OLM Catholic Study

Dolan Video

2012-01-29T20:42:00.000-05:00

Here is a direct link to the video:

Archbishop Dolan speaks out on the Conscience Clause

At War with the US Government

2012-01-29T20:26:00.002-05:00

Please go to this subpage of the USCCB web site and view Archbishop Dolan's 2 minute video. Then scroll down and take action. Our government needs to hear loud and clear that we will not tolerate this arrogant travesty that is trampling upon the first Amendment of the Constitution. PLEASE do your part!

January 29

2012-01-27T07:45:00.000-05:00

We will move ahead this week to Lesson 8, with John Nash facilitating.

Obama Administration Declares War on the Catholic Church

2012-01-24T20:31:00.002-05:00

I would hope that you have been paying some attention to the news over the past couple of days. If so you realize that we are now, as a Church, essentially at War with the Federal Government over the issue of the Conscience Clauses. If not, here are some links and a little Fox News Video from yesterday to bring you up to speed.

This is simply outrageous and must be fought with all of the strength we can muster. ALL Christians need to recognize this attack on the Catholic Church for what it truly is…an attack on religion and especially on Christianity. I fear that getting other denominations to recognize this may be difficult. Please have this conversation with our Protestant brothers and sisters, ask for their vocal support. Urge them to support H.R. 1179, the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act by Congressman Fortenberry.

Here are a couple of other links that you might find interesting and hopefully motivating:

Pewspective...Barbara's BLOG See Mass Rock post

Catholic Vote

National Review

Truth and Charity 7 things you can do

So there you have it, some food for thought and hopefully for ACTION!

Sunday January 22

2012-01-18T19:17:00.000-05:00

We will move to Lesson 7 in the DVD series. This week we will have a lot to cover, as the lesson is titled: Word Made Flesh, True Bread of Heaven: The mystery of the Liturgy & The Eucharist! So be thinking of the Mass, what are we doing there and why? What really happens on the altar? What is to happen after Mass? (I am NOT thinking of brunch at the Club! :-) )

Read John 6. A couple of times!

I suspect we may break this in to two parts again, but we shall see. It may make sense to let it go all the way through so that we get the full sense of it from Fr. Barron. This is one of the best ones yet, so plan not to miss it.

See you on Sunday!

Sunday January 15

2012-01-14T16:10:00.000-05:00

We will meet and finish up Lesson 6 in Catholicism. This will focus on the 4 marks of The Church: One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. Give some thought to what a "mark" might be, and then to the meaning of each of these four things and how they apply to us and to the place of our Church in the world of today.

A week late and more than a dollar short...

2012-01-14T16:09:00.001-05:00

I meant to post this early in the week, but it was one of those weeks at work. What can I say? Anyway, I thought the link below about last week's Broncos game and Tim Tebow was kind of fun. Sports nuts are all about numbers and statistics. Here are some interesting coincidences for you to think about. Elizabeth Scalia puts them in perspective.
We shall see how the Broncos fare tonight against the Lions!

Wyoming Catholic College

2012-01-07T14:36:00.001-05:00

It is easy to get depressed as we look around us, observing the deterioration of the fabric of our society before our very eyes! Well if you need a lift upward, some hope for the future and especially if you know of teens in need of a good CATHOLIC education I would suggest that you have a look at THIS VIDEO.
Oh to be able to go to college again!
The above is the trailer for Wisdom in God's Country which is a longer look at the college and its mission.
Enjoy.

January 8

2012-01-04T19:42:00.000-05:00

Welcome back! Class resumes with the next DVD in the series. We will be dealing with the mystical union of Christ and The Church. Just what is this thing that we call the Church? Where did it come from? What does it look like? Why is it here? There is a lot to explore here so give this some thought and jot down some ideas for discussion. We will likely get through the first half of DVD 6, chapter 6 if you are reading along in the book as well.

Sunday December 4

2011-12-01T18:05:00.000-05:00

We will be moving ahead to the first half of the next installment of the Catholicism series by Fr. Barron. Lesson 5 is on Saints Peter and Paul. This week we will likely go through the section on Peter, and then take up the section on Paul on Dec 18, as I believe classes are cancelled on Dec 11 in favor of the Parish Brunch after the Teen Mass celebration for Joyful Sunday.
SLG

Tim Tebow....ya'all must have heard of him!

2011-12-01T17:48:00.000-05:00

I came across this post on Tebow's Eye Black , which is a blog dedicated to none other than Mr. Tebow. He made quite a sensation when he took the Florida Gators to two national championships and is making big waves in the NFL now that the Denver Broncos have actually let him play football.

There are a lot of critical comments in the press about him. Many commentators do not like him. His wide open Christianity is derided and has made him the object of scorn and hatred. Not a big surprise in our current secular culture. I find that very sad, and so should all of you. Please have a look at the link above and read the article. It contains an interesting challenge to all of us, and especially to us Catholics. As you read through this simply insert Catholic where the article says Christian.

I would love for some of you to comment on this!

SLG

Here is your answer.....better late than never!

2011-12-01T17:33:00.000-05:00

St. Justin Martyr in about the year 150, only about

55 years after the last of the New Testament books

was penned! To my reading this is essentially and

almost EXACTLY what we do in the Mass TODAY,

each and every day. Please follow this

link to The Crossroads Initiative by Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio.

From there you can also read the writings of St. Cyril of

Jerusalem on the Real Presence and St. Ambrose on Eucharistic

Consecration.

Remember what Cardinal John Henry Newman said, roughly paraphrased:

"To be deep in the history of the Church Fathers is to cease to be Protestant."

So, have the courage to stand up to the lies you are told about how Catholics "added to" the Faith and challenge those who say such things (charitably of course!) to go read the Church Fathers for themselves.

All of this should fit in nicely with Fr. Wise's class on Wed nights. We are

looking

at the Church

Fathers.

It should be very interesting.

I hope to see you there!

SLG

The New Mass Translation

2011-11-21T06:56:00.000-05:00

As Fr. Wise pointed out yesterday, there were things we heard and said at Mass yesterday that we heard and said for the last time....or at least until we get used to the new Mass translation. We have a CD by Dr. Edward Sri about the new translation and it is wonderful. Here is a link to his website and an article on some of the wording changes and the reasoning behind them. I hope that you will find it enlightening.
Here is the link: The New Mass Translations: "For all or Many" and "The Supper of the Lamb"

November 27

2011-11-21T06:49:00.000-05:00

Class is cancelled. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Weekend! We will pick back up the following Sunday with DVD 5 in the Catholicism Series.

As we study Mary....

2011-11-17T21:54:00.000-05:00

You might want to ponder this little interchange that I have copied and pasted from John Zmirak's Crisis Magazine, Church section. You can click on this to see the whole article. It is a little earthy, but worth a few minutes. The sections copied from below are the end of the article. It is interesting to see how he got there....the title of the article is The Devil Never Wore Diapers. I found the perspective on sex especially interesting. Now I know that you will go have a look at it! :-)

Q. So why is it important that Mary remained a virgin, instead of having subsequent children with Joseph?

You’d have to ask God why He did things that way, but I’ll toss out a hint why it’s fitting: Because God’s union with Mary was a marriage and not some (Zeus-like) one night stand, it was sacramental and indissoluble. Mary wasn’t simply some useful, dispensable vessel, but a “type” of redeemed mankind, united again with its creator. Her single-minded devotion to Him, and to her Son, is the model for every Christian life. The fact that she could have told the angel “No” marks Christianity radically off from pagan accounts of gods consorting with human women. It also connects to the Church’s insistence that man’s will is free and God’s grace can be resisted. Adam and Eve were free not to fall, and Mary was free not to help pick us up again. Ironically, while Jesus would be tempted, He could not have sinned; the Virgin Mary could have. She simply didn’t. In one way, that’s more impressive.

