I’m Not Being Fed (aka Do You Have The Blahs?)

 The impetus for today's post was this article that a protestant friend of mine shared. It reminded me (again) that we are so very blessed to have found the fullness of truth in our Holy Roman Catholic Church. We are so blessed to have the real presence of Jesus at every Mass and at Adoration -- body, blood, soul and divinity.
Here is the article (with my comments in red):

Do You Have The Blahs?   by Ray Stedman

In Mark 8:17, Jesus asked some questions that help combat the spiritual“blahs,”
(you know, when you have no interest in reading your Bible, talking with God, going to church, etc…)

“Do you not yet see or understand?”  Use your mind. Stop and think about where you are, what’s happening to you and why. Read what God’s word says about it. God gave us a mind. He wants us to use it and He’s given us His word to study and apply (. . . . with the essential guidance of our Magisterium -- because God did not leave us alone to interpret His Word. In John 10:11 Jesus tells us He is our Good Shepherd. He has taken the ultimate responsibility for our souls.  Then in John 14 Jesus tells us He is leaving. But He tells us He is sending the Holy Spirit to guide us.  Did He leave it to the conscience of the individual to discover truth or did he leave a quantifiable deposit of faith and give His authority to certain people to pass it on?   He established authority. The pillar of support and Truth is the Church.  (1st Timothy 3:15)

Matthew 16:13 --  "Who do people say that I am?"  This was asked BY JESUS waaaaay before splits of churches. The answers were diverse, and this was DURING Jesus' time. The answers they gave were: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, one of the prophets. Those 4 answers were wrong.  And this was DURING Jesus' time!! We need more than our own reflection. We need more than an individual relationship between us and Jesus. As Peter tells us in his Epistle, "No revelation (prophesy) is of a private interpretation."  2 Peter 1:20

Then Jesus asks His apostles, "Who do you say that I am?" Remember Peter's answer?

"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God!"

And what did Jesus do right after that?  Jesus established, as the head of His  Church,

Peter. Jesus gave Peter "keys to the kingdom of heaven." Jesus continued, " Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”  There is a special anointing on the Vicar of Christ to guide us and direct us. 

But I digress. Here is the rest of the article.

“Do you have a hardened heart?” In other words, analyze the state of your heart. Is it dull and unresponsive to God and the things of God? If the heart does not respond to what the mind has read and understood, it’s because you didn’t believe it. You’ve mentally understood the truth, but you haven’t acted on it. The Gospel truth always moves us when we believe. It excites us and gives us joy. If you don’t experience that, it’s because your mind has grasped it, but your heart hasn’t. So what do you do then? Pray. Ask God to open the eyes of your heart to see the truth of the Gospel and your own need for it. If you want to know Him, He will respond.

“You have eyes, do you not see? You have ears, do you not hear?” Jesus said these words again and again to the people he taught, and each time He means the same thing. Do not just look at the events you are seeing and think that is all there is to it. It is a parable, a parallel to something deeper and more important, concerning your spirit. We need to see beyond the physical to the spiritual truths. In this part of Mark the people were looking for Jesus to give them food, He wanted them to see the deeper truth, their more demanding need for daily replenishment spiritually that only He, the Bread of Life, can give.  This part of the Gospel of Mark is the story of the loaves and the fishes.  The loaves and the fishes are a prefiguration of the Eucharist. When you leave the authority of the Catholic Church you run into many paths    Only 60 years after the protestant revolution there was a book published entitled, 200 interpretations of the words, "This is My Body."

As is evident here in this article, by Ray Stedman, one can see how the author just misses a crucial understanding of the miracle of The Eucharist. 

And finally, “Do you not remember when…”  Hasn't God taught you things in the past through your circumstances? Hasn't he led you through events which have made you understand something about your life? Do you think that the things happening to you right now, whoever and wherever you are, are just accidents? Or is God saying something to you? Do you not remember the times He said things like that in the past? Well, remember them now, and interpret these events now, and recognize that you are in the hands of a loving Father who has put you right where you are to teach you a very needed truth. Learn to lay hold of that truth, and rejoice!”

"Forgive us, Father, for the dullness of our hearts, for the way we reflect so frequently the attitude of the pagan worldlings around us, who see no further than the surface of events, and never think any deeper. Forgive us for living like animals, in this respect, and help us to remember that we are men and women, that we have a spirit as well as a body, and that it needs strengthening, needs upholding, and needs to be fed. Lord, help us to give ourselves every day, afresh and anew, to this One who is the bread sent down from heaven, the One who can strengthen us and keep us and establish us. We ask in his name, Amen."

