The Blessed Trinity

1
The Blessed Trinity

• and Our Christian Vocation

2
The Blessed Trinity

• Chapter 4

3
Chapter 4

• The Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ

4
Chapter Objectives
The student will be able to understand

• The Incarnation
• The Blessed Virgin Marys role in the Incarnation
• Sign of contradiction
• The Finding of Christ in the Temple
• Christ and the Essenes
• Christ and ordinary life
• The Baptism of Christ
• Christs temptation in the desert
• The call of the Apostles
• Christs healing ministry
• Christs teaching method
• The parable

• The Parable of the Good Samaritan
• How to Pray
• The Kingdom of God
• The Apostles role in the Kingdom of God
• The Sermon on the Mount
• The Beatitudes
• Christs Law of Love
• Purity of Intention
• St. Francis and the Sermon on the Mount
• The Last Supper
• Christs Passion and Death
• The Resurrection of Christ

5
Keys to Chapter 4

• God the Son humbly emptied himself of his
  divinity and took on a human nature.
• Christ is like us in all things, except sin.
• Jesus mission was not to save the world from
  suffering, but from sin.
• The essence of Christs teachings is himself.
• Christ is the true Paschal Lamb who saves us from
  sin and death.

6
For Discussion

• What do we know about the early life of Jesus
  Christ?
• What do we mean when we say Jesus is the
  Christ?
• What were the main events in Christs public
  ministry?
• What was Christs message? How did he teach?
• continued

7
For Discussion

• What was the example that Christ gave his
  followers?
• What was the role of the Apostles and St. Peter
  in Church?
• What lessons does the life of Christ hold for us
  today?
• What does it mean to be called by Christ, and how
  do we respond to that call?
• What does the Sermon on the Mount teach us about
  love?

8
Christs Incarnation

• Lesson Objectives
• The Incarnation
• The Blessed Virgin Marys role in the Incarnation
• Sign of contradiction

9
Christs Incarnation
Basic Questions
What is the mystery of the Incarnation?
The mystery of the Incarnation refers to the
infinite God, who is beyond the limitations of
human comprehension, having emptied himself to
become man in order to reconcile all people to
himself.
10
Christs Incarnation
Basic Questions
How did the Incarnation come about?
Christs Incarnation was announced by the
Archangel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin Mary, who
humbly agreed to be the Mother of Christ.
11
Christs Incarnation
Basic Questions
How was Christs life a sign of contradiction
from the beginning?
As a sign of contradiction, Christ was born into
poverty, and his life was in danger from the very
beginning.
12
Anticipatory Set
Incorporate the Annunciation into the Opening
Prayer.
13
Focus Question
According to St. Athanasius, why was Christ the
only one who could recreate man in the image of
God?
Christ himself is the image of God. Angels are
not created in the image of God, and man is only
made according to the image of God.
14
Focus Question
Why did Christ take on human nature to recreate
man?
He defeated death and bodily corruption through
his Death and Resurrection.
15
Focus Question
According to St. Athanasius, from what and to
what did Christ intend to raise the minds of
people?
Christ intended to raise mens minds from
earthly, sensible things to the height of God.
16
Focus Question
What does Jesus mean?
It means God saves.
17
Focus Question
Why was this common name highly fitting for Our
Lord?
His mission was the salvation of man.
18
Focus Question
What is Christs hidden life?
It refers to the first thirty years of Christs
life, especially the eighteen years from age
twelve to thirty.
19
Focus Question
What is Christs public life?
It refers to the three years he taught and
performed miracles.
20
Focus Question
What is the climax of Christs life on earth?
It climaxed in his Passion, Death, and
Resurrection.
21
Focus Question
What should a person do if he or she is not
familiar with the life of Christ?
Read at least St. Johns Gospel and any of the
other three (Matthew, Mark, or Luke) before
proceeding with the text.
22
Focus Question
Why was the Blessed Virgin Mary greatly troubled
by the Archangel Gabriels greeting?
An angel appeared to her and said she was full of
grace and the Lord was with her.
23
Focus Question
How did Gabriel identify Jesus with the
long-awaited Messiah?
He said God would give Marys son the throne of
his father David with an eternal kingship.
24
Focus Question
How did Gabriel proclaim Marys son to be
divine?
He said Christ will be called Son of the Most
High and Son of God.
25
Focus Question
Why is it certain man had nothing to do with the
conception of Christ?
The Blessed Virgin Mary did not have a husband.
26
Guided Exercise
Free write comparing the Blessed Virgin Marys
encounter with the Archangel Gabriel to Eves
encounter with the serpent.
27
Focus Question
What sign did the Archangel Gabriel give the
Blessed Virgin Mary that he told the truth?
Marys elderly, barren cousin St. Elizabeth was
pregnant.
28
Focus Question
How did Mary respond to Gabriels announcement?
She agreed and declared she was Gods
servant. Extension This is called her fiat,
Latin for let it be done.
29
Focus Question
What is the climax of history?
The Incarnation is its climax.
30
Focus Question
What is the mystery of the Incarnation?
The infinite God, who is beyond the limitations
of human comprehension, emptied himself to become
man to reconcile people to himself.
31
Focus Question
How did Caesar Augustus help fulfill the prophecy
the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem?
He called for a census in which each person was
to return to his town of origin to be counted.
Because St. Joseph was of the house of David, he
and the Blessed Virgin Mary went to the City of
David.
32
Focus Question
How was the Birth of Christ announced to kings
and commoners?
The Magi, Gentiles from the East, came to see the
newborn King of the Jews. Shepherds were the
first to behold the newborn Savior.
33
Focus Question
How did St. Simeon foretell the Crucifixion of
Christ?
He said, A sword will pierce through The
Blessed Virgin Marys own soul also. Christ was
pierced by nails and a lance.
34
Focus Question
Who are the Holy Innocents?
The male infants in Bethlehem murdered by Herod,
who wished to kill Christ.
35
Focus Question
How many children were murdered by Herod?
There were probably about two dozen.
36
Guided Exercise
Conduct a think/pair/share using the following
question Why was Christs Birth a sign of
contradiction or stumbling block?
37
Focus Question
Why did St. Joseph take Christ and the Blessed
Virgin Mary into Egypt?
He was warned by an angel in a dream that Herod
intended to kill Christ. Extension The time
Christ spent in Egypt recalls the centuries
Abrahams descendants were in exile there.
38
Christs Hidden Life

