Schola
Offerings 2005
1.
Answering the Tough God Questions
Who is God? Where
is God? How can God be Three in One?
What does it mean that God is just? How does God interact with
us? Does God really care?
Catechism
of the Catholic Church: sections 26-73, 199-324
Handout: Catholic
Update: Are Our Images of God Growing? CO691
2.
Who Was Jesus Really?
Who
was Jesus historically? Who is Jesus today? What do Jesus’ parables
and miracles say to us today?
Is Jesus a living presence in my life or just an historical
character?
Catechism
of the Catholic Church: sections
522-570
Handout:
Catholic Update The Four Faces of Jesus
3.
What does the Resurrection of the Christ mean for us?
How
did Jesus become the Christ? What difference does the Resurrection mean to us? How can I
experience the power of the Resurrection today? Why does Christmas seem
more important than Easter?
Catechism
of the Catholic Church: sections 571-667
Handout:
Catholic Update The Resurrection – How we
Know it’s True
4.
Hail Mary, full of grace…
Contemplating
Mary as Disciple, Mother, Model
How
is Mary portrayed in scripture? What
are the multicultural images of Mary in artwork?
What are the Catholic teachings about Mary? Which appearances of
Mary are authentic? Can I be full of grace like Mary?
Catechism
of the Catholic Church: sections 963-975
Handout: Catholic Update Mary
of Nazareth
5.
The Communion of Saints: Mirrors of Christ
What
makes a person a “saint?” What
difference can saints make in our daily lives? Which saints are
important to you? How do
you show saintliness in your life? Who are the saints the Church will
never recognize?
Catechism
of the Catholic Church: sections 946-962
Handout:
Catholic Update The Communion of Saints:
People who Need People
6.
Celebrating the Mass –Liturgy of the Word
How
can I get the most out of the Liturgy of the Word? Meeting Christ and
the Community in the Sunday Readings. The Real Presence of Jesus in the
Proclaimed Word at Eucharist; How
can I remember the readings?
Catechism
of the Catholic Church: sections 1345-1349
Handout:
Catholic
Update The Lectionary: Heart of the Bible
7.
Celebrating Mass – Liturgy of the Eucharist
What
makes the Eucharist different from your dinner table? How do we meet
Christ in the Sacrament? In
what sense is the Eucharist a sacrifice and a banquet?
What are we really celebrating at Eucharist? Is Mass just one
more thing “to get done?”
Catechism
of the Catholic Church: sections 1322-1344, 1350-1419
Handout:
Catholic Update The Liturgy of the Eucharist
8.
Learning how to live – the 10 Commandments
How
do we apply the 10 Commandments to our lives? What is the historical
background of the 10 Commandments? What does each commandment really
demand?
Catechism
of the Catholic Church: sections 2084-2557
Handout: Catholic Update The Ten Commandments
9.
Living the
Beatitudes
How
can we to morally & justly in the 21st Century?
What did Jesus do? Are the Beatitudes the basis of living
counter-culturally?
Catechism
of the Catholic Church: sections 1716-1729
Handout:
Catholic Update The Beatitudes- Finding
Where Your Treasure Is
10.
Our Daily Bread… Reading the Gospels as Different Portraits of
Jesus
How
were the Gospels created ? What is the purpose of a Gospel?
What is the emphasis of each Gospel?
How were the books selected?
Catechism
of the Catholic Church: sections 101-141
Handout:
Catholic Update How the Gospels were Written
11.
Praying the Rosary
Why
is the rosary such an important devotion? Praying the rosary
meaningfully; Appreciating the 20 mysteries of the Rosary; Understanding
the nature of the rosary as a mantra
Catechism
of the Catholic Church: sections 971,2678, 2708
Handout;
Catholic Update: The
Rosary- A Prayer for All Seasons
12.
Immersion into the Death and Resurrection of Christ – Washing
and Sealing
What
do Baptism & Confirmation really mean? What really is Christian
conversion? What is the RCIA? Why do we see Confirmation as graduation?
Catechism
of the Catholic Church: sections 1212-1321
Handout:
Catholic Update Sacraments of Initiation
13.
Sin and the Sacrament of Reconciliation
What
really is a sin? What really is a mortal
sin? How do we
experience the power and grace of God’s forgiveness? Do I have to go
to confession in order to be forgiven?
Catechism
of the Catholic Church: sections 1422-1498
Handout:
Catholic Update How to Celebrate the
Sacrament of Reconciliation Today
14.
Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?
How
can an all-good God allow evil? Is
there a mysterious power in suffering? Can I get angry with God? What
does free will have to do with suffering? How can I talk to God about
suffering? Can I allow myself to accept?
Catechism
of the Catholic Church: sections 302-314
Handout:
Catholic Update Why
Must I Suffer?
15.
A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Heaven, Hell & Purgatory
What
does participation in divine life mean? What happens to you when you
die? Is there really a “hell”?
Do we still believe in “limbo?” The Second Coming of Christ?
“Pearly gates”? Rapture?
Catechism
of the Catholic Church: sections 1020-1060
Handout:
Catholic Update The Last Things – Death,
Judgment, Heaven and Hell
16.
