Email Vincent your responses to the following questions:
Why is it important that we don't simply "settle" for a mediocre life?
What are some ways you can challenge yourself (and family/spouse if you have one) to grow in holiness and strive for sainthood?
Your challenge for the week:
I challenge each of you to pray the rosary this week! Even if you pray one decade a day for five days.. however you wish to do it! This link is incredibly helpful (pin addition to the sheet I handed out yesterday in class!) with learning more about the rosary and what exactly to meditate on as you pray each Hail Mary and Our Father.
“When God calls someone by name, he also reveals to the person his vocation, his plan of holiness and fulfilment, through which the person becomes a gift to others and is made unique. And when God wants to expand the horizons of life, he gives a new name to the person he is calling, as he did with Simon, whom he called “Peter”. From here comes the custom of taking a new name... to indicate a new identity and mission. Since the divine call is unique and personal, we need the courage to disentangle ourselves from the pressure of being shaped by conforming patterns, so that our life can truly become an authentic and irreplaceable gift to God, to the Church and to all.Dear young people, to be called by name is therefore a sign of our great dignity in the eyes of God and a sign of his love for us. God calls each one of you by name. All of you are the “you” of God, precious in his eyes, worthy of respect and loved (cf. Is 43:4). Welcome with joy this dialogue that God offers you, this appeal he makes to you, calling you by name.”
(Pope Francis, 33rd World Youth Day, §2)
It's an old Catholic tradition to take a saint name (or the name of a virtue) at your baptism or confirmation. Basically, Baptism is your birth into a new life; so, people often take a new name. Likewise, Confirmation is your being strengthened by God to fulfill your mission in life, and in the Bible, when God gives people a mission, he also often gives them a new name. This name expresses your identity, not primarily because of your mission, but because of God's eternal idea of you:
God calls me and sends me forth as a labourer in his vineyard. He calls me and sends me forth to work for the coming of his Kingdom in history. This personal vocation and mission defines the dignity and the responsibility of each member of the lay faithful and makes up the focal point of the whole work of formation, whose purpose is the joyous and grateful recognition of this dignity and the faithful and generous living-out of this responsibility.
In fact, from eternity God has thought of us and has loved us as unique individuals. Every one of us he called by name, as the Good Shepherd "calls his sheep by name" (Jn 10:3). However, only in the unfolding of the history of our lives and its events is the eternal plan of God revealed to each of us. Therefore, it is a gradual process; in a certain sense, one that happens day by day.
To be able to discover the actual will of the Lord in our lives always involves the following: a receptive listening to the Word of God and the Church, fervent and constant prayer, recourse to a wise and loving spiritual guide, and a faithful discernment of the gifts and talents given by God, as well as the diverse social and historic situations in which one lives.
Therefore, in the life of each member of the lay faithful there are particularly significant and decisive moments for discerning God's call and embracing the mission entrusted by Him. Among these are the periods of adolescence and young adulthood. No one must forget that the Lord, as the master of the labourers in the vineyard, calls at every hour of life so as to make his holy will more precisely and explicitly known. Therefore, the fundamental and continuous attitude of the disciple should be one of vigilance and a conscious attentiveness to the voice of God. (Christifideles laici, 58)
We don't want to name ourselves--that's not how names work--but you might discern that God is calling you by a new name, maybe the name of a saint that you connect with. As part of your discernment process (of your name and your mission in life), it's a good idea to get to know the saints!
Here are some good resources where you can find information about different saints:
Taking a Baptism or Confirmation name is not required and does not replace your given name. In fact, I'd recommend you include in your discernment a reflection on the meaning of your given name and how it already calls on some essential aspect of your identity and mission.
If you would like to take a new name at Baptism or Confirmation, please let me know soon! I would love to know, not only the name you want to take, but how you connect with that name.
In the video, the presenter used the imagery of a three-legged stool to describe how Divine Revelation is handed on. What are the three “legs” of the stool?
According to the video, what are some of the problems with sola scriptura— the belief that the Bible is the only source of Divine Revelation?
What one thing ties all 73 of the books of the Bible together?
According to the video, what does it mean that Catholics don’t interpret the Bible in a literalistic way, but they do read the Bible literarily? What examples does the presenter give?
