SPEAKER_00 0:06

Okay, good morning everyone. If you could turn to page 165 in your textbook, page 165, that beautiful prayer to the Holy Spirit. I think it's a great way to start class. Page 165. Page 165 in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. We pray together. Grant us the gift of understanding to perfect our perception of the mysteries of faith. Grant us the gift of wisdom, the fruit of perfect charity, to improve our loving knowledge of God and all that leads to and comes from Him. Grant us the gift of knowledge to make us understand properly what created things are and what they ought to be according to the divine plan of creation and elevation to the supernatural order. Grant us the gift of counsel so that by correctly judging God's will at every moment and for each person we may be able to advise others. Grant us the gift of fear, which by making us detest all sin will impress upon our hearts a spirit of adoration and of profound and sincere humility. Grant us the gift of fortitude to make us steadfast in faith, constant in struggle, and faithful in our perseverance. Grant us the gift of piety to teach us the meaning of our divine filiation, the joyful supernatural awareness of being children of God, and in Jesus Christ, brothers and sisters of all mankind. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen. That prayer has a lot of words, but really I think what it's intended for is if we're going to learn about holy things, please make us holy as we do that, right? Learning holy things without growing in holiness would be a little bit of a contradiction, right? So always wanted to have a pure heart and pure mind as we learn and grow in our knowledge of the holy. So what you have at your tables. Oh, before I begin though, um, mom, can you raise your hand? Can you raise your hand, mom? Yeah, so my mom is here today. Please a round of applause for my mom. She was she was a catechist during my years growing up, so I have a catechist in the audience here today. So um, what you have on the sheet at your tables, we don't want to rush through the learning process. We want to really just keep like absorbing it in the holiest of ways. And I also want to know, as a teacher, together with Father Thompson, how it's being received, like the receiving part of this teaching experience, right? So what we're gonna do today, I'm gonna divide, let's say there's one, two, three, four. So the four tables on this side, your right side, right? And the first two here, so that's six. So um the two tables right in front of me, and the four tables on this right side, you're gonna be looking at in a moment questions number one through six, okay? And then the other tables, the other six tables on the reverse side of the sheet, numbers seven through thirteen. So what you'll need to do is, I'll say the page number here, page twenty three. Please turn to page twenty things in the textbook. And while you're doing that, if there are any first or second grade parents, I'll have I have this here for you all to sign because I know you came to this, so there's a little check-in sheet for those who are doing their duty as moms and dads to go into a class as a mom or dad of a first or second grader. So anyway, so turn to page, and does everyone have a book? Because if if you're not always coming to class, you know? Okay. Do we know where the do you all know where the books are? Does anybody have they shown you where the books are? No. Bob, can I see a favor? So straight up these tours. In the corner on the floor, there should be two boxes of textbooks. So if you're just coming to class today, great. Just use the book and just return it when you're done at the end of class. If you want to keep one, then you can buy one for $50, right? So Bob Sanders on the way to getting those books. So you'll turn to page 21, I'm sorry, 23. And as you see at the top of the sheet I've handed out here, chapter one called Holiness Study Questions. A beautiful quote. Theology is best done on your knees. So again, we want to really just have a reverence for the holy things, not just um to become smart, right? That wouldn't be uh worth the project. It's about becoming holier through the study of holy things. So the six tables I mentioned, look at the study questions, number one through six. This is all from chapter one, right? This isn't um new material, or it shouldn't be. This is something of a review to make sure that material is being absorbed. So, what I would ask you to do is this. You're gonna go through those questions at your table individually for the next, I'll give you say 10 or 12 minutes. So you're really not giving long answers, right? Just kind of and if you don't know the answer from what you've learned already, then go ahead and look it up. This is an open book test as much as you need a book. You see what I'm saying? So I don't want you to be like, oh, I don't remember any of these. Well then it's fine. Just go back and try to find them. But the purpose is to see how much you didn't have to look up. Do you see what I'm saying? How much has it been, how much of this is becoming familiar already and it's not um unfamiliar to you, right? So, for example, the first question there Why are we called to be perfect? Is perfection ever possible for us? Will we ever achieve it? That's a really important couple questions. And hopefully there's more of an answer for you now. But again, if it's not, you can look back in the book, right? You can do that. Um again, six tapes, the first six tables, go ahead with the first six questions. And the other six tables, do that for questions number seven through thirteen. So we'll take about ten minutes and then we'll discuss as a review session, essentially. And we all see the book? Mom has the box right here. We all see the book to do the exercise. Please do the other book. There's a box of pens. Where's the box of pens? Anyone? Oh, there's a book. You can't purchase the one fifty dollars. We don't have to use it when you're just one of the people returned if they have a lot of people. I will get that. Okay, well, let's start. So with the first question, um I'll go literally the very first question of question one. Why are we called to be perfect? What was the answer that you would offer? Whether from your memory or from the book, what would you offer is the answer? Any of these six tables. Kevin, go ahead.

