Lesson Seven Update

Our lunch was fun today. Lucky we had something fun to look forward to after a lesson that was a little bit of a downer. We'll focus on the leaven message now that we're in the season of Advent.

I have notes this time and will post them in case you're interested. As promised, I will also give you a link to the site on making a good confession as well.

I hope all of you have a Merry Christmas!

Lesson Seven Notes
and
How To Make A Good Confession

P.S. At this meeting we had another discussion about intercommunion. Just by chance, the Archbishop happened to comment on this topic in his editorial in this week's edition of The Catholic Spirit. It's interesting to hear what he has to say. And one last thing. (I promise.) You might be interested to look over a new web site that I discovered this week. It is an apologetics website called Scripture Catholic. The site offers scriptural references for Catholic beliefs and practices.

Lesson Seven: Dealing with Immorality

Sounds juicy, doesn't it? This is quite an interesting lesson, but probably not what you think. On the first read through, you might be inclined to misinterpret Paul's intent. (It sounds like the Corinthians did the same thing when Paul sent them an earlier letter.) As you begin to study the passage, however, I think you will see that Paul only has his fellow Christian's best interests at heart. I also think that once again, you will find that as Catholics, we may interpret this chapter differently than someone of another faith might. This should lead to some good discussion. There will be a lot to cover before we can treat ourselves to lunch, so come prepared.

Speaking of lunch, I hope everyone can join us. If you need directions or a ride, please give me a call or speak up at our meeting, and we'll work something out. Our Christmas lunch is a fun way to get to know each other a little better, so I encourage everyone to try and make it.

See you on Thursday. (Pssst. Check out the post just below this for a great Advent resource.)

Lesson Seven Study Guide

Happy Thanksgiving!

No, I don't have the study guide ready yet, but as I'm taking a few minutes to enjoy a cup of coffee before I get the bird in the oven, I thought that I would check my emails and post a link that I thought you might like for Advent.

American Catholic Radio has done online Lenten Radio Retreats for a few years, and now this year they have recorded their first Advent Radio Retreats. There is one 28 minute recording for each week. You can listen to them on your computer or load them on an iPod or other MP3 player to make them more portable. I think you'll enjoy them.

Advent Radio Retreat

Lesson Six Update

There isn't one.

When I compiled my notes for this lesson, there wasn't enough to bother to make a separate sheet.

Our next meeting is on December 4. After we get together up at church, we'll enjoy lunch.
Have a great week. I'll get the new lesson posted as soon as it's finished.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Lesson Six: Apostles of Christ

I am truly hoping that this week's study guide will help you with your lesson, rather than confuse you. It was difficult to find the right words for what I think Paul was trying to convey in the fourth chapter of his letter to the Corinthians. This difficulty usually arises when the Catholic interpretation of a passage of scripture may be slightly different from the Protestant interpretation that is laid out in our LifeChange text. We'll try and sort it all out at our next meeting.

Right now, I need to go do something shallow and rest my brain.
See you on November 20.

Study Guide Lesson Six: Apostles of Christ

Lesson Five Follow Up

It's snowing outside, and I'm not really sure how I feel about that. Maybe it's a test to see how I "bear patiently with things that can't be avoided." Can you get an indulgence just for living in Minnesota?

If you want to read more about indulgences and avoiding purgatory, these are the links for the sources I used in my notes:
Myths About Indulgences
How To Avoid Purgatory

Our next Bible Study meeting is on November 2o when we will be discussing Lesson 6. Then, believe it or not, our following meeting on December 4 is the last meeting that we'll have before our Christmas break. Let's plan to continue our tradition of going out to lunch that day. If you have a suggestion for a location, let us know at the next meeting, and I'll get that set up for us. See you then.

Lesson Five Notes

Lesson Five: Fleshly and Spiritual Attitudes

How's this for early? Jim is out of town, and it's too cold to work outside, so I decided to get going on the next lesson today. I think you'll discover that this lesson is much easier after we did all the theological heavy lifting for the last one. In this section, Paul expands on this idea of spiritual maturity.

Our next meeting is on November 6. See you then!

Study Guide for Lesson Five: Fleshly and Spiritual Attitudes

Lesson Four Follow Up

Wasn't this a fascinating lesson? It was a tough study guide to make, but once I got through it, I felt satisfied that I had truly learned something new about my faith. I think I have a better understanding about how I got where I am today, and I think I can say I have even a greater appreciation for the help I've gotten from above along every step of the way.

