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Update on “Twelve for 2012″…

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listenAt the beginning of the year I posted my Twelve for 2012, the twelve books I was going to read this year. I thought I’d post an update on how I’m doing with the list.

Here are the books on the list which I finished:

The Church and the New Media
– Brandon Vogt

I’m Not Being Fed! 
– Jeff Cavins

The Passion of Jesus Christ
– John Piper

Father Brown of the Church of Rome
– G.K Chesterton

The Story of Christianity
– Justo Gonzalez

 I suppose that it’s no surprise that I was unable to restrict myself to my initial reading list! Yes, that’s right, I’ve been naughty and read some books that weren’t on the list:

The One Thing
– Matthew Kelly

Pillar of Fire and Truth
– Catholic Answers

Quitter
– Jon Acuff

I am currently reading:

How To Listen When God Is Speaking
– Mitch Pacwa, SJ

…and here are the books which I still have yet to read:

Rediscover Catholicism – Matthew Kelly
Godless Delusion – Patrick Madrid & Kenneth Hensley
The Path of Life – Cyprian Smith OSB
Jesus of Nazareth – Pope Benedict XVI
Jesus Among Other Gods – Ravi Zacharias
Philosophy For Dummies – Thomas Morris

So I have six books to read in five months. This means that I have to read at least one book each month until the end of the year. Fortunately, the books on the list which I’ve already read are generally the longer ones. All the remaining books to read, with the exception of Pope Benedict’s Jesus of Nazareth, are reasonably short.

Sunday Lectionary: Are you listening to the words coming out of my mouth?

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Once again, in the spirit of regaining more of my free time to engage in other projects, these notes will be fairly terse and to the point…

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time: August 19th, 2012

The Readings this week continue on a similar trajectory to those of recent weeks. In Proverbs we hear how Lady Wisdom has “dressed her meat [and] mixed her wine” and sent out an invitation to all to come eat and drink at her table. In our Responsorial Psalm, the psalmist invites us once again to “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord”.  St. Paul continues his moral exhortation to the Ephesians in the Second Reading , commending them to be “filled with the Spirit” rather than wine. Finally, in our Gospel extract, the Lord again affirms that He is “the living bread that came down from heaven” and He promises that “whoever eats this bread will live forever”.

Benedict Eucharist

For the last few weeks the Readings have all been about food and drink. Are you hungry yet? Are you spiritually salivating? Are you hungry for holiness? Do you long for the flesh of Christ?

I have no delight in corruptible food, nor in the pleasures of this life. I desire the Bread of God, the heavenly bread, the bread of life, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was of the seed of David; and I desire the drink of God, namely His blood, which is incorruptible love and eternal life. – St. Ignatius to the Romans, Chapter 7

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Sunday Lectionary: Living Bread From Heaven

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These notes have been taking up too much of my time again. I’m really going to try and concentrate on keeping them brief…

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: August 12th, 2012

Our Readings this week continue building on the themes of the past few weeks. In our First Reading we hear about how God provided bread and water for Elijah in the desert and in our Gospel Jesus continues with His the “Bread of life Discourse”. In our Second Reading Paul continues His moral exhortation to the Ephesians.

last supper

O sacrament of mercy, O sign of unity, O bond of love! Whoso wishes to live, let him draw nigh, believe, be incorporated, that he may be quickened. – St. Augustine

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Leading a Bible study Feedback: Part 3

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Over the last couple of days I’ve been looking at the comments I received in response to my Leading A Bible Study series. So far I have considered the feedback concerning the meeting location and the feedback concerning the discussion portion of the evening.

Today I would like to finish by looking at some of the suggestions I received regarding the conclusion of the meeting.

Homework Frustration

Assigning “homework” or a challenge each week can really help bridge the gap between life inside and outside the Bible study… but, if you’re not careful, it can end up feeling like a burden…

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Leading a Bible study Feedback: Part 1

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Last month I published a series entitled Leading A Bible Study. I wrote those posts for two reasons. The first reason was to clarify in my own mind some of the lessons I had learned from leading various church groups. The other reason was to provide a resource for those beginning similar endeavours.

Upon completing the series, I sent out requests for feedback. I contacted friends, other Bible study leaders, as well as some random people on the Internet!

suggestion-box-shredder

In response to the feedback I received, I decided to write a few follow-up posts on this subject. I will devote a post to each area of feedback, quoting the feedback received and offering my own comments in RED.

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Sunday Lectionary: Bread from Heaven

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I’ve been on vacation this week so my notes are late and not quite as polished as they are normally.

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: 2nd August, 2012

Our Readings this week focus again on the subject of sacred food.

In the First Reading, we read how the Israelites were fed with manna in the desert. The manna is also the subject of this week’s Psalm, as psalmist proclaims “The Lord gave them bread from heaven”. These are also the words quoted by the crowd who come to Jesus after “The Feeding of the Multitude”. The crowd comes expecting another free meal, but rather than filling their stomachs, Jesus directs them towards deeper spiritual realities, declaring Himself to be “the bread of life” and that “whoever comes…will never hunger, and whoever believes…will never thirst”.

Our understanding of the Second Reading may be illuminated by considering the rite of Baptism in the early centuries of the Church. In preparation for the Sacrament, someone wishing to be baptised would receive a period of instruction. Afterwards, he would then arrive at the Baptismal pool and shed himself of his clothes, symbolically demonstrating that he wished to “put away the old self of [the] former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires”. He would then descend into the baptismal pool where he would be washed in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, “renewed in the spirit of [his] mind”. He would then ascend and be clothed in a white garment to show that he had “put on the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth”. After having been washed in the waters of regeneration, this newly-born Christian would be admitted to the liturgy of the Eucharist where he would finally receive the bread of life.

We too have been washed in the waters of baptism, we too have been admitted to the altar.  Let us live our lives this week in the “holiness of truth” . We do not receive simply the “bread of angels”, but something even greater, “the bread of life”  Himself.

When, through the hand of the priest, you receive the Body of Christ, think not of the priest which you see, but of the Priest you do not see. The priest is the dispenser of this food, not the author. The Son of man gives Himself to us, that we may abide in Him, and He in us – Alcuin

Eucharist

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