280. The Dignity of the Human Person

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 280

Ave Maria series

What reasons do Christians give for human dignity?

Every person, from the first moment of his life in the womb, has an inviolable dignity, because from all eternity God willed, loved, created, and redeemed that person and destined him for eternal happiness.  [1699-1715]

President  Obama and a child admirer. I often wonder about our American behavior toward people of other races. Might they be prophets of God given to us in this life whose dignity and needs were blessings we failed to heed? …..280

CALL OF JEREMIAH:  The word of the LORD came to me:  Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you. Jeremiah 1:4-5 

If human dignity were based solely on the successes and accomplishments of individuals, then those who are weak, sick, or helpless would have no dignity.  Christians believe that human dignity is, in the first place, the result of God’s respect for us.  He looks at every person and loves him as though he were the only creature in the world.  Because God has looked upon even the least significant child of Adam, that person possesses an infinite worth, which must not be destroyed by men.  56-65

“So God created man in his own image; in the image of God he created him.” Genesis 1:27

 “When God disappears, men and women do not become greater; indeed, they lose the divine dignity, their faces lose God’s splendor.  In the end, they turn out to be merely products of a blind evolution and, as such, can be used and abused.  This is precisely what the experience of our epoch has confirmed for us.”  Pope Benedict XVI, August 15, 2005

[1699-1715]

LIFE IN CHRIST

MAN'S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT

1699Life in the Holy Spirit fulfills the vocation of man (chapter one). This life is made up of divine charity and human solidarity (chapter two). It is graciously offered as salvation (chapter three). –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

1700 The dignity of the human person is rooted in his creation in the image and likeness of God (article 1); it is fulfilled in his vocation to divine beatitude (article 2). It is essential to a human being freely to direct himself to this fulfillment (article 3). By his deliberate actions (article 4), the human person does, or does not, conform to the good promised by God and attested by moral conscience (article 5). Human beings make their own contribution to their interior growth; they make their whole sentient and spiritual lives into means of this growth (article 6). With the help of grace they grow in virtue (article 7), avoid sin, and if they sin they entrust themselves as did the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32)¹ to the mercy of our Father in heaven (article 8). In this way they attain to the perfection of charity. --CCC

1701 "Christ, . . . in the very revelation of the mystery of the Father and of his love, makes man fully manifest to himself and brings to light his exalted vocation."(Gaudium et Spes 22.)²  It is in Christ, "the image of the invisible God,"(Colossians 1:15; compare Corinthians  4:4.)³ that man has been created "in the image and likeness" of the Creator. It is in Christ, Redeemer and Savior, that the divine image, disfigured in man by the first sin, has been restored to its original beauty and ennobled by the grace of God.(Compare Gaudium et Spes 22.)⁴--CCC

1702 The divine image is present in every man. It shines forth in the communion of persons, in the likeness of the unity of the divine persons among themselves (compare chapter two). --CCC

1703 Endowed with "a spiritual and immortal" soul,(Gaudium et Spes 14 § 2.)⁵ the human person is "the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake."(Gaudium et Spes 24 § 3.)⁶ From his conception, he is destined for eternal beatitude. --CCC

1704 The human person participates in the light and power of the divine Spirit. By his reason, he is capable of understanding the order of things established by the Creator. By free will, he is capable of directing himself towardhis true good. He finds his perfection "in seeking and loving what is true and good."(Gaudium et Spes 15 § 2.)⁷--CCC

1705 By virtue of his soul and his spiritual powers of intellect and will, man is endowed with freedom, an "outstanding manifestation of the divine image."(Gaudium et Spes 17.)⁸--CCC

1706By his reason, man recognizes the voice of God which urges him "to do what is good and avoid what is evil."(Gaudium et Spes 16.)⁹ Everyone is obliged to follow this law, which makes itself heard in conscience and is fulfilled in the love of God and of neighbor. Living a moral life bears witness to the dignity of the person. --CCC