After I got home today and unpacked my bag, I saw Winnie's bookmark about the Vatican Splendors exhibit. I meant to talk about this at the end of our discussion and completely forgot. Is there anyone who is willing to organize this for us? We would need to establish a date and time, arrange some rides, pre-order the tickets, and possibly make some reservations for lunch at a nearby restaurant. I think it's a great idea for a field trip. Let me know if you are interested in making this happen.

As usual, I will provide a link to the notes that I made for this lesson. Our next meeting is on Nov. 6, and we will be discussing Lesson 5. Here's hoping we know who our next president will be by then! (Yay! The stupid political commercials will be gone!!!)

Lesson Four Notes

Lesson Four: True Wisdom

Since we are only covering a few verses, you might be surprised to see that our study guide is still two pages long. There was so much to get to in this lesson, and I didn't know what to cut. I suppose that I lack some of this true wisdom that Paul had in being able to say what he needed to say with a small amount of words. Too bad for you, I guess. I'll try harder next time.

Our next meeting is Thursday, October 23 at 9AM. See you then.

Study Guide: Lesson Four

Lesson Two: To the Called and Lesson Three: Foolishness

Since we have two lessons to cover this time, I really hustled to get the study guide finished so that you would all have enough time for your homework. I was willing to sacrifice a couple hours away from my window washing this afternoon to get this accomplished. (I'm just sorry that it didn't take me longer.)

Our next meeting is on October 9.

Back to those nasty windows.

Study Guide for Lessons 2&3.

Lesson One Follow Up

It feels good to settle back into the regular routine of our Bible Study. A break is always nice, but eventually we need to get back to business.

It's also exciting to see that we have a few new members. With comings and goings, we still manage to keep the group the right size for lots of good input.

Today we covered Lesson One and an extra catechism lesson on picking the right Bible. If you weren't able to join us today, or even if you were and you would like a copy, I will provide a link to that page at the end of this entry. I will also include a link to my own notes for this lesson.

Our next meeting is going to be on October 9 and will cover lessons two and three. I will put the study guide up on this site as soon as I have it ready. See you in October.

Lesson One: Overview (my notes)
Extra Catechism Lesson: Which Bible Translation Is the Best?

Lesson One: Overview

Just in case we have any potential new members checking out our site, I thought I would put up the images of the books that we will use for our study of Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians. Information for purchasing copies of these books can be found in the right hand column of the opening page of this site.

The first lesson in the Life Change book is an overview of the entire letter. It's always a good idea to try and see the big picture before we get to parsing out the smaller sections. As we have done in the past, I will do my best to post the study guide for each lesson as early as I possibly can so that you will have plenty of time to prepare for our discussion. Since this is the first guide for this year, please let me know once you have successfully printed a copy either by leaving a comment on this site (preferable) or by sending me an email. Feel free to email or call me if you have any problems doing so.

See you on September 25.

Study Guide for Lesson One: Overview

Day 1, Year 8!

I wonder if Pope Benedict's ears were ringing today while we were talking about his great book, Jesus of Nazareth. Aren't we blessed to have such a brilliant, devout, and kindly gentle man leading our Church? We could spend the rest of the year discussing what we passed over today in our discussions, but we have to move on to Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians.

Our first lesson, as always, is an overview of the whole letter. Don't get too bogged down in making the outline in the lesson from Life Change book. You'll be much better off spending your study time by reading the entire letter and trying to get a basic idea of what the big themes might be and the general direction the letter takes.

I mentioned today that since our lessons are a little smaller with 1Corinthians, we may have time this year to tackle some more catechism issues. If you have any ideas for these kinds of topics, jot them down and bring them to our next session. We meet again on September 25.

In case you're interested, I have put my notes for today's study guide on my Google docs, so you can click on the link below if you would like a copy.
Study Guide for Jesus of Nazareth w/Personal Notes

Jesus of Nazareth Study Guide

The rainy afternoon today helped me finish our study guide for Jesus of Nazareth. Let me just say this, "Whew, and don't forget that you all chose this book."

This was a tough study guide to prepare because it could have easily been about ten pages long. I did my best to whittle it down without missing any key points. We should have a good discussion. Keep in mind, that there will be no faking participation with this book. We'll all have to come prepared.

