simple Lifestyle
3. Ecological Advocacy
4. Spiritual Discipline
5. Co-Responsibility
Test l: Identification: Write the correct answer on the space provided before each item.
___________ 1. Who is referred to as someone who always desired transformation of life?
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___________ 2. What is understood as an engagement with God as God has revealed himself in Jesus Christ?
___________ 3. What is known as the glory of the Christians not because of the suffering that it brings but because of the
Good News that it exalts.
___________ 4. What is considered as a reflection of the way of life of Jesus Christ on the Cross?
___________ 5. What is taught as the shortest prayer that a Christian can do?
___________ 6. Who said that the demons would flee when a believer prayed the Sign of the Cross devotedly?
___________ 7. Who taught that by the cross, we, the sheep of Christ, have been gathered into one flock, destined for the
sheepfolds of heaven.”
___________ 8. Who is believed by the Christians as the owner of all good things in heaven, on earth and under the earth?
___________ 9. What is considered as a faithful adherence to the understanding that the human person is created in the
image and likeness of God?
__________ 10. Who is called as a faithful manager of what belongs to another, one who is accountable to the owner?
__________ 11. What kind of spirituality a Holy Crossian should live in relationship with Self, with others, with nature and
with God?
__________ 12. What is paired as one saving event in the Christian Faith?
__________ 13. Who is believed to be the True Steward who takes a stand on behalf of the Father?
__________ 14. What refers to the intentional development of authentic spiritual life and intimacy with God?
__________ 15. It means to become contented with the art of living simply and to be content with the basic needs without
a color of complexities and luxuries
Test II: Classification: Classify the following as to what category each phrase belongs.
On your paper, write the letter only.
______ 16. Segregation

______ 17. wise use of energy Answer’s Pool
______ 18. budget optimization A – Conservation
______ 19. total waste management B – Simple Lifestyle
______ 20. sense of taking and giving C – Spiritual Discipline
______ 21. living life according to means D - Ecological Advocacy
______ 22. maximum utilization of resources E - Co-Responsibility
______ 23. observance of fraternal correction
______ 24. developing a sense of Commitment
______ 25. simple act of financial management
______ 26. respect the life and choices of others
______ 27. consciousness of what is right and wrong
______ 28. values re–orientation according to God’s plan
______ 29. developing a Culture of saving and sense of contentment.
______ 30. developing a lifestyle of sharing of time, talent and treasure
Enrichment Exercises: Poem Writing for the Mother Earth
a. Write a 4-stanza poem dedicated to the Mother Earth and the inhabitants of the Earth in a short bond paper.
b. Explain the very essence of your poem.
REFERENCES
The Southeast Asia Interdisciplinary Development Institute - Organizational Planning System (SAIDI – OPS)
Holy Cross of Davao College Student Handbook.(Revised 2016) 7-9
Rodulfa, J. (2013).Catechesis on the Vision-Mission Statement.
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Pope John Paul II.(1992).Catechism of the Catholic Church. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops 3211
Fouth Street, NE, Washington, DC 20017-1194 ISBN 978-1-57455-110-5,
William Cardinal Baum. (1982).The Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education. Rome, Italy. #66
CBCP. (1997).Catechism for Filipino Catholics .
St. Cyril of Jerusalem.(386 A.D.). Catechetical Lectures of St. Cyril of Jerusalem.
St. Theodore. (826 A.D.). Oratio in adorationemcrucis.
Good News Bible. (1993). Today’s English Version. With Deuterocanonicals.Philippine Bible Society, 890 U.N.
Ave., Manila, Philippines
CBCP. (2007). The New National Catechetical Diectory for the Philippines.#133
Abesamis, C. (1991).Exploring the Core of Biblical Faith
Wilkins, R. (1990). Introducion to the Bible
Catholic Link Library. Bible’s Periodic Table. http://www.pinterest.com.
Pope Benedict XVI. (2011). Porta Fidei.
St. John Paul II. (1992). Fidei Depositum.#3
Wostyn, L. & de Mesa,J. (2004). Doing Christology.The Re-Appropriation of a Tradition. Claretian Publications,
Quezon Philippines, ISBN 971-0307-20-7 Pgs. 15-22.
McDonagh, S.(2002). The Greening of the Church. Orbis Books, Maryknoll, NY 10545, ISBN 0-225-66586-7. Pg.
117.
Good News Bible. (1993). Today’s English Version. With Deuterocanonicals
Congregation of the Clergy.(1997). General Directory for Catechesis.Paulines Publishing House Daughters of
Saint Paul 2650 F.B Harrison Street 1300 Pasay City Phillippines, ISBN 971-590-202-2. # 71
MODULE 1: UNIT 2 – THE SOURCES OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH
LESSON 1: THE SACRED SCRIPTURE: Source of Our Faith
I – Learning Outcome
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At the end of this lesson, the students shall:

1. discuss the essential Catholic teachings about the Sacred Scripture in the life of a believer
2. practice how to use the Bible as source of faith through scanning the different books of the Bible
3. enthrone the Bible and encounter God in the scripture by following steps of Lectio Divina.
A. Share (Activity)
1. Bible Enthronement: (the class prepares a special place for the enthronement of the Bible)
Opening Song: Ang Bibliya Silence
Opening Prayer Intercession
Procession of the Bible Closing Prayer
Reading of the Gospel Song: (Your Word is a Lamp to feet and a light unto my path)
2. Bible Scanning: Let the students bring good copy of the Bible (O.T. & N.T.) and group them into five groups to scan
the Bible guided by the following questions:
a. What are the two major divisions of the Christian Bible?
b. What is the first Book and what is the last Book in the Bible?
c. How many books can we find in the Bible both Old and New Testaments?
d. Which of these books has the least number of chapters? How many verses?
e. Which of these books has the greatest number of chapters? How many chapters?
f. What made the difference between the Catholic version and the Protestant version of the Bible?
Does the difference of these versions affect the purpose and the story found in the Bible?
B. Heed Bible experience

Guide Questions:
a. When was the last time you had a memorable Bible study or Bible sharing?
b. Why do you consider it memorable?
The Mystery of Christ is communicated in many different ways. Biblical religion has the Bible as primary source of God’s
communication to humanity to keep the faith alive. The New National Catechetical Directory for the Philippines (2007)
considered life’s realities, Tradition and the Bible as the primary sources of the Christian Faith (NNCDP no. 133). Vatican
Council II considered Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture to form one sacred deposit of the word of God which is entrusted
to the Church (DV 10). As community of Christ centered evangelizers, we, Holy Crossians must desire to form the Faith and
consider the Bible as guide of our lives.
I. What is the Bible?

St. Jerome once wrote, “Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of the Christ.” In our desire to
grow in Faith in the Christ within the Community, Bible plays fundamental role. It is therefore
necessary to have a wholesome understanding of the Bible though concise but best aligned to
the teachings of the Church.
a. The Word “Bible”
The word BIBLE is an Anglo-Saxon word from the Latin word “Biblia” which means “The Book”. This Biblia was translation
from Greek word “Ta Biblia” or "Biblios" meaning papyrus, a reed that the Egyptians used to prepare writing materials. Biblios
refers to a collection of manuscripts on papyrus. This brings the meaning as “Books”. The name was well-chosen since the
Bible is a collection of many individual works, and not a product of a single person. For the Christians, the Bible refers to a
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small library that contains history, drama, poetry, fiction, stories, prophecies, proverbs, letters and other literary types of
genre. (Wostyn 2004)
b. The Bible in the Christian world
In the Christian world, the Bible has garnered the title as the most venerated book because it is used in all Christian worship
activities. It is also given the title as the most studied book because year after year, the Bible remains as the most published
and the bestselling book. Lastly it is called as the most translated book because it is translated into different languages (270
languages for the Old Testament and 700 languages for the New Testament).
The Bible is so dear to the believers of God because of the following: It contains the source and record of God’s self-
communication to the human person; It is the treasure chest of the wisdom and inspiration that guided the generation before
us; It contains some of the most profound insights into the meaning of human life; The Bible is the single most important
source for our culture and has the most profound influence on modern religious thought; The Bible is the most complete
history of the ancient past that we possess. That is why many believers of God gave terms of endearment to the Bible.
In fact, the Bible is called as “The Scriptures” which means a kind of a literary product. Sometimes it is called as “Holy
Scriptures or Sacred Scriptures” because it talks about holy topic, holy origin. Through the Bible, every events and human
experience are given holy or religious meaning that allows everyone to have a contact with the Divine. In another times, the
Bible is called “The Testament” because it records the covenant or agreement between Yahweh and Israel and between
God in Jesus and the Christians.
Christians also called the Bible as “The Word of God” because God speaks to us through the language of the human
person in the contour and the fabric of human tradition. For this we believe that this Word of God was once human person
in Jesus Christ, the Word of God (Logos) made flesh.
Furthermore, the Bible is called a “History of Salvation” because God has made Himself known and the mystery of His
plan of Salvation throughout the course of human history. And finally, the Bible is called as “The Good News” because the
message of Salvation that it brought to us is concrete experience of the Saving Actions of God in history and reality.
c. The Bible as defined:
Bible is a collection of Books written by different authors who wrote with different purpose intended for different readers in
different times in a span of 2000 years. So as a library, the Bible bears different layers of culture, tradition and customs as
well as different socio-cultural heritage. (Abesamis, (1991). Exploring the Core of Biblical Faith p.xii).
Ronald Wilkins (1990) in his book “Introduction to the Bible,” defines the Bible as partial record of the religious interpretation
of the real history of the Israelites and of the Christians. Bible is a partial record for it does not contain everything that
happened to the Israelites and the early Christians. It is a religious interpretation because the Bible gives religious causes
for and faith meaning to historical events of the chosen people of God. It is a real history because Bible involves time, events,
people, places and experiences that best unfold to answer the fundamental religious quest of who is God and what is God.
II. The Bible as Organized into a Book
The Bible is divided into two major divisions: The Old Testament, which contains 46 Books, and the New Testament, which
has 27 Books. The Old Testament deals with the religious history of the Israelites before the appearance of the Messiah in
the person of Jesus Christ. It devotes the agreement between God (whose name was Yahweh) and the People (whose race
was the Israelites).
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The New Testament deals with the Christian belief of the most important event in history, the appearance of the Messiah in
the person of Jesus, the Christ, (the God-Became-Person) who proclaimed the Reign or Kingdom of God in His person, life’s
purpose and His words and works. This records God’s covenant with the Christians in Jesus. Both the Old Testament and
the New Testament are necessary in our understanding of who is God and what is God. St. Augustine summed up this idea
when he said that the “New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New.”
1. The Books in the Bible:
The following figure is a Bible’s Periodic Table taken from Catholic Link Library (www.pinterest.com) which presents the
number of Books in the Catholic Canon together with its Symbol, the name and the chapters each Book contained. It also
presents the two major divisions, namely: The Old Testament and the New Testament and the minor divisions, namely:
Pentateuch, Historical, Prophetical, Wisdom, Gospels, Acts, Letters and Revelation.
III. Stages of Formation of the Bible
In our study of the Sacred Scripture we will not take things for granted the ordinary and common things that lead to the
growth and development of the Bible. The Bible went through many stages of development which believers of God should
duly consider.
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1. THE OLD TESTAMENT STAGES OF FORMATION
The Bible takes its roots from the ordinary and common historical events and experiences of the Israelites which were
interpreted in the eyes of faith. The Israelites perceived historical God’s saving actions based on their efforts to relate with
the God of faith.
ORDINARY AND COMMON REFLECTED IN FAITH WRITTEN DOWN

EXPERIENCES HANDED DOWN ORALLY AS EXTRAORDINARY
EVENT TO SHOW GOD’S PRESENCE
A. The Oral Tradition: Before the year 1000 B.C.E, there was no written records, everything has been handed down and
preserved in Oral Tradition. The two important events that happened to the Israelites, the EXODUS EVENT and the
OCCUPATION IN THE LAND OF CANAAN, became center of the Oral Tradition. Oral Tradition refers to the handing down
of events, experiences from one generation to the other by means of the word of mouth. There are different forms like drama,
stories, songs, worship, rites, values, culture, etc.
There are four traditions that preserved the Israelites history and influenced in the writing of the writing of the Sacred
Scripture. Sean McDonagh, (2002) outlined four traditions as identified by the modern Biblical Scholarship, namely:
1. The Yahwist "J" Tradition is a historical epic that emerged as a result of the optimism engendered by the territorial
expansion and cultural flowering during the reign of David and Solomon. This tradition is considered as the most ancient
tradition that preserved their history. It is a tradition that is identified by their addressed to God as “YAHWEH,” a God
who is anthropomorphic i.e., like a human being. (cf. Genesis 3).
2. The Elohist "E" Tradition. This tradition is more sober and rural and contains material that had been handed down from
the northern tribes. This second ancient tradition is identified by the tribes’ address to God as “EL,” “ELOI,” or “ELI” or
“ELOHIM.” This is where they got Yisra-EL. After the fall of the northern kingdom their material was combined with the
"J" account to form "JE" Epic.
3. The Deuteronomist "D" Tradition, the tradition that gives emphasis on the reinterpretation of the Law. This is the
tradition that emerged before the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians. This tradition wished that the Law must be
responsive to the Israelites’ societal condition as a people particularly during the downfall of monarchy.
4. The Priestly "P" Tradition is a tradition of cultic worship that had grown up around the Temple in Jerusalem. It was
developed and was interwoven with the Israelites’ experiences as dispersed people being captives of Babylon. This
priestly tradition considered the Exile in Babylon as great spiritual retreat. The Tradition viewed the purpose of Israelites
People as intended for Divine Worship. According to this tradition, the People of Israel were created and formed to
worship Yahweh as One, True and Living God.
The whole content of the Bible is wrapped and influenced by these four traditions. They preserved the Israelites’ history and
handed them from one generation to the next to reveal the truth of the God of History, God of Salvation and the God of
Justice.
B. The Written Stage developed when knowledgeable people of oral history almost banished and new learned generation
came about. Written records became the common trend of preserving history. People learned how to read and how to write,
kept records of the faith interpretations of their experiences with the presence of Yahweh.
The Written Records started on the following dates:
a) In 970-931 B.C.E, during the time of King Solomon in the Southern Kingdom, documents were written and compiled in
the Anthology of the Yahwist Tradition. Some of these written materials can be found in Genesis 2 and 3, Judges 5,
Song of Deborah and 2 Samuel 9.
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b) In 885-875 B.C.E., during the time of Jeroboam in the Northern part of Israel, written records were compiled in the
Anthology of the Elohist (Eloist) Tradition. Some of these materials can be found in 1 and 2 kings, 10 commandments,
some chapter of Psalms and Judges.
c) In 700-650 B.C.E., when the Assyrians occupied the Northern Kingdom of Israel, written records were compiled in the
Anthology of the Deuteronomist Tradition. These written materials can be found in the Prophets, Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2
Samuel, Deuteronomy, 1 & 2 Chronicles.
d) In 580-540 B.C.E., when the Chosen People were exiled in Babylon, many written materials were composed and
recorded and believed to be from the Priestly Tradition. These materials can be found in Genesis, Ezra, Nehemiah, 1 &
2 Chronicles, Numbers, Leviticus, Exodus, and Prophets: Amos to Malachi, Psalms and Wisdom.
C. EDITING STAGE developed when people wanted to compile the different works of the great writers of their nation. They
started to gather the pieces of written materials of the different times of the different authors as handed down by different
traditions. Experts set criteria for the inclusion of the materials in the compilation of the Sacred Scriptures as follows:
a) It is written in the Hebrew Language.
b) A Forceful display of the Religious Faith of the Israelites.
c) A strong presentation of the love of God for Israel.
d) Authenticity of the presentation
e) Fit in the purpose of the editors of that time.
2. THE NEW TESTAMENT STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT
The NEW TESTAMENT is a collection of the written materials about what the Christians believe as the most important event
in the history of the world that is THE APPEARANCE OF THE ANOINTED ONE OF YAHWEH in the Person of Jesus. It is
a collection of 27 books of the Bible written seventy years following the resurrection of Jesus. The Church of the Apostles
wrote them as an authentic expression of their faith. The Church has officially recognized these books as inspired by God.
The Scholars of the Scripture generally recognized that the New Testament was developed in three distinct stages
visualized as follows:
STAGE 1: STAGE 2: STAGE 3:
The Historical Jesus Oral Preaching of the Early The Written Gospels
Christians
A. Stage I: The Historical Jesus
The Gospels basically have their roots in the words and works of Jesus of Nazareth and in His experiences with the disciples
and other groups with which he came in contact with. We can date the existence/appearance of Jesus from 6 – 4 B.C.E.
until 30 C.E. This person, Jesus, the God in the Christian faith, was an ordinary person whose existence was traced through
His birth and His death. Jesus was believed to be born during the time of the rule of Herod, the Great whose death has been
recorded by Dennis, the Little, occurring around 4 B.C.E. So Jesus’ birth was probably before Herod’s death. This period is
marked it with the slaughter of holy innocents (Mt. 3:16-23).
The death of Jesus happened near the Passover Feast in the Month of Nissan in the Jewish Lunar calendar. This month is
roughly equivalent to the weeks between our last week in March and first three weeks in April. This is generally held to be
the year 30 C.E. As John’s Gospel specifically hints, the date (see John 18:28, 19:31) certainly has to be within the 10-year
span of Pontius Pilate’s rule from 26 –36 C.E. Thus Jesus died in the reign of Pilate at three O’clock in the afternoon on a
Friday (Mt. 28:46), probably in 30 C.E.
B. Stage 2: The Oral Preaching of the Early Christians

After the tragic event of Jesus’ death came the joy of the Easter experience. This is marked by the giving of the Holy Spirit
on Pentecost began to enliven the enthusiasm of the despairing Apostles to live according to the Master’s conviction and
commitment. They were burning with zeal to spread the good news of Jesus’ victory over sin and death. Led by Peter, and
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later by Paul, the apostles burst with missionary enthusiasm preached the message of Jesus through the Roman
(Mediterranean) world. The early preaching emphasized significantly among others that Jesus was to return in glory very
shortly i.e., during the very life time of the apostles. Thus, it did not make much sense to write down the eyewitness’
testimonies in these early years because the world would have to end soon.
The Oral Proclamation focused mainly on faith interpretations of the words, sayings, memories and quotations of Jesus,
highlighting his deeds: His miracles and healing activity, his sufferings, his death and his resurrection. Everything was told
orally because:
1. The Apostles were not literate; they did not know how to read and write.
2. The writing materials were so expensive that only the rich could afford; the followers of Jesus came from poor strata of
society.
3. The written documents were not needed since the eyewitnesses were still alive.
4. People/Early Christians thought that Jesus would come back soon.
All of the faith community’s memories about Jesus were told in forms of stories, sayings, actual way of life in the Christian
community. Their way of life attracted many so that Christianity spread beyond expectation.
C. Stage 3: The Written Gospels
The memories of the life and works of Jesus were kept alive by making collections of his sermons, parables, his great works
and key sayings. These collections were used in the early Christian liturgies, in the preaching and instruction to new converts.
There are lots of materials written by fragments. The Good News about Jesus of Nazareth has to be written based on the
following reasons:
1. The eyewitnesses began to die due to martyrdom.
2. The literate audience grew in number (people now learned to read and write).
3. Jesus did not come again soon as as the community of believers expected him.
4. There was a need to keep an authentic record for correction of distorted messages about the remembrance of Jesus.
There are four authentic versions of the written communal faith expressions of this Good News. These four versions of Faith
Testimonies are written to keep a record of Jesus memories in the Christian Faith. The Christians believed that the body of
written material that makes up the New Testament is a Sacred Literature. In and by itself, it is made up of special and unique
materials presenting the life, words, actions and meaning of Jesus of Nazareth, a Jewish man who lived in Palestine about
two thousand years ago. The New Testament is a one-of-a-kind piece of literature that is respected and honored by all
believers of Jesus. It is revered, cherished, read, studied, and believed in. It is inspirational, informative, and awe-inspiring.
The figure of the Origin of the New Testament will give us a glimpse about the root of the New Testament.
The Bible we have today is a product of the different stages. It was only in the 13 th century A.D. when Stephen Langton,
Archbishop of Canterbury, was tasked to divide the Bible into chapters, both the Old and the New Testament. Needs of the
times dictate that the chapters of the Old Testament must be divided into verses. This was done by Santes Paginus in 1528
A.D. Later in 1551, Robert Etienne divided the New Testament into verses. The Bible has different stages of formation,
involved hundreds of years in its development and written in different literary forms. Above all these, it has only one story to
tell, that is the Saving Actions of God in Human History (Israelites) and it has only one purpose, that is, to let the people
know of who and what is the God whom they believed in.
IV. BIBLE AS INSPIRED WORD OF GOD
Christians believe that the Bible is a Word of God because it is inspired by God (CCC # 105) and accepted as rule of faith
and morals. As written work, it was produced by many individuals who recorded the history of their people from the point of
view of their faith in God. How come the Scripture is a Word of God? Vatican II states, “Sacred Scripture is the Word of God
is as much as it is consigned to writing under the inspiration of the Divine Spirit” (DV # 9). The Church teaches that the
Principal Author of the Bible is none other than God Himself. It further defines the Bible as “the Word of God written by
human authors through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.” The Biblical Inspiration is the way of the Church to teach us about
the authorship of the Bible.
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Inspiration comes from the Latin word “In-spirare.” This is commonly understood as to breathe into, a kind of inhalation, a
kind of influence, and a kind of expression of opinion. In religious sense, inspiration as a kind of supernatural motion by
which the person is impelled to teach others what God wants them to teach.
Inspiration in the Sacred Scriptures is an influence of the Holy Spirit on the sacred author or Holy writer moving and impelling
him to write in a manner that he rightfully understood and faithfully willed to write down. In this manner, the author expresses
the things that God willed in apt words and infallible truth. The Sacred Authors/ Holy Writers are people influenced by the
Holy Spirit to write down the Faith interpretation of the ordinary experiences. In what manner does this happen? The Author
rightfully understood what is to be written then, he intentionally wrote those matters.
V. THE BIBLE AS GOD’S REVELATION
The believers of God are dependent upon God for all things, even for the knowledge that God exists. Nonetheless God is
under no obligation to reveal himself yet he chose to reveal himself to human person through creation. God reveals himself
as eternal, powerful, glorious, creative, orderly, loving, all-knowing, sovereign, and worthy of worship. By creating man in his
own image, by giving him a soul, self-consciousness, the ability to reason, and a general knowledge of right and wrong, God
reveals himself as personal, holy, wise, righteous, and just.
God’s self-revelation comes to us through human beings chosen by him. The Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, assures us
that the biblical books are divinely inspired. God helped believers to recognize his inspiration and to collect these writings
into a unique library of books. This process worked essentially the same way for the Old Testament and the New Testament.
The Bible is a record of God’s initiative of letting himself be known: His self-communication, His intervention in the ordinary
experiences of the Israelites to make them conscious of his presence in the events struggles and triumph as a faith
community. It is in the Bible that God personally manifests and communicates his Divine self. It is the result of God’s self-
revelation over many centuries, made to a community of believers but intended for all God’s people.
The Bible being an inspired revelation of God, serves as the rule of faith and moral living. We, as believers of God, can find
in the Bible is not only Good News but also moral obligation.
VI. THE CATHOLIC CANON OF THE BIBLE
The word CANON comes from a Greek word “Kanon” that originally means “reed or stick” used for measuring. This reed or
stick was a standard for measurement. From this step onward, Canon was applied to the things measured and then to the
catalogue or list of measured things. Biblical Canon refers to the official list of books that the Church recognizes as divinely
inspired by God and which the Church considers as a rule of Faith and Morals. The following terms may help us understand
as follows:
a. Canonical Books are books belonging to the Official List recognized by the Church as inspired
b. Protocanonical Books (literally means “belonging to the first Canon”) are Books which inspiration was never doubted
in history.
c. Deuterocanonical Books (literally means “belonging to the second Canon”) are those Books which inspiration was
doubted sometime in history and with some people, but later it was accepted by the Church as also inspired and
counted as part of the Canon of the Bible. There are Books both in the Old and New Testament considered to be
Deuterocanonical as follows:
Old Testament – Tobit, Judith, Ecclesiasticus (Ben Sirach), Wisdom, Baruch, 1Maccabees, 2 Maccabees and some
passages of Esther and Daniel. There are versions of the Old Testament that do not include these Books until today.
New Testament – Hebrew, Revelation, James, 2 Peter, 2 John, 3 John and Jude. These Books in the New Testament
are now part of our present versions of the Bible.
d. Apocryphal Books are books that are not recognized by the Church as canonical or inspired, even if they were
claimed to be so by their title or the supposed author or content.
D. Believe Integration to Life

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The Bible in the Life of the Holy Crossians
1. Bible as guide in living the Christian Faith
St. Paul admonished Timothy by writing, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error,
correcting faults and giving instruction for right living (2Tim. 3:16).” As Christians, the Bible is precious to the life of a Holy
Crossians. A true blooded Holy Crossian believed that it is not enough to know how the Bible developed, how they came to
be written and the literary forms used but how the Bible become a guide of living the life of Faith.
There are, in the field of scientific study of the Bible, many approaches and means of making the Bible in dialogue with our
daily life. So if we want the Bible to be a guide for our lives, Wostyn (2004) in His book, “I Believe,” listed down some
necessary reminders as follows:
a. The Bible is not God. It is the book of our faith community. That makes it the Word of God.
b. The Bible has revealed truth. It is found in what various human writers wanted to express about the meaning of
faith.
c. The Bible is believed to be inspired, not because the Holy Spirit dictated each word, but because we, as Christian
communities, believe that a special truth from God can be found in those writings.
d. The Bible writers, within different situations, made use of different literary forms. We have to know the history and
the literary background of the various books of the Bible.
e. The Bible includes different opinions. Let us not be surprised to find contradicting ideas.
f. The Bible is not a history book. Neither is it a science book. We are not to believe in every detail that we find in it.
g. The Biblical message is to be considered in its totality. We cannot take one passage from the Bible and make it absolute.
h. We have to read the Bible regularly to stimulate and nourish our personal faith.
i. We do not have to make the Bible to decide for our lives. The responsibility of making responsible decisions in the
light of our faith rest on us.
j. As a faith community, we need to read the Bible. It is our conscience. It will not agree with everything that we are
doing. It challenges us to go beyond ourselves and to reverse many of the values we have been too contented with.
2. The Holy Crossian reads the Bible
“The Church desires that in the ministry of the word, Sacred Scripture should have a pre-eminent position. In concrete terms,
catechesis should be ‘an authentic introduction to lectiodivinathat is, to a reading of the Sacred Scriptures done in accordance
to the Spirit who dwells in the Church’.” (General Directory for Catechesis, 71) To stimulate and nourish our personal faith
guided by the Sacred Scripture, the Daily Gospel 2015 supplied us with simplified form of LectioDivina.
a. Lectio Divina
Lectio Divina is a Latin term for divine reading, spiritual reading or holy reading and represents
a traditional Christian practice of prayer and scriptural reading intended to promote communion
with the Lord and to increase in the knowledge of God’s Word. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
encouraged the practice of Lectio Divina: “The diligent reading of Sacred Scripture
accompanied by prayer brings about that intimate dialogue in which the person reading hears
God who is speaking and in praying, respond to Him with trusting openness of heart (DV no.
25). If it effectively promoted, this practice will bring to the Church.
Lectio divina is a powerful way to encounter God in Sacred Scripture. Through the ancient practice of lectio, meditatio, oratio,
and contemplatio we encounter a personal God by praying with his Sacred Word. One of our most important tasks being
Holy Crossians is to learning the skill of reading the Bible in order to prayerfully encounter the living God.
b. The four simple steps of Lectio Divina

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LECTIO (Read) – WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY? This is a slow, reverent and repeated reading of the suggested Biblical
text. A careful reading, taste the words and understand the faith.
Instruction: read the Bible passage slowly and reflectively for three times, then ask, “What does the text say?”
MEDITATIO (Reflect) – WHAT DOES THE TEXT TELL ME? This is entering into the truth of the text. Chew the word, the
printed word becomes the Word of God.
Instruction: Reflect and pick a word that struck you most with this question, what does the text tell me?
ORATIO (Pray) – WHAT DO YOU WANT TO TELL GOD IN YOUR PRAYER? This is the first prayer which comes from
the meditation – adoration – thanksgiving – repentance – petition. Talk to Jesus, the living Word.
Instruction: Talk to Jesus, “What do you want to tell God in Prayer?”
ACTIO (Act) – WHAT DOES THE TEXT WANT ME TO DO? This step is making fruitful in our lives what the Word has
taught us, resolution on how you will live out God’s message concrete plan of action, simple, doable who, when, what to
respond to the word.
Instruction: Respond to Jesus and asked yourself, “What does the text want me to do”

TEST 1: Matching Type: Match the descriptions in column A with the terms and personages in column B. On your paper,
write the letter only that corresponds to your answer.
Column A Column B
______ 1. contain the letters of the leaders of the early Christian community
______ 2. are the books that contain all the Old Testament materials that can be neither law nor A. law
prophets B. Epistles
______ 3. are the memories, remembered accounts, sayings of Jesus believed to be the C. Writings
Anointed One of Yahweh D. Gospels
______ 4. is a book that contains the final events and destiny of the world, history and humanity E. Revelation
when Jesus will triumph in the end of time.
______ 5. is also known as Torah which records the account on the birth of a family, creation of a
people and the birth of a religion and how the People observed the Law from Yahweh
______ 6. were the people who conquered the Northern Kingdom
______ 7. were the people who conquered the Southern kingdom A. Jews
______ 8. were the people of Yahweh who entered a covenant with Him B. Hebrews
______ 9. were the people who lived after the chosen People returned from exile in Babylon C. Assyrians
______ 10. were the people who lived before the covenant was made in the desert and they D. Israelites
were slaves in Egypt E. Babylonians
Test ll: TRUE OR FALSE: Read carefully each statement to determine the truth and falsity of the ideas expressed in each
statement. On your paper, write + if the idea expressed in the statement is true and if false, write 0.
______ 11. The Hebrew people perceived history in terms of the cause and effect phenomenon which spoke of the
privileged moment with God, the moment of life of the human person.
______ 12. The sacred writers selected the events of the history of the Israelites and of Jesus’ life that revealed best the
very nature of God, his plans and his designs for the world and for all humanity.
______ 13. The Elohist tradition is a tradition which was developed and interwoven in the Israelites’ experiences those of
which considered the exile in Babylon as a great spiritual retreat and such tradition viewed the purpose of
Israelites as intended for Divine worship.
______ 14. The Old Testament is a collection of the written materials about what the early Christians held significant
about the events in the life of the promised Messiah.
______ 15. Jesus of Nazareth was a historical person who became the Christ of Faith believed and worshipped as the promised and
prophesied Messiah in the Old Testament and who will come again to judge the Living and the dead.
______ 16. The Bible is a by-product of a God and man combined activity which has communicated God’s great love,
wisdom, beauty, plans and desires for all humanity.
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______ 17. God influenced the human authors with their human intellect, capacities, experiences, memories and
imaginations to write down what He wanted them to write and communicate.
______ 18. The Israelites thought that God was unjust to them for they were exposed to their enemies every time they
were unfaithful to Yahweh.
______ 19. Bible is historically and culturally conditioned based on the experiences of the Chosen People of God who
journeyed through time despite all odds to materialize God’s plan and promise of the Messiah in the person
of Jesus Christ.
______ 20. The Bible unfolded that God is the Creator of everything – the Cause of all that exist in the universe and that
He is the true and living God, the God of justice and the God of History.
______ 21. Bible is the source and rule of faith and morals for it plays a vital role in professing and witnessing our faith
through living a life according to God’s design for all humanity, world and history.
______ 22. Christ’s revelation is disintegrating for it tells us of a God of love whose children must love one another,
even their enemies.
______ 23. The Sacred Scriptures record every detail of the saving acts and words of God that have been passed on to
us through the living tradition of the Church.
______ 24. Before Jesus’ Paschal Mystery, the joy of the Easter experience and the descent of the Holy Spirit on
Pentecost enflamed the zeal the apostles to spread the good news of salvation.
______ 25. The Oral proclamation about Jesus was focused specifically on faith interpretations of the words, key sayings,
memories, His miracles and healing activities, His sufferings, His death and resurrection.
TEST lll: CLASSIFICATION: Classify the following books according to the division each book belongs. On your paper,
write the letter only that corresponds to your answer.
Answer’s Pool
A. The Epistles
B. The Pentateuch
C. The Wisdom
books
D. The Historical
______ 26. Job ______ 33. Isaiah ______ 40. Ephesians
books
______ 27. Tobit ______ 34. Judith ______ 41. Habakkuk
E. The Prophetical
______ 28. Psalms ______ 35. Judges ______ 42. Leviticus
books
______ 29. Micah ______ 36. Ezekiel ______ 43. Colossians
______ 30. Exodus ______ 37. Genesis ______ 44. Philippians
______ 31. Nahum ______ 38. Wisdom ______ 45. Ecclesiastes
______ 32. 1 Kings ______ 39. Proverbs
Test lV: Identification: Identify the answer from answer’s pool. Write the letter item in the space before number item.
Answer’s Pool
a. St. Jerome f. inspiration k. LectioDivina
b. Biblical Canon g. Stephen Langton, l. Robert Etienne
c. Apocryphal Books h. Elohist "E" Tradition m. Protocanonical Books
d. Yahwist "J" Tradition i. Canonical Books n. Deuteronomist "D" Tradition
e. Deuterocanonical Books j. The Priestly "P" Tradition o. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
_____ 46. are Books which inspiration was never doubted in history.
_____ 47. was the one who encouraged the practice of Lectio Divina.
_____ 48. once wrote, “Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of the Christ”
_____ 49. was the one who divided the New Testament into verses in 1551.
_____ 50. are books that belong to the Official List recognized by the Church as inspired.
_____ 51. is a historical epic a tradition that is identified by their addressed to God as “YAHWEH,” a God who is a person.
_____ 52. is a kind of supernatural motion by which the person is impelled to teach others what God wants them to teach.
_____ 53. was an Archbishop of Canterbury who was tasked to divide the Bible into chapters, both the Old and the New
Testament
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_____ 54. is the tradition that gives emphasis on the reinterpretation of the Law. And that emerged before the fall of
Jerusalem to the Babylonians.
_____ 55. is a tradition of cultic worship that had grown up around the Temple in Jerusalem and considered the Exile in
Babylon as great spiritual retreat.
_____ 56. refers to the official list of books that the Church recognizes as divinely inspired by God and which the Church
considers as a rule of Faith and Morals.
_____ 57. are books that are not recognized by the Church as Canonical and inspired, though they claimed to be so by their
title or the supposed author or content.
_____ 58. are those Books which inspiration was doubted sometime in history and with some people, but later it was
accepted by the Church as also inspired and counted as part of the Canon of the Bible.
_____ 59. is a tradition more sober and rural and contains material that had been handed down among the northern tribes
and is identified by their address to God as “EL,” “ELOI,” or “ELI” or “ELOHIM.”
_____ 60. is a Latin for divine reading, spiritual reading or holy reading and represents a traditional Christian practice of
prayer and scriptural reading intended to promote communion with the Lord and to increase in the knowledge of
God’s Word.
IV- Enrichment Exercises: REFLECTION PAPER
Direction: Write a reflection paper on how you live the Bible in your daily life by answering the following questions.
1. What concepts about the Bible do I cherished most in my life? Why?
2. What important thought comes into my realization as we study the Bible as guide in living the Faith?
3. How would I concretize the concepts about the Bible as I live my life here in Holy Cross?
4. In what way would I sustain the love of the Word of God in my life?
5. Design concrete actions for bridging the gap in your life with the daily Gospel?
MODULE 1: UNIT 2 – THE SOURCES OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH
LESSON 2: THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

25
I – Learning Outcome:
At the end of this lesson, the students will be able to:
1. outline the basic structure of the Catechism of the Catholic Church;
2. identify the four parts of the CCC
3. explain how each corresponds to the life of a Christian believer;
4. renew their enthusiasm to: profess their faith, celebrate it, to live it and to make it as a basis of their life.
A. Share Activity
Brainstorming
Guide Questions
1. Are you familiar of the Catechism of the Catholic Church? How much of it have you read? When have you used it?
2. Do you know how to navigate inside the Catechism of the Catholic Church (paragraph numbers, footnotes, cross
references, indices, etc.)? Do you think of it as a reference work (like an encyclopedia or dictionary)?
3. What are your initial thoughts on why someone would read the Catechism of the Catholic Church? Do you think it
is meant to be read by everyone, by catechists or just by “specialists”?
4. Consider your thoughts on what a gift is and what the word means. Do you consider the Catechism of the Catholic
Church a gift intended personally for you? If so, how do you make use of it as a gift?
B. Heed Explore the CCC

CCC Scanning. . . have a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church
a. What do I know about the Catechism of the Catholic Church or (CCC)?
b. What is the difference among the terms: Catechesis, Catechism, Catechize?
c. What are the CCC Table of Contents, what are the various parts and divisions of the whole book?
d. Why do you think the CCC is divided into four parts?
If the Sacred Scripture together with Tradition is the “Supreme rule of Faith” (DV 21) is the source of faith and guide of our
life. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) as the product of the expression of Faith explained by the magisterium is
the symphony of faith for the Holy Crossians.
A. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) is a book that gives a brief summary of the basic
principles of Christianity. It is the complete teaching of the Catholic Church produced by the
Magisterium or the teaching authority of the Church working under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It
contains the essential and fundamental content of the Christian Catholic faith in a complete and
summarized way. It explains what Catholics throughout the world believe in common. It presents these
truths in a way that facilitates their understanding. The CCC presents Catholic doctrine within the
context of the Church's history and tradition. Frequent references to Sacred Scripture, the writings of
the Fathers, the lives and writings of the saints, conciliar and papal documents and liturgical texts enrich
the Catechism in a way that is both inviting and challenging. There are over three thousand footnotes in the Catechism.
The CCC originated with a recommendation made at the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops in 1985. In 1986 Pope John Paul
II appointed a Commission of Cardinals and Bishops to develop a compendium of Catholic doctrine. In 1989 the Commission
sent the text to all Bishops throughout the world for consultation. In 1990 the Commission examined and evaluated over
24,000 amendments suggested by the bishops. The final draft is considerably different from the one that was circulated in
1989. In 1991 the Commission prepared the text for the Holy Father's official approval. On June 25, 1992 Pope John Paul II
officially approved the definitive version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. On December 8, 1992 Pope John Paul II
promulgated the Catechism with an apostolic constitution.
26
B. The CCC: A joyful encounter with Jesus

St. John Paul II was the pope who promulgated the CCC, affirmed that “this catechism will make a
very important contribution to that work of renewing the whole life of the Church… I declare it to be a
valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion and a sure norm for teaching the faith” (Porta
fidei, no. 11). His immediate successor also added: “The CCC will serve as a tool providing real support
for the faith, especially for those concerned with the formation of Christians, so crucial in our cultural
context” (Porta fidei, no. 12)
Pope Benedict XVI also emphasized that “In its very structure, the CCC follows the development of the
faith right up to the great themes of daily life. On page after page, we find that what is presented here is
no theory, but an encounter with a person who lives within the Church” (Porta fidei, no. 11). Thus, in this
topic, we shall familiarize ourselves with the structure of the CCC and the reason behind such structure.
C. Structure of CCC
The structure of the CCC is inspired by the great tradition of catechisms in the Catholic Church which build catechesis on
four pillars, namely: The Creed, the baptismal profession of faith; the Sacraments of faith; the Commandments, which is the
life of faith; and the prayer of the believer. Thus, this CCC has four parts: The Profession of Faith, The Sacraments of Faith,
The Life of Faith and Prayer in the Life of Faith. In each part and its sections, we can find the beauty of how these topics are
arranged to make a systematic and organic whole. Pope John Paul II wrote in his Apostolic Constitution Fideidepositum on
the publication of the CCC.
The four parts are related one to another: The Christian mystery is the object of faith (Part One); it is celebrated and
communicated in liturgical actions (Part Two); it is present to enlighten and sustain the children of God in their actions (Part
Three); it is the basis for our prayer, the privileged expression of which is the Our Father, and it represents the object of our
supplication, our praise and our intercession (Part Four).
To appreciate what this great pope meant, here are the topics discussed in each part:
PART I: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH PART II: THE SACRAMENTS OF FAITH
Christians must profess their faith before men. God’s Salvation is present and active in the world.
Section 1: “I Believe” “We Believe” Section 1: The Sacramental Economy
-God reveals Himself, Man responds to God’s The Church liturgy makes present God’s action in man’s history
revelation Section 2: Seven Sacraments of the Church
Section 2: Profession of the Christian Faith The Seven Sacraments are performed by Jesus Himself.
-Christian Faith is God’s Gift. Our Faith is Trinitarian
PART III: THE LIFE OF FAITH PART IV: PRAYER IN THE LIFE OF FAITH
Man, created in God’s image and Man is invited to a constant conversation
likeness, is called to communion with God in eternal life. with God through prayer
Section 1: Man’s call- Life in the Spirit Section 1: Prayer in the life of Christian Life
Man can reach heaven through a life of virtues in the Prayer is essential in the life of believers
light of the Beatitudes and with the help of God’s grace. Section 2: The Lord’s Prayer – Our Father
Section 2: The Ten Commandments The epitome of Christian prayer is the “Our
Man is called to fulfill the two-fold commandments of Father”
charity: Love of God and Love of neighbor.
27
D. Believe Integration to life

How can the CCC be useful for all Christian Faithful?
For the Catholics, the answer is obvious. Many Catholic adults are searching for a positive, coherent and contemporary
statement of what the Church believes and teaches. The Catechism provides such a statement in a comprehensive, yet
summarized format.
Catholic adults should be encouraged to read and study the Catechism. While private study of the Catechism might fit most
comfortably into the learning styles of some adults, most benefit greatly from organized discussion groups or study circles.
Growth in the knowledge of the faith which one believes (fides quae creditur) tends to deepen the quality of the faith by which
one believes (fides qua creditur). Thus, the Catechism can be used by the faithful as an instrument for the holistic maturation
of their faith. Catholics must make good use of this essential tool to knowing God and loving Him. If one wants to grow in
faith and holiness, the CCC is an indispensable tool because it is “… a sure and authentic reference text for teaching Catholic
doctrine” (JPII, Fideidepositum, 3). It is “… a sure norm for teaching the faith and a valid and legitimate instrument for
ecclesial communion” (FD, 3).
As “a valid and legitimate instrument” for communion within the Church and in her relationship with other religious
denominations, the CCC must also be known to non-Catholics of good will. Respect among persons of different culture and
religion flourishes only when there is authentic knowledge and understanding of their beliefs and traditions. That is why non-
Catholics also must know what the Catholics believe, and vice versa, so that true peace, respect and reconciliation may
flourish.
Prayer: (Invite everyone to pray in silence. Consider how God is calling them to receive the gift of “the desire for God”.
Remind them that they should not try to pray with all the material in the CCC, but should stop and pray with just one
paragraph or one sentence; they should remain with the text that moves their heart.)
Opening Prayer: Make the Sign of the Cross,

pray the “Our Father”, and ask God, “Lord, what do You want to reveal to me as I consider ‘the desire for
God’? Where are You leading me?” (Allow at least 10 minutes of silence to pray.)
Sharing (optional): Spend a few minutes of the session sharing the fruit of the prayer.
This is a time for reverence, a time to respect others as they reveal how God spoke to them.
Conclude by thanking the Lord and praying a “Glory Be”
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Test l: Completion
Complete the following titles of the main parts of the Catechism (if necessary, refer to the Table of Contents):
1. Part One: The _________________ of the Faith

2. Part Two: ____________________ of the Christian _______________
3. Part Three: __________________ in Christ
4. Part Four: Christian _____________
Test II - Enumeration: Enumerate the following.
5– 9 four parts of the Catechism of the Catholic Church

5. __________________________________
6. __________________________________
7. __________________________________
8. __________________________________
10 – 12 Deposit of the Catholic Faith (Sources of the Catholic Faith)

10 . ______________________________________
11 . ______________________________________
12. ______________________________________
13 – 11 the four pillars of the Catechism of the Catholic Church

13. ______________________________________
14. ______________________________________
15. ______________________________________
16. ______________________________________
Test ll: True or False. Determine the truth or falsity of the idea presented in each statement below. On your paper, write +
if the idea expressed in the statement is true and if false, write 0.
_______ 17. God’s providential plan is at work only in your own life.
_______ 18. CCC 422 tells us the Good News: God has sent his Son.
_______ 19. There is a dichotomy in the interplay of faith and daily life.
_______ 20. “Guarding the Deposit of Faith is the mission which is entrusted to the Church.”
_______ 21. When we, Catholics, read the CCC, there is growth in the knowledge of our Catholic faith.
_______ 22. “This is the first time in the history of the Church that a catechism was written for the whole people of God.”
_______ 23. The CCC’s emphasis on Christocentric focuses on Jesus was sent by the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit
to save us.
_______ 24. Pope Benedict XVl wrote in his Apostolic Constitution Fideidepositum on the publication of the Catechism of
the Catholic Church.
_______ 25. John Paul II emphasized that the Catechism of the Catholic Church in its very nature follows the development
of the faith right up to the great themes of daily life “
Test lll: Essay
1. Discuss how the four parts of the catechism of the Catholic Church be related to each other and how important are
these four parts of the CCC in our daily life as Catholics.
29
IV- Enrichment Exercises
___ Part 1: Profession of Faith A. How does this show me how to live in Christ?
___ Part 2: Celebration of the Christian Mystery B. How does this help me know and understand God and my faith?
___ Part 3: Life in Christ C. How does this help me relate to God in prayer?
___ Part 4: Christian Prayer D. How does this help me worship God and celebrate the mysteries
of Christ and the Church?
REFERENCES
http://www.gettyimages,com/photos/plato
http://www.gettyimages,com/photos/aristotle
http://www.google.com.ph/search?q=st.+thomas+aquinas+images&client
https://www.wikipedia.org/wilki/Ren%c3%A9_Descartes
https://www.wikiwpedia.org/wiki/Immanuel Kant
https//www.google.com.ph/search?q=soren+Kierkegaard&client
Good News Bible. (1993). Today’s English Version. With Deuterocanonicals. Philippine Bible Society, 890 U.N.
Ave., Manila Philippines.
Pope John Paul II.(1992). Catechism of the Catholic Church. . United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 Fouth Street, NE, Washington, DC 20017-1194 ISBN 978-1-57455-110-5,
Vat.II. (1965). Dei Verbum 5,
Pope Paul VI.(1965). Gaudium et Spes 19#1,
Pope Paul VI.(1964). Lumen Gentium.#58
Aquinas, T.(1265-1274).Summa Theologica
Marx, K.(1976). Introduction to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right vol.3
Pals, D.L.(1996).Theories of Religion.pg.81
Pope Benedict XVI.(2012). General Audience St. Peter Square. Vatican City.
Jaspers, K.Filosofia,I, 385
Ratzinger, J.(2005). Homily Before the Conclave. Vatican City.
CBCP. (1997). Catechism for Filipino Catholics,
CBCP. (2007). The New National Catechetical Directory of the Philippines.
Additional References:
Pope John Paul II. (1987).Redemptoris Mater #5
30
MODULE 2: UNIT 1– MAN IS CAPABLE OF GOD
Lesson 1- Various Notions on the Human Being

I. Learning Outcome: At the end of this lesson, students shall:
a) distinguish the different philosophers and their views on the human being;
b) resolve to accept the philosophies that can bring man closer to God;
c) pay homage to the source of all holiness of the life of man.
II. Instructional SequencE
A. Share Activity
Video clip: “Listen to the Story of the life of the Philosophers”
B. Heed Group Sharing (10 Mins.)

