Works in Progress

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I am extremely passionate about catechesis.  Any time I have a chance to teach a subject to a group of people, I get as giddy as a child on Christmas morning!  Whether I teach Church History, morality, or Liturgy; whether I teach adults or teenagers, I am engaged in an important and fulfilling apostolate.  Further, and even better, I am cultivating my vocation through one of the charisms that God has given to me.

Since I came into the Catholic Church nearly five years ago, I have worked in very specific ways to cultivate both the vocation and charism.  The fruit of that work resides in the courses and retreats that I have developed in recent years.  Such courses, and one retreat, are listed below.

  • "Building the City of God: A Survey of the History of the Catholic Church"
  • "The Second Vatican Council"
  • "The History of the Catholic Church in America"
  • "The Mass in Scripture and Scripture in the Mass"
  • "We Have Been Called: A Retreat on Vocations"

Currently, I am working on one retreat and one course.  Both with be finished by Easter.

  • A three-part retreat on virtue (as of yet, there is not a title for it)
    • Begins with a few basic questions: what is virtue; what place does it have in our culture; have we lost our understanding and application of virtue; how do we return to virtuous ways?
    • Identifies foundational, human virtues and points toward their fulfillment in the supernatural virtues.
    • Prepares retreatants for "virtuous combat" in the world by identifying the Beatitudes as the primary defense mechanisms against the capital sins.
    • Many ideas come from Back to Virtue by Peter Kreeft
  • "The History and Message of St. Paul"
    • Uses Acts of the Apostles as an historical outline of St. Paul's missionary work.
    • Identifies the geography and cultural milieu in which St. Paul evangelized.
    • Takes time to examine the audience and message of each of the letters he wrote during three missionary journeys and Roman captivity.
    • Gives learners an historical AND theological perspective on St. Paul that many Christians never receive.
I have been blessed to present each of these (portions of the incomplete ones) at the parish and diocesan level.  I would be further blessed to be able to bring these courses to a wider audience.  If any of my readers are aware of any opportunities to teach these courses or bring these retreats to other parishes or dioceses, I hope that they will contact me soon.  I continue to pray that God will allow me spread His glory through catechesis and spiritual edification; but most of all, I pray that I will always do His will by continuing to focus on the tasks in front of me.

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