SPEAKER_02 8:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:27

She was saying because of heaven, because we eventually will be perfect in heaven, so we're called to pursue that now. That's a good way to say it. Other thoughts or comments? But yeah. As he said, be perfect because God, because I the Lord am perfect. Yeah, so it's it's a command given, that's enough answer, and then Kevin, because actually we are actually capable of that in our heavenly form, which we'll get there someday. Is perfection ever possible for us while you answer it? Not on earth, most likely, right? A few might get there, awesome, right? Mother Teresa types. Uh, will we ever achieve it? Well, there we keep answering the same question. So it's commanded, and we're actually capable of it in the end, to say it that way. So, yes, perfection. It's not um, well, we're all nobody's perfect, right? What's wrong with that statement? No, nobody's perfect. Or what could be wrong with that statement when we say that? Because we say that all the time, but we gotta be careful. Well, what thoughts, yeah, Joe, what would you say? Yeah, no cop it out, right? Nobody's perfect. You're right. We're all in uh in a process of becoming more and more perfect by God's grace, obviously, right? So, okay, good answer. All right, number two. What name do we give to this call to sanctity? We're saying we're called to it, we're capable of it. What name we have we give a name to it? What name do we give to this call to sanctity and why? We've got the first six days. Anyone on this side here? The call to holiness, yeah. That's and specifically we have that beautiful phrase from Batic II, the universal call to holiness. One of my intentions for all of you is that your language starts to change or become richer, right? So the word perfect means something more to you now. The word holiness, but especially that phrase, universal call to holiness. I know I've mentioned this, right? At the Basilica DC, walk in, the upper church, the big one upstairs, and after you walk in, turn around and look behind you, and there's that bas relief, huge marble bas relief, and it's called the universal call to holiness. The Holy Spirit image is in the middle, and then people with from all walks of life, all different vocations, ethnicities, professions, age groups are all sort of turned towards the Holy Spirit. A beautiful image for the universal call to holiness. So, one of my intentions for you in this class is that there'll be phrases and words that just become part of your own vocabulary very in an ordinary way, right? And then those words now become part of your prayer life too. Universal call to holiness. Okay. Number three, in what way is life like a pilgrimage? So the other six tables are listening to the first six, right? Because they did the other questions. They're really listening to them. And by the way, you should be, right? You can add their answers to your sheets, right? That's that's we're gonna help each other here, right? Do half the questions for each other. So, in what way is life like a pilgrimage? Someone from the first six tables tell the other tables what what the answer is there.

unknown 11:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:31

She referred to sanctifying grace. That's another phrase that's gonna be coming part of your your normal vocabulary. So the journey is hard, has challenges sanctifying grace, helping us is a destination. There is a destination, right? That's pilgrimage. Yeah, but it's gonna say we're literally not made to be here to be at so we're going all this whole hero or supposed to be going somewhere else. Very good. So the sense of this isn't the ultimate home, right? Very good. Okay, great. All these things are orienting. Anything we learn have to be in the context of holiness, perfection, the pilgrimage of life. Okay, number four, explain what a saint is, both its narrow definition and its broader definition. And you have a table number one through six. Basically, saint capital S, Saint, lowercase s. Yeah, but the narrow definition is really the one in the Catholic Church is formally recognized. Formally recognized, canonized, yes. And a broader. And why would you say it's all of us? What would qualify us to call us that?

SPEAKER_02 13:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:43

We're called to be? Others, yeah? And by being a member of the church, there's a holiness like just already communicated to you as a baptized person, especially, right? So that membership of the church makes you a saint small s.

