The Blessed Trinity
and Our Christian Vocation
The Blessed Trinity
Chapter 3
Chapter 3
God the Father
Chapter Objectives
The student will be able to understand:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
God as Father
Creation ex nihilo
Why God created the universe
What reason and Revelation
say about creation
The beginning of time
God’s good creation
God’s preservation,
providence, and government
of the universe
Creation and evolution
Angels
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Devils
Guardian angels
Man’s composite nature
The goodness of the human body
The human soul
The sacredness of the human
person
Man’s original condition
Stewardship
Marriage
Original Sin
Baptism
Keys to Chapter 3
• God is Father of all his creatures, of his adopted children, and,
uniquely, of his only Son.
• Everything God creates is good.
• Science, properly understood, and Revelation, properly understood, are
not in contradiction.
• God created the angels before man, and they are part of the cosmic
struggle of good vs. evil.
• Body and soul are part of man’s intrinsic dignity as made in the image
of God.
• Man is a co-creator with God.
• Baptism restores a person to the original dignity for which he or she
was intended, but life remains a struggle to seek and maintain holiness.
For Discussion:
• What is the Christian understanding of God
as Father?
• What is the relationship between God the
Father and his Son, Jesus Christ?
• What is the meaning of creation as found in
the Book of Genesis?
• Why did God create man?
continued
For Discussion:
• Who is Satan? What is his role in God’s plan?
• What was the original condition of mankind in
the Garden of Eden?
• What is Original Sin, and what effect does it
have on us?
• What is the role of angels in the Christian life?
God the Creator
Father
Lesson Objectives
•God as Father
•Creation ex nihilo
God the Creator Father
Basic Questions
In what sense is God a Father?
God is Father as Creator of the universe and
man; he is the adoptive Father of every Christian
incorporated into the Mystical Body of Christ, the
Church; and he is uniquely the Father of Jesus
Christ, the Son of God.
God the Creator Father
Basic Questions
How does God’s creation differ from man’s?
God the Almighty Father created Heaven and
earth out of nothing, whereas man creates from
preexisting things.
Anticipatory Set
Write about what you would choose if your were
granted three wishes and then discuss:
Does each person try to construct a Heaven on
earth for him- or herself ?
Guided Exercise
Conduct a think/pair/share based on the
Introduction (pp. 88-89) using the following
question:
What new dimensions of the idea of God’s
Fatherhood did Christ introduce?
Focus Question
If God is everywhere, why do Christians pray
to God in Heaven?
While God, indeed, is everywhere, Christians pray
to God in Heaven in order to lift their sights from
this earthly exile to their true home in Heaven.
Focus Question
Why did the Israelites wish to return to Egypt,
where they had been slaves?
They preferred the idea of being slaves with full
bellies.
Focus Question
What does the text mean when it refers to
grace, glory, and temples?
It is drawing an analogy between life on earth and life in
Heaven. On earth, people can live in a state of grace,
but, if they are fortunate enough to merit Heaven, they
will live in a state of glory. Christians are his temples,
but in Heaven, he will be the temple. Now he lives in
the hearts of his people, but in Heaven they will live in
him.
Focus Question
How is God seen as Father in the Old
Testament?
The title Father seldom appears in the Old
Testament with respect to God. God was
transcendent, dwelling in the Holy of Holies of the
Temple, which only the high priest could enter once a
year. Thus, there was a barrier between God and
Israel.
Focus Question
What new understanding of God did the
Incarnation of Christ reveal?
The Blessed Virgin Mary was told her child would
be called Son of the Most High. Thus, God the
Father was revealed to have a Son.
Focus Question
What familiar term did Christ use to refer to
his Father?
He used Abba, which is the Aramaic word children
used, akin to the English dad or daddy.
Focus Question
How did many Israelites act to Christ when he
referred to himself as the Son of God or
speaking of God as Abba?
This kind of language sounded shocking and
blasphemous.
Focus Question
How did Christ teach his disciples to think of
God?
