ISU 76, Texas Tech 69• Sports Report• Poem (2)• Drawing (2)• Eyewitness interview (2)

The Truth About Being Human

Happiness• All humans long for happiness. • Our desire for happiness is infinite.• Only an infinite source can satisfy an

infinite desire. • God is the ultimate goal of all of our

desires.

• “Everything in this world works better when it acts in accordance with its nature.”

• “To understand how humanity is happiest, you have to understand the nature of the human person.”

Genesis• Very Good (1:31)• Image and likeness of God (1:26)• Union of a body and soul (2:7)• Free will and Intellect (2:16)• Social/communal (2:18, 24)–Woman given to man– Creation to man–Hints of the Trinity

• Human Dignity: the indestructible worth/value of every person because they are made in God’s image and likeness.

• Psalm 8:5-9

• Original Sin: messes up not only the personal but the communal aspect of being human

• Even when we have original sin removed, actual sin and the effects of sin remain.– Darkened intellect and a weakened will– Suffering, pain, and death

• Concupiscence: the tendency to sin which is not removed in Baptism

• Salvation history: the rest of the Bible, throughout the OT and fulfilled in Christ in the NT, is the story of God seeking to restore what was lost and damaged in the fall and to raise it up to life everlasting with him.

• Grace: God’s gift to strengthen us to do and be good.

About 10 seconds later in Genesis…The Fall

Jesus in the GospelsThree things that humans are destined to be/become because Christ came: 1. We are saved sinners– Paschal Mystery – We have hope and new and eternal life is offered.– Freedom (John 8)– If we are not saved sinners, what is our destiny?

(1 Cor 15:17)2. We are called to be compassionate as Jesus

was compassionate.1. Compassion = 2. Unique response of Christians to suffering =

through3. Alternatives =

Jesus in the GospelsThree things that humans are destined to be/become because Christ came: 3. We are friends of the Lord.– We can trust in his unwavering fidelity

as a friend.– Psalm 23– Companion =– In return for Christ’s love, we are to love

(1 John 4:7-10). When we love we are most human. We love:• Our neighbor as ourselves (Mt 22)• Our enemies (Mt 5)• The poor/least in our midst (Mt 25)

Review• Truths that we learn through

creation:– Very good, image and likeness, free

will and intellect, body and soul, social, dignity

• Truths that we learn from the Fall:–Original sin, concupiscence,

darkened intellect, weakened will, suffering, pain, death

• Truths that we learn through Jesus: – Saved sinners, compassion, friends

Social Beings• “Being social beings means that

you are called to be with others.”• “Your social nature is absolutely

vital to your quest for happiness.”• Society: a group of persons bound

together organically by a principle of unity that goes beyond each one of them. (CCC, 1880)

• “No one lives alone. No one sins alone. No one is saved alone.” –B16

Social Beings• Since you are a social being by nature, in

order for you to find happiness, the societies that you are involved with should lead you to being more truly and fully you.

1. With a partner, make a list of the societies that you are a member of.

2. Discuss the ways that those societies help you be most fully yourself. (How do they help fulfill your human nature?…Remember all of the truths about being human that we have covered.)

3. Are there any aspects of the various societies that are barriers to fulfilling your nature and being fully happy?

Social Beings• Which societies are chosen by you? Which are

not?• Is there a correlation between the societies you

choose and the excitement you have towards them?

• Is there a correlation between the excitement you have towards a society and the time/resources you invest in that society?

• How does your involvement in societies change over time? Are you involved in more or less societies as you get older?

• How might an individual society change over time?

• What factors might be involved in discerning which societies to join or cut ties with?

• How do you discern what resources to put towards which society?

Justice• Definition:• Types:

1. Commutative:2. Distributive:3. Legal:

• Social Justice:• Chart on p. 14• Examples: School, family, sports

team

p. 16-20• Common Good (definition):• Justice and Charity (relationship):• Social Sin (definition):– Solution: “To put the world in order,

we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must cultivate our personal life; and to cultivate our personal life, we must first set our hearts right.” -Confucius