SPEAKER_02 14:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:02

That's that's the holy ones, right? The holy ones just means holiness is at work in your life. It doesn't mean you're canonizable yet, right? But it just means you're you're in the group that's trying. Basically, you're low, you're a lowercase, try to become a capital. Okay? That's all of us. We're all lower cases trying to become a capital, whether it happens on earth or in heaven, either way is good, right? Okay. Number five, is kind of a follow-up, right? Would it be reasonable to state that we are all called to become saints? Somebody, this is kind of number five, kind of brings one through four all together. You notice that? So, how would someone answer that in your own words? Would it be reasonable to state that we are all called to become saints? A lot of people would say no. Realize that we're saying this, but a lot of people, that's weird. What?

SPEAKER_02 14:54

No.

SPEAKER_00 14:55

That's for this elite weird group that's just super. But we're saying something different. So explain to the person who wouldn't understand that. Would it be reasonable to say that we are all called to become saints? Someone from tables one through six. With the help of Jesus. Very good. He's our help. With the help of Jesus, yes, right. And then, as we've been saying, with the help of Jesus on this pilgrimage to the place where that's the only thing we could be, right? I'm gonna offer you a little example of this, or a little uh to make it concrete. What if you have a habit of using bad language? Okay, don't raise your hand. Okay, what if you have a habit of using bad language? What's the next level of purification from that? You don't say them out loud, but they're still there in your head, right? Okay, step of growth. The next step would be like, you don't even think, they don't even come to your head. You're frustrated, you're angry, and no four-letter words come to your head, right? Well, would you want to go to heaven with a habit of bad language? But like, no. Would you want to go to heaven and you have still have thoughts and you have to like kind of oh no, don't say it. That wouldn't make sense, right? You would it just wouldn't fit, right? You would want to be in heaven completely free of that that that bad habit, to say it that way. Do you see what I'm saying? So what I'm trying to say is that um we all actually, that's the only thing we want to be. We wouldn't even want to be in heaven not as a saint. Does that make sense? Like it wouldn't, we would we would offend ourselves. Yeah, who would want to be in heaven thinking four-letter words, right? That just it would just seem so just incongruous or wrong. So when you really think through it, like, yeah, I I I do want to be a saint. So that's not pretentious, that's not pious, that's not, you know, like um pride. I want to be a saint because I'm uh saint just means being full of the grace of God, and that's the purest happiness there is, and free of the desire to sin. Who would not want to be free of the desire to sin, right? That sounds like a really good thing. So we're trying to frame things so differently so that we're all called to be saints. It's not just some pious, okay, nice. Well, like sounds nice to me. I want to be a saint is not a pretentious thing to say, right? That we all want to be, because that's actually the best version of me, the happiest version of me.

unknown 17:30

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 17:31

Last question for the first group. Number six, describe the meaning of the mystical body of Christ. Now we're getting beyond the individual questions and now going bigger, right? Describe the meaning of the mystical body of Christ by explaining how it parallels the human body. So someone offered. I'm repeating for everyone to hear, every element of the body, every part of the body, if it doesn't fulfill its function, your term, wreaks havoc for the rest of the body. Or in more positive language, every part matters, every part contributes, and every part is dependent upon the others, right? So the very easy parallel of the human body, the mystical body of Christ. We're all members of the church, which is the mystical body of Christ. The thought occurs to me, I can't think of any religion that sees the human body as the parallel for what we are in the big picture. I can't think of any religion that would use that kind of language. This is very, very Christian, personal Jesus language. You know, he is He is Christ, the body of Christ, but we are members of that mystical body of Christ. Every single member has a role, an impact. So if make it practical, if what if a member of your family grows in faith, that's gonna impact the whole family, right? And if a member of the family declines or weakens in faith, that's gonna impact too, right? There's there's even in that small grouping, we can recognize how each member has a role and importance. Okay, now we're going to tables 7 through 13, 7 through 12 here. Building from that same question, so how does St. Paul's title, the church as the mystical body of Christ, apply to us? What would you offer as the answer to that question? So the mystical body of Christ, but how does it actually apply to us, like in a real practical sense? I think we started to say it. So from these six tables. Yes. Yeah, there's no neutral in this, right? If your hand just takes a vacation from doing what a hand does, that's not neutral. It's having an impact on the whole rest of your body, right? It's amazing, for example, your thumb into your you know, into your thumb, you start to realize that like God gave us opposable thumbs, right? It's amazing or a toe, right? It's amazing what what seems so um small or important impacts to everything. Okay. I think we've said enough. Let's go to number eight. Explain how Christian discipleship requires more than just a search for personal holiness. So Christian discipleship is not just about your own personal holiness. Do you have a sense of what that means? I'm not sure how much this topic I covered actually when I heard the classes. Anyone want to offer a joke? Yeah. And the gentleman behind us are Mike, Mike, what are we on? Yeah. So responding is not just me and Jesus, right? As two are kind of singing together. There's a phrase we use in the church, we are all missionary disciples. I hope you heard that right. So we're all missionary disciples. We're doing what the word disciple means literally? Remember that? Anyone just to mention it?

unknown 21:59

Father.