See you on September 11. Bring a friend if you know someone who may be interested in joining us.

Study Guide for Jesus of Nazareth.

I'm working on it!

I thought I would put up a quick post just in case anyone was checking to see if there was a study guide available for Jesus of Nazareth--our summer book. (This book is available through St. Patrick's Gift and Book Store.) I am working on it right now and should have it available soon. Once I have it completed, I will email everyone a copy of the document and post it here as well.

Here's my excuse for being a little late--it's hard! This is not an easy book to condense into a few discussion questions. Wait until you have to answer them. Then you'll have some sympathy.

So, hang tight. I will keep working on it and get it to you soon.

Lesson Nineteen & Twenty Update

When I got home and checked my email, I decided to do a quick search on some specifics about Romans that we discussed before we finished up today. I got a few things right, but messed up on a few, too. Paul was in Corinth, not Ephesus, when he wrote Romans. As far as taking a guess at Paul's age at the time he wrote this letter, we can only do just that--make a guess. The first scriptural reference to Paul (Saul) in the NT appears in the Acts of the Apostles when he is mentioned as a witness to the martyrdom of St. Stephen, which took place in Jerusalem sometime around 34-35. By using references in the letter, it is widely believed that Romans was written in 58. There is no historical record of Paul's birth date, but let's assume he was in his 20's-30's when he was first mentioned in Acts. That would put him in the mid-40 to mid-50 year range by the year 58, and I would err on the older end of that spectrum, since Paul had already received his training by that time. Paul died sometime around the years 64-67. Just the facts, ma'am.

If you take my advice and decide to try and write your own brief summary of the theme of the Letter to the Romans, you may want to review the verses that many consider to be Paul's thesis for his letter where he wrote, "The gospel...is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jews first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith." (Romans 1:16-17)

Finally, I thought I'd check on the painting we were wondering about--one that will no doubt be familiar to you now that you've seen it. It is called "L'Angelus" and was created by the French painter, Jean Francois Millet (1814-1875). It's always been a favorite of mine, and I'm happy to say, it is housed in the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, which is a museum we are scheduled to visit on our trip in June, so maybe I'll get to see it. The Angelus is a devotion in memory of the Incarnation and is said at 6am, Noon, and 6pm while the bells toll. By the light in this painting, I always assumed that this devout couple was finished with their work for the day, and ready to go home for dinner.

Great job on getting through another year of Bible Study. We will treat ourselves to a nice breakfast in a couple of weeks. Now I need lunch!

Lesson Nineteen and Twenty Notes

Lesson Nineteen & Twenty

Can you believe that we've made it through another year of our Bible Study? And that some of us have been at this for seven years? Think of what we've learned, and we've only made a small dent in the entire book of Holy Scripture!

It seems as though I've been working on these two lessons forever, because I've been doing it in bits and pieces as I've found the time at various tennis meets and down times when the weather won't let me work outside. I only hope it makes some sense to all of you. (For some reason, the fonts on this document are a little out of whack, and I can't fix it, so it might look a little funny when you print it.)

I was hoping to have a study guide prepared for our summer book, Jesus of Nazareth, at the same time I posted this guide, but I didn't make it. That will be my priority over the next few weeks. Please check back later for that document.

See you on May 8th!

Study Guide for Lesson Nineteen & Twenty

Lesson Eighteen Update

If this lesson on tolerance is a tough one for you, you may be comforted by the words of the writer G.K. Chesterton who said, "Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions." When we love our faith, we want others to love it, or at least respect it, as well. We just have to remember to defend our faith the right way.

While I was buying my groceries this afternoon, I was thinking some more about our conversation on receiving communion--the where, when, and why--and in some ways, I think it can be compared to our thinking about heaven and purgatory. When you understand that being in heaven means being with God, purgatory makes sense; I want to be ready and made right before I go to God. Now apply that kind of reasoning to your thinking about the Eucharist. Once you understand what the Eucharist means, don't you want to be ready and made right to receive Jesus? That means that you are fulfilling all the requirements that the Church has professed that will make you ready to receive the Body and Blood of Christ.

I found an excellent article on the Catholic Answers web site that may answer some of your questions on this topic. It is written in the form of an imaginary conversation between a Catholic and a non-Catholic. If you read it, let me know what you think about it.
Why Is Communion for Catholics Only?

