Lesson Five: Priceless Treasure in Cracked Pots

Tomorrow is December 1st, and I know we're already feeling the pressure of all that we need to get done in the next few weeks. Do yourself an Advent favor, and take some time to work on this last lesson of the year 2009. It's a good one, and has several applications to this liturgical season. You'll still have plenty of time to get to all those other things.

Don't forget, we're going to go out to lunch after our regular meeting. It's become our Christmas tradition.

See you on December 10.

Study Guide for Lesson Five

Lesson Four: The Glory of the New Covenant

I think that you'll find this to be a fascinating lesson. Paul stuffs a lot into a few sentences. (What else is new? Right?) Don't be afraid to give it your all. After this lesson, you'll have a whole month to rest before you have to tackle the next one.

Study Guide for Lesson Four

I don't know if you're interested, but I was asked to speak to the Family Formation group at church this fall and to prepare for that talk, I wrote a paper with my notes. (It helps me remember what I'm going to say if I type it out.) It's a talk about what happens to us when our time here ends. You're welcome to read it if you like.

At the Finish Line

See you on the 12th!

Lesson Three Notes, Plus

We had quite a discussion yesterday. It's tough solving all these theological dilemmas! And in just a couple of hours.

I did have a few notes from yesterday's lesson, so I thought I would post them in case anyone is interested. They are primarily in regard to the historical vs. hermeneutical (I've got to get this word out of my head!) interpretation of the Old and New Covenants--the Letter and the Spirit.

Lesson Three Notes

If you have a moment, you might want to check out an item I saw the other day. It is an entry on a blog about "The Gift of Tears." I had never heard this idea before, but being someone who has been blessed (cursed?) with this gift, I found this column interesting. Some people inherit great wealth, others good looks. This was my inheritance. Thanks a lot Mom and Dad.

Lesson Three: "Who Is Equal to Such a Task?"

This marks the beginning of a detour that Paul takes in his letter. In this lesson and the next, we're going to be talking about the Old and the New Covenant--the Law and the Spirit. We've talked about this in past lessons, but now we're going to get into even deeper theology behind these distinctions.

Study Guide for Lesson Three: "Who Is Equal to Such a Task?"

We'll see you all on October 29.

Lesson Two: Paul's Change of Plans

I had hoped to finish this study guide before the first pitch of the Twins' game this afternoon, but it didn't work out that way. I've still been watching as I've finished up. Blame baseball if the end of the lesson is a little fuzzy.

Backing up for a minute... I forgot to post my notes after our last meeting. If you're interested, you can get them at:
Lesson One Notes

Now we're up to speed...Here's the link for the study guide for the new lesson:
Lesson Two Study Guide

It's the bottom of the fourth and 3-1 Detroit. Now I'm really praying.
See you October 15.

Introduction and Lesson One: Overview

The first lesson is one of the most time consuming lessons of the whole year, so I wanted to get this study guide out as quickly as possible. It took me a while to get through it myself. My advice is to start by reading the whole letter through with Questions #1 and 2 on pgs.15-16 in the LifeChange book in mind as you do so. Then begin working on reading and answering the remaining questions on 1:1-11.

To print the study guide for this lesson, click on this link:
Study Guide for Introduction and Lesson One

See you on October 1.

First Day

I hope everyone enjoyed today's discussion on "The Way of a Pilgrim." We covered the big messages, but there's so much more to this book that we just didn't have time for in our two hours together. We may have to talk about this one some more in the next few weeks. I don't know about you, but this is a book that will stick with me for awhile.

If you would like to download a copy of the study guide for this book with my notes attached, you are welcome to do so. Hope they make some sense.
"The Way of a Pilgrim" Study Guide w/Responses

So, now we begin Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians. Don't forget, the first lesson can be especially time consuming because of the overview. I do think it is a good idea to read the whole letter before we begin to parse it out, so do try and get that part of the assignment done if at all possible. I will get the study guide up for the first lesson as soon as it's ready.

Welcome back. And a special welcome to our new members!

The Way of a Pilgrim

Believe it or not, I finally have a study guide ready for our summer book. Sorry that it's taken so long. Even though I'm a little later than I had hoped, there should still be plenty of time to read the book and work on the questions before we have our first meeting on Thursday, September 17.

Outside of the Bible and our Catechism, this might be one of the best books on faith that I have ever read. My copy is covered with highlighting, comments, and starred sections, and I can't wait to hear what everyone else thinks about it.

During our first meeting, I will ask everyone to share at least one of their responses to questions #4 and #9. That's your homework for the summer. That and coming in September ready to talk about this great book! (If everyone comes to the meeting "just wanting to listen", it's not going to be very interesting.)