Guide Questions:
1. Which of the different philosophies discussed do you agree with? Why?
2. Which notion on the human being leads you to a deeper faith in God? Explain.
3. Why must you learn the teachings of the Christian Philosophers?
It may be good then to begin this quest by following this admonition “Know thyself” (which was carved on the temple portal
of Delphi, according to a Greek author, Pausanias. This may be a shorten version of what Socrates said: “an unexamined
life is not worth living”.
Our discussion on the various notions of the human being must first address the fundamental questions that pervade human
life, like: “Who am I? Where have I come from and where am I going? Why is there evil? What is there after life? Since great
thinkers in the past have already reflected on them, it would be wiser to consult them first before we move on to our own
personal way of answering these questions. Hence, we need to present different philosophical propositions of understanding
man so as to know the different views of this issue.
1. Plato (ca. 424/-348/347 BC):
He is a student of Socrates (ca. 470/469 – 399 BC). Plato is known for his proposition on the “World of
Forms” (which is also understood as the World of the Spirits). He believed that this world is perfect; thus,
knowledge is also perfect. That’s why he asserted that the world that we living is just a “reflection” of the
world beyond. It is in this context that Plato asserted that the human soul pre-existed in the world of spirits
where it knew everything and every reality that a spirit has to know. In its pre-existence, the soul enjoyed
eternal bliss which consists in the contemplation of eternal truths. That is why Plato claimed that human (https://www.gettyimages.com
/photos/plato)
knowledge is innate. Due to unknown reason, the soul had fallen into the material world (World of
Matter) and was imprisoned in a body. It is death of the body that would free the soul and would allow it to go back to the
World of Spirits. In summary, Plato conceived that MAN IS A PURELY SPIRITUAL BEING. Man is his soul.
2. Aristotle (ca. 384-322 BC):

31
A brief background of Aristotle may give us a glimpse of who he is and his philosophical views. At the age
of 18, he joined the Academy, a school founded by Plato, and was a student of the latter until he was 37.
He was the first to define man as a “rational animal”. While there are teachings of Plato that he agreed
upon, he seemed to be in disagreement with Plato in the latter’s view of man. More specifically, Aristotle
asserted that the body is not just a “prison” for the soul, but an integral dimension of man. On the contrary,
he said that the body is substantially united with the soul to the extent that these two elements form a
single reality. The soul has two faculties namely: intellect and will which are expressed through the (https://www.gettyimages.com/p
hotos/aristotle)
body. Because of this, Aristotle claimed that the body and soul are two constitutive elements that form
one substance of man. Hence, he claimed that MAN IS ASUBSTANTIAL UNITY OF THE BODY AND SOUL. This helps in
the unitary vision of man. What Aristotle failed to explain is how does the soul, unite substantially with the body, and subsist
after its separation from the body. He was not able to expound about the immortality of the soul. This gap is filled-in by St.
Thomas Aquinas.
3. St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-7 March 1274):
Thomas of Aquino (“Aquinas” is from the name Aquino, a country or vast area of land by his family
until 1137) is an Italian Dominican friar and priest, great philosopher, and an immensely influential
theologian who wrote the famous Summa Theologiae. His anthropology is constructed in the context
of a theocentric (centered on God) Christian vision of man. He attempted to synthesize Aristotelian
philosophy with the principles of Christianity, or the Christian vision of man. By adopting the
Aristotelian concepts of man, He asserted that MAN IS RATIONAL, A PERSON. This explains why
the soul subsists even after death (of the body) because the soul possesses its own act of being, (https://www.google.com.ph/search?q=st
.+thomas+aquinas+images&client)
that is, it is a complete substance.
Thus, every human being is a human person who is a social being and, by the use of his faculties – intellect and will, seeks
perfection by acquiring also virtues for human living
4. Rene Descartes (1596-1650 AD): Though without any theological basis, he asserted that man is
considered as the center and the measure of the universe. Following his theme: “Cogito ergo sum”
(I think, therefore, I am), he claimed that man is a subject whose substance consists in thinking.
Sustaining the Platonic idea of the soul, Descartes specifically emphasized that man is identified
with the faculty of the soul. Thus, he said that man is a thinking being. Following this RenéDescartes
(1596-1650)
assertion, he further claimed that freedom is the sovereign faculty of man. Thus, it makes (https://en.wikipedia.org/wi
ki/Ren%C3%A9_Descarte
man lord of himself and his actions. s)
5. Immanuel Kant: Metaphysics Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) is one of the most influential
philosophers in the history of Western philosophy. His contributions to metaphysics, epistemology,
ethics, and aesthetics have had a profound impact on almost every philosophical movement that
followed him. This article focuses on his metaphysics and epistemology in one of his most
important works, The Critique of Pure Reason. A large part of Kant’s work addresses the question
“What can we know?” The answer, if it can be stated simply, is that our knowledge is constrained
to mathematics and the science of the natural, empirical world. It is impossible, Kant argues, to
extend knowledge to the supersensible realm of speculative metaphysics. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I
The reason that knowledge has these constraints, Kant argues, is that the mind plays an active mmanuel_Kant)
role
In constituting the features of experience and limiting the mind’s access only to the empirical
realm of space and time. Kant shows that the one necessary, non-contingent existence is God, a being that is one,
simple, unchangeable, eternal, and spiritual. There is, then, necessarily a God, a being comprehending not all, but all
the highest positive reality…
6. Søren Kierkegaard
32
Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (b. 1813, d. 1855) was a profound and prolific writer in the Danish “golden age” of intellectual
and artistic activity. His work crosses the boundaries of philosophy, theology, psychology, literary
criticism, devotional literature and fiction. Kierkegaard brought this potent mixture of discourses to
bear as social critique and for the purpose of renewing Christian faith within Christendom. At the
same time he made many original conceptual contributions to each of the disciplines he employed.
He is known as the “father of existentialism”, but at least as
important are his critiques of Hegel and of the German romantics, his contributions to the (https
development of modernism, his stylistic experimentation, his vivid re-presentation of biblical /www.google.com.ph/sear
ch?q=soren+kierkegaard
&client)
figures to bring out their modern relevance, his invention of key concepts which have been explored
and redeployed by thinkers ever since, his interventions in contemporary Danish church politics, and his fervent
attempts to analyze and revitalize Christian faith.
In Kierkegaard's view, truth is found through subjectivity, through our individual, unique apprehension of
things. The following are the philosophical thoughts of Kierkegaard:
6.1. We do not find truth through a detached "objectivity" but through a deep engagement with the world. "The
task is precisely to be objective toward oneself and subjective toward all others."
6.2. Existing, as contrasted to simply being, involves an infinite relationship with oneself and a passionate
connection to life.
6.3 Passion is the quality of striving to become. Without passion there is no movement for the existing thinker.
Passion raises the question of what moves one.
6.4 True heroism is "daring entirely to be oneself, this particular person, alone before God." We may lose
contact with our inner self and turn to exterior activity to camouflage this interior emptiness.
6.5 The sickness unto death is a sickness of the spirit. Also called despair. Its three forms are:
6.5.1 The despair of spiritlessness: To be unconscious that one is a spiritual as well as a mental-physical
being.
6.5.2 The despair of encapsulation: Awareness that one has an inner self but wishing, despairingly, not
to be this self.
6.5.3 The despair of defiance: Aware of inner self and wishing to affirm this self, but without recognizing
the relatedness to and ultimate dependence of the human self on God.
The capacity to despair is a sign of our potential ability to grow; the reality of despair is often an impotent
attempt to be rid of our own deep internal spirit which is in conflict with our daily getting and doing.
6.6 Kierkegaard was especially sensitive to, and intolerant of, the hypocrisy of pretending to spirituality while
actually acting from worldly motives.
6.7 The emergence from comfortable ignorance into self-consciousness leads to dread, or anxiety. We live in
a condition of ambiguity in which we cannot be either animal or angel. This dread, or anxiety, can be a
springboard for growth into new dimensions.
6.8 A constant of human life is the contradiction between consciousness of our individuality and part-divinity,
and the terror of the world and our own death and decay. The final terror of self-consciousness is the
knowledge of our own death.
6.9 "Half obscurity" and "shut-upness." In asking about what style and strategy a person uses to avoid anxiety,
Kierkegaard asks how a person is enslaved by his lies to himself about himself. This is, in different words
and fifty years earlier, almost exactly what Freud later labeled "defense mechanisms" and "repression."
6.10 "Lofty shut-upness" leaves a child able to respond to the world on the basis of his or her individuality.
"Mistaken shut-upness" never lets the child "walk alone" or develop itself in its own way.
6.11 Letting a child explore the world and develop its own powers gives the child an "inner sustainment," a self-
confidence in the face of experience.
6.12 The lie of character is built up to adjust to parents, the world, and one's own existential dilemmas. Such
character defenses can become automatic and unconscious. These lies of character deny our possibilities.
They lead people to become afraid to think for themselves.
6.13 Character is a structure built up to avoid perception of the "terror, perdition, and annihilation, that we all
face.
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6.14 The "automatic cultural man" is confined by culture and a slave to it, lulled into triviality by the comfortable
routines of society and the limited alternatives and dull security it offers him. Such a person is called the
Philistine. Today we would call it "normal neurosis."
6.15 The Philistine fears real freedom, because it endangers the structure of denial which surrounds his cultural
routines. It opens up possibilities which the philistine wants to stay away from.
6.16 At the other extreme, too much possibility carries the danger of being ungrounded, out of touch with
anchoring realities. Breakdown can occur because of either too much possibility or too little.
6.17 Self-development requires acknowledgment of both one's realities and one's limits.
6.18 The real problem of life is to discover what is one's true talent, secret gift, authentic vocation. How can we
express this talent, give it form, dedicate it to something beyond oneself?
6.19 Health is not "normal adjustment," or "cultural normality". The truly healthy person is the one who has
transcended himself or herself by dispelling the lie of our character, realizing the truth of our situation, and
breaking our spirit out of its conditioned prison.
6.20 Possibility is an intermediate stage between cultural conditioning and the leap into faith which gives us
direction and meaning in the face of conditions and uncertainty which otherwise would lead to terror, a
feeling of aloneness and helplessness, and constant anxiety.
For Kierkegaard Christian faith is not a matter of regurgitating church dogma. It is a matter of individual subjective
passion, which cannot be mediated by the clergy or by human artefacts. Faith is the most important task to be achieved by
a human being, because only on the basis of faith does an individual have a chance to become a true self. This self is the
life-work which God judges for eternity.
7. Martin Heidegger (1889—1976)
Martin Heidegger is widely acknowledged to be one of the most original and important philosophers of the 20 th
century, while remaining one of the most controversial. His thinking has contributed to such diverse fields as
phenomenology, existentialism, hermeneutics, political theory, psychology, and theology.
Heidegger’s main interest was ontology or the study of being. In his fundamental treatise, Being
and Time, he attempted to access being (Sein) by means of phenomenological analysis of human
existence (Dasein) in respect to its temporal and historical character. After the change of his thinking
(“the turn”), Heidegger placed an emphasis on language as the vehicle through which the question of
being can be unfolded. He turned to the exegesis of historical texts, especially of the Pre-socratics, but
also of Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche and Hölderlin, and to poetry, architecture, technology, and other subjects.
Instead of looking for a full clarification of the meaning of being, he tried to pursue a kind of thinking
which was no longer “metaphysical.” He criticized the tradition of Western philosophy, which he regarded (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/martin
Heidegger).
as nihilistic, for, as he claimed, the question of being as such was obliterated in it. He also stressed the
nihilism of modern technological culture. By going to the Pre-socratic beginning of Western thought, he wanted to repeat the
early Greek experience of being, so that the West could turn away from the dead end of nihilism and begin anew.
D. Believe Readings
D. Based on the Philosophers view, answer the following questions:

D.1.1. What is knowledge?
D.1.2. What is the nature of truth?
D.1.3. Could the existence of God be proved? What is justice?
D.1.4. Why should we act morally?
D.1.5. What is the nature and value of art?
D.1.6. Formulate you own philosophy.
D.2. Answer the following
D.2.1. Personally know the life and works of the following: Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Rene Descartes.
D.2.2. Reflect upon yourself and accomplish the following:
D.2.2.1. Make a list of your personal attitudes and mentalities, opinions and views about the human being.
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D.2.2.2. Analyze and classify them according to the three basic notions: the materialistic, the spiritualistic and the
holistic views.
D.2.2.3. Then, make at least five (5) concrete resolutions to change these attitudes or opinions that need to be
changed or to be improved.
III Comprehensive Evaluation
Test l: True or False. Read carefully each statement to determine the truth or falsity of the idea presented in each statement.
On your paper, write + if the idea expressed in the statement is true and if false, write 0.
_______ 1. St. Paul claimed that freedom is the sovereign faculty of man.
_______ 2. Our knowledge of God is solely dependent on our human capacity to comprehend divine realities.
_______ 3. The Sacred Scriptures clearly states that “man is created in the image and likeness of God
_______ 4. Plato claimed that the body and soul are two constitutive elements that form one substance of man.
_______ 5. Theologians define Light of Glory as a supernatural power infused into the soul, in which one is enabled to see
God
_______ 6. Our Christian faith must be guided by reason; and reason should elucidate the gray areas of our faith by still
being faithful to the official teachings of the Magisterium.
_______ 7. Aristotle asserted that man is considered as the center and the measure of the universe.
_______ 8. St. Augustine’s greatest contribution is in the field of theology when he puts a connection between faith and
reason.
_______ 9. Father Teilhard de Chardin puts a connection between science and religion in his article called The Divine milieu.
_______ 10. By the enlightenment of God by the power of the Holy Spirit that we shall have a broader knowledge and
understanding of God and His divine plan.
Test ll: Matching Type: Match the descriptions in column A with personages in column B. On your paper, write the letter
only that corresponds to your answer.
_______ 11. believed that this world is perfect; thus, knowledge is also perfect A. Plato
_______ 12. once said: “Fides Quaerens Intellectum” (Faith is seeking understanding). B. St. Anselm
_______ 13. once asserted that “I believe, in order to understand, and I understand, the C. St. Augustine
better to believe. D. Rene Descartes
_______ 14. claimed “Cogito ergo sum” (I think, therefore, I am), that man is a subject
E. St Thomas Aquinas
whose substance consists in thinking.
_______ 15. attempted to synthesize Aristotelian philosophy with the principles of
Christianity, or the Christian vision of man.
Enrichment Exercise: Group Activities: Conduct an interview with schoolmates, neighbors and friends about their view
of what man is. Then, analyze and classify their answers according to the three basic notions on man. Afterwards, draw
one (1) implication for each anthropological view in the life of an individual person if such view is embraced.
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Lesson 2 – Man: A Substantial Unity

I. Learning Outcome: At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
a) Identify the materialistic view from spiritualistic view of man
b) explain Man as a substantial unity of body and soul.
c) theorize based on philosophers’ view ‘what man really is?’;
d) write a reflection on man’s religious experience in the light of reason.
II. Instructional Sequence

A. Share Activity
Video Clip: “Listen to the Story of the life of the preferred Philosophers”
(This activity of “listening” leads to understanding the presence of God in all created His own image and
likeness.)
B. Heed: (Group Sharing) (10 mins.)
Guide Questions:
1. Which of the different philosophies discussed do you agree?
2. Which notion on the human being leads you to a deeper faith in God?
3. Why given witness to the teachings of the Christian Philosophers?
Man, a Substantial Unity of Body and Soul

A. The Nature of Man
What really Man is? The theories of the nature of man so far noticed are purely philosophical. No one of them has been
explicitly condemned by the Church. The ecclesiastical definitions have reference merely to the "union" of "body" and "soul".
There are two lines of understanding the nature of man that is present in modern society. People who give more importance
to the body (by being so concerned about its figure, fitness or the like) and who think that it is very important to give in to
your feelings, emotions, affections and appetites, tend to think that man is just a body. Others, who despise the body as less
important, consider the spirit as the only essential element in man’s life. But those who believe in the Greek ideal of mens
sana in corpore sano (A sound mind in a healthy body) have a right and coherent concept of the substantial unity of two
essential dimensions in man. We shall discuss, therefore, the materialistic, the spiritualistic and the holistic views of man.
1. Materialistic View: Is Man a Body only?
We may be very familiar with experiences of our body: comfort, pain, pleasure, etc. Oftentimes, we identify ourselves with
our body. When our body is sick, we say “I am sick”. However, it may be also clear to us that we are not just our body. Strictly
speaking, I am not my body. I am more than my body. I have a body, but I am not my body. What are the consequences if
we identify ourselves with our body?
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One result of identifying the person with one’s own body is that the qualities of the body become the qualities of the person.
However, being a person is not defined by the bodily characteristics. Being a kind, generous and understanding person has
nothing directly to do with the body. The body is just, as it were, an instrument for one to do acts of kindness and generosity.
Yet, while acts of kindness may be done through the body, it is the person who is kind, not the body.
Another implication of identifying the self with the body is that man is reduced to his body: man is only a body. Hence, what
is more important now is the wellness of the body. In the modern society, we can observe some kind of “worship of the
human body” as manifested in the exaggerated concern over physical health, the acquisition of perfect body, the exhibition
of human body in beauty contests, and the unbridled desire to acquire a sexy body as if it were the yard stick of happiness.
This materialistic view of the human person has practical consequences also in the life of men and women in the society.
Why do we always see women in bikinis associated with advertisements about liquors? Lots of young people today associate
happiness with pleasure, and pleasure without responsibility. Less importance is given to the human values that one gets
from a romantic relationship. Pre-marital sex is rampant. What is important now is the “maximum pleasure but minimum
pain” that we can get from the use of our body. Hence, the materialistic view lurks behind the utilitarian behavior that is
growing rapidly among modern men and women.
2. Spiritualistic View: Is Man a Soul only?
Possibly, as a reaction against the materialistic view of man, there are those who would emphasize strongly the spiritual
aspect of human being. As a matter of fact, we have concrete experiences of our spiritual nature. Our ideas are spiritual,
i.e., they don’t have corresponding bodies. If our ideas are conceived by a faculty of our soul, that is, the intellect, then our
soul must also be spiritual.
However, the overemphasis on the spiritual dimension at the expense of the material also has its adverse consequences. In
the Middle Ages, for instance, there was an exaggerated importance given to spiritual well-being to the extent that the body
was held in contempt. In the practice of spiritual life, there was an excessive emphasis on the use of bodily mortification (like
hitting one’s body) with the belief that if we punish our body, we purify our soul.
This spiritualistic view of man and reality is also characterized by an excessive contempt of what is commonly considered
worldly: the realm of matter (the world and everything in it) is opposite to the realm of the spirit (the “world” beyond the
physical universe). When this is exaggerated, we can just imagine up to what extent this mentality can lead us. It makes us
think that when one owns a brand new car, he is worldly or too materialistic. Material possessions are in themselves
considered evil and are hindrances to our relationship with God. Hence, men and women must denounce any desire to
possess material goods and must concentrate on the purification of the soul. The world is basically evil; hence, we should
all attend to the well-being of the soul.
However, we all know that God created the world good (Cfr. Gen 1: 31). Hence, material things are not evil in themselves.
They can be used for good. It is our abuse of material goods that turn them into evil. When we become attached to material
things, when they become our masters, then, material possessions separate us from the greatest good: God. But when we
use material goods rightfully, when we order them to the benefit of man and for the glory of God, then, material possessions
become good and essential in serving the Lord.
St. Josemaria Escriva (2002), the Founder of Opus Dei, in his book, “Passionately Loving the World” as cited by Fr. Russell
Bantiles, wrote: “The world is not evil, because it has come from God’s hands, because it is His creation, because “Yahweh
looked upon it and saw that it was good” (cf. Gen 1:7ff). We ourselves, mankind, make it evil and ugly with our sins and
infidelities. Have no doubt: any kind of evasion of the honest realities of daily life is for you, men and women of the world,
something opposed to the will of God”.
3. Holistic View: Is Man a Substantial Unity of Body and Soul?
To counter these two extreme views of man – the materialistic and the spiritualistic views – we must affirm the substantial
unity of matter and spirit in human being. Man is a corporeal-spiritual being, which must be understood as a radical unity
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with two aspects: body and soul. In human reality, the pinnacle of the animal world, the material dimension of the universe
and the spirit are intertwined intrinsically: the spirit vivifies and animates matter.
The CCC affirms of the brilliance of Aristotle to assert that Man is a substantial unity of body and soul, “The unity of soul and
body is so profound that one has to consider the soul to be the ‘form’ of the body: i.e., it is because of its spiritual soul that
the body made of matter becomes a living, human body; spirit and matter, in man, are not two natures united, but rather their
union forms a single nature” (no. 365).
The Body:
As human experienced one’s own body, one discovers that human body is a complex system but highly organized structure
made up of unique cells that work together to accomplish the specific functions necessary for sustaining life. It can be viewed
in many different aspects. Douglas C. Long (1964) in “The Philosophical Review” Vol. 73, No. 3, wrote that the "human
bodies" of which philosophers have been speaking are living things, they are conscious and living human beings. Then, St.
John Paul II (2006) in his book, “Theology of the Body” stresses the four qualities of human body, namely:
1) symbolic which points beyond itself to the spiritual and invisible dimensions,
2) nuptial which relates to another’s body and it speaks, it has a language of its own
3) free and fallen tells that human body is not the cause of sin but sin affects human body
4) redeemed by the death and resurrection of Christ who restored the meaning of human existence and the human body.
Strictly speaking, in human beings, we say that there is no soul without body and there is no body without a soul. Man is
created as body and soul together; not the body first, then the soul. When the sperm cell and the egg cell meet, the zygote
is formed. Immediately and simultaneously, the human soul is created and infused into the human body (in this case, the
zygote), so that the fetus that is growing in its mother’s womb is completely a human being (and, consequently, a human
person) by the time it is conceived. (This is why abortion is a heinous crime because it is a murder of an innocent human
person).
“The Church teaches that every spiritual soul is created immediately by God – it is not ‘produced’ by the parents – and also
that it is immortal: it does not perish when it separates from the body at death, and it will be reunited with the body at the
final resurrection” (CCC, no. 366). The human body shares in the dignity of "the image of God": it is a human body precisely
because it is animated by a spiritual soul, and it is the whole human person that is intended to become, in the body of Christ,
the temple of the Spirit:
Man, though made of body and soul, is a unity. Through his very bodily condition he sums up in himself the elements of the
material world. Through him they are thus brought to their highest perfection and can raise their voice in praise freely given
to the Creator. For this reason, man may not despise his bodily life. Rather he is obliged to regard his body as good and to
hold it in honor since God has created it and will raise it up on the last day.
The Soul:
A point of clarification: when we talk about “soul”, we refer to the principle of life, a vital principle that animates all living
beings. Soul is life. Hence, all living beings have souls in a general sense. However, “spirit” refers to the power of the spiritual
soul to think and to will (intelligence and will). Only human souls are spiritual because only humans are given intellect and
will by the Creator, who deemed that man should be in communion with Him in heaven (Cfr. CCC, no. 367). Specifically
speaking, we use “soul” to refer to spiritual human soul (although not exclusively, because we also talk about animal soul or
vegetative soul). But here, when we talk about “soul”, we specifically refer to the spiritual soul of man.
In Sacred Scripture the term "soul" often refers to human life or the entire human person. But "soul" also refers to the
innermost aspect of man, that which is of greatest value in him, that by which he is most especially in God's image: "soul"
signifies the spiritual principle in man.
This holistic view of man has its practical implications.

i) Firstly, since man is a substantial unity, whatever you do to your body has an effect to your soul. Haven’t you
noticed that every time you give in to your sensual appetites or to your cravings for food you find it hard to control
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your passions like anger or sensuality? It is because your sensible appetites (bodily reactions) are getting stronger
whenever we give in to them. But the intellectual appetites (i.e. the will) become weaker.
ii) Secondly, we should not be concerned solely on the welfare of our body, but also of our soul. It is because over-
emphasis on the well-being of the body may not necessarily do good to the soul. Oftentimes, over-emphasis on
the wellness of the body alone has adverse effect on the soul, and vice versa. St. Josemaria Escriva in “The Way”
http://www.escrivaworks.org, rightly observed: “It has been well said that the soul and the body are two enemies
who can’t get away from one another, and two friends who cannot get along”.
Since the spiritual is superior to the material, our first priority should be the welfare of our soul without neglecting the rightful
concern over our body. It is true that we cannot pray well with an empty stomach. Hence, we need to address first the needs
of our body. Yet, we should always remember that we keep ourselves bodily healthy with the aim of serving well the Lord
and our fellowmen. Hence, we take good care of our body in order to take good care of our soul. This ideal is well expressed
in the Latin dictum: “Anima sana in corporesano” (A healthy mind – soul – in a healthy body).
B. Body and Soul but Truly One"

Man is one living being or “mono entity” not a composite of two, that is one upon birth, one upon death and one upon rising
from the dead. Several philosophers, and among them were Plato of the ancient school, and Descartes of the modern, have
denied the substantial unity of body and soul, and the reciprocal and immediate action of the soul on the body, and of the
body and soul in living composites. The soul is the substantial form of the body, that is, the soul is so united to the body, that
through it the body receives and possess subsistence and life and that from the union of these two principles there results a
single substance.
So with man, from the union of his body and soul, from their intimate union, there results a third substance which is neither
body alone, nor soul alone, nor a simple contact or mixture of the two, as a mixture of silver and gold, still the soul in this
union does not lose its own essence: although unite to the body in unity of substance, it nevertheless remains distinct from
the body. Since it performs certain acts independently of the body, it follows that it preserves its spiritual nature intact.
The human person is a being at once corporeal and spiritual. The biblical account expresses this reality in symbolic language
when it affirms that "then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of
life; and man became a living being." Man, whole and entire, is therefore willed by God. The unity of soul and body is so
profound that one has to consider the soul to be the "form" of the body: i.e., it is because of its spiritual soul that the body
made of matter becomes a living, human body; spirit and matter, in man, are not two natures united, but rather their union
forms a single nature.
Sometimes the soul is distinguished from the spirit: St. Paul for instance prays that God may sanctify his people "wholly",
with "spirit and soul and body" kept sound and blameless at the Lord's coming. The Church teaches that this distinction does
not introduce a duality into the soul. "Spirit" signifies that from creation man is ordered to a supernatural end and that his
soul can gratuitously be raised beyond all it deserves to communion with God. The spiritual tradition of the Church also
emphasizes the heart, in the biblical sense of the depths of one's being, where the person decides for or against God.
D. Believe Integration to Life
Individual Activity:
Think of an individual who is … How are their lives lived? What are concrete indicators?
Materialistic
Spiritualistic
Holistic
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III. Comprehensive Evaluation
Test l: Essay. Answer exhaustively.
1. Explain Aristotle’s concept, “Man is a substantial unity of the body and soul.”
2. What are some other consequences in our practical life of the following views of man: (a) Man is body only; (b) Man is
soul only; and (c) Man is a substantial unity of body and soul?
3. What behavior, attitudes and mentalities do you think you have that are somehow (a) materialistic, (b) spiritualistic or
(c) holistic in relation to your view of man?
4. What attitudes should you foster upon considering that you are created in the image and likeness of God?
5. How do you show respect human dignity and solidarity with fellowmen?
6. Why are you a Christian? Or non-Christian?
7. What attitude must one possess if he were to have a “supernatural power infused in the soul”?
8. Why man is able to have a grasp of a divine reality?
Enrichment Exercise: Group Activities: Search in the internet and cite at least one philosopher’s
analysis on the concept of “Substantial Unity”.
1. Which of the different philosophies discussed do you agree? Why?

2. Which notion on the human being leads you to a deeper faith in God? Explain.
3. Why learn the teachings of the Christian Philosophers?
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Lesson 3: Man: God’s Image and Likeness
I. Learning Outcome: At the end of this lesson, students will able to:
a) explain what it means to be created in the image and likeness of God;
b) describe what separates humans from the animals;
c) articulate why God chose to create man in his image and likeness; and,
d) practice how man as an image of God behave within a community or a society.

C. Share Activity:
Game: Craft “God Loves You” Mirror
Pass the crafts and facilitate the students say, “This craft will remind you that you are a unique and special creation!”
“Now we are going to state something good about ourselves”.
D. Heed Group Sharing

Guide Questions:
1. What are the good statements I can say about myself?
2. How do I feel while reminding myself about “how good am I”?
3. Why is it’s often easy for us to see good things in other people but we seldom say good qualities in
ourselves?
4. What are my realizations?
Man is God’s Image and Likeness

The beginning of Christianity has sanitized man’s awareness of himself. As cited above, this perception of ‘what man is’
starts from the materialistic view to the spiritualistic perspective, and finally, with the brilliance of Aristotle, to the holistic of
man as substantial unity. Christian faith elevates what reason has achieved. The essential teaching of Christian faith on man
is that “man is created in the image and likeness of God”. The Sacred Scriptures, the Sacred Tradition as carried on by the
Magisterium of the Catholic Church unanimously uphold this truth. Let us briefly examine them.
In quoting, "God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them,”
(Gen. 1:27), the CCC teaches that Man occupies a unique place in creation: (I) he is "in the image of God"; (II) in his own
nature he unites the spiritual and material worlds; (III) he is created "male and female"; (IV) God established him in his
friendship. (CCC 355)
A. “In the Image of God”
1) Biblical Foundation
Bantiles,. Fr. Russell (2013), whose work is made as reference here and onwards, in an excerpt of his dissertation, “God,
Faith and Reason in the Philosophy of Nicholas Wolterstorff,” cited that the Biblical scholars explaining that the term “image
of God” (imago Dei) occurs three times in the Bible.
a) First, in Genesis 1:26-27, we read:
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“Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and
the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, [a] and over all the creatures that move along the
ground. So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created
them”.
Bantiles elucidated further that from this passage, we learn not only that man is God’s image but also that God created
human sexuality only as male and female. Masculinity and femininity both reflect the image of God.
b.) Second, in Genesis 9:6, we read: “Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the
image of God has God made mankind”. Of course, we are not saying that God has blood since He is pure spirit. But
this passage tells us not only the truth of man as imago Dei but also that man’s being God’s image is the foundation of
human dignity. Hence, violation against human dignity is a violation against God “for in the image of God has God
made mankind”.
c) Third, in 2 Cor. 4:4 we see the phrase used in reference to Jesus: “The god of this age has blinded the minds of
unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the Gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God”.
We see a progress here: the imago Dei is applied in a special way to Jesus Christ. If man is God’s image, and Jesus
is perfect man, then, Christ is the perfect image of God. Here lies the difference. While we imperfectly reflect God,
Christ perfectly reveals God’s Identity. For this reason, we understand the words of our Lord in the Gospel: “The Father
and I are one” (Jn 10: 30). They are one, not as person (for the Father is distinct from the Son), but as substance, God
or divinity (but not as two Gods because Jesus is the perfect image of God).
2) Theological Meaning
One may say that the child looks like his father or mother because one sees them both. But what about “image and likeness
of God”, what does it mean? Does anyone here see concretely God? Theology has entered the realm of truth of God which
is hard to explain. It may generalize what it means to say that man is God’s image.
1. Image of God or “Imago Dei”
The phrase obviously does not refer to physical appearance since God, as we said, is pure spirit (Supreme intellect and
Supreme will) (Cfr. Jn 4: 24; Lk 24: 39). Hence, we may conclude that the phrase refers to God’s reflection in human nature
in terms of spiritual realities like compassion, rationality, love, unity, etc. For this reason, traditionally, imago Dei is understood
as man’s reflection of God’s spiritual nature. Since God is spirit (intellect and will), man is also spiritual: he has intellect and
will. The radical difference is that while God is Supreme (or Ultimate) Intellect and Will, man has intellect and will. The former
is identical with intellect and will, the latter simply possess them.
2. Likeness of God
What do we mean to say “man is God’s likeness”? When God created the human being, He does not only give man the
“natural gifts” of intelligence and freewill. God also gifted him with what we call “preternatural gifts” of immortality, original
holiness and justice (interior harmony). Adam and Eve were immortal in the Garden of Eden. But after their fall into sin, death
entered the world. Original holiness refers to their intimate friendship with God as symbolized by Adam’s walking with God
in the garden. After their fall, Adam and Eve could not “walk with God” anymore because of shame and fear (Cfr. Gen 3: 8ff).
Original Justice refers to the interior harmony that our first parents experienced with their faculties (intellect and will), sensible
appetites and passions. While the human will is directed to God, it governed all the other faculties. But when it rebelled
against God’s will, all the other human faculties like passions, urges and lower appetites also rebelled against the human
will (Cfr. CCC nos. 396-406). This explains why oftentimes, as St. Paul says “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to
do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate” (Rm 7: 15).
Hence, after the fall, man lost all his preternatural gifts. Although he still had intellect and will, these two were seriously
affected by sin: the intellect was obscured (it is prone to error) and the will is weakened (it often becomes slave to passions).
This is the state of human nature that Jesus Christ came to heal and to save.
3) Relevance of this Truth to Man’s Life
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From this theological exposition of man’s nature, the CCC has drawn several implications of this truth in human life and
experiences. We shall discuss only three points: human dignity, solidarity among all mankind, and Christianity as a natural
consequence.
a. Firstly, since “Of all visible creatures only man is ‘able to know and love his Creator” (GS 12), and since “He is the
only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake” (GS 24), man is called to share the life of God through knowledge
and love. Hence, man is created in God’s image and likeness for one purpose: to know and to love God. This is the
fundamental reason for man’s dignity (Cfr. CCC, no. 356).
Every human being, therefore, must be treated with respect and honor because he is God’s image and likeness. “Being in
the image of God the human individual possesses the dignity of a person, who is not just something, but someone” (CCC,
no. 357). Consequently, every human being is a human person. It is completely wrong, therefore, those who say that a fetus
is just a human being, not a human person. A human person is person not only because he speaks, knows, loves and does
a host of many other human actions. He is person because he is capable of all these actions. “He is capable of self-
knowledge, of self-possession and of freely giving himself and entering into communion with other persons” (CCC, no. 357).
Respect for human and personal dignity is the first consequence of the truth that man is imago Dei. How do you contribute
so that human persons are well respected in your home, school and community, despite their physical or mental incapacities?
b. Secondly, since all human beings, created in God’s image, come from one and unique origin, they form one humanity. As
CCC puts it: “Because of its common origin the human race forms a unity, for ‘from one ancestor (God) made all nations to
inhabit the whole earth” (Acts 17:26) (CCC, no. 360). This unity of all humanity is explained by Pope Pius XII in terms of
oneness in (a) origin (b) nature (c) immediate aim and mission (d) dwelling place (e) supernatural end (f) means towards our
end (g) redemption or salvation.
In Summi Pontificatus, Pope Pius XII (1939) wrote:
“O wondrous vision, which makes us contemplate the human race in the unity of its origin in God…in the unity of its
nature, composed equally in all men of a material body and a spiritual soul; in the unity of its immediate end and its
mission in the world; in the unity of its dwelling, the earth, whose benefits all men, by right of nature, may use to sustain
and develop life; in the unity of its supernatural end: God Himself, to whom all ought to tend; in the unity of the means
for attaining this end:…in the unity of the redemption wrought by Christ for all”.(SP 3)
This passage explains why we feel deep sorrow upon witnessing devastations of lives and properties of our fellow
countrymen, or when we hear of heinous and not-so-heinous crimes committed against individual persons, or when we
discover poverty, oppression and other injustices against humanity. This reaction is not merely philanthropic: it runs deep
in our being created in God’s image and likeness. How do we express our solidarity with our less fortunate brethren? How
do we live the virtue of charity towards those in need?
b) Lastly, since God created us in His own image and likeness, and, as we have said above, Christ is the perfect image of
God, our struggle to be faithful to our being imago Dei entails the natural implication that we must become more and more
like Christ. “In reality, it is only in the mystery of the Word made flesh (Jesus Christ) that the mystery of man truly becomes
clear”. (GS 22). Concretely, to be truly human (that is, to be truly imago Dei) means to be truly Christian, to imitate the person
of Christ as the perfect Image Dei. Christianity, therefore, is not just a choice: it is a natural consequence. If one wants to
become more truly human, the best move is not just to choose from among the many options, either philosophies or religions
that offer a project towards true humanity. The best move is to become like Christ.
Besides, to be like Christ is not something imposed from the outside. Rather, it is something that is demanded from the
inside. One is Christian or Catholic, not because his or her grandmother forces him or her to be so, but because he or she
feels this is what makes him or her whole: this is what helps him or her to be more human. Why are you a Christian or
Catholic?
As anyone can see, Bantiles concludes, Christian anthropology makes a bull’s-eye in one’s search for true religion. For it
ushers every human being directly right towards its origin, nature and purpose. It is the only view of man that does not close
to itself. Rather, it opens to the source of man’s being: it is a perspective that opens up to God.
B. "Male and Female He Created Them"
1) Equality and difference willed by God