What are the three major parts of the story of salvation? According to the video, has the entire story of salvation been written yet? Why or why not?
In the video, we were reminded that we all have an inclination toward sin. As St. Paul says in Romans 7:15, “For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate.” Recalling what we have been learning about the discernment of spirits, how should we manage this inclination to sin and why would God allow us to have this inclination even when we have been reconciled with Him?
Using St. Ignatius's and Fr. Gallagher's examples, and (if you choose) examples from your own life, state and explain Rule 5.
Strictly speaking, Rule 5 applies to which sorts of resolutions?
Describe how desolation "claims falsely to interpret our spiritual past and to predict our spiritual future."
Discernment of Spirits #8
Using St. Ignatius's and Fr. Gallgher's examples, and (if you choose) examples from your own life, state and explain Rule 6, in particular explaining prayer, mediation, much examination, and extending ourselves in suitable penance.
According to the video, what are three things Jesus did during His public ministry that point to his being truly God?
What do you think it means for Jesus, the divine Son of God, to be truly and fully human? Can you imagine Jesus being tired, hungry, or angry? How does seeing Jesus as having all the same feelings and experiences you have (except for sin) change the way you tell him your needs and desires in prayer?
Explain Rule 7, using examples from your own life or from Fr. Gallagher's explanation.
What thoughts should we call to mind in spiritual desolation? What is the core of those thoughts?
How is spiritual desolation, although a work of the Enemy, yet still a gift from God?
Discernment of Spirits #10
Explain Rule 8, using examples from your own life or from Fr. Gallagher's explanation.
What is the main difference (in the causes) between spiritual desolation and what St. John of the Cross calls the "dark night of the soul"? How should we respond to each?
What are the three ways to act against spiritual desolation which Fr. Gallagher summarizes?
Scripture tells us that the Son of God humbled Himself to become man, and was obedient to the Father even to His death on the cross (Philippians 2:5-11). What does God’s willingness to enter our world, embrace our humanity and die for our sins tell us about God’s love for us? How can Jesus’ self-sacrificial love be an example for our lives?
What does it say about God's love that Jesus descended into Hell?
Explain the ninth rule (particularly, each of the three principle causes of desolation), with Fr. Gallagher's examples and/or examples from your own life.
Discernment of Spirits #12
Explain the tenth rule, with Fr. Gallagher's examples and/or examples from your own life.
The main thing we are to do in consolation is simply to enjoy God's nearness. What is the secondary (but very important) thing we are to do, and what are the specific ways St. Ignatius and Fr. Gallagher says we can do it?
The Church is unique among all institutions in the world, because it has both divine and human dimensions that come together in perfect unity. What are the three ways this unity of the Church is made manifest?
The Church has four characteristics or distinctive marks that set it aside from all other Christian denominations. What are these “marks of the Church” and what do they mean?
We all have various images of heaven, but according to the video, what is heaven?
In the presentation, the Catholic teaching on Purgatory is discussed. What are some of the misconceptions about Purgatory? What does the Catholic Church really teach about Purgatory? And why can Purgatory be seen, at least in some sense, as something for which we should be grateful?
Podcasts (embedded below): Daily Prayer of Discernment (the Examen)
St. Thomas Aquinas wrote in a beautiful Eucharistic hymn: “Faith will tell us Christ is present, when our human senses fail.” How do you understand this?
What is the relationship between the Eucharist and the Jewish feast of Passover? How might the Passover background shed light on the need to receive Jesus in Holy Communion? How might the Passover background shed light on the Mass as sacrifice?
How can the Eucharist be a true sacrifice when Jesus is no longer dying on the Cross, but has been raised from the dead and is seated in Heaven?
Podcasts (embedded below): Daily Prayer of Discernment (the Examen)
What are some examples of words in the Mass that come directly from Scripture? What are some examples that come from the earliest days of the Church?
In the video presentation, we learned that in the Mass, Christ’s sacrifice is made present. In what ways are we called to unite our lives to Christ’s sacrifice made present in the Mass?
We are obligated to eat, drink, and breathe in order to stay alive. We should think of our Sunday obligation to attend Mass in the same way. God gave us the commandment to “keep holy the Sabbath” because he knows that without it we will die.