1707 "Man, enticed by the Evil One, abused his freedom at the very beginning of history." (Gaudium et Spes 13 § 1.)¹⁰ He succumbed to temptation and did what was evil. He still desires the good, but his nature bears the wound of original sin. He is now inclined to evil and subject to error: 

Man is divided in himself. As a result, the whole life of men, both individual and social, shows itself to be a struggle, and a dramatic one, between good and evil, between light and darkness.(Gaudium et Spes 13 § 2.)¹¹--CCC

1708 By his Passion, Christ delivered us from Satan and from sin. He merited for us the new life in the Holy Spirit. His grace restores what sin had damaged in us. --CCC

1709 He who believes in Christ becomes a son of God. This filial adoption transforms him by giving him the ability to follow the example of Christ. It makes him capable of acting rightly and doing good. In union with his Savior, the disciple attains the perfection of charity which is holiness. Having matured in grace, the moral life blossoms into eternal life in the glory of heaven. --CCC

IN BRIEF

1710"Christ . . . makes man fully manifest to man himself and brings to light his exalted vocation" (Gaudium et Spes 22 § 1). --CCC

1711Endowed with a spiritual soul, with intellect and with free will, the human person is from his very conception ordered to God and destined for eternal beatitude. He pursues his perfection in "seeking and loving what is true and good" (Gaudium et Spes 15 § 2). --CCC

1712 In man, true freedom is an "outstanding manifestation of the divine image" (Gaudium et Spes 17). --CCC

1713 Man is obliged to follow the moral law, which urges him "to do what is good and avoid what is evil" (compare (Gaudium et Spes 16).). This law makes itself heard in his conscience. --CCC

1714 Man, having been wounded in his nature by original sin, is subject to error and inclined to evil in exercising his freedom. –CCC

1715 He who believes in Christ has new life in the Holy Spirit. The moral life, increased and brought to maturity in grace, is to reach its fulfillment in the glory of heaven. –CCC

People  President Obama  child admirer

279. Life in Christ

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 279

Ave Maria series

How We Are to Have Life in Christ

Section One: Why we are put on earth; what we are supposed to do; and how God’s Holy Spirit helps us to do it.

Why do we need faith and the sacraments in order to live a good, upright life?

If we were to rely only on ourselves and our own strength, we would not get far in our attempts to be good.  Through faith we discover that we are God’s children and that God makes us strong.  When God gives us his strength, we call this “grace”.  Especially in the sacred signs that we call the sacraments, God gives us the ability actually to do the good that we want to do.  [1691-1695]

Several years back I had our daughter Laurie take this photo of Rose with myself in our front yard overlooking the swing set that first entertained our children and, later, our grandchildren. We frequently spend time together remembering events that brought both joy and sorrow in the years past.  …..279

Since God saw our misery, he “delivered us from the dominion of darkness” (Colossians 1:13)through his Son, Jesus Christ.  He granted us the opportunity to make a new start in fellowship with him and to walk the path of love.  173-178

“Apart from me you can do nothing.”  John 15:5

”Let nothing trouble you.  Let nothing frighten you.  Everything passes.  God never changes.  Patience obtains all.  Whoever has God wants for nothing.  God alone is enough.”  St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)

[1691-1695]

LIFE IN CHRIST

1691  "Christian, recognize your dignity and, now that you share in God's own nature, do not return to your former base condition by sinning. Remember who is your head and of whose body you are a member. Never forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of the Kingdom of God." (St. Leo the Great, Sermo 22 in nat. Dom., 3:Patrologia Latina 54,192C.)¹ –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

1692  The Symbol of the faith confesses the greatness of God's gifts to man in his work of creation, and even more in redemption and sanctification. What faith confesses, the sacraments communicate: by the sacraments of rebirth, Christians have become "children of God" (John 1:12; 1 John 3:1.)² , "partakers of the divine nature."(2 Peter 1:4.)³   Coming to see in the faith their new dignity, Christians are called to lead henceforth a life "worthy of the gospel of Christ."(Philippians 1:27.)⁴   They are made capable of doing so by the grace of Christ and the gifts of his Spirit, which they receive through the sacraments and through prayer. –CCC