Q. And that is why Catholics and Orthodox make so much out of Mary?

That, and the fact that she keeps appearing to us and giving us messages from heaven. Which also makes a strong impression.

Surely this might engender some thoughts or comments????

November 20

2011-11-17T07:09:00.000-05:00

We will continue with the first half of episode 4 in the Catholicism Series by Fr. Barron. For those of you reading along in the book we will be covering Our Blessed Mother for the next two weeks. This week we will cover through the Immaculate Conception on the DVD, but the chapter headings in the book do not exactly match the DVD, so I would recommend that we go ahead and read the whole chapter.

November 13! Time is going fast enough already!

2011-11-10T19:37:00.001-05:00

We are all set to complete the third DVD of Catholicism by Fr. Barron. Mark Anderson has agreed to facilitate the discussion and Mary & Paul Ray have volunteered to bring the snacks. I happen to know that Paul likes good coffee, so be sure to come. We are covering: The Provident Creator, The Problem of Evil and The Trinity. Three topics sure to stimulate some discussion! Read along ahead of time in the book if you can and come with plenty of thoughts to share.

Description of the Eucharist.....

2011-11-09T17:21:00.000-05:00

Please read this carefully. I will share with you in a later post where
this came from. I would like for you all to read it and give it your
best shot to identify it, or at least give some clue as to where and/or
when it might have been written.

SLG

"No one may share the Eucharist with us unless he believes that
what we teach is true, unless he is washed in the regenerating waters
of baptism for the remission of his sins, and unless he lives in
accordance with the principles given us by Christ.

We do not consume the eucharistic bread and wine as if it were
ordinary food and drink, for we have been taught that as Jesus Christ
our Savior became a man of flesh and blood by the power of the
Word of God, so also the food that our flesh and blood assimilates
for its nourishment becomes the flesh and blood of the incarnate
Jesus by the power of his own words contained in the prayer of
thanksgiving.

The apostles, in their recollections, which are called gospels,
handed down to us what Jesus commanded them to do.
They tell us that he took bread, gave thanks and said: Do this
in memory of me. This is my body. In the same way he took the cup,
he gave thanks and said: This is my blood. The Lord gave this
command to them alone. Ever since then we have constantly
reminded one another of these things. The rich among us help the
poor and we are always united. For all that we receive we praise
the Creator of the universe through his Son Jesus Christ and through
the Holy Spirit.

On Sunday we have a common assembly of all our members,

whether they live in the city or the outlying districts. The recollections

of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as

there is time. When the reader has finished, the president of the

assembly speaks to us; he urges everyone to imitate the

examples of virtue we have heard in the readings. Then we

all stand up together and pray.

On the conclusion of our prayer, bread and wine and

water are brought forward. The president offers prayers and

gives thanks to the best of his ability, and the people give

assent by saying, “Amen”. The eucharist is distributed, everyone

present communicates, and the deacons take it to those who

are absent.

The wealthy, if they wish, may make a contribution, and

they themselves decide the amount. The collection is placed in

the custody of the president, who uses it to help the orphans and

widows and all who for any reason are in distress, whether

because they are sick, in prison, or away from home. In a

word, he takes care of all who are in need.

We hold our common assembly on Sunday because it is the

first day of the week, the day on which God put darkness and

chaos to flight and created the world, and because on that

same day our savior Jesus Christ rose from the dead. For

he was crucified on Friday and on Sunday he appeared to his

apostles and disciples and taught them the things that we

have passed on for your consideration."

The wonder of God's creation!

2011-11-06T15:47:00.001-05:00

This is a truly wonderful link. Click on this and spend about two minutes in a murmuration.
We see this in a greatly reduced version with the birds on the phone and electric wires around the downtown area, but nothing to match this! Made all the better by the fact that this was filmed in Ireland! Enjoy!

Fr Barron on the Eucharist...a must listen!

2011-11-06T15:38:00.000-05:00

This is a link to Fr. Barron's Word on Fire web site where his sermons are housed. They can be listened to by simply scrolling down the list and clicking on them to listen. They are about 15 minutes each. They are all, of course, wonderful but numbers 290-294 are on John 6 and The Eucharist. They go along very nicely with the lessons Fr. Wise has just finished up on the history of the Mass. If you do not have an hour or so to do them all then make a pledge to do just one a day. Bookmark this link and return to it often.

Looking ahead to November 13

2011-11-06T15:32:00.000-05:00

We will be completing Chapter in the book and DVD series Catholicism. This will cover The Provident Creator, The Problem of Evil, and The Trinity, so be thinking of these weighty topics during the week. Have a look at the book and come with some ideas to discuss. We have been having some very interesting comments and discussion after each DVD viewing so far. We were blessed and pleased to have Fr. Wise as a participant today! So please do consider coming and try to bring a friend! The more the merrier!

A Spiritual Battle

2011-11-03T07:01:00.000-04:00

Please have a look at: A Spiritual Battle-How to Win the Culture War by Peter Kreeft. This is the text from a talk that he gave on last weekend at a conference in Roswell, GA. There is a link to the actual talk so if you have an hour or so you could listen to it.

November 6

2011-11-03T06:45:00.000-04:00

We will begin the third DVD of the Catholicism series this week. By way of introduction to this material ponder, if you will, how Fr. Barron might find 3 or 4 ways in which to agree with atheists! We will be covering the mystery of God, arguments for the existence of God and naming God. (pages 61-75 for those of you who are following along in the book.)

October 30

2011-10-26T20:46:00.000-04:00

We will be completing the second DVD of the Catholicism series by Fr. Barron. If you are following along in the book the sections of the chapter are The Prodigal Son, Matthew 25 and Go Beyond the Mind You Have. The class will be back in the classroom of the Parish Hall. Mark Anderson will be facilitating the discussion for us this week.

October 23

2011-10-21T06:17:00.000-04:00

We will be continuing with DVD 2 of the Catholicism series: Happy Are We: The Teachings of Jesus. Last week we considered the person of Jesus, who Christ really is. This week and next we move to focus upon his teaching. We will watch the first 25 minutes or so and have plenty of time for discussion. The first 2 sections of this DVD are The Beatitudes and The Path of Non-violence. In preparation it would be good to look at Matthew 5:1-10. Consider these verses and see if you can re-state them in contemporary terms. Then turn to Matthew 5:43-44. Just what is love, and how does this "look" in the real world if we apply this verse in Matthew to our enemies?

Catholic Vocabulary

2011-10-14T06:09:00.000-04:00

Our Sunday Visitor had a nice little article on 19 words every Catholic should know. Here is the link to it. 19 Words Every Catholic Should Know

October 16

2011-10-14T06:04:00.000-04:00

We will be finishing up the first DVD of the Catholicism series this week. In this segment Fr. Barron presents to us what it would mean in the eyes of a first century Jew to view Yahweh moving among his people. From the Old Testament "Yahweh would be expected to do the following four great things: He would gather the scattered tribes of Israel; he would cleanse the Temple of Jerusalem; he would definitively deal with the enemies of the nation; and finally, he would rein as Lord of heaven and earth." Great accomplishments to be sure. But what is is about Jesus that makes this one different from all other revolutions? Be thinking about this. Who was Bar Kochba? Then, come and see how this relates to us in the here and now and what the significance of this is for The Church.

