Professional Documents
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Ultimate Happiness of The Human Person
Ultimate Happiness of The Human Person
human person
Jeric B. Batas
Prayer before study, St. Thomas
• Life on earth is not an "ultimate" but a
"penultimate" reality.
• It remains a sacred reality
entrusted to us, to be preserved with a
sense of responsibility and
brought to perfection in love and
in the gift of ourselves to God
and to our brothers and sisters
(E.V. no. 2).
St. Thomas’ idea on Happiness
•Happiness is that
perfect good which entirely
satisfies one’s desire;
otherwise it would not be the
ultimate end, if something yet
remained to be desired.
St. Thomas’ idea on Happiness
• Is human happiness can be obtained in this life?
• Perfect happiness (beatitudo) is not possible in this
lifetime, but only in the afterlife for those who achieve a
direct perception of God.
• There can be an imperfect happiness (felicitas)
attainable in this lifetime, in proportion to the exercise of
Reason (contemplation of truth) and the exercise of virtue.
St. Thomas’ idea on Happiness
INTELLECT TRUTH
WILL GOOD
St. Thomas’ idea on Happiness
• Man’s Reason confirms to us what we already
know deep down in our hearts: that our ultimate
desire lies in absolute perfection/truth, which
can only be found in God, the absolute Being.
• Man’s true & perfect happiness can only be found in
the knowledge of God—the absolute truth
St. Thomas’ idea on Happiness
• Man’s will, (i.e., of man’s desire), is
universally good.
• It is evident that nothing can satisfy man’s will, except what is
universally good.
• This is to be found, not in any creature, but in God alone,
because every creature has only participated goodness.
• Therefore, God alone can satisfy the will of man-the
absolute good.
St. Thomas’ idea on Happiness
• True knowledge of God would require being able to see
him directly, but this is only possible by a completely
purified soul.
• When this occurs, we will experience the ultimate
pleasure—a pure and everlasting bliss that will be the
satisfaction of every human desire and the obliteration of
every sadness or worry.
St. Thomas’ idea on Happiness
•“No other worldly good or
pleasure can truly provide us
with the ultimate good we
seek.”
Scripture challenge:
“Who alone satisfies your
desire with good things.”
Psalms 102:5
Be HAPPY and
be a BLESSING of HAPPINESS
to EVERYONE.
What
guides/directs
you to be
HAPPY?
LAW/RULES/DUTIES
•Is there a place in this
world that there is no rules,
laws, instructions, batas?
LAW/RULES/DUTIES
•Why is it easy for us to
disregard/disobey rules,
laws, instructions, batas?
Class Debate: Rules of Engagement
• A group of 2 (Affirmative and Negative)
• Each team has one constructive speech, and a rebuttal speech.
Then alternate question and answer follow.
• He/She who asserts must prove. Both teams are required to
support their claims. The team must support it with enough
evidence and logic to convince an intelligent but previously
uninformed person that it is more reasonable to believe the
assertion than to disbelieve it. Facts must be accurate.
• You have 15 minutes to do on-line research on the topic.
• English or Filipino languages are allowed. Only 1 can speak at a
time.
Class Debate
• Are commandments, laws, rules, batas
or instructions created for our
protection, safety and happiness?
First written command of God
•Thou shall not eat the fruit
of the tree in the middle of
the garden.
Discipleship & Law
• The point of following Jesus or doing
morality is not simply to follow a lists of
rules.
• Rather, it is about the pursuit of
happiness-eternal life.
Jesus and the rich young man
• Jesus said to the rich
young man, “If you
would like to enter
eternal life, keep the
commandments”
(Mt. 19:17).
Commandments: The Law of Moses
• The Ten Commandments is written in the first of five
Books of the Law of Moses, also known as the Torah,
the Law, or Pentateuch.
• The Ten Commandments of God are called the
Decalogue which means “ten words” and are
recorded in both the Books of Exodus 20:1-17 and
Deuteronomy 5:6-21.
Commandments: The Law of Moses
• God gave Moses the Ten Commandments on two
tablets of stone on Mount Sinai to confirm the
moral precepts of the Sinai Covenant between
God and his people the Israelites.
• These “words” summarize the law given by God to
Moses as the blueprint for living a good life free
from slavery to sin and lead us to eternal life and
happiness.
Commandments: The Law of Moses
• Traditional catechesis divides the
commandments accordingly:
• those that pertain to the love of God (1–3),
• those pertain to love of neighbor (4–10).
Law is:
• an ordinance of reason directed towards
the common good and promulgated by
the one who has the care of the
community or in authority.
Elements of Law
• Ordinance/mandate – because it contains a
decisive command to perform or to avoid the
performance of something.
• Reasonable – a law should not be dictated by a
despotic desire or momentary whim of an
authority. It must not be capricious, arbitrary,
discriminatory and whimsical.
Elements of Law
• For the common good – means that that law
should benefit all citizens and not the exclusive
benefit of some favored groups.
• it is the sum total of benefits derived by individuals
from the government and from the nation as a
whole.
• it is the universal happiness all men seek (St.
Thomas).
Elements of Law
• Promulgated – means the law must be
officially published for the purpose of
informing the people. (published in official gazzette or
newspaper of general circulation)
• Enacted by a competent authority – a person
who is elected or appointed to make laws.
(Congress)
Beatitudes: Call to perfection (Mt. 5:1-12)