SPEAKER_00 22:00

Although not quite, it's more just a more literal student, learner, right? Dishipulis is a learner, right? So you're a learner, but but is learning ever the only role, right? No, learning would always imply a call to share the knowledge, right? Yeah, striving. Very good. So it's not just a receiving being a disciple and a follower, it's also a a call to pay, as I can say, pay it forward, to share what you have received. So my friends, what we're doing here today, remember the whole first chapter is about the call to holiness. If we don't get that right, I'm gonna say it this way, all the other chapters don't matter. Right? There's a reason this is chapter one, right? Chapter one didn't start with, okay, let me explain to you why God exists. Or let me tell you the story of salvation history. No, chapter one was about you, or is about you. If we don't know why we're showing up here on Sundays at 10 and what the fruit is meant to be, or the goal, we should cancel next week, right? So chapter one is foundational on a very personal level. So becoming a better disciple of Jesus necessarily means what I learn, I share, right? My experience of God is meant to be shared. And if I'm not shared, not in a weird way, not in an obnoxious way, obviously, right? But um, if it's not being shared, there's there's something not quite right in that relationship as a disciple. Okay. Uh, which leads us to number nine. What does it mean to evangelize? How can we perform the work of evangelization in our everyday lives? Someone speak the answer on that one. So, what is evangelization? What is what does it mean to evangelize? How can we perform the work of evangelization in our everyday lives? So it's a natural share. And then um, how do we do that in our everyday lives? What does that mean to do it in our everyday lives? Yeah, first I like what you mentioned about offering to pray for people. That's not I don't think that's generally um offensive to anyone. You know, they're talking about X, Y, and Z, oh, can I pray for that? I mean, I promise, or I will, and you know what, I'll pray for you. Sounds like you're going through a difficult situation, or you're talking about your grandchild. I'll pray, what's her name? Oh, I'll pray, I'll pray for Anna. It just just the offer to pray for someone is a beautiful, gentle witness to the gift of your faith. And then one of the things that we don't do so often as Catholics is invite people to any Catholic thing going on, whether it's Mass or some other event. Um we want to be very careful about you know, thinking of the Catholic Church as like a club, right? Only for Catholics, you know, who grew up Catholic, right? So we tend to be too shy about inviting. So just just some some something for you to reflect on. And there's there's a word, is this gonna be here? Um evangelization as it applies to you and your call, there's a word, you have your own call to the blank. I'm sorry, I was hoping the question would actually line this up. Um, the apostolate, if you heard that, was that word brought up, right? So evangelization is the spreading of the gospel, but in a personal way, your call to do that, that's your apostolate, right? So apostles are ones who were sent, right? So you're a disciple as a learner, you're sent as an apostle, and your way of being sent into the world is your apostolate, right? So do you see how clearly that you're taking this class not for yourself only? You see, like that's so important to realize that you're receiving, growing in your faith and holiness and knowledge, and it's just not gonna be contained within you and your your own solitary sphere. Like if it doesn't have an overflow, then it's not being received right. I just want to make that very clear. If it's not having some sort of overflow, in whatever way God makes that happen, then it's not being received completely the way we want it to be, right? I'm not saying you have to go find someone today to tell them about chapter one, right? I'm not saying that. But if chapter one stays with you, or what you learned is only stays in your own personal world, then something isn't completely being received the way it's meant to be, right? Because it's so relational. Okay, we'll continue. Um a very important word: define grace. So there's a short definition. We talked about God's grace, God's grace. By God's grace I can do this, okay? So if someone, what is grace? Like, what are you talking about? Someone who would hear you use that word. What's a what's there?

unknown 27:51

Participation in the life of God.

