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The Goal of Man

Compendium of the Catechism

1. What is the plan of God for

man?
1-25
God, infinitely perfect and blessed
in himself, in a plan of sheer
goodness freely created man to
make him share in his own blessed
life. In the fullness of time, God the
Father sent his Son as the
Redeemer and Savior of mankind,
fallen into sin, thus calling all into
his Church and, through the work of
the Holy Spirit, making them
adopted children and heirs of his
eternal happiness.

To be a Chistian: belong to a family

Baptism is like a second birth,

which introduces us into the
great family of the Church.
We should be proud to belong
to the family of the Church.
The Church teaches us many
things, which are in fact the
most important ones, the ones
that matter most.

GRECO, El
The Baptism of Christ (detail)
1608-28
Hospital Tavera, Toledo

Main ideas

1. Why are we here on Earth

We Christians have had the

chance to know our purpose
here on Earth: Jesus preached
this and the Church teaches it.
Response to the fundamental
questions:
where do I come from?
who am I?
where am I going to?

2. Where do we come from

MICHELANGELO Buonarroti
Creation of Adam (detail)
1510
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

God has created man freely.

God has created man in order
that he may take part in His
beatific life, in His own
happiness.
Each man has been created by
God, with the cooperation of his
parents: WE COME FROM
GOD.

3. Who are we

God is close to man

everytime and everywhere:
God calls him and helps him
to find Him.
We have been created into
the image and likeness of
God.
Adopted children of God
through Baptism.
I AM SON OF GOD.
EYCK, Jan van
The Ghent Altarpiece: Adam (detail)
1425-29
Oil on wood
Cathedral of St Bavo, Ghent

4. Where are we going

God has created man to

communicate His love, so that
man can serve Him freely in
this life and enjoy His company
for ever in Heaven.
Where are we Chistians
going? TO HEAVEN.
If we do not achieve this goal,
our life would have been a
failure.

BACKER, Jacob de
The Last Judgement
c. 1580
O.-L. Vrouwekathedraal, Antwerp

5. What is the purpose of man

To give glory to God, to

manifest the goodness and
love of the Creator.
God has no other reason for
creating.
Man is the object of Gods
love, and responds by loving
Him. The happiness of man
lies in this.

6. We should get to know the Christian doctrine

We must know the teaching of

Jesus Christ, since He is:
Our God.
Our Teacher.
Our Model.

RAFFAELLO Sanzio
St Paul Preaching in Athens
1515
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

His teachings show us the way

to get to know and love God, to
be happy on this Earth and
afterwards eternally in the next.

7. Main parts of the Christian doctrine

1.

2.

3.

4.

The truths of our faith, in THE

SYMBOL OF THE FAITH or
the CREDO .
How our Christian faith is
celebrated, in THE LITURGY
and THE SACRAMENTS.
What God wants us to do in
order to be happy and make
others happy, in CHRISTIAN
MORALS and THE
COMMANDMENTS.
The meaning and the
importance of prayer, the
PRAYER IN CHRISTIAN LIFE.
Codex Manesse
Schulmeister von Esslingen

Resolutions for Christian life

Resolutions to move forward

To put effort in getting to know

well and in putting into practice
the Christian doctrine.
Aside from other moments
throughout the day, to make the
sign of the cross the sign of
the Christian- upon getting up
and before going to bed.

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The goal of man: to give glory to God, to

know Him and to love Him