• Lesson Objectives
• The Finding of Christ in the Temple
• Christ and the Essenes
• Christ and his Hidden Life

39
Christs Hidden Life
Basic Questions
What is the significance of Christ in the Temple
at age twelve?
Christs greatness was revealed at age twelve in
the Temple, but he lived in obedience and
obscurity for the next eighteen years.
40
Christs Hidden Life
Basic Questions
What is the relationship between Christ and the
Essenes?
Christ and St. John the Baptist have some common
points of reference with the Jewish sect of the
Essenes, but are essentially different from them.
41
Christs Hidden Life
Basic Questions
What is the meaning of Christs hidden life?
The sanctity of everyday life.
42
Anticipatory Set
Incorporate the Finding in the Temple into the
Opening Prayer.
43
Focus Question
During their return from Jerusalem to Nazareth,
how could Christ have been missing from the
Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph?
The group from Nazareth could have included
hundreds of people, and the men and women
traveled in two separate groups. Because they
were all friends and family, the children likely
would have been playing and going between the two
groups.
44
Focus Question
How long was Christ missing from the Blessed
Virgin Mary and St. Joseph?
They searched three days for him. Extension The
three days Christ was lost to his parents
foreshadow the three days in the tomb before his
Resurrection.
45
Focus Question
What is known about Christs hidden years besides
obedience to his parents?
He increased in wisdom and stature and in favor
with God and man.
46
Focus Question
According to the Catechism, no. 531, what else
did Christ do during his hidden years?
He did manual labor and lived the religious life
of a Jew.
47
Focus Question
What were the three major sects in first-century
Judaism?
The three were the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and
the Essenes.
48
Focus Question
Why did the Essenes dwell in remote locations?
They broke with Jerusalem, rejecting the Temple
built by Herod and the worldly lifestyle of the
religious authorities there.
49
Focus Question
What is the meaning of Christs silence on the
Essenes?
Some scholars take his silence as evidence of
implicit approval. Others see it as evidence of
the sects relative insignificance in Jewish
society at that time.
50
Focus Question
How do the Essenes and Christ differ on the
apocalypse?
The Essene apocalypse involves a literal war
between the powers of light and darkness that
restores the proper order in the existing world
but does not involve the end of the world. Christ
taught the end of the world culminates in the
Final Judgment with the entrance of the faithful
into Heaven and the damned into Hell.
51
Focus Question
How did Essene moral observance compare to
Christs?
Many Essenes were devoted to lifelong celibacy
and an austere lifestyle.
52
Focus Question
What was Christ doing when his parents found
him?
They found him in the Temple, listening to and
speaking with the teachers and rabbis.
53
Focus Question
What effect did Christ have on his learned
listeners in the Temple?
All who heard him were amazed at his
understanding and his answers.
54
Focus Question
What is the hidden life of Christ?
It refers to the eighteen years from his Finding
in the Temple to the beginning of his public
ministry, during which there is no information
about him in Scripture.
55
Focus Question
How was Christs relationship with his parents
after he was found in the Temple?
He was obedient to St. Joseph and the Blessed
Virgin Mary.
56
Focus Question
How did Christ and the Essenes differ concerning
contact with others?
The Essenes avoided contact with strangers,
Gentiles, and anyone impure or unclean. They were
concerned with ritual purity and the Sabbath. In
contrast, Christ was close to sinners and the
sick, had contact with Samaritans, ignored some
ritual purity laws, and worked miracles on the
Sabbath.
57
Focus Question
How is St. John the Baptist similar to and
different from the Essenes?
Both lived extreme asceticism and practiced
baptism. However, the Essenes lived in community.
58
Focus Question
What apparent contradiction exists between the
final events in Christs life in St. Johns
Gospel and in the Gospels of Sts. Matthew, Mark,
and Luke?
St. Johns Gospel seems to indicate the Last
Supper was on Tuesday and the Crucifixion on
Wednesday, The Eve of the Passover. The synoptic
Gospels present the Last Supper on Thursday with
the Crucifixion on Friday.
59
Focus Question
According to St. Johns Gospel, what was
occurring in Jerusalem at the time Christ was
dying on the Cross?
The Passover lambs were being slaughtered in the
Temple.
60
Graphic Organizer
Complete the following table about lessons to be
learned from Christs hidden life.
Topic Lesson
Ordinary life
Humility
Vanity
Pride
Obedience and detachment
61
The Baptism and Temptation of Christ