October 9

2011-10-06T07:24:00.000-04:00

We will try again to launch the beginning of Fr. Barron's DVD series on Catholicism. As there was very poor attendance on September 18 (Activity Sunday), we will now start the series this coming Sunday. Please scroll down to the prior post for some things to think about and for discussion. Hope to see you on Sunday!

September 18

2011-09-17T17:33:00.000-04:00

We will start this Sunday on the Catholicism Series by Fr. Robert Barron. The plan is to start slowly, as this week is also the Parish Activity Sunday and many, including me, will be a little late in getting up to the Parish Hall. We will be watching only about 12 minutes of the first DVD, and then we will have time for discussion.

As preparation for the viewing and discussion I would like you to simply think about these questions:

1) What is the central claim of Christianity?

2) Who was Jesus Christ?

3) Of what significance is it when He asked “Who do people say that I am?”

4) If you were truly in the presence of God how would you respond?

5) Just how radical are the acts and statements of Christ viewed in the eyes of first century Jewish culture?

SLG

September 11

2011-09-12T06:53:00.000-04:00

We have started up again and this past Sunday we viewed the trailer to the DVD series Catholicism by Fr. Barron. We will start with the first DVD next week. There is a study guide and a book available and I have ordered on copy of each. Both can be purchased from the Word on Fire website.

After viewing the trailer we also watched Fr. Barron's YouTube comments on September 11 relative to Anger and Forgiveness. An excellent discussion followed, including many of the points made in Fr. Wise's homily. Here is the video. It is well worth the 10 minutes it takes to watch.
Fr. Robert Barron Comments on September 11

We closed with one of the many September 11 Memorial videos that are out there on Youtube. A difficult day to remember for sure. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those who lost their lives that day and to the survivors who continue to be hurt by the reality of that most tragic day.

SLG

Back From Summer Vacation

2011-09-10T13:52:00.000-04:00

Well, the summer is officially over and we are ready to begin classes again. We are hoping for a renewal of interest in Adult Catechesis in our Parish and want to encourage everyone to attend class after the 9:30 am Sunday Mass.

We will be starting tomorrow with an organizational session and hope to see the trailer for Fr. Robert Barron's Catholicism Project. This is a wonderful DVD series intending to tell the Catholic story from the viewpoint of Catholicism, not from the viewpoint of the prevailing winds of our modern culture.

Please join us as we begin this journey intended to enliven and enrich our faith formation. It should be a wonderful journey indeed.

SLG

We try to organize everything else, why not...

2011-03-29T21:07:00.000-04:00

Organize our prayer time? Msgr. Pope's blog suggests that we do this according to the way our Lord instructed. 5 Steps. Have a look and give it a try. Also, as a real bonus take a few minutes and listen to the Our Father sung in Aramaic.
More later on class for this week.
SLG

CS Lewis Lecture on March 31

2011-03-10T07:48:00.000-05:00

Details to follow but please set aside Thursday March 31 in the evening (7:30 pm start of lecture) for the Annual CS Lewis Lecture at UTC. This program is run mainly by our Protestant brothers and sisters, but this year they seem to have slipped up :-) and let a Catholic give the address, and a well known converted one at that.....

Peter Kreeft!!

He is a wonderful apologist for our Faith and should not be missed. We are, to use Mark Twain's phrase, going to "postpone all other recreation" and attend! I would hope that you will do likewise and that we will see you there. His talk is entitled: What is Joy Good For?

Oh, did I mention that admission is Free? You can't beat that!!

Parents of Middle and High School age Kids

2011-03-10T07:34:00.000-05:00

I came across this post by our friend Msgr. Pope on New Advent recently. For those of you raising children for whom the spectre of college looms in the near, or even the distant future, please have a look at this thoughtful look at the state of education in our colleges today. The Moral Threats of College Life-What are We Doing To Protect Our Young People>
What does it profit a person to gain the whole world and lose his soul? (Mark 8:36)
Words worth considering......

Class for Sunday March 13

2011-03-10T07:24:00.000-05:00

We wil be continuing the preview of Fr. Robert Barron's series "Catholicism" this week with the second DVD viewing. The topic is "Mary, The Mother of God". Please come and journey across the globe with Fr. Barron and come to a deeper understanding of our Blessed Mother and her role in the Church, and therefore of her role in our own lives.
One housekeeping note, I will be out of town on the 20th of March, so next week we will need a volunteer to facilitate going through the study questions. I will be bringing the workbooks for part two this week, and yes, there is a "cheat sheet" with the answers for the lucky volunteer who will lead the discussion. So no excuses!

Bride of Frankenstein (1935) - Monster & the Blind Hermit

2011-03-02T20:38:00.001-05:00

We were discussing the Beatitudes in The Dead Theologian Society this morning, focusing on "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." (Matt 5:5) This particular video clip from the Bride of Frankstein was mentioned by Joe Novenson as a wonderful portrayal of Christian Charity. It has some very Catholic overtones, have a look, see what you think, and be sure listen to the music and watch for the Crucifix! Please post a comment or two for me!
SLG

They did WHAT at Berkeley?

2011-02-21T06:15:00.000-05:00

This little read/view was interesting given our discussion on Sunday about the ways in which we are called to be the salt and light of the world! How many of us are willing to do something like this?
Traditional Marriage Stand
Please have a look, then post a comment, just like on the book blog! I am curious to see what you all think of this!
SLG

Football FANatics

2011-02-09T09:16:00.000-05:00

Folks, this was too good not to share with you! Please have a look at this post from our friend Msgr. Pope, whose blog should be bookmarked on your favorites list. In the wake of Super Bowl Sunday, this is a wonderful reflection: http://blog.adw.org/2011/02/compare-and-contrast-super-bowl-and-the-mass/

Have a wonderful couple of weeks, and please keep us in your prayers for safe travel!

SLG

Looking ahead to Feb 13 and Feb 20

2011-02-06T09:32:00.005-05:00

As of class time today, following thorough discussion, we will cancel class next week, Feb 13, as I will be out of town for the next two weeks and the kid's classes are apparently cancelled.

We will take up the topic of Vocations and discipleship the following week of Feb 20, and this post by Msgr. Pope is a wonderful follow up topic to take up. So please have a look at this blog post and the videos at the end. I passed out a printout of the blog at class today for you to have, and of course we may need a volunteer to facilitate the discussion for Feb 20 as I am not sure what shape I will be in having just gotten home sometime late on Saturday.

So there is a little homework for you and you have 2 weeks to have a look at it.

SLG

Topic for Class Feb 6

2011-02-05T14:23:00.000-05:00

We will take up the topic of Vocations, and I would like to use the linked blog (Fr. Damian J. Ference) to start the discussion. As you will see from reading this, there are many ramifications for discussion here. I am sorry for the late posting of this! It has been a very busy week. I will print out several copies of this for those who did not have time to check in here for the assignment. Please do bring your own copy if you can!
See you tomorrow!
SLG

Class for Jan 30

2011-01-29T16:41:00.000-05:00

We will be taking this class to review Chapter 7 and the end of the book. There is a great deal of practical advice there at the end of the book for us to discuss.

