Month: January 2014

CLE Church Report Guidelines

Depending on the Model of the Church assigned to you, your report should address the following:

  1. What does the model/mark signify?
  2. How was it present in the history of the Church?
  3. How is it present in our Church today?
  4. Evaluate. What are the strengths and weaknesses of this model? What can we learn from this view of the Church and how can we live up to it as a Church?

Tips: Do not limit your report with the content discussed in class. You may use materials from the LRC or Online to add depth and breadth, however, do not oversaturate your report with additional information that is no longer aligned with the content and objectives of the lessons.

Good luck!

The Friendship of Girlie

The Friendship of Girlie

Imagine a woman whom, whom we shall call, Girlie, who has a very big heart. She is gracious, loving, free of prejudice, and with an understanding and empathy wide enough to encompass everything and everybody. Because she is so loving, she has a very wide variety of friends and one night she decides to have a party and invite them all. She rents a function room in a big hotel to hold everyone. And her guests begin to arrive. Men, women, and children show up. Everyone from all walks of life. Even the people who are political “enemies” and people who are usually from opposing sides.

Given the mix, there is a fair amount of tension, but because Girlie is there, because she is in the center of the room, and because they respect who she is and what she stands for, everyone, for the night at least, is polite to one another and is enough engulfed in a certain spirit of tolerance, respect, decency, and charity to stretch them beyond how they would normally feel, think, and act.

As one can imagine, such a gathering would work only while Girlie was actually present. Should she have to excuse herself and leave, or should persons get preoccupied in ways that would make them forget the real reason why they are there, you would soon enough get a combination of fireworks and dissipation that would empty the room. This particular mix of persons can be brought together and kept together only around one person, Girlie. Everything depends upon her presence and upon those present having her wide empathy while they are in that presence, that is, upon being in her spirit.

Disclaimer: This story has been leafed from the book “The Holy Longing: The Search for a Christian Spirituality” by Fr. Ron Rolheiser.

Guide Questions:

  1. How does Girlie’s Story relate with the Church being founded on the person of Christ?
  2. In what ways is this understanding present or absent in our experiences with the Church?

PITSTOP: What the Church Is

After what has been discussed, spend the next few minutes reflecting upon the questions before leaving an answer to them.

  1. What is the Church?
  2. How is this definition similar or different from how I understand the Church in my experience?
  3. What more can I do better improve my relationship with this Church?
  4. What other clarifications do I have about the lesson?

PISTOP: The Open Letter

Read the open letter by Ron Rolheiser through this link: http://www.ronrolheiser.com/columnarchive/?id=499. Reflect on the following questions:

  1. What is the main point of the letter?
  2. What struck you the most in the letter?
  3. (For Catholics) What parts of the letter do I agree and/or disagree with? Why? How does this letter relate to your understanding of the Church?
  4. (For the Non-Catholics) What are your reactions to the open letter? Why? How does this letter relate to your understanding of the Church?
  5. Why, then, should people go to Church?