CHAPTER 1

Chapter 1
The Gift
of
Being
Human
Our God-like Qualities

TO THINK TO CHOOSE

TO RELATE TO
OTHERS IN
TO LOVE
THE
COMMUNITY

The Unique Gift of Being Human

Trinitarian Love
Humans can reflect Trinitarian love by joining in a communion of love
with others in their community.

Father

Son Holy Spirit The Unique Gift of Being Human

 Human Soul
Soul is the name for the innermost spiritual
principle of human beings. The soul and
body together form one unique human
nature. The soul is created immediately by
God. It is immortal.

Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones:

Listen! I will make breath enter you so you
may come to life.6I will put sinews on you,
make flesh grow over you, cover you with
skin, and put breath into you so you may
come to life. Then you shall know that I am
the LORD.
Ezekiel 37:5-6
The Unique Gift of Being Human
 Angels
Angels are spiritual
creatures, created by
God with intelligence
and will, who surpass
humans in perfection.
They are personal and
immortal creatures.

The Unique Gift of Being Human

 The Body
“ The acceptance of our bodies as
God’s gift is vital for welcoming
and accepting the entire world as
a gift from the Father and our
common home.” –Pope Francis
(Laudato si’, 155)

“ The [human] body, and it alone,

is capable of making visible what
is invisible: the spiritual and the
divine.” –Pope John Paul II (TOB,
19:4)

Humans Are Made in God’s Image

• We are creatures.
• We are not God.
• We were made by someone greater than us.
• God has the right, ability and power to ask behaviors of us.
• While difficult, good actions are possible through his grace.

A moral person worships God, praises his goodness and worships him alone.

Covenant with God

Humans Are Made in God’s Image
 Humans as Stewards
• All creation shares in God’s
goodness because creation
comes from God’s goodness.

• God’s glory shines through

his creation, therefore we
are called to take care of all
of creation: people, animals,
and the environment.

Humans Are Made in God’s Image

Created Male and Female

• God created man and woman as complementary beings.

• The union of Christ and the Church reflects in union of
man and woman in marriage.
• Because marriage is a sign and sacrament of God’s love,
rooted in natural law, its definition can never be changed.
Humans Are Made in God’s Image
Marriage as a Social Justice Issue

“The family is thus an agent of pastoral activity through its explicit

proclamation of the Gospel and its legacy of varied forms of witness,
namely solidarity with the poor, openness to a diversity of people, the
protection of creation, moral and material solidarity with other
families, including those most in need, commitment to the promotion
of the common good and the transformation of unjust social
structures, beginning in the territory in which the family lives, through
the practice of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.”
Pope Francis, Amoris Laetitia (On Love in the Family), Chapter 8 (290)

Humans Are Made in God’s Image

 Six Ways to Defend Marriage
1. Understand and share that Natural Law is God’s Law.
2. Point out that nations that fail to support marriage suffer grave
consequences, including loss of workers, loss of tax base, and decline in
human ingenuity and productivity.
3. Explain that the issue of marriage between one man and one woman is
not about denying individual rights but about promoting the good of the
whole society.
4. Note that marriage and family provide benefits to society by producing,
raising, and educating, the next generation.
5. Cite how a strong family life offers the benefits of mental and emotional
health.
6. State the fact that same-sex pairs cannot benefit the whole of the nation
by bearing the next generation. The population plunges, and all the
attendant ills come roaring onto the political and social landscape.
Reference: https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/how-to-make-the-case-for-marriage
Humans Are Made in God’s Image
 Describes the fallen state of human nature, which
ORIGINAL affects every person and from which Christ came to
SIN redeem the world.

The sacrament imparts the life of Christ, erases

Baptism Original Sin, and turns a person back toward God.

A word that refers to disordered human desires

Concupiscence resulting from Original Sin that produce an inclination
to sin, also expressed as “the rebellion of the ‘ flesh’
against the ‘spirit’” (CCC, 2515).
Ongoing Describes the constant “battle” between the flesh and
Spiritual the spirit to do right and rely on the help of God’s grace
Battle to grow in holiness, truth, and life.
Humans Are Made in God’s Image
All people have inherent, God-given dignity.

The Dignity of the Human Person

Free Will
The power, rooted in reason and will, to act
or not to act, to do this or that, and so to
perform deliberate actions on one’s own
responsibility (CCC, 1731).

The Dignity of the Human Person

“I wouldn't touch him for a
million dollars!!!”

St. Teresa of Calcutta:

“Neither would I.”

The Dignity of the Human Person

Assignment
Think of a time when
you or someone you
know ministered to
one of God’s children
when no one else
would. How did that
experience help you
grow closer to God?
The Dignity of the Human Person
 Theological Virtues
• Faith, Hope and Charity (Love)

Explain one practical way that you can work to embody each of the theological virtues.
The Dignity of the Human Person
Five Ways to Defend the Dignity of Unborn

1. Establish the evidence of the beginnings of human life in science.

2. Cite facts on human development
3. Many do not understand the law Roe v. Wade and what amounted
to unrestricted access to abortion on demand at any time. Explain
the law.
4. Cite public opinion on abortion: Only 6 to 17 percent of Americans
(depending on how the question is asked and by whom) believe
abortion should be legal at any time and in all circumstances.
5. Act in a pro-life manner: be a caregiver, donate time and money to
pro life causes, show compassion and care for all of God’s children.
The Dignity of the Human Person
Subsidiarity
The principle of
susdiarity holds that
a higher unit of
society should not do
what a lower unit can
do as well (or better).

The Social Nature of Humans

Jesus Is Savior by the Paschal Mystery
The Paschal Mystery
is the saving love of
God most fully
revealed in the life
and especially the
Passion, Death,
Resurrection, and
glorious Ascension
of his Son, Jesus
Christ.
The Social Nature of Humans
References
• Marriage as social justice: http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-
teachings/what-we-believe/catholic-social-teaching/call-to-family-
community-and-participation.cfm
• Unborn Life: https://www.frc.org/brochure/the-best-pro-life-
arguments-for-secular-audiences