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Signs of Times
1. What are the pressing
issues/problems our country is
facing today?2. What do these problems tell
us about the condition of our
country?3. As a Christian what can you
say about this condition?
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What is the most predominant
form of suffering in the
Philippines?
What is suffering?
Why do we suffer?
Why does God allow us to
suffer?
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This happens as we know at
different moments in life, it takesplace in different ways, assumes
different dimensionsnevertheless in what ever form,
suffering seems to be almost
inseparable from mans earthly
existence.
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The Reality of human suffering
Why do people suffer? Why does Godallow suffering?
- These are wrong questions, or we
address the question to the wrongperson
- We question God. Suffering does not
come from God. It is from the world thatsuffering comes to us. God allows
sufferings but He does not will it.
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- Man suffers on account of evil
which is lack, limitation or distortionof good.
- He suffers when he a oughtin the
normal order of things- to have a
share in this good and does not have
it (Salvifici Doloris) To answer: Why do we suffer? JPII
look at the book of Job (see Job 38-
40
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Questions for Discussion
1. What forms of suffering did Job experience?
2. How did his friends tried to explain his
suffering?
3. How did Job learn from his whole
experience of human suffering?
4. If you were Job, what would you think and
feel when you experience all those sufferings?
Why?
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Story of Job
- A just man, without any fault of his own is
tried by innumerable sufferings
He loses his possessions, his sons, and
daughters, and finally he himself is afflicted by
a grave sickness
-In this horrible situation 3 old acquaintances
come to his house.
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And each one in his own way tries to convince
him that since he has been struck down by
such varied and terrible sufferings, he must
have done something seriously wrong. For
suffering they sayalways strikes a man as
punishment for a crime; it is sent by theabsolutely just God and finds its reason in the
order of justice.
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It can be said that Jobsold friends wish
not only convince him of the moral
justice of evil but in a certain sense they
attempt to justify to themselves the
moral meaning of suffering
Sufferings appear as justified evil,
suffering as punishment for sin, Those
who plough iniquity, and sow troublereap the same (Salvifici Doloris)
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Why do bad things happen to good
people?
Job challenges the truth of the principle that
identifies suffering with punsihment for sin
(his opinion) he is aware that he has not
desreved such punishment and he speaks of
the good that he has done during his life.
God himself, reproves Jobs friends for their
accusations and recognizes that Job is notguilty.
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His suffering is the suffering of someone
who is innocent and it must be acceptedas a mystery which the individual is
unable to penetrate completely by his
own intelligence(Salvifici Doloris) It is true that suffering has a meaning as
punishment when it is connected with a
fault but it is not true that all suffering isa consequence of a fault and has the
nature of a punishment.
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How do Christians View Human Suffering?(what
is a mature Christian attitude toward God
amidst our suffering?)
-Our Holy Father in his apostolic letter,Salvifici Doloris on the Chrisitan meaning
of human suffering addressed thisquestion
In the passion of Jesus something new
has been added to uur understanding ofsuffering
-It has been linked to love
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- Because of the passion of Jesus there is anew situation for all human suffering just as
job was able to say in his sufferings..I knowthat my redeemer lives.
Therefore, when we suffer, we can also
become sharers in the redemptive sufferingof Christ.
When we share the sufferings with Christ, wesuffer for the kingdom and grow in virtue and
complete..Christs afflictions..for the sake ofthe Church.
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How should we respond to suffering?
1. By worshipping God
2. By examining our hearts (..whether you are
in the faith)
3. By offering our sufferings to God
4. By giving thanks (..this is Gods will for you
in Christ Jesus)
5. By rejoicing that we have been counted
worthy to suffer for Christ.
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6. By looking to Christ example, who suffered
for us, to demonstrate to us both the
magnitude of our sin, the greater magnitudeof his infinite love for us.
7. By looking to Christ return and the life to
come
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Following the example of Job,
that the right attitude to Godis trust and teaches us that
before God, who is the Lord ofthe earth, we are of little
account
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Who am I?