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Study Guide for The Way of a Pilgrim

Year for Priests

Today on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Church begins a Jubilee Year for Priests. I have provided a link to the USCCB website devoted to this celebration of the priesthood. Click on the artwork below to access this information, and don't forget to pray for all of our priests.



Please Pray for Priests
Dear Lord,
we pray that the Blessed Mother
wrap her mantle around your priests
and through her intercession
strengthen them for their ministry.
We pray that Mary will guide your priests
to follow her own words,
“Do whatever He tells you” (Jn 2:5).
May your priests have the heart of St. Joseph,
Mary’s most chaste spouse.
May the Blessed Mother’s own pierced heart
inspire them to embrace
all who suffer at the foot of the cross.
May your priests be holy,
filled with the fire of your love
seeking nothing but your greater glory
and the salvation of souls.
Amen.
Saint John Vianney, pray for us.

Summer Break

Enjoy your summer break!

As soon as I have some kind of a study guide for our summer book, I will post it here and email you to let you know that it is available. Our first meeting this fall will be on September 17. If you know anyone who is thinking about joining our group, feel free to have them contact me over the summer. There's always room for one more.

Thanks for all your hard work this year.

Lesson Seventeen Update

We did it! Another year of Bible Study under our belts. Good job everyone.

Here is a link to my notes for today's discussion. Not much to share, but here you go.

Study Guide for Lesson Seventeen w/Notes

We will get together for breakfast on May 21st at our usual spot @9AM. Hope everyone can make it. It's always fun to visit with everyone outside of our regular routine, especially when we won't see each other over the summer months.

As soon as I get a study guide together for our summer book, I will post it here and send out an email to alert everyone. I've got a few irons in the fire I have to finish up with first before I get onto my fall responsibilities.

Lesson Seventeen: Personal Words and Review

Whoo-hoo! We've done it. We're on our last lesson of Paul's letter. I won't lie, part of that "whoo-hoo" is because I'm glad to be done for awhile. A rest is always welcome by the time May rolls around. But a big part of that "whoo-hoo" is because I think we can all feel a real sense of accomplishment in getting through a year of challenging and complicated theology with a better knowledge of our faith. I've learned a lot this year, and I hope all of you have as well.

By way of review, the LC authors' recommend reading the entire letter through in one sitting, and I would recommend that as well. We get such a microscopic image of the entire piece during the course of the year that we can forget how it all fits together.

Enjoy your review, and we will see you all on May 7. Don't forget, we are meeting in the Library that day--comfy chairs! The book order came in this week, and I will bring them to our meeting. By ordering them together, we were able to discount the price of each book to $7.50. Good deal!

Study Guide for Lesson Seventeen: Personal Words and Review

Lesson Fifteen & Sixteen Update

What am I doing inside? It's so beautiful out today. Well, I'll be quick.

Good discussion today.
Fun to have everyone back.
Here's my notes:
Lesson Fifteen & Sixteen Notes

See you next time.

Lessons Fifteen & Sixteen: Resurrection 1&2

Although we will cover two lessons this time, these two lessons cover just one chapter of scripture, so I don't think it should be much more work than usual. The subject matter is interesting and something we don't often discuss. Sure, we think about heaven, but do we really spend much time thinking about how the fulfillment of God's kingdom will come about? This is a good Easter message.

See you on the 23rd.

Study Guide: Lessons 15&16 Resurrection 1&2

Lesson Fourteen Update

We had a good discussion today on our concluding lesson on spiritual gifts. Chapter 13 is one of my favorite passages of scripture, so that was easy. Chapter 14 took a little more effort, but I think we learned a lot about two of the more mystical gifts--prophecy and speaking in tongues. I made quite a few personal notes about what the Church has to say about these two gifts. They might help make things a little clearer--especially if you weren't able to be with us today.

Lesson Fourteen Notes

We also selected the book for our summer read. We decided on The Way of a Pilgrim. Please email me by mid-week after Easter if you were not at our meeting today but would still like me to order you a copy. You can find the links to the books we'll be using to the right of this post.

Lesson Fourteen: Spiritual Gifts 2

These two lessons on spiritual gifts are some of the best of the year. I started working on this lesson yesterday, and couldn't put it down. Just to warn you, I had to do a lot of research so that I could better understand exactly what Paul was saying--so, of course, I'm going to share my discoveries with everyone at our next meeting. We'll have to stay on course in order to cover everything. (Hold me to that!)

