UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

INSTITUTE OF RELIGION

THEOLOGY 4

Living the
CHRISTIAN VISION IN THE
CONTEMPORARY WORLD
UNIT 1 - HARMONY WITH GOD: CALLED TO COMMUNION
LESSON 1: SPIRITUALITY OF TRUTH
Crisis of Relativism and
A SPIRITUALITY OF TRUTH

Imelda
 Crisis of Relativism and
A SPIRITUALITY OF TRUTH

Share your thoughts on the following statement:

Perception is real. Truth is not.

- Imelda Marcos
 Crisis of Relativism and
A SPIRITUALITY OF TRUTH

Our situation today: a POST-TRUTH SOCIETY

• authority is questioned or rejected
• personal opinion/belief is exalted
• “echo chambers” in social media
• dialogue becomes impossible
• veracity replaced by popularity
• universal values are forgotten
• there is no truth, or at least we have no
access to it only belief
…a CRISIS OF RELATIVISM
 Crisis of Relativism and
A SPIRITUALITY OF TRUTH

1. Relativism in FAITH
• authority is questioned or rejected
• personal opinion/belief is exalted
• “echo chambers” in social media
• dialogue becomes impossible
• universal values are forgotten
 Crisis of Relativism and
A SPIRITUALITY OF TRUTH

2. Relativism in MORALS
• Logical consequence of relativism in faith
• Denying existence of moral absolutes
• Moral judgment is equated with moralism
• Relativism>indifferentism>loss of morality
• Rule of power rather than of reason
 Crisis of Relativism and
A SPIRITUALITY OF TRUTH

STUDY
Grounding the lesson in real life situations, acknowledging prior beliefs and
questions, addressing current issues and realities…

1. Our society today is described as a

“post-truth” society. Has truth lost its
relevance or have we lost sight of it?
2. Why is truth important?
3. As Thomasians, how can we live out our
commitment to the Truth?
 Crisis of Relativism and
A SPIRITUALITY OF TRUTH

RESEARCH
Approaching the subject from different angles and opinions, appraising the views of
various disciplines and perspectives...

You will be divided into three groups. Each group will make a
presentation on the strengths and weaknesses of the three
theories of truth:
• Correspondence Theory
• Coherence Theory
• Pragmatic Theory
You may use Google Slides as a chart to aid your
discussion and presentation
 Crisis of Relativism and
A SPIRITUALITY OF TRUTH

ANALYSIS
Articulating and reflecting about the question together with the help of other
disciplines AND IN THE LIGHT OF CHRISTIAN FAITH…

What is our Christian understanding of Truth? How does

this correspond with the foregoing theories of truth that
we discussed?
SPIRITUALITY OF TRUTH
 SPIRITUALITY
Mission without an
accompanying spirituality is
like a body without its soul.
 WHAT IS SPIRITUALITY?

• Spirit: is usually contrasted with

body or matter

• Spiritual: is considered to be the

opposite of physical or material
WHAT IS SPIRITUALITY?

While SPIRIT and SPIRITUAL maybe opposite in common

parlance of matter and material, body and physical, IT IS NOT
SO ACCORDING IN BIBLICAL USAGE.

In the Bible, even the body can be a

“SPIRITUAL BODY” (1Cor. 15: 42-44).
WHAT IS SPIRITUALITY?

• SPIRITUAL: is an attribute of the

children of God.

• The Spirit of God is a life-giving Spirit.

Spirituality is life.
 WHAT IS SPIRITUALITY?

Spirituality is NOT only life, IT IS ALL OF LIFE.

 WHAT IS SPIRITUALITY?

• Just like all of life, spirituality is

not achieved once and for all, but
it is journey.

• Just as there are different ways or

styles of living, we speak not only
of spirituality BUT of spiritualitieS.
 SPIRITUALITY

SPIRITUALITIES are different styles

of living according to the SPIRIT.

Each SPIRITUALITY is a PATHWAY

TO HOLINESS, a way to becoming
proficient in living the life of the
SPIRIT.
 SPIRITUALITY OF
UNIVERSAL
BECAUSE the same at all places and
at all times
TRUTH
SHOULD BE A OBJECTIVE
WAY OF LIFE. discovered and not made,
“Ifwe don’t look for truth, we not what I think or believe

are guided by other interests,

or fears, or the pressure of
the crowd, of the media, of
TRANSCULTURAL
It is the same for all
power, of self-comfort, people
and we are not free,
we are slaves”
Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia,
Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines
UST, August 2018
 Today, having a clear faith based on the

RELATIVISM
Creed of the Church is often labeled as
fundamentalism. Whereas relativism,
seems the only attitude that can cope
with modern times. We are building a
Relativism is the belief that there are no dictatorship of relativism that does not
such things as permanent or universal recognize anything as definitive and
truths.
whose ultimate goal consists solely of
All truths, whether in matters of doctrine one's own ego and desires.
or morality, are dependent on the Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger
individual, on popular opinion, on society, Missa Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice, 19 April 2005
on culture, etc. but never on an objective
basis such as the Word of God.
All opinions are true and valid, even if
they contradict each other. As such, in a
relativist society, there are no standards,
no permanent moral values.
One who is not a relativist is labelled as
FUNDAMENTALIST, or ARROGANT, or
INTOLERANT.
 RELATIVISM IN
RELATIVISM IN FAITH:
MORALS:
There is no
There is no absolute
absolute Truth.
Right and Wrong.
RELIGIOUS
INDIFFERENTISM:
UTILITARIANISM and
One Religion is just as
HEDONISM : The Beauty of Life
good as another. Christ
is just one among many.
What is useful is good. consists in giving oneself
What is pleasurable to others.
CAFETERIA CATHOLICISM: is good. St. John Paul II
We are free to just The end justifies the UST Manila, January 1995
choose which of the means.
Church’s teachings we PRACTICAL RELATIVISM:
will accept as true and a form of moral relativism REASON BEHIND THE
follow, abandoning that is self-centered, self- LACK OF A SENSE OF
beliefs and practices indulgent and grounded on MISSION AMONG
which do not suit our convenience and material CHRISTIANS
taste or preferences. security
 Crisis of Relativism and
A SPIRITUALITY OF TRUTH

Moral Relativism
“While the Church insists on the
existence of objective moral norms
which are VALID FOR EVERYONE…
there are those in our culture who
portray this teaching as UNJUST, that
is, as opposed to basic human rights.”
(Evangelii Gaudium, 64) ”
 Crisis of Relativism and
A SPIRITUALITY OF TRUTH

Practical Relativism
“…acting as if God did not exist,
making decisions as if the poor did
not exist, setting goals as if others did
not exist, working as if people who
have not received the Gospel did not
exist.” (Evangelii Gaudium, 80; see
also LS 122)
Without God, if I say BEING TRUTHFUL IS GOOD, I only mean
“I like being truthful”
Without God, if I say STEALING IS EVIL, I only mean
“I don’t like stealing”
WHAT IS TRUTH?
Is something factual
automatically truthful?
Is the truth determined
by what we know and
believe?

Is the truth determined

by usefulness?
 Crisis of Relativism and
A SPIRITUALITY OF TRUTH

“Truth is the equation of

mind and thing.” (Summa
Theologiae, I:21:2)
 TRUTH ACCORDING TO ST. THOMAS AQUINAS
A person is logically
LOGICAL TRUTHFULNESS truthful if his mind
conforms to reality
A person is morally truthful
MORAL TRUTHFULNESS if his words/actions conform
to what is in his mind
Something is true in so
ONTOLOGICAL TRUTH far as it corresponds to
the mind of its maker.
 Crisis of Relativism and
A SPIRITUALITY OF TRUTH

Spirituality of Truth
•Verifying the Truth (logical)
•Living out the Truth (moral)
•Actualizing the Truth of who I am,
whose I am, for whom I am (ontological)
 Crisis of Relativism and
A SPIRITUALITY OF TRUTH

Truth = VERITAS
•Became incarnate in the person
of JESUS CHRIST
“He is before all things, and in him all
things hold together.” (Colossians 1:-17)
To be a CHRISTIAN
means to be firmly
convinced that

THERE IS NO
OTHER WAY,
THERS ARE NO
OTHER
TRUTHS

but JESUS,
 JESUS’ CLAIMS WERE TRUE
He is indeed GOD.
THE way. THE truth. THE life.

If Jesus is LORD, then I have to WORSHIP his PERSON and

OBEY his TEACHINGS.
 Crisis of Relativism and
A SPIRITUALITY OF TRUTH

ACTION
Applying new knowledge to praise (worship - to adore and praise God),
to bless (morals - to bless God by being a blessing to others), to preach
(doctrine - to share and proclaim faith)…

Create pointers/guidelines on how to live a

spirituality of truth today, especially in the world
of social media. You can express this in the form
of memes or a short vlog.

