Understanding

Pagpapakatao

(Having a Pleasing Personality)

Pagpapakatao
Is the key to being able to live a good
moral life
Mater et Magistra states that as often as
human activity and institutions having to
do with the affairs of this life, the more
they are to be regarded as an efficacious
way of obtaining the immediate end of
which they are directed

 Populorum Progressio affirms that

every man is called upon to develop
and fulfill himself, for every life is a
vocation
John Powell, S.J., Fully Human Fully
Alive: fully alive people are those
who are using their human faculties,
powers, and talents

 Catechisme De Leglise Catholique infer that

pagpapakatao means that since man is the human
person created by God, he or she is not only
something but someone.
Thus identifying three characteristics of the pleasing
personality:
(1) being unique
(2) awareness of the significance of extending ones
uniqueness to the other I-You relationship and
(3) going beyond the I-You relationship WE
relationship

1. Pagpapakatao is knowing how to

be unique (tunay na ako)
Human beings are an interesting
combination of difference and
sameness. (As I Have Loved You: The
Challenge of Christian Ethics James P.
Hannigan)
John Powell, S.J. expressed this
uniquesness by mentioning this
remark: after God made you, he
broke the mold.

 Our responsibility to be unique can

be done only through self-awareness.
Human beings is unique because of
this self-awareness.
Socrates believed that every
individual should keep on inquiring
what it means to be a person
responsible to truth and goodness.

 A further indication of self awareness

is questioning whether our lives have
a goal or purpose, whether there is a
reason for our being here or not.
Siddharta Gautama and Lao Tzu
have different approaches in seeking
the answers.

 In the context of Catholic Cathecism, Selfawareness suggests that persons are

conscious beings, aware of themselves in
their outgoing acts.
In the context of moral theology, Selfawareness is awareness of the task of
becoming a person at which we will
succeed or fail precisely by the choices or
decisions we make.

 In the Philippine society, we have to admit

that it is difficult to be authentic because
social acceptance is more highly valued
than being authentic.
This should be changed and can only be
done by developing a virtue appropriate to
this particular characteristic of
pagpapakatao: faith, one of the theological
virtues.

 Faith is believing in what God has

revealed to us through Jesus Christ
and continued in the holy Catholic
Church.
Faith is actively cooperating with the
divine action by allowing God to
unlock our intellect so that we may
be truly open to the Word of God.

2. Pagpapakatao is knowing how to

extend the self to others (I-You
relationship)
A person is able to realize his or her individual
potentialities only if he or she is supported by
the universal values and laws which are
manifested through the common bond of real
community by all who share the same nature.
The essence of person is to be related to
another I. In extending the I to another
I, ones uniqueness should be preserved.

 I-You relationship: Lovers, husband and

wife, parents and children, and intimate
friends.
Michael K. Duffey said that since
friendship with others is the goal of
Christian life, we should give our attention
to it. The teachings of Jesus have always
reminded us how others are important.

 Friendship indeed can bring us to

successful relationships. But this is
only possible after knowing the
different levels of friendship:
a. the caring level of friendship. One
indicator of this level is awareness.
Awareness of the presence of our
friend entails recognizing his or her
good qualities and being attuned to
his or her feeling.

 To know a real person is a mutual

responsibility which leads to another
indicator of caring level of friendship,
communication. One communicates
in various ways. Looking, speaking,
writing and touching, or just by being
there.

b. The level of baring ones soul in friendship.

This level is quite difficult because of the
perceived dangers. In revealing oneself, we
risk ending up rejected.
Despite the dangers, we should opt to be
transparent to our friends.
Greenfield writes about baring ones soul:
when a person does not admit or reveal to
himself who, what, and why he or she is, then
that person is out of touch with reality and in
time will become sick. Only truth can heal.

c. The level of spiritual friendship. This unites us

spiritually.
Friendship in the context of the I-You relationship
can be summarized in the Catholic Faith
Catechism part II.
A virtue appropriate to this second characteristic of
pagpapakatao is hope (another theological virtue).

 Hoping is yearning for the final glory

of being totally with God.
We also have to remember that hope
comes with responsibility for the
world.

3. Pagpapakatao is knowing how to

extend the I-You to a community (we
realtionship
Our strong regional mentality is a hindrance
for this third characteristic of pagpapakatao.
Stated in the Catholic Faith Cathecism part
II:
however, our pakikipagkapwa-tao often remains
restricted to those who are close to us, or those
whom we respect and admire, or those from
whom we received (or hope to receive) some
favor.

 A community, to be genuine, is more

than the union of two persons with
an I-You relationship. It can be
understood only in the sense that
there is no such thing as one group
against another group.

 Filipino values such as pakikisama can

serve to form a true community that is not
a mere plurality of individuals, but many Is
united by their acceptance.
We dedicate ourselves to the community;
we realize our responsibility toward it; we
are aware that just as we are supported by
the community we are likewise called to
support it.

To sum up
Taking seriously the three characteristics of
pagpapakatao and integrating them into
our personhood is a proper response to
Gods call.
Christianity as an ethical religion, in the
sense that it recognizes no separation
between service to God and moral conduct
allows the human person how to be human
in the world and humanly related to God.

 It recognizes the significance of

understanding oneself as a person in
order to fully grasp ones task as a
human being in the world and ones
relationship to God.