We will also need to give some thought to what we want to explore next, so please come with some ideas in that regard.

See you tomorrow!

SLG

Class for Jan 23

2011-01-21T21:35:00.000-05:00

Hal and Micheline will be facilitating the discussion on Chapters 5 and 6 this week, as we are unexpectedly called out of town on Sunday to Atlanta to finish up some images for a rapidly upcoming photography exhibit that we are putting together for the Holy Spirit Monastery in early February. Anyway, have a great discussion and we will continue with Chapters 7&8 the following week. Please check out the Megachurch Pastor Book blog and make some comments!
SLG

Sunday January 16

2011-01-16T14:18:00.000-05:00

We have completed discussion on Chapter 3 (The Kitchen) and Chapter 4 (The Basement) as of class today. We had an excellent discussion today and wonderful attendance. All are encouraged to keep up with the discussion on the blog (www.olmcmp.blogspot.com) and make some comments. There is a wealth of thought provoking material within the pages of the book, and we should all feel challenged to, as Hunt points out on page 46 (echoing Matthew Kelly) become the best version of ourselves! This is modern parlance for the concept of living the holiness that is within each and every one of us by participating in the Sacraments (especially The Eucharist) and cooperating with the grace that we receive. Our mission is to carry this out in to the world at large.

On page 59 Hunt relates and incident where one of his Methodist denominational leaders accuses him of “thinking too much”. There was a very relevant blog this week by Eric Sammons (The Divine Life) entitled “Is My Egg Head Scrambled or Sunnyside Up?” See below for the link to that blog. Have a look at it if you have time, and be sure to check out the many comments that follow it. It rang true to many of us in class today.

We will move forward to Chapter 5 (The Bedroom) and Chapter 6 (The Family Cemetary) next week. That should be an interesting pairing!

http://ericsammons.com/blog/2011/01/12/is-my-egg-head-scrambled-or-sunny-side-up/

Starting up a New Year

2011-01-05T16:42:00.001-05:00

Starting this week, Sunday January 9 we will be studying Confessions of a Mega Church Pastor by Allen Hunt, given to you as a small Christmas gift. If you have not gotten yours they are still available in the Church Narthex. Please read the introduction and chapters one and two this week. We will be reading and commenting on this through January 30 as the content of the Adult Bible Study. Please have a look at the blog and add comments. We have a good team of bloggers, and there should be 1-2 or more posts up there each Tuesday and Thursday covering basically one chapter each time, so by the end of the month we will have completed the book. Here is the schedule:
Chapter Date
   1 Jan 4
   2 Jan 6
   3 Jan 10
   4 Jan 13
   5 Jan 17
   6 Jan 20
   7 Jan 24
   8 Jan 27
As with Rediscovering Catholicism it is hoped that this will bring a new found excitement about your Catholic faith, and it is also hoped that this will be a family event. Kids are more than welcome to participate in the blog commenting should they so desire.
See you on Sunday!
SLG

Class is starting up on Sunday

2010-09-16T06:46:00.000-04:00

We are beginning another year! Please bring with you on Sunday ideas of what you would like to see us cover in the coming months. There is a huge amount of material to choose from.
We will start this week by looking at this week's blog posts for Rediscovering Catholicism
Please have a look, COMMENT on the blog please, print out the posts and the comments if you are able and bring to class on Sunday. We will be discussing The Mass and The Bible. We will check out both topics in as much detail as we have time for.
See you on Sunday!
Steve

Patrick Madrid

2010-04-16T06:14:00.002-04:00

You are in for a treat this week, as I will be gone! Barbara will fill in and would like to introduce you to one of our favorite apologists, Patrick Madrid. He has a marvelous blog, often linked on the NewAdvent home page, and is one of the most forceful, quick thinking, convincing of our group of modern Catholic speakers. I say quick thinking because he is one of a handful who have CDs of actual live debates with Protestants. These are wonderful and challenging to hear. I hope you will enjoy this week's session. We are off next week so no class on April 25. We will resume on May 2 and that may be our last session of the year.

Fr. John Corapi

2010-04-10T21:26:00.000-04:00

We are drawing to a close for the year! Class tomorrow, April 18, May 2 and May 16. Not to taxing a schedule I trust.
This week we will have a look at and a listen to Fr. John Corapi. Many of you are already familiar with him, as he is on EWTN every Sunday evening at 8pm with his long running series on the Catechism. I will be bringing the corresponding audio CD set to class to show to you, and we will be listening to one of his CDs on SCANDAL!. Please do not miss it....he is a very powerful, indeed a fiery speaker and is not to be trifled with! If time permits we also have some video of him that we can explore. He has been to Chattanooga for a retreat and is in high demand. I have placed a link to his website vis his name above and also on our links page. He has a subscription web site as well that you might want to explore. We have had his powerful conversion story in our CD case, and I can provide a copy to you should you wish to hear it. An amazing story to be sure.

Tim Staples

2010-03-20T17:37:00.000-04:00

This week we will focus on Tim Staples, one of my favorite apologists. We will listen the the CD of his conversion to Catholicism from the Assemblies of God community. We had it in our CD case some time ago, and it is most entertaining and thought provoking.

Tim is now the "head apologist" for Catholic Answers, linked on the right in our link section and also available by clicking on Tim Staples title above.

Here is a good YouTube Video by Tim on Apostolic Succession, some of which is from his conversion story. It is about 4:25 seconds and well worth the viewing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpptEntC3nw

See you tomorrow.
SLG

More Bars in More Places

2010-03-19T07:51:00.000-04:00

This is Barbara's latest blog post. We have it linked already, but I wanted to call special attention to it as we are all addicted to cell phones. Can we say the same for the Church? Just a thought.
Have a Blessed Day!
SLG

A Quick post Reformation History Lesson

2010-03-19T07:48:00.000-04:00

The above link will give you a quick lesson in the origination of various Protestant Denominations. There was a T-shirt for sale with this graphically displayed on the back at the Deep in History Conference in Colombus, Ohio last October. I sort of wish I had gotten it. Perhaps when WE (I am hoping for a group of us from OLM) go this coming October it will still be there.
SLG

Who told you you weren't beautiful?

2010-03-16T20:50:00.001-04:00

WOW! We all know about this stuff, but to see it happen is truly amazing. Please take one minute and fifteen seconds and watch the video link at the bottom!! ALL need to see this, but especially those with teenage children and young adults in the family....male or female!

At the end of this video you can link to this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei6JvK0W60I&annotation_id=annotation_372272&feature=iv

This is a link to Msgr. Charles Pope, from the Archdiocese of Washington. We will be linking his blog to ours, as he is one of my favorites. He is consistently "on the mark" and has a fantastic collection of links to timely and thought provoking images and short videos.

SLG

Hannity and Repentance

2010-03-16T20:37:00.001-04:00

Hannity and Repentance

Folks have a look at this, especially if you listen to talk radio on the way home in the evenings!

Food for thought for sure!

