Brings awareness of profound filial love from the Father ..

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CHRISTIAN HUMAN FORMATION

• Family of the Pierced HeartsMiami, Florida
• Presented by
• Father Avelino Gonzalez
• May 2009

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STAGES OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE

• Religious psychology recognizes a spiritual
  evolution in three stages
• 1. The preliminary unity of the human person
  fragile and unstable
• 2. The conflict between the spiritual and the
  material
• 3. Final integration of the human person
• The second stage of the spiritual life often
  involves an unexpected event or birth called
  conversion (born from above John 33)
• Described as a turning point where there is an
  illumination of the conscience as to the
  insufficiency of the previous life
• Produces a spiritual springtime in the interior
  life that brings uncompromised joy
• Brings awareness of profound filial love from the
  Father
• This experience however produces a spiritual
  shadow on the soul as ones own Cross becomes
  clearly evident
• Involves painful tension between two states that
  seek to exclude the other
• Brutal experience of falls and impotency causes
  one to cry out that God is too demanding that
  our Cross is heavier than everyone elses.
• Habit of obedience and trust eventually makes the
  Cross lighter facilitating the transition to the
  third stage of the spiritual life final
  integration which is our goal

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Four Pillars of Human Formation
Relational
Relational Spiritual Intellectual Apostolic
The Holy Family is Model of Christian Life
Spiritual Intellectual
Apostolic
Mary Woman, Spouse, Mother Marian
Heart St. Joseph Man, Husband, Father
Josephite Heart Child Jesus Youth, Son
Heart of the Child Jesus
Personal Relationship with Jesus Christ
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Know Thyself - Theological Anthropology

• Jesus Christ reveals Man to himself (GS 22)
• 1. Created as Image of God (imago Dei)
• 2. Created as capacity for God (capax Dei)
• As receptive capacity or potentia
  oboedientialis
• As the desire for God or desiderium naturale
  videndi Deum
• 3. Created as capacity for the Trinity (capax
  trinitatis)
• 4. and therefore the capacity for love

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RELATIONAL PILLAR

• Dealing with other human beings on an individual
  level
• Become a bridge for others to meet Christ
• Develop interpersonal skills for apostolic work
• Show respect for every person
• A sense of justice
• Genuine compassion
• Become affable, hospitable, open and encouraging
  to others Be forgiving and consoling
• Involves being aware of the familial, cultural,
  and historical context in which we have been
  formed

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RELATIONAL PILLAR (cont)

• Correct our notions of authentic love through a
  personal love for Jesus Christ
• Commitment to change our disordered affections
• De-programming and healing of past wounds
• Develop a clear and strong understanding of
  authentic freedom
• Self mastery over selfishness and individualism
• Openness to others
• Generosity in service to others

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SPIRITUAL PILLAR

• Communion with God and searching for Christ
• Spiritual formation is
• The core of becoming a fully integrated person.
• Our hearts are restless until they rest in the
  Lord (St. Augustine, Confessions)
• Ultimately the work of the Holy Spirit
• Consists in a deep communion with Jesus Christ
• A filial attitude towards the Father
• A trustful attitude towards the Church

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SPIRITUAL PILLAR (cont)

• Union with God is achieved by a consistent and
  unceasing search for Him
• Regiment of Prayer and Contemplation
• Faithful meditation on the Word of God
• Active participation in the Churchs holy
  mysteries
• Service of charity towards the little ones

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SPIRITUAL PILLAR (cont)

• Knowledge of the Word of God
• Makes conversation with God easy
• Detaches us from evil
• Nourishes our heart with the thoughts of God
• Results in our evaluating persons, things, events
  and problems through the lens of faith
• Leads to a life inspired and motivated by Jesus
  Christ
• Prayer is
• The first and fundamental manner of responding to
  the Word of God
• A dialogue that becomes a sharing in the filial
  conversation between Jesus and the Father

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SPIRITUAL PILLAR (cont)

• The Eucharist is the high point of Christian
  prayer. It is the summit and source of the
  sacraments.
• It is necessary and urgent to rediscover the
  beauty and joy of the Sacrament of Penance.

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INTELLECTUAL PILLAR

• Faith seeking Understanding (fides quaerens
  intellectum) and
• participating in the light of Gods mind
• To seek to acquire a wisdom which is open to and
  directed towards knowing and adhering to God
• To defend the Faith and to account for the hope
  that is in us (1 Peter 315)
• To form critical discernment in a culture that is
  marked by relativism and pluralism.
• To engage in apostolic ministries

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INTELLECTUAL PILLAR (cont)

• The study of philosophy and theology
• Is crucial to intellectual formation
• Leads to deeper understanding and interpretation
  of the human person
• Develops a reflective awareness of the
  relationship between the human spirit and truth
• Human sciences are of considerable use to the
  understanding of man and the development of
  society.

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APOSTOLIC PILLAR

• To make the faithful true servants of God after
  our Lord Jesus Christ, the Suffering Servant
• All the pillars of Christian human formation must
  fundamentally have an apostolic character
• How to represent Christ to humanity
• How to transform the world into the Kingdom of
  Heaventhe most basic obligation of being a child
  of God

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APOSTOLIC PILLAR (cont)

• Apostolic formation develops by means of
• Mature reflection
• Practical application
• Being rooted in the Holy Spirit
• Apostolic action
• Enlivens the Church
• For the faithful, is first exercised in the
  context of the local parish
• Building up of the local parish community takes
  precedence, but does not exclude apostolic
  activities outside the local parish
• All parish apostolic work should be subject to
  the local pastor

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