When you google Mr. Stedman, you may find this blurb:
"[The Ray Stedman Library] helps you move beyond religion, rules and rituals to become intimately connected with Christ -- this is authentic Christianity!"

Frightening!


A much better response to "Do you Have the Blahs?" is this excellent Catholic audio!
http://www.catholicscomehome.org/lighthouse-popup.php?song=NotBeingFed

The source is Lighthouse Media

In a dynamic talk, Jeff Cavins explores some of the reasons why so many have left the Catholic Church for evangelical Christianity. He responds to the most commonly heard complaint of these former Catholics – that they simply were not being “fed” by their Church. As he presents the story of his own return to Catholicism, Cavins builds a case for the unique character of the Catholic Church as the church founded by Christ.

Great Adventure Notes - September 23, 2010

To view ALL Great Adventure entries go to: 
http://catholicnotebook.blogspot.com/search/label/Great%20Adventure


Yes, I am doing the Great Adventure Bible Study again! I learn something new every time -- I remember things that were tucked away somewhere deep in my brain! Most importantly,  I fall more deeply in love with Scripture.


I will be recording some notes, questions and answers, definitions, important references and resources here for class use. Let the fun begin!

Definitions:

Typology (in Scripture): the doctrine or study of types or prefigurative symbols.

Prefigure: to show or represent beforehand by a figure or type; foreshadow.

Foreshadow: to represent, indicate, or typify beforehand

Christocentric: Christ-centered, Concentrating on Christ.

Deuterocanonical:   The 7 books that Protestants took out of the Bible
It should be noted that protocanonical and deuterocanonical are modern terms, not having been used before the sixteenth century. *1

Mnemonics help you recall facts and remember things with minimal effort.  Mnemonics are highly efficient as learning or memorizing strategy!
The multi-colored beaded bracelet used in the Great Adventure Bible Study is an example of a mnemonic (pronounced: new-mon-ic) device.

Important Quote

"Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ." St. Jerome 

General Notes

Where does Scripture fit into Catholicism? 

It is meant to be lived in on a daily basis.

The Word of God comes to us in Scripture and Tradition.  the Jews posess written and oral word -- Moses as an example. We carry on with this as Jesus did (and Paul did).

The Bible is the inspired word of God -- in Hebrew the definition for inspired is "God breathed."

Inspired by God means that the Holy Spirit is the principal author. 

66 in Protestant Bible (They took out 7 that they call the Apocrypha)

73 Books in our Bible (Those 7 books are called the Deuterocanonical)

We have maintained these since the Councils of Rome, Hippo and Cathage  (etc.)

Council of Rome (382)

The Church decided upon a canon of 46 Old Testament books and 27 in the New Testament.

Council of Hippo (393)

Local North African Church council in union with and under the authority of the Bishop of Rome approved a list of OT and NT canon (same as later approved by the Council of Trent 1546)

Council of Carthage (397)

Local North African Church council in union with and under the authority of the Bishop of Rome approved a list of OT and NT canon (same as later approved by the Council of Trent 1546)

Note: At the Council of Rome in 382, the Church decided upon a canon of 46 Old Testament books and 27 in the New Testament. This decision was ratified by the councils at Hippo (393), Carthage (397, 419), II Nicea (787), Florence (1442), and Trent (1546).

We Catholics are people of The Word -- The Living Word -- Jesus Christ.
The word in fullness is Scripture and Tradition. . . . what was passed on to us by the Apostles

The CCC
has 4 pillars (look at the order - important)

1. Creed (lion's share of the CCC-largest part)
2. Sacraments and Liturgy
3. Moral Law (10 Commandments)
4. Prayer

1. Creed: Salvation History - the big picture - our story
2. Sacraments and Liturgy - that how you get into the story and means of grace to STAY in the story
3. Moral Law - your personal script. How to conduct yourself.
4. Prayer - Christianity is not a solitary spirit. How God finds us.


The Bible
Poetic literature
Prophetic literature
Historical literature
Epistles literature
Apocryphal literature
Gospel literature

It is Important to Know Your Story
Do you know where you came from?

Where you are?

Where you are going?

Why and how?

 . . . . example -young girls flocking to the movie, The Titanic. Going more than once. Because it was the story and they didn't have a story.

Salvation History is our story!

GOOD TO KNOW THE NARRATIVE - Many have lost the narrative thread. 

. . . . . the funny example of trying to read Gone with the Wind without the storyline

What Great Adventure Bible Study Does

It simplifies. We take the big picture and reduce it to 12 periods of salvation history. These 12 time periods can be easily memorized (use any of the mnemonics: colors, names of time periods, bracelet, bookmark, fold-out timeline, chart on pg 39).