SLG

Posted using ShareThis

Father Larry Richards

2010-03-12T06:46:00.002-05:00

In our continuing exploration of Catholic apologists we will turn to Fr. Larry Richards, whose CD on The Truth has been for sale in our CD case. Hopefully some you have picked it up. He is known for his engaging and challenging talks, especially his discussion of Confession. I have downloaded his talk on this and will plan on playing it this week in class, so try not to miss it! It is a wonderful talk and should help us all, as Confession is just around the corner! I have added his web site to our link page, or you can go there simply by clicking on his name in the title. As with most of our wonderful apologists, there is a wealth of information contained there. You can sign up for podcasts, download talks, order CDs, etc.
Should you want to see another version of the talk on video, have a look at the video below. You can go to it by clicking on the blue Vimeo Plus in the center of the square. Being the newbie I am I do not know how to get permission to embed this in the blog, so consider this a big visual link. Sorry.
See you on Sunday!
Steve

Fr. Larry Richards speaks on confession at 2005 Boston Catholic Men's Conference from George Martell on Vimeo.

Matthew Kelly

2010-03-07T07:54:00.000-05:00

Here is a brief introduction to Matthew Kelly. We will listen to his Lighthouse Catholic Media CD "Call to Joy" during class today.

Bio taken from his web site:

Matthew Kelly was born in Sydney, Australia, on July 12, 1973. Over the past ten years more than three million people in fifty countries have attended his talks, seminars, and retreats. Against the backdrop of his travel to fifty countries, millions more have been touched by his writings and appearances on radio and television programs.

Both as a speaker and as an author, Kelly possesses a powerful ability to combine the ageless tool of storytelling with a profound understanding of today's culture and the common yearnings of the human heart. As a result he captures our imaginations and helps us to see the challenges and opportunities of our everyday lives in a new light. With a keen sense of humor and heartwarming charm, Kelly seems to effortlessly elevate and energize people to pursue the highest values of the human spirit and become "the-best-version-of-themselves."

Google: Matthew Kelly Catholic Speaker

Web Site: http://www.matthewkelly.org/

Books:
Rediscovering Catholicism
Building Better Families
Perfectly Yourself
The Dream Manager
A Call to Joy
The Seven Levels of Intimacy
Why Am I here
The Rhythm of Life
Living Every Day With Passion and Purpose
Mustard Seeds
The Book of Courage

Audio CDs: Multiple

Posting comments on BLOG

2010-03-03T21:04:00.000-05:00

It has come to my attention that actually posting a comment on this is not as intuitive as I had thought! Clearly Jim has it together, but in trying to comment on his comment I ran into difficulty. When you click on the comment area a box appears in which to type your comment, then there is a smaller box below which forces you to "comment as", click on the blue arrows and a menu drops down. If you are not in any of the first things listed simply pick one of the bottom two options, name/url or anonymous, fill in the info and post the entry. Simple??? Ha. Let me know.
SLG

Steve Ray

2010-02-28T18:27:00.002-05:00

Here is the information that we used as the basis for our discussion today on Steve Ray.

Like Scott Hahn, Ray is a former evangelical who came to find the Truth of Catholicism in an intellectual quest for Authority. He began to delve in to the writings of the early Church Fathers in an effort to prove the basic tenants of Protestantism, and instead found, to his consternation and surprise, the teachings of the modern Catholic Church.

Google: steve ray catholic

Here is the link to his web site, just click on his name below. I have added it to our link list. Check it out...there is a real wealth of information on his site.

Steve Ray

Books:
Crossing the Tiber
Upon This Rock
St. John’s Gospel, Bible Study and commentary
The Papacy Learning Guide
Faith for Beginners, Understanding the Creeds

DVD Series: The Footprints of God

Audio CDs: Multiple

Travel: Hosts Biblical Lands Pilgrimages (5th Gospel)

SLG

Back from Ireland

2010-02-28T18:08:00.011-05:00

We are back after a wonderful trip to the Emerald Isle, and can report that it is a wonderful place to visit, even in the dead of winter! We saw most of the northern part of Ireland, and wish that we had had more time to spend most everywhere that we went. The relative, actually total, lack of competing tourists made things smooth but then again some things were simply closed for the season. Going to Mass was an important part of the journey and each one that we attended was wonderful and special. Different, of course, and yet the same in that awesome Catholic way!

That is by way of an excuse for not posting a blog entry for awhile. Sorry for that! At our last meeting on Feb 21 we talked about Fr. Robert Barron's Word on Fire ministry, and I shared some of the DVD content with the class about his exciting project to tell the Catholic story from within. I have added his site to our link page, please go there to learn more and check out some of his wonderful short homilies on You Tube.
Here is the link to the one we discussed: Fr. Robert Barron on Taking the Disipline

We will be having about 7 more sessions before the break for the summer. Here are the dates that we are scheduled to have class:
March 7, 14, 21
April 11, 18
May 2, 16

In our discussion last week we kicked around ideas for the completion of the year, and tentatively decided to use the remainder of our sessions this year "looking at" a variety of Catholic Apologists. I will introduce them to you with some information about them, where to find them on the web, lists of their books and other ways that you can access their content. When possible I will try to bring something to see and or listen to from them for class so that you can get a "feel" for their style and content. There are many wonderful folks out there ready to supply us with marvelous thought provoking ideas meant to help us along in our faith journey. I, for one, find this to be very exciting, but also a tad confusing....after all we only have so much time and there is so MUCH out there! As I have said before in class, to try to take it all in is like trying to drink water from a fire hose!! I think the trick is to find several who "work" for you and then make a habit of visiting their blog or web site on a regular basis to check in on what they have to say.

I will be doing the same and trying to post things that I find interesting here, so another hope of mine is that we will use this site to communicate with each other not just now during "school season", but that we can continue to learn and dialogue with each other via this blog through the summer and the entire year for that matter. Our on going Catechism does not end simply because school is out.

In an effort to kick start that I am going to quit sending you the content of this blog in an email (with the exception of Marykatharine has no computer) and will simply send you an email notifying you of the new posts as they go up. So please come here often and DO leave some comments with your thoughts and concerns!!

Yours in Christ
SLG

Topic for January 14

2010-01-17T13:57:00.006-05:00

Posted below is the content for the discussion next week, a link to an article by Mark Shea on Catholic Exchange. I was quite taken with the content of this, and Jimmy and I discussed it some before the session on Baptism today.

I think that it is a wonderful analysis of the situation that we find ourselves in today in our country and in our culture. I am sure there is a good bit in here for you to resonate with, and likely some things that you might disagree with. If so, good! Hopefully this will spark a lively discussion!

Oh....the items on the web page are liked to other material on the web. Pull it up if you have a desire to check out some of these links....like Jesus was a woman, and items 10-25!?!?!?!?. Anyway, have some fun with this, print it out, read it and mark it up and come, as always, with your thoughts!

http://catholicexchange.com/2010/01/06/125113/

Have a Blessed Week!

Steve

Archbishop Wilton Gregory Visits St. Katherine Drexel Mission Church

2010-01-10T21:42:00.000-05:00

We did have to cancel the class today on Baptism due to circumstances beyond our control, so we will hold that topic until next week, January 17.

I had the privilege of attending Mass at St. Katherine Drexel Mission in Trenton and to shoot some images of the event and of the Archbishop's hands for our project. It was a very moving service con-celebrated by Archbishop Gregory and Msgr. Herbert. This little parish is at the far end of the frontier of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, and the event was one of celebration complete with dinner in the parish hall following mass.