In case you're interested, here are my notes from today's lesson as well.
Lesson Eighteen Notes

Have a wonderful week! Don't forget, we have a big review lesson in two weeks, so don't wait until the last minute. I will get a study guide up ASAP.

Lesson Eighteen

Tick, tock. We're really winding down on our study of Romans. I must admit that I struggled with a little bit of spring fever yesterday, but I got my homework done before I went outside!

This lesson is about tolerance. It is still a very timely topic, because we live in a time when we are preached to about zero-tolerance, on one hand, and what I would call over-indulgent tolerance, on the other. We know we need to all try a get along, but it's never easy. In addition to the study guide, I have also provided a link to a Vatican decree on ecumenism that we'll refer to in our discussion on this lesson.

Don't forget to keep checking in on the Pope this week. He looks great for 81, doesn't he? See you on the 24th!

Lesson Eighteen Study Guide

"Unitatis Redintegratio" ("Restoration of Unity") The Second Vatican Council's Decree on Ecumenism

Lesson Seventeen Update

Next week we have a great opportunity as American Catholics to follow the Pope's visit to our country. People will be talking about his visit, and we should be ready to be good ambassadors for our faith. While he is here, I would encourage you to look for coverage of this event apart from the mainstream press. In fact, if you look just to the right of this post, I have provided you with links to two websites that should be great resources concerning everything about his trip: the websites of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and EWTN.

A video taped message from the Pope to the US:


We had a really good session today. It's amazing how a letter written to some Romans a couple of thousand years ago still speaks to us today. Even though it meant "staying after school" for a while, I was glad that we were able to get through my bit on "Dogma, Doctrine, and Canon Law", too. I know I tend to harp on the value of the Catechism, but I'd just hate to see anyone get to their judgment and claim ignorance on a sin that separated them from God, and having God's response be, "What, you couldn't read?" (I picture Mel Brooks as God saying that with a thick Jewish accent!)

Be good. See you on April 24.
Lesson Seventeen Study Guide w/Notes
Catechism Lesson: Doctrine, Dogma, and Canon Law

Lesson Seventeen

What better way is there to spend a snowy day than to work on the next Bible study lesson guide? It's actually kind of pretty outside and not so tough to take when we know it could all be gone in just a day or two.

This section of Romans is another bit of practical advice from Paul on how to live as good Christians. I am really hoping that we will be able to cover this lesson adequately and still have time at our next meeting to finally get to the catechism lesson that I have been hauling around in my folder for months on Dogma, Doctrine, and Canon Law.

Enjoy the snow. Go Twins! (We're having brats tonight to celebrate the opener, but I think I'll be cooking them inside.) See you on April 10th.

Lesson Seventeen Study Guide

Lesson Sixteen Update

My notes aren't too exciting for this lesson, but I still thought that I would put up what I have in case anyone is interested. This lesson gave us a break from the deep theological issues we've been covering and offered some practical advice on how we can apply our faith to our lives. It seems to all boil down to humility and love--both tough things to achieve sometimes. It's that, and the message that we really do show our love for God by how we treat one another.

I took book orders today and will place an order over the weekend. Pope Benedict's book Jesus of Nazareth was the popular choice for our summer read. That is an ambitious choice. In other words, don't wait until the beginning of September to start reading. Now that I know which book we are going to use, I will schedule some time to prepare a study guide, and with some luck, I will be able to give them to everyone by our last meeting.

Thanks for the good session. I'll get the next lesson up ASAP. See you on April 10.

Lesson Sixteen Study Guide w/Notes

Lesson Sixteen

I wanted to get our next lesson's study guide finished so that I could enjoy spring break with a clear conscience. This is a great lesson with some good practical advice--not necessarily easy--about how we should live as Christians. This study guide has some fill-in-the-blank sections because I really want each of you to take the time to look up the scriptural references that are given for a couple of the questions in the LC book. (Admit it, those are easy to skip, aren't they?)

Please take the time to read the information in the post just below this one. There is some important information about our Bible Study group--dates, book order information, and some changes for the coming year. I will be taking book orders at our next meeting on March 27th.

Aloha! Malama pono.

Lesson Sixteen Study Guide

Lesson Fifteen Update and Important Group Information

Believe it or not, after this week's session we have only four more meetings before our breakfast at the end of May. Since I know how how quickly this time will fly by, I've already done some planning for next year.

