Unit 10.4 J4 Living the Christian Life revision cards

1. Active life- the life lived by religious orders who work in society as well as praying.

2. Charity- Voluntary giving to those in need.

3. Contemplative life- the life of prayer and meditation lived by some religious orders.

4. Displaying religion- making a show of religion e.g.: praying on the street.

5. the evangelical counsels- the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.

6. Holy Orders- the status of a priest, bishop or deacon.

7. Hypocrite- a person who acts in a way that contradicts what they say.

8. The Law of Moses- the laws God gave to Moses in the Old Testament.

9. The monastic life- living as a monk or a nun in a religious community.

10. Religious community- a religious order who live together as a group, e.g. the Benedictines.

11. The Sermon on the Mount- Jesus' description of Christian living.

12. vocation- a call from God to live the Christian life.

Meaning-

• Christians believe they have a calling from God to be followers of Jesus to lead a better Christian life so they have a higher chance of recieving salvation.
• Vocation can be described as a call to discipleship. This means that all Christians are called to a special purpose the way the Apostles were.
• Vocation should also be shown by showing love of God to others as well as faith in Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

Importance-

• It shows that all Christians have a purpose-a call to live a life of discipleship.
• Accepting a vocation is obeying and doing God's will, which shows love of God.
• Christians can bring more people to God by their example.
• Christians will be able to lead a holy life and work towards salvation.

How-

• Choosing a caring profession such as a doctor, nurse, carer or teacher can show God's love.
• By marrying and bringing up children in the faith.
• By being honest at work, respecting other people such as colleagues, can show vocation in work.
• By showing love of neighbour and treating others as the Christian would like to be treated.

Why-

• Christians should try to serve God in everything they do or say; vocation refers to the whole of life.
• Christian's believe that Jesus' command "baptise all nations" means they have to show faith in all actions.
• Vocation should not be restricted to just church or Sundays.
• A vocation should involve everything a Christian does.

How-

• By taking holy orders men are following the example of the Apostles and giving up all they have to follow Jesus.
• The men promise to serve others just as Jesus did.
• By taking Holy Orders men can try to build the Kingdom of God by running churches in a diocese.
• By taking this vocation men can show God's love to people, especially those who have suffered.

Why-

• It is a special calling from God so must follow it to show that they love God.
• It is a calling that most priests find hard to ignore.
• They can 'share in the mission that Christ entrusted the apostles'-Catechism 1565.
• Some feel the need to serve those in their parish, and taking Holy Orders could be the best way of doings so.

How-

• Christians can work for this by having friends of different faiths and ethnicities.
• By working for equal rights and opportunities.
• The Catholic Education Service does this by ensuring that Catholic schools are open to all ethnic groups and teach about non-christian faiths.
• Some Chrisitans form their own groups to take part in local activities wuth other faiths and minority groups.

Why-

• In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus presented a man who helped another of a different race-Christian's should love neighbours of any races.
• All humans come from Adam, so all ethnic groups are equal to each other-St. Paul taught this.
• The Catechism says it is the duty of Catholics to do so.
• Jesus welcomed everyone including prostitutes, so we should do the same.

How-

• Through prayer and worship and being monotheistic, Christians are following the first 3 commandments.
• Many Christians do not swear, especially not, by using God's name in vain.
• They honour the the command to keep the Sabbath holy by going to Mass every Sunday.
• The Commandments are the basis of many British laws and following the laws such as not stealing is honouring the Ten Commandments.

Why-

• They are a list of rules from God that tell Christians how to live their lives.
• The first three commandments are on loving God, which is the greatest commandment as said by Jesus.
• Following the next seven commandments is loving neighbours, the Golden Rule as Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount.
• Christians can also respect their parents, not cheat and not lie, which promotes marriage and family life.

How-

• The Sermon on the Mount is found in Matthew's Gospel-Jesus interprets the Law of Moses.
• The Sermon on the Mount teaches that thoughts are just as important as actions-anger can lead to murder-Christians try not to be angry.
• Jesus teaches that thinking lustfully about someone other than your marriage partner is just as bad a commiting adultery.
• Christians also use Jesus' re-interpretation about an eye for an eye to act as pacifists-to 'turn the other cheek'.

Why-

•  It is is a lot more detail than the Ten Commandments.
• It shows how the old Jewish ways have been fulfilled by Jesus.
• It shows that thoughts and feelings are just as important as actions
• If Jesus decided his disciples need to learn this, 'disciples' today must need it too.

How-

• Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount that if almsgiving, prayer and fasting is done in public the person recieves no reward from God.
• Worship is done to improve personal relationship with God, not to make people think they are holy.
• They should use prayers like the Lord's Prayer in private.
• Almsgiving should be done quietly to avoid attention.

Why-

• Without Jesus there would be no Christianity so we should follow his teachings.
• The Sermon on the Mount explains that displaying religion makes one do it for public praise rather than to show love of God-there will be no reward.
• Jesus says that it is hypocritical to display religion.
• Christians should show love of God instead of love of public praise.
• There is good guidanve on prayer-all Christian denominations pray the "Our Father".

How-

• Christians learn that it is more important to gain spiritually rather than financially.
• They can learn what to do with their money-by giving money to others instead keeping it.
• A Christian cannot be a 'slave of two masters' (this also reinforces monotheism) and should not replace God with money.
• Some do not save or have insurance policies because the Sermon says that they should not worry about the future, but trust God.

Why-

• Jesus, as God's son and the reason there is such thing as Christianity, is the best person to show the relationship between money and God.
• The Sermon reminds how easily it is to be possessed by wealth & forget God.
• The Sermon also teaches that using money to serve others is the best way.
• Money does not last forever, but God does.

How-

• Treat others as you would like to be treated.
• Jesus taught that judging someone meant that one must expect to be judged in the same way.
• The teaching is used to help Christians improve themselves rather than picking on others' faults.
• A lot of issues are solved using the Golden Rule-they considered how they would like to be treated if they were involved in the issue.

Why-

• Without Jesus-no Christianity.
• If Jesus gives Christians a Golden Rule, it must be an important one to be used.
• Jesus lived by the Golden Rule too-so we should follow his example.
• Jesus did not judge-he made friends with prostitutes and tax collectors, people that were judged a lot in those days.

SVP-St. Vincent de Paul Society.

• By organising holidays for children from poor or broken homes.
• One-to-one visits are made by volunteers to those suffering from loneliness, and help them do shopping, companionship, as well as helping families organise their finances.
• In England and Wales there are over half a million visits per year.
• Soup runs are arranges, providing hot drink, food and companionship for the homeless.
• Support centres are provided for people to find advice on dealing with financial problems as well as training in literacy and numeracy
• Residential care is provided for the homeless and to helo those with mental health problems.

SVP

• They are following the example of Jesus-Jesus helped those who were ill and suffering so the SVP do, too.
• In the Old Testament Isaiah says that sharing our food, sheltering the homeless and protecting the oppressed is God's will-so the SVP follow God's will.
• The Catechism states that every person has the right to food, clothing, health, work and education as well as to be able to raise and care for a family, so the SVP provide this for people in the short term which helps them learn to provide for themselves in the long-term.
• Also, the SVP is non-judgemental and do not judge anyone asking for assistance-not judging was a teaching from the Sermon on the Mount.
• "Treat others as you would like them to treat you." the SVP would not want to be oppressed or be in pain and suffering all the time so try stop other people feeling or being treated the same way.