Baptism will be our first topic of 2010

2010-01-05T20:28:00.000-05:00

Folks
I will be down in Trenton this Sunday for our Photo project and will be unable to see you at Adult Bible Study which resumes this Sunday, January 10. Hal Hill has graciously agreed to take the class and you will be discussing Baptism. Below is an outline that I have suggested to Hal, but he will take the discussion in whatever direction he (and you all ) wish to. Sorry to miss it.
Have a Blessed week, and do try to "read up" a little on this using Oatis, the CCC and some of the other materials if you have access to the internet.
Yours in Christ
SLG

Adult Bible Study

January 10, 2010

Baptism

It is through Baptism that we are brought into the family of God and are made his children. “ Baptism is not merely a ceremony, not merely a rite of passage. It is our entry into a New Covenant bond, a new family, a new life, a new birth, a new creation.” Dr. Scott Hahn Signs of life pg. 34 Baptism makes us “partakers of the divine nature” (2Pt 1:4).

Most Protestants in reality deny the sacramental nature of Baptism and so cannot appreciate the importance that it has in the lives of those in the Catholic Church.

Catholic Answers:

http://www.catholic.com/library/Necessity_of_Baptism.asp

http://www.catholic.com/library/Infant_Baptism.asp

http://www.catholic.com/library/Early_Teachings_of_Infant_Baptism.asp

New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02258b.htm#XI

CCC:
1213-1284

Regarding infants see:
1252,1261**,1283

** regarding children who have died without Baptism

Holiday Time Off

2009-12-28T19:15:00.015-05:00

As we take time out for family and friends during this Christmas Season (and New Years) there are likely to be many times that we are placed in social situations where we are likely to be asked to defend or explain why we are Catholic. I would hope that we can all come up with some pretty good reasons (how many can you think of?) after the study that we are undertaking on Apologetics. In our never ending hunt for new information on "things Catholic" the following blog entry turned up today on New Advent:

http://www.ourcatholicfaith.org/reasons.html

This is titled "150 Reasons I'm Catholic, and You Should Be Too" by Dave Armstrong.
I am going to link his blog site to this one, as it has a wealth of information on it. Please have a look at this and pull it up on your computer. If you read it there you can click on the Bible verses referenced and they will pop up for you! Neat!!

During our time off I do hope to get to finish up a list of blog and web site links for this web site so that they will all be in one place for you.

I hope that you all will take a little time out of your busy days and/or evenings for a little reflection on why you are Catholic, on what it means in your daily life, and on what you are doing to share this most important part of your life with those closest to you.

Have a Blessed Christmas! (and of course, A Happy New Year!!)

SLG

Visibly Catholic

2009-12-14T07:21:00.004-05:00

As Christians, and as Catholics in particular, we are called to a life of constant prayer. We are to continually engage in a dialog with our Heavenly Father, and with his only son Our Lord, and with the Holy Spirit. Or at least try to! It is not an easy task and we, the children of God, are more often continually distracted (instead of engaged) as we deal with our existence in this worldly world of ours. Fortunately for us our Catholic Faith provides many opportunities and mechanisms for us to, often with a simple glance, redirect our focus toward God.

Last week I asked us to consider the phrase "and you call yourself a Catholic" for discussion. We had a wonderful dialog about this yesterday which I will summarize below. As I thought this over afterward, particularly with regard to the significance of the content of our discussion, it became clear to me that what we are really asking ourselves in this question is "how active is your prayer life?" We have a wonderful set of customs and traditions available at our disposal, not for the purpose of "showing off" (Matt 6:5), but for assisting us in re-directing and focusing our thoughts and prayers Heavenward. This is often totally misunderstood by our Protestant brothers and sisters.

As we go through our day we should be visibly Catholic as a consequence of our reliance on and love for God. It should show forth to all (Matt 5:14-16) we meet. Clearly a tall order and a lofty goal for sure, and how often we fall woefully short! So here is our list (from the discussion). These are the things we Catholics can keep about us to help put us back on track as we go through our day. I have organized it by location.

Home:
Crucifix
Holy Water font
Icons
Statues of Mary, Martha and other favorite saints
Rosary
Brown Scapular
Holy Palms
Picture of the Pope
Bible and CCC
Library
Catholic periodicals and other reading materials
see office below

Car:
Rosary
Statue or medal, St. Christopher
Brown Scapular
Bumper Stickers
Candles (Advent wreath, votives)
CDs (Lighthouse and others)
Catholic Radio
Judy's patented Spiritual First Aid Kit
Holy Water
Crushed Palms
Scapular
Rosary

Office:
See home above
Desk top on computer
Home page
Programs
Background music

Activities:
Sign of the Cross
Prayer at meals
Pray Rosary

Jewelry and Apparel:
Crucifix
Miraculous Medal
Brown Scapular
Tee shirts
Headcovering in Church/home for prayer

Conversations:
Mention your Faith
Be light-hearted when called for
Show the joy and love of The Faith
See Christ in others and respond

So the question "and you call yourself a Catholic" has evolved to "which of these will assist me in having a more active and vibrant prayer life as I go through my day?" Have a good look at the list and see if there is something you can add to your environment that will remind you of your Faith and will bring you, with a short thoughtful glance, closer to the presence of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

In his new book "Signs of Life" Dr. Scott Hahn discusses 40 Catholic Customs and their Biblical Roots. We often know that what we have and do is distinctly Catholic, but really do not know much about the origins and significance of these things. This wonderful, very readable, book by Hahn can help with this and makes a wonderful addition to your library!

So go have fun, and exude the enjoyment of your Faith and your prayer life! Go be a light! Our modern culture needs all the light it can get!

SLG

And You Call Yourself a Christian!

2009-12-09T20:15:00.001-05:00

In my pagan college days I had a friend who lived on the same floor of my dorm who was a PK (preacher's kid). He was tall, gangly, very smart and great fun to be with. He was, however, a typical PK away from home and testing the limits of his new found freedom. As most of us were prone to do, he was often doing something that was distinctly NOT in keeping with his Christian up-bringing. We all took singular delight in pointing out what he, or anyone else for that matter, had done and always included the phrase "and you call yourself a Christian!" at the very end. It got to the point that the phrase was all that was ever said.....the rest was understood and I am ashamed to admit how much "fun" we considered this to be.

Fast forward a few (I shall not count them up for fear of breaking the calculator) years to our discussion last week at OLM. We started out discussing schism and apostasy, including what it means to truly be a Catholic, and ended up musing on how we can share our Faith with others.

Barb and I were discussing this on the way to Atlanta Sunday afternoon and she reminded me of a story from her childhood. She had been to a party where some of the children present were Catholic. She mentioned this to her mother when she got home and asked how she could tell who they were. She remembers being told "you cannot tell someone is Catholic by looking at them". Really? Sadly, this is, for the most part, true. But should it be true?

So I ask all of us to ponder this phrase....."and you call yourself a Catholic!". So what does that mean to you? How do you show it, or do you hide it? On Fridays during Football season many of us are readily recognizable as a Vol, a Bulldog or a even as a, forgive me..... Gator. Are we ever as visibly Catholic to the rest of our little world up here on Lookout Mountain or down off of the mountain while at at work? If so, how, and if not, why not?

So let us give some thought to these questions and spend some time this coming week discussing the visibility of our Catholic Faith to those around us.

SLG

A Different Slant on the Tiger Woods Scandal

2009-12-08T18:31:00.012-05:00

Here is the text of and link to a blog post I found on New Advent today.

Personally Opposed

My Name is Tiger Woods. As many of you may have heard by now, I have been publicly accused of having numerous affairs with multiple women who are not my wife. Now, while we all might agree that adultery is not a desirable thing, we must recognize that it is often a difficult choice in the life of a man.