43
There are two ways of imaging God, being a male and a female though different yet both are equal. This is the way God
designed when He created them. As the CCC puts it, “Man and woman have been created, which is to say, willed by God:
on the one hand, in perfect equality as human persons; on the other, in their respective beings as man and woman. "Being
man" or "being woman" is a reality which is good and willed by God: man and woman possess an inalienable dignity which
comes to them immediately from God their Creator. Man and woman are both with one and the same dignity "in the image
of God". In their "being-man" and "being-woman", they reflect the Creator's wisdom and goodness.” (CCC 369)
It cannot be in the other way around as the CCC glued the teaching further, “In no way is God in man's image. He is neither
man nor woman. God is pure spirit in which there is no place for the difference between the sexes. But the respective
"perfections" of man and woman reflect something of the infinite perfection of God: those of a mother and those of a father
and husband”. (CCC 397-70)
2) Each for the other" - "A unity in two"
God created man and woman together and willed each for the other. The Word of God gives us to understand this through
various features of the sacred text. "It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him a helper fit for him." None of
the animals can be man's partner. The woman God "fashions" from the man's rib and brings to him elicits on the man's part
a cry of wonder, an exclamation of love and communion: "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh." Man
discovers woman as another "I", sharing the same humanity.
Man and woman were made "for each other" - not that God left them half-made and incomplete: he created them to be a
communion of persons, in which each can be "helpmate" to the other, for they are equal as persons ("bone of my bones. . .")
and complementary as masculine and feminine. In marriage God unites them in such a way that, by forming "one flesh",
they can transmit human life: "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth." By transmitting human life to their descendants, man
and woman as spouses and parents cooperate in a unique way in the Creator's work.
In God's plan man and woman have the vocation of "subduing" the earth as stewards of God. This sovereignty is not to be
an arbitrary and destructive domination. God calls man and woman, made in the image of the Creator "who loves everything
that exists", to share in his providence toward other creatures; hence their responsibility for the world God has entrusted to
them.
3) Man in Paradise (CCC 374-78)
The first man was not only created good, but was also established in friendship with his Creator and in harmony with himself
and with the creation around him, in a state that would be surpassed only by the glory of the new creation in Christ.
The Church, interpreting the symbolism of biblical language in an authentic way, in the light of the New Testament and
Tradition, teaches that our first parents, Adam and Eve, were constituted in an original "state of holiness and justice". This
grace of original holiness was "to share in... divine life".
By the radiance of this grace all dimensions of man's life were confirmed. As long as he remained in the divine intimacy, man
would not have to suffer or die. The inner harmony of the human person, the harmony between man and woman, and finally
the harmony between the first couple and all creation, comprised the state called "original justice".
The "mastery" over the world that God offered man from the beginning was realized above all within man himself: mastery
of self. The first man was unimpaired and ordered in his whole being because he was free from the triple concupiscence that
subjugates him to the pleasures of the senses, covetousness for earthly goods, and self-assertion, contrary to the dictates
of reason.
The sign of man's familiarity with God is that God places him in the garden. There he lives "to till it and keep it". Work is not
yet a burden, but rather the collaboration of man and woman with God in perfecting the visible creation.
44
This entire harmony of original justice, foreseen for man in God's plan, will be lost by the sin of our first parents.
Finally, Bantiles concluded, the topic on the capacity of man to know and to love God has discussed lengthily. It gave
confidence that this truth can be understood better only if one has the right perspective of what man is, namely, that he is a
substantial unity of body and soul, created in the image and likeness of God. Whenever we neglect this fundamental truth,
we run the risk of reducing man to either the spiritual or corporal dimension only.
This is what defines man’s dignity: his being created in the image and likeness of God. Understanding this is very essential
in our lives as it helps us behave accordingly. If we are God’s image and likeness, then, we must also act in accordance to
our dignity
D. Believe What it means to be an image of God?
a) Find out how all humans were made in the image of the creator, God.
 What human condition portrays humans as God’s image?
 How do you prove to the Church/Society that you are God’s Image?
 What do you do to show your gratitude to the Creator for being His image and likeness?
 How can you share your being God’s Image to others?
III. Comprehensive Evaluation:
Essay Questions:
1. What is an “Image of God?”
2. What are the biblical texts that talk about “Man as Image of God”?
3. Cite concrete examples of “Man as Image of God”?
4. Explain how man and woman are made in the image of God.
5. What does it mean to be made in God’s Image?”
IV. Encouragement Exercise:

Draw your personal portrait and label by label it. Consider the statement: “God created Man and Woman
according to His image and likeness.”
45
Good News Bible. (1993). Today’s English Version. With Deuterocanonicals. . Philippine Bible Society, 890 U.N.
Ave., Manila Philippines. Mt. 8:23-27, 18:6-9, Mark 9:42-50, Jn. 20:24-29, Eph. 4:5-6,
Pope John Paul II. (1992). Catechism of the Catholic Church. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 Fouth Street, NE, Washington, DC 20017-1194 ISBN 978-1-57455-110-5, # 166-169, 846-848, 170-175,
200-202, 2087-2089,
Pope Paul VI. (1964). Lumen Gentium.
Pope Paul VI. (1965). Gaudium et Spes
Swindal, J.(2008). Faith and Reason. In the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy,
Wikipedia, http: Wikipedia. Org/wiki/Augustine of Hippo.
Samples, Kenneth R.(2001). Rightly Dividing the truth,
Thomas, W.(2001). Introduction to St. Anselm’s Proslogion
Wolterstorff, N. (2010). Reformed epistemology.p 336
Wolterstorff, N. (1999). Reason Within the Bounds of Religion. 2nd ed., William B. Eerdmans Publishing
Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan. pp 15-20.
Aquinas, T. (1259-1265). Summa Contra Gentiles.1,q.3,
Bantiles, R. (2013). God, Faith and Reason in the Philosophy of Nicholas Wolterstorff. University of Navarra,
Pamplona Spain. P439
Pope Benedict XVI.(2011). The Listening Heart. Reflections on the Foundation of Law,
Pope Benedict XVI.(2012). Address to the Bishops of the United States during their Ad limina Visit.
Vat. II.(1982).Documents of the Second Vatican Council. Paulines Publishing House, Daughters of St. Paul,
2650 F.B. Harrison Street 1300, Pasay City, Philippines. ISBN 971-590-330-4
46
MODULE 2: UNIT II– MAN SEARCHES FOR GOD
Lesson 1: The Desire For God

a) articulate the profound worth in knowing God intimately, one’s experience of deep longing for God
and the different theologians’ concepts of the knowledge of God;
b) design actions of finding God and developing an intimate relationship with Him; and,
c) praise and thank the God for the gift of Faith He has given us that enable us to recognize and Love Him.
A. Share Activity
“SELF IMAGING”
(This activity of “Self-Image” leads to knowing God who created us in His own image and likeness.)
B. Heed Group Sharing (10 Mins.)
Guide Questions
1. What are my good qualities?
2. What makes me beautiful/unique individual?
3. What are my limitations in life?
The Desire for God
Many people, according to Jeanne Knoele (1996) in an article “Loving learning and desire for God”, are interested in the life
of the mind. That is why, we see many people spent their lives in research, development of new knowledge, providing
information into the workings of the universe, of our psyche, of political system and the like. She explained further that to
become fully human is to keep in touch with two forces, the force of the mind which presents rich panoply of facts, ideas and
insights and the force of faith which provides energy to illuminate all ideas, information and insights and put into proper order.
Knoele encouraged the balance of mind and faith. As St. John Paul II puts it, “Faith and reason are like two wings on which
the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart the desire to know the truth
— in a word, to know himself — so that by knowing and loving God, men and women can come to the fullness of the
truth about themselves” (Fides et Ratio 1).
A. Man is created by God and for God.
In giving emphasis on the role of faith in man’s reason, the Church instills that “the desire for God is written in the human
heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will man
find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for: (CCC 27) As Vatican Council II reflects, “the dignity of man rests
above all on the fact that he is called to communion with God. This invitation to converse with God is addressed to man as
47
soon as he comes into being. For if man exists it is because God has created him through love, and through love continues
to hold him in existence. He cannot live fully according to truth unless he freely acknowledges that love and entrusts
himself to his creator.” (GS 19)
1. Expressions of this desire in Man’s Life
In many ways, throughout history down to the present day, men have given expression to their quest for God in their religious
beliefs and behavior: in their prayers, sacrifices, rituals, meditations, and so forth. These forms of religious expression,
despite the ambiguities they often bring with them, are so universal that one may well call man a religious being: From one
ancestor (God) made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries
of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him - though
indeed he is not far from each one of us. For "in him we live and move and have our being."(CCC 28).
2. Denial of this Desire by Man

But this "intimate and vital bond of man to God" (GS 19 # 1) can be forgotten, overlooked, or even explicitly rejected by man.
Such attitudes can have different causes: revolt against evil in the world; religious ignorance or indifference; the cares and
riches of this world; the scandal of bad example on the part of believers; currents of thought hostile to religion; finally, that
attitude of sinful man which makes him hide from God out of fear and flee his call. For the truths that concern the relations
between God and man wholly transcend the visible order of things, and, if they are translated into human action and influence
it, they call for self-surrender and abnegation. The human mind, in its turn, is hampered in the attaining of such truths, not
only by the impact of the senses and the imagination, but also by disordered appetites which are the consequences of
original sin. So it happens that men in such matters easily persuade themselves that what they would not like to be true is
false or at least doubtful.
“Let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice." Although man can forget God or reject him, He never ceases to call
every man to seek him, so as to find life and happiness. But this search for God demands of man every effort of intellect, a
sound will, "an upright heart", as well as the witness of others who teach him to seek God. (CCC29)
3. Restlessness of Man’s Heart

Man becomes wayward because he denied the need for God. But despite this denial, man finds himself searching for God because man
is created by God and he is for God. You are great, O Lord, and greatly to be praised: great is your power and your wisdom is without
measure. Man, so small a part of your creation, wants to praise you: this man, though clothed with mortality and bearing the evidence
of sin and the proof that you withstand the proud. Despite everything, man, though but a small a part of your creation, wants to praise
you. You yourself encourage him to delight in your praise, for you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest
in you. (Confessions)
D. Believe Family Thankfulness
Make a list of ways you are thankful for your family members.
List each family member and three things you appreciate about them. Then write or draw a picture of one way you can
show them how thankful you are. Share the list over a family meal so everyone can practice gratitude together.
Name of Family Members Three things you appreciate about them Draw a picture to symbolize your gratefulness
1. a.
b.
c.
2. a.
b.
c.
3. a.
b.
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c.
True or False:
1. Man constantly seeks for God because his heart is created by God and for God.
2. My disability blocks me to relate to God.
3. Human image is so unique that “I can boast” and claim I can be superior to anybody.
4. God has designed my fate, and so I don’t have the power to change it.
5. Human intelligence is superior to physical and emotional abilities.
IV. Encouragement Exercise/Enrichment Exercise
Write a reflection on “Self Identity” in the light of one’s faith in God.

49
MODULE 2: UNIT II – MAN SEARCHES FOR GOD
Lesson 2: Ways of Knowing God

I. Learning Outcome: At the end of this lesson, students will be to:
a. express positive outlook of human experience;
b. affirm the goodness and truthfulness of each individual’s experience;
c. Design actions of finding God and developing an intimate relationship with Him; and
d. actualize his/herself positively in terms of human experience.
B. Share Activity
“Other Self-Image”
C. Heed Group Sharing

Guide Questions
1. What are the importance of the significant others in Life?

2. How could I build up relationship with others in spite of our uniqueness and differences?
D. Understand Content Discussion
Ways of Coming to Know God

(CCC # 31 – 35)
Though human reason is, strictly speaking, truly capable by its own natural power and light of attaining to a true and certain
knowledge of the one personal God, who watches over and controls the world by his providence, and of the natural law
written in our hearts by the Creator; yet there are many obstacles which prevent reason from the effective and fruitful use of
this inborn faculty.
A. Twofold point of Departure
Created in God’s image and called to know and love him, the person who seeks God discovers certain ways of coming to
know him. These are also called proofs for the existence of God, not in the sense of proofs in the natural sciences, but rather
in the sense of “converging and convincing arguments,” which allow us to attain certainty about the truth. The “ways” of
approaching God from creation have a twofold point of departure, namely:
a) The physical world:
Understanding the physical world involves understanding the astonishing interaction of by matter and energy, of motion and
force, of atoms and molecules, of electrons and elements and the like. It even includes the discovery of how immense variety
of matter- stars, mountains, plants, people- is made by limited number of elements that combine in simple ways which
profound explanations were championed amazingly by the great scientists. However, in engaging the physical world, no
50
scientific background is needed to appreciate everyday miracles like a bouncing rubber balls or water’s astonishing power
to dissolve.
The Mother Church teaches that “starting from movement, becoming, contingency (happening only if something else
happens first), and the world’s order and beauty, one can come to a knowledge of God as the origin and the end of the
universe. (CCC 32) As St. Paul says of the Gentiles: For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has
shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been
clearly perceived in the things that have been made. (Rom. 1:19-20)
And St. Augustine issues this challenge: Question the beauty of the earth, question the beauty of the sea, question the
beauty of the air distending and diffusing itself, question the beauty of the sky... question all these realities. All respond: “See,
we are beautiful.” Their beauty is a profession [confessio]. These beauties are subject to change. Who made them if not the
Beautiful One [Pulcher] who is not subject to change?
b) The Human Person:
With his openness to truth and beauty, his sense of moral goodness, his freedom and the voice of his conscience, with his
longings for the infinite and for happiness, man question himself about God’s existence. In all this he discerns signs of his
spiritual soul. The soul, the “seed of eternity we bear in ourselves, irreducible to the merely material,” can have its origin only
in God. The world, and man, attests that they contain within themselves neither their first principle nor their final end, but
rather that they participate in Being itself, which alone is without origin or end. Thus, in different ways, man can come to
know that there exists a reality which is the first cause and final end of all things, a reality “that everyone calls ‘God.’
Man’s faculties make him capable of coming to knowledge of the existence of a personal God. But for man to be able to
enter into real intimacy with him, God willed both to reveal himself to man and to give him the grace of being able to welcome
this revelation in faith. The proofs of God’s existence, however, can predispose one to faith and help one to see that faith is
not opposed to reason.
B. Religious Experience
The term religious can refer to divinity, something holy or sacred. This can include believing or revering a higher being or
power while an experience is something that we go through, something that occurs in our life, something that world reports
and we receive through senses as John Locke and David Hume perceived. An experience is often subjective in nature. This
makes it difficult to be objective about personal experiences since they involve feelings and thoughts instead of entirely being
based on fact or evidence. Religious experience means both special experience of the divine or ultimate and the viewing of
any experience as pointing to the divine or ultimate.
Rooted from the truth that the desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and
God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for
God. The dignity of man rests above all on the fact that he is called to communion with God. This invitation to converse with
God is addressed to man as soon as he comes into being. For if man exists, it is because God has created him through love,
and through love continues to hold him in existence. He cannot live fully according to truth unless he freely acknowledges
that love and entrusts himself to his creator.
In many ways, throughout history down to the present day, men have given expression to their quest for God in their religious
beliefs and behavior: in their prayers, sacrifices, rituals, meditations, and so forth. These forms of religious expression,
despite the ambiguities they often bring with them, are so universal that one may well call man a religious being.
From one ancestor [God] made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the
boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—
though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For “in him we live and move and have our being.” But this “intimate and
vital bond of man to God” (GS 19,1) can be forgotten, overlooked, or even explicitly rejected by man. Such attitudes can
have different causes: revolt against evil in the world; religious ignorance or indifference; the cares and riches of this world;
51
the scandal of bad example on the part of believers; currents of thought hostile to religion; finally, that attitude of sinful man
which makes him hide from God out of fear and flee his call.
“Let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.” Although man can forget God or reject him, He never ceases to call
every man to seek him, so as to find life and happiness. But this search for God demands of man every effort of intellect, a
sound will, “an upright heart,” as well as the witness of others who teach him to seek God. You are great, O Lord, and greatly
to be praised: great is your power and your wisdom is without measure. And man, so small a part of your creation, wants to
praise you: this man, though clothed with mortality and bearing the evidence of sin and the proof that you withstand the
proud. Despite everything, man, though but a small part of your creation, wants to praise you. You yourself encourage him
to delight in your praise, for you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.
E. Believe Integration
Put Things in Perspective.
Obviously, things won’t always go your way. However, gratitude isn’t an emotion that is reserved for those moments when
you get what you want. When things go wrong you can use the power of gratitude to release some of the negative emotions
that you may be feeling due to the failure or setback that you just experienced.
After a negative event put things in perspective by remembering that every difficulty carries within it the seeds of an equal
or greater benefit. When faced with adversity, ask yourself the following questions:
 “What’s good about this?”

 “What can I learn from this?”
 “How can I benefit from this?”
 “Is there something about this situation that I can be grateful for?
True or False:
1. I am the center of my own life, therefore, there is no room for “You” in my personal growth and maturity.
2. Human being is even isolated from the society still has the potential of relationship.
3. Knowledge of God is found inside of me.
4. God’s dual nature basically is the answer of my weaknesses and limitations.
5. Suffering is designed to test my intelligence.
IV. Encouragement Exercises/Enrichment Exercises

Interview a family friend about his or her experience on family relationship. Write in one short bond paper.
52
MODULE 2: UNIT II– MAN SEARCHES FOR GOD
Lesson 3 - Knowledge of God According to the Church

a) Discuss the way how the Church come to know God
b) Demonstrate deep appreciation on man’s relationship with God;
c) lead to obey, worship and praise God;
d) transcend the visible order of things, and, if they are translated into human action and influence it, they call for
self-surrender and abnegation.

A. Share Activity
Reading: Psalm 139
Prior to reading the passage
a. divide the group of students into three
b. While the teacher reads Psalm 139
- Group 1 works on learning from the passage about the Lord being everywhere.
- Group 2 deliberates on lessons taught on the Lord’s knowledge of everything.
- Group 3 ponders on what is taught about what the Lord is capable of doing.
B. Heed Group sharing
Guide Questions.
1. What does the Lord know about you?
2. Where can you hide from the Lord?
3. What is the Lord able to do?
4. “If we are honest, we sometime wish the Lord could not see us, hear us, or know all about us, don’t we?”
5. What did they learn about the Lord’s knowledge, presence, and power?
The Knowledge of God According to the Church

(CCC # 36 – 38)
As previously expressed, we can say now that the knowledge of man about God is a gift implanted to him by God in his
soul. This predisposes man to faith that allows him to know and see God in different human experiences. Consequently,
this leads him to realize that God reveals Himself through intermediaries namely: (a.) the World – its existence, order, and
beauty; that its beginning and end are caused by somebody greater than himself; (b.) Person and/or event – its origin and
end, his capacities for truth and other values, the longing for the infinite and ultimate happiness in life; to the people whom
he encounters. All of these lead him to knowledge of the existence of God.
A. Knowledge of God According to the Church

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1. The Light of Reason: St. Thomas Aquinas’ Five Ways

As man lives in this world, there are things which he tries to explain and support such explanation
with some categorical evidences. On the contrary, man realizes that there things and events in the
world which his human mind cannot totally comprehend or explain. In the light of reason coupled with
his faith, he attributes these things to the existence of somebody greater than himself, whom he called
God.
(https://www.google.com.ph/search?q=st
.+thomas+aquinas+images&client)
The question of the existence of God has been an issue even before (at least from a philosophical
perspective). Some argue that God does not exist, but man as a believer would always insist that God exists. To support the
claim of the latter, we would like to borrow the ideas of St. Thomas Aquinas, in his book called Summa Theologica that God
really exists. Here, he points out Five Proofs or Ways that the existence of God can be proven. Hence, we would like to
present them in a more simplified ways for easier understanding. They are the following:
1.1. The Proof from Motion. We observe motion all around us. Whatever is in motion now was at rest until moved by
something else. But if there were infinite series of movers all waiting to be moved by something else, then actual motion
could never have got started; and there would be no motion now. But there is motion now. So there must be a First
Mover which is itself unmoved. This Prime Mover is what we call God.
a. Arguments on Motion could be the following:
a.1. Our senses prove that some things are in motion.
a.2. Things move when potential motion becomes actual motion.
a.3. Only an actual motion can convert a potential motion into an actual motion.
a.4. Nothing can be at once in both actuality and potentiality in the same respect.
a.5. Therefore, nothing can move itself.
a.6. Therefore, ach thing in motion is moved by something else.
a.7. The sequence of motion cannot extend ad infinitum.
a.8. Therefore, it is necessary to arrive at a first mover, put in motion by no other, and
this everyone understands to be God.
1.2. The Proof from Efficient Cause. Everything in the world has its efficient cause -its maker-and that maker has its
maker, and so on. The coffee table was made by the carpenter, the carpenter by his or her parents, and on and on.
But if there were just an infinite series of such makers, the series could never have got started, and therefore be nothing
now. But there is something everything there is! So there must have been a First Maker, that was not itself made, and
that First Maker we call God.
b. Arguments on Efficient Cause are the following:
b.1. We perceive a series of efficient causes of things in the world.
b.2. Nothing exists prior to itself.
b.3. Therefore, nothing is the efficient cause of itself.
b.4. If a previous efficient cause does not exist, neither does the thing that results.
b.5. Therefore, if the first thing in a series does not exist, nothing in the series exists.
b.6. The series of efficient causes cannot extend ad infinitum into the past, for then there would be no
things existing now.
b.7. Therefore, it is necessary to admit a first efficient cause, to which everyone gives the name of God.
1.3. The Proof from Necessary vs. Possible Being. Possible or contingent beings are those whose existence may be or
may not be there. Jewelries, cars, and other things including man are contingent beings. On the contrary, there is that
whose existence is much necessary than the other. Such is attributed to a greater being than man and other things in
this world. For all such beings, there is a time before they come to be when they are not yet, and a time after they
cease to be when they are no more. If everything were merely possible, there would have been a time, long ago, when
nothing had yet come to be. Nothing comes from nothing, so in that case there would be nothing now. But there is
something now-the world and everything in it-so there must be at least one necessary being. This Necessary Being
we call God
c. Arguments on Possibility and Necessity are the following:
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c.1. We find in nature things that are possible to be and not to be, that come into being and go
out being, i.e., contingent beings.
c.2. Assume that every being is a contingent being.
c.3. For each contingent being, there is a time it does not exist.
c.4. Therefore, it is impossible for these always to exist.
c.5. Therefore, there could have been a time when no things existed.
c.6. Therefore, at the time there would have been nothing to bring currently existing contingent beings into
existence.
c.7. Therefore, nothing would be in existence now.
c.8. We have reached an absurd result from assuming that every being is a contingent being.
c.9. Therefore, no everyone being is a contingent being.
c.10. Therefore, some beings exist on their own necessity, and do not receive their existence from another
being, but rather causes them. This whom man calls God.
1.4. The Proof from Degrees of Perfection. We all evaluate things and people in terms of their being more or less perfectly
true, good, noble and so on. We have certain standards of how things and people should be. But we would have no
such standards unless there were some being that is perfect in every way, something that is the truest, noblest, and
best. That Most Perfect Being we call God.
d. Arguments on the Degrees of Perfection are as follows:
d.1. There is a gradation to be found in things: some are better or worse than others.
d.2. Predications of degree require reference to the “uttermost” case (e.g., a thing is said to be
hotter as it more nearly resembles that which is hottest).
d.3. The maximum in any genus is the cause of all in that genus.
d.4. Therefore, there must also be something which is to all beings the cause of their being,
goodness, and every other perfection, and this we call God.
1.5. The Proof from Design. As we look at the world around us, and ourselves, we see ample evidence of design - the
bird's wing, designed for the purpose of flight; the human ear, designed for the purpose of hearing; the natural
environment, designed to support life; and on and on. If there is a design, then there must be a designer and the
Ultimate Designer we call God.
e. Arguments on The Ultimate Designer could be the following:
e.1. We see that natural bodies work toward some goal, and do not do so by chance.
e.2. Most natural things lack knowledge.
e.3. An arrow, for example, reaches its target because it is directed by an archer. The arrow (non- intelligent
being) reaches its target because it is directed by man (intelligent being).
e.4. Therefore, some intelligent being exist by whom all natural things are directed to their end; and this
ultimate being we call God.
2. The Light of Faith:
2.1. Based on the Proposition of St. Thomas Aquinas:
If we follow the proposition of St. Thomas Aquinas along this line in trying to assert the reality and validity of the existence
of God, we are led then to the discussion on the very nature of the Holy Trinity. Consequently, this proves the existence of
God whom the Christians believe to be such.
a. The Basic Doctrine on the Nature of God:
The nature of God has been one of the subjects of discussions among theologians and philosophers, both Christians and
non-Christians. But in so far as we Christian believers, we have to adhere to the basic dogma that the God whom we believe
is a Triune God: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They are not three gods, but one God in three
persons.
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Following the flow of the idea of St. Thomas Aquinas that knowing God is not something more thru a course of conception
(like the flow of the idea of St. Anselm), but thru experiences. This may be proven on the fact that Christian believers have
experienced God as the Father (i.e. as the creator of the universe as presented in the Old Testament); as the Son (as the
incarnate Word in the New Testament); and as the Holy Spirit (as constant in both Old and New Testaments and even today).
b. The Holy Trinity as asserted by St. Thomas Aquinas:
We would like to present the nature and philosophy of the Holy Trinity based on the assertion of St. Thomas Aquinas. A brief
summary of this assertion can be found in the Excerpt from: LIGHT OF FAITH, The Compendium of Theology which we
want to borrow.
b.1. The Word of God:
“We take from the doctrine previously laid down that God understands and loves Himself, likewise, that understanding and
willing in Him are not something distinct from His essence. Since God understands Himself, and since all that is understood
is in the person who understands, God must be in Himself as the object understood is in the person understanding. But the
object understood, so far as it is in the one who understands, is a certain word of the intellect. We signify by an exterior word
what we comprehend interiorly in our intellect. For words, according to the Philosopher, are signs of intellectual concepts.
Hence we must acknowledge in God the existence of His Word.”
b.2. Relation of the Word to the Father:
“But here a point of difference must be noted. What is conceived in the intellect is a likeness of the thing understood and
represents its species; and so it seems to be a sort of offspring of the intellect. Therefore, when the intellect understands
something other than itself, the thing understood is, so to speak, the father of the word conceived in the intellect, and the
intellect itself resembles rather a mother, whose function is such that conception takes place in her. But when the intellect
understands itself, the word conceived is related to the understanding person as offspring to father. Consequently, since we
are using the term word in the latter sense (that is, according as God understands Himself), the word itself must be related
to God, from whom the word proceeds, as Son to Father.”
b.3. The Son is equal to the Father in existence and essence:
“Since natural existence and the action of understanding are distinct in us, we should note that a word conceived in our
intellect, having only intellectual existence, differs in nature from our intellect, which has natural existence. In God, however,
to be and to understand are identical. Therefore, the divine Word that is in God, whose Word He is according to intellectual
existence, has the same existence as God, whose Word He is. Consequently the Word must be of the same essence and
nature as God Himself, and all attributes whatsoever that are predicated of God, must pertain also to the Word of God.”
b.4. Procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son:
“We should recall that the act of understanding proceeds from the intellectual power of the mind. When the intellect actually
understands, the object it understands is in it. The presence of the object known in the knower results from the intellectual
power of the mind, and is its word, as we said above. Likewise, what is loved is in the lover, when it is actually loved. The
fact that an object is actually loved, results from the lover's power to love and also from the lovable good as actually known.
Accordingly, the presence of the beloved object in the lover is brought about by two factors: the appetitive principle and the
intelligible object as apprehended (that is, the word conceived about the lovable object). Therefore, since the Word in God
who knows and loves Himself is the Son, and since He to whom the Word belongs is the Father of the Word, as is clear from
our exposition, the necessary consequence is that the Holy Spirit, who pertains to the love whereby God is in Himself as
beloved in lover, proceeds from the Father and the Son. And so we say in the Creed: "who proceeds from the Father and
the Son."
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b.5. The Trinity of divine persons and the unity of the divine essence:
“We must conclude from all we have said that in the Godhead there is something threefold which is not opposed to the unity
and simplicity of the divine essence. We must acknowledge that God is, as existing in His nature, and that He is known and
loved by Himself.
But this occurs otherwise in God than in us. Man, to be sure, is a substance in his nature, but his actions of knowing and
loving are not his substance. Considered in his nature, man is indeed a subsisting thing; as he exists in his mind, however,
he is not a subsisting thing, but a certain representation of a subsisting thing; and similarly with regard to his existence in
himself as beloved in lover. Thus man may be regarded under three aspects: that is, man existing in his nature, man existing
in his intellect, and man existing in his love. Yet these three are not one, for man's knowing is not his existing, and the same
is true of his loving. Only one of these three is a subsisting thing, namely, man existing in his nature.
In God, on the contrary, to be, to know, and to love are identical. Therefore God existing in His natural being and God existing
in the divine intellect and God existing in the divine love are me thing. Yet each of them is subsistent. And, as things subsisting
in intellectual nature are usually called persons in Latin, or hypostases in Greek, the Latins say that there are three persons
in God, and the Greeks say that there are three hypostases, namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” This is what
is called in Theology as hypostatic union.
2.2. A Contribution of St. Augustine:
Let us be clarified ahead of time that this article is not in contradiction to the writings and assertions of St. Thomas Aquinas.
However, this would support the previous propositions. We just want to acknowledge here the great contributions of St.
Augustine along this line. In the first encyclical letter of the Pope Francis, just like his predecessor Pope Emeritus Benedict
XVI, he acknowledges the influence of one the great thinkers and doctors of the Church, St. Augustine in writing the said
encyclical. Proof to it is that, practically the Second Chapter of the said encyclical is an acknowledgement of St. Augustine
to his work.
Very significant to take into consideration is the fact that St. Augustine has a very comprehensive works that which put a
clear connection between faith and reason. The fact that he was once a follower of a Greek religion in Manechianism – a
religion that which put importance only of the spirit – and also the fact that he was converted to the Christian faith, puts him
in a better position to also put a connection between faith and reason; Greek philosophy and Christian doctrine.
As it was observed by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, that there is a tendency of many intellectuals today to use philosophy
(reason) to simply assert certain proposition/s that favor their claim. What it fails to realize that, in the real sense of the word,
philosophy (Philo + Sophia = love of wisdom) is supposed to be used for the attainment of an objective truth. Much more to
the ultimate Truth, who is God. Hence, any philosophical formulation should lead man to realize that such endeavor should
enhance and/or enlighten more his or her faith in God.
St. Augustine once asserted that “I believe, in order to understand, and I understand, the better to believe”. Along this line,
we are led to the unity of faith and reason. An enlightened faith would always seek or desire “to know better the One in whom
he has put his faith, and to understand better what He has revealed” (CCC, 158). It is in this particular context that in theology
this particular line – which was asserted by St. Anselm - (Fides Quaerens Intellectum – Faith is seeking understanding) is a
common language.
This means that our faith must be guided by reason; and reason should elucidate the gray areas of our faith by still being
faithful to the official teachings of the Magisterium. A common example to this is the commonly mistaken notion that science
and religion could never meet. However, we all know that in the writings of one the great philosophers and theologians of
the Church, Father Teilhard de Chardin, he puts a connection between science and religion in his article called The Divine
Milieu.
The church aptly summarizes the above-mentioned statements in its CCC documents when it says, “though faith is above
reason, there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason. Since the same God who reveals mysteries and
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infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind, God cannot deny himself, nor can truth ever contradict
truth” (CCC, 159).
3. The Light of Glory (by St. Paul):
Apparently, it appears ambiguous for us to have knowledge of God in this context. But reflecting more and more to it might
give us an insight how we can have knowledge of God in the light of glory.
“Theologians define the Light of Glory to be, "a supernatural intellectual power infused into the soul, by which she is enabled
to see God, which she never could do by her own unassisted natural powers." It is called supernatural, because it is not a
natural talent or power of our nature, as the talent for poetry, music, painting, and others, all of which may be developed and
highly improved by study. But the Light of glory is an elevation, expansion, or development of the mind, which comes directly
from God, and is, in no sense, the result of human endeavors, except in so far as it has been deserved by a holy life”.
This means, therefore, that our knowledge of God is not solely dependent on our human capacity to comprehend divine
realities. On the contrary, it is by the enlightenment of God by the power of the Holy Spirit that we shall have a broader
knowledge and understanding of God and His divine saving plan for the world. This calls man to humble himself to realize
that his capacity to comprehend things is just limited, much more if such thing/s are of divine classification.
May be we might have a better understanding of this discussion if we try to recall the profession of Peter about Jesus. After
the disciples were asked by Jesus who do they say He is, Peter aptly said that “you are the messiah of God”. Then Jesus
said, blessed are you Peter for the things that you professed do not come from you but from my Father you give it them to
you. But knowledge of God in the intellectual level is lacking when it is not coupled with action. Thus, such enlightened idea
of God must be translated more concretely in our daily lives. The concrete experience of a personal encounter with the risen
Christ must help us see things a little bit clearer now. It brought conversion in himself. But more so, it challenged him for a
missionary activity. Thus, eventually, St. Paul becomes a missionary to the pagans. Such inner transformation in him led
him to do things for the transformation of other, and hopefully to the whole world.
To contextualize ourselves, let us paraphrase what St. Paul emphasizes in his Second Letter to the Corinthians. St. Paul
must be telling us that “from now on we regard no one according to the flesh; even if we once knew Christ according to the
flesh, yet now we know him so no longer. So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold
new things have come” (2 Cor. 5:14-15). Hence, St. Paul tells us that to live in this way is to be recreated. Even our
understanding of Christ must be purified of fleshly attachment.
It is in this context that Christian believers must view all our endeavors in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. By His resurrection,
we can view things in this world to be recreated by the power of the Holy Spirit. Hence, all efforts and activities of man find
meaning only in the glory of God. This is so because Christ’s resurrected life means life for us who believe in his name. This
is the reason why we need to view all things in the light of faith for it is in faith that we shall be able to see the power of God
working in our lives. It is in this faith that pushes us to work not only for ourselves, but to the Christian community as well.
Thereby, in our own little ways, we may be able to share in the communitarian spirit and nature of the God whom we believe.
Along this line, we can then foreshadow our unification with God in heaven. After all, our faith tells us that we shall be
rewarded by God by way of personal merits.
This could be the idea that Jesus Christ addresses to us in the Holy Scriptures when He said “whatever you do to the least
of my brother you do it unto me”. It is in this standard that we might be rewarded of what we do to the community in the
context of faith in Him.
“Our holy mother, the Church, holds and teaches that God, the first principle and last end of all things, can be known with
certainty from the created world by the natural light of human reason.” Without this capacity, man would not be able to
welcome God’s revelation. Man has this capacity because he is created “in the image of God”.
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In the historical conditions in which he finds himself, however, man experiences many difficulties in coming to know God by
the light of reason alone. This is why man stands in need of being enlightened by God’s revelation, not only about those
things that exceed his understanding, but also “about those religious and moral truths which of themselves are not beyond
the grasp of human reason, so that even in the present condition of the human race, they can be known by all men with
ease, with firm certainty and with no admixture of error”.
B. How Can We Speak About God? (CCC # 39 – 43)
In defending the ability of human reason to know God, the Church is expressing her confidence in the possibility of speaking
about him to all men and with all men, and therefore of dialogue with other religions, with philosophy and science, as well as
with unbelievers and atheists. Since our knowledge of God is limited, our language about him is equally so. We can name
God only by taking creatures as our starting point, and in accordance with our limited human ways of knowing and thinking.
All creatures bear a certain resemblance to God, most especially man, created in the image and likeness of God. The
manifold perfections of creatures - their truth, their goodness, their beauty all reflect the infinite perfection of God.
Consequently, we can name God by taking his creatures" perfections as our starting point, "for from the greatness and
beauty of created things come a corresponding perception of their Creator". God transcends all creatures. We must therefore
continually purify our language of everything in it that is limited, image-bound or imperfect, if we are not to confuse our image
of God--"the inexpressible, the incomprehensible, the invisible, the ungraspable"--with our human representations. Our
human words always fall short of the mystery of God.
Admittedly, in speaking about God like this, our language is using human modes of expression; nevertheless, it really does
attain to God himself, though unable to express him in his infinite simplicity. Likewise, we must recall that "between Creator
and creature no similitude can be expressed without implying an even greater dissimilitude"; and that "concerning God, we
cannot grasp what he is, but only what he is not, and how other beings stand in relation to him."
To emphasize the importance of knowing God according to the Church, have the students read the bible passage from
Proverbs 2:6. Then let them comment on the following statements:
i. Make right choices.
ii. Stay away from wrong choices (sin).
iii. If we do sin, ask for forgiveness and learn from our mistakes.
III. Comprehensive Evaluation: Modified True or False.
Instruction: Write A if Statement I is correct and Statement II is wrong,

Write B if statement I is wrong and Statement II is correct,
Write C if both statements are correct
Write D if both statements are wrong.
1. I. Man has this capacity because he is created “in the image of God”.
II. In knowing God, man does not experience difficulties in coming to know God.
2. I. “Our holy mother, the Church, holds and teaches that God, the first principle and last end of all
things.
II. Human reason is, strictly speaking, truly capable by its own natural power and light of attaining to a
true and certain knowledge of the one personal God.
3. I. The human mind, in its turn, is hampered in the attaining of such truths, by the impact of the senses and
the imagination.
II. The disordered appetites are not the consequences of original sin.
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4. I. All creatures bear a certain resemblance to God, most especially man, created in the image and
likeness of God.
II. The manifold perfections of creatures - their truth, their goodness, their beauty all reflect the infinite
perfection of God.
5. I. Our knowledge of God is limited.

II. But our language about him cannot be limited
6. I. We can name God only by taking creatures as our starting point,

II. We can name God in accordance with our limited human ways of knowing and thinking.
7. I. God transcends all creatures.

II. We must therefore continually purify our language of everything in it that is limited.
8. I. Man is image-bound or imperfect.