• Lesson Objectives
• The Baptism of Christ
• Christs temptation in the desert

62
The Baptism and Temptation of Christ
Basic Questions
What is the significance of Christs Baptism by
St. John the Baptist?
Christ was baptized by St. John the Baptist in
the Jordan to fulfill the Fathers will he
identified himself with sinful man and revealed
himself to be the Messiah of Israel and Son of
God.
63
The Baptism and Temptation of Christ
Basic Questions
What is the significance of Christs temptation
after fasting forty days and forty nights in the
desert?
In keeping with the biblical model, Christ fasted
in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights
before beginning his public life in his trial by
the Devil, Christ successfully recapitulated
Adams and Israels temptations.
64
Anticipatory Set
Incorporate Christs temptation in the desert
into the Opening Prayer.
65
Focus Question
What are some examples of Christ fulfilling the
Mosaic Law?
He was circumcised into the Abrahamic Covenant
and consecrated to God in the Temple according to
the Mosaic Covenant.
66
Graphic Organizer
Complete the following table about why Christ,
though he was without sin, was baptized by St.
John the Baptist.
Who gave the reason Reason given
Christ
The Catechism, no. 536
St. Maximus Turin (cf. p. 126)
67
Graphic Organizer
Complete the following table about the meaning of
forty in the Scriptures based on Forty Days and
Forty Nights (p. 128_
Episode Significance
The Flood
The Desert
Moses on Mt. Sinai
Christ in the Desert
68
Focus Question
What event begins Christs public life?
He was baptized in the Jordan River by St. John
the Baptist.
69
Focus Question
How is the Baptism of Christ an epiphany?
Christ was manifested as the Messiah of Israel
and the Son of God.
70
Focus Question
What was the mission of St. John the Baptist?
He prepared people to receive the incarnate Lord.
71
Focus Question
What was the nature of St. Johns baptism?
It was symbolic, signifying repentance from sin,
not a Sacrament.
72
Guided Exercise
Complete a focused reading on the excerpts from
Pope Benedict XVI and the Catechism, no. 539 (p.
129), using the following question How is
Christ the New Adam?
73
Focus Question
What did Satan hope to gain by tempting Christ?
He wanted to find out if Christ was truly the Son
of God.
74
Focus Question
What was Christs first temptation?
It was to satisfy his hunger by performing a
miracle.
75
Focus Question
What was Christs second temptation?
It was to achieve worldly acclaim, to become the
Messiah without the Cross.
76
Focus Question
What was Christs third temptation?
It was to worship a false god in exchange for
worldly powers and possessions.
77
The Call of the Apostles and Christs Healing
Ministry