If you scroll down on this page, I have included links to Amazon with descriptions of some of the books that I thought we might want to consider reading over the summer. Click on the book cover, and check out each of the titles. We're going to make a selection at our next meeting. I'll have to place the order soon. We aren't too many weeks away from wrapping up another year.

Study Guide for Lesson Fourteen: Spiritual Gifts 2

Lesson Thirteen Update

No notes this week, but I do have a few things for you. If you weren't able to make it today, we spent quite a bit of time trying to define pride and humility. This evening I did some searching on the Internet and found an article on this subject that I think everyone will enjoy. It is written from the perspective of a Catholic mom. Let me know what you think of it. Maybe we can talk about it the next time that we get together.

Cultivating Humility

If that doesn't do it for you, maybe you'll like this:

Litany of Humility

I also thought that I would make a list of the suggested books that we could consider for our summer read. If you click on the picture of each book, it should take you to Amazon. You can read the descriptions and reviews on that site to help you decide. We'll make a decision soon.

1. In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden (Fiction)
I'm reading this novel right now, and enjoying it very much. It's interesting getting an inside view into a convent. It's a light read with well developed characters whose stories unfold slowly. Definitely a Catholic chick novel.

2. Joan of Arc by Mark Twain (Fiction)










3. Mother Angelica: The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve, and a Network of Miracles by Raymond Arroyo (Nonfiction)










4. The Way of a Pilgrim by Helen Bacovcin (Nonfiction)










5. Silence by Shusaku Endo (Fiction)

Lesson Thirteen: Spiritual Gifts I

Sorry that this is so late, but it's the best I could do this time. We did have a really great vacation. Lent in Sin City. Las Vegas did have their first stretch of 80 degree weather for the year while we were in town. What are the odds of that? And then it cooled back down the day after we left. Spring break hasn't always been so kind to us when we stay in the 48 contiguous.

Oh yeah, the Bible. Well, better late than never, I say. This lesson and the next one are all about spiritual gifts. We learn about their origin and their purpose. We also learn that we all have them--yes, it's true. And we learn that every spiritual gift is important in the total health of the living body of Christ, the Church. I think that you will enjoy these lessons as much as I have.

We are quickly winding up our 2008-09 study of Paul's letter, and so we need to come to an agreement about which book we would like to read over the summer. I will be happy to place a book order for the group, but we should try an do it soon to ensure delivery by the time we wrap things up. Remind me to discuss this at our meeting this week.

See you all on Thursday.

Study Guide: Lesson Thirteen Spiritual Gifts I

Lesson Twelve Update

Today's lesson provided some interesting conversation. I've got to say, I think I got the best response when I mentioned that, technically speaking, a woman could be Pope. Since that got such a rise out of everyone, I thought I should check my facts. If you click on the link below, you can listen to the podcast where I initially heard a priest(!) say this, but I couldn't find a quick answer online. (The priest speaking in this program, Fr. Dave Dwyer, is very trustworthy in matters of doctrine and canon law.) As we discussed today, while it may be technically true that our Pope could be selected from someone who is not ordained, the likelihood of that happening--male or female--is darned slim. For as long as I can remember, the Holy Father has been selected from the Cardinals who are, of course, all ordained priests. In my mind, it's like the presidency--who would want the job?!
Busted Halo Podcast

Since spring break starts next week, you might have to be a little more patient than usual in waiting for the next study guide. I'll get it here as soon as I can--and still manage to have a fun vacation.

Before we meet again, do some thinking about our summer book. If there's something else that someone would like to suggest, please speak up. We'll try and get that order together soon.

If you're interested, here are my notes from this lesson:
Lesson Twelve Notes

Lesson Twelve: Propriety in Worship

Once again, I'm going to predict that you aren't going to be too crazy about the start of this lesson, but stick with it. It gets much better.

As you read the opening verses of this chapter, try and look past the cultural differences to discern what parts of Paul's teaching can speak to us today. When you come right down to it, the members of the Corinthian church aren't that different from us. People are people.

See you on March 12.

Study Guide: Lesson Twelve Propriety in Worship

Lesson Eleven Update

The few of us who are left in MN this week to go to Bible Study thought we should have made the trip down to FL to be with everyone else who is down there enjoying the warm sunshine. We, however, were waiting for a snow storm to arrive. Talk about Lenten penance!! There must be some indulgence for us who were left behind.