He taught them to think of God as and to call God
“Our Father.”
Focus Question
How is God’s Fatherhood of Christ different
from his fatherhood of human beings?
Christ is God the Father’s Only-Begotten Son.
Human beings can become God the Father’s
adoptive children through Baptism into the Mystical
Body of Christ.
Focus Question
What is the divine economy?
While particular works are ascribed to one of the
Persons of the Blessed Trinity, in fact, all three
Persons act according to his own unique property.
Focus Question
What was God’s motivation when he created
Heaven and earth?
He wanted to express his love.
Focus Question
In what does the contemplation of creation
result?
It results in an acknowledgement of God’s
transcendence and omnipotence.
Focus Question
In what sense can every human being refer to
God as Father?
God created each person, so he or she can rightly call
him Father.
Guided Exercise
Conduct a think/pair/share using the following
question:
How are man’s and God’s acts of creation
radically different?
God’s Good
Creation
Lesson Objectives
•Why God created the universe
•What reason and Revelation say about creation
•The beginning of time
continued
God’s Good
Creation
Lesson Objectives
•God’s good creation
•God’s preservation, providence, and government
of the universe
•Creation and evolution
God’s Good Creation
Basic Questions
Why did God create the universe?
God creates all things out of a perfectly free act of
love in order to share his happiness with creatures
and manifest his glory.
God’s Good Creation
Basic Questions
What do reason and Revelation say about
creation?
Reason and Revelation agree God is the Creator
of the world.
God’s Good Creation
Basic Questions
When did time begin?
Time began when creation began.
God’s Good Creation
Basic Questions
What does it mean to say everything that
exists is good?
All God creates is good.
God’s Good Creation
Basic Questions
What are God’s preservation of, providence
toward, and government of creation?
God preserves and guides creation according to his
wisdom toward an end he has in mind.
God’s Good Creation
Basic Questions
What does the Church teach about evolution?
The Church supports the scientific study of the
origin of the universe and man but rejects false
positions that contradict the truths of the Faith.
Anticipatory Set
Incorporate a contemplative praying of the
Lord’s Prayer into the Opening Prayer.
Focus Question
What does it mean to say creation is ordained
to the glory of God?
God created the world to show his perfection through
the good things he communicates to his creatures.
Focus Question
How is God’s glory related to his love?
Out of love, God (who is love) desired to create all
things in order to enable his creatures to share in his
love and happiness.
Focus Question
Has God gained anything from creating the
universe?
No; he is all-perfect and has need of nothing. He
did not create in order to obtain some perfection he
does not eternally possess. He would not have been
less God, less perfect, or less good had he not carried
out the work of creation.
Focus Question
Why did the Fathers of the First Ecumenical
Council of the Vatican (cf. p. 93, DS 3002)
affirm God’s creation was “a completely free
decision?”
God had no compulsion to create; neither did he
have anything to gain from creating.
Guided Exercise
Conduct a think/pair/share using the following
question:
Why might God’s decision to manifest his glory
through creation require the creation of
rational beings such as angels and human
beings?
Focus Question
What very simple arguments demonstrate the
universe has a creator?
Something cannot come from nothing. Everything
that moves is set in motion by something else. Thus,
the universe must have an uncreated creator and
unmoved mover, who is God.
Focus Question
When was the beginning of time?
Time began with creation.
Focus Question
Was the universe created in six days as Genesis
records?
The creation story in Genesis is part of the inerrant
word of God and therefore true. However, Sacred
Scripture is not a scientific journal. God was not
trying to reveal how he created so much as why he
created.
Focus Question
What are some of the truths the story of
creation teaches?
God reveals who he is, who man is, and the meaning
of existence. It teaches about the origin of sin and
people’s relationships with God and with each other.
Focus Question
What does Genesis affirm about the things
God created?
God says each part of his creation is good and all
of it is very good.
Focus Question
How did Christ affirm the inherent goodness
of matter?