1) A tentative schedule for a 2008-09 Bible Study of the First Letter to the Corinthians is printed on the study guide notes for this lesson and can also be found if you scroll ahead on the calendar at the bottom of this web page. Unless there are some strong objections, these are the dates that I will be turning in to the office soon to reserve our classroom.

2) If you would like me to place an order for your books for next year, I would like to be able to do that during first week of April. We are going to use the same two types of books again next year that we have in the past--the Life Change and Ignatius Catholic Study Bible. The next volume of the ICSB contains both 1&2Corinthians, so if you would like me to go ahead and order the next two volumes of the LC books, we would be set for the next two years. The ICSB is $9.99 and each LC book is $8.99. I will be taking book orders at the March 27 meeting.

3) Speaking of books, we also need to decide on the book that we would like to read over the summer to discuss at our first meeting in the fall on September 11. Just to the right of this post is a place where you can vote for your preference. I will announce which book was chosen at the March 27th meeting and will have price information if you would like me to order a copy along with the textbooks for our study.

4) Finally, I just wanted to let you know that I have decided to remove the word "Women's" from "Women's Bible Study" when I post an announcement in the bulletin for fall registration. We really need to boost the numbers of people who will actively participate in our Bible Study just to make the preparation worthwhile and the discussion sessions engaging. Since Christmas, we've have very few well attended meetings, and while I understand that there are important things that keep you away, it's been more than a little discouraging to have lessons prepared and then only have one or two people who show up for our sessions. Please, don't get me wrong--I'm glad for when our snowbirds are present when they can be, and I understand that life can sometimes get in the way, but in order for me to continue devoting my time and energy in this way, I need to know that it is having some impact. I want to serve, but I want to serve where I am useful. I would love to continue with our Bible Study, so I'm going to open the group up to anyone who may be interested. I would also appreciate it if you would encourage people who may want to join us this fall. The more the merrier!

Have a blessed Holy Week and Easter Sunday!

Study Guide w/Notes Lesson Fifteen

Lesson Fifteen

Sorry the new study guide is a little later than usual, but my brain was preoccupied with preparing for last week's book group discussion sessions. This lesson covers it all--salvation, divine discipline, horticulture, and mystery. Intriguing!

In addition to our regular lesson, I have some business we must discuss, and I would love to finally get to one of the extra catechism topics that I've been holding onto for several months. Hope to see you all on Thursday.

Study Guide: Lesson 15

Lesson Thirteen & Fourteen Update

Today was a bittersweet day--Winnie joined us again after her long absence since her surgery, but it was Rosemary's last day to be with us so that she can get ready for her big move this spring. Comings and goings are hard, but we have to remember to be grateful for the times we have together. We'll miss you Rosemary. I know we all wish we well in this new chapter of your life. Your daughter and her family are lucky that they will have both you and your husband so close by.

Since we ran a little late today and were saying good-bye to Rosemary, I forgot to mention that I would like everyone to make sure that they vote on the book they would like to read this summer. You have some time to check into the titles I have suggested before you make up your minds. (Descriptions for each of the titles can be found on Amazon.com.) You can place your vote by clicking on the appropriate title in the poll to the right of this copy.

One last thing, if you look at the calendar at the bottom of this page and scroll ahead you will be able to see the dates that I have chosen for our 2008-09 Bible Study schedule. Our first meeting is on September 11. Check them with your calendars, and if there are no objections, I will reserve the room for those dates--that is if anyone is interested in studying Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians with me.

Have a great week. I'll get the next lesson up as soon as I can.
Study Guide: Lesson Thirteen & Fourteen

Lesson Thirteen & Fourteen

This is another two-lesson lesson this week, so don't wait until the last minute to crack open your books. You may find these lessons to be a little challenging because of all the OT references that Paul uses to make his point. So in addition to the ICSB text, you will probably want to grab a Bible when you sit down to do your lessons.

While you're here today, you may want to take a moment to check out an item that I have placed in the column to the right of this copy. I have come up with a list of possible books to read in the upcoming summer break. Take a look at the suggestions. If you are unfamiliar with these titles, you can go to Amazon.com and read about each of the books . Then come back to this site and place your vote for which book you would like to read. At the end of the allotted time, I will select the book that gets the most votes. If you don't like any of the books and have a suggestion of your own, please bring it up at our next meeting. There is one caveat, however, if we choose that book, the person who suggested it will be responsible for providing the group a study guide and for leading our discussion of the book in the fall.