1693  Christ Jesus always did what was pleasing to the Father,(Compare John 8:29)⁵   and always lived in perfect communion with him. Likewise Christ's disciples are invited to live in the sight of the Father "who sees in secret," (Matthew 6:6.)⁶   in order to become "perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect."(Matthew 5:48.)^7- --CCC

1694   Incorporated into Christ by Baptism, Christians are "dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" and so participate in the life of the Risen Lord.(Romans 6:11and compare Rom 6:5; compare Colossians 2:12.)⁸  Following Christ and united with him,(Compare John 15:5.)⁹   Christians can strive to be "imitators of God as beloved children, and walk in love"(Ephesians 5:1-2.)¹⁰   by conforming their thoughts, words and actions to the "mind . . . which is yours in Christ Jesus,"(Philippians 2:5.)¹¹ and by following his example.(Compare John 13:12-16.)¹²–CCC

1695  "Justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God,"(2 Corinthians 6:11.)¹³   "sanctified . . . [and] called to be saints,"(1 Corinthians 1:2.)¹⁴   Christians have become the temple of the Holy Spirit.(Compare 1 Corinthians 6:19.)¹⁵ This "Spirit of the Son" teaches them to pray to the Father(Compare Galatians 4:6.)¹⁶   and, having become their life, prompts them to act so as to bear "the fruit of the Spirit"(Galatians 5:22,25.)¹⁷  by charity in action. Healing the wounds of sin, the Holy Spirit renews us interiorly through a spiritual transformation.(Compare Ephesians 4:23)¹⁸   He enlightens and strengthens us to live as "children of light" through "all that is good and right and true."(Ephesians 5:8, 9.)¹⁹–CCC

People  Don and Rose Bragg 3-26-12

278. “For even dead, we are not at all separated from one another…”

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 278

Ave Maria series

278  What is the purpose of a Christian funeral?

A Christian funeral is a service performed by the Christian community for the benefit of its dead.  It expresses the sorrow of the survivors, yet it always has a Paschal character (relating to Christ’s resurrection).  Ultimately, we die in Christ so as to celebrate with him the feast of the Resurrection.[1686-1690]

Raising of Lazarus by Carl Heinrich Bloch 1834-1890.....91

“We are not at all separated from one another (by death) because we all run the same course and we will find one another again in the same place.”  Simon of Thessalonica (d. 1429, theologian and mystic)

Do you doubt that you shall rise from the dead?  Jesus demonstrated this truth when he brought Lazarus forth from a tomb after having been dead four days.  It is part of the Christian creed that we ”believe in the resurrection of the dead and life everlasting”.

[1686-1690]

1686 The Order of Christian Funerals(Ordo exsequiarum) of the Roman liturgy gives three types of funeral celebrations, corresponding to the three places in which they are conducted (the home, the church, and the cemetery), and according to the importance attached to them by the family, local customs, the culture, and popular piety. This order of celebration is common to all the liturgical traditions and comprises four principal elements: --Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

1687 The greeting of the community. A greeting of faith begins the celebration. Relatives and friends of the deceased are welcomed with a word of "consolation" (in the New Testament sense of the Holy Spirit's power in hope). (Compare1 Corinthians 15:42-44.)¹⁸⁸ The community assembling in prayer also awaits the "words of eternal life." The death of a member of the community (or the anniversary of a death, or the seventh or thirtieth day after death) is an event that should lead beyond the perspectives of "this world" and should draw the faithful into the true perspective of faith in the risen Christ. –CCC

1688 The liturgy of the Word during funerals demands very careful preparation because the assembly present for the funeral may include some faithful who rarely attend the liturgy, and friends of the deceased who are not Christians. The homily in particular must "avoid the literary genre of funeral eulogy" (Order of Christian Funerals 41.)¹⁸⁹ and illumine the mystery of Christian death in the light of the risen Christ. –CCC