Deadline:
You will find the submission link
in Blackboard Learn
 THEOLOGY 4:

LIVING THE CHRISTIAN VISION IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD:

Harmony with God: Called to Communion

B. Spirituality of Mercy

Junie A. Quilatan
UST – Institute of Religion
•Reminder: Observe and Respect Intellectual
Property Rights Law. This file or material is for
your class in Theology only. Do not share this
powerpoint to anyone who is not enrolled in our
class. Do not share this in any public/social media
sharing sites or study resources websites.
• Intellectual Property Rights of materials/resources: to
understand that these materials and resources are the
property of the University of Santo Tomas, copyrighted to
the respective authors of each material or resource.
Students shall use these materials and resources only for the
intended purpose of learning in this course… to ensure that
these materials are not reproduced, shared, or used outside
of the University and for purposes not consistent with the
intent of the course (e.g. slideshare, course hero etc..)
 STUDY:
Lifestyle Check: “My Plastic Footprint” : Let us make an assessment of how much trash we generate in a week. There
are many classifications of “waste” but let us narrow it down to “plastics.”

• List down all single-use or disposable items you use within the span of a week. Then calculate exactly how much plastic
trash you generate in a year. How to do this? Use the Omni Calculator or the “Plastic Footprint Calculator.” This will
show you how many pounds of plastic you used in a year or you will use in your lifetime. Visit the website in doing this
personal study:
https://www.omnicalculator.com/ecology/plastic-footprint

The omni calculator lets us visualize the giant pile of plastics that our habits are generating. For the students: note down the
different types of plastic wastes you generate. Imagine how much of these end up in the ocean.

• We can also try the plastic-calculator from Greenpeace’s U.K. office. This not only adds up the number of plastic
items we buy but also provides a visual representation of our annual pile of trash:
https://secure.greenpeace.org.uk/page/content/plastics-calculator

Question
• What do you think are the reasons why people in society persist in a throwaway culture? What are the impacts of the
throwaway lifestyle to the environment and to the poor?
GW#___ Year & Section _/_/2021
(Triad/Dyad) 1 whole yellow paper

Surname, Name
Surname, Name
Surname, Name
 RESEARCH:
Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, Plastics
Exposed: How Waste Assessments and Brand Audits
Are Helping Philippine Cities Fight Plastic Pollution, 2nd
ed. (Quezon City: Global Alliance for Incinerator
Alternatives, 2019), https://www.no-burn.org/wp-
content/uploads/Plastics-Exposed-2nd-Edition-Online-
Version.pdf.
Group Work no. ___ (Triad or Dyad)
Answer the ff questions:

1. Based on the study, how our country has become a

throwaway society, report the results of the findings.
What are the different plastics that the average Filipino
uses in a year, and how many plastics?
2. Through the extrapolation process made by researchers
from the University of Santo Tomas’ Research Center for
Social Sciences and Education (RCSSEd), what is the
national estimates of plastics used and thrown a day and
per year?
Research on the following:
1. What is Hedonism?
2. What is Throwaway Culture?
3. What is the relationship
between hedonism and the
“throw-away culture?
 Hedonism
and the
Throwaway Culture
 HEDONISM
•“There is… a spirit of hedonism abroad today
which beguiles men into thinking that life is
nothing more than the quest for pleasure
and the satisfaction of human passions. “
- Mater et Magistra 235
 HEDONISM = Greek hēdonē ‘pleasure’
• The doctrine that pleasure (sensual pleasure) is the
ultimate goal of life, man's highest good & greatest
happiness
• Devotion to pleasure and self-gratification as a way of
life.
• This philosophy is more often promoted through
advertisements
 Hedonism…
• “I am here for one purpose: to get as much out of
life as I can. Pain and suffering are evils that must
be avoided at all costs. The main thing in life is to
always feel good.”

To avoid any forms of suffering in life. Even

the legitimate & heroic suffering. A hedonist
wants to have a pleasurable life.
 HEDONISM & the Human Person
“This attitude is disastrous.
Its evil effects on soul and body are
undeniable.” - Mater et Magistra 235
How is Hedonism disastrous to the
person himself/herself? What are
the consequences?
HEDONISM, the Human Person & the Environment

“…it is also necessary to reject the….total

technical dominion over nature, because the
natural environment is more than raw material
to be manipulated at our pleasure…”
“Today much harm is done to development
precisely as a result of these distorted notions.”
-Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate 48
HEDONISM, the Human Person & the Environment

This invites contemporary society to a serious review of

its life-style, which, in many parts of the world, is prone
to hedonism and consumerism, regardless of their
harmful consequences.” - Caritas in Veritate 51

How is Hedonism disastrous to the Environment?

Give Examples
The Connection of Hedonism and Consumerism?
HEDONISM, the Human Person & the Environment

"If an appreciation of the value of the human person and of

human life is lacking, we will also lose interest in others and
in the earth itself“
- 1990 World Day of Peace Message, Pope John Paul II

“The way humanity treats the environment influences

the way it treats itself, and vice versa.”
- Caritas in Veritate 51
HEDONISM, the Human Person & the Environment

Reducing nature merely to a collection of contingent

data ends up doing violence to the environment and
even encouraging activity that fails to respect
human nature itself.

-Caritas in Veritate 48
 HEDONISM, the Human Person & the
Environment
Our nature, constituted not only by matter but also by
spirit, and as such, endowed with transcendent meaning
and aspirations, is also normative for culture.
Human beings interpret and shape the natural
environment through culture, which in turn is given
direction by the responsible use of freedom, in accordance
with the dictates of the moral law.

Caritas in Veritate 48
HEDONISM, the Human Person & the
Environment
We recognize that:
“Even on the natural level
temperance and simplicity of life
are the dictates of sound policy.

Mater et Magistra 235

Assignment/Group Work
(Triad or Dyad)b1 Whole Yellow Paper
Follow same format of GW

1. How does the crisis of “throw-away culture”

result in environmental
& social degradation?
2. What is environmental degradation?
3. What is social degradation?
ANALYSIS:
Throwaway Culture

We have created a “throwaway” culture

which is now spreading.
- Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium 53
 “throwaway
culture” that
ruthlessly
consumes, exploits,
and discards human
life and our natural
resources as one of
the root causes.
 Throwaway Culture
1) “We live in a world where everything is seen as
disposable, replaceable or temporary,
and overflowing landfills aren’t the only obvious signs.”
2) But also “broken relationships, forgotten people,
abandoned beliefs and dilapidated dreams to find the
far-reaching effects of the throwaway mentality.”

- https://osvnews.com/2013/08/21/pope-francis-guide-to-avoiding-a-throwaway-culture/
 Throwaway Culture &
Environmental Degradation

“We live in a world where everything is seen as

disposable, replaceable or temporary,
and overflowing landfills aren’t the only obvious
signs.”

- https://osvnews.com/2013/08/21/pope-francis-guide-to-avoiding-a-throwaway-culture/
CONTEXT:
…garbage
everywhere!
Consumerism, Wasteful Consumption,
Throwaway mentality

“quickly reduces things to rubbish.”

- Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ 22

The earth, our home, is beginning to look

more and more like an immense pile of
filth. In many parts of the planet, the
elderly lament that once beautiful
landscapes are now covered with rubbish

- Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ 21

Our present system
of discards management is disposal and not management.
This HAKOT/TAMBAK system,
also known as collect and dump system,
is not ecological.

This is the father and mother

of Payatas, Smokey Mountain, Rodriguez
and other dumpsites and landfills.
- Mother Earth Foundation
Waste pollutes our land, water Cabanatuan
and air…

Pier 18

Non-segregated waste emits METHANE,

a greenhouse gas that causes
CLIMATE CHANGE
Mother Earth Unlimited
 Throwaway Culture &
Environmental Degradation
Account must also be taken of the
pollution... Each year hundreds of
millions of tons of waste are
generated, much of it non-
biodegradable, highly toxic and
radioactive, from homes and
businesses ...
- Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ 21
 ’ Throwaway Culture &
Environmental Degradation
• We have not yet managed to adopt a circular model of
production capable of preserving resources for present
and future generations, .....
• A serious consideration of this issue would be one way of
counteracting the throwaway culture which affects the
entire planet,
• but it must be said that only limited progress has been
made in this regard.
- Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ 22
 Throwaway Culture &
Environmental Degradation
• But our industrial system, at the end of its cycle of
production and consumption, has not developed the
capacity to absorb and reuse waste and by-products.

- Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ 22

√
Resource Flow:
Closing the Loop

Linear
Cyclical

Source: Zero Waste New Zealand Trust

Also:
•Redesign
•Re-Educate
•Re-Evangelize
BROKEN MUG or CUP

Avoid Throwaway
Be Creative
Reinvent

Repurpose
What will you choose?
 Nature knows Best. Nature Recycles.

It is hard for us to accept that the way natural

ecosystems work is exemplary: plants synthesize
nutrients which feed herbivores; these in turn
become food for carnivores, which produce
significant quantities of organic waste which give
rise to new generations of plants.

- Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ 22

 Consumerism, Wasteful Consumption,
Throwaway mentality

“One example most of the paper we

produce is thrown away and not
recycled.” - Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ 22
We need a Paradigm shift of consciousness
• We changed the system (from
plastic bags to paper bags). But
WE did not change our mentality
– our “throw-away” mentality.
• Paper Bag is also not the best
alternative – we are wasting
resources
 Throwaway Culture & Environmental
and Social Degradation
• This same “use and throw away” logic generates so much waste,
because of the disordered desire to consume more than what is
really necessary.
We should not think that political efforts or the force of law will be
sufficient to prevent actions which affect the environment because,
when the culture itself is corrupt and objective truth and universally
valid principles are no longer upheld, then laws can only be seen as
arbitrary impositions or obstacles to be avoided.”
- Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ 123
 Throwaway Culture &
Social Degradation
“broken relationships, forgotten people,
abandoned beliefs and dilapidated dreams to
find the far-reaching effects of the throwaway
mentality.”

- https://osvnews.com/2013/08/21/pope-francis-guide-to-avoiding-a-throwaway-culture/
No to Throwaway

Repurpose
 Throwaway Culture &
Social Degradation
• Human beings are themselves
considered consumer goods to be
used and then discarded.
• We have created a “throw away”
culture which is now spreading. It is
no longer simply about exploitation
and oppression, but something new.

- Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium 53

 Throwaway Culture &
Social Degradation
• Exclusion ultimately has to do with
what it means…. those excluded are
no longer society’s underside or its
fringes or its disenfranchised – they
are no longer even a part of it.
• The excluded are not the “exploited”
but the outcast, the “leftovers”.
-Evangelii Gaudium 53
 Throwaway Culture &
Social Degradation

Human beings too are creatures of this

world, enjoying a right to life and
happiness, and endowed with unique
dignity.
So we cannot fail to consider the effects
on people’s lives of environmental
deterioration, current models of
development and the throwaway
culture.
- Laudato Si’ 43
Throw-away Culture &
Social Degradation

When we fail to acknowledge

as part of reality the worth of a
poor person, a human embryo,
a person with disabilities …– it
becomes difficult to hear the
cry of nature itself; everything
is connected.
- Laudato Si’ 117
 Throwaway Culture:
*Environmental and
*Social Degradation
• wasting of our resources fueled by consumerism and the
market economy,
• the practice of contraception and abortion,
• abandonment of the elderly and the handicapped,
• exclusion of the poor, exploitation of the weak, and
• discarding of genuine relationships, of married love and
marriage vows
 Throw-away Culture: Environmental and Social Degradation

This is hardly to suggest that we cease warning against a cultural decline that
fails to promote love or self-giving. ....the speed with which people move from
one affective relationship to another. They believe, along the lines of social
networks, that love can be connected or disconnected at the whim of the
consumer, and the relationship quickly “blocked” ...

We treat affective relationships the way we treat material objects and the
environment: everything is disposable; everyone uses and throws away, takes
and breaks, exploits and squeezes to the last drop. Then, goodbye.
 “To hear
both the cry
of the earth
and the cry of
the poor” (LS
49).
• “Today, however, we have to realize
that a true ecological
approach always becomes a social
approach;
• it must integrate questions of
justice in debates on the
environment,
• so as to hear both the cry of the
earth and the cry of the poor.
- Laudato Si’ 49
The Spirituality Of
Mercy
Mercy: A Fundamental Issue
for the 21st Century:
 SPIRITUALITY OF MERCY:

•How does the “spirituality of mercy”

remedy the double degradation brought
about by the “throw-away culture?”
•What is mercy according to St. Thomas?
•How does one live a life of ‘mercy?’
•What is the “culture of care?” Malasakit?
 We can truly hear them and attend to
them if we have Mercy
“To hear
both the cry • A spirituality of mercy is a Spirit-
of the earth filled movement of the heart “to be
and the cry merciful just as God our Heavenly
of the poor” Father is merciful” (Lk 6:36). This
(LS 49). spirituality arises from our own
experience of God’s mercy.
 The spirituality of mercy lives both the
corporal and spiritual actions of mercy.

These are actions that bring God’s mercy to

our neighbor especially the poor and the
oppressed, all those who are suffering.

It becomes a deep spiritual experience when

forgiveness and reconciliation are offered
toward our enemies—those who have
wronged us, had caused us pain, anguish,
humiliation…misery.
 SPIRITUALITY OF MERCY:

• As followers of Christ, mercy is indeed is our vocation.

• If we are truly faithful to God’s call to be merciful, it
includes the natural world and is not merely extended to it
but embraces God’s creation—the environment and non-
human creatures.
• This spirituality is integral, holistic and harmonious, for it
recognizes its kinship with the rest of God’s creatures, the
rest of God’s creation.
 SPIRITUALITY OF MERCY:
• Living our vocation to
be protectors of God’s
handiwork is essential
to a life of virtue; it is
not an optional or a
secondary aspect of our
Christian experience.
-Laudato Si’ 217
 Pope John XXIII, at the opening of
the Second Vatican Council said that
the church must use the medicine of
mercy. The Church must therefore
“proclaim the mercy of God, provide
people with God’s mercy and must
allow God’s mercy to appear and be
realized in its entire life.
 SPIRITUALITY OF MERCY:

• defined the virtue of "mercy" as

"the compassion in our hearts
for another person's misery, a
compassion which drives us to
do what we can to help him." For
St. Thomas this virtue has two
aspects: "affective" mercy and
"effective" mercy.

Summa Theologiae (ST II-II.30.1)

 SPIRITUALITY OF MERCY:

• “Affective" mercy - is an emotion

• We feel pity for those who suffer
because we too are subject to
such miseries. Thus, our affective
sympathy for others arises from
our capacity for empathy

Summa Theologiae (ST II-II.30.1)

 SPIRITUALITY OF MERCY:

• Effective mercy is something that

we do, a positive action for the
good of another, taking steps to
relieve the miseries or meet the
needs of others. According to St.
Thomas, the Latin word
"misericordia" literally means
"having a miserable heart"-both
affectively and effectively-for
another person's misery.
Summa Theologiae (ST II-II.30.1)
 SPIRITUALITY OF MERCY:

• St. Thomas argues that the

human virtue of mercy
necessarily will be both affective
and effective.
• To be the authentic virtue of
"mercy," it must manifest two
additional characteristics.
Summa Theologiae (ST II-II.30.1)
 SPIRITUALITY OF MERCY:

• First, it must be rooted in "right

reason"-that is, in the truth about
the sufferings of others, and what
is in fact the objective "good" for
the other whom we seek to help.
• Secondly, the virtue of mercy is
proven in effective action for the
good of others, as circumstances
permit.
Summa Theologiae (ST II-II.30.1)
 SPIRITUALITY OF MERCY:

• If we merely "sympathize" with

the plight of another and "share
their pain" without making the
best of the opportunities we have
to help them, then virtue of
mercy does not abide in us in
any significant degree.

Summa Theologiae (ST II-II.30.1)

 St. Thomas Aquinas on Mercy
• St. Thomas, challenges us to think a little more deeply about human
suffering, and about what kinds of remedies are required. If man were
only a body, then physical suffering would be the extent of what would
cause him harm and need healing.
• But man is much more, having been blessed by God with an immortal
soul. There is a suffering that goes beyond his body to his spirit. There is
a poverty that goes beyond a lack of food and clothing, to a lack of
understanding, to darkness in the mind, and confusion about how to
live and find happiness.
St. Thomas will not hesitate to say that this work
of mercy he was engaged in, what we call the
spiritual work of instructing the ignorant — as
important and crucial as the corporal works of
mercy are — was, in fact, the much more crucial.