• Lesson Objectives
• The call of the Apostles
• Christs healing ministry

78
The Call of the Apostles and Christs Healing
Ministry
Basic Questions
How did Christ call his Apostles?
Christ called his Apostles individually,
personally, and by name to proclaim him. He does
the same today through his followers.
79
The Call of the Apostles and Christs Healing
Ministry
Basic Questions
Why did Christ heal the sick?
Christ healed sickness out of compassion and to
reveal his divine ability to forgive sin.
80
Anticipatory Set
Incorporate Christs healing of the paralytic (Mk
21-2) into the Opening Prayer.
81
Focus Question
How did Christ call his disciples?
He called them individually, personally, and by
name.
82
Focus Question
What does it mean to say the Apostles were not
to proclaim an idea but to witness to a Person?
The most important message of the Gospel is not
the various teachings or doctrine but the Person
of Christ.
83
Focus Question
According to St. John Chrysostom, was St. Peters
acceptance of St. Andrews announcement made
without thinking?
St. Johns Gospel does not say St. Peter believed
immediately, but Andrew was to introduce St.
Peter to Christ St. Peter was to learn for
himself who is Christ.
84
Focus Question
In explaining St. Peters response to St.
Andrews news, what does St. John Chrysostom
reveal about the Evangelists technique?
It is probable St. Andrew had given St. Peter,
and many others, a careful account of his meeting
with Christ, but St. John the Evangelist
summarized this narrative in the interest of
brevity.
85
Focus Question
What do St. John the Baptist and St. Andrew have
in common?
Neither St. John the Baptist nor St. Andrew
presumed to explain Christ to others completely,
leaving this to Christ himself.
86
Guided Exercise
Complete a paragraph shrink of the paragraph
After Andrew had stayed (p. 130).
87
Focus Question
What does it mean to say the evangelization of
the Apostles was to be no more than the
proclamation of what they felt and an invitation
to enter into the mystery of communion with
Christ?
The Apostles were called to share with others
their personal relationships with Christ. This
takes place within the Church, the Mystical Body
of Christ.
88
Focus Question
How is the call of Christ heard today?
A person encounters Christ by means of someone
who has already encountered him. This is how a
new follower hears Christs invitation, Follow
me! and begins to understand the particular plan
Christ has for him or her.
89
Focus Question
In the mind of most Jews at the time of Christ,
what was the relationship between sickness and
sin?
Sinfulness brought about sickness. Extension Acc
ording to Isaiahs prophecy, when the Messiah
reigns, there will not be sickness because of
forgiveness of sins No inhabitant will say, I
am sick the people who dwell there will be
forgiven their iniquity (Is 3324).
90
Focus Question
Why do physical healing and forgiveness of sin
complement each other during Christs ministry?
There is a relationship between sin and sickness.
91
Focus Question
Why did many Jews accuse Christ of blasphemy?
He claimed to forgive sins, and only God can
forgive sins.
92
Focus Question
According to Christ, why did he heal the
paralytic?
He showed he had the power to forgive sins. He
did this to demonstrate his divine authority.
93
Focus Question
If Christ has the power to forgive sins, what
does this mean about him?
He is God.
94
Focus Question
Why were tax collectors considered public
sinners?
In Israel, tax collectors were Jews who
collaborated with the Roman occupiers and often
cheated their own people at the same time. A tax
collector (publican) could collect any amount of
tax so long as he could guarantee the Romans
their prearranged share.
95
Focus Question
What was scandalous about Christs behavior
toward tax collectors?
He befriended these sinners. The Pharisees were
scandalized because they believed righteous Jews
had to separate themselves from sinners to avoid
impurity themselves.
96
Guided Exercise
Write a personal exploration of the universal
questions Pope John Paul II asked young
people What will you do with your life? What
are your plans? Have you ever thought of
committing your existence totally to Christ? Do
you think there can be anything greater than to
bring Christ to people and people to Christ?
97
Focus Question
How do the two blind men contrast with the
scribes and the Pharisees?
Though they were blind, the two men could see who
Christ really is. The scribes and Pharisees had
natural sight but were blind to the truth of
Christ.
98
Focus Question
According to Christ, is sin always the cause of
sickness?
No the man born blind was not blind because of
his sins or his parents sins but to show Gods
power through healing (Jn 91-3).
99
Christs Parables