The Organization of the Time Line (from top to bottom):

The 12 Period's names

Supplemental Books 

Narrative Books 

God's Family Plan: Covenant Periods 

Northern Countries

The Land of Canaan (50 miles west to east & 150 miles north to south)

Southern & Egypt

World Power
Secular History

SOURCES & more resources: 
Defending the Deuterocanonical - an article by Jason Evert
*1 - http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03267a.htm 
Catholic Apologetics Notebook -  
http://www.catholicapologetics.org/ap010100.htm 

Jeff Cavins in the House!

Jeff Cavins spoke at my parish on Friday and Saturday. I was a volunteer on the planning committee and it was such a joy to be part of this event. My son even helped. In anyway that they would let him help (he is only 10) he would help!   He told me on Saturday morning, "Mom, I want to go with you early in the morning. I want to help. I can do lots of things. I am a good greeter and I can lift boxes and move tables . . . "  With that kind of zeal, how could I refuse?
And pitch in and help -- he did!

It was an amazing seminar! Friday we heard Jeff's testimonial and conversion story. His journey back home to The Catholic Church was heart wrenching, honest and  . . . . all in all . . . . wonderful. God is soooo good!

Saturday was the seminar on the book of Revelation. (The book of Revelation in a Day!) From 9:00 to 4:00 he guided us through John's book. It was AMAZING the amount of information that was absorbed. My husband became so engrossed and hungry for more understanding that he purchased the full, 10 course, DVD.
That is VERY unlike my husband but I am so beyond ecstatic about the fire that The Holy Spirit put in his soul. That longing for more understanding about the Word of God is always a great thing. We are so grateful to have the guidance of The Magisterium to accompany us on our journey.  The DVD is just perfect because we can pause rewind and re-listen/re-watch as necessary!

If you are not familiar with Jeff Cavins read on!  :-)  And click here for his upcoming schedule.

Jeff Cavins is recognized nationally and internationally as a dynamic Bible teacher who can take complex theological concepts and make them practical for everyone.  After twelve years as a Protestant pastor, Jeff returned to the Catholic Church under the guidance of Bishop Paul Dudley.

Over the past several years, Jeff has dedicated his life to developing The Great Adventure Bible Studies, an extremely useful, practical and color coded interactive Bible study system. 

This system enables students to understand the chronological flow of Scripture, following salvation history.  To date, more than 2,200 Great Adventure studies have been conducted helping hundreds of thousands of Catholics and other Christians learn Sacred Scripture in a practical way.

Jeff is founding host of EWTN's Life on the Rock and his conversion story is found in the best-selling book, My Life on the Rock:  A Rebel Returns to the Catholic Faith.  He is also the author of I'm Not Being Fed! Discovering the Food that Satisfies the Soul and he is co-editor of the Amazing Grace series of books, which feature stories concerning faith, hope, healing, inspiration and humor that strengthens the spirit and nourishes the soul.

Jeff received an MA in Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville.  He is currently the Director of the Archbishop Harry J. Flynn Catechetical Institute based in St. Paul, Minnesota.  Jeff resides with his wife, Emily, and their three daughters in Minnesota.

Gospel Reflection for Sunday, February 21 by Jeff Cavins

This Sunday is the first Sunday of Lent. Jeff Cavins has a wonderful Gospel Reflection section in his website under the Family Night tab. Here is this Sunday's (Lk 4:1-13 ):

The forty-day season of Lent finds its roots in the forty days while Jesus fasted in the wilderness and withstood the temptations of Satan. In today’s gospel, we read the account of how Jesus responded to Satan’s temptation. Each of the three temptations that Satan presents is swiftly countered by what God has already established through his word in the scriptures. Jesus knew the will of God through the scripture and through his own love of the Father and his desire to please Him. We also have these weapons as well as the Sacrifice of Christ to help us withstand temptation. It is totally possible through Christ to withstand any temptation. Let’s not make excuses; let’s follow Christ’s example.

I am so very excited! Jeff Cavins came to my parish to speak Friday and Saturday!
I humbly ask for your prayers  . . . . .  Please add your prayers to mine that The Holy Spirit will move people's hearts and open their minds to the truth.  I fervently pray that this seminar will help a couple people I love with all my heart come home to The Catholic Church. And, would you add Jeff and his family to your prayers? I really believe that he is leading many back home and helping many Catholics embrace their faith with renewed love and commitment.

Any of his seminars are great. I would definitely encourage you to see if your parish might bring him to your town to speak.

