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Study Questions:

-Has a convert to Catholicism affected your faith journey? If so, in what way(s)?

-Have you ever considered human history to be an integral part of your faith?

-What does it mean to read the Bible “haphazardly”? Does this lead to a relationship with Jesus that is based on personal expectations?

-How does Dr. Hahn explain the significance of the story of the “Road to Emmaus”? (Luke 24:13-32)

-Why is context important when reading the Bible?

-Discuss what St. Augustine meant by “The New Testament is concealed in the Old and the Old Testament is revealed in the New” in light of Dr. Hahn’s talk.

-What examples of typology does Dr. Hahn mention? Had you previously noticed typology in Scripture? How much importance have you given to God’s Revelation to Abraham, “the Father of the Faith”, in your own personal faith?

-Does the Old Testament, in general, play a part in your personal faith?

-What difference does it make that Jews were required to eat the Passover lamb in order to be saved from the tenth plague?

-Consider Isaiah 22:19-23 with Matthew 16:18-19, and Luke 1:26-44 with Exodus 40:34-35, 2 Samuel 6:9-16, and 1
Chronicles 13:12-14. How does typology enlighten the Gospels?

-“Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours.” (2 Thessalonians 2:15) Discuss your thoughts on Dr. Hahn’s realization that the Bible does not teach sola Scriptura.

-How did we get the Bible, according to Dr. Hahn?

-What is the “Domestic Church”? What responsibilities does being a member of the Domestic Church carry?

-Discuss Dr. Hahn’s phrase: “Feelings don’t define reality.”

Vocabulary:

Typology: “the Divine rhythm scheme of the Scriptures”; a study that examines the way in which Christian beliefs are
prefigured or symbolized by people, places, events, or things in the Old Testament. Typology “discerns in God’s works of the Old Covenant prefigurations of what he accomplished in the fullness of time in the person of his incarnate Son” (CCC 128)

Living Tradition: “Liturgy is a constitutive element of the holy and living Tradition” (CCC 1124).

Early Church Fathers: A title that gradually came to be applied to Christianity’s earliest teachers, who in the
period of the Church’s infancy and first growth, instructed her members in the teaching of Jesus Christ and that teaching which He very specifically had given to His Apostles. An Early Church Father must be of must be of orthodox doctrine and learning, living a saintly life, and having a certain antiquity (usually, prior to the Council of Chalcedon).

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Study Questions:

-What is the idea of a “New Testament Church” and what problems does it pose, according to Fr. Ryland?

-Has the desire for a church with “historical continuity” made a difference in your faith journey?

-What is Revisionism?

-Why did Fr. Ryland conclude that Eastern Orthodoxy has no united church?

-Fr. Ryland says that all non-Catholic traditions are essentially Reconstructionist. What are the problems of Reconstructionism?

-Why is the “essence” of Catholicism continuity? Why does Fr. Ryland believe the “essence” of all non-Catholic Christian traditions is discontinuity?

-Why do Reformation, Revisionism and Reconstructionist all remain in the “shallows” of history?

-What is the difference between the Catholic Church as an institution on earth created by Christ and the Catholic Church as the Mystical Body of Christ?

-In light of Colossians 1:24 (“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church…”), discuss this passage from Pope Pius XIIʼs encyclical Mystici Corporis Christi:

“This communication of the Spirit of Christ is the channel through which all the gifts, powers, and extra-ordinary graces found superabundantly in the Head as in their source flow into all the members of the Church, and are perfected daily in them according to the place they hold in the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ. Thus the Church is another
Christ which on earth shows forth his person. Christ and the Church constitutes one new man in whom Heaven and Earth are joined together in perpetuating the saving work of the cross: Christ We mean, the Head and the Body, the whole Christ…..Dying on the Cross He left to His Church the immense treasury of the Redemption, towards which she contributed nothing. But when those graces come to be distributed, not only does He share this work of sanctification with His Church, but He wills that in some way it be due to her action. This is a deep mystery, and an inexhaustible subject of meditation, that the salvation of many depends on the prayers and voluntary penances which the members of the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ offer for this intention and on the cooperation of pastors of souls and of the faithful, especially of fathers and mothers of families, a cooperation which they must offer to our Divine
Savior as though they were His associates….Christ attains through the Church, a fullness in all things.”

-Why does continuity lead to the issue of authority?

-When is a person fully incorporated in the Mystical Body of Christ?

Vocabulary:

Branch Theory: The Catholic Church is now divided into three, equally catholic branches: the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Church.

Restorationism: The belief that a purer form of Christianity should be restored using the early church as a model.

Protestant Reformation: A religious movement of the 16th century that began as an attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church and resulted in the creation of Protestant churches.

Anglican “Comprehensiveness”: The belief of tolerating different views on secondary issues as long as there is clear agreement on the essentials of the Anglican faith.

The post History and the Necessity of Continuity – Fr. Ray Ryland appeared first on The Coming Home Network.

“The real foundation of real ecumenism is devotion to Jesus Christ… Devotion is a powerful personal conviction that our Divine Savior in eternal life knows me, knows you individually, knows us, not as the great choir, but one at a time. That He cares about us. That He sends us grace. That in the difficult times of life we can trust in Him and that He will lead us even through the valley of the shadow of death. That He expects things of us and that when we fail He expects our repentance.That He hears our prayers especially for those who are dear to us and for the world, and that in the hour of death when we close our eyes we will find Him — He will be there.” Fr. Benedict Groeschel 

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Study Questions:

-Discuss Fr. Groeschel’s definition of “devotion” to Jesus Christ. How does this compliment and/or differ from your
understanding of Catholic devotion?