• Lesson Objectives
• Christs teaching method
• The parable
• The Parable of the Good Samaritan

100
Christs Parables
Basic Questions
How did Christs teaching method differ from the
rabbis of his time?
Christ taught with authoritynot simply quoting
previous teachersby providing his own
interpretations of the Law and the prophets.
101
Christs Parables
Basic Questions
What is a parable?
One of Christs frequent teaching devices was the
parable, a narrative or allegory, usually based
on something that might occur naturally, used to
illustrate and explain moral or spiritual
principles.
102
Christs Parables
Basic Questions
What are the lessons of the Parable of the Good
Samaritan?
In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Christ
taught every person in need is a neighbor who
must be aided. This parable is also an image of
human history.
103
Anticipatory Set
Incorporate the Parable of the Good Samaritan
into the Opening Prayer.
104
Focus Question
What effect did Christ have on people?
He was either loved or hated.
105
Focus Question
How was Christs teaching method different from
other rabbis?
Unlike other rabbis, who interpreted Scripture by
quoting famous teachers of the past and then
offering their own suggested interpretations,
Christ simply declared the truth. When he quoted
Scripture, he gave an interpretation to which his
opponents were often too dumbfounded to object.
106
Focus Question
What is a parable?
It is a literary device in which the speaker uses
an analogy in story form to illustrate a
point. Extension Christ took real and sensible
themes and situations with which the listeners
were familiar and used them to illustrate a
deeper, spiritual meaning.
107
Guided Exercise
Write a bullet-point summary about what Pope
Benedict XVIs interpretation of the Parable of
the Good Samaritan (p. 135).
108
Focus Question
What is the point that the Parable of the Good
Samaritan teaches about love of neighbor?
Love of neighbor has no limits or conditions.
Even those whom the world considers enemies are
neighbors who must be loved.
109
Focus Question
How did Christ redefine neighbor?
It is universalized yet remains concrete the
person who needs help is a neighbor.
110
Guided Exercise
Select a parable of Christ (other than the
Parable of the Good Samaritan) and write a brief
interpretation.
111
How to Pray in the Kingdom

• Lesson Objectives
• How to pray
• The Kingdom of God
• The Apostles role in the Kingdom of God

112
How to Pray in the Kingdom
Basic Questions
How did Christ teach us to pray?
Christ taught people to pray to God as Father.
113
How to Pray in the Kingdom
Basic Questions
What is the Kingdom of God?
The Kingdom of God is essentially the Person of
Christ himself people enter the Kingdom through
faith in him, interior conversion, acceptance of
his Word, willingness to sacrifice everything for
him, and living by his New Commandment of Love.
114
How to Pray in the Kingdom
Basic Questions
What is the role of the Apostles in the Kingdom
of God?
The Apostles, headed by St. Peter, shared in the
spread of the Kingdom of God.
115
Anticipatory Set
Incorporate the Transfiguration into the Opening
Prayer.
116
Focus Question
What is the Kingdom of God?
It is the Person of Jesus Christ.
117
Focus Question
How is the truth about man known and his life
made morally good?
Man can be understood only in light of God, and
his life is made righteous only when he lives it
in relation to God.
118
Focus Question
How does one know God?
God shows his face in the face of Christ.
119
Focus Question
Why is prayer an essential part of being human?
Being human is essentially about a relationship
with God, and prayer is how a person speaks with
God and listens to him.
120
Focus Question
What is each Christians primary relationship to
God?
He is Father because he has adopted each one in
Christ.
121
Focus Question
Why is it possible to have a personal
relationship with God the Father?
He is a Person.
122
Focus Question
What is the purpose of Christs miracles?
He showed he is the Messiah and the Kingdom of
God is present.
123
Focus Question
Why did Christ not use his power to solve every
problem on earth?
He did not come to abolish all evils on earth but
to free people from sin, which thwarts them in
their vocation as Gods adopted sons and
daughters.
124
Focus Question
What was the mission of the Twelve Apostles?
They shared in Christs mission and authority to
free from sin.
125
Focus Question
What is the meaning of the Transfiguration in
relation to the Kingdom of God?
Sts. Peter, James, and John were given a
foretaste of the fullness of the Kingdom of God
through a glimpse of Christs glorified body.
126
Focus Question
How did St. Thomas Aquinas interpret the
Transfiguration in light of the Blessed Trinity?
Like the Baptism of Christ, the Transfiguration
is a manifestation of all three Persons of the
Blessed Trinity. The whole Trinity appeared the
Father in the voice, the Son in the man, the Holy
Spirit in the shining cloud.
127
Focus Question
What is one false form of prayer?
Prayer intended to show off in front of others is
false.
128
Focus Question
Did Christ pray?
Before each important moment in his public
ministry, Christ spent time in prayer.
129
Focus Question
What prayer did Christ give his Apostles?
He taught them the Lords Prayer (Our Father).
130
Focus Question
What are the two divisions of the Lords Prayer?
The first three petitions refer to the Father.
The final four petitions refer to human needs.
131
Guided Exercise
Articulate some conclusions that can be drawn
from the fact God is a real Father to us and we
are real children to him. Conclusions should be
based on the paragraphs God the Father and
Divine filiation (p. 136).
132
Guided Exercise
Complete a focused reading of the paragraph, The
men whom Jesus (p. 139), including the passage
from Matthew 4, using the following
question What is St. Peters special role in
the Church?
133
The Sermon on the Mount