• The merciful outreach of St. Thomas —

teaching, writing, laboring in study — was done
with complete generosity, not sparing himself in
healing man’s deepest suffering with the light of
the Gospel.
 SPIRITUALITY OF MERCY:

•Mercy indicates in the direction of

gratitude for an unmerited gift and
unmerited grace, in the Hebrew language
chesed, which in the Bible also can be used
for what in English means mercy..
 SPIRITUALITY OF MERCY:

•The Latin misericordia has a deeper

emotional meaning than a feeling of
compassion.
•It says: to have a heart (in Latin cor) for the
miseri, for those who are in misery and
therefore are miserable.
 SPIRITUALITY OF MERCY:

•In Biblical and in Christian

Augustinian language the heart
(cor) is the center of the human
person and the seat not only of
the emotions, but of conscience,
determination and responsibility.
 SPIRITUALITY OF MERCY:
• Misericordia is not only passive
emotional compassion but
acceptance of active
responsibility for the miserable;
• it touches with the heart and also
with the hands, opens them to
help and moves the legs to be
present where help actually is
needed.
SPIRITUALITY OF
MERCY:
•Misericordia does not
only lament the evil but
seeks to overcome and
to conquers the evil as
much as possible.
 Living the primacy of MERCY:

• The example of mercy is the

Good Samaritan who felt
compassion, then descended
in the dirt of the street,
treated the wounds of the
poor, who fell in the hands of
robbers, brought him to an inn
and paid what the innkeeper
had to spend for him (Luke
10,25-35)
 Living the primacy of MERCY:
• “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loosen the bonds of
wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go
free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the
hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see
the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own
flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your
healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before
you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall
call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, here I
am......” (Isaiah 58:6-11).
 Living the primacy of MERCY:
•Mercy cannot become a mere parenthesis in
the life of the Church; it constitutes her very
existence, through which the profound truths of
the Gospel are made manifest and tangible.
Everything is revealed in mercy; everything is
resolved in the merciful love of the Father.
-Misericordia et misera 11.
 “Culture of care” as antidote to the double degradation
brought about by the throw-away culture :
• We incarnate the duty of hearing the cry of the poor
when we are deeply moved by the suffering of
others. Let us listen to what God’s word teaches us
about mercy, and allow that word to resound in the
life of the Church. The Gospel tells us: “Blessed are
the merciful, because they shall obtain mercy”
(Mt 5:7)
-EG 193, LS 231, AL 191.
 “Culture of care” as antidote to the double degradation
brought about by the throw-away culture :
• That is why the Church set before the world the ideal
of a “civilization of love”. Social love is the key to
authentic development: “In order to make society
more human, more worthy of the human person,
love in social life – political, economic and cultural –
must be given renewed value, becoming the constant
and highest norm for all activity
-EG 193, LS 231, AL 191.
 “Culture of care” as antidote to the double degradation
brought about by the throw-away culture :
• Social love moves us to devise larger strategies to halt
environmental degradation and to encourage a “culture of
care” which permeates all of society.
• When we feel that God is calling us to intervene with
others in these social dynamics, we should realize that this
too is part of our spirituality, which is an exercise of charity
and, as such, matures and sanctifies us

-EG 193, LS 231, AL 191.

 “Unleashing the creativity of mercy”

• Now is the time to unleash

the creativity of mercy, to
bring about new
undertakings, the fruit of
grace.

-Misericordia et misera 18-19.

“Unleashing the creativity of mercy”
• The social character of mercy demands that we not
simply stand by and do nothing. It requires us to
banish indifference and hypocrisy, lest our plans and
projects remain a dead letter. May the Holy Spirit help
us to contribute actively and selflessly to making
justice and a dignified life not simply clichés but a
concrete commitment of those who seek to bear
witness to the presence of God’s Kingdom.
-Misericordia et misera 18-19.
 To ACT
with VIRTUE: LOVE, CARE (malasakit…)

• “Culture of care” as antidote to the double

degradation brought about by the throw-away
culture
(EG 193, LS 231, AL 191)
 We have so many Laws or Republic act (R.A.) for the
environment
• R.A. 6969 = Toxic Substance & Hazardous & Nuclear Wastes
Control Act of 1990
• R.A. 8749 = Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999
• R.A. 9275 = Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004
• R.A. 9003 = Ecological Solid Waste Management Act 2000
• R.A. 9147 = Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act
Etc…
Kulang sa ACT… Magmalasakit by
sa ACTION taking ACTION
 • ETHICAL PRINCIPLES

• LAWs (Republic Acts)

• To ACT
with VIRTUE: CARE (malasakit…)
 • PRINCIPLES COMMON GOOD
STEWARDSHIP
HUMAN DIGNITY
ECOLOGICAL
EDUCATION
Example: RA 9003 –
• LAWs Solid waste management
FORMATION
OF SOCIAL Respect for Law,
CONSCIENCE Obedience
Integrity
• VIRTUE Honesty
Genuine-active-
• ACT concern, etc...
• Laudato Si’ mentioned the word “care” 35 times, while
“stewardship” only twice (stewardship = once LS116; stewards = once LS236).
• The subtitle of Laudato Si is in fact on “care for our common
home”.
• From “stewardship” we notice a shift to “care”.
• A shift from duty-based ethics to a virtue-based ethics of
“care.”
Cardinal Turkson, president of the
Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace:
• “Good stewards take responsibility and
fulfill their obligations to manage and to
render an account. But one can be a good
steward without feeling connected. If one
cares, however, one is connected. To care
is to allow oneself to be affected by
another, so much so that one’s path and
priorities change.
Here there is a need to move towards
Contemplation

•ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI

•And the Gaze of Jesus –
Laudato Si’ 96
 “May I Have this Dance?”

 Have you ever spontaneously extended your arms in

an act of a big welcoming embrace, to the sky above
you or the ocean or forest before you? An invitation
of the whole creation to a thanksgiving celebration
for such a good and wonderful Creator.
 “May I have this dance?” is God’s invitation to share
in his vision for all his creation.

Reflection by Junie A. Quilatan

I will sing of His sweet embrace
With a song my heart shall praise
I will learn and trust in my grace
I will speak of the Lord and His ways
Like a child I gaze at You
amazed at what You do:
The springs and rivers and the sea
Where life teems and swims free!
The air and wind, the clouds, the sun
The moon and stars up high
The frost and snow, the rain and dew
The eagle in the sky!
The desert land, the forest, grove
And mountains that You shaped
The brooks and fountains, trees and grass
All creatures’ niche there played
 Towards Contemplation
• “For God so loved the world He gave us His only Son…” –Jn3:16
• “Creation groans to be saved” – cf. Romans 8:21-22 also Cf
Romans 8:18-21
• the intrinsic dignity of the world (LS §115),
• the intrinsic value of (non-human creatures) (LS § 69, 140),
kinship (LS § 92)
• that everything is connected ((LS §70, 79,117,120)
• "as part of the universe, called into being by one Father, all of us
are linked by unseen bonds..." (LS § 89)
 Towards Contemplation
• The divine Persons are subsistent relations, and the world,
created according to the divine model, is a web of
relationships. Creatures tend towards God, (LS 240)
• It also entails a loving awareness that we are not
disconnected from the rest of creatures, but joined in a
splendid universal communion. As believers, we do not look
at the world from without but from within, conscious of the
bonds with which the Father has linked us to all beings. (LS §
220)
Towards Contemplation

• "The ultimate purpose of other creatures is not to be found

in us. Rather, all creatures are moving forward with us &
through us towards a common point of arrival, which is
God.... Human beings, endowed with intelligence & love, &
drawn by the fullness of Christ, are called to lead all creatures
back to their Creator." (LS § 83)
 Here there is a need to move towards
Contemplation
• Together with our obligation to use the earth’s goods
responsibly, we are called to recognize that other living
beings have a value of their own in God’s eyes: “by their
mere existence they bless him and give him glory”,and
indeed, “the Lord rejoices in all his works” (Ps 104:31) (LS 69).
 GOD LOOKED AT EVERYTHING HE
MADE AND FOUND IT VERY GOOD
Genesis 1:31

Day 1- Day and Night – GOD said GOOD Day 4- Sun, Moon, Stars – GOD said GOOD

Day 2 – Sky and Seas Day 5- Birds and Fish - – GOD said GOOD

– GOD said GOOD

Day 6 – Animals, – GOD said GOOD

Day 3 – Waters and
Dry Land, vegetation
Humans --
 Sawà vs. Awâ
Throw-Away Culture Culture of Mercy
Sawà Awâ
Objectification Contemplation
Consumption Compassion
Maximization/squandering Care
Wasting/Depleting
Disposal Communion
 ACTION:
Assignment/Group Work(Triad or Dyad)

Question for reflection:

• How will you apply the “culture of care” amidst
today’s consumeristic society?
ACTION:
Living the Call as Caring Stewards:
 Sign the pledge at LiveLaudatoSi.org!

http://livelaudatosi.org/
 *I promise or consciously I will try my
very best with God’s help and grace

In God’s grace I *pledge to:

1. Pray for and with Creation
2. Live more simply
3. Advocate to protect our common home
4. Be merciful to my neighbor, fellow human beings especially
the poor, to the present and future generations, to all God’s
creatures … to our Planet.
 UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS
INSTITUTE OF RELIGION

THEOLOGY 4
Living the
CHRISTIAN VISION IN THE
CONTEMPORARY WORLD
UNIT 1 - HARMONY WITH GOD: CALLED TO COMMUNION
LESSON 3: SPIRITUALITY OF COMMUNION
 Crisis of Individualism and
A SPIRITUALITY OF COMMUNION

Are any of these your dream job?

