In the Footsteps of Christ

God’s Plan of Salvation

“The very essence of salvation is the plan of God to
rescue humankind from eternal punishment and be
with him forever.” (I. Maningas, p.51)

God’s plan is actualized through Christ’s death and

resurrection and continues to unfold through the
grace of His Spirit working in us to help us conquer
sin in the world and in us.
 Two aspects of our need for Salvation:

 Our need for salvation

emerges from the
presence of evil in our
daily struggle.

 Salvation demands that

we be open to the
invitation of God in
overcoming evil in the
world.
 Our Call to Love
• Jesus and the Commands to Love
Love for God and neighbor
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all
your soul, with all your mind and with all your
strength…. You must love your neighbor as yourself.”
(Mk 12:29-31; Mt 22:37-40)

The Love we received from God

“I give you a new commandment:
love one another; just as I have loved
you, you must love one another.
By this love you have for one another, everyone will know
that you are my disciples” (Jn 13:34-35)
Our Call to Love
The norm for
loving shifts from
self-love to
God’s love for us
as revealed in and
by Christ.
Christian moral challenge

To be formed in the
Spirit of Christ’s love.

To integrate our
confession of faith
with actual living.
To be a Christian is to be in love.
It is to be in love with the
God of Jesus Christ

If we truly love God,

if God is truly the
center of our lives,
what we desire and
what we “please”
will be deeply
transformed.

M. Therese Lysaught
 Jesus Our Model
The uniqueness of Jesus Christ:
Fully Divine and really human.

 Christ’s divinity assures the validity

of his understanding and teaching
regarding the meaning of humanity.
 Christ’s humanity guarantees the possibility of
our living in accordance with his teachings.

Personal Commitment to being Christ’s disciple

is the key to all Christian morality
(CFC 741)
 Characteristics of Christian Morality
(Aurelio Fernandez-James Socias)
1. Affects first the person and then the action.
2. Transforms both the inside and the outside.
3. Considers the profound attitudes of the
person.
4. Stresses more what ought to be done than
what is to be avoided.
5. Requires not only just actions but also
holiness.
Characteristics of Christian Morality
(Aurelio Fernandez-James Socias)
6. Is not a rigid morality marked by a
multiplicity of precepts.
7. Includes both rewards and punishment.
8. Is a morality for freedom.
9. Is fulfilled on earth, but it pertains to
the next life.
10. Finds its beginning and end in love.
 The Beatitudes
• Blessed are the poor in
spirit, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.
• Blessed are those who
mourn, for they shall be
comforted.
• Blessed are the meek, for
they shall inherit the earth.
• Blessed are those who
hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for they
shall be satisfied.
• Blessed are the merciful
for they shall obtain
mercy.
• Blessed are the pure in
heart for they shall see
God.
• Blessed are the
peacemakers for they shall
be called sons of God.
• Blessed are those who are
persecuted for the sake of
righteousness, for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven.
• Blessed are you when men
revile you and persecute
you and utter all kinds of
evil against you falsely on
my account, rejoice and be
glad, for your reward is
great in heaven.
 The Beatitudes
• The heart of Christian morality
 Addresses more the being than the
action.
 Challenges the Christian to aspire to a
life of heroic virtue that transcends an
external observance of the letter of the
law.
 Actively seeks the good of others and
does not merely strive to avoid harming
them.
 The Beatitudes
 Modes of Christian response that
enhance internal Christian disposition or
virtues
 (St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas)
The Beatitudes are linked to the gifts of
the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11)
 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Not “negative poverty” – destitution.
Not a crippling attitude.
Positive poverty – Evangelical poverty
Confidence in God
Realizing our utter powerlessness apart
from God, and that our human
achievements are only a share, freely given
and generously by God
 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”
The virtuous disposition - humility
Christian vice – pride
Gift of the Holy Spirit – fear of the
Lord
 Kingdom of God…
Kingdom of Heaven
God as King. God reigns.
A gift of salvation
The urgency of Christ’s message
demand from us a decision involving
our whole existence.
“Blessed are those who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.”
When we mourn because of :
1. Our sin
2. Suffering of the innocent.
3. Evil in the world.
“Blessed are those who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.”
The virtuous disposition - detachment
Christian vice – worldliness and
anxiety
Gift of the Holy Spirit – knowledge –
one discerns what belongs to faith
and judges everything by its light
 “Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the land.”
Meekness is NOT passivity.
It is NOT servile conformism.
It is NOT unprincipled tolerance.
It is the stability of spirit.
The capacity to bear reproaches &
slights with moderation, not to embark
on revenge, not easily provoked.
 Meekness…
Has the passion to right the wrong,
To confront injustice,
To offer healing & renewal to the
wrongdoer.
Has a deep conviction & experience of
God’s power within him/her.
understanding that submissiveness to
God’s will involves no loss or delay to one’s
personal fulfillment
 Meekness…
The virtuous disposition – Christian
dedication
Christian vice – lukewarmness and
minimalism
Gift of the Holy Spirit – fear of the
Lord
…Inherit the land.

Our true Security in God.