Podcasts (embedded below): Discerning God's Will in Daily Life
What distinguishes Christian discernment from normal good decision-making?
What is meant by "spiritual exercises" generally? Also name examples.
What is the right disposition of heart for discernment?
What is the first principle of discernment? How can morality help us discern in some cases? Where can we find clarity in times of doubt about the morality of certain courses of action?
What is the second principle of discernment? How can fidelity to our duties of our state in life help us discern in some cases?
What is the role of the review?
What does Fr. Gallagher mean, to ask for a heart like Mary's?
Discerning God's Will #2
What are three broad steps of discernment that emerge from the first few examples?
What is the foundation of discernment?
Using the criteria articulated so far, describe the sort of choices which St. Ignatius intended the spiritual exercises to help us to decide.
What are the four aspects of Christian marriage as reflected in the Rite of Matrimony, and what does each entail?
After his second divorce, a popular American entertainer had this to say about marriage in an interview on television: “Well if you have to work at it then maybe it’s not worth having. . . I have to work at everything else in my life. I have to work at my work. I just think a marriage should be easy, not hard.” How would you respond to that comment?
A priest said: “While it is true that no one will ever call me daddy, thousands call me Father.” Why do we call priests “Father”?
Podcasts (embedded below): Discerning God's Will in Daily Life
In the video we learned that freedom is not simply the ability to make choices. What, according to the presenter, is the hallmark of true freedom? What do we need to be truly free?
How do we know whether our choices are morally good? What are the three elements of a good moral act?
American novelist Mark Twain said: “It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare.” What is your interpretation of this quote?
Podcasts (embedded below): Discerning God's Will in Daily Life
How does Fr. Gallagher's description of St. Igantius's approach to discerning God's will about poverty for the Jesuits help you better understand the second mode of discernment (what he calls "Attraction of the Heart")?
Explain the role of time and of consolation in this mode.
What is to be expected and understood about times of desolation in using this mode?
What is meant by "sufficient clarity and understanding"?
What is the necessary disposition of heart for discernment of God's will?
What is the practical key for the concrete, individual process of discernment?
What insights do you gain from Richard's experience of second mode discernment?
What are the differences between being in a process of discernment and simply knowing that you need to discern something?
What insights do you gain from Jessica's experience of second mode discernment?
How is total and self-giving love at the very heart of our sexuality?
It has been said that sex is like atomic power. When used according to God's plan, it creates massive amounts of energy...but when used contrary to God's plan, it destroys. What are some examples that demonstrate this point?
Contraception was supposed to make marriages better, but from 1965 to 1975 the divorce rate doubled. Why do you think that is?
Podcasts (embedded below): Discerning God's Will in Daily Life
How does this statement embody Catholic social teaching: “To know Jesus is to want to make him known”?
St. Katharine Drexel witnessed with her life that joy is found in what you give and not in what you have. Why do you think true joy is found in generosity and service?
How is “encounter” at the heart of social justice?
Podcasts (embedded below): Discerning God's Will in Daily Life
What is the first thing Ignatius asks of us when using third mode?
Next, what graces do we ask God for?
What do we need a tranquil heart for? Why is it essential to the third mode?
What are the steps Ignatius outlines, as exemplified by Fr. Gallagher with Brian's discernment?
What "means" does Fr. Gallagher list that assist Patrick's discernment? What further spiritual means can you think of that might help?
Describe the change of heart Patrick undergoes. How does this help us to understand why God would ask us to enter into a process of discernment?
Describe the role prayer with Scripture plays in Patrick's discernment. How does this anecdote strike you? Have you experienced God speak to you through Scripture in this way?
What aspects of Catholic social teaching that we just learned about challenge you the most, and why?
Reflect on the following quote from St. Basil the Great: “The bread you do not use is the bread of the hungry. The garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of the person who is naked. The shoes you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot. The money you keep locked away is the money of the poor. The acts of charity you do not perform are the injustices you commit.” How does this quote challenge you to be more aware of the needs of the poor? What is something specific you can do in your own life to be a more generous steward of the goods God has entrusted to you so you can use them not for yourself but to help others?
How does the Catholic view of rights and responsibilities differ from the world's view?
Podcasts (embedded below): Discerning God's Will in Daily Life