What is your dream job? Why so?
 Crisis of Individualism and
A SPIRITUALITY OF COMMUNION

STUDY
Grounding the lesson in real life situations, acknowledging prior beliefs
and questions, addressing current issues and realities…

1. Imagine the kind of person that you want to be

like ten or twenty years from now.
2. List down the five most important smart
(specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and
time-bound) indicators that you have become
successful in life by that time.
3. Considering that you have attained these
criteria, what kind of person did you become?
 Crisis of Individualism and
A SPIRITUALITY OF COMMUNION

Are we an individualist generation?

 Crisis of Individualism and
A SPIRITUALITY OF COMMUNION

RESEARCH
Approaching the subject from different angles and opinions, appraising
the views of various disciplines and perspectives...

You will be divided into groups and will be asked to

find three online articles on self-improvement,
community-improvement or nation-improvement
projects/efforts/activities.

Present to the class a summary of the article and

tell us whether it is a utilitarian or individualistic
project/effort/activity or one that promotes the
common good.
 Crisis of Individualism and
A SPIRITUALITY OF COMMUNION

ANALYSIS
Articulating and reflecting about the question together with the help
of other disciplines AND IN THE LIGHT OF CHRISTIAN FAITH…

What is our Christian understanding of

Communion? How is a spirituality of communion
the path towards attaining the common good?
SPIRITUALITY
OF COMMUNION
GK: FELLOWSHIP, JOINT PARTICIPATION,
SHARING, CONTRIBUTION

• Lt. “Communio” –
sharing in common
• IDEAL state of
fellowship that
should exist in the
Christian
Church
ASPECTS OF THIS
COMMUNION:

• COMMUNION with GOD

• COMMUNION among BELIEVERS
• COMMUNION in the BODY and BLOOD of CHRIST
• COMMUNION of SAINTS
• COMMUNION of
CHURCHES
GOD is a
COMMUNION
OF PERSONS

For GOD to be
GOOD,
GOD can be One.
For GOD to be
LOVE,
GOD has to be Two.
For GOD to be JOY,
GOD has to be
Three.
HUMAN BEINGS are the
IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD

Man became the "image and

likeness" of God not only through
his own humanity, but also
through the communion of
persons which man and woman
From the onset, God willed human form right from the beginning.
Man becomes the image of God
beings to live in COMMUNION with not so much in the moment of
Him and with one another. solitude as in the moment of
communion.

Pope St. John Paul II

 Bakit?

Siya
kase
Siya !
kase
!

SELF DIVINE SOCIAL

ALIENATION ALIENATION ALIENATION

SIN destroyed COMMUNION

and led to ALIENATION.
 The CHURCH is
GOD’s
instrument for
gathering his
GOD’S PLAN OF SALVATION:TO GATHER scattered
children, ergo for
HIS CHILDREN SCATTERED BY SIN restoring
COMMUNION.
First, by saving (“calling Finally, by calling all men and
out”) the ISRAELITES from women to COMMUNION in
Egypt and making them his the CHURCH of Jesus Christ.
chosen people.

Hb. Lt.

Gk.
LXX
COMMUNION in the life of CHRIST
Consequently, COMMUNION with one
another.
VERTICAL COMMUNION:
Communion with the
MOST HOLY TRINITY
 HORIZONTAL COMMUNION:
Communion with ALL THE BAPTIZED
THE MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH EQUALLY SHARE IN:

The Divine Nature The Passion of Christ

The Same Faith The Same Spirit

VIVIFIES the CHURCH – The Indwelling Presence of GOD
UNIFIES the CHURCH – Unity in Diversity, Many Parts Working as One
MOVES the MINISTRIES of the CHURCH – Variety of Gifts
 HOLY COMMUNION
The act of RECEPTION of the
Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist
SACRAMENT – Visible Sign
Sacrament of our Union with Christ At all
Sacrament of our Unity with the times, in
whole Church all places,
there is
Holy Communion in the Catholic Church
only One
cannot be administered to those who are:
Bread,
- Not baptized
One Cup
- Not Catholics
- Not in state of grace (those in state of mortal
sin)
THE CHURCH IS THE COMMUNITY OF THE FAITHFUL:
•Professing the true Christian faith
•Participating in the same Sacraments
•Under the government of legitimate pastors
•Especially the one vicar of Christ on earth, the Roman Pontiff.
THE CHURCH IS A COMMUNION IN THESE HOLY THINGS:
 CHURCH TRIUMPHANT
1. Communion in HOLY THINGS
2. Communion of HOLY PERSONS
3. The CHURCH is the
COMMUNION of SAINTS

PRAYS FOR

CHURCH MILITANT PRAYS FOR CHURCH SUFFERING

PRAYS FOR
COMMUNION AMONG CHURCHES

THE CHURCH OF CHRIST

 BUT, we believe that
The Church today this division is bound
is in a sad state of to be HEALED
DIVISION  because
CHRIST SAVED US!
COMMUNION will
eventually be
RESTORED!
 THE CHURCH OF CHRIST
THE CATHOLIC
CHURCH

THE SEPARATED THE ECCLESIAL

PARTICULAR CHURCHES COMMUNITIES
THE CATHOLIC
CHURCH Founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ,
c.33AD and began its operations in
Jerusalem after Pentecost

During the Apostolic era, it was

simply referred to as “the Church”

Later on described as
“Catholic” (universal) to mean “the
Church that is everywhere” in contrast
to splinter groups and sects.
(St. Ignatius c.107, St. Polycarp d.155)
 COMMUNION WITH THE
ROMAN PONTIFF
The CATHOLIC CHURCH is a COMMUNION of PARTICULAR CHURCHES
A PARTICULAR CHURCH is a
community of believers
Friends
presided over by a validly
3000+++
ordained bishop. (diocese,
vicariate apostolic, prefecture
apostolic)

“Where the bishop is

present, there is the
Catholic Church”
– St. Ignatius of Antioch c. 107

The Bishop’s presence is a

guarantee that sacraments
are validly administered the
apostolic faith is preserved
intact through generations.
 The BISHOP of ROME presides The Pope is the perpetual
in charity over the universal Church.
and visible source and
He is the CHIEF BRIDGE BUILDER!
foundation of the unity
both of the bishops and of
the whole company of the
faithful. He has full,
supreme, and universal
power over the whole
Church. Cf. CCC 882

During the time of the early Church,

the Bishop of Rome acted as arbiter
settling contentious issues in the Church.
• Every bishop in the Catholic Church must be
approved by the pope and receive a papal
mandate before being ordained to the
episcopacy, and it is the pope who confers
on that bishop the authority to govern the
diocese to which he has been appointed.
• Papal infallibility means that the
Pope cannot make errors when making
an ex cathedra statement on faith and
morals or when he proposes a teaching
united with all the bishops of the world.
• The college or body of bishops has no
authority unless united with the Roman
Pontiff, Peter’s successor, as its head. As
such, this college has supreme and full
authority over the universal Church; but this
power cannot be exercised without the
agreement of the Roman Pontiff. CCC 883
 SEPARATED PARTICULAR CHURCHES

• Churches presided over by a validly ordained bishop, but are not in

communion with the Bishop of Rome.
• Are TRUE CHURCHES "Because these Churches, although separated,
have true sacraments and above all — because of the apostolic
succession — the priesthood and the Eucharist, by means of which they
remain linked to us by very close bonds"
• "These Churches which, while not existing in
perfect communion with the Catholic Church,
remain united to her by means of the closest
bonds, that is, by apostolic succession and a
valid Eucharist, and are true particular
Churches."
• "Therefore, these separated Churches and
communities as such...have by no means
been deprived of significance and importance
in the mystery of salvation. For the spirit of
Christ has not refrained from using them as
means of salvation which derive their efficacy
from the very fullness of grace and truth
entrusted to the Catholic Church."
IV Unicity and Unity of the Church, 17
Dominus Iesus, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, June 16,2000
 ECCLESIAL
COMMUNITIES
• Christian Communities that function “like
Churches” but lack valid orders.
• Most of these were born out of the sixteenth
century Reformation movement.
• According to Catholic doctrine, these Communities
do not enjoy apostolic succession in the sacrament
of Orders, and are, therefore, deprived of a
constitutive element of the Church. These ecclesial
Communities which, specifically because of the
absence of the sacramental priesthood, have not
preserved the genuine and integral substance of
the Eucharistic Mystery, cannot, according to
Catholic doctrine, be called "Churches" in the
proper sense (Dominus Iesus 17:2)
 The Church and Non-Catholic Christians