“Blessed are those who hunger & thirst for
righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
Justice is the practical demand of
love.
Love without justice is hypocrisy.
Justice without love is cruelty.
To love is to look after the welfare
of our neighbor. – (St. Thomas A.)
“Blessed are those who hunger & thirst for
righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
The virtuous disposition – faithfulness
and heroism characteristic of the
martyr, required of all Christians
Christian vice weakness of faith and
faintheartedness in the face of non-
Christian standards
Gift of the Holy Spirit – fortitude
 “Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall attain mercy.”
Mercy is not simply an emotion.
It is an action.
It is the movement of the heart that shifts
attention from one’s pain to the pain of
another.
God is the source of mercy.
Mercy is love in action.
To do something to alleviate the suffering
of the other esp. the innocent.
 “Blessed are the merciful…”
To be merciful is to be compassionate.
Etymologically: To care.
It is to be present to the situation of the
person.
To place himself in the situation of the
person.
To feel as he/she feels.
To know what he/she needs.
To address his/her need.
 “Blessed are the merciful…”
The virtuous disposition – mercy,
compassion and service
Christian vice – legalistic attitude
towards others
Gift of the Holy Spirit – counsel
“Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they shall see God.”
Single minded.
Total & wholehearted commitment
to God’s will and plan.
Not selfish. Not proud.
Whose motives and interest are pure.
Upright.
To see God: here & now. And in
heaven. To be united with God.
“Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they shall see God.”
The virtuous disposition – single-
minded devotion to God, sense of
sin and continuing conversion
Christian vice – mediocrity and
insincerity
Gift of the Holy Spirit –
understanding
 “Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called sons of God.”
To toil actively for peace.
Not “peacekeepers”.
Peace is the fruit of Justice & Love.
Peace is founded on:
1. Love
2. Justice
3. Truth
 “Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called sons of God.”
The virtuous disposition – conciliatoriness
which seeks the redemption of enemies
Christian vice – the tendency to shun evil
instead of carrying on a redemptive
ministry to those enslaved by it.
Gift of the Holy Spirit – wisdom, the
power of putting things in order as
peacemakers do
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for
righteousness’ sake,
for theirs is the Kingdom of God.”
To suffer for righteousness’ sake.
Not just any kind of persecution.
But in the name of what is true,
good, and just.
To carry our cross faithfully,
uncompromisingly.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for
righteousness’ sake,
for theirs is the Kingdom of God.”
The virtuous disposition – self-oblation
Christian vice – fragile rectitude of the
person who does not wish to sin but
seeks fulfillment in this world
Gift of the Holy Spirit – the gift that
disposes one to offer to God the unique
gift of one’s self
The Charter of the Kingdom.

The vocation of every

Christian.

The qualities, actions,

attitudes of Christ’s disciple.
 The goal of human existence.

The ultimate end of human acts.

A unique type of happiness.

(CFC 823)St. Thomas Aquinas

Many people relate happiness to:

1. Sensible pleasures and
satisfaction of desires
2. Success in undertakings and
interpersonal relations
3. Deep reflection and
contemplation
Jesus Christ
Brings true happiness
Detachment Sensible pleasures
Meekness and ≠ and satisfaction of
desires
compassion

Authentic human interpersonal relationship

Completely
Thirsting justice
Merciful forgiveness
≠ self-centered
activity
(CFC 823)
Will find God
Withdrawing
Single-mindedness
from problems
purity of heart ≠ and concerns to
Working for peace seek
contemplation
 “If you wish to be my disciple,
pick up your cross, and follow me…”
 CHRISTIAN
MORALITY

IS CORRELATED
TO
HUMAN
DESTINY…
 “Master,
what must I do
to possess
eternal life? “
 TO REAFFIRM
THE VALUE OF HUMAN LIFE

To defend the world’s poor

Those threatened and despised
Those whose human rights are violated
TO APPEAL TO EACH AND EVERY
PERSON
TO RESPECT, PROTECT, LOVE AND
SERVE…

LIFE
TO COMMIT TO SUPPORT THE FAMILY

Even amidst so many difficulties

and serious threats

THE FAMILY will always remain in

accordance with God’s will…
THE SANCTUARY OF LIFE
 TO APPEAL TO EACH AND EVERY
PERSON
THAT TOGETHER WE MAY OFFER THE
WORLD
NEW SIGNS OF HOPE
 TO WORK SO AS TO ENSURE
THAT JUSTICE AND SOLIDARITY
WILL INCREASE
TO AFFIRM A NEW CULTURE OF LIFE

For the building of an authentic

civilization of truth and love
Because the kingdom of God is
present in this civilization
References:

Vincent J. Genovesi, In Pursuit of Love:

Catholic Morality and Human Sexuality, 2nd
ed. Jesuit Communications Foundation, Inc.,
2003.

Aurelio Fernandez and James Socias, Our Moral

Life in Christ: A Basic Course on Moral
Theology, Scepter Publishers, Inc., Princeton,
New Jersey, 1997.

Ismael Ireneo Maningas, Ed.D., Filipino

Christian Morality. St. Pauls Philippines, Makati
City. 1998.