SPEAKER_00 27:53

Basically being open and allowing God to work for you and a share or a participation in the life of God. That's the simplest way. We use that word all the time. Grace, it's to share the life of God, which is to say that God is in you, right? You are temples of the Holy Spirit. God in you. Um, and then how do we first receive grace? I think we all know it's baptism, right? Well, that's an easy question. And what does grace do for us? It makes us holy, right? It makes us godly. I love that phrase. I don't think we use that word as much as for some reason Protestants, but we're war. What a godly man, what a godly woman. I think it's such a beautiful word, and it speaks of that grace, a share in the life of God. You are a godly man, you are a godly woman. Um, so okay, we'll keep moving here. Um, number 11. Who will supply the necessary gifts to accomplish our sanctification? And what are those gifts? Who will supply the necessary gifts to accomplish our sanctification? Tables 7 through 12, anyone? Yeah, John? The Holy Spirit. In fact, that's one of the titles of the Holy Spirit is the sanctifier, the one who makes us holy. Do you not know? You are temples of the Holy Spirit, right? So, certainly the Holy Spirit. And then what are those gifts of the Holy Spirit? Well, I think we can talk about the sacraments and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which we'll certainly learn about more. We'll keep going here. Number 12, list and explain, well, we'll at least name them, the five marks of a disciple. I'm not sure, was that covered exactly? I'm not sure if that was treated specifically. Does any recall?

unknown 29:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:45

Was it?

unknown 29:46

In the book.

SPEAKER_00 29:47

In the book, maybe in the classes, what is it discussed? Was it discussed? Yeah, okay. So on page 1213, we conform ourselves, follow, right, the will of God, right? The sacraments, devote ourselves to God's glory, love and serve our neighbor, and accept the crosses. Okay. Um, so we want to hear. That's going to get developed a lot more later in the book. Then the last, 13, we can only give to others what we possess ourselves. So look at that last question, number 13. We can only give to others what we possess ourselves. Explain what this means in the context of evangelization. Anyone offer their thoughts on that? Yes, Johnny. So, first there's the knowledge part. You can't teach what you don't know. There's always a knowledge component to faith. Yeah. That's one one, that's one element, sure. What other there's other things, yeah, Jerry? When all else fails, when all else fails. Okay, that's a great life. So, of course, the life of evangelization or the life of being a disciple is actions even more than words, right? The two really should relate to each other. But you're both saying, so John's talking about the knowledge piece, which there is a component in evangelization to be able to answer questions, to teach what you know. And week by week you're growing in that knowledge. And then the other component of evangelization is certainly this interior part, being a holy person, a saintly person, a godly person, which is seen by the way you treat others and and and love, right? Other thoughts or comments on and to believe, right? Yeah. So the stronger your faith grows, people can just sense that about you too, right? They can you can sense that in a person. Some people just maybe know the right answers. Other people, they might not even have so many of the words and the answers, but you just have they just have that, they have a real deep trust in God, a real be a real belief in God, especially when they're going through times of trial or suffering, right? Yeah. Okay, well, this is all a um 45-minute review that we did today of how many classes has it been? Maybe five or six by now. So for the next class, which I'll be teaching, what I would encourage you to do, it's optional always to read ahead, but in this case I would encourage you. So in chapter two, I expect that next week we can cover the first five pages. So 28 to 33. So if you want to read ahead, you're welcome to. Page 28 to page 33 is what I believe we'll be able to cover in the next class. Okay. It's 1047, and so let's pray in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Oh Jesus, you are the Savior. We are your disciples, we follow you, we are your students. You also call us to be apostles, you send us as missionaries, as your disciples, you give us an apostolate to be vessels of your grace for others. We are called to be holy because in heaven we will be completely holy. And we're we're in a pilgrim journey on earth, seeking already your holiness in heaven. We pray on earth as it is in heaven, and that's what we're doing every day, trying to be as we will be in heaven someday. We ask you to bless each one of us today through the intercession of Mary, the Mother of Holiness. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen. May God bless you all, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. So again, on the on the last table towards the back, there's the sign-in sheet. If you're a mom or dad from first or second grade, you can check in so I know you have fulfilled your duty for your fall semester. Okay, have a great rest of Sunday. We'll see you next Sunday.

SPEAKER_01 34:17

If you borrowed the books, please return them so we don't have to call the holiness versus the sacrament of breakfast.

SPEAKER_00 34:24

Yeah, we always have books when you come to attend, if you don't have your own, but just return to box if you're not going to purchase one.