God uses material creation as an instrument of
redemption, first in his Incarnation—when he took
on a human nature with a human body—and later
in the Sacraments, which use matter to confer grace.
Guided Exercise
Conduct a think/pair/share using the following
question:
According to the Catechism, no. 390, what does
the Book of Genesis teach about Original Sin?
Guided Exercise
Review the material in Chapter 2 of the text on
Manichaeism (p. 70) and then write on the
grave error of this heresy in light of God’s
good creation.
Focus Question
In what sense could one say God continuously
created the universe at every moment?
Because God has created everything out of nothing,
if he did not continually preserve it in existence, it
would immediately revert to its origin; nothingness.
Focus Question
Must human beings follow God’s providence
and governance?
No, because of free will, they can choose to act
against God’s will.
Focus Question
What is the Church’s position on evolution of
the human body from preexisting material?
This theory does not contradict the Deposit of
Faith.
Focus Question
What is polygenism?
It is the false idea there were many sets of first
parents on earth, not just one.
Focus Question
How does polygenism deny Original Sin?
If there have been human beings who did not
descend through natural generation from Adam and
Eve, they would not suffer the effects of Original
Sin.
Focus Question
What is the double motive for thanksgiving
derived from the study of the origins?
First, there is a greater admiration for the greatness
of the Creator. Second, there is thankfulness for the
understanding and wisdom he gives men to discover
such things.
Focus Question
What philosophical questions are raised by
studying the origin of the world?
Is the universe governed by chance; fate; necessity; or
by a transcendent, intelligent, and good Being? If
the world does come from God’s wisdom and
goodness, why is there evil?
Focus Question
What is God’s preservation?
It is the continued existence and maintenance of
created things.
Focus Question
What is God’s providence?
It is God’s plan for all creatures, by which each is
led to the purpose or perfection assigned to him, her,
or it by God.
Focus Question
What is God’s government?
It is the implementation of his plan, the divine
action by which every creature is led to the
attainment of his, her, or its final purpose.
Focus Question
Why is Eve depicted coming out of Adam’s
rib (p. 95)?
It is a figurative way of saying that man and
woman are complementary; husband and wife are at
each other’s side.
Focus Question
What are the marks of marriage?
Marriage is a permanent, lifelong, and indissoluble
union of a man and woman that is to be fruitful.
Focus Question
How are husband and wife co-creators with
God?
Through the marriage act, a husband and wife can
bring a new human being into the world. However,
it is God who infuses each person with an immortal
soul.
Focus Question
How is the family like the Blessed Trinity?
The Blessed Trinity is the unity in three divine
Persons. In marriage, two people become one, and
their love can make them three, four, five, or more.
Focus Question
What does fruitfulness in marriage mean?
It refers to biological, spiritual, psychological, and
social fruitfulness in a community of life and love.
Angels
Lesson Objectives
•Angels
•Demons
•Guardian angels
Angels
Basic Questions
What are angels?
Angels are personal, pure spirits who serve God.
Angels
Basic Questions
What are demons?
The angels were tested, and some rebelled against
God’s will, becoming malicious demons bent on
destroying mankind; these rebellious angels are
called demons.
Anticipatory Set
Incorporate into the Opening Prayer the story
of Zechariah and the Archangel Gabriel and
then discuss the following question.
What does the encounter between Zechariah and
the Archangel Gabriel reveal about angels?
Focus Question
What two orders of creatures did God create?
He created the spiritual (or angelic) world and the
corporeal (or visible) world.
Focus Question
What is an angel?
An angel is a personal, free, spiritual being that
does not have a body.
Focus Question
How can a person know angels exist?
This is known from Divine Revelation. They
frequently appear in Scripture.
Focus Question
What does the word angel mean?
It means messenger.
Focus Question
Of which three angels are the names known,
and what do those names mean?
Michael means “Who is like God,” Gabriel means
“Strength of God,” and Raphael means “Healing
of God.”
Focus Question
How do angels gain knowledge?
Unlike human beings who learn from experience
gained through the five senses, angels are infused
with knowledge at their creation.
