Our January Saturday meeting will be Saturday, January 8, at 7:00 am, in the parish hall (basement).
We will start at 7:00 AM and finish by 7:55 AM so guys can attend Mass at 8:00 AM
The following will be our points for discussion:
Chapters 146 to 165 in Practical Theology by Peter Kreeft., but also see Steve’s email below:
I think I drew the lucky straw for next month’s meeting and discussion about the practical theology of St. Thomas Aquinas. I’ve got sections 146 to 165, and the material is just terrific. We easily could be talking about any of these topics until lunchtime, but of course we only have an hour. To try to focus our attention a little bit I thought I would (arbitrarily) pick and choose some quotes on which we might focus as we go through these pages. In my mind, the quotes are so good that they crystallize a number of critical concepts of our faith which are worthy of our focus and concentrated thought. Of course, if I have missed any of your favorites, just jump in, either in reply to this note or at the meeting.
Steve
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Sec. 146 Faith and Certainty
“If our faith rests on God’s veracity, it has an absolute and eternally unshakable foundation; if it rests on our own mind, it is as secure as sand.“
Sec. 149 How Unbelief Is A Sin
“St. Thomas says that a pagan who has not heard the faith does not sin for disbelieving it. You can’t believe what you don’t know. We can also extend this to those who have heard only a false, unfair, and misleading version of the Faith (e.g., “Catholicism is superstition “ or “Christianity is the fairytale that God is Super Santa“). They are right to reject this. This is a rejection of false gods, not the true God.“
Sec. 151 Why Lust Is Harmful
“As C.S. Lewis says, ‘when poisons become fashionable they do not cease to kill’ “.
Sec. 154 Presumption
“For example, the presumption that we can by our science and technology make ourselves unlimitedly intelligent and create a Heaven on earth – this presumption naturally begets a despairing disappointment and resentment against the few physical pains that remain in our lives, and the naïve optimism of this presumption begets a pessimism when it fails to deliver. Thus the ‘Enlightenment’ begets the Existentialists’ despair.“
Sec. 156 The Infinity of Charity
“Our hearts are finite, but the very capacity to hold love and choose love can be infinitely increased, and therefore our love will be infinitely increased, forever, in Heaven.“
Sec. 161 How To Love Enemies
“Third, we can and should go beyond this and love our concrete individual enemies because we are Christians and conduits of the charity of Christ, Who did (and continues to do) exactly that, on the Cross and in the Church.“
You can purchase the book at:
The Catholic Company - https://www.catholiccompany.com/practical-theology-350-ways-your-mind-can-help-you-become-a-saint-i79986/
Thanks to Steve G for volunteering to facilitate our January meeting.
Thanks to Paul for facilitating our December meeting!
Email lshadowen@aol.com to volunteer to facilitate a meeting!