• Lesson Objectives
• The Sermon on the Mount
• The Beatitudes
• Christs Law of Love
• Purity of intention
• St. Francis and the Sermon on the Mount

134
The Sermon on the Mount
Basic Questions
What is the Sermon on the Mount?
The core of Christs teachings is found in the
Sermon on the Mount, the three parts of which are
the Beatitudes, the perfection of the Mosaic Law,
and purity of intention.
135
The Sermon on the Mount
Basic Questions
What are the Beatitudes?
The Beatitudes are paradoxical statements that
indicate the basis of true happiness in this life
and the next.
136
The Sermon on the Mount
Basic Questions
How did Christ perfect the Mosaic Law?
Christ proclaimed a New Law of Love, which
perfected the Mosaic Law.
137
The Sermon on the Mount
Basic Questions
What is purity of heart?
Purity of heart means a person acts at all times
out of love for God and neighbor.
138
The Sermon on the Mount
Basic Questions
Who is St. Francis?
St. Francis is an outstanding example of one who
lived the Sermon on the Mount to a heroic degree.
139
Anticipatory Set
Incorporate the Beatitudes into the Opening
Prayer.
140
Focus Question
Why did Christ deliver this important teaching on
a mount?
As Moses had gone to Mt. Sinai to receive the
tablets of the Old Law, Christ brought his
followers to a mount to give them the New Law.
141
Focus Question
What is the relationship between the Old (Mosaic)
Law and the New Law?
The New Law does not abolish the Old Law but
perfects it through the Law of Love.
142
Focus Question
How is the New Law universal?
The New Law is not just the people of Israel but
all peoples and nations.
143
Focus Question
What is the relationship between the Sermon on
the Mount and the Kingdom of God?
The Decalogue, the Sermon on the Mount, and the
apostolic catechesis describe how to live the
Kingdom of God, which is how to live Christs
life in oneself.
144
Focus Question
What are the three parts of the Sermon on the
Mount?
They are the Beatitudes, the perfection of the
Mosaic Law, and purity of intentions.
145
Guided Exercise
Choose one of the Beatitudes and free write to
reveal the paradoxical way in which it promises
true happiness.
146
Focus Question
What is the meaning of the word beatitude?
It comes from the Latin word for happy or
blessed.
147
Focus Question
What blessing do the Beatitudes promise?
Those who keep the Beatitudes will be blessed
with the love of God both here and hereafter in
Heaven, where they will be in a state of perfect
bliss forever.
148
Focus Question
What is the paradoxical source of true
happiness?
The highest measure of true happiness is attained
in this life by denying oneself, seeking Christ,
and assisting others to accomplish their
salvation.
149
Focus Question
How did St. Franciss father treat him?
His father disinherited him for wasting money and
wanted the law to punish him too, so his father
dragged him before the local bishop. St. Francis
stripped all but naked and said his only Father
would be God the Father.
150
Focus Question
How did St. Francis live afterward?
He lived alone in the hills, fasting and praying.
151
Focus Question
Who is Lady Poverty?
St. Francis said he was married to Lady Poverty.
It expressed his love for owning nothing.
152
Focus Question
What did St. Francis do when he heard the Gospel
passage in which Christ gave his Apostles
instructions on how to preach?
He took the instructions literally he preached
with no shoes, cloak, staff, or money.
153
Focus Question
What was the original Franciscan Rule?
St. Francis listed the passages in the Gospels in
which Christ asks his followers to give away
their property and live a life of poverty.
154
Focus Question
Why did Pope Innocent III accept St. Francis?
He had a dream in which a poor and despised man
was holding up the Basilica of St. John Lateran,
the cathedral of Rome. Pope Innocent recognized