Focus Question
What test were angels given?
It is not known, but theologians have speculated it had
to do with serving human beings or envy of God.
Extension:
Another opinion holds the angels who fell revolted
against the idea God would become man.
Focus Question
What does the Book of Isaiah take for
granted?
The disobedient angels are condemned to Hell.
Focus Question
What names does Scripture assign Satan?
He is called tempter, adversary, and the enemy who
sows evil.
Focus Question
How did Christ characterize the Devil?
The Devil is “a murderer from the beginning, and
has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no
truth in him. When he lies he speaks according to
his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of
lies” (Jn 8:44).
Focus Question
What did the Fathers of the Second
Ecumenical Council of the Vatican teach
about the Devil?
A monumental struggle against the powers of
darkness pervades the history of human beings. The
battle was joined from the origins of the world and
will continue until the last day.
Focus Question
Why did St. Peter warn Christians to be
vigilant?
He warned, “Be sober, be watchful,” because “[y]our
adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion,
seeking someone to devour.”
Guided Exercise
Complete a paragraph shrink of the paragraph
“Although the Redemption…” (p. 101).
Focus Question
What effect can a guardian angel have on the
mind?
A guardian angel can reach the mind directly by
awakening images, remembrances, and impressions.
These can make more clear what God is asking and
can help a person to continue on the proper path.
Guided Exercise
Read the Guardian Angel Prayer and then write
about how to invoke your guardian angel in
ordinary life.
Focus Question
What is a guardian angel?
Each human being is entrusted to the custody of a
guardian angel to protect him or her throughout life
on earth and lead him or her to everlasting life.
Focus Question
What did Christ teach about guardian angels?
The angels of children, “always behold the face of my
Father who is in heaven” (Mt 18:10).
Focus Question
When should the help of a guardian angel be
invoked?
It should be invoked at all times, especially in times
of temptation or difficulty.
God Creates Man in His
Own Image and Likeness
Lesson Objectives
•Man’s composite nature
•The goodness of the human body
•The human soul
•The sacredness of the human person
God Creates Man in His Own
Image and Likeness
Basic Questions
What is man’s composite nature?
Man is a composite being of a perishable, physical
body and an imperishable, spiritual soul.
God Creates Man in His Own
Image and Likeness
Basic Questions
Is the body good?
The body is good by nature, but, because of
concupiscence, people must struggle against the
flesh.
God Creates Man in His Own
Image and Likeness
Basic Questions
How is man made in the image and
likeness of God?
Human beings are made in the image and likeness
of God because they have rational souls; an
intellect and free will by which they are capable of
love.
God Creates Man in His Own
Image and Likeness
Basic Questions
Why is the human person sacred?
Every human being is intrinsically sacred because
he is made in the image of God, not because of
what he or she possesses or can do.
Anticipatory Set
Discuss the following:
Why is it acceptable to eat the meat of a cow,
pig, or chicken but not the meat of a human?
Focus Question
What does it mean to say man is a composite
being?
Man is a union of body and soul.
Focus Question
What does the Hebrew word for soul literally
mean?
It means breath, inhalation, or exhalation.
Focus Question
How does each person get his or her own
soul?
It is directly infused into the body by God at the
moment of conception.
Focus Question
What is the ultimate fate of the soul and the
body?
The soul continues to exist after death and returns to
God. The body decomposes but will be perfected and
glorified, reunited with the soul at the end of time.
Focus Question
What are some of the ways man’s rational soul
manifests itself?
Man is capable of knowing himself, possessing
himself, giving himself, entering into communion with
other persons, being in a covenant with his Creator,
and choosing to follow God’s will and return his love.
Guided Exercise
Complete a focused reading on the two
paragraphs “All human life is sacred…in the
eyes of God” (p. 103) using the following
question:
How do the ideas of intrinsic good and
instrumental good apply to the inherent dignity
of the person?
Graphic Organizer
Complete the following table about the three key truths that
flow out of having been created in the image of God.