• Non-Catholic Christians are those who, though not

All those separated from
formally members of the Catholic Church, have received
the Catholic Church
valid baptism. remain part of her, in a
•The Church solemnly acknowledges that the Holy Spirit mysterious way. All
is truly active in the churches and communities those who receive
Christian baptism belong
separated from itself. To these other Christian Churches to the Catholic Church!
the Catholic Church is bound in many ways: through
reverence for God's word in the Scriptures; through the
fact of baptism; through other sacraments which they
recognize.
Our Trinitarian God made us in his image as community,
for community.
The Church is called to build community in the world.
 INDIVIDUALISM
• Individualism is the belief that the
individual is the primary unit of reality and
the ultimate standard of value.
• Not necessarily a bad thing for it affirms
the Christian doctrine that every human
being is unique, irreplaceable, and must
never be used as a means to an end.
• However, when taken to the extreme, it
becomes selfishness and leads to isolation
Both are undesirable extremes. What is the middle way?
 CRISIS OF INDIVIDUALISM TODAY:
• Being dependent upon others is often
considered shameful or embarrassing
• People tend to be self-reliant
• The rights of individuals tend to take a
higher precedence
• People often place a greater emphasis
on standing out and being unique than
on being part of a whole
• Leads to disregard of Common Good
• Prevents human beings from developing
a sense of mission and heroism
• All others are rivals
 THE DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
• Individuals have an inherent and
immeasurable worth and dignity
• All are fundamentally equal before God
– same origin, same destiny, redeemed
by Christ, called to respond to a vocation
• All are radically equal before God -
leads us to think no less of somebody
because they are from a different place
or culture, because they believe
something different to you, or because of
their work or employment situation.
 COMMON GOOD
• The common good is the complete development
of all the people of the world.
• ‘the sum total of conditions of social living,
whereby persons are enabled more fully and
readily to achieve their own perfection.’ (Pope
John XXIII)
• Not the “greatest good for the greatest number”
(Utilitarianism) but the care for greatest good of
ALL persons – no one excluded.
• The principle of common good balances
individual rights with one’s responsibilities for the
welfare of society – which in effect promotes
and protects the rights and dignity of others
 SOLIDARITY
• A sense of responsibility on the part of
everyone with regard to everyone.
• A particular way of looking at the
interconnectedness of people living in
different parts of the world that is a feature
of our contemporary human existence.
• Not a feeling of vague compassion or
shallow distress at the misfortunes of so
many people, both near and far. On the
contrary, it is a firm and persevering
determination to commit oneself to the
common good; that is to say, to the good of
all and of each individual, because we are
all really responsible for all
 Crisis of Individualism and
A SPIRITUALITY OF COMMUNION

ACTION
Applying new knowledge to praise (worship - to adore and praise God),
to bless (morals - to bless God by being a blessing to others), to preach
(doctrine - to share and proclaim faith)…

In what particular ways are Thomasians or people today

in general, individualistic? Suggest alternative modes of
behavior that promote more communion. You can
express this in an infographic.

Deadline:

You will find the submission link

in Blackboard Learn
 UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS
INSTITUTE OF RELIGION

THEOLOGY 4
Living the
CHRISTIAN VISION IN THE
CONTEMPORARY WORLD
UNIT 2 - HARMONY WITH THE HUMAN COMMUNITY: CALLED TO DIALOGUE
LESSON 1: DIALOGUE WITH CULTURE
 DIALOGUE WITH CULTURE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUL3xJrXXik
 DIALOGUE WITH CULTURE

Share your experiences on the following statement:

Asia and the Philippines is a melting pot

of different cultures
 DIALOGUE WITH CULTURE

STUDY
Grounding the lesson in real life situations, acknowledging prior beliefs
and questions, addressing current issues and realities…

1. We, especially here in Asia and the

Philippines live in a society that is very
culturally-diverse.
2. What are the difficulties and
challenges of this kind of situation?
3. As Christians, how are we going to
relate with different cultures?
 DIALOGUE WITH CULTURE

RESEARCH
Approaching the subject from different angles and opinions, appraising the
views of various disciplines and perspectives...

You will be divided into groups. Each group will choose a

particular cultural or subcultural group currently found in
the Philippines/Asia (e.g. conyo culture, LGBTQ+ culture,
call-center culture; woke culture, K-Pop culture, gamer-
culture, jejemon culture, etc.… Note: religions/sects are not
to be included as this is to be covered in the next lesson).
They will present about that culture/subculture and its
present relationship with the Christian faith.
 DIALOGUE WITH CULTURE

ANALYSIS
Articulating and reflecting about the question together with the help of
other disciplines AND IN THE LIGHT OF CHRISTIAN FAITH…

How do Christians view other cultures? How are we

called to relate with these cultures?
Globalization that
results “to an
accelerated
development through
space and time”
compresses time, space
and consciousness of
peoples from different
parts of the world.
Logan, Ikubolajeh B. Globalization: The Third World State and Poverty-
Alleviation in the Twenty-First Century (Aldershot Hants, England:
Ashgate Publish Ltd.) 2002 HC 59.7 .G51 2002 In what ways do we now experience a
“Flattening of the World”?
“The dialogue of salvation was opened
spontaneously on the initiative of God: "He (God)
loved us first;" it will be up to us to take the initiative
in extending to men this same dialogue, without
waiting to be summoned to it.” (ES no. 72)
 The Catholic Church’s document
“Dialogue and Proclamation” defines
what dialogue is all about. It states:

Secondly, dialogue can be taken

Firstly, at the purely human level, it as an attitude of respect and
means reciprocal communication, friendship, which permeates or
leading to a common goal or, at a should permeate all those
deeper level, to interpersonal activities constituting the
communion. evangelizing mission of the
Church. This can appropriately be
called "the spirit of dialogue”.
Where there is no dialogue, misunderstanding,
conflict and violence takes place…
 Dialogue is recognized as part of the
comprehensive evangelizing mission of the
Church. It is characterized by reciprocity and
mutuality between dialogue partners who are
different from each other.

In the praxis of mission in the contemporary

times, openness and respect are the desired
dispositions.

Dialogue may lead us towards achieving

harmony.
 “The pilgrim Church is
missionary by her very
nature, since it is from the
mission of the Son and the
mission of the Holy Spirit
that she draws her origin, in
accordance with the decree
of God the Father.” (AG 2).
God the Father of all, has called all men
to share in his life and love through his
son Jesus Christ. The risen Christ and
his Spirit are active in the world making
this love a present and growing reality,
making all things new. This same love
urges us on to dialogue with people of
other religions, because we have,
especially since Second Vatican Council,
an increasing awareness of the positive
role of other religions in God’s plan of
salvation. (FAPA, P198)
In Asia mission and evangelization has to be through the “triple dialogue”, that
is, dialogue with culture, religion and the poor. (FAPA 222)
Dialogue with Culture
Asia/Philippines: Melting Pot of Different Cultures
 “International migrants come from all over
the world and travel to all parts of the world.
As a result, people from different cultures not
only are in much closer contact today,
oftentimes they are forced to live alongside
each other.” (Antonio Pernia)

In Asia, people live together alongside the

diverse religions and cultures. In the Philippines
just like other Asian countries, ethnic minorities
and groups are ever present.
 The reality of mega-migration results to
multiculturality. Besides the pull factor such as
work opportunity, other people migrate because
they are forced to (push factor) because of
poverty and of violence such as wars. These
forced migrants are called refugees.

The question that we have to pose is:

As Christians what should be our
attitude in a multicultural world?
A. Culture as a Way of Life
 • CULTURE
• Latin verb colere such as inhabit,
cultivate, protect, honor with
worship. (Agcaracar P35)
• “Culture is conceived as the way of
life of a social group, not of an
individual as such. It is the way a
society copes with its physical, social,
and ideational environment. In other
words, culture is a society’s
regularized or standardized design
for living.” (Luzbetak 1970: 111)
 The process by which culture is passed on
and and is learned is called enculturation
which is “a very long process of growing into
the culture to which he or she belongs”
(Standaert p11).

