Catholic Essentials

Chapter 6
Our Life in
Christ
Christian discipleship = a radical choice
The Son of Man did not come
to be served but to serve.
 Ora Beatam Vitam
“Ask for the happy life”

 The Beatitudes, preached by Jesus in the Sermon on

the Mount, respond to our natural desire for
happiness.

 The Beatitudes make us like God and able to share

eternal life.
 The Beatitudes – Blessed are…
 The poor in spirit  The merciful
 Those who mourn  The clean of heart
 The meek  The peacemakers
 Those who hunger  Those who are
and thirst for
righteousness persecuted for the
sake of
righteousness
 Morality
Living a moral life means being responsible for…

What you say and do Your action and inaction Motives for your behavior

 Living a moral life means being free.

 You can initiate and control your own actions.
 The more you choose good, the freer you become.
 Sin
 Sin is an offense against God and others.
 We sin when we freely choose against
reason, truth, and right conscience.
 Sin turns our hearts away from God’s love
for us.
 There are different kinds of personal sin.
 Mortal Sin
 The most serious kind of personal sin.
 Destroys our relationship with God and
kills our ability to love.
 Three conditions for mortal sin
 Grave or serious matter
 Full knowledge
 Complete consent
Mortal sins should be confessed in the
Sacrament of Penance
 Venial Sin Social Sin
 Less serious sin.  We have a responsibility
 When repeated and for sins committed by
others when we
unrepented, can lead us to cooperate with them or
commit mortal sins. praise them for them.

Capital Sins
 Vices or bad habits that  Sinful behavior
are related to the seven multiplies and can affect
capital sins. social situations and
institutions
 Pride, Greed, Envy, Anger,
Lust, Gluttony, and Sloth
Law is an ordinance of reason for
the common good, promulgated
by the one who is in charge of the
community
 Good laws guide human freedom.
 Morality is not subjective.
 The moral law is the work of God and
emanates from the Divine Law, the
source of all law.
 Natural Law

 What human reason can discover about human

nature and its moral duties independent of
God’s Revelation.
 Corresponds to basic human drives
 Preserving life
 Developing as individuals and communities
 Sharing life with others

Natural Law is the foundation of civil laws

and moral rules.
 Natural Law
 Present in the heart of each person and
established by reason.
 Cannot always be correctly discerned.
 Revealed by God himself through history,
giving us the moral law of the Old and New
Testaments.
 Major precepts are found in the Ten
Commandments.
The Ten Commandments
 I am the Lord your God,
you shall not have
strange gods before me.
 You shall not take the
name of the Lord, your
God, in vain.
 Remember to keep holy
the Lord’s Day.
 The Ten Commandments
 Honor your father and your
mother.
You shall not…
 kill.

 commit adultery.

 Steal.

 bear false witness against

your neighbor.
 covet your neighbor’s wife.

 covet your neighbor’s

goods.
 The New Law of the Gospel

 Represented in the Sermon on the

Mount especially in the
Beatitudes.
 A law of love.
 The fulfillment of the Old Law.
 “Do unto others as you would
have them do to you.” (Mt 7:12).
 “Love one another as I love you.”
(Jn 15:12)
 The Precepts of the Church

You shall:
 Attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of

Obligation.
 Confess your sins at least once a year.

 Receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist at

least during the Easter season.

 Observe the days of fasting and abstinence

established by the Church.

 Help to provide for the needs of the

Church.
 Grace is God’s favor to us; a
participation in the life of God
 Sanctifying grace is the habitual, permanent grace
received in Baptism that enables us to live with God.
 Actual grace is God’s help as we work to become
more holy.
 Sacramental graces are received when we
participate in the sacraments
 Special graces (charisms) are graces given to
individuals for the good of the entire Church
 Graces of state are given to those who have
responsibilities for life and ministries in the Church
 A Conscience

 Is the “most secret core and sanctuary” that

helps us distinguish between good and evil.
 Allows us to do good and avoid evil.
 Helps us to listen and hear God speaking to
us.
 Must be continually formed and informed.
 Must always be followed.
 Virtues – habitual and firm
dispositions to do the good
 Cardinal Moral Virtues  Theological Virtues
 Prudence – right reason in  Faith – belief in God.
action.
 Justice – always giving God
 Hope – trust in God.
and neighbor their due.  Charity – love for God.
 Fortitude – courage to
conquer fear for a just
cause.
 The Gifts of the Holy
Spirit complete and
 Temperance – balances the
way we use created goods. perfect the virtues of
those who receive them.
 Making Choices
 The morality of human acts depends upon:
 The moral object – the “what” of morality; what
we do for good or evil
 The intention – The “why” of morality; the end
does not justify the means.
 The circumstances – The “who, where, when,
and how” of morality; may increase or decrease
the moral goodness or evil of a particular action
 Helps to Moral Living

Prayer
Participating in
the sacraments