THEOLOGY

LESSON 4
THE ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS CHRIST IS A CALL TO DISCIPLESHIP

INTERSUBJECTIVITY, OR OTHER-AWARENESS
• We want to know what it takes to experience the “other”
as “the other”
• How the experience of “the other” may be needed for
the development of self-awareness.
• The idea of intersubjectivity presupposes human
subjectivity.
• Intersubjectivity refers to the condition of man as a
subject alongside other men.
• It pertains to human relations.
MARTIN BUBER’S PHILOSOPHICAL
ANTHROPOLOGY
• Begins from lived experience.
• The “I” cannot exist in isolation, and always exists
alongside other “I’s.”
• The self always finds its fullness in the existence of
other selves.
• We must withstand the temptation to reduce other
people to a means for us to use.
“I do not grasp the other in order to dominate; I respond, instead,
to the face’s epiphany.” – Levinas
Following Christ is the essential and primordial foundation of
Christian morality. Jesus’ ways and words, his deeds and his
precepts constitute the moral rule of Christian life…VS 20
• We turn to Jesus Christ;
• We listen to His words
• We follow His actions
WHAT DOES DISCIPLESHIP ENTAIL?
• If you want to be perfect, go sell your possessions,
come follow me. Matthew 19:21
• “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself
and take up his cross and follow me. Matthew 16:24
BEATITUDES
is a set of precepts that utterly demonstrate the moral standards
of our Lord and at the same time resonate His call to follow Him
as His disciples.

I-THOU VS. I-IT RELATIONSHIP CHRIST CRUCIFIED

I-IT (ICH-ES) RELATIONSHIP According to St. Thomas Aquinas, Christ Crucified is The
• “Monological” relationship Perfect Exemplification of the Beatitudes
• Considers the other as a mere instrument to achieve a • A picture of a happy man.
need
• Reduces the other to an object that is measurable and TO BE HAPPY:
manipulatable. • Despise what Jesus despised on the cross
• 4 things that make us happy:
I-THOU RELATIONSHIP ▪ Wealth
• “Dialogical” relationship ▪ Pleasure
• The “Thou” is not reducible to certain characteristics ▪ Power
• Views the other as a genuine person capable of feeling ▪ Honor
the same way as the self
LOVE WHAT JESUS LOVED ON THE CROSS
“Everyone must come out of his Exile in his own way.” ― Martin Doing the will of the Father
Buber • The Single-hearted One,
“All real living is meeting.” ― Martin Buber • Hungers for righteousness,
“The world is not comprehensible, but it is embraceable: through • Ultimate peacemaker, and
the embracing of one of its beings.” ― Martin Buber • Ultimate bearer of God’s mercy.

EMMANUEL LEVINAS’ “THE FACE OF THE OTHER” WHO IS A DISCIPLE?

OTHER
• Sometimes capitalized, sometimes not) usually
translates the French word autrui, which means “the
other person,” “someone else” (i.e., other than
oneself).
• Levinas more often uses the singular “other” to
emphasize that we encounter others one at a time,
face to face.
• By “face” Levinas means the human face (or in French,
visage), but not thought of or experienced as a physical
or aesthetic object. Rather, the first, usual, unreflective
encounter with the face is as the living presence of
another person and, therefore, as something
experienced socially and ethically.
A disciple is a lover of Truth: Jesus the Way, the Truth and the
Life
WHAT MAKES ONE A DISCIPLE?
A disciple imitates Jesus who gives primacy to the will of the
Father.
WHAT IS EXPECTED OF A DISCIPLE
A disciple lives in loving service of others.
Becoming like Christ is: To live in communion with one another,
just like what He did.
This is how they will know that you are my disciples: “If you have
love for one another” (John 13:34-35)

1
 TRANS:

THE CHURCH: WILLED BY GOD TO MAKE

POSSIBLE THE ENCOUNTER WITH CHRIST
• The Church was instituted by Christ to perpetuate His
presence on earth.
• She signifies in a Visible, Historical and Tangible form
the presence and redeeming activity of Christ offered
to all persons of every age, race, and condition.

SACRAMENTS ARE ENCOUNTERS WITH GOD

THROUGH JESUS CHRIST IN THE CHURCH
THROUGH THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
1. The Father
• Primordial Sacrament
• Fundamental Sacrament
• 7 Sacraments:
▪ Baptism- birth
▪ Confirmation- Maturity
▪ Eucharist- Growth
▪ Marriage- Relationship
▪ Holy Orders- Service for Others
▪ Reconciliation- Commit Mistakes
▪ Anointing of the Sick- Sick and Death
2. The Son
3. The Holy Spirit

The Church wishes to serve this single end: That each person
may be able to find Christ, in order that Christ may walk with
each person the path of life (RH 13).

The Church was instituted as the sacrament of salvation of all,

not only of the explicit members but also those who share in the
“theandric communion without explicit awareness of Christic
foundation,”

THEREFORE, JESUS ENTRUSTED TO THE CHURCH

THE MISSION:
• To make present in every time, in every situation the
encounter between the spirit and the flesh, God and
mankind.
• To promote and preserve, within the unity of the
Church, the faith and the moral life.

THE EUCHARIST HELPS US IN BECOMING TRUE

CHRISTIAN DISCIPLES
In the Eucharist, when we receive the body and blood of Jesus
in Holy Communion, we are: Invited to discover who Jesus is:
Jesus is the one who loves fully.

IN COMMUNION, WE BECOME LIKE JESUS WHO IS:

• Friend of the poor,
• Comforter of those who suffer,
• One who proclaims the good news, and
• One who obeys the Father’s will.

Assisted by the Holy Spirit who leads her into all the truth, the
Church has not ceased, nor can she ever cease, to contemplate
the "mystery of the Word Incarnate", in whom "light is shed on
the mystery of man.” (GS 22)