-What point does Fr. Groeschel make about Orthodox and other ancient, Christian churches, such as Coptic or Armenian?

-How did the Black Death in 1350 effect the Catholic Church?

-How did William of Ockham’s theory of arbitrariness effect the Reformation?

-Why does Fr. Groeschel state that Calvinism is theologically closer to Catholicism than Lutheranism?

-What point does Fr. Groeschel make about celibacy in the Middle Ages?

-Who were some of the female reformers in the Middle Ages and how did these women go about reforming from within the Catholic Church? What quality united all reformers, Protestant and Catholic?

-Why does Fr. Groeschel believe the Catholic Church today is in desperate need of renewal? Do you agree with him? Why or why not?

-What needs to be done to effectively – authentically – reform our Catholic Church today, according to Fr. Groeschel?

Vocabulary:

Catholic Charismatic Movement (Charismatic Renewal): A movement within the Catholic Church, in which worship is characterized by vibrant Masses, as well as prayer meetings featuring prophecy, healing and “praying in tongues.” This movement is based on the belief that certain gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as the abilities to pray in tongues and to heal (which Christians generally believe existed in the early Church as described in the Bible) should still be practiced today.

Reform: To give new or better form to an existing reality while preserving its essentials.

Protestant Holiness Movement: A set of beliefs and practices emerging from the Methodist Christian church in the mid 19th century, which is distinguished by its emphasis on John Wesley’s doctrine of “Christian perfection” – the belief that it is possible to live free of voluntary sin.

Madam Adorno: Referring to St. Catherine of Genoa, Italian mystic and author, who died in 1510.

Evangelical: Of, relating to, or being in agreement with the Christian gospel especially as it is presented in the four Gospels.

The post Authentic vs. Inauthentic Renewal – Fr. Benedict Groeschel appeared first on The Coming Home Network.

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Study Questions:

-How do we become “deep in history”?

-Discuss Dr. Howell’s question: “When I try to serve my Lord, Jesus Christ, do I serve Him
according to my conception of what is right and wrong, or do I consciously try to connect myself
with the great saints of all the ages and the way that the Church has dealt with things?”

-Consider Fr. Romano Guardini’s quote: “I’ve come to realize so clearly these days that there are
two ways of knowing. The one sinks into a thing and its context; the aim is to penetrate, to move
within, to live with. The other, however, unpacks, tears apart, arranges into compartments, and
takes over and rules.” Do we use Christian history to analyze, dissect, and dismiss the past, or do
we use the history of the Church to enter into the mysteries of salvation as lived by Christians?

-What significance does “to be deep in history is to be deep in prayer” have?

-Dr. Howell suggests that we pay attention to and pray the words of the Mass. Are there particular
words during the Mass which move you?

-In Dr. Howell’s opinion, what is the only reason to become Catholic? Have you ever entertained
this thought?

-Dr. Howell was asked how one would know whether or not a secular history book gives an
accurate account of Catholic history. What does Dr. Howell advise?

The post Becoming Deep in History appeared first on The Coming Home Network.

Click Here to purchase this talk as an mp3, CD, or DVD.

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Read Joseph’s own conversion story in From Atheism to Catholicism: Nine Converts Explain Their Journey Home.

Study Questions:

-Does the reality of martyrs who died for the Catholic faith have an impact on your personal faith life? If so, how?

-What is the Catholic Literary Revival? What was it in response to?

-What difference does Pearce make between the “Light Romantics” and the “Dark Romantics?”

-Consider the quotation “There are only two things left for Charles Baudelaire: the foot of the Cross or the end of a revolver.”

-How does this characterize the “Dark Romantic” authors the authors Pearce describe?

-Why does Pearce say that the Devil is a Catholic?

-What is “Whig History” as referred to by Pearce?

Vocabulary:

Penal Times (England): A time in England when Catholicism was a proscribed religion in England and severe penal laws were in force against its adherents. Eighty-five martyrs came out of this era between 1530s and 1680s.

The Enlightenment (“Idolatry of the head”): A philosophic movement of the 18th century marked by a rejection of traditional social, religious, and political ideas and an emphasis on rationalism.

Romanticism (“Idolatry of the heart”): A literary, artistic, and philosophical movement originating in the 18th century, chiefly as a reaction against the Enlightenment which is characterized by an emphasis on the imagination and emotions, a predilection for melancholy, and poetry.

Neo-medievalism: A part of the Catholic Revival beginning in the 1830s which is characterized by the desire for literature to return to its believed height in the 1530s, prior to the Reformation.

The post The Thread that Binds Literary Converts – Joseph Pearce appeared first on The Coming Home Network.

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Study Questions:

-How did Dr. Howell’s presentation challenge your understanding of the Galileo affair? Did you ever think that the Catholic Church was opposed to science?

-Why is it important to look at history through the eyes of the participants and not how we look at the events today, as Dr.
Howell states? Why is this especially important when studying the Bible?

-What was Cardinal John Henry Newman’s incredible conclusion which came about while studying the history of the doctrine of the Trinity? According to Newman, on what must we rely when searching for proper Christian doctrine? Why?

-Were there any aspects of Christian history that Dr. Howell mentioned which surprised you?

-What is authentic Christianity? Does truth factor into your personal faith life?

The post Breaking Through the Myths of History appeared first on The Coming Home Network.