1 Peter 1:2-2-3

Excellent! We had so much to cover this week, and yet we managed to get through all of it--and did so with few distractions and a feeling of a good grasp of the history of 1 Peter, Peter himself, and the first chapter (and a bit of the 2nd) of this letter. Great job everybody!

As promised, here is a link to the Franciscan University program, "Islam and Isis," that was recommended to us by Kathy F. At posting I have yet to view the program myself, but I feel confident to post it with good recommendations. I will do my best to watch it this week.

Here too is a link to the discussion I mentioned that is part of the Lectio: Eucharist series available on the FORMED website that is presented by Dr. Brant Pitre on the Lamb of God, which we discussed for 1 Peter 1:19. (By the way, I highly recommend this Lectio series.  It's very well done!)

In case you missed our meeting or would simply like to look over the notes I made for our discussion, I will always try to include them in the post for each meeting.
Lesson 1, Ransomed By Grace, 1 Peter 1:1-2:3

See you this Thursday, February 2 to discuss Lesson 2 on 1 Peter 2:4-25.

First Meeting: Introductions and Book Reviews

As is our custom, we started our first meeting with a bit of business: distributing materials, discussing the class schedule, and reviewing the rules of our group study. If you were unable to attend, you may pick up your packet in the office, so that you're prepared to discuss our first lesson, or get your materials at Thursday's meeting. Also, if you would like to participate but didn't get around to registering by the deadline, I believe there are extra copies of our study guide. Stop by or call the office and speak to Linda, and she'll get you set up. Don't wait too long. It's too easy to fall behind in a weekly study. 

It is also our custom to have our members give a brief book review of a book that has been read over our break, or a favorite Catholic book that they would like to share. There was a good mix. Fiction. Non-fiction. Inspirational works. And prayer guides. There was quite a bit of discussion about a book of private revelation by a woman who goes by the moniker of Anne the Lay Apostle. When I got home, I did a little reasearch about Anne and found a blog post on the "Women of Grace site that I thought you might find interesting. It's called "The Controversy Surrounding Anne, the Lay Apostle."   The article was written in 2011, but since the Church takes its time regarding the approval of private revelation, I doubt much has changed in the meantime. The article is fair and well researched. I was surprised to find out that "Anne" is only in her mid-fifties and an American citizen living in Ireland. It's good to remember that, as members of the body of the Church, we are never required to believe private revelation. And while there may be little harm, and even great comfort and spiritual help in reading materials from these private revelations, one might be well advised to consider reading from the vast library of materials that has already been approved by the Church, most especially as one who might be just beginning their journey of mature faith formation. 

On Thursday, January 28 we'll be covering the introductory materials and Lesson 1 that covers 1Peter 1:1-2:3. See you then!