Finally, don't forget. Each of you are responsible for printing out your own study guide unless you contact me before the morning of Wednesday, February 20th.
See you on the 21st!

Study guide for Lessons Thirteen & Fourteen

150th Anniversary of Lourdes

One hundred and fifty years ago today, the Blessed Virgin Mary first appeared to the young woman, Bernadette Soubirous, in the town of Lourdes in the south of France. There is an interesting story that was retold in this month's issue of the liturgical guide Magnificat that I thought I would share with you on this anniversary.

According to the story, after Bernadette had entered the convent--in part to escape the attention that the apparitions had brought her--she began to receive pictures and statues of Mary from all over the world, but she didn't want to keep them because she didn't think that any of them really looked like the Virgin Mary. Bernadette didn't want those inaccurate images around her. When the Mother Superior of her convent wrote about this to their bishop, he came to the convent with picture books of famous images of Mary, and as they paged through them together, Bernadette didn't recognize any of them until they came to the image of the icon know as Our Lady of Cambrai. At the moment she saw this image, she dropped to her knees and said that this image was the face that she had seen in the grotto.

Does this mean that this is what Mary really looks like? Who knows. Other accounts have been different. What it does say is that we can see the divine in things of earth--art, music, nature, and one another! If you would like to do some interesting reading on this special anniversary, Google "Lourdes" or "Our Lady of Cambrai."

This is the opening prayer for the Mass for the commemoration of Our Lady of Lourdes:
God of mercy, we celebrate the feast of Mary, the sinless mother of God. May her prayers help us to rise above our human weakness. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Lesson Eleven & Twelve Update

Wow, if you couldn't make it today, you really missed it, because this was the lesson that contained the secret of the meaning of life. It all makes sense now. Yea, right. Hopefully, a few more of us will get together at our next scheduled meeting on February 21. Once again, we will be covering two lessons, Lessons 13 & 14, so plan accordingly.

If you print out my notes from today, you'll notice that in addition to the lesson notes, there are a few messages for the group. First of all, from now on each member will be responsible for printing out their own guides for the meeting. If, for whatever reason, you cannot do that, it will be your responsibility to contact me (email or comment) before our meeting, and I will be happy to print a copy for you. Secondly, please continue to leave comments or send emails whenever you use the site. This helps me gauge what is used (and when) so that I can spend my time providing you with the information here that is most useful.

Finally, as much for myself as for all of you, I wrote a little about study habits. Maybe you don't have this problem, but sometimes when our schedules get hectic, I'm afraid Bible study may get the short shrift. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not talking about missing meetings. That happens sometimes. I like when we're all together, but I'm glad when there are other interesting things for us to do as well. Besides, the meetings aren't where the real work gets done anyway. I'm referring to the work we do at home. We all have weeks when we don't get to spend the time on our scripture study that we should, but if that gets to be a habit, we're really missing the point of the whole thing. Try and use the whole two weeks between our assignments to really internalize the message of the passages that we are studying. If we are reading and answering questions at the last minute just to "get it done", it won't have the impact on us that it should. I always have to keep telling myself, "Quit giving God your leftovers"--not squeezing God into my schedule last, but planning my schedule around my time with God. Still working on that.

Note on Lessons Eleven & Twelve

Lessons Eleven & Twelve

As long as I haven't had much energy for physical exertion, I decided I should at least exercise my mind, so I prepped the study guide for our next lessons a little earlier than usual. This way, when I get my spunk back, I'll be ready to get moving.

The next two lessons are great. There's lots to cover, but it's such an affirming and upbeat message that it's a pleasure to read and consider the questions. We should have a good discussion.

I will mention this at our next meeting as well, but after this lesson, I'm going to start a new policy for printing out our study guides. As I said in the last post, rather than save paper and ink, I think we've generated more waste because we're both printing out copies. This time we'll keep things the same, but after that, on the Wednesday before we meet, I am going to print out two copies of the guide--one for me and one for Pat "The Internet-less"--unless you let me know by then that you want one. Otherwise, you're on your own. Sound good?