When your Adult Child Does Not Go to Church
Who
is responsible for the baptism and Christian formation of the
grandchild? Why do so few Catholics go to Mass? Is there salvation
outside of the Church? Why has spirituality
become separate from religion in our culture? How do we
understand the younger generations? What do you
say to your grandchildren about Mass? What do you do when your
child doesn’t want to go to Mass?
Catechism
of the Catholic Church: 851, 1739-1742, 1259, 1261
Handout:
Catholic Update Who will be Saved?
17.
A Catholic Approach to Dying
What
is the spiritual meaning of death? How am I expected to take care of
dying relatives? Why is death so often removed from our personal
experience? What are the issues around nutrition & hydration?
Catechism
of the Catholic Church: sections 2324,
2277 - 2279
Handout:
Catholic Update Why the Church Opposes Assisted Suicide
18.
How Catholics Understand the Bible
Why
should I read the Bible? Who really wrote the Bible? Is the Bible is a book or a library? What are the Catholic versions of the Bible? What are the
differences between the Catholic and
Evangelical approaches to the Bible?
Catechism
of the Catholic Church: sections 101-141
Handout:
Catholic Update A Popular Reading Guide to
Reading the Bible
19.
What’s
so great about Being Catholic?
What
is the Catholic Imagination? How
is Catholicism different from Protestantism?
How does the Catholic worldview see God? What does a sacramental
worldview mean? What is the Mystical Body of Christ?
Catechism
of the Catholic Church: sections 830-856
Handout: Catholic Update Ten Reasons To Be Catholic C0498
20.
Dancing with God in Christian Marriage
What
is Christian marriage? Why is marriage a sacrament? What makes sexuality
sacred? What is a healthy spirituality of intimacy? Why is the divorce
rate so high? What is a decree of nullity?
Catechism
of the Catholic Church: sections 1601-1658
Handout:
Catholic Update The Spirituality of Marriage
21.
How does the Church relate to the Modern World?
What
is the role of the Church in society? What does human solidarity really
mean? Why do all human beings have dignity?
How does our work, recreation and existence reflect the Paschal
Mystery? What does the Church offer society? What does the modern world
offer to the Church? How should faith & culture interact?
Reference:
Vatican II Gaudium et Spes 7 Dec. 1965
Handout: Catholic Update Vatican
II: the Vision Lives On!
22.
Living Justly, Humbly and Mercifully before God
What
is the difference between charity and justice? Is how I spend my money a
moral issue? Did Jesus
really have a special concern for the poor & vulnerable? Why should
I be concerned about the common good?
Practical suggestions for living simply & justly
Catechism
of the Catholic Church: sections 1928-1948, 2425-2426, 2832
Handout: Catholic Update Faithful Citizenship
23.
Finding The Real Presence of Christ among us
What
does “Word made flesh mean?” What does Real Presence mean? Where is
Christ present in the world today? How do we know that Jesus is really
with us? How do we experience Jesus’ Real Presence?
Catechism
of the Catholic Church: sections 1373-1380, 456-460
Handout:
Catholic Update: The Real Presence: Jesus’
Gift to the Church
24.
What’s a Priest? A Deacon? A Bishop?
What
is the purpose of ordination? How do we understanding the sacrament of
Holy Orders? What do priests really do? What is the role of the bishop?
Why is clerical celibacy so important?
Why can’t a lay minister preside at Eucharist?
Catechism
of the Catholic Church: sections 1536-1600
Handout:
Catholic Update Sacrament of Holy Orders:
Priesthood in Transition
25.
How To Pray by Yourself
What
really is prayer? How does
God answer prayer? If
prayer is the raising of the mind and the heart to God, how can I enter
into conscious, loving communion with God?
What is the difference between prayer and prayerfulness?
How to pray in a variety of prayer styles. How to become
comfortable with silence and solitude.
Catechism
of the Catholic Church: sections 2558-2865
Handout:
Catholic Update An Invitation to Prayer
26.
Discerning God’s Spirit in my life
How
can I make the most of the rest of my life? How do I hear God’s voice?
How do I experience God in my life? What is God’s will for me?
How do I know if it is God talking and not just what I want to hear?
What does our baptism call us to do? How do you think you can use your
gifts to serve God?
Catechism
of the Catholic Church: sections 27, 825, 897-913
Handout: Catholic Update How God Invites Us To Grow
27.
Are your born again? Understanding Protestant Evangelicals
What
does it mean to be “born again”? What really is the difference
between Roman Catholic Christians and Protestant Evangelical Christians?
Why are they growing so fast? What to do when you are approached by
Protestant Evangelical Christians. What can we learn from them?
Catechism
of the Catholic Church: sections 1427-1433, 2608-2609, 1229, 1248, 1439,
1490,1848
Handout: Catholic Update The Fundamentalist Challenge
28.
Church Language
Are
you confused by church words like “catechumen” and “exorcisim”
Do your children and grandchildren know what
“ambo,” “mystricism,”
“thurible” and
“canon” mean? What
are the basic vocabulary words every Catholic should know?
Bring your church vocabulary questions!!
Catechism
of the Catholic Church: sections Glossary
Handout:
Schola chart of basic church terms