Casting Crowns
Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart
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Not because of who I am
But because of what You;vedone
Not because of what Ive done
But because of who You are
I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
Vapor in the wind
Still you hear me when Im falling
Lord you catch me when Im falling
And Youve told me who I am
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I am Yours, I am Yours
Who am I, that the eyes that see my sin Would look on me with love and watch
me rise again
Who am I, that the voice that calmed
the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me
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Still You hear me when Imcalling
Lord, You catch me when Imfalling
And Youvetold me who I am
I am Yours
Not because of who I am
But because of what Youvedone But because of who You are
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I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow A wave tossed in the ocean
Vapor in the wind Still, You hear me when Imcalling
Lord, You catch me when Imfalling
And Youvetold me who I am
I am Yours
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I am Yours
Whom shall I fear Whom shall I fear
Cause I am Yours
I am Yours
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Trusting in Gods love
How do Christians view human
suffering?
What is the right attitude to wardGod when we are confronted with
pains and afflictions?
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Footprints in the Sand
To Last night I had a dream. I
dreamed I was walking along the
beach with the Lord. Across the skyflashed scenes from my life. For each
scene, I noticed 2 sets of footprints
in the sand one belonged to me, theother to the Lord.
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After the last scene of my life
flashed before me, I looked backat the footprints in the sand. I
noticed that at many times alongthe path of my life, especially at
the very lowest and saddest
times, there was only one set offootprints.
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This really troubled me so I asked the
Lord about it, Lord you said once I
decided to follow you, Youd walk
with me all the way. But I noticedthat during the saddest and most
troublesome times of my life, there
was only one set of footprints. Idont understand why when I
needed You the most, You would
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Questions for Discussion
1. What is the message of the
story?
2. what does it tell us about
suffering or the lowest point in
our lives?
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Gods Message
- Christ promised that he will bewith us always, especially when
we are at the lowest point in ourlives. It tells us to trust God, that
He will never abandon us
especially at the most difficultpart in our lives
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Jesus offered liberation
-God acts upon the suffering of His
people by sending his Son Jesus Christ.
-God is not a God who is just up abovewatching over us but a God who wants
to be with us.. God sent his son to be one
like us and suffer with us to bring us toGods kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
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- Jesus frees us from enslaving sins to bring us
to holistic liberation Freedom from
Enslaving sinsfreedom for holistic liberation
The Call of chrisitans
-Read and analyze the story of the
Transfiguaration on p. 12
What is the instruction to listen means on pp.
12-13?
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1. First, it is an order
2. Second, it means to be attentive and alert
to what is being revealed.
REFLECTION
Journal Writing
An experience of God is very basic if one is to
deepen his/her faith in God.
*Recall an experience/event in your life. What
was the effect of this experience in your life?
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Reflecting on our Social Responsibilty
What is Social Responsibilty?
-It is an obligation of an individual or a
group of people to act to benefit themembers of the society at large. It is a
duty every person or organization has to
perform to maintain and sustain abalance between the economy and the
ecosystem.
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Stress the ff. points pp.14- 18
- The common Filipino reasons for helping
others:
1. Reward and punishment
2. Pity
3. Moral Obligation
4. Christian Faith - Social Responsibility for them is a response
to Christ who calls us to follow him
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Christian Faith includes Social
Responsibilty
What is the link between faith and work forSocial Justice?
-Our faith and love of God gives meaning to
our working with peace and justice. * the Life of Bobby Gana
- what do you find to be the most striking in
his life? - How was his faith connected to his work for
the poor?
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The link between faith and Social
Responsibilty
*Reason and MeaningOur love for
God flows out to desiring to love our
neighbours
- An experience of faith is an experience
of being loved by god through Christ.
- this love has the power to move us tolove others in return.
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* Norm
- Jesus is our norm, our moral standard
-We look upon Jesus as our example. Wefollow him and the way he served others too.
* Power
- If we are called to serve others and work forpeace and justice, Jesus gives us the grace tobe able to do so. He sends us the Holy Spirit,for without the grace of God we will not beable to sustain our work for the coming of thekingdom here on earth.