This lesson was a continuation of the last one. In chapter ten, Paul finally gives a firm "it depends" reply to the question the Corinthians had about eating food that has been sacrificed to pagan gods. The bottom line isn't about the rules; the bottom line is about giving praise and honor to God and about treating our fellow man with consideration and compassion. It is a great time of year--liturgical year, that is--to hear this message. Sometimes Catholics get so worked up about all the rules of Lent that this season takes them farther from being heavenly creatures than they were when they started. We have to remember that Lent is about becoming more Christ-like. It's not about losing weight or making yourself miserable (or prideful) with some horrendously horrific self-denial.

In case you are interested, I will provide a link to the notes that I made for myself for this lesson. If you're looking for my notes from the last lesson, don't bother. I didn't have enough to think that it was worthwhile posting them.

Have a great couple of weeks. I will get the next study guide posted ASAP, as usual.

Lesson Eleven Notes

Lesson Eleven: Freedom and Temptation

Lesson eleven is a continuation of our last lesson. In this section of his letter, Paul is wrapping up his teachings on this question of eating food sacrificed to idols, and he is giving us a preview of what we will be covering in the chapters to come.

If you look just to the right of this entry, you may notice that I spent some time this last week planning ahead for next year. I am assuming that everyone wants to proceed on to Paul's second letter to the Corinthians--although that can certainly be open for discussion. Based on the number of lessons for that book, I have also prepared a tentative schedule for next year's meetings. Check with your own schedules, and if there are no big conflicts, I can turn these dates in to the front office to reserve our classroom.

I have also been checking around for a book selection for our summer read. I have some ideas, but if you have any suggestions, please bring them up at our next meetings. Believe it or not, we only have a handful of sessions left, and it's nice to get our book order in early so that you pick them up before we break for the summer.

Don't forget! Lent begins this week. Here's a link you might want to try:
Lenten Radio Retreat

See you on Thursday, February 26.

Study Guide for Lesson Eleven: Freedom and Temptation

Lesson Ten: Freedom and Rights

For those of you who weren't too crazy about our last lesson, I think that you'll like this one much better. Who knew you could have such a fascinating discussion about meat? Well, it's not really about meat, is it? It's about our rights, our responsibilities and how we should temper everything we do with charity.

This lesson covers two chapters of scripture. Once you get started, you'll see why we discuss them together. We are going to have to be very focused to cover everything I have for us on this lesson, so come to our meeting ready to get to work.

See you on February 12.

Study Guide for Lesson Ten: Freedom and Rights

Lesson Nine Update

If you are looking for notes from our last lesson, I didn't think that there were enough to bother posting them. The study guide and discussions closely followed the questions in our LifeChange book.

Our next meeting is February 12, and we will be discussing Lesson 10. I will get the new study guide posted ASAP. Check back next week.

Lesson Nine: Marriage

If you don't take the time to read all the notations and background information on this chapter, I can guarantee that you're not going to like this lesson. Right from the get-go, Paul makes some statements that can be easily misunderstood, and the deep satisfaction that he expresses for his own religious and celibate life can come across the wrong way. So, before you get all out of joint over his writings in this chapter, give Paul the benefit of the doubt and remember that he is addressing specific questions posed by the members of the Corinthian Church--and that we can still glean some good Catholic teachings about marriage from his words.

Don't forget to bring a picture from your own wedding day to our meeting. It doesn't have to be a formal picture--just a shot of the happy couple on your big day.

Hope to see you all on January 29!

Study Guide: Lesson Nine

Lesson Eight Update

What is Father's line? The Frozen Chosen. That was our group today. Man it is cold today! We heated things up with our discussion about sexual immorality. Now, don't you wish you could have been there?

We also talked a lot about the moral authority of the Church. That moral authority exists whether we believe it or not and whether we follow it or not, because that authority comes from God. In an essay about this very topic, Fr. Romanus Cessario wrote, "Judgment is a corollary of freedom. If I recognize the reality of my human freedom, then it follows that I should accept personal accountability for my actions. The Church urges us to act on the basis of a moral conscience. She wants us to acknowledge that our actions lead to consequences, to states of being that either conform or not to a standard of moral truth that is accessible to every human creature."

That's the reality of Church authority--not that common perception of the Church as a man-made institution run by grey headed men who are out of touch and out to spoil our good times.

Here are my notes for this week's lesson. Since we are going to be talking about marriage in our next lesson, I thought it would be fun if we brought a wedding picture to the meeting, so see if you can dig one up in the next two weeks.

Stay warm!

Lesson Eight Notes

Lesson Eight: More Moral Laxity

Happy New Year!

Preparing this lesson's study guide took me a little longer than I had planned. Finding enough quiet time to string together a few coherent thoughts has not been easy with all the commotion of the holidays. I hope it will make some sense.

Our next meeting will be on January 15th.
See you then!

Study Guide for Lesson Eight.