1689 The Eucharistic Sacrifice.When the celebration takes place in church the Eucharist is the heart of the Paschal reality of Christian death. (Compare Order of Christian Funerals 41)¹⁹⁰ In the Eucharist, the Church expresses her efficacious communion with the departed: offering to the Father in the Holy Spirit the sacrifice of the death and resurrection of Christ, she asks to purify his child of his sins and their consequences, and to admit him to the Paschal fullness of the table of the Kingdom. (Compare Order of Christian Funerals 57.)¹⁹¹ It is by the Eucharist thus celebrated that the community of the faithful, especially the family of the deceased, learn to live in communion with the one who "has fallen asleep in the Lord," by communicating in the Body of Christ of which he is a living member and, then, by praying for him and with him. –CCC

1690 A farewell to the deceased is his final "commendation to God" by the Church. It is "the last farewell by which the Christian community greets one of its members before his body is brought to its tomb." (Order of Christian Funerals 10.)¹⁹² The Byzantine tradition expresses this by the kiss of farewell to the deceased: --CCC

By this final greeting "we sing for his departure from this life and separation from us, but also because there is a communion and a reunion. For even dead, we are not at all separated from one another, because we all run the same course and we will find one another again in the same place. We shall never be separated, for we live for Christ, and now we are united with Christ as we go toward him . . . we shall all be together in Christ." (St. Simeon of Thessalonica, De ordine sepulturæ. 336:Patrologia Graeca 155,684.)¹⁹³—CCC

JT  Raising of Lazarus

277. Stations of the Cross

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 277

Ave Maria series

What are the Stations of the Cross?

Following Jesus on his way of the Cross by praying and meditating on the fourteen Stations is a very ancient devotion in the Church which is practiced especially in Lent and Holy week.  [1674-1675]

The fourteen Stations of the Cross that we meditate on while while praying are: 1. Jesus is condemned to death; 2. Jesus takes up his Cross; 3. Jesus falls the first time; 4. Jesus meets his sorrowful Mother; 5. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the Cross; 6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus; 7. Jesus falls the second time; 8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem; 9. Jesus falls the third time; 10. Jesus is stripped of his garments; 11. Jesus is nailed to the Cross; 12. Jesus dies on the Cross; 13. Jesus is taken down from the Cross and presented to his Mother; 14. Jesus is laid in the tomb.

Christ at the Cross  by Carl Heinrich Bloch 1834-1890 …..277

“The Lord’s Cross embraces the world; his Via Crucis crosses continents and epochs.  In the Way of the Cross, we cannot merely be spectators. We too are involved, so we must seek our place: Where are we?”  Pope Benedict XVI, April 14, 2006

“Your Cross.  The everlasting God has in his wisdom foreseen from eternity the cross that He now presents to you as a gift from His inmost heart.  This cross He now sends you He has considered with His all-knowing eyes, understood with His divine mind, tested with His wise justice, warmed with loving arms and weighed with His own hands to see that it be not one inch too large and not one ounce too heavy for you.  He has blessed it with His holy Name, anointed it with His consolation, taken one last glance at you and your courage, and then sent it to you from heaven, a special greeting from God to you, an alms of the all-merciful love of God.” St. Francis of Sales (1567-1622)

[1674-1675]

Popular piety

1674 Besides sacramental liturgy and sacramentals, catechesis must take into account the forms of piety and popular devotions among the faithful. The religious sense of the Christian people has always found expression in various forms of piety surrounding the Church's sacramental life, such as the veneration of relics, visits to sanctuaries, pilgrimages, processions, the stations of the cross, religious dances, the rosary, medals,(C0mpare Council of Nicaea II: DS 601; 603; Council of Trent: DS 1822).¹⁸⁰ etc. –Catechism of the Catholic Churcy, Second Edition 

1675 These expressions of piety extend the liturgical life of the Church, but do not replace it. They "should be so drawn up that they harmonize with the liturgical seasons, accord with the sacred liturgy, are in some way derived from it and lead the people to it, since in fact the liturgy by its very nature is far superior to any of them." (Sources Chre 13 § 3.) ¹⁸¹–CCC

JP Christ at the Cross