Spiritual Life Seminar.
This Sunday, May 1st, at 11:30 AM, in the
Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Hall, we begin a new seminar on the Spiritual Life, which will continue for 11 weeks, through July 10th.
“Spiritual Life” refers to the entire
Christian experience of spirituality – how to grow in relationship with our
Lord, to become more like Christ and walk with him closely, daily. It includes
the banality and difficulty of dealing with temptations, and the glory and
uncertainty of spiritual experience. The spiritual life grounds life in the
everyday practice of the Christian virtues, actively seeking conversion and
growth in charity (love). The seminar will be an introductory overview of the
whole path.
His book is recommended by his own bishop,
Alfred C. Hughes, Archbishop Emeritus of New Orleans, who writes: “Pitre offers
deep and inspiring insights into the realities of the spirituality of Christian
discipleship. Anyone, lay or ordained, seeking to live Christian spirituality
more fully will profit from a prayerful reading of this book.”
We use the book for background reading and
as a springboard for discussion. The main points are highlighted in the
seminar, and additional complementary materials are also added. The seminar
includes much sharing and discussion. Anyone can participate whether they’ve
read the book or not.
This well-written and easy-to-read book
gives an overview of the spiritual life – stages, struggles, helps, and
directions for the journey. Based on Scripture and teachings of the saints, the
book gives what other technical and specialized books would call spiritual
theology, ascetical theology, mystical theology, and/or moral theology. But the
good thing about this book is that it is written in ordinary language that is
easy to read, easy to understand. Any Christian can relate to what Dr. Petre
presents.
It’s very hard to see where we are going
in the world if we don’t have a map. That is even more true in the spiritual life!
A map is a great help! Knowing where the traps and pitfalls are can save us
years of misery! Blind GPS does not always give the best directions – better to
know where you are supposed to be going before you drive off the cliff! This
book, and our seminar discussions, will provide a map for us, an overview of
what the Christian spiritual life is all about.
Dibby Green, MA in Theology from the
Augustine Institute, will lead the discussions, raise questions, give pointers
from the chapter, and augment with additional resources. Contact Dibby if you
have questions.
Our first session on Sunday May 1st will
review the first three short chapters on Prayer: Vocal Prayer, Meditation, and
Contemplation. What are these different general categories of prayer? How is
Christian meditation (or mental prayer) profoundly different from the various
Eastern practices of meditation? We’ll also look at the Hebrew background of
prayer, and what Christian prayer is. We’ll briefly introduce praying with the
Scriptures (with more later on in the seminar.) This basic introduction on
prayer will undergird the entire 11-week Spiritual Life Seminar.
All are welcome, Catholic and other Christians. Again, reading the book is optional. The seminar is an hour and a half, and then stay for refreshments and fellowship.