Sometimes, through no fault of his own, a man can find himself in a difficult marriage. He is sometimes faced with the difficult choice of staying faithful to his Swedish bikini model wife or committing adultery with barmaids and hostesses. This is particularly true for professional athletes.

There are those who think that they know what is best for every pro-athlete or even a regular man. There are women in high places, I think particularly of some female Buick Executives, who think they know what what every man should do in this situation. These women, who have never played professional sport at any level and cannot possibly understand the temptations, think they know what is best for ALL pro athletes. While some men may be in the position where they can choose to stay faithful, other men feel must make the difficult decision to commit adultery.

Now, while I am personally opposed to adultery, I do not believe that I can impose my anti-adultery views on the pro athlete community at large. I believe it is perfectly fine for a person to be privately anti-adultery, but as a prominent athlete I must be publicly pro-choice.

Some Buick executives suggest that because of my public position on adultery that they can threaten to withhold my paychecks because they say that I am in violation of the morality clauses of my contract. This is very unfortunate. I have been associated with Buick for many years and consider myself a Buick spokesman regardless of their threats. I am a Buick spokesman in good standing and to suggest otherwise simply because I am publicly pro-choice on adultery is ridiculous.

My contract states that I must be anti-adultery, and so I accept my contract. But this is a private contract and should have no bearing on the public policy I support or on my public behavior.

Perhaps, rather than trying to dictate to every pro-athlete how they should live their lives, Buick should just concentrate on making cars.

* * *

Sounds just as silly when Catholic politicians make the same argument about abortion.

POSTED BY PATRICK ARCHBOLD AT 11:20 PM

Link: http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2009/12/personally-opposed.html

SLG

Manhattan Declaration

2009-11-30T06:31:00.000-05:00

Recently there has been much happening in the news to give us concern regarding the direction our country and our culture is heading. There is, at least for me, a sense of futility that comes over me when I look at the big picture around here. But then again we are called to be hopeful and now and then we are given a chance to do some small thing that will, perhaps, make a difference as we try to "fight back" and actually put in to practice our Catholic beliefs.
One of those things is to go to this web site (http://manhattandeclaration.org/) and sign the Declaration, which now has almost 200,000 signatures, one of which is mine. It only takes about 10 seconds to do this. Please add another 15-20 seconds and forward this to as many folks as you can think of! There is no reason that we should not be using the internet to promote OUR values! If you have not heard of this here is a link to Catholic Exchange that has a short article with an explanation of this document. (http://catholicexchange.com/2009/11/28/124490/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicex+%28Catholic+Exchange%29)
Have a Blessed Day
SLG

A VERY Unappetizing Lunch

2009-11-16T19:58:00.001-05:00

So…... today over lunch in the docs lounge I was acosted (not too strong a term, I believe) with questions about the Catholic priest who fathered a child out of wedlock for whom the church paid "hush money" to the mother for years in order to keep the woman involved quiet and to avoid scandal. How could this be? "The church that did this is not a church" pontificated one of my advesaries. Now the child and the mother both have cancer and the Church refuses to help! What did I think about that?? See, this proves that you Catholics have it all wrong and that priests should be allowed to marry. Celibacy is un-natural and absurd. This is what comes of it….On top of it all the priest did not have anything bad happen to him at all. He was re-assigned and continues to perform his job and has not suffered in the least…..what did I think of that????........and on and on and on.

Having NO clue about what they were talking about I said so and was told that this was all over the news! I needed to get with it!….no surprise there! Anytime there is a hint of scandal in the Catholic Church the jackals in the press are running all over the place to put the worst possible spin on it.

Long story short I did what I could, in acknowleged total ignorance of the actual facts of the matter, to defend MY FAITH and MY CHURCH.

Here is the link to the New York Times (a well-known paragon of journalistic even-handedness, truth and virtue! Keep in mind it recently ignored the story of an Orthodox rabbi in similar straits) story on this:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/16/us/16priest.html

So there are the "facts". What would you have said? More importantly, What will you say?*

We shall discuss this on Sunday. Please come prepared with your thoughts!

SLG

*I ask this because if you are doing what you are supposed to be doing (living openly the life of a faithful Catholic) you will be asked. Perhaps it will come out of concern for your immortal soul by one of our Protestant brothers or sisters, or maybe by one of the unchurched out there who is actually curious, or possibly by someone just hoping to "stir the pot" and start up a good argument, but come it should. Just a thought.

Ordination and Priesthood, Bonus.... Bishop Tobin

2009-11-11T19:42:00.000-05:00

I will be out of town, and Mark Anderson has graciously agreed to take the class this coming Sunday.

We will have a look at:

Ordination and Priesthood

Oatis pg. 26-29

This is a very timely topic as this is the “Year of the Priest” in the Church. Come prepared to delve in to the scriptural basis for the Catholic position on this topic and the answer to the question….

“Why do you all need a priest??….all I need is me and Jesus.”

_______________________________________________________

Bonus:

I read this letter to Rep. Kennedy from Bishop Tobin today via the link on New Advent. I am copying it in toto and including the link to Bishop Tobin (http://thericatholic.com/opinion/detail.html?sub_id=2632)

for your consideration.

I found this letter to be a wonderful challenge and I think that it deserves a considered and heartfelt reading by all of us. What does it really mean to us to call ourselves Catholic? How will we live this out in our daily lives? What sort of witness for our Faith do we provide for those with whom we come in contact in our increasingly secular society? What is the cost to us? You know, it is only going to get more expensive as time goes on. We hold a treasured deposit of faith and we are going to be increasingly challenged to hold fast to it. It may not be as public as this is, but it is none the less real and no less important even here on Lookout Mountain. So here is the letter:

Dear Congressman Kennedy:

“The fact that I disagree with the hierarchy on some issues does not make me any less of a Catholic.” (Congressman Patrick Kennedy)

Since our recent correspondence has been rather public, I hope you don’t mind if I share a few reflections about your practice of the faith in this public forum. I usually wouldn’t do that – that is speak about someone’s faith in a public setting – but in our well-documented exchange of letters about health care and abortion, it has emerged as an issue. I also share these words publicly with the thought that they might be instructive to other Catholics, including those in prominent positions of leadership.

For the moment I’d like to set aside the discussion of health care reform, as important and relevant as it is, and focus on one statement contained in your letter of October 29, 2009, in which you write, “The fact that I disagree with the hierarchy on some issues does not make me any less of a Catholic.” That sentence certainly caught my attention and deserves a public response, lest it go unchallenged and lead others to believe it’s true. And it raises an important question: What does it mean to be a Catholic?

“The fact that I disagree with the hierarchy on some issues does not make me any less of a Catholic.” Well, in fact, Congressman, in a way it does. Although I wouldn’t choose those particular words, when someone rejects the teachings of the Church, especially on a grave matter, a life-and-death issue like abortion, it certainly does diminish their ecclesial communion, their unity with the Church. This principle is based on the Sacred Scripture and Tradition of the Church and is made more explicit in recent documents.

For example, the “Code of Canon Law” says, “Lay persons are bound by an obligation and possess the right to acquire a knowledge of Christian doctrine adapted to their capacity and condition so that they can live in accord with that doctrine.” (Canon 229, #1)

The “Catechism of the Catholic Church” says this: “Mindful of Christ’s words to his apostles, ‘He who hears you, hears me,’ the faithful receive with docility the teaching and directives that their pastors give them in different forms.” (#87)

Or consider this statement of the Church: “It would be a mistake to confuse the proper autonomy exercised by Catholics in political life with the claim of a principle that prescinds from the moral and social teaching of the Church.” (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 2002)

There’s lots of canonical and theological verbiage there, Congressman, but what it means is that if you don’t accept the teachings of the Church your communion with the Church is flawed, or in your own words, makes you “less of a Catholic.”