Jeff Cavins is recognized nationally and internationally as a dynamic Bible teacher who can take complex theological concepts and make them practical for everyone.  After twelve years as a Protestant pastor, Jeff returned to the Catholic Church under the guidance of Bishop Paul Dudley.

Over the past several years, Jeff has dedicated his life to developing The Great Adventure Bible Studies, an extremely useful, practical and color coded interactive Bible study system.  This system enables students to understand the chronological flow of Scripture, following salvation history.  To date, more than 2,200 Great Adventure studies have been conducted helping hundreds of thousands of Catholics and other Christians learn Sacred Scripture in a practical way.

Jeff is founding host of EWTN's Life on the Rock and his conversion story is found in the best-selling book, My Life on the Rock:  A Rebel Returns to the Catholic Faith.  He is also the author of I'm Not Being Fed! Discovering the Food that Satisfies the Soul and he is co-editor of the Amazing Grace series of books, which feature stories concerning faith, hope, healing, inspiration and humor that strengthens the spirit and nourishes the soul.

Jeff received an MA in Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville.  He is currently the Director of the Archbishop Harry J. Flynn Catechetical Institute based in St. Paul, Minnesota.  Jeff resides with his wife, Emily, and their three daughters in Minnesota.

 Feb 19-20, 2010
Revelation in a Day Seminar
Saturday, 9am-4pm
Fri night talk: Conversion Story, 7:30pm-9:30pm
Location: St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church

Why Chastity?

1 Thessalonians 4:3 - For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from unchastity.

Our culture thinks that the Church speaks against unchastity because it thinks sex is dirty. But Pope John Paul II shows that this is wildly off the mark. The real reason the Church commends chastity is not that unchastity is dirty but that unchastity is dishonest.

For the sexual act is the highest incarnation of self-giving in human experience. By it, we say with our bodies, "I give you all of myself." To say that, apart from the sacrament of marriage is, bluntly, to lie. Unchastity is the lie of self-giving incarnated in the act of taking: taking the dignity and love of the other while exploiting them for the sake of a physical sensation.

As C.S. Lewis said, to say that an unchaste man "wants a woman" is false. He does not want a woman. He wants an experience for which the woman happens to be the necessary apparatus. And it matters not a whit if both parties are "consenting" to that mutual exploitation. Mutual lies do not make a truth. They merely complicate the betrayal.

Another betrayal must be mentioned. When two people are in love and the man and woman are committed to each other (but not married) what makes sex wrong?
Well, first and foremost, remember 1st Thessalonians! If a man and woman love each other it makes sense that they want the best for each other. . . above all, it makes sense to want to help each other to heaven. It is a betrayal to say you love someone and NOT want eternal life for that person.

In contrast to this culture of mutual betrayal and exploitation is the Church's sacrament of marriage, in which husband and wife participate in the awesome self-donation of Christ and his Bride to one another in mutual love.

This post is a kalaidascope of thought from Words of Encouragement, Mark Shea and Jeff Cavins with lots of input from me!

Great Adventure Bible Study

To view ALL Great Adventure entries go to: 
http://catholicnotebook.blogspot.com/search/label/Great%20Adventure

I have just started The Great Adventure Bible Study Course by Jeff Cavin.

What a great way to study the Bible! The chronological story & timeline is taking us from covenant to covenant. Bible stories I have heard all of my life fit like puzzle pieces into the bigger story of salvation history. Here is the Basic Lesson Overview.

LESSON #1 – AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BIBLE

LESSON #2 – THE EARLY WORLD
Beginning “in the beginning,” Lesson #2 discusses what happened in the Garden of Eden. Moving through the common questions about creation, evolution, and Adam and Eve, this Lesson teaches how to read the first few chapters of Genesis and shows why understanding the beginning of the story is so essential to understanding our own role in it.

LESSON #3 – THE PATRIARCHS
In Lesson #3, we climb the family tree, taking a look at the historical narrative in Genesis, beginning with Abraham. We find out who “begat” whom and what this means to people living thousands of years later. This lesson also focuses on specific characters and how each of them, lived out the invitation to surrender to God and trust Him completely.
The question that reoccurs is, “Do you thrust your God?” That there are consequences to disobeying God become crystal clear.

LESSON #4 – EGYPT AND THE EXODUS, JOSHUA AND JUDGES
This lesson gives a fresh perspective on classic figures like Moses, obscure characters like Rahab, misunderstood personalities like Samson, and little known people like Ruth.

You will take a deeper look at the seemingly “tough love” of God, the hardness of the hearts of His children, and the merciful opportunity God gives us to start over after we fall.