Key Truth
God is our Father.
We are made in the
image and likeness of
God.
Human life is
intrinsically sacred.
Significance
Focus Question
Why is the human body good?
It is good because God created it.
Focus Question
Why can the body be used for good or evil?
Because of Original Sin, human nature includes the
defect of concupiscence, a tendency toward sin. Thus,
the body can be used to glorify or offend God.
Focus Question
Why is life a struggle?
Because of concupiscence, each person must struggle to
be virtuous and avoid sin, practice self-denial, and
make reparation for sins committed.
Man Before and
After Original Sin
Lesson Objectives
•Man’s original condition
•Stewardship
•Marriage
•Original Sin
•Baptism
Man Before and
After Original Sin
Basic Questions
What was man’s original condition before
the Fall?
Man’s original state was supernatural holiness and
justice, free from suffering and death.
Man Before and
After Original Sin
Basic Questions
What is stewardship?
Man is a steward of the good use of creation.
Man Before and
After Original Sin
Basic Questions
What is marriage?
Marriage is a permanent, lifelong, and indissoluble
union of a man and a woman. Spouses become cocreators with God.
Man Before and
After Original Sin
Basic Questions
What was the effect of Adam’s sin?
Adam and Eve’s sin of disobedience brought to
them and all their descendants loss of supernatural
life, weakened reasoned and will, concupiscence,
suffering, and death.
Man Before and
After Original Sin
Basic Questions
How does man become holy?
Baptism opens the way for redemption and allows
a person to pursue holiness, that is, to become like
Christ.
Anticipatory Set
Write on Practical Exercise 2, relating Original Sin
to modern sins.
Focus Question
According to St. Paul, what was the condition
of Adam and Eve before the Fall?
Adam possessed supernatural holiness and justice
before the Fall.
Focus Question
How can a person know Adam and Eve were
free from suffering and death?
God gave them dominion over creation and the
command to subdue it. That is, they would act as
God’s stewards, cooperating with God in his act of
Creation.
Focus Question
What is stewardship?
A steward is a person who is entrusted with the care
and preservation of something of value.
Extension:
Human stewardship is a grave responsibility that
encompasses the way we treat God’s creation,
especially other people.
Focus Question
How is Original Sin transmitted?
It is transmitted through human generation.
Focus Question
What two kinds of suffering and death did
Adam pass on to his descendants?
He passed on the death of the soul through the loss
of sanctifying grace and the death of the body
through sin.
Focus Question
How can it be known all human beings inherit
Original Sin?
Christ died for all, even infants who cannot commit
actual sins.
Focus Question
What are the effects of Baptism?
The soul is cleansed of Original Sin and any actual
sin, and sanctifying grace is restored. However, the
effects of Original Sin remain, particularly
concupiscence, suffering, and death.
continued
Focus Question
What are the effects of Baptism?
Extension:
The effects of Original Sin are a darkened intellect,
with which it is difficult to know the truth, a
weakened will, with which it is difficult to do what is
right; concupiscence, which is the tendency for the
passions to overwhelm reason and will, and suffering
from death.
Focus Question
What is the Protoevangelium (or First Gospel)?
It is the announcement by God to Adam and Eve—
immediately after the Fall—he would one day
reconcile man to himself; “I will put enmity between
you and the woman, and between your seed and her
seed, he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise
his heel” (Gn 3:15).
Focus Question
How does the Protoevangelium relate to the
redemption of Christ?
It describes the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose son,
Jesus Christ, destroyed the power of the serpent.
Focus Question
What was the core of Original Sin?
The sin was disobedience; Adam and Eve wanted to
decide for themselves what is right and wrong. Man
had been destined to be divinized by God in Heaven,
but man tried to be like God without God on earth.
Guided Exercise
Complete a paragraph shrink on Pope Benedict
XVI’s message to Patriarch Bartholomew I.
Focus Question
What is the Church’s purpose?
She exists to help her members unite themselves to
Christ and achieve the salvation of their souls.