But let’s get down to a more practical question; let’s approach it this way: What does it mean, really, to be a Catholic? After all, being a Catholic has to mean something, right?

Well, in simple terms – and here I refer only to those more visible, structural elements of Church membership – being a Catholic means that you’re part of a faith community that possesses a clearly defined authority and doctrine, obligations and expectations. It means that you believe and accept the teachings of the Church, especially on essential matters of faith and morals; that you belong to a local Catholic community, a parish; that you attend Mass on Sundays and receive the sacraments regularly; that you support the Church, personally, publicly, spiritually and financially.

Congressman, I’m not sure whether or not you fulfill the basic requirements of being a Catholic, so let me ask: Do you accept the teachings of the Church on essential matters of faith and morals, including our stance on abortion? Do you belong to a local Catholic community, a parish? Do you attend Mass on Sundays and receive the sacraments regularly? Do you support the Church, personally, publicly, spiritually and financially?

In your letter you say that you “embrace your faith.” Terrific. But if you don’t fulfill the basic requirements of membership, what is it exactly that makes you a Catholic? Your baptism as an infant? Your family ties? Your cultural heritage?

Your letter also says that your faith “acknowledges the existence of an imperfect humanity.” Absolutely true. But in confronting your rejection of the Church’s teaching, we’re not dealing just with “an imperfect humanity” – as we do when we wrestle with sins such as anger, pride, greed, impurity or dishonesty. We all struggle with those things, and often fail.

Your rejection of the Church’s teaching on abortion falls into a different category – it’s a deliberate and obstinate act of the will; a conscious decision that you’ve re-affirmed on many occasions. Sorry, you can’t chalk it up to an “imperfect humanity.” Your position is unacceptable to the Church and scandalous to many of our members. It absolutely diminishes your communion with the Church.

Congressman Kennedy, I write these words not to embarrass you or to judge the state of your conscience or soul. That’s ultimately between you and God. But your description of your relationship with the Church is now a matter of public record, and it needs to be challenged. I invite you, as your bishop and brother in Christ, to enter into a sincere process of discernment, conversion and repentance. It’s not too late for you to repair your relationship with the Church, redeem your public image, and emerge as an authentic “profile in courage,” especially by defending the sanctity of human life for all people, including unborn children. And if I can ever be of assistance as you travel the road of faith, I would be honored and happy to do so.

Sincerely yours,

Thomas J. Tobin

Bishop of Providence

This week and last

2009-11-08T16:50:00.007-05:00

Well folks we have begun to delve in to Apologetics a little more deeply. Last week we finished up our 2 weeks on Sola Scriptura, and this week we had an abbreviated class due to the fundraising breakfast (which was GREAT, by the way!). Today we did discuss "Vain Repetition" and "Crucifixes" using this outline:

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Tebow Time: Col 3:23

“Whatever you do, do from the heart, as for the Lord and not for others,”

Vain Repetition

Mt. 6:7 “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words.”

Response?

We are NOT praying like pagans, but instead like the heavenly hosts who are shown in Scripture to be constantly singing God’s praises…see Rev. 4:8

Oatis pg 87

Hahn* pg 227

Crucifixes

Why do you Catholics always have Crucifixes above the alter and everywhere else for that matter?

Response?

Symbol of the Paschal Mystery …..to share in the victory of the resurrection we must unite our suffering with that of the Lord in his passion.

Oatis pg 90

Hahn* pg. 169

*Scott Hahn’s new book: “Signs of Life 40 Catholic Customs and their Biblical Roots”

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For the non-Gators in the group, ie most of you, Tebow (Tim Tebow) is the quarterback of the currently #1 Florida Gators. He always has a Bible verse painted on the blackout below his eyes.....there for all to see on National TV! Quite a witness to the Faith!!

Here is a link (http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/oct/17/tim-tebows-religion-on-the-field/) to a short article about this remarkable young man. In addition to all of this he is really a marvelous football player and is fun to watch! So even if you are not a Florida fan you might want to have a look at him play this year, as it is his senior year at Florida.

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One final thing....in the discussion on the Crucifix this am it was pointed out that we need to be reminded of the suffering our Lord went through for our individual salvation. We are united to Christ in our suffering. It is the only way to make any sense of it really. Here is a quote from Pope Benedict to contemplate:

The ability to accept and weather suffering is a fundamental condition for succeeding as a human being. Where it is never learned, existence is doomed to failure. Being up-in-arms about everyone and everything contaminates the ground of the soul, so to speak, and turns it into barren land. The priest must learn how to cope with pain -- formerly one spoke of asceticism in this context. No one likes this word any longer; it becomes more palatable when we translate it from Greek into English -- training. Everyone knows that without training and the will-power that goes with it there is no success. Nowadays one trains for all kinds of skills with enthusiasm and persistence, and in this way record performances in many areas are possible that were once deemed inconceivable. Why does it seem so outlandish to train for real life, for the right life -- to practice the arts of self-denial, of self-control, and of freeing ourselves from our addictions? Pope Benedict XVI

Class on October 25

2009-10-21T20:54:00.003-04:00

All

We will be out of town at the 7th Annual Deep in History Conference in Columbus, Ohio this weekend. This is put on by the Coming Home Network International and Marcus Grodi. The title is "The Pillar and Bulwark". We are really looking forward to this and will bring a full report. In the meantime, Judy Anderson has graciously agreed to lead the session after Mass this coming Sunday. Our topic will be Sola Scriptura and we will look at some of the passages listed in Oatis starting on page 122. We will likely continue this for a couple of weeks, and I will do what I can to bring back a distillation of the conference for you all as well.

Anyway, have a wonderful week and I will see you all next time. Please come to class on Sunday ready to discuss this with Judy! Have fun!

SLG

Fr. Barron on Protestantism and Authority

2009-10-11T20:42:00.000-04:00

I just found a wonderful 8 minute discussion by Fr. Barron on Protestantism and Authority. It ties in very well with our discussion this morning.

Please have a look at if you can. Copy and paste in to your browser.

Here is the youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWYwBDqFsuE

He has some wonderful short videos on his website, and he is very clear in his thinking and develops his ideas using logic and thoughtful analogies.

I am going to add his site to our links list at some point (it is getting late and I am tired!), but for now here it is: http://www.wordonfire.org/

Getting Started

2009-10-11T19:11:00.000-04:00

Well folks, here is our own little blog out there on the World Wide Web for all to see. It is my hope that this will be a useful tool for all of us in our study of the Catholic faith. Please check in to the Blog regularly and I will be sending you, via email, the blog postings. In the future this will replace the emails that I have been sending in hopes that this will be more efficent. Please feel free to decline and we can certainly remove you from the list. I do hope, however, that you will stay and participate not only in the class meetings and discussions but here as well. There is a comment section and I would love to see it used for such, including questions that you would like to see addressed, comments on specific topics that you find of interest, suggestions on web sites or other material to link this blog to and whatever else suits your fancy. This could include images, as I can certainly post some of those as well if you will be so kind as to send me a digital file of same. I will be adding more material to the site soon, including some great links.