II. Human words always fall short of the mystery of God.
9. I. In speaking about God like this, our language does not need modes of expression.
II. Man does not really attain to in knowing God.
10. I. Likewise, we must recall that "concerning God, we cannot grasp what he is.
II. We cannot grasp God even what he is not, and how other beings stand in relation to him.
IV. Encouragement Exercises/Enrichment Exercises

Read Proverbs 2:1-15 slowly, emphasizing the conditional elements and benefits of searching for the wisdom of
knowing God. Write them out as a visual. Submit next meeting.
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MODULE 2: UNITIII– MAN, BY NATURE, IS RELIGIOUS
Lesson 1 - Speaking about God: Myth and Metaphor

a) explain the analogical way man speaks about God;
b) articulate their appreciation of the true meaning of religion as a relationship with God; and
c) make resolutions on how to live life as religious beings by nature.
II. Instructional Sequence:

A. Share Activity
 Watch the movie “Clash of the Titans” or Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
B. Heed Movie Analysis

Guide Questions:
a) How do these movies portray the story of the gods?
b) Are you familiar with Greek mythology? How does it portray the gods of Olympus?
c) Why do you think these myths speak about gods in human language? Is it possible to talk about divinities in the
same way we talk about ourselves? Why or why not?
d) What language should we use in talking about gods?
e) Have you met an atheist in person?
Speaking About God: Myth and Metaphor
A. Human language describes the reality of God
1) Man is Homo loquens.
“Man is a talking animal”. Homo symbolificus. “Man is a symbol-monger”. He lives with symbols. He is a linguistic being.
Language is more than just a property of man. It forms part of his human constitution. Without language, there is no complete
human being. It is because without language, thought is not constituted. There is no thought without language (and vice
versa). Without language, man and woman do not open themselves to the world. And without such aperture and
communication, it is not possible to build a humane world.
2) Functions of Human Language
In a Spanish book entitled, “Mundo Y Persona” as translated by Bantiles, R. (2013), Guardini, R (1963) identified three
functions of language, namely: (1) descriptive or representative; (2) expressive, and (3) inter-subjective or communicative.
In its descriptive function, language is an intentional activity of the speaker whose aim is to describe an interior or exterior
reality or object. The expressive function aims to give testimony and make clear to others some aspects of one’s personality.
The communicative function develops the dialogic or inter-subjective aspects of language. It is the most important of the
three since without communicative language there is no such thing as person, since being a person is to be in relation. There
is no “I” without a “You”.
3) Religious Language describes the Reality of God

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Since religion is a reality that is not only filled with contents but also with words and language, whatever discussion about
religion provokes linguistic questions and the possibility of talking about God. We are confronted with the problem on religious
language. By the term “religious language” we don’t refer to the use of any human language in the practice of religion, e.g.,
in prayer, worship, praise, thanksgiving, confession, ritual, preaching, instruction, exhortation, theological reflection, etc. We
simply mean the possibility of using human language (terms, expressions, words, etc.) in describing the reality of God.
To presuppose that human language can be applied to God involves a clear and obvious incongruity. For while all
discussions about God presuppose the use of human language, no one in his right mind believes that human words express
entirely what God really is. God may be described through a language that is derived from human experiences but no one
conceives of God to be like a human being. As Karl Barth observes, “We must be clear that whatever we say of God in such
human concepts can never be more than an indication of Him; no such concept can really conceive the nature of God. God
is inconceivable”
However, this does not mean that God is absolutely inconceivable by human minds. Human intellect alone can know God’s
existence. Although no human concept can totally embrace the immensity of God’s essence. As Aquinas rightly points out:
“When the existence of a thing has been ascertained there remains the further question of the manner of its existence, in
order that we may know its essence. Now, because we cannot know God is, but rather what He is not, we have no means
for considering how God is, but rather how He is not”.
On the other hand, the use of human language in talking about God is inevitable if we really want to achieve comprehension.
Roger White ( ) rightly observes: “The only language we have for talking about God is our human language, the language
we use for talking about human beings, their relationships and their relationship with their physical environment. If we are to
talk about God at all, it is inevitable that we use such language. But at the same time we are forced to acknowledge that
such a use of language is inappropriate and completely inadequate”.
B. Mythology and Religion
To understand better White’s point, we only have to examine briefly the language of myths. It is difficult to find a unanimous
and exact definition of the word “myth”. Sometimes, Myth is defined as “a usually traditional story of ostensibly historical
events that serves to unfold part of the world view of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon” or “an
idea or story that is believed by many people but that is not true”. However, we may understand the term to mean “a narration
in which symbolic and archetypical figures represent actions that are expressive of wishes, desires, behaviors, passions and
human sentiments”.
Myth is distinguished from legends, fables and epic narratives. A legend is a literary imaginative elaboration with an
undetermined and imprecise basis in real or historical events. A fable is a product of the author’s imagination that deals with
stories and adventures of mythological animal characters with the didactic aim of imparting lessons. An epic narrative is
similar to a legend, except that the epic aims to contribute in a creative way to the exaltation of a heroic act or the personality
that incarnates such act, or a race of people.
Myth is related intimately with what we call “natural religion” or “cultural religion”. Myth and religion, in a sense, are primarily
human phenomena that have close connections. Religion is expressed in great extent with the help of man’s mythopoeic
tendency (tendency to create myths to express something). Religion often takes form and volume through mythology. Myths
manifest frequently in religion some human desires for immortality, wisdom, divinization, fecundity, purity, happiness, etc.
However, we can never consider the two as synonymous. Although there are religions that are in great extent mythical,
religion cannot be equal to myth. In fact, despite their similarity and their origin in man’s experiences, we can point out the
basic difference between myth and religion. While myth is purely man’s way of expressing his reactions towards reality as
he sees it, religion has something more. True religion entails a relationship with a certain divinity. Like any relationship, it is
expressed in human language despite the fact that the divinity transcends such language. Oftentimes, such language takes
the form of metaphor. But even metaphorical language is not enough.
C. Metaphor and Religious Language
The language about God and His actions as expressed in the mysteries of the Catholic faith may be metaphorical. This
language, correctly used and interpreted, involves a value of truth, in such a way that great part of its expressions, applied
to God, wants to say what it says, and informs us adequately some characteristics of the Divine Being and his modes of
acting in the world. When we say “The Lord is my rock and my fortress” or “The Lord is my shepherd”, we don’t really mean
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that God takes care literally of a flock (us) or that He is literally a rock. In using these phrases, we introduce literal terms in
an imaginative way, alive and vivid, to refer to some characteristics of God. God is like a shepherd who shows solicitude and
concern for the good of his flock. He is like a rock because He is constant and unalterable in His designs.
This metaphorical language is not mere rhetoric because it contains grains of truth. Its scope varies, in the sense that it
entrusts to the criteria and intellectual freedom of the hearer the determination of its truth. It suggests that the literal meaning
serves only as a model to think, really and with ontological basis, about the nature, attitudes and actions of God.
However, lots of propositions about God are not metaphorical but literal. This happens in negative expressions. When we
say that God is immaterial, a-temporal, o that He is not limited by space, or that He does not depend on others in order to
exist, we are saying something literally about God.
Similar things happen with numerous positive attributions of God. If we say that God comforts and strengthens us in adversity,
pardons our sins and communicates to us how we should live, we are not speaking metaphorically. We are referring literally
to certain actions of God in the human world although we don’t know exactly how He does it with details. “Comforting” may
be understood literally but how God does it may be metaphorical.
D. Analogical Language in Speaking About God
Although metaphorical language serves a lot in speaking about God, it is deemed insufficient because there are attributes
of God that cannot be understood only metaphorically like His goodness, truth and beauty. Hence, what is needed is another
way of talking about God. Without forgetting the inadequacy of human language, various attempts to answer the problem on
religious language oscillate from a total negation of its possibility to diverse proposals like equivocal, univocal and analogous
language. Let us take them one by one.
Positivist and empiricist thinkers, who claim that the only valid knowledge is that which is proven by sense experiences,
maintain that religious language is meaningless because it does not have any corresponding concrete experience that would
verify it. When we say that God is a person (or three Divine Persons), this statement cannot be verified in human experience;
hence, it is meaningless. However, we know very well that not all knowledge or propositions are verifiable by experience.
The basic error of positivism and empiricism is the claim that the only valid knowledge is experiential.
Another proposal is equivocal language. Since God is radically different from creatures, the language used to describe Him
must be totally different from the language used to attribute actions to people. Hence, when we say that “Mother Teresa is
good” and that “God is good”, the term “good” is equivocal in both sentences because the goodness of God is radical (God
is goodness Himself) while the goodness of Mother Teresa is just participated (She only has or possesses goodness).
However, we notice that this is not the way we understand things. When we attribute “goodness” to God, we understand the
term “goodness” thanks to our experience of the goodness around us. In a sense, we know that God is good because we
have an idea of how Mother Teresa is good.
Univocal language is the other possible way of talking about God. Proponents of this idea claim that we apply the terms to
God in the same sense that we apply them to creatures simply because the qualities we see in creatures all come from God.
When we see goodness in creation, we say that God created it so that not only is creation good but also God. The term
“good”, therefore, is univocal. The obvious error of this claim is that it does not consider the radical difference between the
Creator and the creature. As we have noted earlier, God, the Creator is identical with all His qualities (God is Goodness
Himself) while creatures only participate in them. Hence, whatever we attribute to God must be attributed to creature not in
exactly the same, yet, not also in exactly different sense.
This brings us to the most viable solution: the analogous language. Analogy, in language, is the way of referring to similar
realities in partly the same and partly different manner. When we say that God is forgiving and that my mother is forgiving,
the word “forgiving” is analogical. Why? It is because God’s being “forgiving” is partly different from that of my mother because
my mother is not God: God’s forgiveness is far greater than my mother’s forgiveness. Yet, it is also partly the same because
to forgive is God’s grace that my mother participates. Besides, I only understand what it means for God to forgive me because
I experienced how my mother forgives me. My idea of God’s forgiveness comes from my experience of my mother’s
forgiveness. This is valid because God created my mother.
St. Thomas Aquinas, in Summa Theologiae 1, explained it in the following manner: (1) We name things as we know them.
(2) Since we know God from creatures, we name God from creatures. This means that we know the cause (God) through its
effects (creatures). Hence, we name the cause through its effects also. (3) God causes the existence of creatures; hence,
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creatures resemble God just as an effect resembles its agent cause. (4) There can never be composition in God (God is not
composed of anything). If He is, then, some other beings must have composed Him, which means He is not God. Hence,
God is simple. If so, then, all His qualities (goodness, truth, kindness, etc.) are identical with God. (5) Creatures are complex
because they are created by a simple God. Hence, the qualities of creatures are not identical with them. Thus, the terms we
attribute to creatures must be partly the same and partly different from those that we attribute to God. Religious language,
then, must be analogous.
 How do you prove that Humans Are Religious by Nature?

 Do you need to engage in an organization/BECs that proves Humans are religious by nature?
 How do you celebrate life this context that Humans Are Religious by Nature?
Questions for Essay:

1. In what way can we speak about God?
2. What is myth?
3. Why myth is used in understanding the many aspects of religion?
IV. Enrichment Exercise: Write a Reflection on this context:
“My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to GOD to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others
who are ill. But GOD didn’t. How is this GOD good then?
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MODULE 2: UNIT III – MAN, BY NATURE, IS RELIGIOUS
Lesson 2 - Religion: Definition and Deformations
a) Explain the analogical way of speaking about God;
b) Articulate their appreciation of the true meaning of religion as a relationship with God; and
c) Make resolutions on how to live life as religious beings by nature.
A. Share Activity
“Active Listening” Psalm 139
Prior to reading the passage, divide the students into three groups
Group 1 listen and what they learn from the passage about the Lord being everywhere. Ask another one third
to listen for the lessons taught on the Lord’s knowledge of everything, and the final third to listen what is taught
about what the Lord is capable of doing.
B. Heed Group Sharing

Guide Questions:
Read Psalm 139. Reinforce the lesson by asking questions.
1. What does the Lord know about you?
2. Where can you hide from the Lord?
3. What is the Lord able to do?
4. “If we are honest, we sometime wish the Lord could not see us, hear us, or know all about us, don’t we?”
5. What did they learn about the Lord’s knowledge, presence, and power?
Religion: Definition and Deformations
Two persons may be talking lengthily about religion in general or any religious denomination in particular without being aware
that they have two different concepts of what religion is. One may be referring to religion as a series of rituals and rites
performed by a group of individual. The other may be understanding religion as a group of people sharing the same faith. In
both cases, the term “religion” is brought far from its original meaning as described by St. Thomas Aquinas. No wonder we
encounter some deformations and reductions in the understanding of religion. In what follows, we shall discuss what religion
really is and what some of its deformations are.
a) Religion Defined: Aquinas vs. Marx
Curiously, Aquinas discussed the topic on “religion” within the bigger context of his discussion on the virtue of justice.
Specifically, it is one of the virtues connected with the cardinal virtue of justice. We immediately see the reason behind this
structure (ST 11).
Aquinas defines justice as “the perpetual and constant will to render to each one his right”. For the Angelic Doctor, it is God’s
right to be honored and adored by His creatures. Hence, it is by justice that we render God the adoration and honor due to
Him. Religion, therefore, is a virtue intimately connected with justice. Tully, whom Aquinas quoted, describes religion as
consisting in “offering service and ceremonial rites to a superior nature that men call divine” (Rhetorics, II, 53). Aquinas, then,
defines religion as denoting properly “a relation to God. For it is He to Whom we ought to be bound as to our unfailing
principle; to Whom also our choice should be resolutely directed as to our last end; and Whom we lose when we neglect
Him by sin, and should recover by believing in Him and confessing our faith”.
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In a nutshell, religion refers to man’s natural inclination to relate with the divinity. It is a relationship with the divine. Religion
is based on the instinctive inclination of the totality of human existence towards someone that man thinks transcends him.
There is a human awareness that a being exists beyond our own existence. “Someone is over there”, we may say. And we
feel the inclination to relate with that transcendent being. Such relationship is primarily called “religion” (According to Cicero,
a man is said to be religious from “religio”, because he often ponders over, and, as it were, reads again [relegit], the things
which pertain to the worship of God).
However, it is also true that relationships do not float in the air. They are incarnated in concrete experiences and situations.
Hence, religion is not something abstract that exists “over there”. In reality, “religion” per se does not exist; what exist are
different religions, that is, various expressions of such relationship that human being has with the divinity. Hence, the study
of religion (or religious education) must take into considerations the different expressions of man’s natural inclination to relate
with the divinity (religion).
Now, relationships can either be good or bad, true or false, depending on many factors: intention, origin, acts that express
the relationship, objectives or aims, etc. Our natural inclination to relate with the divine may become erroneous or righteous
depending on various factors also. Hence, there can be true or false religion as there can be true or false relationships. But
it must be noted that in a false or bad religion, what’s wrong is only the expressions of such relationship, not the natural
human inclination itself. Hence, a person can be very pious and faithful to his religious inclinations. But his religious
denomination may be false because it is founded on wrong or false assumptions.
One of the most frequently cited critique against religion in general is the statement of German economist Karl Marx: “Religion
is the opium of the people”. It was a translation from the German original, “Die Religion ... ist das Opium des Volkes” which
literally means “the religion... is the opiate of the masses”. It comes from the introduction of Marx’s proposed work entitled A
Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right, which was never written. However, the introduction was published
in 1844 in Marx’s own journal Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher. The context of Marx’s famous quotation is as follows:
The foundation of irreligious criticism is: Man makes religion; religion does not make man. Religion is, indeed, the self-
consciousness and self-esteem of man who has either not yet won through to himself, or has already lost himself again. But
man is no abstract being squatting outside the world. Man is the world of man – state, society. This state and this society
produce religion, which is an inverted consciousness of the world, because they are an inverted world. Religion is the general
theory of this world, its encyclopedic compendium, its logic in popular form, its spiritual point d’honneur, its enthusiasm, its
moral sanction, its solemn complement, and its universal basis of consolation and justification. It is the fantastic realization
of the human essence since the human essence has not acquired any true reality. The struggle against religion is, therefore,
indirectly the struggle against that world whose spiritual aroma is religion.
Marx, K (1976) in his book, “Introduction to A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right” as given emphasis
by Bantiles, R., had the following idea, “Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and
a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of
soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.”
It is not our task to make a comprehensive analysis and critique of Marx’s words. However, it must be noted how he looks
at religion only at the periphery, that is, at how it is being experienced by people during his time. It is Marx’s own reading of
the time: religion as “the general theory of this world”. To say that “religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature… the opium
of the people” manifests Marx’s bitter experiences (or that of the people he lived with) with how religion was being incarnated
during his time. Thus, it cannot be taken as the basis of one’s basic understanding of what religion is.
A real definition or understanding of a reality must transcend time and human history. Truth is never historical
A. Freud and the Psychological Reductionism of Religion
Sigmund Freud (6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was born in Frieberg, Moravia in 1856, but when he was four years old
his family moved to Vienna where he was to live and work until the last years of his life. In 1939, he died in London where
he was exiled. He was known as the founder of psychoanalysis, a set of psychological and psychotherapeutic theories and
associated techniques consisting in going into the unconscious world of man in order to find out some therapy of one’s
psychological malady. However, it must be noted that psychoanalysis is more than just a psychotherapeutic technique: it
entails a certain notion of human being that is much closer to an ideology, and as such, it is quite interesting to areas like
anthropology, psychology, culture, pedagogy and religion. Ultimately, it is a doctrine about man, viewed through his instincts.
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The subconscious is the great discovery of Freud. Over the existence of human subconsciousness, he constructed a new,
encompassing and provocative theory of man that runs over the area of psychology and enters into all aspects of human
existence and destiny.
Indifferent to religion, Freud, however, tackled religious questions with the same intensity and assiduity of a devout believer.
Yet, he did it from a different perspective and with various intentions. His literary production includes The Interpretation of
Dreams (1900) and The Future of an Illusion (1927), which are central in the exposition of his ideas.
The deepest and the most hidden zone of the mind is, for Freud, the kingdom of the subconscious. It is the seat of the most
basic physical or biological impulses, like the desire to eat, the sexual activity or the aggressiveness. Together with these
impulses is the accumulation of ideas, impressions, and emotions associated with all what a person experiences all
throughout his life.
The subconscious is crucial because it serves as the connection between what is physical and mental in man. For Freud,
since childhood, human personality is formed through pleasurable desires and impulses. In his theory of infantile sexuality,
Freud claims that from the moment of birth the infant is driven in his actions by the desire for bodily/sexual pleasure, in almost
mechanical terms as the desire to release mental energy, and goes through different stages of development (“oral”, “anal”,
“phallic”, “latency”, etc.).
Freud knew the Bible and Christianity. Religious ideas appear frequently in the neurosis of his patients. But Freud rejects
any religious belief, and this position is in him something like a priori personal. He didn’t see any reason to believe in God or
to practice religion. He thought that religious beliefs are erroneous and superstitious, and that they are some form of
obsessive and universal neurosis. However, these beliefs are interesting because they pose important questions about the
human nature. Freud believes that religious behavior is likened to a mental illness.
According to Freud, we should never put our trust in religion although its teachings have given certain service to humanity.
The fact that religion continues today in the world is a sign of illness; to abandon it is a sign of health. As humanity progresses,
it should substitute religion with other forms of thought proper to maturity.
The God to whom the people direct their prayers is not a real being. It is simply an image, an illusion projected by man to
the external world, born out of the necessity to overcome his guilt and fear. Here is the power of religion: the guilt and fear
of the people.
It is quite obvious how Freud simply reduced religion to a subconscious movement of human psychology. But this claim is
more of his a priori bias against religion rather than a product of his sincere analysis of the religious phenomenon. When he
said that a religious person or a believer is just like the neurotics who would do irrational things (praying the rosary is just
like counting buttons), it was not because he found believing to be scientifically neurotic: it was because he is already biased
against religion. To pray is never something neurotic for any believer; it is neurotic only to the non-believer. In the words of
D. L. Pals (1996) in “Seven Theories of Religion” pointed out that, “Freud decides to find subconscious motives to such
action (praying) only because from the beginning he already assumed that prayer is an abnormal behavior”. Freud’s
reasoning is brutally circular.
B. Durkheim and the Sociological Reductionism of Religion
“The idea of society is the soul of religion”. Here is the summary of the fundamental thought of the French sociologist Émile
Durkheim (1858-1917). He was born in April 1858 in Épinal, located in the Lorraine region of France. His family was devoutly
Jewish, and his father, grandfather, and great grandfather were all rabbis. Hence, he knew very well the Jewish religion. He
also acquired wide knowledge of Catholicism. However, he never became a believer. As a young man, he claimed to be
agnostic.
A brilliant and intellectual student, Durkheim introduced himself very early in the area of sociology under the influence of
Auguste Comte, the father of modern positivism. He focused immediately his attention on the social and communitarian
dimension of human being. Social events are, for him, far more important than the individual ones, to the extent that
individuals are understood only from the perspective of the society, rather than the opposite. Hence, our first conclusion is
that, for Durkheim, religion and society are not only inseparable: they are mutually indispensable.
After some preliminary works, Durkheim systematized and matured his ideas about religion and society in his book entitled
The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life (1912). It deals with the basic elements that constitute religion. Durkheim thinks
that what truly characterizes religious beliefs and rituals is not the supernatural element, but the notion of the sacred; and
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that religion may be defined as “a unified system of beliefs and practices related to sacred things, that is, things that are
taken apart and are prohibited” (sacred means “taken apart or separated”). These practices unify all those who adhere in
them in a moral community, just like in a church. Durkheim emphasizes what is sacred as something essentially
communitarian.
Durkheim does not think that religion corresponds basically to a natural instinct of the human race. Rather, he claims that he
can prove empirically his theory by studying the religious practices of modern Australian tribes, that is, the religion of the
totems. (A totem is a being, object, or symbol representing an animal or plant that serves as an emblem of a group of people,
such as a family, clan, group, lineage, or tribe, reminding them of their ancestry (or mythic past). For him, it is the oldest
religion. He is so convinced that nothing can be more simple, basic and original than this. All forms of religion are derived
from it. “Totemism” is not the product derived from other more basic forms of religion. Instead, it is the source from which all
religious cults are derived.
Before man believes in gods, Durkheim thinks, there exists in him something primordial and more radical, the sense of a
hidden force, powerful and impersonal: it refers to the totemic principle, the primordial center of the cult practiced by the clan.
More than that, the totem is the visible and concrete image of the clan, in such a way that the god of the clan, the totem, is
nothing but the clan itself, personified and represented in the imagination under the visible form of an animal or plant that
serves as the totem.
Durkheim’s next move is to claim that the cult of the totem is nothing else than the cult to a society that symbolized by it. “We
can also say of the society whatever we say of the divinity: it is real only in the measure that it occupies a space in our
consciousness. And it is the place that we want to give it. We see now the real reason why the gods cannot do without their
adorers, and vice versa. It is because the society, of which the gods are its symbolic expression, cannot do away with the
individuals, in the same way that the individuals are nothing without the society”.
The conclusion is that the function of religion is neither to affirm anything about an exterior world, nor to teach doctrines
about God, creation or the world beyond. The real aim of religion is not intellectual but social. Religion is the carrier of social
sentiments. It allows man to express his deepest emotions that bind him with the society. It is a functional religion, which
originates in the communitarian man and perishes with him, because it does not exist within the horizon of the transcendent.
Like Freud, Durkheim also moves within a bias against religion that reduces it to something merely social by nature. Besides,
his rejection of any supernatural and transcendent being becomes more evident in his claim that the sacred represents what
is social. To say that what is sacred is actually what is social is also to claim that religion is nothing else than the satisfaction
of all collective or social needs of man. Here also, Durkheim’s reasoning becomes circular. Indeed, any claim that reduces
religion to other aspects of human being becomes circular because it neglects the existence of something beyond man,
something objective, and something real with which man tries to relate: a transcendent and supernatural being.
C. Believe Integration
Thank God for the gift of Religion. Research how it began!

Appreciate your chosen Religion.
D. Comprehensive Evaluation:
Questions for Essay:

1. Why do you think the notions of Freud and Durkheim about religion is defective?
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2. What behavior of yours will you change after understanding all this lesson?
3. Are you convinced that science and religion can be friends? Prove it!
E. Encouragement Exercise:
a) Individual Activity: Make a survey of some post-modern or secularist mentalities that you can observe around
you. Explain why you think they are secularist.
MODULE 2: UNIT III – MAN, BY NATURE, IS RELIGIOUS

Lesson 3 – Critique Against Religion: Atheism, Secularism and Scientism
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a) critique Atheism, Secularism and Scientism;
b) filter practices which are aligned with secularism;
c) reduce if not eradicate in using obscene words; and,
d) cultivate faith in God by being faithful to one’s prayer life.
A. Share Activity
Read:
The “Atheist professor myth”
Does evil exist? The university professor challenged his students with this question. Did God create everything that
exists? A student bravely replied, "Yes, he did!" "God created everything?" The professor asked. "Yes sir", the
student replied. The professor answered, "If God created everything, then God created evil since evil exists, and
according to the principle that our works define who we are then God is evil". The student became quiet before such
an answer. The professor was quite pleased with himself and boasted to the students that he had proven once more
that the Christian faith was a myth.
Another student raised his hand and said, " Can I ask you a question professor?" "Of course", replied the professor.
The student stood up and asked, "Professor, does cold exist?" "What kind of question is this? Of course it exists.
Have you never been cold?" The students snickered at the young man's question. The young man replied, "In fact
sir, cold does not exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat.
Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or
matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-460 degrees F) is the total absence of heat; all matter becomes inert
and incapable of reaction at that temperature. Cold does not exist. We have created this word to describe how we
feel if we have no heat."
The student continued, "Professor, does darkness exist?" The professor responded, "Of course it does."
The student replied, "Once again you are wrong sir, darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence
of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact we can use Newton's prism to break white light into many colors
and study the various wavelengths of each color. You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into
a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure the amount of
light present. Isn't this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light
present."
Finally, the young man asked the professor, "Sir, does evil exist?" Now uncertain, the professor responded, "Of
course as I have already said. We see it every day. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the
multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil."
To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence
of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not
create evil. Evil is not like faith, or love that exist just as does light and heat. Evil is the result of what happens when
man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness
that comes when there is no light." The professor sat down.
The young man's name? Albert Einstein (https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Atheist_professor_myth)
B. Heed Analysis
Guide Questions
i. What does the atheist professor’s myth illuminate to us?
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ii. What does evil mean, then according to this myth?

iii. How can you testify that evil really exist?
Critique Against Religion: Atheism, Secularism and Scientism

Since the beginning of Christianity till present, Christian Religion is always under siege. Together with the above-
mentioned reductionisms of the meaning of religion, we also find three great critiques against it: atheism, secularism and
the “scientistic” attitude that accepts only as true whatever is subjected to experimentation, a method proper to science.
Let us examine them briefly.
A. Modern Atheism According to Vatican II: Theory or Practice?
If religion correctly understood includes the idea and the reality of God, atheism presupposes the radical negation of
religion. However, this affirmation must be qualified because there are also some notions on man and the world beyond,
like Buddhism, that do not profess any belief in a personal and transcendent God, and which are also religious in
character.
The Second Vatican Council, through its document entitled Gaudium et spes (no. 19) describes this phenomenon in the
following terms:
The root reason for human dignity lies in man’s call to communion with God. From the very circumstance of his origin
man is already invited to converse with God. For man would not exist were he not created by Gods love and constantly
preserved by it; and he cannot live fully according to truth unless he freely acknowledges that love and devotes himself
to His Creator. Still, many of our contemporaries have never recognized this intimate and vital link with God, or have
explicitly rejected it. Thus atheism must be accounted among the most serious problems of this age, and is deserving of
closer examination.
The word atheism is applied to phenomena which are quite distinct from one another. For while God is expressly denied
by some, others believe that man can assert absolutely nothing about Him. Still others use such a method to scrutinize
the question of God as to make it seem devoid of meaning. Many, unduly transgressing the limits of the positive sciences,
contend that everything can be explained by this kind of scientific reasoning alone, or by contrast, they altogether disallow
that there is any absolute truth. Some laud man so extravagantly that their faith in God lapses into a kind of anemia,
though they seem more inclined to affirm man than to deny God. Again some form for themselves such a fallacious idea
of God that when they repudiate this figment they are by no means rejecting the God of the Gospel. Some never get to
the point of raising questions about God, since they seem to experience no religious stirrings nor do they see why they
should trouble themselves about religion.
Moreover, atheism results not rarely from a violent protest against the evil in this world, or from the absolute character
with which certain human values are unduly invested, and which thereby already accords them the stature of God. Modern
civilization itself often complicates the approach to God not for any essential reason but because it is so heavily engrossed
in earthly affairs.
Firstly, Vatican II emphasizes that atheism is a kind of “disconnection” from God. It is a modern serious problem described
as not recognizing man’s vital link with his Creator. Secondly, the conciliar document distinguishes some forms of atheistic
attitudes: (a) denial of God’s existence; (b) denial of the possibility of knowing God’s existence; (c) considering the
question on God as meaningless; and (d) claiming that science can explain everything. In short, man can already give
account of everything so that God is not anymore necessary. Lastly, the Council also notes that atheism is often a result
of man’s “violent protest against evil in this world”. If God exists, then, why is there evil in the world? Since evil abounds,
God does not exist, an atheist would argue.
But the Council also points out that the believers have contributed to the phenomenon of atheism. When the faithful do
not authentically live out their faith, other people are enticed to think that God is not real because the believers are not
consistent with their beliefs. Thus, the Council notes:
Undeniably, those who willfully shut out God from their hearts and try to dodge religious questions are not following the
dictates of their consciences, and hence are not free of blame; yet believers themselves frequently bear some
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responsibility for this situation. For, taken as a whole, atheism is not a spontaneous development but stems from a variety
of causes, including a critical reaction against religious beliefs, and in some places against the Christian religion in
particular. Hence believers can have more than a little to do with the birth of atheism. To the extent that they neglect their
own training in the faith, or teach erroneous doctrine, or are deficient in their religious, moral or social life, they must be
said to conceal rather than reveal the authentic face of God and religion.
However, the theory that God does not exist is impossible, if not very difficult, to hold. Why? Simply because, finite as he
is, man realizes that he cannot and does not exist on his own. He exists because some other being created him and that
being must not be created, otherwise, it would go to infinity which is absurd. Thus, theoretical atheism is not sustainable.
What can be true is practical atheism, that is, to live life as if God did not exist. Pope-Emeritus Benedict XVI (2012)
considers this “a particularly dangerous phenomenon for the faith”. The Pope recalled, “In the past, in the West in a
society that is considered Christian, faith was the environment in which we moved. From the Enlightenment onwards, the
criticism of religion has intensified, history has also been marked by the presence of atheistic systems, in which God was
considered a mere projection of the human mind, an illusion, and the product of a society already distorted by alienation.
The last century has seen a strong and growing secularism, in the name of the absolute autonomy of man, considered
as a measure and artifice of reality”.
The Pope-Emeritus said this process impoverished man because “by obscuring reference to God, the ethical horizon is
also obscured, to make room for relativism.” “In reality, man is separated from God, is reduced to a single dimension, the
horizontal, and this very reductionism is one of the fundamental causes of totalitarianism that have had tragic
consequences in the last century, as well as the crisis of values that we see in our current reality”.
The Pope, then, proposed a way out of this situation. For him, the answer to this impoverishment is found through
“gentleness” and “respect” and is based on three words: the world, man and faith. First, the world involves “restoring to
our contemporaries the ability to contemplate creation, its beauty, its structure. The world is not a shapeless magma, but
the more we know, the more we discover the amazing mechanisms, the more we see a pattern, we see that there is a
creative intelligence”.
What the Pope is saying is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: “Starting from movement, becoming,
contingency, and the world’s order and beauty, one can come to a knowledge of God as the origin and the end of the
universe” (CCC, 32). As St. Augustine said: “Question the beauty of the earth, question the beauty of the sea, question
the beauty of the air distending and diffusing itself, question the beauty of the sky… question all these realities…These
beauties are subject to change. Who made them if not the Beautiful One who is not subject to change?”
The second word is man. Quoting St. Augustine, the Pope Benedict XVI (2012)said: “truth dwells in the heart of man.”
This “is another aspect that we risk losing in the noisy and distracted world in which we live: the ability to stop and take a
deep look within ourselves” (Gen. Aud.). The CCC affirms that “With his openness to truth and beauty, his sense of moral
goodness, his freedom and the voice of his conscience, with his longings for the infinite and for happiness, man questions
himself about God’s existence”
Finally, faith. The Pope said that this is not a mere “system of values, choices and actions” but “an encounter with God
who speaks and acts in history and which converts our daily life, transforming our mentality, system of values, choices
and actions. It is not illusion, escapism, a comfortable shelter, sentimentality, but involvement in every aspect of life and
proclamation of the Gospel, the Good News which can liberate all of man”(Gen. Aud.). In a word, only through faith can
we really come into an encounter with God. In the words of St. John Paul II, “Faith alone makes it possible to penetrate
the Mystery in a way that allows us to understand it coherently”.
B. Secularism and the Challenge of Post-Modernism
The Council already warns us of this modern danger, which now becomes an ill: the secularist mentality. Secularism is
the claim that, since the world is independent of any religious or sacral dimension, religion should not play a role in
government, education, or other public parts of society which belong to the world. It seeks simply to eliminate or at least
reduce the presence of religion in the society, or to make it disappear from the public square. Secularism tries to keep
religion within the bounds of private affairs.
It is in a post-modernistic world where secularism flourishes and spreads. Why? This is because this era is characterized
generally by a rejection of any objective truth. Religion is seen to be claiming the existence of absolute truths. Hence,
secularism finds an ally in post-modernistic mentalities where there is uncertainty and lack of absolutes.
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By trying to eliminate religion, secularism imposes some kind of “neutral” environment where no religious inclination or
denomination is tolerated. The State, for instance, must be neutral in its dealings with the people. Its policies should never
favor any religious denomination. It considers man to be originally a-religious (without any religion). Hence, it seeks to
return to that primordial status where man is simply religiously “neutral”.
Obviously, this is a stark denial of man’s religious nature. We have seen at the beginning that man, by nature, is a
religious being because he seeks, in one way or another, to relate with a transcendent and supernatural being, an
Absolute Being, which he considers to be the source of his own being.
To neglect and deny this primordial nature of man is to do violence to human nature. The words of German psychologist
and philosopher Karl Jaspers in” Pilosofiya” were prophetic when he said, “If I suppress something that I consider
absolute, automatically, another absolute takes its place”. Secularism seeks to suppress what is absolute in man. But in
doing so, it imposes itself as something absolute.
By replacing the Absolute, secularism falls into what Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (2005) called “the dictatorship of
relativism”, which is far worst that what it tries to suppress. The Pope Emeritus observed: “We are moving toward a
dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one’s own
ego and one’s own desires”. In other occasion, the Pope also warned us that “relativism… in certain respects has become
the real religion of modern man. It has become, especially in Europe, but now increasingly in America, the religion that
stands at the heart of modern secular civilization in the way that Christianity defined the heart of Christendom”.
It is the religion, Pope Benedict insists, which the Church must combat in the third millennium for the sake of civilization
itself. A civilization built upon dogmatic relativism is one that ensures its own destruction. It is also a civilization in which
Christianity — challenging dogmatic relativism with the proclamation that Jesus Christ himself is the Way, the Truth and
the Life — must be persecuted.
C. Science and Religion: Friend or Foe?
The post-modernistic era is also deeply characterized by the prejudice that basically science is contrary to religion and
that the two cannot be reconciled. The scientific reduction of religion takes place when the principle “to see is to believe”
becomes the guiding star of any areas of man’s life. With this principle, one becomes positivistic and claims that only
what can be proven by experience and experimentation can claim to be truthful.
Now, since most religious truths are spiritual by nature, since they are mostly divinely revealed, a scientistic mentality
could not accept these truths and would reject them as something meaningless and irrational. When this mentality is
imposed in the academic world, in the family, in the society and in all walks of life, it is converted to become the new
religion that Pope Benedict XVI was referring to.
We need not go so far from our own classroom to see that this mentality is already widespread. Everyone wants proofs
before accepting something as true. Even the Doubting Thomas in the Gospel said so. “Unless I can touch the nail-marks
in His hands…I will not believe”. A young man wants proof that his girlfriend loves him very much.
But if this becomes our guiding star – “to see is to believe” – we will miss a lot of truths in life. Most of the truths that really
matter do not need any proof. Most of what we know we just believe in. We believe that we are sons and daughters of
our parents without proof of any DNA test. We believe immediately that the square root of 16 is 4 even before we know
how to compute it.
What is basic to human beings is to believe. We believe simply because we trust. We accept as true what is revealed to
us, not always because we have proven it to be true but mostly because we trust in the person who revealed it. This is
what makes us persons: our relationship with one another by trusting one another. We flourish as persons because we
trust in each other.
But there can never be true conflict between believing and reasoning, between faith and reason and between religion
and science. Why? Because the truth is one. And the source of truth is one. The source of faith and reason is one. The
source and aim of science and religion is one.
As Pope John Paul II wrote, “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of
truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth – in a word, to know himself – so that, by knowing
and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves”.
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Conclusion
It is, therefore, necessary to understand better and deeper man’s religious nature, how man could speak
analogically about God, and to comprehend religion as man’s relationship with the divinity. Once understood, it is then
precise that every man and woman should behave in the way that is congruent to his religious nature.
Learn how scholars critique organizations that are Against Religion: Atheism, Secularism and Scientism.
Learn and know how life without believing in God prospers.
Thank God for the Gift of Religion
E. Comprehensive Evaluation: Questions for Essay:

1. Is theoretical atheism possible to maintain? Why or why not?
2. What signs of secularist attitude can you observe among your friends, in school or at home?
3. What behavior of yours will you change after understanding this lesson?
F. Enrichment Exercise: Conduct a debate on Whether Science and Religion can be reconciled or not.
MODULE 3: UNIT 1– GOD COMES TO MEET MAN
Lesson 1 : God’s Loving Plan of Salvation

I.Outcome: At the end of this lesson the students will be able to:
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a. explain God’s loving Plan of Salvation, stages of God’s Revelation and Jesus Christ, the Mediator and
fullness of God’s Revelation
b. illustrate how God comes to meet the human person
c. Write/compose a prayer or reflection on the joyful experience of the love of God in their life.
Sources: CCC # -51-55, 56-64, 65-67, Heb. 1:1-2, DV # 2
II.Instructional Sequence
A. Share Activity
(One may take one of the following activities)
Suggested Activities
a) Group sharing: (The class will analyze their experiences as Christians in relation to the concrete situation)
The Class will be divided into five groups; each group will answer the questions as follows:
1. When was the last time you feel so in love with a person?
2. Did you take steps in order to let the person know of your love for him/her? What are these steps you take?
3. Did you ever need the help of other persons to express this love? Who were those persons who helped you?
4. How would you compare this loving initiative you made with that of God’s loving initiative for us, for the world
or for history?
B. Heed Analysis
Brainstorming using the same questions above.

(Analysis or synthesis of the activity will focus on the truth that our God is an intense lover who will not wait for
us but searches us and meet us in our way to reach out to Him.)
God’s Loving Plan of Salvation

Because of his religious nature and capacity to understand, the human person did not stop searching for God. As it being
said, by natural reason man can know God with certainty, on the basis of his works. But there is another order of knowledge,
which man cannot possibly arrive at by his own powers: the order of divine Revelation. But before man became conscious
of the reality of God, before man realized that he has desire and capacity for God and before man was able to speak about
God, God already designed that He Himself will communicate to man.
A. Divine Revelation: God comes to Meet Man
God has revealed himself and given himself to man through utterly free decision. This He does by revealing the mystery,
His plan of loving goodness, formed from all eternity in Christ, for the benefit of all men. God has fully revealed this plan by
sending us his beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
1. in human relations
In human relationships, revelation becomes a necessity if one desires that relationships will last. Human love relationship
moved the person to unfold himself as natural as they are towards the other. The person will search for the person she/he
loves. The person will do all good means to let the person know that she or he is loved. Friendship and communion between
persons need not to remain hidden especially when it involves both for the welfare or danger of the other. Intimacy in
relationship would only happen when people truly unveiled or disclosed their being to the being of the other. To hide many
things especially when it questions fidelity, commitment and love will be considered betrayal to another.
2. Relationship with the Divine

