1. Confirmation Prep #3 The Purpose of Man’s Existence 1. Who made us? God made us. 2. Who is God? God is the Supreme Being who made all things; He is above ALL other Beings.

2. The Great Chain of Being 1. Divine Order: God: Uncreated Being 2. Angelic Order: Angels: Created, but Purely Spiritual Beings

3. 3. Rational Order: Human Persons: Combination of Body and [spiritual] Soul 4. Sensitive Order: Brute Animals: Feeling and Movement (locomotion).

4. 5. Vegetative Order: Plants: Living Things 6. Mineral Order: Minerals/Rocks: Non-living Matter

5. 3. Why did God make us? God made us to show forth his goodness and to share with us His everlasting happiness in heaven.

6. 4. What must we do to gain the everlasting happiness of heaven? To gain the everlasting happiness of heaven, we must know, love, and serve God in this world.

7. 5. From whom do we learn to know, love, and serve God? We learn to know, love, and serve God through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who teaches us through the Catholic Church.

8. 6. Where do we find the chief truths taught by Jesus Christ through the Catholic Church? We find these truths in the Apostles’ Creed.

9. 7. The Apostles’ Creed I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day he arose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence, He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

10. 8. What do we mean when we say that God is the Supreme Being? We mean that He is above all creatures [See: The Great Chain of Being].

11. 9. The Five Perfections of God a. God is Eternal: He has always existed and He always will exist. More than merely ‘immortal’.

12. b. God is Infinite: He is absolutely without limit; He is present everywhere [Omni-present].

13. c. God is Omniscient: He is All-Knowing; there is nothing of which God is unaware, knows all.

14. d. God is Omnipotent: He is All-Powerful; there is nothing of which God is not capable. ***Must be “in itself possible”; not a “round square”, e.g.

15. e. God is Omni-beneficent: he is All-Good; He loves everyone and wills only the good for everyone.