Focus Question
Who are the saints?
They are holy people who serve Christ and have
spread his Good News throughout the world. This
can include people on earth, in Purgatory, and in
Heaven.
Focus Question
How does one become holy?
He or she must identify completely with Christ in
word and action to do the will of God.
Focus Question
What is the consequence of sanctity?
It is happiness on earth and eternal life in Heaven.
Focus Question
What is the triple meaning of the concept of
the communion of saints?
The three are (1) the unity among the members of the
Mystical Body of Christ as the one Church,
composed of the saints in Heaven, those undergoing
purification in Purgatory, and the faithful on earth;
continued
Focus Question
What is the triple meaning of the concept of
the communion of saints?
(2) The holy things of the Church—above all the
Eucharist—by which the unity of believers, who form
one body in Christ, is represented and brought about;
and (3) the communion of holy persons who offer
their lives and sufferings in and for Christ, bearing
fruits for all.
Focus Question
How does one become a member of Christ’s
Mystical Body?
Through Baptism.
Focus Question
What makes a Christian a temple of the Holy
Spirit?
When in a state of grace, God dwells in the person.
Focus Question
How does one grow in sanctity?
He or she does this through prayer, reception of the
Sacraments, and serving God by doing his will.
Guided Exercise
Have a discussion of the Catechism, no. 356 (p. 106),
using the following question:
The Catechism seems to say the basic reason for
man’s dignity is having been made to know and
love God; earlier, the text stated man’s dignity is
rooted in having been made in the image and
likeness of God with reason and free will. Are
these two statements in contradiction?
Focus Question
In what way did the Albigensian heresy seem
to some more Christlike than Catholicism?
The Albigensians preached extreme poverty. This
may have seemed to honor more faithfully the
example of Christ than the lax morals of many
Catholic clergymen.
Focus Question
How was the Albigensian heresy harmful to
the human person?
This heresy teaches life itself, marriage, and
conception are evils and suicide, abortion, and sodomy
are goods.
Focus Question
How was the Albigensian heresy harmful to
the Catholic Church?
This heresy rejects the priesthood and the Sacraments.
Therefore, people were denied the chance to benefit
from the Sacraments during their time on earth.
Focus Question
How did St. Dominic begin to preach to the
Albigensians?
The Abbot of Citeaux in southern France complained to
a Spanish bishop and his canon (St. Dominic) about
how hard it was to convert people back to the Catholic
Faith. The two visitors said the example of the preacher
was just as important as his words. Because Christ’s
disciples preached barefoot without a staff or money, the
two Spanish travelers decided to stay and do the same.
Focus Question
How was St. Dominic inspired by St. Francis
of Assisi?
He wanted to live absolute poverty as St. Francis had
done.
Focus Question
Why did St. Dominic become interested in
education?
He believed preachers would require a solid
intellectual basis to convert the Albigensians.
Focus Question
Why were St. Dominic and his followers called
the Order of Preachers?
St. Dominic sent them out in pairs to cities to live
and preach to the people.
Focus Question
What was St. Dominic’s secret weapon?
The Rosary was his weapon.
Focus Question
How does love of neighbor relate to love of
God?
Love of neighbor reveals a person’s love for God.
Focus Question
Who is the perfect model of holiness?
Jesus Christ is the perfect model of holiness.
Focus Question
How do the Sacraments help a person to grow
in holiness?
Reception of the Sacraments gives grace, and grace
gives the strength and desire to amend one’s life, grow
in virtue, and overcome fears about sharing and
discussing the Faith with others.
Focus Question
How is the story of Cain and Abel a proof of
the transmission of Original Sin?
Cain grew angry with his brother, lured him to a
private place, and then murdered him.
Focus Question
Was Cain’s sin inevitable?
No; God told Cain he could master sin.
Focus Question
Is it ever necessary for us to commit a grave
sin?
No; despite temptation and human weaknesses, there
is sufficient grace from God to help rise above and
master sin.