that man in St. Francis.
155
Focus Question
To what Sacrament was St. Francis especially
devoted?
He was devoted to the Eucharist.
156
Focus Question
How many members of the Franciscan Order were
there at the end of St. Franciss life?
There were nearly 5000.
157
Focus Question
What grace did St. Francis receive at the end of
his life?
He received the stigmata, or the wounds of
Christs Crucifixion.
158
Focus Question
How was St. Francis as a young man, and what
happened to him when he got to live his dream?
He loved to have a good time with his friends and
dreamed of being a crusader. In his first battle
in a local skirmish, he was wounded and spent
many months in captivity.
159
Focus Question
How did his imprisonment change St. Francis?
He began to pray and meditate on the life of
Christ.
160
Focus Question
What does it mean to say the search for
happiness is a fundamental quest in every human
life?
The motivation for every human action is
happiness. Not every human action brings
happiness, but happiness is still the aim.
161
Focus Question
What is the problem with the search for happiness
through pleasure or power?
Pleasure and power always disappoint because true
happiness cannot be found in them.
162
Focus Question
Can a person achieve beatitude by his or her
efforts alone?
No grace is needed.
163
Focus Question
Can a beatitude be experienced on earth?
Yes God blesses his people on earth with a
foretaste of the true and everlasting happiness
they will enjoy in Heaven.
164
Focus Question
Why did Christ say it is necessary to exceed the
righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees to
enter the Kingdom of Heaven?
The scribes and Pharisees understood the letter
of the Law of Moses but not its spirit.
165
Focus Question
What is the road to perfection to which Christ
calls people?
It is the love of God and neighbor, which knows
no limits.
166
Focus Question
Can a person live Christs Law of Love by his or
her own power?
No grace is needed.
167
Focus Question
How and where do people usually receive Gods
grace?
God has established the Church to bring grace to
people through the Sacraments.
168
Guided Exercise
Free write about what should be the Christian
attitude toward material possessions.
169
Focus Question
What is purity of intention?
It means to do something with the best motivation
possible.
170
Focus Question
What is the most pure intention for human
action?
It is love of God and neighbor.
171
Focus Question
What intentions are purely evil?
One may not act to fulfill greed, lust, hatred,
envy, etc.
172
Focus Question
What are some intentions that are not evil but
not pure?
Doing good deeds to fulfill the law or win the
praise or admiration of others are not evil
intentions neither are they perfect.
173
Focus Question
Why was Christ somewhat exaggerating when he said
to give alms and pray in secret?
Christ did not intend for people to avoid the
collection plates or not attend Mass or pray with
others.
174
Focus Question
What is a divided heart?
It seeks contradictory goals, for example,
serving God and money.
175
Focus Question
What was the problem of the rich young man (Mt
1916-23)?
He was a good person who turned away from
Christs offer.
176
Focus Question
What is the problem with wealth and possessions?
They often distract people from true riches
attachment to worldly things can blind a person
to the greater good of preparing his or her
eternal soul for Heaven.
177
Guided Exercise
Analyze one of the pairings of the Old Law and
the New Law, explaining how Christs Law perfects
its corresponding precept.
178
Guided Exercise
Complete a paragraph shrink on the paragraphs
In a sense and The pure heart (p. 143).
179
Christs Passion, Death, and Resurrection

• Lesson Objectives
• The Last Supper
• Christs Passion and Death
• The Resurrection of Christ

