Pilgrims on the Journey

As you go forth from this course focused on "responding to the call of Jesus", we recall the different stories we heard about people learning to love and become who God has created them to be.  Remember the love stories?  Your own mission statement?  The endless articles from Busted Halo?  Sister Colleen's story of becoming a Sister of Saint Joseph?  And finally, the stories of pilgrims along the journey of the Camino?  I can't leave out one final nod to Busted Halo, so please check out this young woman's story of walking the Camino this past summer.  Her closing words of one post comparing the 'real-life' pilgrimage to the film 'The Way' reminded me of my hopes for and thoughts of each of you: But the movie wasn’t created to show exactly what it’s like to walk the Camino. It was a movie about relationships — the relationships between families, between strangers, with ourselves. And that part was true to the real life Camino. Most of us start alone. We all have people we’re leaving behind to go on this journey. We have our reasons for walking this ancient path. We meet people along the way. We open up to these strangers. We share our pasts, our thoughts, our fears, our dreams. These strangers become like family to us. We share meals, conversations, and blister remedies. They see us in good moods and bad. They celebrate with us when we reach our common destination. We part as friends, knowing that this experience was better having been shared with them.

I hope your life journey is nourishing, enriching and challenging as you continue to find people to share this life with... focusing on a common destination and enjoying each step along the way. 

As you finish this course, please summarize in 2 paragraphs lessons you have learned over the last 8 weeks that you will take with you... they can be specific or general!

IVF?

After viewing the dateline special on IVF and reading the US Catholic article about IVF, what are the pros and cons of IVF?  How does the Church's teaching about IVF inform your opinion?  Does the financial cost of IVF affect your opinion on the morality of the practice? 

Abortion: Why isn't this a national outrage?

As you have read in the article about Kermit Gosnell, what is your reaction to the current trial?  Did you know about this case prior to our class discussions?  Why do you think this has not been a large, national story?  Note the role of race and economic status... does that impact why the national media has been less vocal (if this were on the Main Line, would the reaction be different)?  Please note the article contains some grisly details, so you are best suited to scan the article...

The Changing Face of Marriage

Family life is full of major and minor crises — the ups and downs of health, success and failure in career, marriage, and divorce — and all kinds of characters. It is tied to places and events and histories. With all of these felt details, life etches itself into memory and personality. It’s difficult to imagine anything more nourishing to the soul. — Thomas Moore 

 

As the composition of marriage and families continue to change in the twenty-first century, we are reminded of the call from the second Vatican Council:

"The Council further recognized the dignity of marriage by declaring that families were genuinely “Church.” The Council restored the ancient concept of “domestic church” as it declared: “In what might be regarded as the domestic church, the parents are to be the first preachers of the faith for their children by word and example” (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, #11).

The early Church began in house churches, where families were the heart of the communities and from which ministers were first called to use their personal gifts to serve the needs of the larger community. The family is the most intimate experience of Church, the place where love, forgiveness and trust should first be encountered. This is the family Church, whose members are called to embody Christ in everyday life. (http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/VAT/aq1004.asp)"

What has been your experience of the 'domestic church'?  Based on what you've experienced in your own life or seen on television/films, what are some pros/cons of the changing structure and composition of marriage and family?  Finally, some good news- a study of marriage and college degree done by the Pew Trust in 2010 suggested that those with a college degree are less likely to experience divorce and multiple marriages than those without a college degree.  Read more here .

What does that mean for you?  Do you feel compelled to someday establish the domestic church in your home?   

Papal Conclave

As a follow-up to researching the papal candidates please respond to the following prompts:

-        What topics do you think are important for the next Pope to address in the Church and in the world?

-        What do you imagine the future of the Church needs?  What are some of the challenges the future pope might face?

-        What’s it like to be a woman in the Church? What do women in the Church need?

-        If you could change one thing in the Church, what would it be?  Why?

-        Is there room for democracy within the hierarchy of the Church in its current condition?  Does/ How does the Holy Spirit work through the hierarchy?

Dating: What's the Point?

In chapter five of his book "Love, Reason, and God's Story", David Cloutier examines arguments within Christianity in favor of dating and opposed to the practice of dating.  Some of the 'anti-daters' argue that dating in our current social context is 'essentially practice for divorce'.  Please read the first section of Chapter 5.  In your response, share your reaction to this claim, as well as your reaction to the reasons given to justify dating (those by Freitas and King among others).  How does this argument compare with the experience of you/your peers and 'contemporaries'?  Finally, how does this compare to the 'hook-up' culture prevalent in colleges and universities in 2013?  Please refer to this article from none other than BUSTED HALO :), as well as the article we read by Fr. Rick Malloy challenging the culture of 'hooking up'.

Becoming Who You Are

Continuing the theme of vocation and discovering your identity, Parker Palmer writes about the theme of 'becoming who you are'.  He suggests that vocation is more about understanding yourself rather than hearing a call towards a career path.  Here is a link to the portion we read (stop at the section 'journey into darkness').  Based on your reading, our discussions in class during the first week of the semester...  Share your reflections in 2 paragraphs.  Parker challenges some of our assumptions about success and determining your vocation in life- it is more about becoming who you already are, and asking the question: "Who am I"? instead of "Who should I be"?  How does this compare with your understanding of vocation and success?  Do you agree/disagree/understand his assertions?  Deep thoughts! :)