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The human concept of revelation helps us understand the revelation of God to the human person. The idea that God actively
tries to communicate with human beings is called Divine revelation. The word “revelation” comes from the verb to “reveal”
which is from the Latin word “revelare” meaning to lift the veil, to disclose, to uncover or “to unveil or unfold”. It refers to the
act of disclosing something; it is an instance of communicating something or oneself to others. The Church speaks about
Divine Revelation in DV, 1-26, CCC, 50-141, CFC, 62-113, NNCDP, 164-191.
This term is commonly use to refer: God’s self-disclosure or self-communication (self-revealing) to the human race.
Divine Revelation is supernatural communication from God to man. God in his Divine Goodness comes to meet man who is
his yearning for God. It is God showing or unveiling himself to the human person who is searching for God. He communicated
and discloses His Being, His free will and his redemption in Christ. This is over and above of what he has made known by
the light of nature (creation) and reason (the speaking voice within man, or conscience).
It is God’s personal loving communication to us of who He is and His plan to save us all in His love. It is God’s reaching out
to us in friendship, so we get to know and love Him. This religious understanding of revelation is expressed in the New
National Catechetical Directory of the Philippines when it says that it is a “process by which God personally manifests Himself
and His will so that all should have an access to the Father through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit” (NNCDP167). Henceforth,
revelation may be defined as the communication of some truth by God to a rational creature through means which are beyond
the ordinary course of nature.
Furthermore, Revelation refers to the truths about God that God has made known to humanity. It deals with how God has
revealed himself to humanity or how God made himself known. This may be defined as the communication of some truth by
God to a rational creature through means which are beyond the ordinary course of nature.
a) Revelation as God’s self-communication.
As God’s self-communication, revelation speaks of a process by which God took the initiative to let the people know who He
is and what He does. God took the first step to unfold Himself to all humanity in all times. The God who reveals will not wait
the human person to find Him instead He let Himself and His Plan of Salvation to be known to all. He did not choose to whom
He would unfold Himself. His revelation is available for all people. However, God’s revelation depends on the openness and
the capacity of man to understand to understand this unfolding and the acceptance to His self-communication.
God unfolded Himself to all humanity in all times. He did not choose to whom He would unfold Himself; His revelation is
available for all people. But God's revelation depends on the openness and the capacity of the human person to understand
this unfolding process and to accept His revelation.
b) Revelation as God’s Self-Disclosure
What God revealed is nothing less than Himself. Revelation is God making His being known to human beings. God reveals
Himself as personal, as possessing personal qualities, after the analogy of human personal qualities. God does not simply
reveal facts and information: that is not the major focus of revelation. It is true that God reveals several things about Himself
and His activity in the world that we could never have known but for Hi revelation. Nevertheless, such facts and information
as God reveals comes to us concomitantly with God’s self-revelation. Principally, God reveals what kind of person he is:
loving, caring, concerned and compassionate, forgiving just but merciful, a saving God. It is these personal qualities that are
important because they are the basis of the personal relationship to which God calls each one of us.
Revelation covers all the means God has used to manifest and communicate both Himself and the eternal decrees of His
Will concerning salvation of humankind. This process is culminated in His unique, irrevocable and definitive public
relationship in and through Jesus Christ. Jesus, the Messiah was proclaimed by the apostles and communicated in the
Church’s living tradition. The primacy of Christ’s revelation is distinguished from other ways in which God manifests Himself,
for example, through natural signs in creation, or liturgical signs in creation, or liturgical signs and ecclesial signs in Church
worship and moral teachings, or through inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
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Divine revelation is in essence not about things or religious ideas or even commandments of God: divine revelation is God’s
disclosure of himself. The ultimate revelation of God is Jesus Christ, his Son. In the epistle to the Hebrews we are told, "In
many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son
whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world" (Heb 1:1-2). Jesus Christ is the fullness
of the message of the revelation from God. Once God sent his own divine Son, there was nothing more or better that He
could say.
B. God reveals His “Plan of loving goodness”
God, who "dwells in unapproachable light", wants to communicate his own divine life to the men he freely created, in order
to adopt them as his sons in his only-begotten Son. By revealing himself God wishes to make them capable of responding
to him, and of knowing him and of loving him far beyond their own natural capacity. The divine plan of Revelation is realized
simultaneously "by deeds and words which are intrinsically bound up with each other" and shed light on each another. It
involves a specific divine pedagogy: God communicates himself to man gradually. He prepares man to welcome by stages
the supernatural Revelation that is to culminate in the person and mission of the incarnate Word, Jesus Christ. St. Irenaeus
of Lyons repeatedly speaks of this divine pedagogy using the image of God and man becoming accustomed to one another:
The Word of God dwelt in man and became the Son of man in order to accustom man to perceive God and to accustom God
to dwell in man, according to the Father's pleasure.
1) God’s Plan refers to God’s Will.
In our human perception, the plan simply refers to the will, the design, the dream, the aspiration, the vision or the desired
future condition we wished to achieve. In the faith perspective, the plan of God refers to what God wanted the human person,
the world and history to be. Our Faith believes that God is the origin of what exists, the source of life and the measure of
what it should be. God’s plan of loving goodness has been designed from eternity. This is a universal plan of Salvation
realized by God in Christ. This plan is a plan of love, peace, justice and harmony. God began to implement His design even
before Jesus Christ came to launch the Kingdom of God. Christian Faith teaches us that our God has designed His plan of
loving goodness formed from all eternity in Christ for the benefit of all humanity because God wanted us to know Who He is
and What He is.
2) Our basic catechesis speaks of how beautiful is the Plan of God.
Firstly, God willed that all people should have an equal access of God through the blessings of Life. God wanted that all
people experienced His loving presence in the works of His hands most particularly the whole earth and the resources He
provided for all the inhabitants of the earth. The earth and everything in it is owned by God, His is the seas and all that dwell
in it and His is the heavens. To have an access of our God is to share the works of His hands in the resources of the earth
and all goodness of life (namely, land, food, health, shelter, etc.). To have equal access of God’s presence is what we called
justice. Everyone must know and believe that God is the source of everything in this life and all these are intended for all
people and not only for the chosen few. This is what God wanted that all people must know and accept so that they would
praise and glorify His name forever.
Secondly, God willed that all people should live in harmony and peace with one another and with the rest of all Creation. It
is God's will that all people will live in harmony, unity and solidarity with one another and with the rest of God's Creation. This
design of peace and harmony are only possible when all people experienced God’s presence in the resources of the earth
and goodness of life on earth. People are happy when everything will be shared equally. Each creation must be treated with
dignity, respect, freedom and justice
It is a beautiful plan for all humanity, world and history unveiled to us by our God the Father who is the Creator God, God
the Son who is the Redeeming God and God the Holy Spirit who is a Sanctifying God. This Trinitarian God has Trinitarian
Plan but all ONE in the plan of LOVE.
3) The Concept of Salvation
a) Meaning of Salvation
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Salvation comes to us from the Latin “salus”, which means “sound or safe.” Salus is a translation of the Greek word “Salve”
which means a kind of a cream or lotion used to heal wounds. Salvation became in use generally as a release from harm,
ruin, difficulty, danger, loss or other crippling circumstances. It is synonymous with liberation, deliverance and redemption.
The study of salvation is called soteriology. Salvation in a religious sense indicates an ultimate safety from evil.
The understanding of Salvation would have great repercussion with the Religious practices and spirituality of the person.
Salvation today is understood in different models. In this topic we refer the two predominant views of Salvation today, the
Greco-Roman Christianity and the Biblical Religion understanding of Salvation.
a.1) The understanding of Salvation according to the Greco-Roman Christianity.
This is the common understanding of Salvation which is prevalent and typical perception of Salvation in the Christian world
and one that served as the underpinning of much of our Christian practices and spirituality today: Salvation is understood as
“salvation of the soul from sin so that after death the soul may go to heaven” This understanding of Salvation is correct and
Biblical. In a certain context of the historical perspective; that is, the perspective of the Greco-Roman Christianity that began
to develop only after the second generations of Christians had passed away. This Greco-Roman-Christianity, in its self-
understanding and practice, adopted the categories provided by the Neo-platonic–Aristotelian philosophy as its framework.
But this understanding of Salvation is incomplete and inadequate. This is because it viewed salvation as salvation only
of the soul from sin for spiritual grace and for heaven. This is a concept of salvation of the hereafter as “Beatific Vision” or
seeing God face to face meeting in heaven and only the soul can enjoy it. This also viewed salvation in this life as acquiring
sanctifying grace for the soul. Such concept of understanding of salvation is more Grecian than Biblical.
a.2) The understanding of Salvation according to the Biblical Religion.
This is the Biblical understanding of Salvation which invites us to go back to its foundation: The Bible, the source of Faith.
The concept of Salvation that grew in the experiences and spirituality of the Biblical people is considered as the most
complete and most adequate understanding. This understanding which shaped in the Biblical tradition gave us a picture of
what we called as Total Salvation or Integral Salvation. Total or Integral Salvation is the salvation of the total person, total
human being, all humanity (not only soul), world and history from all forms of human evils (such as disease, poverty, hunger,
injustice etc. including sin) for a transformed universe (not only heaven) in the end time. The Total Salvation does not only
concern with what is metaphysical (soul) from sin but also with what is concrete in reality and history of the life of person and
the world.
Positively, Integral or Total Salvation means LIFE, PEACE, HEALTH, JOY, JUSTICE, THE SPIRIT OF GOD ALL IN ALL.
Further, this Integral or Total Salvation in the Bible views salvation as an experience today (A PRESENT REALITY) and an
experience in the future (FUTURE REALITY). The salvation in the present reality refers to the life -giving blessings such as
health, food, land, justice, rain, bread, forgiveness of sin, God’s spirit in the hearts. The salvation in its future reality refers to
the experience in the life hereafter. It would mean fullness of life, destruction of all evils in this present world, transformed
universe for the new person living in a new history. This means God will be all in all.
b) Development of the Concept of Salvation in the History
Biblical people slowly developed the understanding Total or Integral Salvation as God of History unfolds Himself in their life
experiences.
b.1) Salvation for the Hebrews or Israelites (roughly around 2000-586 BCE)
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The most fundamental insight of the Israelite Faith is that God works in the events of Israel’s history as SAVING GOD. Their
religious and national literature that we call the Old Testament is basically a record of Yahweh’s saving actions or Yahweh’s
deeds of salvation. (cf. Deut. 6:21-23; Deut. 26:5-9; Joshua 24:2-13; Psalm 136). And such salvation was bestowing of the
blessings that affect the totality of the life of an Israelite and of the Israelite nation. In Leviticus 26:3-13, Deut. 28:2-1, God
promised concrete blessings of the concrete persons. Thus salvation for the Hebrews or the Israelites was the SAVING
DEEDS OF YAHWEH IN THE LIFE-HISTORY OF THE ISRAELITE PEOPLE as experienced in the form of having Land,
Food during famine, children, liberation from slavery, abundance, peace, covenant as Yahweh’s people, oil, rains, fruit,
grapes, wine, bread and security. The saving events or actions of God in the past and present are concrete experiences of
Salvation.
b.2) Salvation according to the Prophets (roughly around 750-400 BCE)
All the prophets, of course, shared the basic and traditional insights regarding salvation. They believed in God’s salvific
actions that bring blessings to Israel in the totality of their needs. Now many of the prophets carried this further and spoke
about a future Saving Action of God, or rather, the Saving Actions of God in the Future which would bring to Israel this final
and definitive Salvation. In speaking about this final and definitive salvation, these prophets wanted to bring the idea of total
salvation. An example of them was Prophet Isaiah (Deutero-Isaiah, Is. 40-55). He announced that these Saving Actions of
God would bring about another liberating Exodus for the exiled Jews in Babylon. Prophet Jeremiah, in his part, announced
that these Saving Actions of God will bring back home the scattered sons of Israel (see Jeremiah 31:10-13). And Ezekiel
added: “Yahweh will cleanse his people; he will give them a new heart and will put in them a new spirit” (Ez. 36:25 ff.)
Salvation for these people is security in the land, coming back from dispersion, abundance, peace, new heart; you shall be
my people, clean water, fruit, grapes, wine, grains, new paradise. (cf. Is. 2:4, Is, 11:6-9; Am. 9:13-15, Jer. 31:11-14, Ez.
36:22-32). This shaped up the hope for the final and definitive Salvation which would come very soon, “in their midst”. For
the prophets, then, SALVATION IS FINAL SAVING DEEDS OF YAHWEH IN THE LIFE-HISTORY OF THE ISRAELITES
PEOPLE.
b.3) Salvation according to the Jewish Apocalyptic writers (200 BCE-200 CE)
It is among the Jewish Apocalyptic writers that we see clearly the meaning of total salvation. They, too, announced the future
exercise of God’s final Saving Action. For many of them, this action would bring the end of time, the end of history and the
beginning of a transformed universe, a new heaven and new earth where there would be no more mourning nor tears nor
pain nor death–because all things will have been made anew. (Cf. Rev. 21:1-5). It was the apocalyptic writers who really
spoke about a salvation that is really final and really total.
b.4) Salvation according to Jesus (4BCE-30 CE)
It was in Jesus that the full-grown understanding of Salvation had made its full shape. Salvation for Jesus was total salvation
(Mt. 11:4-5, Mt. 4:23-24; Luke 4:17-21; Acts 10:38). It is a Salvation of the Total Person and humanity, whole world and total
history. It is a salvation that is experienced today in this life, in the future, and in the life-here-after. It was in Jesus that
salvation is concretely experienced in His words and actions, both an experience today and an experience in the future.
(This is to be treated exhaustively in ReEd 102)
b.5) Salvation for the Early Church (30 – 100 CE)
The Early Christians spoke also of the total salvation just as their Master spoke about it. Early Christian community embraced
the perception of Jesus about Salvation as the Salvation today and in the future. Salvation in this life is in the form of concrete
blessings in the life of the person. Salvation in the future will be the experience of the fullness of life.
A.4. Salvation in the mind of the Church

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The mind of Jesus must be the mind of the Church as People of God. Surely, Jesus’ thought centered on the Salvation of
humanity, world and history so is the thought of the Church. In the mind of the Church, the doctrine of salvation in Christ is
the central doctrine of Christianity, the heart of our Christian faith.” We call Christ Himself our “Savior” and in our Symbol of
Faith we confess our belief in “One Lord Jesus Christ… Who for us men and for our salvation came down from the heavens
and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man, and was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate,
and suffered, and was buried…”. By these words the Church teaches that the salvation of the human race is achieved by
the Son of God, Lord Jesus Christ, Who said about Himself, “the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister,
and to give his life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45) From the beginning, the Church’s teaching has been
that the nature of man was profoundly corrupted as a result of the fall. Adam and Eve sinned by violating God’s order and
breaking their connection with God – Who alone is Life.
C. Stages of God’s Revelation
The CCC, 56 – 60 tells us that in the beginning God makes himself known. “God, who creates and conserves all things by
his Word, provides men with constant evidence of himself in created realities. And furthermore, wishing to open up the way
to heavenly salvation - he manifested himself to our first parents from the very beginning." 6 He invited them to intimate
communion with himself and clothed them with resplendent grace and justice. This revelation was not broken off by our first
parents' sin. "After the fall, [God] buoyed them up with the hope of salvation, by promising redemption; and he has never
ceased to show his solicitude for the human race. For he wishes to give eternal life to all those who seek salvation by patience
in well-doing." Even when he disobeyed you and lost your friendship you did not abandon him to the power of death. . Again
and again you offered a covenant to man.
a. The Covenant with Noah
After the unity of the human race was shattered by sin God at once sought to save humanity part by part. The covenant with
Noah after the flood gives expression to the principle of the divine economy toward the "nations", in other words, towards
men grouped "in their lands, each with [its] own language, by their families, in their nations". This state of division into many
nations is at once cosmic, social and religious. It is intended to limit the pride of fallen humanity united only in its perverse
ambition to forge its own unity as at Babel. But, because of sin, both polytheism and the idolatry of the nation and of its rulers
constantly threaten this provisional economy with the perversion of paganism.
The covenant with Noah remains in force during the times of the Gentiles, until the universal proclamation of the
Gospel.13 The Bible venerates several great figures among the Gentiles: Abel the just, the king-priest Melchizedek - a figure
of Christ - and the upright "Noah, Daniel, and Job".14Scripture thus expresses the heights of sanctity that can be reached by
those who live according to the covenant of Noah, waiting for Christ to "gather into one the children of God who are scattered
abroad
b. God chooses Abraham
In order to gather together scattered humanity God calls Abram from his country, his kindred and his father's house, and
makes him Abraham, that is, "the father of a multitude of nations". "In you all the nations of the earth shall be blessed." The
people descended from Abraham would be the trustee of the promise made to the patriarchs, the chosen people, called to
prepare for that day when God would gather all his children into the unity of the Church. They would be the root from which
the Gentiles would be grafted, once they came to believe. The patriarchs, prophets and certain other Old Testament figures
have been and always will be honored as saints in all the Church's liturgical traditions.
c. God forms his people Israel
After the patriarchs, God formed Israel as his people by freeing them from slavery in Egypt. He established with them the
covenant at Mount Sinai and, through Moses, gave them his law so that they would recognize him and serve him as the one
living and true God, the provident Father and just judge, and so that they would look for the promised Savior. Israel is the
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priestly people of God, "called by the name of the LORD", and "the first to hear the word of God", 21 the people of "elder
brethren" in the faith of Abraham.
Through the prophets, God forms his people in the hope of salvation, in the expectation of a new and everlasting Covenant
intended for all, to be written on their hearts. The prophets proclaim a radical redemption of the People of God, purification
from all their infidelities, a salvation which will include all the nations. Above all, the poor and humble of the Lord will bear
this hope. Such holy women as Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Judith and Esther kept alive the hope
of Israel's salvation. The purest figure among them is Mary.
Israel is the priestly people of God, "called by the name of the LORD", and "the first to hear the word of God", the people of
"elder brethren" in the faith of Abraham. Through the prophets, God forms his people in the hope of salvation, in the
expectation of a new and everlasting Covenant intended for all, to be written on their hearts. The prophets proclaim a radical
redemption of the People of God, purification from all their infidelities, a salvation which will include all the nations. Above
all, the poor and humble of the Lord will bear this hope. Such holy women as Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Miriam, Deborah,
Hannah, Judith and Esther kept alive the hope of Israel's salvation. The purest figure among them is Mary.
C. Jesus Christ is the Fullness of God’s Revelation
The Second Vatican Council, in its Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation Dei Verbum, says that the intimate truth of
the revelation of God shines for us "in Christ, who is both the mediator and the fullness of all revelation"(DV, 2). The Old
Testament tells us how God, after the creation, despite original sin. Despite man’s arrogance in wanting to take the place of
the creator. Something completely new happens, however, with the incarnation. The search for the face of God undergoes
an unthinkable change, because now this face can be seen: that of Jesus, the Son of God who became man. In Him the
path of God's revelation finds fulfillment, which began with the call of Abraham; He is the fullness of this revelation because
he is the Son of God, he is both "the mediator and fullness of all revelation" (DV2), and in Him the content of Revelation and
the Revealer coincide. Jesus
Jesus Christ is the fullness of God’s revelation because through Him God has communicated to humanity the totality of
truths of Himself. He chose to reveal to man through Jesus Christ. He preached the kingdom of God, worked miracles,
changed the divine law, and claimed to be decisive for human salvation — all with a personal authority that put him on a par
with God. The ministry of Jesus initiated the disclosure of God as the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The chapter
ends by distinguishing revelation as past (the foundational revelation completed with Jesus and the apostolic generation),
as present (dependent revelation that draws on the apostolic witness), and as future (the self-disclosure of God that will be
completed at the end of human history). "In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets, but in
these last days he has spoken to us by a Son."26 Christ, the Son of God made man, is the Father's one, perfect and
unsurpassable Word. In him he has said everything; there will be no other word than this one. St. John of the Cross, among
others, commented strikingly on Hebrews 1:1-2: In giving us his Son, his only Word (for he possesses no other), he spoke
everything to us at once in this sole Word - and he has no more to say. . . because what he spoke before to the prophets in
parts, he has now spoken all at once by giving us the All Who is His Son. Any person questioning God or desiring some
vision or revelation would be guilty not only of foolish behavior but also of offending him, by not fixing his eyes entirely upon
Christ and by living with the desire for some other novelty.
God never stops revealing even men disobeyed Him. He never abandons us. God revealed from the very beginning. Despite
the initiative of God to reveal Himself, human being failed. History unveiled the never ending initiative of God to unveil Himself
so that He will be known.
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1. How can I develop attitudes of Trust and Faith that this Jesus in Faith will mediate between me and the Father and
unfold fully the revealing process of God?
2. How can I become a true believer of Jesus, the Mediator and Fullness of God’s Revelation?
3. What prayerful words I want to tell Jesus as I realize what He did for me to capture the Truth of our God?
III –Comprehensive Evaluation:
Test 1 : Multiple Choice: Encircle the letter item of your chosen answer.
1. What does human perception refer to the plan of
God? 6. What does man usually forget in life as he or she
a. the dream, the aspiration we wished to achieve treads life’s journey?
b. the faith we wish to take hold of a. understand better what He has revealed
c. the person in the care of others b. Intimate and vital bond of man to God
d. the person in the care of God c. enlightened faith which seek or desire
d. Faith is seeking understanding
2. What does our faith profess in terms of the plan of
God? 7. What are some causes of man or woman’s
a. God is the origin to what God wanted the human rejection of God?
person a. divine intellect and human intellect
b. God is the origin of what exists b. connection between faith and reason
c. God is the object of care c. Religious ignorance and indifference
d. God is a teacher d. mistaken notion about science and religion
3. What does our basic catechesis speak about 8. What is God’s assurance despite man’s rejection
beautiful Plan of God? of Him?
a. God willed that all people should have an equal a. Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord
access of God through the blessings of Life. rejoice
b. God desires that all the sinners will be banned b. Man can come to know that there exists a
from paradise reality
c. God called man and woman in the garden to c. His freedom and the voice of his conscience
work d. That faith is not opposed to reason
d. God created man and woman to praise Him
9. What does God demand in our search for Him?
4. How did man exist? a. the seed of eternity we bear in ourselves
a. He is created by his will and love b. desire for God written in the human heart
b. He is created by God through love c. knowledge of the existence of a personal God
c. He is designed to fulfill his dreams d. effort of intellect, sound will, and upright heart
d. He is created for himself and for others
10. How can man to be able to enter into real intimacy
5. What is man’s expression to his quest for God? with God?
a. Preciousness and action a. God willed to reveal himself and welcome this
b. Sincerity and honesty revelation in faith
c. Prayers and sacrifices b. Human run the risk of reducing man to either
d. Mortifications and sacrifices the spiritual
c. Human take good care of our body and our
spiritual
d. Human being directly right towards its origin
Test II : Enumeration
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1. What does our basic catechesis speak about the beautiful Plan of God? (2)
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
2. What are the 3 stages of God’s Revelation?

_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
3. What are two understanding of Salvation presented in this lesson? (2)

_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
4. What are the different concepts of Salvation? (5)
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
IV - Enrichment Exercise:
1. Illustrate the context or the condition where man lives, which needs salvation.
2. Observe and write man or woman’s experiences that brought him or her to desire for a Mediator?

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Lesson 2 : God speaks to Man: The Transmission of the Divine Revelation
I. Learning Outcomes: At the end of this lesson, the students shall:

1. explain how God speaks to man;
2. articulate the meaning of Divine Revelation;
3. respond to God’s Revelation with deep faith; and,
4. commit to proclaim and live-out one’s faith in God.
A. Share Activity
Question: What are your Stories that God is present in your life?
or Video Clip: God Answer Prayer! Amazing Inspirational Story
B. Heed Analysis
Guide Questions
a. What should life be before God?
b. How can you share your experience of God to others?
A. The Transmission of the Divine Revelation
1. What does it mean God speaks?

God "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth": that is, of Christ Jesus. Christ must be
proclaimed to all nations and individuals, so that this revelation may reach to the ends of the earth: God graciously
arranged that the things he had once revealed for the salvation of all peoples should remain in their entirety, throughout
the ages, and be transmitted to all generations.
God has often revealed Himself to men through means beyond the ordinary course of nature. This is supernatural, or
Divine Revelation, as opposed to the natural revelation of Himself that God makes in the external world, and the
revelation He makes through our natural reason and conscience. Some revealed truths are beyond the power of the
human understanding; we could never, by our own abilities, have known such truths if God had not revealed them. For
instance, could we by ourselves have known about the Blessed Trinity, had God not revealed it?
2. God reveals through words and actions.
How may Divine Revelation be classified? -- Divine Revelation may be classified into pre-Christian and Christian
revelation.
B. Pre-Christian revelation may be divided into:
a. primitive revelation, made to Adam and Eve;

b. patriarchal revelation, made to the patriarchs; and
c. Mosaic revelation, made to Moses and the prophets.
God spoke to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Paradise. He spoke to Abraham, to Noah, sending Noah to preach to sinful
men before the Flood. He sent Moses to the Israelites when Pharaoh oppressed them. The patriarchs and prophets were
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called messengers of God, and often received from Him extraordinary powers, of miracles and prophecy, in order that they
might be believed
.
C. Christian revelation contains the truths revealed to us by Jesus Christ, either directly or through His Apostles.
Our Lord commanded His Apostles to teach all these truths to the end of time. "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all
nations." Why should we believe in Divine Revelation? -- We should believe in Divine Revelation because God, Who is
its Author, cannot deceive nor be deceived. No reasonable man can believe in any truth until he is sure it is revealed by God.
We know that God is the Author of Revelation because He has proved it by external acts, especially by miracles and
prophecies. The writers who made Divine Revelation known worked under direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Who is,
therefore its Author. Miracles are extraordinary works perceptible to the senses, that cannot be accomplished by the mere
powers of nature. They are brought about by the action of a higher power.
The coming to life of a dead man is a miracle. So is the instantaneous cure of a man blind or paralytic from birth. Our Lord
and the Apostles worked many miracles. Some extraordinary works never before heard of or known but invented are not
miracles. They are mere discoveries of previously unknown processes or combinations.
An example is the radio. And so were the first telegraph, telephone, wireless, phonograph, etc. All of these are very wonderful.
Even today people in general do not understand them fully. But they are not miracles, because they are produced by the
forces of nature as harnessed through the ingenuity of man. Prophecies are predictions of future events that could not have
been known by natural means. For the confirmation of the faith, or for the benefit of men, God raised up prophets. Generally
speaking, the gift of prophecy is a sure sign that the possessor is a messenger of God.
The prophets told about the coming of the Messias. Their prophecies were fulfilled when Christ came on earth. The Major
Prophets were Isaias, Jeremias, Ezechiel, and Daniel. They are distinguished from the twelve minor prophets, because of
the greater volume of their prophecies. Forecasting the weather correctly is not prophecy. It is the result of a scientific
knowledge of natural facts.
1. God’s Word must be transmitted.
How has Divine Revelation come down to us? -- Divine Revelation has come down to us through Holy Scripture, written
down under divine inspiration, and through Tradition, handed down orally from Apostolic times.
From Adam and Eve, at different times, God inspired men to write down His revelations. These passed from generation to
generation as sacred books. For pre-Christian revelation, there were forty-five of these sacred books, composing the Old
Testament. They were jealously guarded by the Israelites, the Chosen People, whom God Himself had chosen to keep His
truths intact for the instruction of future generations.
Finally our Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, came to earth to reveal Divine truths to men. After His death, His Apostles and
disciples wrote about Him and His teachings. There are twenty-seven of these books, composing the New Testament. With
the forty-five books of the Old Testament they were scattered in different parts of the world, until the Church gathered them
together into one Book, Holy Scripture, or the Bible.
The deposit of faith which Jesus Christ entrusted to the Church is made up of two parts: Holy Scripture, and Divine Tradition,
this latter being composed of the truths passed down by word of mouth, and not written down till after the death of Christ's
Apostles and disciples, principally by the Fathers of the Church. Divine Revelation was completed at the death of the last of
the Apostles. Since that time no new revelation has been made for the instruction of the whole of mankind. Whenever the
Church decides a point of faith, it does so according to Scripture or Tradition. It simply finds out what has been revealed from
the beginning.
D. The Apostolic Tradition and the Sacred Scripture

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"Christ the Lord, in whom the entire Revelation of the highest God is summed up, commanded the apostles to preach the
Gospel, which had been promised beforehand by the prophets, and which he fulfilled in his own person and promulgated
with his own lips. In preaching the Gospel, they were to communicate the gifts of God to all men. This Gospel was to be
the source of all saving truth and moral discipline."
1) Apostolic preaching
In keeping with the Lord's command, the Gospel was handed on in two ways:
a. orally by the apostles who handed on, by the spoken word of their preaching, by the example they gave, by the
institutions they established, what they themselves had received - whether from the lips of Christ, from his way of
life and his works, or whether they had learned it at the prompting of the Holy Spirit";
b. in writing "by those apostles and other men associated with the apostles who, under the inspiration of the same
Holy Spirit, committed the message of salvation to writing".
2) Apostolic Succession
"In order that the full and living Gospel might always be preserved in the Church the apostles left bishops as their
successors. They gave them their own position of teaching authority."35 Indeed, "the apostolic preaching, which is
expressed in a special way in the inspired books, was to be preserved in a continuous line of succession until the end of
time."
This living transmission, accomplished in the Holy Spirit, is called Tradition, since it is distinct from Sacred Scripture,
though closely connected to it. Through Tradition, "the Church, in her doctrine, life and worship, perpetuates and transmits
to every generation all that she herself is, all that she believes."37 "The sayings of the holy Fathers are a witness to the life-
giving presence of this Tradition, showing how its riches are poured out in the practice and life of the Church, in her
belief and her prayer."38
The Father's self-communication made through his Word in the Holy Spirit, remains present and active in the Church: "God,
who spoke in the past, continues to converse with the Spouse of his beloved Son. And the Holy Spirit, through whom the
living voice of the Gospel rings out in the Church - and through her in the world - leads believers to the full truth, and makes
the Word of Christ dwell in them in all its richness."
3) The Relationship between Tradition and Sacred Scripture
One common source. . ."Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, then, are bound closely together, and communicate one
with the other. For both of them, flowing out from the same divine well-spring, come together in some fashion to form one
thing, and move towards the same goal."40 Each of them makes present and fruitful in the Church the mystery of Christ, who
promised to remain with his own "always, to the close of the age".
a. Two distinct modes of transmission

1. "Sacred Scripture is the speech of God as it is put down in writing under the breath of the Holy Spirit."
2. "And [Holy] Tradition transmits in its entirety the Word of God which has been entrusted to the apostles by Christ
the Lord and the Holy Spirit. It transmits it to the successors of the apostles so that, enlightened by the Spirit of truth,
they may faithfully preserve, expound and spread it abroad by their preaching."
As a result the Church, to whom the transmission and interpretation of Revelation is entrusted, "does not derive her
certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone. Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and
honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence."
B.4 Apostolic Tradition and ecclesial traditions

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The Tradition here in question comes from the apostles and hands on what they received from Jesus' teaching and example
and what they learned from the Holy Spirit. The first generation of Christians did not yet have a written New Testament, and
the New Testament itself demonstrates the process of living Tradition.
Tradition is to be distinguished from the various theological, disciplinary, liturgical or devotional traditions, born in the local
churches over time. These are the particular forms, adapted to different places and times, in which the great Tradition is
expressed. In the light of Tradition, these traditions can be retained, modified or even abandoned under the guidance of the
Church's Magisterium.
E. The Interpretation of the Heritage of Faith
1) The heritage of faith entrusted to the whole of the Church
The apostles entrusted the "Sacred deposit" of the faith (the depositumfidei),45 contained in Sacred Scripture and Tradition,
to the whole of the Church. "By adhering to [this heritage] the entire holy people, united to its pastors, remains always
faithful to the teaching of the apostles, to the brotherhood, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. So, in maintaining,
practicing and professing the faith that has been handed on, there should be a remarkable harmony between the bishops
and the faithful."
2) The Magisterium of the Church
"The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition,
has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the Church alone. Its authority in this matter is exercised in the name of
Jesus Christ."47 This means that the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with the
successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome.
"Yet this Magisterium is not superior to the Word of God, but is its servant. It teaches only what has been handed on to it.
At the divine command and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it listens to this devotedly, guards it with dedication and
expounds it faithfully. All that it proposes for belief as being divinely revealed is drawn from this single deposit of faith."
Mindful of Christ's words to his apostles: "He who hears you, hears me",49 the faithful receive with docility the teachings
and directives that their pastors give them in different forms.
3) The dogmas of the faith
The Church's Magisterium exercises the authority it holds from Christ to the fullest extent when it defines dogmas, that is,
when it proposes, in a form obliging the Christian people to an irrevocable adherence of faith, truths contained in divine
Revelation or also when it proposes, in a definitive way, truths having a necessary connection with these.
There is an organic connection between our spiritual life and the dogmas. Dogmas are lights along the path of faith; they
illuminate it and make it secure. Conversely, if our life is upright, our intellect and heart will be open to welcome the light
shed by the dogmas of faith.
The mutual connections between dogmas, and their coherence, can be found in the whole of the Revelation of the mystery
of Christ.51 "In Catholic doctrine there exist an order or hierarchy of truths, since they vary in their relation to the foundation
of the Christian faith."
4) Sensus Fidei and the Dogmas of Faith
a. The supernatural sense of faith

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All the faithful share in understanding and handing on revealed truth. They have received the anointing of the Holy Spirit,
who instructs them and guides them into all truth. "The whole body of the faithful. . . cannot err in matters of belief. This
characteristic is shown in the supernatural appreciation of faith (sensusfidei) on the part of the whole people, when, from
the bishops to the last of the faithful, they manifest a universal consent in matters of faith and morals." "By this appreciation
of the faith, aroused and sustained by the Spirit of truth, the People of God, guided by the sacred teaching authority
(Magisterium),. . . receives. . . the faith, once for all delivered to the saints. . . The People unfailingly adhere to this faith,
penetrates it more deeply with right judgment, and applies it more fully in daily life."
b. Growth in understanding the faith
Thanks to the assistance of the Holy Spirit, the understanding of both the realities and the words of the heritage of faith is
able to grow in the life of the Church:
1. - "through the contemplation and study of believers who ponder these things in their hearts"; it is in particular
2. -"theological research [which] deepens knowledge of revealed truth".
3. - "from the intimate sense of spiritual realities which [believers] experience", the sacred Scriptures "grow with the
one who reads them."
4. - "from the preaching of those who have received, along with their right of succession in the episcopate, the sure
charism of truth".
It is clear therefore that, in the supremely wise arrangement of God, sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture and the
Magisterium of the Church are so connected and associated that one of them cannot stand without the others. Working
together, each in its own way, under the action of the one Holy Spirit, they all contribute effectively to the salvation of souls."
What are your realizations? How can you meet God in your daily activities/life?
F. Evaluation: Assessment
1. What is Divine Revelation?

2. What are the classifications of divine revelation?
3. What are the two distinct modes of transmission?
4. What are the ways of handing down the gospel to the Christians?
5. What is the task of the Magisterium of the Church?
6. How must we understand the supernatural sense of faith?
7. How can we Christians grow in our understanding of our faith?
8. How was God’s Word transmitted to us?
9. What is the relationship between tradition and sacred scripture?
10. Why is it important to understand Divine Revelation?
G. Enrichment Exercise:
Recall experiences of God’s intervention in your life. Present them through a drawing. Write in it your response to
God.
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Lesson 3: God Speaks through Christ
I. Learning Outcomes: At the end of this lesson, the students will be able to:
1. explain the importance of the Sacred Scripture in the lives of Christians; Christ as the unique Word of the Sacred
Scripture through whom God the Father reveal himself;
2. articulate their love of the Sacred Scripture as the Word of God revealed in human history.
3. write a prayer of commitment to be the mouthpieces of God to share and proclaim Sacred Word to others
A. Share Activity
A. Share: Activity: Bible Scanning
The students are grouped of five (5) members each group. Each group shall locate the given passages in the Bible.
Each group is given points: 5 points for a group that gives the correct answer.
or
The teacher begins the class by asking the students the following questions:
a) Recall the moments when you were inspired and describe how this inspiration affects your decision?
b) Were you still free to decide of the things you wanted to do in response to the inspiration?
B. Heed Analysis
a) Rate the percentage of the influence of (1) the inspiration and (2) your freewill to your decision at the time you
were inspired?
Jesus Christ: Mediator and Fullness of God’s Revelation
A. What is a Mediator?
A mediator is one who brings estranged parties to an amicable agreement. A Mediator is a person who attempts to make
people involved in a conflict come to an agreement; a go-between or one that mediates, especially one that reconciles
differences between disputants. A mediator is a middleman, a go-between; one who comes in between two parties who
otherwise could not commune with each other. Effective mediators have a combination of specific qualities, characteristics,
acquired knowledge and specialist skills. As a mediator one is working with the 3P’s: people (supporting people), process
(controlling the process) and problem (solving the problem).
In New Testament theology, the term invariably implies that the estranged beings are God and man, and it is appropriated
to Christ, the One Mediator. When special friends of God — angels, saints, holy men — plead our cause before God, they
mediate "with Christ"; their mediation is only secondary and is better called intercession. Moses, however, is the proper
mediator of the Old Testament (Galatians 3:19-20).
1. The Root of the Biblical Concept of Mediator
Each period of redemptive history had mediators of the covenant to represent that one true Mediator who alone could
establish connection between a fallen race and its offended Creator. The human mediators were mere administrators of the
covenant. Take the case of Moses. God’s voice was very terrible, and the people could not bear it; so Moses came in and
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spoke on the behalf of God. The presence of Yahweh upon the mountain was so glorious that men could not climb the hill,
and endure that great sight, so Moses went up for men to God. He was a mediator, speaking for the Lord, and making
intercession for the people.
2. The desire for God
In creating man in his own image, God himself has inscribed upon his heart the desire to see Him. Even if this desire is often
ignored, God never ceases to draw man to himself because only in God will he find and live the fullness of truth and happiness
for which he never stops searching. By nature, man is capable of God and by vocation, man is a religious being, capable of
entering into communion with God. This intimate and spirited bond with God confers on man his fundamental dignity. To
desire to see the face of God also implies that even though we cannot imagine what God looks like (and to make pictures or
images of God was absolutely prohibited in the Old Testament), there is a call to relationship. We cannot make God an
object, but we can believe in Him and love Him because He is calling us to do just that. He comes near to us so that we
might come to Him.
B. The Human Need for a Mediator
God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own
blessed life. In the fullness of time, God the Father sent his Son as the Redeemer and Savior of mankind, fallen into sin, thus
calling all into his Church and, through the work of the Holy Spirit, making them adopted children and heirs of his eternal
happiness. “You are great, O Lord, and greatly to be praised [...] You have made us for yourself and our hearts are restless
until they rest in you.” (Saint Augustine)
While Human Person desires for God, he experienced two strong opposing currents within as he/she exists, namely:
1. the need for relatedness with God which person believes will fulfill and complete his being as human. This need
is clearly articulated by St. Augustine especially during and after his conversion, “You have created us O Lord, and
we will be restless until we find rest in you.” This shows the human’s inner longing for God because the being of
human person is created by God and therefore it is for God.
2. the realization that human person is unworthy to relate with God.

While human feels the need for relatedness with God, on the contrary, he also feels unworthy to this relatedness
because of his sinfulness against Him. Human being realizes that God is Holy, absolutely Good, Blameless, Clean,
Undefiled. Humans find themselves SINFUL, unworthy to relate to God.
Consequently, these experiences (need for relatedness and feeling of unworthiness) created a DILEMMA in human being.
This was a problem besetting people for the time of the realization. How was it solved? It was noted by many theologians
that humanity explored different solutions presented by different groups and/or individuals to solve the dilemma. While there
is no one or single solution which totally solved the dilemma, they have found out striking observation, with all the solutions
being presented, there is a common element being mentioned….and that is on the idea of a MEDIATOR, who will do the
duty or obligation for God in behalf of the people in the community.
We fallen humans need a mediator between ourselves and God. We need not only an intercessor, but also one to represent
us judicially before the Judge of all men. As we have already demonstrated, the human race became corrupt with the guilt
of Adam and all are born with sin-bound souls. This moral offense separates all people from God and requires reconciliation
on the grounds of the atonement of the promised Messiah under the Covenant of Grace.
C. Jesus Christ - "Mediator and fullness of all Revelation
The full and definitive stage of God’s revelation is accomplished in the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, the mediator and
fullness of Revelation. He, being the only-begotten Son of God made man, is the perfect and definitive Word of the Father.
In the sending of the Son and the gift of the Spirit, Revelation is now fully complete, although the faith of the Church must
gradually grasp its full significance over the course of centuries. Jesus Christ is revealed in Scripture as that Mediator
between God and man.
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a. Christ: Life and Ministry
The total life story of Jesus unfolded the perfect work of a mediator and a fullness of all revelation. The life and Ministry of
Jesus is considered as the key event that unlocked the mystery of His Birth, Death, Resurrection and His coming again. The
work of Christ as Mediator is divided into the three offices attributed to him: Prophet, Priest and King. While many previous
assertions had alluded to the offices of Christ, Vatican II appears to be the most emphatic council to distinguish these three
offices particularly (GS). The offices of Christ ground its bases upon the term “Christ” which is from the New Testament
Greek term christos which means “anointed”. It translates the Hebrew word Mashiakh or “Messiah”, which also means one
who is “anointed” or “set aside for special office”. In the revealed order of God’s law, prophets, priests and kings were all
anointed to office. Sometimes it was done by ceremonies common to contemporary culture. At other times they were set
aside by simple declaration by one in authority to appoint them to their office.
Jesus as a mediator, exercised His role to humanity, world and history in a special office of being:
1. Jesus as Prophet
The work of a prophet is to proclaim God’s truth. He is not primarily one who predicts future events as the word is commonly
used today. He is first of all one who declares (as superintendent by the Holy Spirit) what God has made known to him by
special revelation. In His life and Ministry, Jesus not only announced the Good News of Salvation but also denounced the
Evils of idolatry and injustices. He stood squarely for the Will of His Father … for life, for the human being, for the poor and
oppressed and for justice and liberation. His life and Ministry confronted Law, Tradition and authorities which became
destructive to the Plan of the Father for Salvation. The divine mediator, Jesus Christ, is not only an administrator but the
author of and a party to the covenant.
2. Jesus as Priest
The work of priest is that of establishing reconciliation between God and fallen man by way of atonement. Before the fall
there was no need for a priest since reconciliation was not necessary. Adam was created in true holiness and was not
separated from God by any offenses which would require atonement. Expiation was a meaningless concept relating to man’s
standing before a Holy God but when humans broke the relationship with God, the need to have somebody to stand on
behalf of them in front of God. Earthly priesthoods were mere shadows of that of the Messiah (Hebrews 8:1-6). Jesus served
a greater more perfect temple as the great high priest (Hebrews 9:11-12). And the sacrifice he brought was not of animals
but his own perfect blood offered once for all to secure an eternal redemption. He made the payment of sin in full, once for
all and intercedes for us before the Father (Romans 8:34). Jesus is a priest par excellence.
3. Jesus as King
The Gospels record the many teachings of Jesus about the establishment of His kingdom. Mark 1 says, “(14) And after John
had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, (15) and saying, “The time is fulfilled,
and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” The kingdom was the predominant theme in the
teachings of Christ. His coming was announced as the presence of God’s Kingdom by John the Baptist. The sermons of
Jesus, his warnings to the Jews, his parables, and his commissioning of his followers all centered on the kingdom message.
Even his post resurrection ministry to his followers was of things concerning the Kingdom of God. Acts 1:3 “To these He also
presented Himself alive, after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over {a period of} forty days, and
speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.”
The kingship of Christ is specially manifested in his headship over the Church where we seek his leading by his word and
spirit under the direction of the officers of the church which his word establishes. (Ephesians 4:15, Colossians 1:18, 2:19)
The dominion of Jesus assures us that this world is not operating on its own. God is not just a remote observer or detached
power. He lovingly and sovereignly rules over all things, moving them toward his decreed ends, and specially operates as
Head of his Church and Lord of his people.
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b. The Paschal Mystery: A Quick Look
The Paschal Mystery is from the Hebrew root “Pasch” which means “Passover” in reference to the Passover experience
from being Hebrew slaves to a community of Yahweh where there is freedom. The Paschal Mystery is basically the process
of dying and rising, from death to a new life. Jesus Christ's passion, death, Resurrection, and Ascension are the ultimate
event of dying and rising, from death to a new life. We learn from our Lord Jesus Christ that new life can come from death,
that we can find meaning in tough times, that there really is light in the darkness.
1. The Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus
Rooted from this Passover experience of the Israelites, Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection is termed by the Church
as Paschal Mystery. The suffering and death of Jesus were the end result of His conflictive ministry of proclamation of the
Reign-Kingdom of God. But as a sure tenet of our Faith the Paschal Mystery of Jesus is for the forgiveness of our sins. Christ
died for the sins of the world. By His passion, He defeated suffering and by His Death, He conquered death forever. The
claw of death has no power to keep the most innocent and just man as victim of our sinfulness. The Father has to vindicate
His Own Beloved Son and raise Him up to join Him in His nature as God. For this we joyfully wait for the great event of our
redemption, our victory over evil when Jesus comes again in His glory.
2. The Ascension - His Irreversible Entry into Glory (659-661)
Christ's body was glorified at the very moment of the Resurrection (as shown by the new powers he enjoyed). Yet, for forty
days he appeared to his disciples while his glory remained veiled under the appearance of an ordinary humanity. 3. In his
final apparition, Jesus "was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God" (Mk 16:19). His Ascension is the
irreversible entry of his humanity into divine glory. After his Ascension, Jesus did appear to Paul "as to one untimely born"
(Gal 1:16).
Jesus spoke to Mary Magdalene of another stage of his glory: "I have not yet ascended to the Father" (Jn 20:17).
Therefore, Christ's glory shown to the disciples is quite different from the glory of Christ exalted at God's right hand. The
Ascension is an historical event marking a transition from risen glory to exalted glory.
3. His Descending and Ascending (662-663)
The two events (Christ's coming down from heaven and his ascending up to heaven) are closely linked. Jesus said, "No one
has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man" (Jn 3:13). Human nature does not have
"access to the Father's house." Only Christ can give us such access and give us confidence that we will be with him. Jesus
said he would "be lifted up from the earth" (Jn 12:32). This mystery (begun with the cross) is completed by the Ascension
when Jesus entered "into heaven itself." In heaven, Jesus "makes intercession" for "those who draw near to God through
him" (Heb 7:25).
4. Seated in Glory (664)
Now seated at the Father's right hand means that Jesus Christ has the glory of his divinity which he had before all ages.
Because his flesh is glorified, he now is seated bodily. This "being seated" signifies the inauguration of the Messianic
kingdom. "His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away" (Dan 7:14). After the Ascension, the apostles
became witnesses that Christ's kingdom "will have no end" (Nicene Creed).
D. Christ: Fullness of All Revelation
1. God has said everything in his Word
In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a
Son." 26 Christ, the Son of God made man, is the Father's one, perfect and unsurpassable Word. In him he has said
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everything; there will be no other word than this one. St. John of the Cross, among others, commented strikingly on
Hebrews 1:1-2:
“In giving us his Son, his only Word (for he possesses no other), he spoke everything to us at once in this sole Word - and
he has no more to say. . . because what he spoke before to the prophets in parts, he has now spoken all at once by giving
us the All Who is His Son. Any person questioning God or desiring some vision or revelation would be guilty not only of
foolish behavior but also of offending him, by not fixing his eyes entirely upon Christ and by living with the desire for some
other novelty.
2. There will be no further Revelation
The Christian economy, therefore, since it is the new and definitive Covenant, will never pass away; and no new public
revelation is to be expected before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ." 28 Yet even if Revelation is already
complete, it has not been made completely explicit; it remains for Christian faith gradually to grasp its full significance over
the course of the centuries.
Throughout the ages, there have been so-called "private" revelations, some of which have been recognized by the
authority of the Church. They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith. It is not their role to improve or complete
Christ's definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history. Guided by the Magisterium of the
Church, the sensus fidelium knows how to discern and welcome in these revelations whatever constitutes an authentic call
of Christ or his saints to the Church.
Christian faith cannot accept “revelations" that claim to surpass or correct the Revelation of which Christ is the fulfillment, as
is the case in certain non-Christian religions and also in certain recent sects which themselves on such.
E. Christ – The Unique Word of Sacred Scripture
1 Bible as the Word of God
In order to reveal himself to men, in the condescension of his goodness God speaks to them in human words: "Indeed the
words of God, expressed in the words of men, are in every way like human language, just as the Word of the eternal Father,
when he took on himself the flesh of human weakness, became like men." Through all the words of Sacred Scripture, God
speaks only one single Word, his one Utterance in whom he expresses himself completely:
You recall that one and the same Word of God extends throughout Scripture, that it is one and the same Utterance that
resounds in the mouths of all the sacred writers, since he who was in the beginning God with God has no need of separate
syllables; for he is not subject to time. For this reason, the Church has always venerated the Scriptures as she venerates
the Lord's Body. She never ceases to present to the faithful the bread of life, taken from the one table of God's Word and
Christ's Body.
In Sacred Scripture, the Church constantly finds her nourishment and her strength, for she welcomes it not as a human word,
"but as what it really is, the word of God". "In the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven comes lovingly to meet his
children, and talks with them." Read the Scripture within "the living Tradition of the whole Church". According to a saying of
the Fathers, Sacred Scripture is written principally in the Church's heart rather than in documents and records, for the Church
carries in her Tradition the living memorial of God's Word, and it is the Holy Spirit who gives her the spiritual interpretation
of the Scripture (". . . according to the spiritual meaning which the Spirit grants to the Church"). Be attentive to the analogy
of faith. By "analogy of faith" we mean the coherence of the truths of faith among themselves and within the whole plan of
Revelation.
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2. Christ: The Central Figure of the Sacred Scripture
In order to reveal himself to men, in the condescension of his goodness, God speaks to them in human words: "Indeed the
words of God, expressed in the words of men, are in every way like human language, just as the Word of the eternal Father,
when he took on himself the flesh of human weakness, became like men." Through all the words of Sacred Scripture, God
speaks only one single Word, his one Utterance in whom he expresses himself completely.
Christianity believes that Jesus Christ is the central figure of the entire Bible. The Old and New Testaments are divinely
inspired records that reveal the mission of Jesus as Messiah, Son of God, Redeemer, and eternal King. The Bible contains
history, doctrinal teachings, and prophecy of future events, with Jesus Christ as the main subject in every category.
The historical Jesus is the Jesus of the Bible: the Only Begotten Son of God in the flesh, born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem,
baptized by John the Baptist. He proclaimed the kingdom of God or Salvation in words and deeds (miracles and parables),
and "went about doing well" (Acts 10:38). He chose twelve apostles, organized a community of Disciples, gathered many
followers, and was rejected by the Jewish rulers.
"Therefore, the study of the Sacred Scripture should be the very soul of theology, the ministry of the Word, too - pastoral
preaching, catechesis and all forms of Christian instruction, among which the liturgical homily should hold pride of place - is
healthily nourished and thrives in holiness through the Word of Scripture." The Church "forcefully and specifically exhorts all
the Christian faithful... to learn the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ, by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures.
Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.
Learn to appreciate and read the Sacred Scriptures daily.
1. Find a passage that speaks your experiences of the day.