LESSON #5 – THE KINGDOM OF GOD: UNITED AND DIVIDED
In Lesson #5, we learn what happens when God gives us what we want rather than what we need. Study will focus on the highs and lows of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, learning the lesson the children of God should have learned along the way: that there is a God and that “we are not Him.” Particular attention is paid to the themes of power, popularity, and pain as we examine the lives of the kings of Israel and Judah.

LESSON #6 – THE EXILE, THE RETURN, AND THE REVOLT
The sixth lesson walks through the little known periods of the Exile (to Babylon), the return to Israel, the rise of the Greek Empire, and the Maccabean Revolt. We discover some of the most exciting figures and situations in the entire Bible!

LESSON #7 – JESUS AND THE GOSPELS: THE MESSIANIC FULFILLMENT


This lesson offers everything people have been waiting for (even if they don’t yet know it)—a chance to encounter Jesus Christ in a personal way. Here we walk through the story of Christ, learning about Mary, St. Joseph, and others that Jesus touched. We are taught to look through an entirely new lens, one that shows us in a profound way just how much God really loves us. Far from being “the same old story,” this lesson draws life from the Bible texts and gives fresh breath to a Gospel that some may have long ago written off.

LESSON #8– THE EARLY CHURCH AND THE CHURCH TODAY
This final lesson begins with Jesus’ resurrection and walks through a brief history of the early Church. Focusing on the lives of the apostles and St. Paul, we will learn how the story of salvation history is still being lived out in our own lives and how we can “enter into” the story ourselves.. We'll see that we are not merely an “extra” in a movie but are playing a central role. Also, we will learn the importance of making prayer a regular part of our lives.





Theological Statement concerning The Great Adventure’s Approach to Scripture
The primary purpose of The Great Adventure Bible Study Series is to provide a simple catechesis to Catholics on Scripture. Although its authors and instructors are well-steeped in Catholic biblical scholarship, The Great Adventure is catechetical in nature and does not treat Scripture in an academic manner. The goal of the program is modest—namely, to introduce Catholics to Scripture and provide them with a basic biblical literacy.

Given its catechetical and evangelistic nature, The Great Adventure focuses on the final form of the text, using what is often referred to as a canonical or narrative approach to Scripture. This approach is common throughout the Catholic tradition. Hugh of St. Victor, for example, in his Didascalicon, writes that the best way to teach Scripture is to start with the narrative books so that the beginning student can grasp the overall story of the Bible before diving into more complicated matters. The list of books that Hugh suggests is nearly identical to the books used in The Great Adventure Bible Timeline study (see The Didascalicon of Hugh of St. Victor, book six, chapter three.) In 1993, the Pontifical Biblical Commission, in its document The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church, observed that recent developments in biblical scholarship have emphasized canonical criticism, i.e., the final form of the text. This approach, both ancient and new, is characteristic of our method.

Although the catechetical nature of The Great Adventure commends the synchronic methods of biblical interpretation, we also fully embrace the diachronic methods that are indispensable to understanding the final form of the sacred text. In order to understand the intentions of the human authors, whom God inspired, one must be attentive to their historical circumstances, culture, and modes of writing (see Dei Verbum, no. 12). The text of Scripture must always be studied within its historical context. As such, The Great Adventure series always seeks to use history and its related fields of study to shed light on the biblical text. The authors of The Great Adventure therefore recognize and employ diverse methods to help discover both the human and divine aspects of Sacred Scripture.

Jeff Cavins developed The Great Adventure in 1984 when he realized that many Christians did not grasp “the big picture” of the Bible. Though people knew selected stories, they were not able to connect them into a full narrative. His answer was to identify the books of the Bible that tell the story from beginning to end. By reading just those 14 “narrative” books, a chronological story emerges. From this idea grew the immensely popular Bible Timeline program, that teaches the story in a way that is easy to remember, and helps people to continue reading Scripture on their own. Hundreds of thousands of people have learned to read the Bible through this system.

The Bible Timeline is Step One in a four-part foundational Bible study. Step Two, Adventures in Matthew: The King and His Kingdom, focuses on Jesus as the fulfillment of the promises of the Old Testament touching on Jesus’ establishment of the Church and the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Building on The Bible Timeline and Adventures in Matthew is Step Three, Adventures in Acts: Foundations of the Church and Spread of the Kingdom. By showing how Christ’s work continues through each of us in the Church today. Step 4, Adventures in Revelation completes the foundational series by demonstrating how the Kingdom established by Christ in the Church is intimately connected with the Kingdom of God in Heaven, especially through the celebration of the Mass.