Sheen Quotation for Peter

"There are not one hundred people on the United States who hate the Catholic Church, but there are thousands who hate what they think the Catholic Church is."
Fulton Sheen

NO CLASS TONIGHT 03-24-08

We will not be having class tonight, March 24, 2008 due to the office being closed for Easter.

I'm sorry for the inconvenience. We will meet again next week to discuss chapter 21 of Theology and Sanity, "Dispensing the Gifts"

Have a blessed Easter Week!

Week 19: Homework

Reading Assignment:
Read Chapter 21 of Theology and Sanity, “Dispensing the Gifts”—pp. 289-310.

Questions:

1. Man is a social being. In what ways are we bound to others as social beings? What does this fact require of religion? (p.290)
2. How did Christ leave his followers organized? How does this parallel the relationship God had with the Jews in the old covenant? What expression is used in the Apostle’s Creed to describe this? (p. 291)
3. By what means does God offer us the spiritual gifts of Life and Truth? (p.291)
4. What do we mean when we say the Church is infallible? Why? Where does this power of infallibility come from? (p.294)
5. How is the Pope infallible? Does God promise the pope some special message or illumination? How does the pope learn his doctrine? (p. 295)
6. In a definition of faith and morals by the pope what does Infallibility account for? (p.295)
7. What does Sheed mean when he says the Bible cannot defend itself? (p. 296)
8. What, according to Sheed, is man’s principal business on earth? (p. 298)
9. How do the sacraments reflect man’s nature? (p. 300)
10. Why must men maintain the proper balance between spirit and matter? What are the dangers of becoming imbalanced? (p. 301)
11. How is the Eucharist different from the other sacraments? (p.302)
12. Do priests offer new sacrifices in order to give the faithful life? (p.303)
13. On page 305, Sheed says that the gifts of life and truth that the Church offers come through the Church, but not from it. Why is this an important distinction?

Reflection Questions:

1. On page 291, Sheed, speaking of man’s responsibility to seek truth and life, states “It is not part of His [God’s] purpose to do for men what they can very well do themselves, but only what they cannot. . .God […] expects man to the uttermost that he can.” How well do you think you’re fulfilling this responsibility? Do you have reason to be proud of yourself? Do you need to improve your game?
2. How would you respond if someone asked you why you remain a Catholic when there are so many sinful people in the clergy and the Church in general?

Week 18: Homework

Reading Assignment:
Read Chapter 20 of Theology and Sanity, “The Kingdom”—pp. 279-89.

Questions:

1. What are the two elements of God’s plan for mankind that emerge from Jesus’ teachings? (p.280)
2. What kind of kingdom was Jesus founding? (p.281)
3. What is the significance of Jesus’ words at the Last Supper, “I dispose to you, as My Father has disposed to Me, a kingdom?” (p. 281)
4. How did Jesus prepare his Apostles to understand God’s kingdom and teach the Truth? (p.282)
5. How did Jesus prepare the Apostles to be dispensers of Life? (p. 282)
6. On page, 282 Sheed seems to suggest that the Apostles were over-prepared for their jobs. What was Jesus doing when he prepared them so thoroughly? (p. 282-3).
7. What does the word “Catholic” mean? What does the word “universal” mean?(p.284)
8. Why did the Apostles need the Holy Spirit? (p.285)
9. What is the function of Peter? In what ways is this Christ-like? (p.286-9)

Reflection Questions:

1. At the bottom of page 281, Sheed states that the Apostles and their successors are to dispense the gifts of Truth and Life, but that these gifts cannot be given once for all. He says that each new generation and each person must receive them. Is there is any tension between dispensing the gifts faithfully and giving the gifts to new generations? Are there some who sacrifice the integrity of the gifts to accommodate a new audience? Are there some who alienate new audiences in order to transmit the gifts as they were received?
2. Jesus promises his Apostles that He will be with them “all days, even to the consummation of the world.” Sheed remarks that this continuous presence of Christ with His Apostles gives a double guarantee: first that gifts we receive from the Apostles and their successors are His gifts to us and, second, that when we are in contact with these men we are in contact with Christ. How does this knowledge affect your understanding of what the church can/can’t do with respect to some hot-button issuses like women priests or the prohibition on artificial contraception?

Week 17: Homework

Reading Assignment:
Read Chapter 19 of Theology and Sanity, “Redemption”—pp. 268--279.

Questions:

1. What does it mean to say that God died? (p.268-9)
2. How could Christ offer a true human act in expiation of sin? How could a human act satisfy the sins of all men? (p. 269)
3. Could Christ have pricked his finger to save the world? Why or why not? (p. 269)
4. What two things is Christ’s death at Calvary proof of? (p. 270)
5. What does it mean to say that Jesus was “made perfect” through what he suffered? Was he somehow imperfect before he suffered? (p. 271)
6. What two things did the Redemption accomplish? (p.272)
7. How are Adam and Jesus each a representative man? (274-5)
8. How do our relationships with Adam and Christ differ from each other? (276)
9. If Christ’s death redeems the whole human race, how can there still be some people who aren’t saved? (p.277)

Reflection Questions:

1. Catholics are often accused of “works righteousness”—the idea that we are saved by doing good works instead of by faith. Given what you’ve learned in this chapter, how would you respond to such an accusation?
2. Re-read the two paragraphs of the chapter. Reflect for a while on what it means that Jesus is constantly interceding for us in Heaven. Find some way to thank Him this week.