2. Give witness through good deeds in the family and community.
1. What are the four senses that guarantees all its richness to the living reading of Scripture in the Church?
2. What are the two testaments of the Sacred Scripture?
3. What must the Church venerate the Sacred Scripture?
4. Why a Bible the Word of God?
5. What are gospels of the Bible?
IV. Enrichment Exercise:
1. Write an appreciation letter for the goodness of God to tap the human persons to write His Word
2. Write a prayer of commitment to be the mouthpiece of God to share his Sacred Word to others
3. Answer a quiz about the topic
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MODULE 4: UNIT 1– MAN RESPONDS BY FAITH
Lesson 1 - The Obedience of Faith
I. Learning Outcome: At the end of this lesson, the students will be able to:
1. Discuss the nature of faith and its significance in the life of the believer
2. Create a value-pattern which indicates the obedience of Faith in daily life
3. compose a letter of faith in God.
3. Share Activity
Video Clip: ‘Ah Boy”
4. Heed Analysis
Group Discussion: Individually fill in the table below
As a group, discuss your answers.
Reactions/Realizations Experiences of pains Ways of handling or coping with deepest sorrow of life: Why? How did
on the short story? and sorrows? difficulties and trials in life? you pass through all those?
5. Understand Content Discussion
THE OBEDIENCE OF FAITH
Bible story: Job 2-4 - Job is described as blameless and upright, one who feared God and shunned evil
- Job accepted adversities of life just as he accepted goodness from God
By his Revelation, “the invisible God, from the fullness of his love, addresses men as his friends, and moves among them,
in order to invite and receive them into his own company.” God disclosed Himself, but God did not impose His revealing
initiative. How do we know His revealing? God never insists of Himself but allow the person to respond freely. What is needed
for the human person in relation to the revealing God is simply, the so-called “Ob-audire Fide” which means Obedience in
Faith (Ob-audire = to listen carefully, Fide=faith).
“To listen carefully in Faith” means that the Human person fully submits intellect and will to the intellect and will of God.
This also means willingness to discover God’s presence and openness to God’s love, care and concern. The adequate
response to this invitation is faith. By faith, man completely submits his intellect and his will to God. With his whole being
man gives his assent to God the revealer. By faith, man completely submits his intellect and his will to God. With his whole
being man gives his assent to God the revealer. Sacred Scripture calls this human response to God, the author of revelation,
"the obedience of faith".
A. Nature of Faith
1. Origin of the word: Faith
One may ask, What is Faith? The word "FAITH"(as a noun) is an English translation from the Latin word, fides, and fido,
(meaning faith & to trust). The Latin word is derived from Greek words, pístis pisteúo. The Greek “pi'stis” means faith, belief,
firm persuasion, assurance, firm conviction, faithfulness. This was primarily used in the New Testament as a noun-verb
hybrid. The verb form of this pi'stis is “pisteuo”, which means to ‘believe’ or to trust in and rely upon, commit to the charge
of, confide in, have a mental persuasion. The adjectival form, pistos, is almost always translated as 'faithful'. The pi'stis-
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group words in the New Testament can thus be interpreted as relating to ideas of faithfulness, fidelity, loyalty,
commitment, trust, belief, and proof.
2. Faith as defined
In general sense, faith is defined as the act whereby a person lays hold of God's resources, becomes obedient to what He
has prescribed and putting aside all self-interest and self-reliance, trusts God completely. It is an unqualified surrender of
the whole of one's being in dependence upon Him. It is wholly trusting and relying upon Him for all things. It is not just mental
assent to the facts and realities of truth; it must come from a deep inner conviction. Faith is the connecting power into the
spiritual realm, which links us with God and makes Himself becomes a tangible reality to the sense perceptions of a person.
Faith is the basic ingredient to begin a relationship with God.
In a specific sense, Faith is the assurance that the things revealed and promised by God in the Word are true, even though
unseen, and gives the believer a conviction that what he expects in faith, will come to pass. Faith is the tangible essence of
what is hoped for - so tangible that the faith itself, is the evidence/reality of those things that are not yet visible. In other
words, it becomes so tangible that you now possess it. It becomes a reality in the spiritual realm.
Faith in Human Relationship
1. Faith: a human phenomenon
As a human phenomenon, Faith is a central reality in believer’s life. It is an everyday “natural” factor in all our human
transactions and daily actions. For instance, in accepting the word of others, we already show our faith (paniniwala) in them.
We readily obey the directions of those over us, at home, at work, in our communities (pagsunod). We even entrust ourselves
and our welfare to others: doctors, teachers, judges, civic leaders, not to mention cooks, jeepney drivers, (pagtitiwala) etc.
Without such basic human faith which includes believing acceptance, obedient action and personal entrusting, human life
would be impossible.
As a reality that is central to our lives, Faith can be seen most clearly in our family life and friendships. We grow up, nurtured
and supported by the trust, love and fidelity of our family. We mature through a process of forming personal friendships, first
as children, then as teenagers, finally as adults. But in each case, there is a gradual revelation of our own inner self to our
friend, and a free acceptance of our friend’s self-revelation. If this friendship is to grow and mature, it must include a “turning
toward” the other, a conversion. We acknowledge our need and trust in the other’s friendship by listening to and identifying
with our friend.
Catholics do all this spontaneously, naturally, but not without difficulty. Sometimes we turn away, or refuse to listen, or are
rejected by the other. But genuine friendships create mutual loving knowledge of each other. In them we experience
something that liberates us from our own narrowness, and opens us to fuller life and love. We realize that friendship freely
offered us by another, also demands our free response. It is a response that is never just one act, but a long process of
growing intimacy with our friend. Inevitably, others among our families and associates are eventually involved especially
God.
Faith in Relationship with God
2. Faith: Human Response to God’s Revelation
Faith is a human person’s response to God’s loving disclosure of Himself. Faith is first of all a
personal adherence of man to God. At the same time, and inseparably, it is a free assent to the
whole truth that God has revealed. As personal adherence to God and assent to his truth,
Christian faith differs from our faith in any human person. It is right and just to entrust oneself
wholly to God and to believe absolutely what he says. It would be futile and false to place such
faith in a creature.
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The Christian faith is the experience of living in a dynamic and new personal relationship with God through the transforming
and indwelling power of Jesus in your body and life. The key to this new experience of living, and its essential factor, is
trusting God to make you into a new person by allowing him to place the Spirit on behalf of Jesus, his Son, into your mind
and body where Jesus (really Jesus, the Spirit, and God, the Father) can do their work to give you a new life. Faith is
confident assurance concerning what we hope for, and conviction about things we do not see. (Heb 11:1)
Faith is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and through him, with the Father, through the Holy
Spirit, a decision to commit oneself to Christ, follow him, strive to know and accept the truths he continues to teach through
his Church. (Cf. PCP II 64-65) We use “faith” today to mean different things. Sometimes it means our total response to God’s
revelation. “It is to know, to love, to follow Christ in the Church he founded” (PCP II 36). Or we can use “faith” to mean the
virtue (believing) as distinct from hoping and loving. Faith in this sense means our personal knowledge of God in Christ,
expressed in particular beliefs in specific truths by which we adhere to Christ.
The Sacred Congregation for the Clergy (1997) in the document “General Directory for Catechesis” (GDC) used to describe
Faith in two aspects, namely:
1) SUBJECTIVE: the personal act of believing, the “I BELIEVE... “(Fides qua), and
2) OBJECTIVE: the content of Christian Faith, as we say “THE TRUTH OF CHRISTIAN FAITH” (Fides Quae)
(GDC 85,92, 144).
So this study wished to focus the nature of Faith in this two aspects: THE SUBJECTIVE AND THE OBJECTIVE aspects of
Faith:
a) Subjective aspect of Faith
The subjective aspect of Faith refers to the personal act of believing in Latin Fides Qua. The Catholic Bishops Conference
of the Philippines (2007) in the document “New National Catechetical Directory for the Philippines” (NNCDP 192ff), in viewing
Faith as personal act of believing, emphasized that faith in triple perspective, namely:
1) Faith is a decision of the Believer
Faith is a decision of the believer within the experience of the community. As a personal decision of individual, faith is a
person’s total yes to God’s total gift of self in Christ. This is a response of gratitude to God’s goodness and invitation to
Christ. No one simply inherits faith nor anyone have faith by proxy. The act of faith must be an act of believer’s own self
though which one personally decides to accept the person of Christ and His message, and commits oneself to Christ’s
person and work within the Christian community.
So in this sense, faith involves the total person encompassing three main dimensions: the Head for understanding, the Heart
for loving service, and the Hand for acting what pleasing to God. Faith involves the Head of the person to which the truth of
our God must be understood, the Hand of the Person to which faithful obedience to God’s will and finally it involves the heart
to which our filial trusting in the Lord.
As personal decision of the believer, Faith brings about a way of life that embraces the conviction of the Gospel truths, the
active commitment to obey God’s Holy will, and the personal trust and self-offering of Christian worship.
2. Faith is a Gift and Grace from God.
The gift of faith is rooted in one’s saving faith in Christ and the trust that comes through a close relationship with the
Savior. Those with this gift have a trust and confidence in God that allows them to live boldly for Him and manifest that faith
in mighty ways. In the Bible the gift of faith is often accompanied by great works of faith. It carries the notion of confidence,
certainty, trust, and assurance in the object of faith. We cannot demand Faith as a right. Ian Knox viewed Faith as a
supernatural virtue infused into us by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is a blessing from God. It is only God who can give Faith
to the human person. It is our Faith that enables us to believe in God and in all that He has revealed. (CCC 1814)
2. Faith is a Living Process.

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Faith is not a static possession of individual person at which one arrives at and which one settles comfortably. It is a dynamic
and living process, a vital reality always influx. There is a need for the human being to nourish and to keep the gift of faith to
grow and become mature. It is the responsibility of each individual person to nurture and nourish that gift of faith in us. Mature
faith is a true witness to the Living God. Faith in God is grounded in God’s own revelation through his words and deeds in
salvation history. It is confirmed by the many reasons for believing that have been worked out throughout the centuries,
responding to the biblical challenge: “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your
hope” (1 Pt 3:15).
b. Objective Aspect of Faith
The objective aspect of Faith refers to the Truths professed in the Christian Faith (Fides Quae), Truth of God that the believers
embraced as something to hold on to in our relationship with Him.
1. To believe in God alone
Faith is first of all a personal adherence of man to God. At the same time, and inseparably, it is a free assent to the whole
truth that God has revealed. As personal adherence to God and assent to his truth, Christian faith differs from our faith in
any human person. It is right and just to entrust oneself wholly to God and to believe absolutely what he says. It would be
futile and false to place such faith in a creature.
2. To believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God
For a Christian, believing in God cannot be separated from believing in the One he sent, his “beloved Son”, in whom the
Father is “well pleased”; God tells us to listen to him. The Lord himself said to his disciples: “Believe in God, believe also in
me.” We can believe in Jesus Christ because he is himself God, the Word made flesh: “No one has ever seen God; the only
Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.” Because he “has seen the Father”, Jesus Christ is the
only one who knows him and can reveal him.
3. To believe in the Holy Spirit
One cannot believe in Jesus Christ without sharing in his Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who reveals to men who Jesus is. For
“no one can say “Jesus is Lord”, except by the Holy Spirit”, who “searches everything, even the depths of God. . No one
comprehends the thoughts of God, except the Spirit of God.” Only God knows God completely: we believe in the Holy
Spirit because he is God. The Church never ceases to proclaim her faith in one only God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
5. The Obedience of Faith
The CCC, right at the beginning of its treatment of the subject of faith, talks about this obedience of Faith. "To obey (ob-
audire- to hear or to listen to) in faith” is to submit freely to the word that has been heard, because its truth is guaranteed by
God, who is Truth itself" (CCC 144). Sacred Scripture calls this human response to God, the author of revelation, “the
obedience of faith”.
In the broadest sense, Faith is a central reality in human relationships. CFC # 179 records that it is an everyday natural factor
in all human relations and daily actions. Faith is concretely experienced in three dimensions: believing (paniniwala), obeying
(pagsusunod), and trusting (pagtitiwala). No one simply inherits faith nor can anyone have faith by “proxy,” that is letting
someone else do the believing. The act of faith must be an act of believer’s own self. The Biblical religion showed us a
number of people who personally decided to accept God and His revealing act to them.
By His Revelation, “the invisible God, from the fullness of his love, addresses men as his friends, and moves among them,
in order to invite and receive them into his own company.” The adequate response to this invitation is faith. By faith, man
completely submits his intellect and his will to God. With his whole being man gives his assent to God the revealer. Sacred
Scripture calls this human response to God, the author of revelation, “the obedience of faith”.
6. What it means to believe? (Fides qua vs. Fides quae)
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We hinted that faith is a gift from God. It is enhanced by the revelation of God to him. Man responds freely to the loving
revelation of God. The Sacred Scripture calls this human response to the revealing God, the author of revelation, as
“obedience of faith”.
May be to have a concrete understanding of faith, there is a need to view it in the context of obedience. Following its
etymological derivation Latin, “Ob + audire – means to listen carefully” we can say that to obey in faith is to listen carefully
to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in our lives so that we shall be able to freely to the Word that has been heard, because
its truth is guaranteed by God, who is Truth itself. To obey in faith is to submit freely to the word that has been heard, because
its truth is guaranteed by God, who is Truth itself.
a. Abraham - “Father of all who believe”

The Letter to the Hebrews, in its eulogy of the faith of Israel’s ancestors, lays special emphasis on Abraham’s faith. “By faith,
Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; he went to out, not
knowing where he was to go”. By faith, he lived as a stranger and pilgrim in the Promised Land. By faith, Sarah was given
to conceive the son being promised; and by faith Abraham offered his only son in sacrifice.
Abraham thus fulfills the definition of faith in Hebrews 11:1 which says “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the
conviction of things not seen.” “Abraham believed in God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness”. Because he was
“strong in faith”, Abraham became the “father of all who believe”. The Old Testament is rich in witnesses to this faith. The
Letter to the Hebrews proclaims its eulogy of the exemplary faith of the ancestors who “received divine approval”. Yet “God
had foreseen something better for us”: the grace of believing in his Son Jesus, “the pioneer and perfecter of our faith”.
b. Mary: Model of Faith and Model of all believers
1) the Model of Believers

The Virgin Mary perfectly embodies the obedience of faith. By faith, Mary welcomes the tidings and
promise brought by the angel Gabriel, believing that “with God nothing will be impossible” and so giving
her assent: “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done unto me according to your word”.
Elizabeth greeted her: “Blessed is he who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken
to her from the Lord”. It is for this faith that all generations have called Mary blessed. Throughout her life
and until her last ordeal when Jesus her son died on the cross, Mary’s faith never wavered. She never
ceased to believe in the fulfillment of God’s word and so the Church venerates in Mary the purest
realization of faith. (CCC
In the early Church history, Marian spirituality arose as believers sought to emulate Mary, the mother of Jesus, as a role
model of the Christian life. Believers also considered Mary to be alive and present with Jesus. She was part of the communion
of saints – all faithful Christian who died and immediately received the glory of eternal life in heaven. Catholics venerate
Mary as being preeminent among the saints. It is believed that the saints intercede on behalf of those still on earth. Believers
ask the saints for prayers of intercession to God for their various needs. This does not mean that Christians pray to Mary
and the saints; they only pray to God. However, just as people may ask family members or friends to pray for them, Catholic
Christians ask Mary and the saints to pray for them.
In venerating Mary, emphasis is placed upon the portrayal of her faithful, outstanding discipleship as described in the Bible.
Women especially identify with Mary as a role model for their lives and for their spiritual formation. However, the pre-
eminence of Mary as a role model is not limited to women, nor is it limited to the early church. Catholics continue to venerate
Mary, ask for her intercession, and follow liturgical practices that involve praying the Rosary. Praying the Rosary is a practice
of spiritual devotion that uses a chain of beads for counting prayers and reciting the “Hail Mary”, which summarized the
words of annunciation addressed to Mary by the anger and by Elizabeth (Luke1:28-42)
Mary (Virgin Mary), the mother of Jesus Christ, was venerated by Christians since apostolic times (1st century). The Gospels
give only a fragmentary account of Mary's life, mentioning her chiefly in connection with the beginning and the end of Jesus'
life. Matthew speaks of Mary as Joseph's wife, who was “with child of the Holy Spirit” before they “came together” as husband
and wife (Matthew 1:18). After the birth of Jesus, she was present at the visit of the Magi (Matthew 2:11), fled with Joseph
to Egypt (Matthew 2:14), and returned to Nazareth (Matthew 2:23). Mark simply refers to Jesus as the son of Mary (Mark
6:3).
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Luke's narrative of the nativity includes the angel Gabriel's announcement to Mary foretelling the birth of Jesus (Luke 1:27-
38); her visit to her kinswoman Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist, and Mary's hymn, the Magnificat (Luke 1:39-56); and
the shepherds' visit to the manger (Luke 2:1-20). Luke also tells of Mary's perplexity at finding Jesus in the Temple
questioning the teachers when He was 12 years old. The Gospel of John contains no infancy narrative, nor does it mention
Mary's name; she is referred to as “the mother of Jesus” (John 2:1-5; 19:25-27). According to John, she was present at the
first of Jesus' miracles at the wedding feast of Cana and at his death. Mary is also mentioned as being present in the upper
room at Olivet with the apostles and with Jesus' brothers before Pentecost (Acts 1:14).
2) Mary, Model of Faith (CFC #155 -159)
Many Filipino Catholics probably learn more about Faith from their devotion to the Virgin Mary than any other way. This is
perfectly grounded in Scripture which portrays Mary as the exemplar of faith. Through her “Yes” at the Annunciation, Mary
“becomes the model of faith” (AMB 35; cf. CCC 148). Luke stresses the contrast between Mary’s faith and the disbelief of
Zachary by Elizabeth’s greeting. “Blest is she who trusted that Lord’s words to her would be fulfilled” (Lk 1:20, 45). John Paul
II writes that “in the expression ‘Blest are you who believed’ we can rightly find a kind of ‘key’ which unlocks for us the
innermost reality of Mary, whom the angel hailed as ‘full of grace’” (cf. RMa 19).
Mary perfectly exemplified the common definitions of faith as “full submission of intellect and will” and the “obedience of faith”
(Rom 16:26; 1:5; cf. DV 5). But she did it personally, with all her human and feminine “I”, and this response of faith included
both perfect cooperation with the “grace of God that precedes and assists,” and perfect openness to the action of the Holy
Spirit, who constantly brings faith to completion by his gifts (DV 5; cf. LG 56). Luke carries this theme of Mary’s faith into his
second inspired book where he describes her presence among “those who believed” in the apostolic community after the
Resurrection (cf. Acts 1:14).
Mary is truly an effective inspiration to us because she constantly exercised faith in all the realities of ordinary, daily living,
even in family crises. Luke’s account of the “finding in the Temple” offers a perfect example (cf. Lk 2:41-52). There is the first
stage of astonishment at seeing Jesus in the temple, in the midst of the teachers. Astonishment is often the beginning of
faith, the sign and condition to break beyond our “mind-set” and learn something new. Mary and Joseph learned something
from Jesus that day.
Second, there is distress and worry, real anguish and suffering. As with the prophets, God’s Word brings good and bad
fortune. Mary was already “taking up the Cross” of the disciple of Christ. Third, there is often a lack of understanding. Both
Mary and Joseph, and later “the Twelve,” could not understand what Jesus meant. Faith is not “clear insight” but “seeing
indistinctly, as in a mirror” (1 Cor. 13:12). Finally, there is the fourth stage of search wherein Mary did not drop the incident
from her mind, but rather “kept all these things in her heart.” Faith is a continual search for meaning, for making sense of
what is happening by uncovering what links them together. Like the “scribe who is learned in the reign of God” Mary acted
like “the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old” (Mt 13:52).
Since faith is the key to Mary’s whole life, from her divine motherhood to her “falling asleep in the Lord,” her life is a real
“pilgrimage of faith” (LG 58). That makes her our model and support in faith. But beyond our individual ‘faith lives,’ John Paul
II has brought out its wider significance. I wish to draw on the ‘pilgrimage of faith’ on which the Blessed Virgin advanced . . .
This is not just a question of the Virgin Mother’s life story, of her personal journey of faith . . . It is also a question of the
history of the whole people of God, of all who take part in the same ‘pilgrimage of faith’ (RMa 5; cf. 14-18).
The principal theological development concerning Mary in the Middle Ages was the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.
This doctrine, defended and preached by the Franciscan friars under the inspiration of the 13th-century Scottish theologian
John Duns Scotus, maintains that Mary was conceived without original sin. Dominican teachers and preachers vigorously
opposed the doctrine, maintaining that it detracted from Christ's role as universal savior.
Pope Sixtus IV, a Franciscan, defended it, establishing in 1477 a feast of the Immaculate Conception with a proper mass
and office to be celebrated on December 8. This feast was extended to the whole Western church by Pope Clement XI in
1708. In 1854 Pope Pius IX issued a solemn decree defining the Immaculate Conception for all Roman Catholics, but the
doctrine has not been accepted by Protestants or by the Orthodox churches. In 1950 Pope Pius XII solemnly defined as an
article of faith for all Roman Catholics the doctrine of the bodily assumption of Mary into heaven.
3. Wholly united with her Son …

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Mary’s role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ and flows directly from it. “This union of the mother with
the Son in the work of salvation is manifested from the time of Christ’s virginal conception up to his death, “it is manifested
above all at the hour of his Passion. After her Son’s Ascension, Mary “aided the beginnings of the Church by her prayers.”
In her association with the apostles and several women, “we also see Mary by her prayers imploring the gift of the Spirit,
who had already overshadowed her in the Annunciation.”
4. … Mary is our Mother in the order of grace
By her complete adherence to the Father’s will, to his Son’s redemptive work, and to every prompting of the Holy Spirit, The
Virgin Mary is the Church’s model of faith and charity, as “preeminent and… wholly unique member of the Church”; exemplary
realization” of the Church. Her role in relation to the Church and to all humanity goes still further. “In a wholly singular way
she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity in the Savior’s work of restoring supernatural life to souls.
For this reason, she is a mother to us in the order of grace.”
“This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she loyally gave at the
Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect. Taken
up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal
salvation…. Therefore, the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and
Mediatrix.”
c. Devotion to the Blessed Virgin
“All generations will call me blessed.” “The Church’s devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship. “The
Church rightly honors “the Blessed Virgin with special devotion. From the most ancient times, the Blessed virgin has been
honored with the title ‘Mother of God.’, to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and needs… this very special
devotion… differs essentially from the adoration which given to the incarnate Word and equally to the father and the Holy
Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration. “The liturgical feasts dedicated to the Mother of God and Marian prayer, such as
the rosary, an “epitome of the whole Gospel,’ express this devotion to the Virgin Mary.”
d. Mary – Eschatological Icon of the Church
After speaking of the Church, her origin, mission and destiny, we can find no better way to conclude than by looking to Mary.
In her, we contemplate what the Church already is in her mystery on her own ‘pilgrimage of faith’, and what will be in the
homeland at the end of her journey. There, “in the glory of the Most Holy and Undivided Trinity, ““in the communion of all the
saints”, the Church is awaited by the one she venerates as Mother of her Lord and as her own mother. In the meantime, the
Mother of Jesus, in the glory which she possesses in body and soul in heaven, is the image and beginning of the church as
it is to be perfected in the world to come. Likewise, she shines forth on earth, until the day of the Lord shall come, a sign of
certain hope and comfort to the pilgrim People of God (CCC 963- 972).
e. The Role and Place of Mary in the Work of Evangelization
Mary, the Mother of God, the first of the Lord disciples, the model of the Church, the first to be evangelized was
graced from the moment of her Immaculate Conception. From the instant she heard the Word of God from the angel and
inquired into its meaning, she grew in a continuous ascent in the knowledge of everything that belongs to her Son, both in
his hidden life in Nazareth and since he started his public life in Cana until his death in Calvary and while awaiting the Holy
spirit who in a special way came to her on Pentecost.
At the same time, she is the first evangelizer, Mother Mary brought the Good News to her cousin Elizabeth, proclaimed
the Word of God by her Magnificat announcing God’s plans for the mighty and the lowly, presented the infant Jesus to the
shepherds and the Magi, interceded in Cana for those in need and to her as Mother the dying Christ entrusted the beloved
disciple, symbol of all disciples. Her place in the Philippines has qualified our faithful as a “pueblo amante de Maria”
(Mary, the Patroness of the Philippines)
Reflect the following questions:

1. How is the Virgin Mary the Mother of Christ, the Mother of the Church?
2. How is the Virgin Mary “Model” of the Church?
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3. How is the Virgin Mary venerated and depicted in the Early Church, Middle Ages and present times?
4. What is the role and place of Virgin Mary in the work of evangelization?
5. Who is the Virgin Mary in your life
Test 1: True or False: Read each statement carefully. Write + if the idea expressed in the statement is true and if false, write
0.
1. ( ) Mary's faith never wavered.
2. ( ) The Blessed Virgin Mary is our Mother in the order of grace.
3. ( ) The Virgin Mary most perfectly embodies the obedience of faith
4. ( ) Jesus is the pioneer and perfecter of Christian faith.
5. ( ) The Church venerates in Mary the purest realization of faith
6. ( ) By faith, man completely submits his intellect and his will to God.
7. ( ) Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness
8. ( ) Abraham is the model of such obedience offered us by Sacred Scripture.
9. ( ) “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”.
10. ( ) By faith Mary welcomes the tidings and promise brought by the angel Gabriel.
11. ( ) God had foreseen something better for us, the grace of believing in his Son Jesus.
12. ( ) Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, was venerated by Christians since 18th century.
13. ( ) St. John’s narrative of the nativity includes the angel Gabriel's announcement to Mary foretelling the birth of Jesus.
14. ( ) According to John, she was present at the first of Jesus' miracles at the wedding feast of Cana and at his death.
15. ( ) Luke also tells of Mary's perplexity at finding Jesus in the Temple questioning the teachers when he was 12 years old.
16. ( ) The Gospels give only a fragmentary account of Mary's life, mentioning her chiefly in connection with the
beginning and the end of Jesus' life.
17. ( ) Mary is also mentioned as being present in the upper room at Olivet with the apostles and with Jesus'
brothers before Pentecost.
18. ( ) During the late Middle Ages (13th century to 15th century), devotion to Mary grew dramatically.
19. ( ) As the fear of death and the Last Judgment intensified following the Black Plague in the 14th century, Mary
was increasingly venerated in popular piety as mediator of the mercy of Christ.
20. ( ) The Mother of God, the first of the Lord’s disciples, the model of the Church, the first to be evangelized
was graced from the moment of her Immaculate Conception.
Test II: Essay. Write your answer after each question.

1. What does “obedience of faith” mean in the context of the Sacred Scriptures?
2. Why is Abraham the model of faith in the Old Testament scriptures?
3. What evidences can you cite that the faith of Mary never wavers?
4. What does it mean to believe?
5. Why must we believe?
Test II: Essay. Write your answer after each question.

6. What does “obedience of faith” mean in the context of the Sacred Scriptures?
7. Why Abraham the model of faith in the Old Testament scriptures?
8. Why Mary’s faith never wavered?
9. What it means to believe?
10. Why must we believe?
IV. Encouragement Exercises
1. List the things mentioned about Mother Mary in this lesson that you would like to remember always.
2. Plan a series of short dramatizations dealing with the life of our Blessed Virgin Mother. a) give each dramatization a title;
b) name the characters to be represented; write a short paragraph telling what each dramatization should include and
how one can be closer to Mother Mary
3. Compose a song or a poem to Mother Mary
MODULE 4: UNIT I – MAN RESPONDS BY FAITH
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Lesson 2 The Object of Christian Faith
I. Learning Outcomes: At the end of this lesson, the students :

1. Trace the history of creed particularly the Nicene and Apostles’ Creed
2. Identify the Twelve articles of Faith
3. categorize experiences as the presence of the Triune God in their journey of their lives;
4. make a letter offering their day-to-day activities to the Triune God.
A. Share Activity
Video Clip: “Faith through the eyes of the Child”
B. Heed Analysis
Guide Questions:
a) To whom does the boy believe?
b) What are the ways of the boy that portrays his faith?
c) What keeps him going towards his fulfillment?
The Object of Christian Faith
Bible story: Matthew 8:23-27

23Jesus got into the boat and His disciples went with him. 24 Suddenly a fierce storm hit the lake,
and the boat was in danger of sinking, But Jesus was asleep. 25 The disciples went to Him and
woke Him up. “Save us, Lord!”, they said. “We are about to die!”
26 “Why are you so frightened?” Jesus answered. “What little faith you have!” Then He got up
and ordered the winds and the waves to stop, and there was a great calm. 27 Everyone is
amazed. “What kind of man is this?” they said. “Even the winds and the waves obey Him!”
The Object of our Faith is the Truth we profess in Faith as a Church. The Church emboldens that our profession of faith
begins with God, for God is the First and the Last, The beginning and the end of everything. The Credo begins with God
the Father, for the Father is the first divine person of the Most Holy Trinity; our Creed begins with the creation of heaven
and earth, for creation is the beginning and the foundation of all God's works. (CCC 198)
The Jesus in the Gospel teaches, “If you live according to my teaching, you are truly my disciples; then you will know the
truth, and the truth will set you free.”(Jn 8:31-32) Paul reminds the Colossians, “This is the Christ we proclaim, while we
admonish all men and teach them in the full measure of wisdom, hoping to make every man complete in Christ.” (Col 1:28)
and the mother Church admonishes “Whoever says "I believe" says "I pledge myself to what we believe."Communion in
needs a common language of faith, normative for all and uniting all in the same confession of faith.” (CCC 185).
A. The Creeds: What are they?
The creeds are faith formula of the object of our believing, obeying and trusting. These are “professions of faith” that narrated
the saving events which grounded the faith of the Christian communities (cf. CCC 187-89) Three events dominated the
Christian story: 1) God’s creating act, 2) His redeeming act in Jesus Christ, and 3) His sanctifying presence in all in the
Holy Spirit. From these narrative elements grew the Trinitarian pattern of the classic Creeds. First the Father as Creator,
then the Son, who became man, died and rose from the dead for our redemption, and third, the Holy Spirit uniting us in
Christ’s Church (cf. CCC 190-91). But this Trinity is seen through a Christocentric focus, for it is through, with, and in Christ
that we learn and experience the Father and Holy Spirit. These Creeds were created and handed down through Catholic Tradition
by the Magisterium, the teaching Church. Through them we touch the living core of the Christian proclamation.
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Christian Faith is centered on Jesus Christ, who is himself “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (Jn14:6). As the Truth, Christ is
the “real light which gives light to every man coming into the world” (Jn 1:9). He reveals the Father (cf. Jn 14:6) and sends
the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth (cf. Jn 14:17) who guides us to all truth (cf. Jn 16:13).Through Christ we become
“consecrated in truth” (cf. Jn 17:19), walk in the path of truth (cf. 2 Jn 4), act in truth (cf. Jn 3:21), share in the work of truth
(cf. 3 Jn 8) and worship in Spirit and truth (cf. Jn 4:24) (CFC 216)
This Creed is the spiritual seal, our heart's meditation and an ever-present guardian; it is, unquestionably, the treasure of
our soul.
History of the Creeds
From the beginning, the apostolic Church expressed and handed on her faith in brief formulae normative for all. But already
very early on, the Church also wanted to gather the essential elements of her faith into organic and articulated summaries,
intended especially for candidates for Baptism: This synthesis of faith was not made to accord with human opinions, but
rather what was of the greatest importance was gathered from all the Scriptures, to present the one teaching of the faith in
its entirety. And just as the mustard seed contains a great number of branches in a tiny grain, so too this summary of faith
encompassed in a few words the whole knowledge of the true religion contained in the Old and the New Testaments. Such
syntheses are called "professions of faith" since they summarize the faith that Christians profess. They are called "creeds"
on account of what is usually their first word in Latin: credo ("I believe"). They are also called "symbols of faith".
The Greek word “symbolon” means half of a broken object, for example, a seal presented as a token of recognition. The
broken parts were placed together to verify the bearer's identity. The symbol of faith, then, is a sign of recognition and
communion between believers. “Symbolon” also means a gathering, collection or summary. A symbol of faith is a summary
of the principal truths of the faith and therefore serves as the first and fundamental point of reference for catechesis.
The first "profession of faith" is made during Baptism. The symbol of faith is first and foremost the baptismal creed. Since
Baptism is given "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”, the truths of faith professed during Baptism
are articulated in terms of their reference to the three persons of the Holy Trinity. And so the Creed is divided into three parts:
"the first part speaks of the first divine Person and the wonderful work of creation; the next speaks of the second divine
Person and the mystery of his redemption of men; the final part speaks of the third divine Person, the origin and source of
our sanctification." These are "the three chapters of our [baptismal] seal".
These three parts are distinct although connected with one another. According to a comparison often used by the Fathers,
we call them articles. Indeed, just as in our bodily members there are certain articulations which distinguish and separate
them, so too in this profession of faith, the name "articles" has justly and rightly been given to the truths we must believe
particularly and distinctly." In accordance with an ancient tradition, already attested to by St. Ambrose, it is also customary
to reckon the articles of the Creed as twelve, thus symbolizing the fullness of the apostolic faith by the number of the apostles
B. The Credo
Through the centuries many professions or symbols of faith have been articulated in response to the needs of the different
eras: the creeds of the different apostolic and ancient Churches, e.g., the Quicumque, also called the Athanasian
Creed; The professions of faith of certain Councils, such as Toledo, Lateran, Lyons, Trent; or the symbols of certain popes,
e.g., the Fides Damasi or the Credo of the People of God of Paul VI. None of the creeds from the different stages in the
Church's life can be considered superseded or irrelevant. They help us today to attain and deepen the faith of all times by
means of the different summaries made of it.
Among all the creeds, two occupy a special place in the Church's life:
1) The Apostles' Creed is so called because it is rightly considered to be a faithful summary of the apostles' faith. It is the
ancient baptismal symbol of the Church of Rome. Its great authority arises from this fact: it is "the Creed of the Roman
Church, the See of Peter the first of the apostles, to which he brought the common faith".
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2) The Niceno-Constantinopolitan or Nicene Creed draws its great authority from the fact that it stems from the first two
ecumenical Councils (in 325 and 381). It remains common to all the great Churches of both East and West to this day.
Our presentation of the faith will follow the Apostles' Creed, which constitutes, as it were, "the oldest Roman catechism".
The presentation will be completed however by constant references to the Nicene Creed, which is often more explicit
and more detailed.
As on the day of our Baptism, when our whole life was entrusted to the "standard of teaching", let us embrace the Creed of
our life-giving faith. To say the Credo with faith is to enter into communion with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and also
with the whole Church which transmits the faith to us and in whose midst we believe:
The Apostles Creed The Nicene Creed

I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,
heaven and earth. maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
He was conceived by the power of the Holy the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father,
Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God,
begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation,
He came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he
was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.
Under Pontius Pilate He was crucified, died, For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered
and was buried. He descended to the dead. died and was buried.
On the third day he rose again. On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures;
He ascended into heaven and is seated at the he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the
right hand of the Father. Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
dead. and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
the holy catholic Church, We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
the communion of saints, We acknowledge one baptism
the forgiveness of sins, for the forgiveness of sins.
the resurrection of the body, We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life everlasting. and the life of the world to come.
Amen. Amen
C. The Twelve Articles of Faith
In the Credo are the Twelve Articles of Faith, as Trigilio, J. and Brighenti put in brief and simple basics of the objects of Faith
as follows:
 Article 1: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. This affirms that God exists,
that He’s a Triune God (one God in three persons, known as the Holy Trinity), and that he created the known
universe.
 Article 2: And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. This attests that Jesus is the Son of God and that he’s
most certainly divine. The word Lord implies divinity, because the Greek Kyrios and the Hebrew Adonai both
mean “lord” and are ascribed only to God. So the use of Lord with Jesus is meant to profess his divinity. The
name Jesus comes from the Hebrew Jeshua, meaning “God saves.” So Catholics believe that Jesus is Savior.
 Article 3: Who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. This affirms the
human nature of Christ, meaning he had a real, true human mother, and also affirms his divine nature, meaning
he had no human father but by the power of the Holy Spirit was conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary. He’s
therefore considered both God and man by Christians—fully divine and fully human.
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 Article 4: He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. The human nature of Christ
could feel pain and actually die, and he did on Good Friday. The mention of Pontius Pilate by name wasn’t meant
so much to vilify him forever in history but to place the Crucifixion within human history. Reference is made to an
actual historical person, the Roman governor of Judea, appointed by Caesar, to put the life and death of Jesus
within a chronological and historical context. It also reminds the faithful that one can’t blame all Jews for the death
of Jesus, as some have erroneously done over the ages. Certain Jewish leaders conspired against Jesus, but the
actual death sentence was given by a Roman and carried out by Roman soldiers. So both Jew and Gentile alike
shared in the spilling of innocent blood. Anti-Semitism based on the Crucifixion of Jesus is inaccurate, unjust, and
erroneous.
 Article 5: He descended into hell. The third day he arose again from the dead. The hell Jesus descended
into wasn’t the hell of the damned, where Jews and Christians believe the devil and his demons reside. Hell was
merely a word that Jews and early Christians used to describe the place of the dead. This passage affirms that on
the third day he rose, meaning Jesus came back from the dead of his own divine power. He wasn’t just clinically
dead for a few minutes; he was dead — then he rose from the dead. More than a resuscitated corpse, Jesus
possessed a glorified and risen body.
 Article 6: He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. The
Ascension reminds the faithful that after the human and divine natures of Christ were united in the Incarnation,
they could never be separated. In other words, after the saving death and Resurrection, Jesus didn’t dump his
human body as if he didn’t need it anymore. Catholicism teaches that his human body will exist forever. Where
Jesus went, body and soul, into heaven, the faithful hope one day to follow.
 Article 7: He will come again to judge the living and the dead. This article affirms the Second Coming of
Christ at the end of the world to be its judge. Judgment Day, Day of Reckoning, Doomsday—they’re all metaphors
for the end of time when what’s known as the General Judgment will occur. Catholics believe that after the death
of any human person, immediate private judgment occurs and the person goes directly to heaven, hell, or
purgatory (an intermediate place in preparation for heaven).
 Article 8: I believe in the Holy Spirit, This part reminds the believer that God exists in three persons — the Holy
Trinity — God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. What’s referred to as the Force in the movie Star
Wars isn’t the same as the Holy Spirit, who is a distinct person equal to the other two — God the Father and God
the Son.
 Article 9: the holy catholic Church, the Communion of Saints, Catholics believe that the Church is more than
a mere institution and certainly not a necessary evil. It’s an essential dimension and aspect of spiritual life. Christ
explicitly uses the word church (ekklesia in Greek) in Matthew 16 when he says, “I will build My Church.”
 Article 10: the forgiveness of sins, Christ came to save the world from sin. Belief in the forgiveness of sins is
essential to Christianity. Catholicism believes sins are forgiven in Baptism and in the Sacrament of Penance.
 Article 11: the resurrection of the body, From the Catholic perspective, a human being is a union of body and
soul, so death is just the momentary separation of body and soul until the end of the world, the Second Coming of
Christ, the General Judgment, and the resurrection of the dead. The just go, body and soul, into heaven, and the
damned go, body and soul, into hell.
 Article 12: And in life everlasting. As Christ Our Savior died, so, too, must mere mortals. As he rose, so shall all
human beings. Death is the only way to cross from this life into the next. At the very moment of death, private
judgment occurs; Christ judges the soul: (http://www.dummies.com/religion/christianity/catholicism/the-twelve-articles-of-
catholic-faith).
1. What are better ways of saying “Thank you”?

