God reveals Himself in the Old Testament as a merciful and gracious God who makes a covenant with the Israelites. This covenant involves God blessing the Israelites in exchange for their obedience to His law. In the New Testament, God fulfills this covenant through Jesus Christ, sending His Son to save the world and be the ultimate moral example. Christians are called to imitate Christ's love for others and see Him as the standard by which all their actions are judged. True worship of God involves obeying His commandments through living as Jesus did.

1. RE 05: General Catholic Morality
Topic 2: God, the Covenant Maker
1: Fidelity to God’s Covenant
“The Lord, the Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity” (Ex. 34:6).
DOCTRINE
Today, through His inspired word in the Old Testament, God reveals Himself to us, and inspires us to respond to His
covenant. (CFC 69)
What is a covenant? What is God’s covenant?
In general, a covenant is a commitment between two people to do something for each other. Unlike a contract
which is based on legal obligations, God’s covenant with the Jews (Israelites) was based on his freely given love. In
return for God’s many and great blessings, the Jews were to obey God’s law which is summarized in the Ten
Commandments. The law was not seen as a list of burdensome obligations to be tolerated, but as a way to live out the
special identity bestowed on the Jews. Through loving, responsive actions, people can be a prayerful sign that there is a
loving, caring God who deeply desires all of humanity to be united with him.
(Pennock, M. (1985). This is our faith, pp. 31, 106. Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press.)
In the Old Testament, God reveals Himself as a faithful God despite all the infidelities of the Israelites. The book
of Exodus attests to the fact that God is the Lord, a merciful and gracious God who is slow to anger and rich in kindness
and fidelity. Through His words in the Old Testament, through the stories of His servants and prophets, He inspires us to
be faithful to our covenant with Him.
INTEGRATION OF MORALS AND WORSHIP:
M: We respond to God’s covenant by becoming loving persons in the fullness of life-with-others-in-community before
God, in imitation of Jesus Christ. (CFC 682)
W: By praying to God as “our Father”, we are united to Him as sons and daughters of the Father in the Son, our Lord
Jesus Christ. (CFC 2136)
2: The new covenant realized in Jesus Christ
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might
have eternal life” (John 3:16).
DOCTRINE:
God so loved the world that in the fullness of time, He sent His only Son to be our Savior, like us in all things except sin.
(CFC 70)
The Gospel according to John provides that God so loved the world that in the Old Testament he sent prophets,
judges and kings to reveal His will to the people, but in the end time He sent His only Son who is like us in all things
except sin, to be our Savior.
In sending His Son, God expects us to imitate Jesus’ words and deeds. We respond to God’s covenant by not
simply going to church and by participating in the community extension programs of SPUQC, but by loving our neighbors
be it a requirement of our school or not. We are challenged to practice mercy and love of our neighbors at all times.
INTEGRATION OF MORALS AND WORSHIP:
M: We respond to God’s New Covenant by following Christ’s command of loving our neighbors. (CFC 742)
W: By actively participating in the Eucharistic Celebration, we are bonded together as one community in Christ. (CFC
1680)
3: Christ, our moral norm
“… I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn. 14:1-6).
DOCTRINE:
For Christians, the norm by which all their thoughts, words, and deeds are judged and evaluated morally is not some law,
but the person of Jesus Christ. (CFC 796)
While we now understand that Jesus is our ultimate moral norm, the challenge to us is to imitate Him. God is
telling us that morality is beyond the faithful obedience of the Ten Commandments. Jesus is our ultimate moral norm. All
our words and deeds shall be judged according to the person of Jesus.
Again St. Paul is our example: he clearly showed us that only Jesus Christ through His Spirit can free us from sin
and death. Hence without a personal relationship to Christ our Lord that is begun, nourished, developed and sustained
through prayer, we have no power to be obedient to God just like Jesus.
INTEGRATION OF MORALS AND WORSHIP:
M: In Christ and through Christ, we have acquired full awareness of our dignity, of the heights to which we are raised, of
the surpassing worth of our humanity, and of the meaning of our existence. (CFC 684)
W: Jesus shows us that true worship is obedience to the Father. (CFC 1498)
AQFaustino 1st Sem. SY 2010-2011 Page 1 of 1