World Religions

I want a Church that is poor and for the poor. People with nothing have so much to teach us. In their difficulties they experience the suffering Christ.

Scripture
Though he was rich, our Lord Jesus Christ became poor for your sakes, so that through his poverty you might become rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9

Prayer
This is Pope Francis’ dream, O God – that we let go of our attachment to material things and focus on those who have very little of this world’s goods. I am so attached to what I have that this prospect makes me nervous and afraid. I need to travel so far to get a new mindset, and for this I depend on “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.” He became poor to make me rich in ways beyond my understanding. Amen.

Mary, Virgin and Mother; help us to bear radiant witness to generous faith, justice, and love of the poor; that the joy of the gospel may reach the ends of the earth.

Scripture

I am the Handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word. Luke 1:38

Prayer
Just as Pope Francis looks to Mary as an example of gospel living, so may I, gracious God. May she help me to bear “radiant witness” to my faith, to my practice of justice, and to my love and service for the poor. I want to say to you as Mary did: Be it done to me as you want it done. May I reflect the joy of the gospel in every aspect of my life. Amen.

Practice
I will pray often today: “I am at your service, O God; be it done to me as you will.”

How can God be good, but allow bad things to happen? Fr. Mike Schmitz tackles one of the toughest questions religious believers must answer.

Read and respond to Can You Prove That God Exists? by Peter Kreeft.

Write a post in your iblog in which you

1. demonstrate an understanding of the main point(s),
2. relates an idea(s) from the reading to another text(s),
3. offer your own arguments – agreeing or disagreeing with the points in the reading – with supporting evidence.

Consider the rubric:

Read and respond to Can we be good without God? by J. Budziszewski.

Write a post in your iblog in which you

1. demonstrate an understanding of the main point(s),
2. relates an idea(s) from the reading to another text(s),
3. offer your own arguments – agreeing or disagreeing with the points in the reading – with supporting evidence.

Consider the rubric:

Theme 1: How do I look?

Outcomes
Students will

• value the sacredness of the human body, regardless of appearance
• identify ways that we can co-operate with God in car- ing for our bodies
• express ways in which the Incarnation shows the sacredness of the human body
• respect physical change as integral to God’s creation of us
• understand the ways we use our bodies in prayer

Key Concepts

• The Incarnation shows us the sacredness of the human body.
• Jesus affirms the dignity of every person.
• We are made in the image and likeness of God.
• The fifth commandment underlines the sacredness of human life.
• We are called to co-operate with God in the care of our bodies.
• God’s creation of us does not end: we constantly change physically; we are called to respect that change in ourselves and others.

Theme 2: How do I know what I know?

Outcomes
Students will

• identify their own preferred ways of learning
• name a variety of ways of learning and of growing intellectually
• respect the unique intellect of each person
• consider how intellect shapes faith
• realize God’s desire to be known through Jesus Christ

Key Concepts

• Each person has a unique way of learning.
• The fifth commandment underlines the value of all people, regardless of their abilities.
• God desires all to come to know the truth – especially religious truth, which enables us to know and love God.
• Searching, questioning and doubt may be avenues to intellectual growth.
• We change intellectually throughout life; this is part of God’s plan.

Theme 3: Is it okay to feel this way?

Outcomes
Students will

• identify emotions and their functions in their lives
• demonstratehowfaith guides how we act in response to our emotions
• respect the right of all people to experience their own feelings
• understand that there are morally acceptable and morally unacceptable ways to express any emotion

Key Concepts

• “Blessedarethosewho mourn, for they will be com- forted” (Matthew 5.4).
• God created us to experience a wide range of emotions.
• Everyhumanlife,fromthe moment of conception until death, is sacred because the human person has been willed for its own sake in the image and likeness of the living and holy God (CCC #2319). The way we express our emotions must respect the sacredness of all human life.
• ThroughouremotionsGod calls us to decision and action.
• Ouremotionsareagiftthat helps us to relate to others and to God.
• Emotions are not “good” or “bad” in themselves. “Passions are morally good when they contribute to a good action, evil in the opposite case…. Emotions and feelings can be taken up into the virtues or perverted by the vices.” (CCC #1768)
• Our faith guides our expression of emotions so that we, and those with whom we relate, become more loving.

Theme 4: How do I get along with others?

Outcomes
Students will

• explain how they are social beings responsible for the care of one another in accordance with God’s plan
• summarize stories where Jesus models how to live in and challenge society
• interpret the model of table fellowship, as used by Jesus Christ, for their own lives
• explain how the Christian concept of society is inclusive

Key Concepts

• “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5.9).
• God created us as social beings, called to love and serve one another.
• Jesusmodelshowtolivein and challenge society.
• The Christian concept of society is inclusive.
• Faith shapes our criteria for healthy relationships.
• Through table fellowship, Jesus changed the stan- dard for how people relate socially.

Read Mark 13:33-37

What if every moment were one in which we might meet our God? What might we notice? How might we act?

Extra:

Jean Pierre de Caussade invites us into what he calls “the sacramentality of the present moment.” What other bits of wisdom can you discern from his book Abandonment; OR, Absolute Surrender to Divine Providence. What does he mean by the term Abandonment?

Read Matthew 6:24-34.

In this Gospel reading, before Jesus tells his listeners not to worry, he says “No one can serve two masters.” Who is Jesus refering to? One master is God(Love), surely, but who is the other?

Could Jesus be refering to more specific “evils” – evils that cause us to worry and make us miserable?

What kinds of worry are normal? What kinds of worry lead to debilitating anxiety?

Consider the character Tony from Wm. Paul Young’s, “Cross Roads” – after reading Chapter 3. What “masters” does (or doesn’t) he serve? What other ideas come to mind?

All living species are tied together in one greaat, interdependent network.

The smallest subatomic particles are joined together in a cosmic dance, and evey living thing has evolved together on this world. There is no aspect of this amazing creation – chemical, biological, or material – thatis not interconnected. Pope Francis says that our failure to note this in times past has ledto today’s problems. Our embrace now of how crucial every part is to every other part is will lead to a positive change.

Ponder
Where do I need to deepen my faith so that I may start to recognize our interconnectedness?

Pray
God of creation, help me to see your glory in every part of creation, even where I’d least expect to find it.And if I see it being harmedorclouded, help me to reveal it all.

Read Luke 5:1-11

http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=322900027

The lake of Gennesaret was also known as the Sea of Galilee or the Sea of Tiberias. It was the scene of many of Jesus’ actions (such as preaching from a boat to the people on shore, the miracle of calming the stormy seas, and the miracle of the loaves and fish). Jesus was also seen there after his resurrection.

When Jesus told Simon Peter, a fisherman, that he would now catch people, Jesus did not explain what this meant. But Simon Peter came to know that he was invited to dedicate his life so that others might know the Good News about the kingdom of God.