2. Do what you need to do to not only say you're grateful -- but show it.
III – Comprehensive Evaluation:

Discussion:
1. What is the object of Christian Faith?
2. How do you explain the Trinitarian way of a Christian faith?
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3. Make a letter offering your day-to-day activities to the Triune God.
IV – Encouragement Exercise:
Interview at least 5 Roman Catholic Christian students (not your classmates) about their understanding of the
object Christian faith. * What are your perceptions about your faith in God?
*How do you prove; you believe in God?
MODULE 4: UNIT I – MAN RESPONDS BY FAITH
Lesson 3 The Characteristics of Faith

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I. Learning Outcome: At the end of this lesson, the students will:

1. explain the different characteristics of faith;
2. name positive experiences of life within a family or a community;
3. rejoice in the gift of faith as manifested in the blessings received; and,
4. pray for a constant awareness of God’s goodness in daily life.

A. Share Activity
Read: Short Story

I CAN …
Some people realize what the future can hold because of what has occurred in their own families. This is what happened to
Donna Jean: “My father died suddenly when I was twelve years old. My brother was six. My mother had been a school
teacher before she married, but she had let her certificate lapse. She needed about two years of coursework to teach again.
Since we needed money for the basics, my mother took a job as a nurse’s aide. The pay was low and we struggled to get
by. Today my mother might have been able to get some financial assistance while taking the courses she needed. Back
then there weren’t any programs like that where we lived. I was always proud of the way my mother kept us going, but I wish
she had had some better opportunities.
Because of that experience, I am determined to be prepared for whatever is ahead for me in life. I plan to get an education
and some training that I can always fall back on. Some of my friends don’t even worry about the future, but I know better.
What happened to my mother has taught me a lesson that I’ll never forget?”
B. Heed Analysis
Guide Questions
1. The sudden death of Jean’s father has caused them a miserable life. How do you think Jean’s mother was left
unprepared for the future?
2. Why is Donna Jean determined to be prepared for her future?
3. What are the main message and values conveyed in the story according to the mind of the writer?
4. If you were Donna Jean’s Mother, how would you respond to the distressing situation? Why?
2. Understand Content Discussion
The Characteristics of Faith

Bible story: Matthew 9: 20-22
20 A woman who had suffered from severe bleeding for twelve years came up behind Jesus and touched the edge of
his cloak. 21 She said to her, “If only I touch His cloak, I will get well.” 22 Jesus turned around and saw her, and said,
“Courage, my daughter! Your faith has made you well: At that very moment the woman became well.
The CCC no. 153- 165 describes Faith as grace and human act, knowledge and freedom, and perseverance to eternal life.
B. Faith: God’s grace and Human Act
1) Faith is a grace
When St. Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus declared to him that this revelation did
not come “from flesh and blood”, but from “my Father who is in heaven”. Faith is a gift of God, a supernatural virtue infused
by him. “Before this faith can be exercised, man must have the grace of God to move and assist him; he must have the
interior helps of the Holy Spirit, who moves the heart and converts it to God, who opens the eyes of the mind and 'makes it
easy for all to accept and believe the truth.”
2) Faith is a human act

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Believing is possible only by grace and the interior helps of the Holy Spirit. But it is no less true that believing is an
authentically human act. Trusting in God and cleaving to the truths he has revealed is contrary neither to human freedom
nor to human reason. Even in human relations it is not contrary to our dignity to believe what other persons tell us about
themselves and their intentions, or to trust their promises (for example, when a man and a woman marry) to share a
communion of life with one another. If this is so, still less being in contrary to our dignity to “yield by faith the full submission
of... intellect and will to God who reveals”, and to share in an interior communion with him.
In faith, the human intellect and will co-operate with divine grace: “Believing is an act of the intellect assenting to the divine
truth by command of the will moved by God through grace.”
C. Faith: Knowledge and Freedom
1) Faith and understanding
What moves us to believe is not the fact that revealed truths appear as true and intelligible in the light of our natural reason:
we believe “because of the authority of God himself who reveals them, who can neither deceive nor be deceived”. So “that
the submission of our faith might nevertheless be in accordance with reason, God willed that external proofs of his Revelation
should be joined to the internal helps of the Holy Spirit.” Thus the miracles of Christ and the saints, prophecies, the Church's
growth and holiness, and her fruitfulness and stability “are the most certain signs of divine Revelation, adapted to the
intelligence of all”; they are “motives of credibility” (motivacredibilitatis), which show that the assent of faith is “by no means
a blind impulse of the mind”.
2) Faith is certain.
It is more certain than all human knowledge because it is founded on the very word of God who cannot lie. To be sure,
revealed truths can seem obscure to human reason and experience, but “the certainty that the divine light gives is greater
than that which the light of natural reason gives.” “Ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt.”
3) “Faith seeks understanding”:
It is intrinsic to faith that a believer desires to know better the One in whom he has put his faith, and to understand better
what He has revealed; a more penetrating knowledge will in turn call forth a greater faith, increasingly set afire by love. the
grace of faith opens “the eyes of your hearts” to a lively understanding of the contents of Revelation: that is, of the totality of
God's plan and the mysteries of faith, of their connection with each other and with Christ, the center of the revealed mystery.
“The same Holy Spirit constantly perfects faith by his gifts, so that Revelation may be more and more profoundly understood.”
In the words of St. Augustine, “I believe, in order to understand; and I understand, the better to believe.”
4) Faith and science:
“Though faith is above reason, there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason. Since the same God who
reveals mysteries and infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind, God cannot deny himself, nor can
truth ever contradict truth.” “Consequently, methodical research in all branches of knowledge, provided it is carried out in a
truly scientific manner and does not override moral laws, can never conflict with the faith, because the things of the world
and the things of faith derive from the same God. The humble and persevering investigator of the secrets of nature is being
led, as it were, by the hand of God in spite of himself, for it is God, the conserver of all things, who made them what they
are.”
To be human, “man's response to God by faith must be free and... therefore nobody is to be forced to embrace the faith
against his will. The act of faith is of its very nature a free act.” “God calls men to serve him in spirit and in truth. Consequently,
they are bound to him in conscience, but not coerced. . . This fact received its fullest manifestation in Christ Jesus.” Indeed,
Christ invited people to faith and conversion, but never coerced them. “For he bore witness to the truth but refused to use
force to impose it on those who spoke against it. His kingdom... grows by the love with which Christ lifted up on the cross,
draws men to himself.”
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5) Faith is a necessity:
Believing in Jesus Christ and in the One who sent him for our salvation is necessary for obtaining that salvation. “Since
“without faith it is impossible to please (God) “and to attain to the fellowship of his sons, therefore without faith no one has
ever attained justification, nor will anyone obtain eternal life 'But he who endures to the end.'“
D. Faith: Perseverance and Eternal Life
Faith is an entirely free gift that God makes to man. We can lose this priceless gift, as St. Paul indicated to St. Timothy:
“Wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain persons have made
shipwreck of their faith.” To live, grow and persevere in the faith until the end we must nourish it with the word of God; we
must beg the Lord to increase our faith; it must be “working through charity,” abounding in hope, and rooted in the faith of
the Church. Faith makes us taste in advance the light of the beatific vision, the goal of our journey here below. Then we shall
see God “face to face”, “as he is”. So faith is already the beginning of eternal life: When we contemplate the blessings of
faith even now, as if gazing at a reflection in a mirror, it is as if we already possessed the wonderful things which our faith
assures us we shall one day enjoy.
Now, however, “we walk by faith, not by sight”; we perceive God as “in a mirror, dimly” and only “in part”. Even though
enlightened by him in whom it believes, faith is often lived in darkness and can be put to the test. the world we live in often
seems very far from the one promised us by faith. Our experiences of evil and suffering, injustice and death, seem to
contradict the Good News; they can shake our faith and become a temptation against it.
It is then we must turn to the witnesses of faith: to Abraham, who “in hope... believed against hope”; to the Virgin Mary, who,
in “her pilgrimage of faith”, walked into the “night of faith” in sharing the darkness of her son's suffering and death; and to so
many others: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and
sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and
perfecter of our faith.”
E. Paradoxical Characteristics of Faith
Reflecting upon how the Magisterium describes Faith as they expressed in the CCC, the CFC # 142 – 154 realized the
complexities of the Christian Faith, so it described Faith in paradoxes to contextualize in Philippine setting that help one
grasps its complex realities as follows:
1) Certain, Yet Obscure
The first is that Faith is both most certain yet obscure (cf. CCC 157-58, 164). In common usage we speak of “taking things
on faith” when we are not sure. We live in a secular age where “to be sure” means being able to prove it by experiment and
“scientific” means. But this is a rationalistic illusion. We have been “brainwashed” by our own creation of today’s scientific
technology.
We, Filipinos, realize that none of our major personal decisions, nor our basic ideals and attitudes towards life, freedom,
love, etc. could ever be “proven” by scientific experiment. Our family, our friends, our community and our vocation in life all
depend on the vision, inspiration and strength we call “faith”. It is the most “certain” of all we know because it is the foundation
upon which we build our lives. But how are we sure of this “faith-foundation”?
Such a sure foundation could never come from us, or from other limited men or women. It could never arise from some self-
evident truth, or some logical deduction that compels assent (CCC 156). All these need to be, themselves, grounded on
some unshakeable foundation. Only the very Word of God could possibly offer such a foundation. Faith is certain because
it rests on God who reveals Himself in the person of Jesus Christ, present to us in His Spirit. We are certain of our Faith
because it is our personally committed loving knowledge based on the convincing signs of God revealing Himself in Jesus
Christ, and present to us in His Church through word, service, fellowship, and sacrament.
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word, service, fellowship, and sacrament.
But this certainty of Faith does not mean everything is clear and obvious. On the contrary, we believe God is “Mystery”, that
is, He is always more than we can ever fully comprehend. St. Paul teaches us: “Now we see indistinctly, as in a mirror” (1
Cor 13:12). “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7). But this obscurity which we experience even in our deepest human
relations does not destroy faith’s firmness. We instinctively recognize that persons, and especially the all-personal God, can
never be reduced to being “proven” by scientific experiment.
2) Free, Yet Morally Obliging
Faith’s second paradox is that it is both free and morally obliging (cf. CCC 160). Our Christian Faith is a free response. No
one, not even God, forces us to believe. God calls men to serve Him in Spirit and in truth. Consequently, they are bound to
Him in conscience but not coerced. God has regard for the dignity of the human person which He himself created: the human
person is to be guided by his own judgment and to enjoy freedom (DH 11). We Filipinos experience this paradoxical
combination of freedom and obligation in our family relationships and friendships. Persons who love us the most have the
most claims on us, yet force us the least. We naturally respond to them in love. God, who by loving us the most has the
greatest claim on us, leaves and keeps us most free.
3) Reasonable, Yet Beyond Natural Reason
A third paradox is that Christian Faith is both reasonable, yet more than natural reason (cf. CCC 155-56). Christian Faith
is in no conflict with our reason. On the contrary, only rational creatures can believe. Yet faith itself is a grace that enlightens
our minds. “Unless you believe, you will not understand” (Augustine’s quote of Is 7:9). Our faith in Christ illumines our reason
because we believe him who claims “I am the light of the world. No follower of mine shall ever walk in darkness; no, he shall
possess the light of life” (Jn 8:12; cf. Vatican I, ND 135).
4) An Act, Yet a Process
A fourth paradox highlights Faith as both a particular act, yet perseverance in a life-long process that is the beginning of
eternal life (cf. CCC 162-63). John’s Gospel declares: “Eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and him whom you
have sent, Jesus Christ.” (Jn 17:3). But this faith in Christ is much more than a single, personal decision for Christ. It is an
enduring way of life within the Christian community, the Church. In fact it is the principle of our new life in Christ, which gives
us a foretaste of life-with-him in heaven. St. Paul wrote: “The life that I now live is not my own; Christ is living in me. I still live
my human life, but it is a life of faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20). Faith as “following
Christ” must be gradually and perseveringly developed so that it comes to touch every aspect of our lives, throughout our
whole lives.
5. A Gift, Yet Our Doing
Faith’s fifth paradox is that it is both a gift, a grace from God, yet something we do (cf. PCP II 68; CCC 153-55). It is a gift
because “No one can come to me,” Jesus said, “unless the Father who sent me draws him” (Jn 6:44). St. Paul confirms this:
“No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except in the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 12:3). Our Christian Faith, then, is not merely of our own
doing. It depends upon God for two things: first, God’s free gift of revealing Himself throughout salvation history; second, for
the grace of the Holy Spirit’s interior illumination and inspiration which “gives to all joy in
assenting to the truth and believing in it” (Vat. I, DS 3010; ND 120).
But God’s “gift” of faith demands our free cooperation with others. St. Paul explains this: “Faith, then, comes through
hearing, and what is heard is the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17). Our hearing of Christ’s word today depends on the preaching
and teaching just as it did in the time of the Apostles (cf. Mt 28:20; Acts 2:42; 4:25). This “hearing” means not only listening
to the Word of God in Scripture and to Church teaching. It also involves discerning God’s presence to us through events in
our lives, our companions, our inner thoughts, yearnings and fears, etc. In brief, faith is also our active response to the
witness to Christ and the Gospel given us by others. This active response is motivated and inspired by the prayer and worship
we share with our fellow members of Christ’s Church.
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6) Personal, Yet Ecclesial
Faith’s sixth paradox is its personal yet ecclesial nature. It is first of all the Church who believes and thus supports and
nourishes our faith (cf. CCC 168-69). We received the grace of faith when we were baptized and received into the Christian
community, the Church. Within our Christian families and our parish community, the faith implanted in Baptism grows and
matures. Through catechesis, through the Sacrament of Confirmation, through the Word of God preached and explained,
and especially through the Eucharistic celebration of Christ’s Paschal sacrifice, we grow in faith. Our personal faith in Christ
is supported and intensified by our fellow members in the parish or BCC, according to God’s own plan. For “He has willed to
make men holy and save them, not as individuals without any bond or link between them, but rather to make them into a
people” (LG 9).
Christian faith has many different adherents and forms, even in our country. But a central feature of Catholic Faith is its
ecclesial structure. God always revealed Himself in the Old and New Testaments in terms of a community. Moreover, this
revelation has been handed down through the Church’s tradition to us today. It is in the Church that we Catholics experience
the power of the Risen Christ through the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is in the Church, the body of Christ, that the Catholic Filipino
meets Christ in God’s Word in Scripture, in Church teaching, in the liturgical, sacramental praise and worship of God, and in
the ministry of service of one another.
Christ is personal Savior to Filipino Catholics not as private individuals, but as members of a community of salvation wherein
we meet Jesus and experience his saving power. Faith is never just something private or individualistic, but a sharing in the
Christian community’s faith. This faith is in living continuity with the Apostolic Church, as well as being united to all the
Catholic communities today the world over. Vatican II well describes the origins of this ecclesial dimension of faith. “As the
firstborn of many brethren, and by the gift of his Spirit, Christ established, after his Death and Resurrection, a new brotherly
communion among all who received him in faith and love; this is the communion of his own body, the Church, in which
everyone as members would render mutual service in the measure of the different gifts bestowed on each” (GS 32)
D. Believe:
1. Do you believe you are blessed? Why?
2. How do you prepare life eternal?
3. Celebrate life today for it points for a better life tomorrow.
III. Evaluation/Application
1. How can you influence others to have faith in God?

2. Make a short story or poem about faith.
IV. Encouragement Exercise:

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Write you own story of “I Can”.
MODULE 4: UNIT II – MAN BELIEVES IN A COMMUNITY
Lesson 1 “I Believe” and “We Believe”

I. Learning Outcome: At the end of this lesson, students:
1. articulate the nature of Faith as both personal and communal response of man to the one, true and living God
expressed in the creed as the language of the Church;
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2. rekindle their commitment to believe what the Church believe as our Mater Et Magistra (mother and teacher); and,
3. pray the credo with full faith as our life giving and sustaining communion with God as our Father through Jesus
our Redeemer in the unity of the Holy Spirit.
A. Share Activity
Video Clip: “Keep the Faith”
B. Heed Analysis
Guide Questions
1. What did you observe from the video?
2. How did the girl express her faith?
3. What made her keep her faith in God?
(Doctrine: Scripture, Magisterium, Tradition)
Scripture: Jesus and Thomas John 20:24 – 29
Magisterium: Catechism of the Catholic Church Nos. 166 – 169
Faith is both Personal relationships with God and at the same time communitarian. This was what our God willed for His
believers.
1. Personal Dimension of Believing
Faith is a personal act - the free response of the human person to the initiative of God who reveals himself. But
faith is not an isolated act. No one can believe alone, just as no one can live alone. You have not given yourself faith
as you have not given yourself life. The believer has received faith from others and should hand it on to others. Our
love for Jesus and for our neighbor impels us to speak to others about our faith. Each believer is thus a link in the great
chain of believers. I cannot believe without being carried by the faith of others, and by my faith I help support others in
the faith.
"I believe" (Apostles' Creed) is the faith of the Church professed personally by each believer, principally during
Baptism. "We believe" (Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed) is the faith of the Church confessed by the bishops
assembled in council or more generally by the liturgical assembly of believers. "I believe" is also the Church, our mother,
responding to God by faith as she teaches us to say both "I believe" and "We believe".
2. Communitarian Aspect of Believing
It is the Church that believes first, and so bears, nourishes and sustains my faith. Everywhere, it is the Church that first
confesses the Lord: "Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you", as we sing in the hymn "Te Deum"; with her
and in her, we are won over and brought to confess: "I believe", "We believe". It is through the Church that we receive
faith and new life in Christ by Baptism. In the Rituale Romanum, the minister of Baptism asks the catechumen: "What
do you ask of God's Church?" And the answer is: "Faith." "What does faith offer you?" "Eternal life."
Salvation comes from God alone; but because we receive the life of faith through the Church, she is our mother: "We
believe the Church as the mother of our new birth, and not in the Church as if she were the author of our
salvation."Because she is our mother, she is also our teacher in the faith.
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1. “Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus”: Its Correct Understanding
The Latin axiom, “Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus”, which literally means “Outside the Church there is no salvation”,
originates from the writings of Saint Cyprian of Carthage, a bishop of the 3rd century. It is often used as shorthand for
the doctrine that the Church is necessary for salvation, which many Protestants, the Eastern Orthodox Church and
especially the Roman Catholic Church uphold. This axiom is based on the theological truths that (1) Jesus Christ
personally established the one Church; and (2) the Church serves as the means by which the graces won by Christ
are communicated to believers.
However, the axiom is erroneously interpreted especially by some fundamentalists (Protestants, Orthodox or Catholic
alike) to mean that only belongingness to their respective churches ensures true salvation. “Church” here is understood
as the institutional church with its visible manifestations here on earth. For instance, some understand the axiom to
mean that if one does not belong to the Catholic Church (the Church on earth with its human institutions), then one is
not or cannot be saved.
To correct this interpretation, the CCC states clearly that the axiom should be understood in its positive sense (Cfr.
CCC, nos. 846-848). “Reformulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the
Church which is His Body” (CCC, no. 846). This means that if one is saved he or she is saved by Christ alone
through His Church. But we must understand “Church” here to mean the Mystical Body of Christ. Not just the
institutional entity on earth, the Church refers to the one in the mind of God.
Lumen Gentium also affirms that the Church is necessary for salvation: “the one Christ is the Mediator and the way of
salvation; He is present to us in His Body which is the Church. He Himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and
Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as
through a door. Hence, they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by
God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it, or to remain in it” (LG, 14).
The CCC is also quick to add that “this affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know
Christ and His Church” (CCC, no. 847). LG explains: “Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel
of Christ or His Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions
to do His will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience – those too may achieve eternal salvation” (LG,
16).
Thus, “Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus” should be understood to mean that “salvation comes through the Church alone, as
the Mystical Body of Christ”. If there are men and women who will be saved, they are thereby saved through Christ’s
Body, the Church.
Recall your experience of believing which helped you resist temptations like, absenteeism, cheating, lying,
deceiving, bullying, public display of affection, pre-marital sex and the like.
What made you decide to believe in God?
Why were you able to resist temptations?
How can you help others who easily give in to temptations?
How do you express your faith in God?
III.Evaluation
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Test 1: True or False: Read carefully each statement to determine its truth or falsity of the idea expressed in each statement.
On your paper, write + if the idea expressed in the statement is true and if false, write 0.
1. As Christians, our Faith in God is grounded in God’s revelation through His words and deeds in Salvation History.
2. The Church has constantly confessed the one faith, received from the one Lord, transmitted by one Baptism, and
grounded in the conviction that all people have only one God and Father.
3. When we are conceived by our mothers, our faith is already God-given.
4. By faith, man freely submits his intellect and will to God.
5. Faith is a matter of our parents’ choice
6. It is primarily by our efforts that we have knowledge of God.
7. Vatican ll insists that Catholic Faith must be informed, that is “believing Jesus’ words, and accepting His teachings,
trusting that He has “the words of eternal life”.
8. Our Catholic Faith in God and in Jesus Christ is separated from the typical Filipino faith in family and friends
9. Christ Himself provides, especially in his Passion, Death and Resurrection, the best example of this total and
absolute commitment to God.
10. Our Faith as Catholics consists in our personal conviction and belief in God, our Father, revealed by Jesus Christ,
His own divine Son-made-man and their presence to us through the Holy Spirit, in the Church.
11. It is through love that our Christian Faith is truly life-giving and mature.
12. We come to believe in Christ our Savior, in the Father, and in the Holy Spirit sent into our hearts through Christ’s
witness to the Father in His teaching, preaching, miracles and especially in his Passion, Death and Resurrection.
13. We live out our faith in God precisely in our daily relationships with family, friends, fellow workers
14. The Biblical religion showed us a number of people who personally decided to accept God and His revealing act to
them.
15. The Blessed Virgin Mary perfectly embodies the obedience of faith
Test ll: Identification
16. It is the free response of the human person to the initiative of God who reveals himself.
17. It literally means “Outside the Church there is no salvation”.
18. It is the faith of the Church confessed by the bishops assembled in council or more generally by the liturgical
assembly of believers.
19. A document that affirms that the Church is necessary for salvation: “the one Christ is the Mediator and the way of
salvation.
20. What does faith offer you?
IV.Enrichment Exercise:
Based on your own personal experience, how do you nurture, nourish and enhance your faith in God. Write your
reflection in one short bond paper. You may express your ideas and experiences through drawing. Explain and
color your work of art.
MODULE 4: UNIT II– MAN BELIEVES IN A COMMUNITY
Lesson 2: The Language of Faith
I. Learning Outcome: At the end of this period, the students are expected to:
1. recite the creed;
2. explain the meaning of the creed;
3. pray the creed sincerely and with devotion; and,
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4. profess the faith despite uncertainties and indifference.
A. Share Activity
Read: Short Story on Faith in God
One dark evening, a high school student, a girl wanted to go home after participating an activity in their school late. She
waited around 7:30 P.M. looking for a bus going to their town. And the distance between her house to school is 20 kilometers.
She felt really worried, until a miracle, a red bus suddenly stops and off she goes on board.
Minutes later, a conductor of the bus came to collect money and tickets. But the girl fell asleep and the conductor waited
for her to wake up. The bus suddenly stopped for checking the tickets, and the girl was awakened. She hurried up to grab her
wallet but cannot be found. She looked everywhere, under her seat, inside her bag, inside her pocket, or just beside her but
cannot be found. So, she begged the conductor to pay him tomorrow for she had lost her wallet. But the conductor disagreed
and left her on the side of the road alone. The girl was so scared and began to walk at the side of the road alone with no lights
or street lights to be found, just only a spark of the moonlight where almost covered by thick clouds.
So, carrying her bag, she walked and walked until she reached the street where her house is. But the street was darker
than the road she walked on. She took a deep breath herself that she can do it, until a strange tall man appeared in the middle
of the way. The man looked at her in every movement she made. So, she got nothing to do but to pray to the Lord, God, for
her safety. As she kept on praying, as she passed by to a man, and the man kept on watching her until he began to disappear
in her sight. When she arrived at her house, she felt very cold and full of worry. And it’s just something had gone by her side.
The next morning, she was shocked and surprised when news spread to their town about a student, like her, was killed
and raped in the same date and night when she arrived in her house late. And it was her schoolmate who was the victim. Then
the news revealed the form of the man who killed the victim. The girl suddenly familiarized the suspect and it was the man who
appeared on her way that night.
So, she quickly reports to the police from where she saw the man, and the suspect was captured. The police thanked
the girl and the girl asked one favor and she said, Ummmm. . , can you ask the suspect why he didn’t attack me that night when
I was alone and why he only attacked my schoolmate?
And the police asked the suspect, and he quickly answered with disappointment, I couldn’t… because the night that I
saw her, she was walking in the street and I was about to attack her when suddenly two big men appeared beside her and they
went straight to her house! And I was afraid….!
B. Heed Processing
Guide Questions
1. What does the short story about the girl convey to us?
2. What is your reaction on this story?
3. What are your realizations/reflections about the story?
4. How does that story be considered a language of faith?

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1. Sacred Scripture: Matthew 18:6-9; Luke 17:5-6; Mark 9:42-50.

2. Magisterium: CCC 170 – 175
The Language of Faith
We do not believe in formulas, but in those realities they express, which faith allows us to touch. "The believer's act of faith
does not terminate in the propositions, but in the realities which they express. “All the same, we do approach these realities
with the help of formulations of the faith which permit us to express the faith and to hand it on, to celebrate it in community,
to assimilate and live on it more and more.
The Church, "the pillar and bulwark of the truth", faithfully guards "the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints".
She guards the memory of Christ's words; it is she who from generation to generation hands on the apostles' confession of
faith. As a mother who teaches her children to speak and so to understand and communicate, the Church our Mother teaches
us the language of faith in order to introduce us to the understanding and the life of faith.
1. Only One Faith/Same faith, various expressions
Through the centuries, in so many languages, cultures, peoples and nations, the Church has constantly confessed this one
faith, received from the one Lord, transmitted by one Baptism, and grounded in the conviction that all people have only one
God and Father. St. Irenaeus of Lyons, a witness of this faith, declared:
"Indeed, the Church, though scattered throughout the whole world, even to the ends of the earth, having received the faith
from the apostles and their disciples. . . guards this preaching and faith with care, as dwelling in but a single house, and
similarly believes as if having but one soul and a single heart, and preaches, teaches and hands on this faith with a
unanimous voice, as if possessing only one mouth."
"For though languages differ throughout the world, the content of the Tradition is one and the same. The Churches
established in Germany have no other faith or Tradition, nor do those of the Iberians, nor those of the Celts, nor those of the
East, of Egypt, of Libya, nor those established at the center of the world. . ." The Church's message" is true and solid, in
which one and the same way of salvation appears throughout the whole world."
"We guard with care the faith that we have received from the Church, for without ceasing, under the action of God's Spirit,
this deposit of great price, as if in an excellent vessel, is constantly being renewed and causes the very vessel that contains
it to be renewed."
2. Realities expressed in the creed
Through the centuries many professions or symbols of faith have been articulated in response to the needs of the different
eras: the creeds of the different apostolic and ancient Churches, e.g., the Quicumque, also called the Athanasian Creed; the
professions of faith of certain Councils, such as Toledo, Lateran, Lyons, Trent; or the symbols of certain popes, e.g.,
the Fides Damasi or the Credo of the People of God of Paul VI.
None of the creeds from the different stages in the Church's life can be considered superseded or irrelevant. They help us
today to attain and deepen the faith of all times by means of the different summaries made of it. Among all the creeds, two
occupy a special place in the Church's life:
The Apostles' Creed is so called because it is rightly considered to be a faithful summary of the apostles' faith. It is the
ancient baptismal symbol of the Church of Rome. Its great authority arises from this fact: it is "the Creed of the Roman
Church, the See of Peter the first of the apostles, to which he brought the common faith".
The Niceno-Constantinopolitan or Nicene Creed draws its great authority from the fact that it stems from the first two
ecumenical Councils (in 325 and 381). It remains common to all the great Churches of both East and West to this day. Our
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presentation of the faith will follow the Apostles' Creed, which constitutes, as it were, "the oldest Roman catechism". The
presentation will be completed however by constant references to the Nicene Creed, which is often more explicit and more
detailed.
As on the day of our Baptism, when our whole life was entrusted to the "standard of teaching”, let us embrace the Creed of
our life-giving faith. To say the Credo with faith is to enter into communion with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and also
with the whole Church which transmits the faith to us and in whose midst we believe:
This Creed is the spiritual seal, our heart's meditation and an ever-present guardian; it is, unquestionably, the treasure of
our soul.
Video - Amazing Story: “Change your Life, Watch before it’s too late!”
How am I challenged to embrace the “Creed” of my faith?

How do I celebrate and profess my faith life?
III. Evaluation
Test 1 : True or False. Write the word True if the statement is correct and False if the statement is erroneous.
1. The believer's act of faith does not terminate in the propositions, but in the realities which they express.
2. The Church guards the memory of Christ's words here on earth with reservation.
3. The Church our Mother teaches us the language of faith in order to introduce us to the understanding and the life
of faith.
4. St. Irenaeus of Lyons witness the faith in one God and Father.
5. The Athanasian Creed is considered to be a faithful summary of the apostles' faith.
6. To say the Credo with faith is to enter into communion with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
7. It is with the whole Church that transmits the faith to us and in whose midst we believe.
8. The creed is our heart’s meditation and ever present guardian.
9. To say the Credo with faith is the whole Church which transmits the faith to us and in whose midst we believe.
10. The Apostles’ Creed draws its great authority from the fact that it stems from the first two ecumenical Councils in
325 and 381.
Test II - Essay: Write your essay on the space provided after the questions.
1. What does the statement “Only One Faith/Same faith, various expressions” refers to?
2. Why must a faithful profess his/her faith in the public using the Creed?
IV. Enrichment Exercise:
For Catholic Christians:
Lead your family or friends in praying the Rosary. In reciting the Nicene Creed, identify the 12 articles of faith. After
praying, write your reflection about your experience or thoughts while reciting the Nicene Creed. Write on a short bond
paper.
For Non-Catholics/Non-Christians: Formulate your own Creed which expresses your faith in God.
MODULE 4: UNIT II– MAN BELIEVES IN A COMMUNITY
Lesson 3 One Faith, One God

1. recognize the Church's unity which comes from the undivided Trinity;
2. articulate the faith in Christ who reconciled all men to God by his cross; and,
3. celebrate one’s faith in Christ with the Holy Spirit that restores the unity of all people.
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A. Share Activity
(My Story or Activity)

Song: There is One Lord, there is One Faith by: Amanda Groth
B. Heed Analysis
A. Heed: (Analysis/Process)
1. What does the song want to convey?
2. What does “One Faith” mean?
3. How do we express the “One Faith”?
4. Why are we called to believe in One God?
5. Why must we believe only in One God?
6. Why must faith be communitarian?
1. Sacred Scripture: Ephesians 4:5-6;

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
Eph. 4:1-6 Nothing is pressed more earnestly in the Scriptures, than to walk as becomes those called to Christ's
kingdom and glory. By lowliness, understand humility, which is opposed to pride. By meekness, that excellent
disposition of soul, which makes men unwilling to provoke, and not easily to be provoked or offended. We find
much in ourselves for which we can hardly forgive ourselves; therefore, we must not be surprised if we find in
others that which we think it hard to forgive. There is one Christ in whom all believers hope, and one heaven they
are all hoping for; therefore, they should be of one heart. They had all one faith, as to its object, Author, nature,
and power. They all believed the same as to the great truths of religion; they had all been admitted into the church
by one baptism, with water, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, as the sign of
regeneration. In all believers God the Father dwells, as in his holy temple, by his Spirit and special grace.
2. Magisterium: Catechism of the Catholic Church Nos. 200 – 202; 2087 – 2089.
A. One Faith, one God
i. Monotheism and polytheism
Monotheism (from the Greek monos "only", and theos "god") is a word coined in comparatively modern times to
designate belief in the one supreme God, the Creator and Lord of the world, the eternal Spirit, All-powerful, All-wise,
and All-good, the Rewarder of good and the Punisher of evil, the Source of our happiness and perfection. It is opposed
to Polytheism, which is belief in more gods than one, and to Atheism, which is disbelief in any deity whatsoever. In
contrast with Deism, it is the recognition of God's presence and activity in every part of creation. In contrast
with Pantheism, it is belief in a God of conscious freedom, distinct from the physical world.
Both Deism and Pantheism are religious philosophies rather than religions.
On the other hand, Monotheism, like Polytheism, is a term applying primarily to a concrete system of religion. The
grounds of reason underlying monotheism have already been set forth in the article GOD. These grounds enable the
inquiring mind to recognize the existence of God as a morally certain truth. Its reasonableness acquires still greater
force from the positive data associated with the revelation of Christianity. (See Revelation.)
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Polytheism (from Greek πολυθεϊσμός, polytheismos) is the worship of or belief in multiple deities, which are usually
assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religions and rituals. Polytheism, the belief
in many gods. Polytheism characterizes virtually all religions other than Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which share
a common tradition of monotheism, the belief in one God.
Sometimes above the many gods a polytheistic religion will have a supreme creator and focus of devotion, as in certain
phases of Hinduism (there is also the tendency to identify the many gods as so many aspects of the Supreme Being);
sometimes the gods are considered as less important than some higher goal, state, or savior, in Buddhism;
sometimes one god will prove more dominant than the others without attaining overall supremacy, as Zeus in
Greek religion. Typically, polytheistic cultures include belief in many demonic and ghostly forces in addition to the gods,
and some supernatural beings will be malevolent; even in monotheistic religions there can be belief in many demons,
as in New Testament Christianity. (Encyclopedia Britanica)
ii. Unity: Consequences of One faith
a. The Church as One
Unity from the Trinity

The Church's unity comes from the undivided Trinity. Christ "reconciled all men to God by his cross" and restored the unity
of all people. She is one because her soul is the Holy Spirit. "The Holy Spirit brings about the wonderful communion of the
faithful" (Second Vatican Council). "There is one Father of the universe, one Lord of the universe, and also one Holy Spirit.
There is also one virgin become mother, and I should like to call her ‘Church'" (St. Clement of Alexandria).
Diversity within the Unity

The Church also has a diversity of peoples, cultures, gifts, and offices and particular Churches with their own traditions. This
rich diversity does not oppose Church unity. Yet, sin always threatens this oneness. St. Paul wrote, "Maintain the unity of
the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph 4:3).
Three Bonds of Unity

Besides charity, the Church has three important visible bonds of communion:
1. The profession of one faith
2. The common celebration of worship (especially through the sacraments)
3. Apostolic succession through Holy Orders
Entrusted to Peter and the Apostles

This sole Church of Christ was entrusted to Peter and the other apostles. "This Church, constituted and organized as a
society in the present world, subsists in the Catholic Church which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops
in communion with him" (Second Vatican Council). Only in the Catholic Church can the fullness of the means of salvation be
obtained. To the apostolic college alone (with Peter as its head) did Our Lord entrust all the blessings of the New Covenant.
All who belong to the People of God should be fully incorporated into this one Body of Christ (Second Vatican Council).
Ruptures of Unity
St. Paul had to censure certain rifts and divisions. Centuries later, more serious dissensions caused large communities to
separate from full communion with the Catholic Church. The blame lies with both sides because these ruptures (heresy,
apostasy, and schism) are due to human sin. "Where there are sins, there are divisions. Where there is charity, there is
unity" (Origen). Those living today cannot be charged with these sins of separation. The Catholic Church accepts as brothers
those who have faith in Christ and have been baptized. They have a right to be called Christians and be accepted as brothers
(Second Vatican Council).
Outside the Church

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Outside of the Catholic Church there are many elements of sanctification (God's Word, interior virtues, gifts of the Spirit, and
some visible elements). Christ's Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial communities as means of salvation. Their power
derives from the fullness that Christ gave to the Catholic Church. All these blessings lead to Christ and are calls to "Catholic
unity" (Second Vatican Council).
Recovering Our Lost Unity

This unity given by Christ "subsists in the Catholic Church as something she can never lose." However, the Church must
work and pray to maintain that unity. Jesus prayed "that they may all be one... so that the world may know that you have
sent me" (Jn 17:21). The desire to recover our lost unity is a true call from the Holy Spirit which requires:
a) A permanent renewal of the Church in her fidelity to her vocation
b) A conversion of heart by the faithful
c) Common prayer (the soul of the ecumenical movement)
Also needed are fraternal knowledge, ecumenical formation, dialogue among theologians, and collaboration in services to
mankind. The whole Church must be involved in this Reconciliation of all Christians. Our hope lies in Christ's prayer because
this gift is beyond human powers.
Keeping One’s Faith Alive
Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. (1 John 4:8)
“Caritas Christi urgetnos” (2 Cor 5:14): it is the love of Christ that fills our hearts and impels us to evangelize. Today as in
the past, he sends us through the highways of the world to proclaim his Gospel to all the peoples of the earth (cf. Mt 28:19).
Through his love, Jesus Christ attracts to himself the people of every generation: in every age he convokes the Church,
entrusting her with the proclamation of the Gospel by a mandate that is ever new. Today too, there is a need for stronger
ecclesial commitment to new evangelization in order to rediscover the joy of believing and the enthusiasm for communicating
the faith.
By faith, the Apostles left everything to follow their Master (cf. Mk 10:28). They believed the words with which he proclaimed
the Kingdom of God present and fulfilled in his person (cf. Lk 11:20). They lived in communion of life with Jesus who
instructed them with his teaching, leaving them a new rule of life, by which they would be recognized as his disciples after
his death (cf. Jn 13:34-35). By faith, they went out to the whole world, following the command to bring the Gospel to all
creation (cf. Mk 16:15) and they fearlessly proclaimed to all the joy of the resurrection, of which they were faithful witnesses.
By faith, across the centuries, men and women of all ages, whose names are written in the Book of Life (cf. Rev 7:9, 13:8),
have confessed the beauty of following the Lord Jesus wherever they were called to bear witness to the fact that they were
Christian: in the family, in the workplace, in public life, in the exercise of the charisms and ministries to which they were
called.
By faith, we too live: by the living recognition of the Lord Jesus, present in our lives and in our history (Pope Benedict XVI,
PortaFidei).
Video Clips on Faith.
What does the video present?

1. How must we live a life of faith?
2. Why is it so?
3. How should we express the faith?
4. What celebration of the Church expresses the “One Faith”?
5. How often do you attend a celebration that expresses the “One Faith”?
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B. Enrichment Exercise
Proposed activity: I AM A WALKING FAITH (FEET) OF JESUS!
Write your own reflection on how you grow in faithfulness to Jesus in His church, making yours feet of Jesus feet, a faith of
Jesus.
Evaluation / Questions for Study and Reflections:
a) What does Faith mean?
b) How can faith become personal and communal? (Become I and We?)
c) What is faith according to Pope Benedict XVI?
d) How did he describe faith?
e) Why faith would only mature in the Church?
Or
Proposed activity: A review on religion (press conference drama)
Collect students from different religion in your class and do an interview on the difference between other non-Christian
religion and the Catholic religion
Questions:
a) What is the belief of other non-Christian religion?
b) What is their focus? Why?
c) Does the Catholic religion have faith only to one God?
d) What is then the understanding of the Triune God?
MODULE 4: UNIT III – MAN’S FAITH IS REASONABLE
Lesson 1 - Errors and Threats of Faith
I. Learning Outcome: At the end of this period, students:

a) point out and correct some errors and dangers to religious faith;
b) assess one’s faith vs. practices on fundamentalism; and,
c) test one’s prayer life against the desire for magic response to one’s prayer.