I am still encouraging you to leave a comment whenever you use this site. It takes quite a bit of time to maintain, and I gauge whether or not it's worth continuing to do so by your comments. For instance, I have consistently taken the time to upload my notes after our meetings, but no one has ever left me a message that they have used those notes, so unless that changes, I probably won't bother to do that in the future. The only way I can tell what's useful is when you show me some love! I don't mind doing this, but I want to know that the effort is well spent.

See you on Febrary 7!
Study Guide for Lessons Eleven & Twelve

Lesson Ten Update

I'm sorry that I couldn't make it for our meeting, but trust me, you don't want to be around me today. I've been fighting some crud all week, and while I'm not in terrible shape, I don't have much of a voice and I just didn't want to risk infecting everyone else. Actually, it's been an okay week. I've gotten around to some projects at home that have been on my list for awhile, and I've sucked down an ocean of tea with lemon and honey (with an additional kick after the dinner hour).

Here's the deal--I will post my notes for this lesson, and if you have any questions about Lesson 10, jot them down or make a mental note, and we'll try and work those out at our next meeting before we move on. Our next session is on February 7. We are going to do Lessons 11 & 12 together since they cover just one chapter--Romans 8. I was planning to do an extra catechism lesson today about Dogma, Doctrine, and Canon Law. I have copies printed for everyone, and I will save those for another time. So, we'll have to plod along and do our best to squeeze everything in when we can.

I will try and get the next lessons posted ASAP. We're going to have to try and get a better system for printing out the lessons. Rather than saving paper, I think we're using twice as much in printing duplicate study guides. We'll talk about it next time.

Once again, sorry about today. I'm sure you all did a great job.
Lesson Ten Notes

P.S. I just received your call as I was typing this up. You guys are sweet. Thanks for the well wishes.

Lesson Ten

We are at the halfway point in our study of Romans. In the section of his letter that we are studying for Lesson Ten, Paul has some very interesting things to say about God's law, and why we can't seem to keep it even when we really want to and have been given the help of God's grace through baptism. This passage contains the well known verse when Paul admits, "I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do I want, but I do the very thing I hate." No kidding. What's that all about?

Since this lesson focuses the Law, I thought this would be a good time to cover a catechism lesson that I have prepared that explains the difference between dogma, doctrine, and Canon Law. We'll also learn a little history about how it all came to be, and maybe a few tips on how to use it to become better Catholics.

Once again--here comes the broken record part--please save a tree by printing out your own study guide and leaving a message in the comments section that you have done so by the end of the day on Tuesday, January 22. It only takes a moment of your day and saves my printer.
Study Guide for Lesson Ten

Lesson Eight & Nine Update

So, this family took their new baby to church to be baptized and as soon as they got in the car to go home, their oldest son started crying and could not be consoled. "My goodness, what's the matter?" asked his mother. The little boy replied, "Father said that Jesus wants us to grow up in a good Christian family." "That's right, honey," said his mother. "Yeah," the little boy whimpered, "but I want to stay with you guys!"

This lesson was all about baptism and the grace we receive that begins to bring us home to God long before we make the choice on our own to live a good Christian life. Jesus does want us all to grow up in a good Christian family--the one we're born into and the one we have in the Church. Paul wants us to think about what kind of family members we are. Are we slaves to sin, or servants to God? In our group today, we decided that we need a new word. Maybe "slavents"?

In case you're interested, you are welcome to print a copy of my personal notes for these two lessons.
Click here for Lesson Eight & Nine Notes.

By the way, if you are interested in visiting the new website I have made for St. Patrick's Seasons of Reading book club, click on the title and check out what's going on with that ministry. Many of you are readers, so I would encourage you to give one (or all) of the books a try. I love the whole idea of a ministry that you can tailor to your own needs and personality--read the books and study on your own, or join other readers for a discussion group. Do what feels comfortable to you.

Lesson Eight & Nine

Happy New Year!

We are going to cover two lessons at our first meeting of 2008 on January 10. I just finished my first time through the lessons, and I didn't think it was overly difficult. I will mention that I thought the second lesson was a little more involved than the first, so you might want to plan accordingly if time is tight.

Hopefully, by now you have received my email about the heating situation in good old Room 111 at St. Pat's. We should be in good shape--even if it is freezing outside.

Don't forget to leave me a comment when you print out the study guide, and if you would like to save some paper and ink, make sure you print it by the end of the day on Tuesday, January 8.
Click here for the study guide for Lesson Eight & Nine.