Beliefs, experiences, principles, values

and memories are shared as a result
of common enculturation.
The way we eat, sleep, speak, think are some of the ways in
which we can trace the existence of culture. Culture,
therefore is a particular group of people’s way of life. “The
ways or patterns of life, acquired by learning which
characterize a human community.” (Standaert)

Culture is “a partially conscious and partially

unconscious learning experience whereby the
older generation invited, induces, and compels
the younger generation to adopt traditional
ways of thinking and behaving. Enculturation is
primarily based on the control that the older
generation exercises over the means of
rewarding and punishing children.” (Harris)
 Culture can be discerned in various levels
this is according to Standaert:
Second, is symbol,
such as their myth, The third level is and
rites of passage at characteristic of culture
birth, puberty, is that it is always
marriage, birth, changing. Cultures do The last
First it is through
greeting each other. evolve and this is due to characteristic is that
action, such as
Part of symbol is demographic within a culture
clothing, or means language which is development, there can be several
of transport. elementary to culture economic laws, subcultures.
that when another climactic changes or
language is present, human or technological
another culture is progress.
present.
B. Ethnocentrism and Cultural
Relativism
The Gospel must be
inculturated in the people
and that Christ must find
a home in the culture of
the people. If culture is a
way of life one has to be
slow in one’s judgment
because culture mirrors
the behaviour and belief
system of a group of
peoples or community.
“Ritual behaviors, religious
institutions, and sacred texts all find
their wherewithal in the bailiwick of
culture.” (Stanley Skreslet P97)
The Gospel, then, has to purify a culture while culture has to enrich the
Gospel. There must be a mutual enrichment between the Gospel and
culture between faith and culture. Stanley H. Skreslet, Comprehending Mission (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2012), 97.
 “In order that they may be able to bear
more fruitful witness to Christ, let them
be joined to those men by esteem and
love; let them acknowledge themselves
to be members of the group of men
among whom they live; let them share in
cultural and social life by the various
undertakings and enterprises of human
living; let them be familiar with their
national and religious traditions; let
them gladly and reverently lay bare the
seeds of the Word which lie hidden
among their fellows. (AG 11)
A. Scriptures and the Church
on Dialogue with Culture
The world culture in the general
sense refers to all those things
which go to the refining and
developing of man’s diverse mental
and physical endowments. He
strives to subdue the earth by his
knowledge and his labor; he
humanizes social life both in the
family and in the whole civic
community through the
improvement of customs and
institutions; he expresses through
his works the great spiritual
experiences and aspirations of men
throughout the ages; he
communicates and preserves them
to be an inspiration for the progress
of many, even all mankind. (GS 53-
62)
 Human and world flourishing is
the goal of cultures. Thus, culture
not only could cultivate but also
can mediate the Christian faith to
others.

“Culture also includes religion

as one of its elements. Religion
is the animating principle of
culture. Culture is like a body,
with religion as its soul.
“The work of evangelization carried out by
the church is a continuation of the
incarnation, and, therefore, Christianity
must assume whatever is good in the
different races and cultures is compatible
with the essential message of the gospel”

• “The spirit sows the “seeds of the

word” present in various customs
and cultures, preparing them for full
maturity in Christ.” (RM 28)
B. Inculturation and
Interculturality
 “The theological foundation of
inculturation is the incarnation.
The basic argument is that just
as Jesus Christ, the Word of God,
became incarnate in a human
culture, in the Jewish milieu, the
gospel of Jesus Christ should be
allowed to be inculturated (or
incarnated) in the local culture
or context (Matt 5:17; Acts
10:34).”
In this process of inculturation a people receives the Word, makes it the principle
of their life, values, attitudes and aspirations. In this way they become the Body of
Christ in this particular time and place—a local church....
The community discovers a new identity, losing Inculturation is not mere adaptation of a ready-
nothing of its cultural riches, but integrating them made Christianity into a given situation, but rather a
in a new whole and becoming the sacrament of creative embodiment of the Word in the local
God’s liberating love active among men… church.

This is the basic and fundamental process of inculturation Inculturation is the

discovery of the seeds of the Word which lie hidden in the given cultures and living
traditions. The mutual exchange of their discoveries among the local churches will
lead to their enrichment as well as that of the universal Church. (FAPA I, 227-228).
 “The incarnation of Christian life and of the “Christianity is itself
Christian message in a particular cultural enriched upon
context, in such a way that this experience not entering new cultural
only finds expression through elements proper phases and regions,
to the culture in question (this alone would be acquiring surplus
no more than a superficial adaptation) but meaning in loyalty and
becomes principle that animates, directs and conformity to its
unifies the culture, transforming it and remaking tradition.”
it so as to bring about a ‘new creation’. Arrupe
 Christianity is itself enriched upon entering new cultural
phases and regions, acquiring surplus meaning in loyalty
and conformity to its tradition (Shorter P 13)

Bishop Joseph Blomjous used the term interculturation in 1980

“The period of 1960-1980 can be considered as the main
transition period from the traditional Mission to the new Mission
of the future. It has been characterized as the period of
‘inculturation’, though the better term would be ‘interculturation’,
in order to express that the process of inculturation must be lived
in partnership and mutuality. It seems that we are now living in
the peak of this movement, the critical phase which demands
from us a real decision for profound and courageous reform. P13
 “The incarnation tells us that God is not
afraid of using cultures to
communicate with us.”
• “While multiculturality and cross-
culturality content themselves with
the uniqueness of each culture,
interculturality goes beyond by putting
premium on what is common among
people; thus it enhances mutual
enrichment, appreciation, and
collaboration that would create new
synthesis.” (Agcaracar)
“Go to the people, Live among them, Learn from
them, love them. Start with what they know,
build on what they have.”

As mission and evangelization considers cultures

Paul VI has this to say “Evangelization loses much of
its force and effectiveness if it does not take into
consideration the actual people to whom it is
addresses, if it does not use their language, their
signs and symbols, if it does not answer the
questions they ask, and if it does not have an impact
on their concrete life.” EN 63
 Successful
inculturation demands
from those involved in
the process mature
freedom in the Spirit
which is characterized
by docility and trust in
His guidance….. pg 229
Dialogue in a Multicultural
World
“The Christian
doctrine of
creation maintains
two truths, that
creation originates
from God and that
creation is
nevertheless other
than God.”
This diversity,
nonetheless, should
be celebrated as God
shows his generosity
by entering into the
different cultures.
Cultures, other than
Christian culture, in
themselves bear the
ray of truth.
“Indeed Galilee, lying along the border, was identified with
rejection insofar as those persons who live in borderlands
assimilate a multiplicity of racial, cultural, and religious
influences from “across the border”. Borders are
generally regarded as seedbeds of impurity.”

The multiculturality of the world because of

migration can be an avenue for greater space
for evangelization “a privileged locus of the
new evangelization.” It is in the diversity that
we can have dialogue with different
cultures.
 DIALOGUE WITH CULTURE

ACTION
Applying new knowledge to praise (worship - to adore and praise God), to bless
(morals - to bless God by being a blessing to others), to preach (doctrine - to
share and proclaim faith)…

Going back to the different subcultures that you tackled at the

beginning of the lesson, think of ways you bring the message of
Christ closer to these subcultures? What can they contribute to
Christianity and what can Christianity contribute to them?

Deadline:
You will find the submission link
in Blackboard Learn
 UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS
INSTITUTE OF RELIGION

THEOLOGY 4

Living the
CHRISTIAN VISION IN THE
CONTEMPORARY WORLD
UNIT 2 - HARMONY WITH THE HUMAN COMMUNITY: CALLED TO DIALOGUE
LESSON 1: DIALOGUE WITH RELIGIONS AND THE POOR
DIALOGUE WITH RELIGIONS
AND THE POOR
 DIALOGUE WITH RELIGIONS
AND THE POOR

STUDY
Grounding the lesson in real life situations, acknowledging prior beliefs and
questions, addressing current issues and realities…

What are other examples of religious

prejudice/conflict in the Philippines/Asia?
Are faith and violence inseparable or
incompatible?
What are other examples of class/economic
prejudice/conflict in the Philippines/Asia? Is this
unavoidable?
 DIALOGUE WITH RELIGIONS
AND THE POOR

RESEARCH
Approaching the subject from different angles and opinions, appraising the views of
various disciplines and perspectives...