180
Christs Passion, Death, and Resurrection
Basic Questions
What is the significance of the Last Supper?
At the Last Supper, Christ gave a new meaning to
the Passover when he gave his New Commandment of
Love provided a dramatic example of how to love
and serve others through the washing of the feet
of his disciples instituted the Eucharist, a
sharing in his own Body and Blood and
established his priesthood.
181
Christs Passion, Death, and Resurrection
Basic Questions
What does the Nicene Creed mean by the phrase,
suffered under Pontius Pilate?
Christ suffered his Passion and Death on the
Cross under the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate.
182
Christs Passion, Death, and Resurrection
Basic Questions
Did Christ rise from the dead?
Christ rose from the dead, confirming his own
divinity, and the Apostles died upholding the
truth of the Resurrection.
183
Anticipatory Set
Read aloud the Passion of the Christ using one of
the readings from Palm Sunday or Good Friday.
184
Focus Question
What four things did Christ do during the Last
Supper?
He gave his New Commandment of Love provided a
dramatic example of how to love and serve others
instituted the Eucharist, a sharing in his own
Body and Blood and established the priesthood.
185
Focus Question
What message was Christ giving his disciples by
washing their feet?
As Christ, the master and teacher, had humbly
served his disciples, they, too, were to humbly
serve the others.
186
Focus Question
What is the New Commandment of Love Christ gave
at the Last Supper?
Christ commanded his Apostles to love one another
the same way he had loved them.
187
Focus Question
What new dimension does the New Law of Love add
to the Great Commandment?
People are to love their neighbors as Christ has
loved them, with a sacrificial love.
188
Focus Question
What are some of the examples of Christ having
foreshadowed the Eucharist during his public
ministry?
He had multiplied the loaves and fishes to feed
five thousand he had turned water into wine at
the wedding feast in Cana he had preached about
the heavenly banquet and the need for new wine
he had called himself the Bread of Life, the
Living Bread who must be eaten to have eternal
life.
189
Focus Question
What two breads does Christ contrast in John 6?
Manna, which came down from Heaven to feed the
Jews in the desert, is contrasted with the true
Bread that comes down from Heaven Christ
identified this Bread with himself.
190
Focus Question
What does Christ promise to those who eat his
Flesh and drink his Blood?
Whoever eats his Flesh and drinks his Blood has
eternal life.
191
Focus Question
What is the Passover?
In the Passover, God delivered the Chosen People
from slavery in Egypt by sending the tenth
plague, which killed the firstborn of every man
and beast but spared the firstborn of the
Israelites through the blood of a lamb. This
plague was so severe Pharaoh let them leave
Egypt.
192
Focus Question
What is the Passover meal?
It is the ritual meal Jews repeat every year by
Gods command.
193
Focus Question
What new meaning did Christ give the Passover
meal?
The sinless Christ, who is the unblemished and
sinless Lamb of God, shed his Blood and died in
order to save his people.
194
Guided Exercise
Free write and explain one of the ways Christ
foreshadowed Eucharist.
195
Focus Question
What two wills are exhibited in the Garden of
Gethsemane?
Christs two wills are clearly apparent in his
prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane his human
will, which wished to avoid suffering and death,
and his divine will, which was perfectly
subordinate to God the Fathers.
196
Focus Question
How are Christs two wills harmonized?
Christs human will was perfectly subordinate to
his divine will Not as I will, but as thou God
the Father wilt (Mt. 2639).
197
Focus Question
What does it mean for the Nicene Creed to say
Christ was crucified under Pontius Pilate?
Christ was executed by crucifixion under Roman
law. The Roman procurator Pontius Pilate examined
him and, despite the fact he considered him
innocent, condemned Christ to death.
198
Focus Question
What is the strongest evidence in favor of
Christs divinity?
His Resurrection from the dead is the strongest
evidence.
199
Focus Question
What arguments do detractors make against the
Resurrection of Christ?
They say the Apostles stole Christs Body or made
up the Resurrection to explain the empty tomb.
200
Focus Question
What argument does the Apostles behavior supply
in favor of the Resurrection of Christ?
The Apostles initially refused to believe the
women who announced the Resurrection, calling
their testimony idle tales.
201
Guided Exercise
Explore some arguments that have been advanced
against the Resurrection and refutations of those
arguments in the Web site at www.newadvent.org/cat
hen/12789a.htm
202
Focus Question
What is the strongest example of the Apostles
incredulity toward the Resurrection?
St. Thomas the Apostle did not accept the
eyewitness accounts of the other Apostles,
declaring, Unless I see in his hands the print
of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of
the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will
not believe (Jn 2025).
203
Focus Question
How does the Apostles behavior afterward support
the truth of the Resurrection?
All were persecuted and, except St. John,
martyred for their belief in the Resurrection.
204
Focus Question
What is the Ascension?
Forty days after his Resurrection, Christ
ascended into Heaven with the Apostles looking
on.