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A. Share Activity
A. Share:
1. Present a short video about magic and superstitious practice:” Magic and superstition”
(This video consists of excerpts pertaining to superstition and witchcraft from the television series "Evil", produced
by the Sci-Fi Channel. This compilation was produced for educational purposes only.)
B. Heed Group Discussion
Guide Discussion:
1. Do you believe in magic? Why?
2. Make a list of some superstitious beliefs that you know. Do you think they are true? Why?
3. How can you make others believe such beliefs?
1. Errors and Dangers to Faith

Man, by nature, is prone to believe. Believing is another most fundamental way of knowing. When one believes, he accepts
as true whatever is revealed to him, not because he has proven it to be true, but because he trusts in the one who reveals
it: that the revealer cannot and does not deceive him.
However, believing must be reasonable. Without the use of reason, to believe in something is just being superstitious.
Superstitious beliefs are irrational. Some errors and dangers to faith include superstition, syncretism and magic,
fundamentalism and some secularist attitude and mentality.
a. Syncretism and Magic
A definition of “superstition” given in Wikipedia is misleading: it is “the belief in supernatural causality—that one event leads
to the cause of another without any natural process linking the two events—such as astrology, religion, omens, witchcraft,
prophecies, etc., that contradicts natural science”. It is misleading because it puts into one basket religion and the rest of
what religion is not: astrology, omens, witchcraft, etc. Doing so, such definition shows its bias against religion in favor of a
rationalist perspective. Rationalism is the view that “regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge” or “any view
appealing to reason as (the only) source of knowledge or justification”.
In fact, Wikipedia is quick to add that “opposition to superstition was central to 17th century Rationalist Benedict de Spinoza
and the intellectuals of the 18th century Age of Enlightenment. The philosophers at that time rejected any belief in miracles,
revelation, magic, or the supernatural, as ‘superstition’, as well as unreasoned Christian doctrine”. Hence, the definition is
biased against true religion and is highly rationalist in nature; thus, it is misleading.
Not even a specification has redeemed such a biased and misleading definition. Wikipedia notes that “the word superstition
is sometimes used to refer to religious practices (e.g., Voodoo) other than the one prevailing in a given society (e.g.,
Christianity in western culture), although the prevailing religion may contain just as many superstitious beliefs. It is also
commonly applied to beliefs and practices surrounding luck, prophecy and spiritual beings, particularly the belief that future
events can be foretold by specific (apparently) unrelated prior events”.
Wikipedia could not escape from its rationalist orientation. But it has given us one correct note on what superstition is: that
superstition is the absence of any rational explanation of some beliefs. But to include religion as one of the examples of
superstition is to conclude that religion cannot have rational explanation of its beliefs. This conclusion is hasty, unfounded,
biased and highly ideological.
Not all religions are irrational. In fact, if we try to examine all beliefs that belong to all religions, it may take us very long but
we will discover that there is one religion which is highly rational than the rest: Christianity. In order to avoid falling into the
danger of superstition, every believer must strive to understand rationally all and each of his or her beliefs using reason.
However, a believer must also be careful not to take reason as the exclusive criteria of truth. For this is also another error:
rationalism. Or else, he or she might be escaping the pan but falling into the fire.
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Another danger to faith is syncretism, the combination of various, oftentimes seemingly contradicting beliefs to form one
religious beliefs system that provides for a harmonious and peaceful co-existence of two or more religious denominations.
Religious syncretism entails a compromise of one’s personal belief in favor of the other under the guise of safeguarding unity
and mutual respect. It exhibits “the incorporation into a religious tradition of beliefs from unrelated traditions. This… happens
quite commonly in areas where multiple religious’ traditions exist in proximity and function actively in the culture, or when a
culture is conquered, and the conquerors bring their religious beliefs with them, but do not succeed in entirely eradicating
the old beliefs or, especially, practices”.
A rigorous analysis of syncretism indicates that it deals with a mixture or a total or partial combination of religions. It is not
properly speaking a union because in a union, the elements or the poles that unite usually remain intact in their character or
personality. However, in syncretism what takes place is interpenetration or fusion of religious elements in a way that what
comes out is a religion that is very different from the previously mixed ones. The syncretic product is a new cult, a new
religious reality that did not exist before the combination. We cannot say that the previous religious elements co-exist in the
newly formed one. They have lost their identity already.
Today, we may encounter people who claim to be Catholics, but who also claim to be practicing Buddhists, Taoists, or to be
attending Protestant gatherings. This can be a sure sign of falling into the error of syncretism.
Another danger to faith is the notion of magic. Human being always has something to do with magic or cultivated magical
attitudes in its behavior towards reality. Beliefs in and practices of magic have been present since the earliest human cultures.
These beliefs and practices continue to have an important religious and medicinal role in many cultures today. However,
according to M. Marcel, magic is often viewed with suspicion by the wider community, and is sometimes practiced in isolation
and secrecy. The reason for this is quite obvious: it could thwart people from understanding and living the truth of religion.
We may roughly define magic or sorcery as “an attempt to understand, experience and influence the world using rituals,
symbols, actions, gestures and language”. Magic is an accumulation of actions and operations applied to what is divine,
human or even material, with the sole aim of exercising over them some sort of instantaneous influence or power. Until the
advent of science and religion with their distinct and clearer knowledge and account of reality, humanity was under the
magical concept of an enchanted world. However, with the progress of scientific and philosophical knowledge, magic has
slowly been confined into the esoteric realm, although it could not die completely because not even science and religion can
exhaust the mystery in which the universe is immersed.
Science is founded on the fact that the natural world is not an enchanted world, a world that is inhabited by spirits or hidden
forces, but a world that is impregnated by rationality; hence, a world that can be investigated, experimented and
comprehended by human reason. The natural world can be, in a certain sense, measured by the human intelligence which
is capable of predicting the behavior of nature (for instance, the weather forecast).
Religion tells us, besides, that God can be implored but not conjured. The divine being is sensible to petitions and prayers
of man and woman, but he is not disposed to be manipulated through human incantations, words or actions. In magic, what
is pretended is this: that through man’s words and actions, a powerful divine being does some magical effects.
Science and religion, therefore, delimit the space of magic, which both declare to be irrational (from their own perspectives).
But magic and the attitudes that surround it continue to cast in human beings its contaminating and corrupt influence. Thus,
we need to be careful by never associating magic with religion.
b. The Dangers of Fundamentalism
The term “fundamentalism” is used today with notable inexactitude, especially by the media, to refer to some radical religious
positions that have direct impact to the sociopolitical life of certain societies. The word is used more strictly when it refers to
any religious reaction of whoever wants to protect the integrity of any doctrinal creed, or sacred rite, or any canonical writings.
“The term usually has a religious connotation indicating unwavering attachment to a set of irreducible beliefs”.
Fundamentalism is usually incarnated in movements and tendencies that are particularly visible and operative in what are
called “religions of the Book”, that is, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The term was initially used to refer to some specific
Protestant movements that interpret the Bible in a strictly literal manner. Today, the use of this term has been extended to
refer to any resistance against modern culture which is considered by fundamentalists as compromising and eroding the
religious doctrines and values.
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Fundamentalism is a militant position, moved by the desire and the impulse to protect the substance of a certain religion. It
is a reaction against the secularizing pressure that the modern society exercises over the elements of a religious tradition.
The dissolving processes that secularism usually unleashes put to test the survival of a religion. In front of modern
secularism, religions and societies penetrated by it usually adopt three reactions or positions: first, they could yield to the
secularist values and critiques. Religions that succumb to secularism could disappear completely, or at least, they become
so obsolete they would just die a natural death. This is the danger that Christianity faces in the Western world today.
Secondly, a religion endangered by the advances of secularism may adopt the position of rebellion or repugnance. In this
case, fundamentalism usually takes place. The endangered religion isolates itself and withdraws. If it is an influential religion,
it will try to control the society. If not, it would end as another irrelevant social factor or a ghetto.
Finally, a phenomenon of adaptation may also take place. If this occurs adequately, it must not imply the loss of doctrinal
substance or of the historical identity of such a religion. Secularization does not produce in this case a crisis of religion but a
situation that allows the maintenance of religious values in some changing historical circumstances.
Adaptation does not mean mere accommodation. Rather, it is an expression of perpetuity and of the capacity for authentic
development. The religion that has shown best its internal and external possibilities and capacities to adaptation in the course
of history, without losing its original religious content, is the Catholic religion. It may have suffered the erosive effects of
secularism but it never ceased to be what it is.
Generally, religious fundamentalism presupposes a laudable desire for fidelity to the values of a tradition. However, it
manifests undoubtedly a deficit in rationality and a pathological fear of historical development which is, under some
circumstances, usually necessary precisely for the survival of the same values that it defends. The fundamentalist
stubbornness may not necessarily presuppose fanaticism. But certainly it entails incapacity to appreciate the importance of
religious development that dialogues with the secular culture.
c. Christianity and Secularization
Secularization is one of the marks that characterize greatly Western civilization today. For many modern people, it is the
essence of modernity. Its subject is the society and the men and women that compose it. Hence, it is not religion which is
being secularized but the society and the world where religion is received, experienced and practiced.
Secularization should not be confused with secularism. Secularism is more ideological. It pretends to establish in the society
an autonomist vision of man and the world, which radically disregards any religious mystery. Secularism usually
demonstrates active hostility against religion.
Secularization, on the other hand, consists in a cultural and polyvalent (multifaceted) process by which questions and
problems that are central to human existence are transferred from the religious arena to the dominion of empirical science
or of philosophy. Religion and secularization maintain a dialectic relationship. They imply and influence mutually, to the
extent that one reacts over the other.
Religion itself is secularizing. It means that true religion would always entail the process in which the secular becomes the
commonplace. True secularization is never contradictory to true religion because true religion never exists in a vacuum. It is
always expressed in secular realities. Religion exists in concrete men and women who, in turn, live in certain historical and
secular cultures. One is never religious in general sense, but through a concrete religion.
Christianity is never an enemy of secularization. It is, however, against secularism. Christianity recognizes the legitimate
autonomy of all secular realities and their intimate relation to God, their Creator. However, it rejects any form of secularism
that claims absolute independence from God.
Gaudium et spes, a document of the Second Vatican Council that tackles on the relationship of the Catholic Church and the
world has this to say:
“If by the autonomy of earthly affairs, we mean that created things and societies themselves enjoy their own laws and
values which must be gradually deciphered, put to use, and regulated by men, then it is entirely right to demand that
autonomy. Such is not merely required by modern man, but harmonizes also with the will of the Creator. For by the
very circumstance of their having been created, all things are endowed with their own stability, truth, goodness, proper
laws and order. Man must respect these as he isolates them by the appropriate methods of the individual sciences or
arts.
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“But if the expression, the independence of temporal affairs, is taken to mean that created things do not depend on
God, and that man can use them without any reference to their Creator, anyone who acknowledges God will see how
false such a meaning is. For without the Creator the creature would disappear. “For their part, however, all believers of
whatever religion always hear His revealing voice in the discourse of creatures. When God is forgotten, however, the
creature itself grows unintelligible” (no. 36).
What can you say about the following?

Case: Barangay Baguio was hit by a strong typhoon. Houses were destroyed and the whole barangay was
flooded. Only one structure was left standing: the chapel which as sit on a hill and which stood behind a big stone
against the mighty wind. The people sought shelter in the chapel but the GKK leader refused to open the chapel to
accommodate the flooded villagers because the parish priest instructed him that the chapel would never be used for
any activity aside from the celebration of the liturgy.
Question: What can you comment about the attitude of the GKK leader?
Direction: Shade T if the statement is correct and F if it is wrong.
1. (T) (F) Believing is among the ways of knowing.

2. (T) (F) The primary basis of believing is the ability of the believer to prove the content of what has
been revealed as true or false.
3. (T) (F) Superstition is an act of believing without being reasonable.
4. (T) (F) The test of faith is reasonability.
5. (T) (F) A person who believes without being able to explain it is superstitious.
6. (T) (F) Christianity is more superstitious than rational
7. (T) (F) A syncretist put his belief only in God and not in magic and the supernatural powers that abounds
over nature.
8. (T) (F) Magic is true only to those who have never known the tricks.
9. (T) (F) Faith is magical rather than truthful
10. (T) (F) Magic depends in the ability of the magician to present false as true while faith depends in the
ability of the believer to discover what is true.
IV. Encouragement Exercises:
Make a list of 5 superstitious practices that you noticed in your barangay. Choose one of these practices and
criticize it from the perspective of your Christian faith.
Lesson 2 - Faith and Reason: A Harmonious Relationship

a) explain the harmonious relationship between faith and reason;
b) decide to integrate life with correct reasoning; and,
c) resolve to deepen one’s faith by a diligent reflection on the realities of life.

A. Share Activity
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Share: Recall an incident when you fell attracted to a person whom you did not know so well. What did you do?
i. I loved the person without knowing him/her further
ii. I loved the person but tried to learn more about him/her
iii. I got to know about the person more before loving him/her
iv. I ignored the person.
B. Heed Analysis
1. Cluster the class according to answers.

2. Raise follow-up questions to be answered by representatives of each cluster:
i. How did you feel about a decision to love the person without knowing him/her further?
ii. How did you feel about a decision to love the person but tried to learn about him/her more?
iii. How did you feel about your decision to know about the person more before loving him/her?
iv. How did you feel about your decision to ignore the person?
3. Which of the following options is best recommended? Why?
Introduction:
While some thinkers hold that no conflict between faith and reason is possible, that is, when reason is properly employed
and when faith is properly understood, they will never produce contradictory or competing claims, others maintain that faith
and reason can (or even must) be in genuine opposition over certain claims and methods.
Swindal, J (2001) wrote. “Those who have taken the latter view disagree as to whether faith or reason ought to prevail when
the two are in conflict. Kierkegaard, for instance, prioritizes faith even to the point that it becomes positively irrational, while
Locke emphasizes the reasonableness of faith to such an extent that a religious doctrine’s irrationality—conflict with itself or
with known facts—is a sign that it is unsound. Other thinkers have theorized that faith and reason each govern their own
separate domains, such that cases of apparent conflict are resolved on the side of faith when the claim in question is, say,
a religious or theological claim, but resolved on the side of reason when the disputed claim is, for example, empirical or
logical.
In this section, we shall see how some people, especially most Protestant believers, claim that Christian faith cannot be
compatible with the exercise of human reasoning. Only faith suffices, sola fidei. Then, we shall examine some reasons
Augustine gave why faith must seek understanding. Finally, we will understand better the harmonious relationship between
faith and reason in the explanation of Thomas Aquinas.
Protestantism: Reason contaminates Faith
Martin Luther’s teaching that “man is justified by faith alone” (sola fidei) is the basis of the Protestant claim that reason
contaminates Christian faith. This doctrine asserts that God’s pardon for guilty sinners is granted to and received only through
faith. Works are not anymore necessary. The reason for this is that all mankind is fallen, completely corrupted by sin, and,
under the curse of God, is incapable of saving itself from God’s wrath. But God, through the merits of the life, death, and
resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ alone (solusChristus), grants sinners judicial justification, which is received solely
through faith.
Here, faith is considered passive. It is merely receiving Christ and all his benefits. Christ’s righteousness is imputed (or
attributed) by God to the believing sinner (as opposed to infused or imparted righteousness). As a consequence, the divine
verdict and pardon of the believing sinner is based not upon anything in the sinner, nor even faith itself, but upon Jesus
Christ and his righteousness alone, which are received through faith alone. All this is revealed by God through Jesus Christ
in the Sacred Scriptures. Thus, the Five Solae of the Protestant Reformation include: sola scriptura, sola fide, sola gratia,
solusChristus, soli Deo Gloria. (Only the Scriptures; faith alone; only grace; Christ alone and to God alone be the glory).
Because of sola fidei principle, reason is viewed as something unnecessary, in fact, something that contaminates faith.
Hence, faith must be purified. To do this, Christian faith has to be purged from its contamination with reasoning, specifically
Greek philosophy. This process of purification is called the “deshellenization of faith” (Hellenization is the process by which
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Greek influence penetrates society, language and culture. The opposite is “deshellenization”, the purification of culture or
faith from any Greek influence like philosophy.)
Pope Benedict XVI, in his famous Regensburg Address in 2006, remarked about this deshellenization of faith. He said:
“Deshellenization first emerges in connection with the postulates of the Reformation in the sixteenth century.
Looking at the tradition of scholastic theology, the Reformers thought they were confronted with a faith system
totally conditioned by philosophy, that is to say an articulation of the faith based on an alien system of thought.
As a result, faith no longer appeared as a living historical Word but as one element of an overarching philosophical
system. The principle of sola scriptura, on the other hand, sought faith in its pure, primordial form, as originally
found in the biblical Word. Metaphysics appeared as a premise derived from another source, from which faith had
to be liberated in order to become once more fully itself. When Kant stated that he needed to set thinking aside
in order to make room for faith, he carried this programme forward with a radicalism that the Reformers could
never have foreseen. He thus anchored faith exclusively in practical reason, denying it access to reality as a
whole.”
However, we must affirm that faith can never be opposed to reason. Reasoning and believing are two operations of man’s
intellect and will that do not – and cannot – oppose each other simply because they both come from man himself. Besides,
faith and reason are gifts coming from one giver, God. And the object or aim of both is one: truth. Hence, faith must never
go against reason, and vice versa.
Augustine: Faith seeks Understanding
Augustine of Hippo (13 November 354 – 28 August 430), (Cath. Ency, records) an early Christian theologian and
philosopher whose writings were very influential in the development of Western Christianity and Western philosophy, was
bishop of Hippo Regius (present-day Annaba, Algeria) located in the Roman province of Africa. Viewed as one of the most
important Church Fathers in the West, he was one of the most prolific authors of antiquity. Sample, K (2001) describes “Of
his vast literary output, 113 books and treatises, more than 200 letters, and over 500 written sermons survive. In fact,
Augustine wrote three of the most important theological, philosophical, and apologetic works in history. These same three
works have also become literary classics of Western civilization: the Confessions, The City of God, and On the Trinity”.
Among his famous doctrines is capsulized in these words: “Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore, seek not to
understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand”. Faith seeking understanding is a motto that traces
back to St. Anselm in his book Proslogion. The original title of the book was “Faith seeking understanding”. But this idea was
already incipient in the writings of Augustine. What does this motto mean to St. Augustine and later, to St. Anselm?
“Many philosophers have taken it to mean that Anselm hopes to replace faith with understanding, Williams, T. (2001) statedl.
They take ‘faith’ to mean roughly ‘belief on the basis of testimony’ and ‘understanding’ to mean ‘belief on the basis of
philosophical insight’. And naturally philosophers will think that understanding is a much better thing to have; any self-
respecting philosopher would surely want to leave faith behind as quickly as possible”.
But “Anselm is not hoping to replace faith with understanding. Faith for Anselm has more to do with our wills than with our
beliefs: faith means love for God and a drive to act as God wills. In fact, Anselm describes the sort of faith that ‘merely
believes what it ought to believe’ as ‘dead’ (Monologion, 78). So ‘faith seeking understanding’ means something like ‘an
active love of God seeking a deeper knowledge of God’”(Williams, K).
Wolterstorff, N (2010) pointed out that Augustine, on the other hand, in his motto Credo utintelligam (I believe in order to
understand), is oftentimes interpreted to mean that “the Christian seeks to understand those very things that already he or
she believes”. However, this is a very simplistic way of interpreting this great thinker. Augustine simply meant that true
understanding comes when there is prior acceptance by faith of what one seeks to understand. He is reacting against those
who would make comprehension a pre-requisite to faith. In no way Augustine is limiting our understanding only to articles of
faith. Instead, he is saying that these articles of faith may not be understood perfectly well if they are not first of all accepted
as true.
Swindal, J. (2001) supported that Augustine “responded forcefully to allegations by pagans that Christian beliefs were not
only superstitious but also barbaric. But he was, for the most part, a strong compatibilist. He felt that intellectual inquiry into
129
the faith was to be understood as faith seeking understanding (fides quaerensintellectum). To believe is ‘to think with assent’
(credereestassensionecogitare). It is an act of the intellect determined not by the reason, but by the will. Faith involves a
commitment ‘to believe in a God,’ ‘to believe God’, and ‘to believe in God’”. He believes that “one cannot genuinely
understand God until one loves Him”.
Believing is accepting as true what is revealed by a person, not because we have understood perfectly well that revelation,
but because we trust in the person who reveals it to us. This is what Augustine wants us to do first: to trust. Then, we shall
begin to understand. Thus, faith seeks understanding.
St. John Paul II expresses this thought in his Encyclical Letter Fides et Ratio: “Faith intervenes not to abolish reason’s
autonomy nor to reduce its scope for action, but solely to bring the human being to understand that in these events (the ones
describe in the Book of Genesis) it is the God of Israel who acts. Thus, the world and the events of history cannot be
understood in depth without professing faith in the God who is at work in them” (FR, 16).
What the Pope is saying is that we can never fully understand the events that occurred in the history of man without first
professing faith that it is God the author of these events. Here, we have a concrete example of what we mean when we say
“faith seeking understanding”.
Aquinas: Faith and Reason move towards the Truth
Thomas Aquinas was the greatest theologian and philosopher in the Middle Ages who has shown perfectly well the
harmonious relationship between faith and reason. (For his life, see Catholic Encyclopedia, «
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14663b.htm»).
He distinguished first the ambit of reason from the ambit of faith by showing that there are truths that reason alone can attain
and that there are also other truths that only faith can achieve. For instance, in relation to our knowledge of God, Aquinas
wrote: “The truths that we confess concerning God fall under two modes. Some things true of God are beyond all the
competence of human reason, as that God is three and One. Other things there are to which even human reason can attain,
as the existence and unity of God, which philosophers have proved to a demonstration under the guidance of the light of
natural reason” (Aquinas, T. Summa contra Gentiles).
In distinguishing these two ambits – faith and reason – Aquinas acknowledges their independence, which is actually a
requisite to the better understanding of their relationship. The problem with previous thinkers, Augustine included, is that
faith and reason are hardly seen as independent from each other. Their proper autonomy is neglected. That is why, either
faith becomes corollary to reason or reason becomes secondary to faith. In Aquinas, reason is viewed as having rightful
autonomy. But this autonomy does not mean separation; it simply means distinction, which is necessary if we want to
understand better their harmonious relationship.
Now, there are truths known by natural reason alone that are also included in the revealed truths like the existence of God
and the immortality of the soul. Aquinas argued that it is an advantage for these truths known by natural reason to be also
revealed, that is, to be proposed to men to be believed by faith because if these naturally known truths were not revealed,
three disadvantages would follow. First, knowledge of these truths would be confined only to a few since not all can afford
the discovery of truths through studious enquiry (SCG,1q.4).
Second, it would take very long and hard for man to understand these truths because of its profundity, “and the many
prerequisites to the study, and also because in youth and early manhood, the soul, tossed to and fro on the waves of passion,
is not fit for the study of such high truth: only in settled age does the soul become prudent and scientific… Thus, if the only
way open to the knowledge of God were the way of reason, the human race would dwell long in thick darkness of ignorance:
as the knowledge of God, the best instrument for making men perfect and good, would accrue only to a few, and to those
few after a considerable lapse of time” (SCG,1q4).
Lastly, human reason is prone to error. Aquinas noted that “owing to the infirmity of our judgement and the perturbing force
of imagination, there is some admixture of error in most of the investigations of human reason” (SCG,1q4). Therefore,
naturally-known truths are better revealed so that we all can know them easily, quickly and free from error. We see here that
reason, though independent, is not opposed to faith.
Furthermore, we also acknowledge that reason is limited that there are noble truths reason alone cannot reach. In this case,
it needs revelation and faith in order to know these truths. And the urgency is felt especially when these truths are necessary
130
for man’s salvation. Even so, these revealed truths do not suppose any contradiction to reason. On the contrary, faith
elevates reason to a higher level.
Aquinas noted it well: “any knowledge, however imperfect, of the noblest objects confers a very high perfection on the soul.
And therefore, though human reason cannot fully grasp truths above reason, nevertheless it is much perfected by holding
such truths after some fashion at least by faith. And therefore it is said: ‘Many things beyond the understanding of man are
shown to Thee’ (Ecclus iii, 23). And, ‘The things that are of God, none knows but the Spirit of God: but to us God hath
revealed them through his Spirit’ (I Cor. ii, 10, 11)” (SCG,1q.5)..
After pointing out the abovementioned observations, Aquinas then proceeded with demonstrating that the truth of reason is
not contrary (or contradictory) to the truth of faith. “The natural dictates of reason must certainly be quite true: it is impossible
to think of their being otherwise. Nor a gain is it permissible to believe that the tenets of faith are false, being so evidently
confirmed by God. Since therefore falsehood alone is contrary to truth, it is impossible for the truth of faith to be contrary to
principles known by natural reason” (SCG,1q 7).
Thus, on the relation of human reason to faith, Aquinas explains:
In regard then to knowledge of the truth of faith, which can only be thoroughly known to those who behold the
substance of God, human reason stands so conditioned as to be able to argue some true likenesses to
it: which likenesses however are not sufficient for any sort of demonstrative or intuitive
comprehension of the aforesaid truth. Still it is useful for the human mind to exercise itself in such
reasoning, however feeble, provided there be no presumptuous hope of perfect comprehension or
demonstration. With this view the authority of Hilary agrees, who says (De Trinitate, ii, 10), speaking of such
truth : “In this belief start, run, persist; and though I know that you will not reach the goal, still I shall congratulate
you as I see you making progress. But intrude not into that sanctuary, and plunge not into the mystery of
infinite truth; entertain no presumptuous hope of comprehending the height of intelligence, but understand that
it is incomprehensible” (SCG,1q. 8).
The truth of reason bears some “likeness” to the truth of faith because both come from one source, God. Because reason is
limited, only faith can attain to a greater knowledge of what God is according to how He revealed it to us. However, limited,
reason must still exercise its powers because only then can it realize its “likeness” to the Divine Truth. Human reason is
God’s gift that makes man an “image and likeness of God”. It must be exercised even though in a limited way. But it must
avoid all presumption of knowing everything by the exercise of its powers alone.
Therefore, Aquinas sees reason and faith as two ways of knowing. Reason covers what we can know by experience and
logic alone. From reason, we can know that there is a God and that there is only one God; these truths about God are
accessible to anyone by experience and logic alone, apart from any special revelation from God. Faith covers what we can
know by God’s special revelation to us (which comes through the Bible and Christian Tradition). By faith, we can know that
God came into the world through Jesus Christ and that God is triune (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). These truths about God
cannot be known by reason alone.
Faith builds on reason. Since faith and reason are both ways of arriving at truth -- and since all truths are harmonious with
each other -- faith is consistent with reason. If we understand faith and reason correctly, there will be no conflict between
what faith tells us and what reason tells us.
One day, a three-storey house was burned. The fire started at the first floor. Unfortunately, one little child was left
in the 3rdfloor alone. He managed to escape but there was no way out. The smoke began to engulf the house.
He ran to the window but he could not see anything around. Suddenly, he heard the voice of his father from the
ground advising him: “my son, jump off the window and I will catch you.” Amidst the thick smoke, the child climbed
up the window and jumped off. In a while he found himself in the bosom of his father.
Questions:
1. Was the child reasonable in jumping off the window? Why?

131
2. Which do you think dominated the child’s decision to jump off the window: Reason or his Faith? Explain your
answer.
III. Evaluation
Direction: Shade (T) if the statement is correct and (F) if it is wrong
1. (T) (F) Martin Luther asserted that a person can live consistently with his faith without being reasonable.
2. (T) (F) Faith and reason consistently contradicts each other.
3. (T) (F) According to the protestants, a person who has faith need not perform good works.
4. (T) (F) Faith comes from God while reason comes from man.
5. (T) (F) The focus of faith is truth.
6. (T) (F) St. Augustine teaches that a person must first understand so that his faith is reasonable.
7. (T) (F) Faith leads the believer to understand what is true.
8. (T) (F) St. John Paul II authored the encyclical Fides et Ratio
9. (T) (F) According to St. Thomas Aquinas, faith is a rep-requisite for us to understand.
10. (T) (F) Both faith and reason are ways of arriving at truth.
IV. Encouragement Exercises:
View the movie “Silence” and answer the following questions:
1. What made the Christian converts in Japan opt for persecution?

2. What made Fr. Ferrer and Fr. Rodriguez opt to step upon the crucifix?
3. Which do you think is dominant in the Christian converts who opted to be persecuted: FAITH or REASON?
4. Which do you think is dominant in Fr. Ferrer and Fr. Rodriguez who opted to step upon the crucifix:
FAITH or REASON?
5. Do you agree with the option of the Christian converts? Why?
6. Do you agree with the option of Fr. Ferrer and Fr. Rodriguez? Why?
Lesson 3- Religion In the Public Square
I. Outcome: At the end of this lesson, students:

a) explain the different views of reason within the bounds of faith and reason;
b) explore how religion, as man’s fundamental expression of his relationship with God, can be endangered by various
errors like syncretism, magic, fundamentalism and secularism; and,
c) resolve to accept the content of faith and profess it hand in hand with good deeds.
132

A. Share Activity
Video Clip: A panel discussion on religion, theology, politics, rights and more at Yale Divinity School.
B. Heed Analysis
Guide Questions
a) What are the different perspectives on religion, politics and theology you seen/heard from speakers?
b) Which of these had struck you, challenged you to speak for your faith?
c) What are your realizations?
A. Religion in the Public Square

As we close this course, we shall observe that in our contemporary world, there are at least three attitudes towards
religion that people exhibit. First, rationalists would claim that religion should be private and be subordinated to the limits
of reason. Second, fundamentalists would argue that the opposite is true: reason should be dependent on religion.
However, we maintain a healthy and balanced relationship between the two: reason and religion share equal footing in
the public square.
C.1 A Rationalist View: Religion within the Bounds of Reason
Immanuel Kant (22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804), a German philosopher, is widely considered to be a central figure
of modern philosophy and proponent of this mentality. His famous work Religion within the Bounds of Bare Reason attests
to it. He argued that fundamental concepts structure human experience, and that reason is the source of morality. He
maintained that our experience of reality is determined by some categories in our mind. We know what a dog is simply
because we have mental categories, like time and space, which allow us to determine our experience of a dog.
Kant said that reason is the only source of morality. It means that what is good and what is evil depend only on our
reasoning. What cannot be reasoned out, that is, what is illogical, cannot be the source of what is good or evil.
Consequently, even religion and religious beliefs must be submitted to reasoning to determine whether it is true or good
for man. Once any religious belief is found illogical, it cannot be true, according to this concept. Thus, religion must be
measured within the bounds of reason.
To respond to this attitude, we must say that there is no compelling argument why religion must be held within the bounds
reason. Kant’s argument is based on a bias that only reason is capable of knowing the truth. But there are realities in the
world that escape our reasoning capacities, yet they are true. We call them mysteries. Mysteries may not be fully
understood by human reasoning, but they don’t cease to be true. Hence, to say that only reason is the measure of what
is true or good is highly biased.
Mysteries like the reality of God and His revelation to man can only be approached and understood through faith. For this
reason, faith goes beyond the bounds of reason. In fact, as we have seen in the previous lesson, faith and reason are
two ways of arriving at the truth. Therefore, there is not enough argument that compels us to accept Kant’s notion of
religion within the bounds of reason.
C.2 A Fundamentalist View: Reason within the Bounds of Religion
Reacting especially to Kant’s notion of religion within the bounds of reason, some thinkers demonstrate not only that
religion has no business of being under the grips of reason, but also that reason must be held within the bounds of
religion.
As Bantiles, R. (2013) followed life and works of Wolsterstorff, cited “Reason within the Bounds of Religion told us that
Nicholas Wolterstorff (born January 21, 1932), an American philosopher and a Calvinist pastor, who is currently the
Noah Porter Emeritus Professor of Philosophical Theology at Yale University, argued that actually it is our beliefs that
control our reasoning abilities, not the other way around. It is not our reasoning that controls our believing. It is our
believing that measures our acts of reasoning.
133
Wolterstorff (1999) demonstrates this by citing some historical examples of control beliefs, that is, beliefs that control our
way of reasoning. Because it was widely believed before that the earth was the center of the universe, all academic
endeavors were geared and guided by this common belief until Ptolemy and Copernicus, and later Galileo Galilee
changed this belief and proved that the sun, not the earth, is the center of the universe. In our daily experience, we can
point out examples of how our beliefs control our way of looking at things.
Bantiles(2013) explained further, now, since our beliefs control our reasoning, our Christian faith must take charge in our
way of learning, says Wolterstorff. The content of our faith must function either positively or negatively. “It functions
negatively when it prompts the Christian student to reject theories or thoughts that are in conflict or do not comport well
with these beliefs. It functions positively when it prompts the Christian student to devise mentalities that are consistent
with the belief-content of his or her faith”.
However, it must be said that even Wolterstorff’s defense of religion against Kant’s and the modernist attempt to relegate
it to the bounds of reason (thus, as a consequence, relegating religion to the private sphere) does not justify the opposite
move of relegating reason within the bounds of religion. It may be true that our beliefs act as control to our acts of
reasoning. But this does not mean that reasoning is limited only to our believing. Like Kant’s view, Wolterstorff’s notion
still falls into a biased position, this time against reason. Thus, in the same way that we distance ourselves from Kant’s
biased position against religion, we try to distance also ourselves from Wolterstorff’s biased position against reason.
C.3 A Catholic View: Reason and Religion in the Public Square
A balanced view is held by Catholic thinkers on the relationship of religion and science. Like St. John Paul II, we hold
that faith and reason are related harmoniously as “two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth”
(FR, Introduction). Like Aquinas, we maintain that they are two ways of knowing the truth of God, the world and man.
Since they come from the one source – God, they cannot be in conflict. They may hold contrary positions regarding one
reality but this contrariety must be seen only as peripheral or apparent, like two sides of a single coin. In reality, faith and
reason, religion and science are two complementary ways of looking at one reality.
We must also affirm, like Pope Benedict XVI, that religion cannot and should not be relegated only into the private
sphere. He observes that this tendency comes from a positivist view of reality, according to which only those that can be
experimented is true. Once we apply this view to reason and religion the consequences are fatal. What is reasonable is
only what is scientific. Since religion cannot be experimented by science, it is not reasonable, hence, it must be relegated
to the private sphere: it cannot be held in the public square.
In his address to the German lawmakers (Bundestag) in Berlin on September 22, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI said:
“A positivist conception of nature as purely functional, as the natural sciences consider it to be, is incapable
of producing any bridge to ethics and law, but once again yields only functional answers. The same also
applies to reason, according to the positivist understanding that is widely held to be the only genuinely scientific
one. Anything that is not verifiable or falsifiable, according to this understanding, does not belong to
the realm of reason strictly understood. Hence ethics and religion must be assigned to the subjective
field, and they remain extraneous to the realm of reason in the strict sense of the word. Where positivist
reason dominates the field to the exclusion of all else – and that is broadly the case in our public mindset –
then the classical sources of knowledge for ethics and law are excluded. This is a dramatic situation which
affects everyone, and on which a public debate is necessary (Listening Heart).
The pope made an appeal to counter this mentality of downgrading religion by making it only a part of personal, private
affair of individual persons. This attitude slowly creeps in into our Philippine society today. During the height of the RH
bill debate, one pro-RH senator even argued that anti-RH people should not make use of their religious beliefs in arguing
against the proposed law because these religious beliefs and doctrines have nothing to do with debates on public policies.
When one thinks that his religious convictions have nothing to do with his public life, faith now disintegrates. More
precisely, it is the believing person who disintegrates into various compartments. When a person cannot live anymore
unity of life, when what he or she believes is entirely different from what he or she does, he or she becomes inconsistent.
Sooner or later, he or she disintegrates in life. Life becomes meaningless. And the danger is this: when you don’t behave
according to how you believe, you will end up believing according to how you behave.
Hence, Pope Benedict XVI strongly promotes going back to the basis of why religion must be in the public square. He
said that religion cannot be relegated to the private sphere because man is by nature religious. Religious freedom is
134
man’s basic right. It belongs to his essence. To violate man’s religious freedom is to violate humanity itself. Thus, the
Catholic Church, in promoting religious freedom, is actually promoting the rights of the whole humanity.
In his address to the bishops of the United States, Pope Benedict XVI said:
“With her long tradition of respect for the right relationship between faith and reason, the Church has a critical role
to play in countering cultural currents which, on the basis of an extreme individualism, seek to promote notions of
freedom detached from moral truth… The Church’s defense of a moral reasoning based on the natural law is
grounded on her conviction that this law is not a threat to our freedom, but rather a “language” which enables us to
understand ourselves and the truth of our being, and so to shape a more just and humane world. She thus proposes
her moral teaching as a message not of constraint but of liberation, and as the basis for building a secure future.”
Bantiles, R. (2013) emphasized the words of Pope Benedict to the US Bishops, the Church’s witness, then, is of its nature
public: she seeks to convince by proposing rational arguments in the public square. The legitimate separation of
Church and State cannot be taken to mean that the Church must be silent on certain issues, nor that the State may
choose not to engage, or be engaged by, the voices of committed believers in determining the values which will shape
the future of the nation.
However, it must be emphasized that when the Catholic Church pronounces publicly her voice regarding some issues,
she does it as a moral teacher and as the conscience of society and the world. It means that the Church can only intervene
in matters of faith and morals. This is because she respects the right autonomy of temporal affairs as she ensures that
the voice of God, His teachings and doctrines for the integral salvation of man is never silenced.
B. Conclusion
To conclude, we have understood how religion, as man’s fundamental expression of his relationship with God, can be
endangered by various errors like syncretism, magic, fundamentalism and secularism. However, the greatest danger that
religion faces today is the subtle but very real move to relegate it to the private sphere and to ignore its voice in the public
arena. We have seen the roots and causes of this contemporary ill in the not-so-healthy understanding of the relationship
between faith and reason. Only when we understand perfectly well, thanks to the precision of Aquinas’ thought, the
harmonious relationship of what Pope John Paul II calls “the two wings on which man rises to the contemplation of the
truth” – faith and reason – will we be able to see how religion must also play a role in public square.
C. Believe Integration
Questions for Reflections and Study:

Set A.
1. Why religion cannot be held within the bounds of reason?
2. What is wrong with the idea that reason must be held within the bounds of religion?
3. How will you defend the role of religion in the public square?
Set B.
1. Is it possible for scientific studies to contaminate the articles of Christian faith? How? Does it mean reason is already
contaminating faith? Why or why not?
2. How do you distinguish Aquinas’ explanation from Augustine’s on the relationship between faith and reason?
Enrichment Exercises:
Set A.
135
A. Individual Activity: Cite some examples that show the truth of this saying: “When you don’t behave according to how
you believe, you will end up believing according to how you behave”.
B. Group Activities: Form two groups. Conduct a debate on Whether Religion should be heard in deliberations on public
policies.
C. Watch a debate episode on TV or Youtube. Observe how the speakers or debaters present their arguments. Can you
point out some religious convictions or beliefs that are used as arguments? Cite them.
Set B
A. Individual Activity: Make a list of what you know about God. Identify that knowledge which you think can be attained
by reason alone from those which you think are attainable only by faith.
B. Group Activities: Form two groups. Make a research about contemporary authors of religion who think that faith is
opposed to reason and about those who think otherwise. Present this research to the class.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
a. Bible: Christian Community Bible or The New American Bible or New Revised Standard Version
b. Church Documents:
Abbot, Walter, M. S.J. Ed. (1966). The Documents of the Second Vatican Council. New York: America Press
CBCP (1988) Pastoral Letter on Ecology: “What happen to our Beautiful Land?, Tagaytay City.
CBCP (1994). Catechism for the Filipino Catholics (CFC). Word and Life Publication, Manila.
CBCP-ECCCE Co-Publisher (1994) Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) .
Pope Francis 1 (2013) Evangelii Gaudium
Pope John Paul II (1998) Encyclical Letter “Fides et Ratio” on the Relationship between Faith and Reason (FR), no. 1
c. Books
136
Bantilles, Russell (2013) God, Faith and Reason in the Philosophy of Nicholas Wolterstorff: A Doctoral Dissertation,
University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain, (An excerpt is published in CuadernosDoctorales de la
FacultadEclesiastica de Filosofia, vol. 23
Conway, D. (2008). What do I Own And What Owns Me? A Spirituality of Stewardship, Claretian Publication, Quezon City.
Marx, Karl (1976) Introduction to A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right: Collected Works, v. 3.
New York, Introduction.
Pabillo Broderick (1994) The Bible 100% Human, 100% Divine. Salesiana Publishers. Makati.
PAUSANIAS, Description of Greece, Paus. 10.24.
POPE BENEDICT XVI, General Audience, November 14, 2012.
Tinoy, J., Briones, D., Braga, N. (2008) God and His Work of Salvation: A Module for ReEd 1/101/1M. Holy Cross of Davao College,
Davao City.
THOMAS AQUINAS,Summa contra gentiles, I, q. 3.(From here on, SCG).
Williams, Thomas (2001), “Introduction to Anselm’s Proslogion”, in Proslogion, with replies of Gaunilo and Anselm,
Thomas Williams (trans.), Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., Indianapolis, p. vii.
Wolstestorff, Nicholas (1999) Reason Within the Bounds of Religion, 2nd ed., William B. Eerdmans Publishing
Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1999, pp. 15-20.
_________________, (2010) “Reformed Epistemology”, in Practices of Belief: Selected Essays, vol. 2, T. CUNEO
(ed.), Cambridge University Press, New York, p. 336.
d. Electronic References
POPE BENEDICT XVI, “Address to the Bishops of the United States during their Ad liminaVisit, Rome, January 19,
2012, http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2012/january/documents/hf_ben-
xvi_spe_20120119_bishops-usa_en.html». (Emphasis is mine).
POPE BENEDICT XVI, “The Listening Heart: Reflections on the Foundations of Law”, Address to the Bundestag,
Berlin, September 22, 2011
«http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2011/september/documents/hf_ben-
xvi_spe_20110922_reichstag-berlin_en.html». (Emphasis is mine).
Kenneth R., “Augustine of Hippo (Part 2 of 2): Rightly Dividing the Truth”, in Reasons to Believe, April 1, 2001,
«http://www.reasons.org/articles/augustine-of-hippo-part-2-of-2-rightly-dividing-the-truth».
SWINDAL, JAMES, “Faith and Reason”, in Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, « http://www.iep.utm.edu/faith-

re/#SH3c»

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MODULE 1: UNIT 1 – THE HCDC VISION-MISSION STATEMENT AND SPIRITUALITY

LESSON 1: THE HCDC VISION-MISSION GOAL STATEMENT

B. Heed (Individual Ponderings/Group Sharing)

Vision-Mission Statement in General: Meaning

a) A Mission Statement should be no less than a single sentence long.

C. Understand Content Discussion

THE HCDC VISION-MISSION STATEMENT (Short Version)

1. The two Pillars of the HCDC Vision-Mission Statement

2. HCDC’s Vision: A Community of Christ-Centered Evangelizers

HCDC’s great commitment centered mainly on two aspects:

a. To promote quality Catholic Education to all, especially the less fortunate

b. To create a Christian Environment

4. HCDC’s Core Values

5. Institutional Intended Learning Outcomes

Hence, HCDC graduate is:

THE RELIGIOUS EDUCATION PROGRAM IN THE HCDC-VMG

2. The Catholic Schools and Religious Education

b. Learn to Sing the HCDC Hymn:

c. Memorize of the HCDC VM Statement

III- Comprehensive Evaluation

Test IV: Enumeration: List down what is asked below.

26. The two pillars of HCDC VM Statement

IV- Enrichment Exercises

MODULE 1: UNIT 1 – THE HCDC VISION-MISSION STATEMENT AND SPIRITUALITY

LESSON 2: THE HCDC SPIRITUALITY

At the end of this lesson, students:

1. discuss the Spirituality of the Cross as practiced in Stewardship

C. Understand Content Discussion

1. The Spirituality of a Holy Crossian

2. The Spirituality of the Cross

The sign of the Cross:

3. The Spirituality of the Cross is concretized in Stewardship

a. Human Person: Co-creator, Steward of God’s Creation

b. Jesus Christ: The True Steward

c. Stewardship as a Spiritual Practice (Gen. 1:28)

GOD IS THE OWNER OF ALL GOOD THINGS

D. Believe Steward in Action

1. Plan of Action for Stewardship

Column 1: Column 2: Column 3: Column 4:

III- Comprehensive Evaluation

______ 16. Segregation

Enrichment Exercises: Poem Writing for the Mother Earth

MODULE 1: UNIT 2 – THE SOURCES OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH

LESSON 1: THE SACRED SCRIPTURE: Source of Our Faith

At the end of this lesson, the students shall:

B. Heed Bible experience

C. Understand Content Discussion

I. What is the Bible?

a. The Word “Bible”

b. The Bible in the Christian world

c. The Bible as defined:

II. The Bible as Organized into a Book

1. The Books in the Bible:

III. Stages of Formation of the Bible

1. THE OLD TESTAMENT STAGES OF FORMATION

ORDINARY AND COMMON REFLECTED IN FAITH WRITTEN DOWN

2. THE NEW TESTAMENT STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT

B. Stage 2: The Oral Preaching of the Early Christians

IV. BIBLE AS INSPIRED WORD OF GOD

V. THE BIBLE AS GOD’S REVELATION

VI. THE CATHOLIC CANON OF THE BIBLE

D. Believe Integration to Life

The Bible in the Life of the Holy Crossians