1. What are the different attitudes/approaches

to differences in religion?
2. What are the different attitudes/approaches
to differences in economic status? Analyze
each approach and write down its pros and
cons.
 DIALOGUE WITH RELIGIONS
AND THE POOR

ANALYSIS
Articulating and reflecting about the question together with the help of other
disciplines AND IN THE LIGHT OF CHRISTIAN FAITH…

How do Christians view other religions? How are we called

to relate with these religions? How do Christians view the
poor? How are we called to relate with the poor?
 Harmony with the Human
Community: Dialogue with Religion
MEGA-MIGRATION

MULTICULTURALITY
MULTIRELIGIOSITY
 Interreligious dialogue and
proclamation, though not on the same
level, are both authentic elements of
the Church's evangelizing mission. Both
are legitimate and necessary. They are
intimately related, but not
interchangeable
Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue,
Dialogue and Proclamation, no. 77.
 Asia and the
Philippines is home
to different
religions…
RELIGIOUS PLURALISM
VS.
RELIGIOUS RELATIVISM
Dialogue and Proclamation, 9.

In the context of religious

It includes both witness and the
plurality, dialogue means "all
exploration of respective
positive and constructive
religious convictions. It is in this
interreligious relations with
third sense that the present
individuals and communities of
document uses the term
other faiths which are directed
dialogue for one of the integral
at mutual understanding and
elements of the Church's
enrichment", in obedience to
evangelizing mission.
truth and respect for freedom.
 • 1. The dialogue of life –
Further, Dialogue People strive to live their
life in harmony and peace
and Proclamation no with their neighbors of
42 mentions the other faiths sharing with
different forms of each other as friends their
dialogue. joys and sorrows, hopes
and dreams.
 • 2. The dialogue of action
Further, Dialogue – When people of
and Proclamation no different faiths work
42 mentions the together to act and
collaborate for integral
different forms of
development and
dialogue. liberation of people.
 • 3. The dialogue of
Further, Dialogue theological exchange –
and Proclamation no Those who are specialists
deepen each other’s
42 mentions the
religious heritages, and
different forms of appreciate each other’s
dialogue. religious values
 • 4. The dialogue of religious
Further, Dialogue experience – Persons rooted
and Proclamation no in their own religious
traditions, share their
42 mentions the spiritual riches such as
different forms of prayer and contemplation,
dialogue. faith and ways of searching
for God.
Dialogue in a Multi-Religious
World
There will be no peace among the
nations, without peace among
the religions. There will be no
peace among the religions
without dialogue between the
religions.
- Hans Kung
“Religious pluralism is an undeniable
phenomenon of the twenty first century.”

“It is first of all a search for and recognition of

the presence and activities of the Holy Spirit to
be evangelized, and in this humble and attentive
process of listening, the evangelizers become
evangelized, and the evangelized become
evangelizer.”
“Asians have many and diverse
ways of life that have nurtured
and sustained them for many
millennia in the past and for many
ages to come. Asians have their
own system of meaning, including
religion, the core of their way of
life.”
Javier, Dialogue: Our Mission Today, 27.
Harmony with the Human
Community: Dialogue with
the Poor
Poverty remains the crucial challenge facing
the region. According to the World Bank, 783
million extremely poor who live below the
poverty line of US$1.9 (HK$15) a day, about
33% live in South Asia and 9% live in East
Asia and the Pacific.

Poverty also includes the growing number

of urban poor brought about by
globalization, urbanization, materialism
and secularism to mention a few.
 DEFINITIONS OF POVERTY
The Scourge of Poverty: being blessed with
wealth calls for a duty to use our wealth wisely

pauper or poor
Poverty
Lack of means to
provide for
material needs or
comforts
 TYPES OF POVERTY
Lack of purpose in life, a sense of
Poverty of the soul hopelessness about any lasting meaning

Poverty of the spirit Totally depend on God

Lack of sufficient material means to

Material poverty meet basic human needs
 DEFINITIONS OF POVERTY
Evidence of material poverty:
➢ 20% of the population in developed nations
consume 86% of the world’s goods
➢ Nearly 1.3 billion people live on less that P55 a day
➢ Nearly 1.3 billion people have no access to clean
water; 3 billion have no access to sanitation; 2 billion
have no access to electricity
➢ In developing countries, 91 children out of 1000 die
before their fifth birthday
 THE BIBLE AND POVERTY
Did you know...
▪ Sacred scripture reveals that God is
compassionately concerned for the welfare
of the poor
▪ Jesus was a prophetic voice telling of God’s
love for the poor and God’s command for the
well-off to respond to the needy
 THE BIBLE AND POVERTY
In the Old Testament:
▪ Sabbatical year – land was not to be farmed, debts were to
be forgiven and slaves were to be let go every seventh year
▪ Jubilee year – people were to return to their proper place in
the community and original owners were to lay legal claims
to their property every fifty years.
▪ These were established to help reduce poverty and to help
the poor assume respectable positions in society

In the New Testament:

▪ Jesus lived a life of poverty and associated with the
poor and outcast throughout his ministry
▪ Jesus’ parables revealed his attitude toward the poor
 THE SCANDAL OF HUNGER
Body gets food but the
food lacks the proper
malnourishment Leads to infection
amount of vitamins and
and disease
minerals for a healthy
life

Body starves and

consumes muscle, fat,
Chronic hunger and tissue for food;
immune system fails;
brain function slows
THE SCANDAL OF HUNGER
Causes of hunger:

Exploiting
Corruption limited
resources

Unfair and high

interest on
foreign loans
Politics
 THE SCANDAL OF HUNGER
Manage earthly
goods more
efficiently

A moral
response to
world hunger

Subsidiarity Solidarity
 The Scandal of Hunger

We are to become the

Did you know... bread of life for others
…that another way to respond to the
problem of world hunger is by
participating in the Eucharist? We are to be Christ’s
hands and feet to those in
need
A CHRISTIAN RESPONSE TO POVERTY:
PREFERENTIAL OPTION FOR THE POOR

What does it mean to have special love for

the poor?
❖ We cannot love immoderately or selfishly use
riches or wealth
❖ We must put into practice the spiritual and
corporal works of mercy
❖ Evaluate social and economic activity from the
viewpoint of the poor and powerless
 A CHRISTIAN RESPONSE TO POVERTY:
PREFERENTIAL OPTION FOR THE POOR
A Place at the Table:
Everyone is invited to gather to eat, to make decisions,
and to worship, including:

families &
individuals Institutions that help
society stand with the
poor
government

Community
organizations and Marketplace and
faith-based institutions of business,
institutions commerce and labor
ELIMINATING POVERTY
How can we fight poverty?
▪ Change attitudes to the poor
▪ Support full and equal employment and just wage
▪ Empower the poor to help themselves
▪ Make education of the poor a top priority
▪ Continually evaluate how tax system affects the poor
▪ Reform nation’s welfare programs to help recipients
become self-sufficient
▪ Governmental efforts to preserve and protect family
operated farm
▪ People have created the economy; they can change it
▪ Simple question should be asked, “Does it support or
threaten human dignity?”
 The Poor as Object of
Evangelization to being Subject of
Evangelization

Church Teaching on Poverty.

 The poor are not
only recipients of
the Good News but
they are also
bearers of the
Gospel”
(CFC no. 1188)
“The modern paradigm
of mission understands
salvation to include,
beside forgiveness of
sin and reconciliation
with God, liberation
from all forms of
socio-political
oppression and
promotion of economic
well-being.”
Phan, In Our Tongues, 20.
The dignity of the human person is
the very foundation of a moral
vision for society.
• For Paul VI Evangelization is
integral liberation, “For the
Church, evangelizing means
bringing the Good News into all
the strata of humanity, and
through its influence
transforming humanity from
within and making it new: "Now I
am making the whole of creation
new." EN 18
DIALOGUE WITH THE POOR
“Mission will mean a dialogue with Asia’s poor, with its local
cultures, and with religious traditions.

Our faith in Christ, who became poor and was always close to the
poor and the outcast, is the basis of our concern for the integral
development of society’s most neglected members.” Pope
Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, no. 186.

The poor are dialogue partners in mission for they are, like people of
other faith and culture, instruments of evangelization.
 Pope Francis, Evangelii
Gaudium, no. 49.
• The Church must move outside
where the people needs them the
most and become, “a church
bruised, hurting and dirty because
it has been out on the streets,
rather than a church which is
unhealthy from being confined
and from clinging to its own
security.”
 DIALOGUE WITH RELIGIONS
AND THE POOR

ACTION
Applying new knowledge to praise (worship - to adore and praise God), to bless
(morals - to bless God by being a blessing to others), to preach (doctrine - to share
and proclaim faith)…
Do a virtual dialogue with someone from another faith or economic
situation, by connecting with them online and/or by immersing in their
life and activities especially during this pandemic. Listen and learn from
them and be evangelized by them. Write a short reflection on what you
have learned.

Deadline:
You will find the submission link
in Blackboard Learn