From all eternity, God has had a plan for your happiness. That is what He wants for you: happiness, beatitude, and eternal joy. Every moment of your life, He is working in some way to lead you closer to that joy, which ultimately means closer to Him, the source of all joy. He is doing the same for every person you know and do not know. He wants every member of the human race to know eternal happiness. Despite our sin, despite our woundedness and brokenness and all the ways we fall short of who God made us to be, He still loves us, and He still wants us in Heaven with him.

As Catholics, we read the Old Testament as a single story the story of God's unfolding plan for the salvation of humanity, which is fulfilled in Jesus Christ in the New Testament. In this unit, we will see how God reached out to the Israelites again and again when they went astray, and how He fulfilled His promise by sending His Son, Jesus Christ.

In Unit 3, we will examine Jesus’ public ministry more closely, looking at how His saving mission brought light into the world. First, we will see how Jesus’ ministry began at His Baptism, so as to serve as an example for all of us to follow. Then we will see how at the height of His ministry He proclaimed the Kingdom of God so that we can respond to His call and become members of His Kingdom. Finally, we will explore how He instituted the Eucharist as a memorial of His Death and Resurrection, so as to make present the Paschal Mystery for us in the Eucharistic Liturgy celebrated every day throughout the entire world.

We now turn to the climactic events of Jesus' life: His suffering, Death, and Resurrection. These are the central events of His Paschal Mystery, in which He established the New Covenant to accomplish His mission of redemption.

Jesus, the Son of God, came to us as a man not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. The example He gave us to follow was one of poverty and humility, as He accepted the sufferings and persecutions that came His way and obeyed His Father even to the point of His humiliating Death on the Cross. We are called to receive God’s mercy and salvation in Christ, and to be His hands and feet through the world to share the Good News of salvation and make God’s mercy and love known to all.

A life of love for God and our neighbor is only possible if it is anchored in a living, personal relationship with God that is nourished by prayer. Prayer is when our hearts are united to the heart of God in a loving relationship. When we read the Gospels, we can examine how Jesus prays and therefore learn how to imitate Him. Through His own life of prayer, He shows us how we can develop an intimate relationship with our Father in Heaven.