Christian Living

Lesson 1: Nature of the Kingdom of God

 Jesus’ dream for us is to enter God’s Kingdom
 It is our task to make His Kingdom present here on Earth
 Kingdom of God – state of condition, within our hearts
 Eschatological – something already present but not yet fully

Characteristics of the Kingdom of God

 We need repentance for us to enter God’s Kingdom

 We are called to live as effective witness of Christian discipleship
 Love in service as the life characteristic
 New law in the Spirit as its norm; if the law is against God’s will we must go beyond it
 Beatitudes as its charter

Blessed Maria Helena Stollenwerk, SSpS

 Born on November 28, 1852 in Rollesbroich, Germany
 First child of farmers, Peter Stollenwerk and Maria Bongards
 Her father died when she was seven
 At a young age she felt a calling to go to China
 At 19, she talked to her spiritual director, Fr. Juelich, about her desire to enter a convent but
was not possible because Germany was in a state of Kulturkampf: a war between the
government and Church.
 At 28, she met St. Arnold Janssen through a magazine and found the address of St. Arnold
 St. Arnold Janssen – founded the Society of the Divine Word in 1875
 March 18-19, 1882 – Helena was invited for a personal interview by Fr. Arnold Janssen
 At 30, Helena began to work in Steyl with Fr. Arnold as a kitchen maid
 Helena was elected as the superior for the women
 December 8, 1889 – Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit Congregation was founded
 January 17, 1892 – she was the first one to receive the blue habit and her religious name, Maria
 She was appointed as the novice directress for the older novices
 “To God the honor, to my neighbour the benefit, to myself the burden”
 December 8, 1896 – Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration
(SSpSAP) was founded
 Sr. Maria was asked by Fr. Arnold to transfer to the cloistered division
 December 8, 1898 – Sr. Maria received the pink habit and the name, Sr. Maria Virgo
 January 1900 – died at the age of 48 because of tubercular meningitis
Lesson 3: The Contemporary Signs of the Kingdom of God
The Family: The Vital Cell of Society

 Should have a good and strong foundation for the society to also have it
 First school – we learn basic knowledge
 First church – teaches us about God and how to pray
 First government – teaches us rules and values: leadership and responsibility
 Great agent for the church
 Should try to patch things up the misunderstandings before we sleep
 May I – respect
 Thank you – gratitude
 I’m sorry – humility

Friendships: God’s Gift to Us

 Relational human beings

 We can rely on someone
 We are social beings created by God
 As relational beings, it’s natural that we meet people and socialize with them
 No man is an island; we grow into our full selves when we socialize
 Being by others, being with others, being for others

The Church: Our Christian Community

 Pentecost
 Community of men and women united in Christ
 Our home where we encounter God through prayers and sacraments
 Christ is the head and we are the body

Three Essential Dimensions of Faith

 Orthodoxy – correct understanding of Christian faith

 Orthopraxis – correct practice or living out if faith

Christian Faith:

 Doctrine – refers to our knowing, understanding and believing the truths of our faith
 Morals – concrete living out of faith in loving service to all
 Worship – entrusting to God all our aspirations, disappointment, joys and pains in life

Defective Faith:

 Dogmatism – end result if faith is only reduced to doctrine. believes in God but doesn’t care
about Him.
 Activism – strives to live out the Gospel values with a weak reason of doing so and her/his own
efforts alone without imploring God’s help. Ex. Mga gumagawa ng assignment o nagrereview
habang nagrorosary a.k.a. me huhu
  Ritualism – person focuses extremely on prayers alone without effecting Christian moral
activities in daily life rooted in the teachings of the Gospel. yung mga dasal ng dasal pero sipsip
daw sa pari grr

 Pious Dogmatism – people who literally believes in the truths of faith and worship, but do not
follow Jesus in loving service to God and one another
 Ideological Activism – accepting the doctrine of faith and living out in daily life situations, yet
neglecting the essential role of grace found in prayers and the sacraments
 Idealistic Activism – people have persistent effort in doing good works while seriously engaging
in prayers and celebration of sacraments, but there’s no solid doctrinal foundation whichc is the
basis of authentic Christian Social Action.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta, India

 Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu

 Born in Skopje, Macedonia on August 26, 1910
 Her family was of Albanian descent
 At 12, she felt the calling of God
 At 18, she joined the Sisters of Loreto
 May 24, 1931 – she took her initial vows as a nun
 1931 to 1948 – she taught at St. Mary’s High School in Calcutta
 1948 – she received permission to leave the convent school and devote herself to
working among the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta
 She depended on Divine Providence and started an open-air school for slum children
 October 7, 1950 – she received permission from the Holy See to start her own order,
“The Missionaries of Charity” – primary task is to love and care for those nobody to look
after them.
 1965 – the society became an International Religious Family
 1963 – contemplative branch of the sisters and active branch of the brothers were
founded.
 1979 – contemplative branch of the brothers were added
 1984 – priest branch was established
 Her awards: Pope John 23rd Peace Prize, Nehru Prize, Balzan Prize, Templeton and
Magsaysay awards
 Died on September 5, 1997
Lesson 3
As a Christian we are called to:
1. Equip our minds with sufficient knowledge and understanding of faith
2. Constant awareness

 Concupiscence – disorder of desires which while not sink in the future

 God’s wish for us is to be saved
 God blessed us with:
1. Our world as home
2. Intellect and free will
3. People to guide, correct and inspire
4. Laws to direct our way of loving
Opposition to Eternal Law:
Sin

 Abuse of intellect and free will

 Refusal to follow our own conscience’s call to righteousness
 Offense against God by injuring others
 Offense against reason, truth and right conscience
 Rejecting God
 It is not private because it affects other people also
 Destroys human relationship
 We commit sin when we ignore the presence of God
 We commit sin when we look down on a person
 Alienates us from God and the Church
 We need the grace of God, God’s loving presence and the gift of the spirit within us
 Grace – experience of being aware of God and His will in the things that we do everyday
Original Sin

 Fall of our first parents, Adam and Eve

 Involves no personal guilt
 Personal/actual
 Wilful act
 State of deprivation of original holiness and justice
 Contracted not committed
 State not an act
Personal/actual
  Wilful act contrary to the will of God whether by doing evil (commission) or by referring
from doing good (omission)
 Sin of commission – things we did and shouldn’t have
2 types:
Mortal Sin

 Grave matter
 Committed with full knowledge and consent
 Destroys charity
 Causes spiritual death of the soul (separation from God)
Venial Sin

 Easily pardoned than mortal sin

 Offense in a less serious manner which does will the soul
Social Sin

 Sins power to affect others by human solidarity

 Attacks human rights and freedom, human dignity, justice and the common good.
 Refers to situations of sin that are consequences of sinful choices and acts ex. Social
discrimination, unjust economic systems, and exploitation of women at work
Loss of Sense of Sin - we give excuses when we sin
Sense of sin

 Product of human freedom

 We are aware of our sin
 Reproduce and reinforce itself
Lesson 4: Jesus: The Way to the Kingdom of God
Spiritual Blindness – the inability to believe spiritual truths
Causes of Spiritual Blindness:
1. Pride
2. Habitual Sin
3. Preoccupation with worldly matters
4. Ignorance

it is a long process to really know Jesus

love tayo ni God mga beksh gluck wag mangongopya HAAHAHAHAHHA