Pope Pius XII Part 1 – Chapters 1, 2 and 3 Catholic Committee on Scouting

Pope Pius XII2 Before We Begin Welcome Camp Rules Location Instructions Ground Rules Schedule

Pope Pius XII3 In the Beginning Introduction of Moderators Introduction of Participants –Introduce yourself to the group –Tell them something about yourself Scouting Experience Previous Religious Awards Church Experience Other Activities and Achievements –Share what you have learned about each other.

Pope Pius XII4 In the Beginning GOAL To examine the individuals I have chosen to associate with, and explain the implications of these choices.

Pope Pius XII5 In the Beginning Make a list of all the clubs and organizations to which you belong in the space provided. –School (Debate Club, Math Club, …) –Sports (Basketball, Soccer, …) –Scouts (Troop, Crew, OA …) –Church (Youth Group, Server, …) –Other (Band, YMCA, …)

Pope Pius XII6 In the Beginning Pick 2 or 3 of these groups and share about each with your group. –What are your responsibilities as a member? To the organization To the group To yourself personally –What impact has membership had on you? –How is membership granted?

Pope Pius XII7 In the Beginning All of you belong to the BSA either as a Boy Scout or a Venturer. –Why did you choose to belong? –How was your membership granted? As a group discuss –What are your responsibilities? –What effect does your membership have on you, the unit, and society?

Pope Pius XII8 In the Beginning In addition to formal groups, you may have peer groups or friends. –How do you understand the term “peer group”? –What peer groups do you belong to? –Why did you decide to join each group, or did you decide?

Pope Pius XII9 In the Beginning Peer groups or friends Discuss within your group –What are the responsibilities of membership to the person, group, and society? –What effect does membership have on the person, group, and society?

Pope Pius XII10 In the Beginning Various groups & organizations require different levels of mutual respect, trust, and friendship. In our exploration of the aspects of membership, we have examined a variety of impacts on our lives.

Pope Pius XII11 In the Beginning Discuss –To what degree do the various levels of respect and friendship affect the organizations, groups, and friends that you associate with? –How these levels affect the function of the group, your responsibilities to group, and the affect of the groups in your life.

Pope Pius XII12 In the Beginning Everyone here is a Catholic. As Catholics we have different degrees of involvement and commitment to the faith. –Do you feel like a member of the Catholic Church? Of your parish? Why or why not – Discuss –Have you ever made a decision to be a member of the Church? Where? Why?

Pope Pius XII13 In the Beginning Catholic…- continued discussion –How is membership in the Church granted? In the Parish? Share –What is expected of a member in the Church? –How do you participate as a member?

Pope Pius XII14 In the Beginning Catholic…- continued discussion –What benefits does membership in the Church have to the person, he church community and society? –How does membership affect your daily life as a person, the church community, and society?

Pope Pius XII15 In the Beginning Catholic…- continued discussion –What are your concerns about the Church? –Do mutual respect, trust, and friendship affect your membership in the Church? How?

Pope Pius XII16 In the Beginning Jot down what you have discovered or learned in this chapter, if you feel it would helpful for future reference in the program or Board of Review. END OF CHAPTER 1

Pope Pius XII17 God and You GOAL To explore what it means to be called by God through the Sacraments or Initiation, and how these calls continue in and affect my life.

Pope Pius XII18 God and You What image flashes through your mind when you hear the term “You have a call?”

Pope Pius XII19 God and You Communication is the exchange of thoughts, ideas, feelings, and information. As human beings we have at our disposal various methods of Communication. They include, electronic, visual, oral, and physical methods

Pope Pius XII20 God and You Discuss –The varying forms of communication that you use with others? How and for what purpose? –The various forms of communication used by our society to communicate to/with you. –The various forms of communication used by the Church to communicate to/with you.

Pope Pius XII21 God and You Forceful and obvious methods of communication Subtle methods of communication –Body language –Eye contact God uses both forms to communicate with us. The challenge is to recognize His communication or the call.

Pope Pius XII22 God and You In the OT Abraham’s God of Power and Might, the Creator, was viewed as a jealous and vengeful God. He protected and punished. As one progresses through the OT the view of God expands from harsh to the more gentle God found in Isaiah. Discuss this concept. Identify 5 ways God communicated with His people.

Pope Pius XII23 God and You With the birth of Christ, NT reveals God as gentle, loving, and forgiving Father. Jesus becomes our brother and sacrificial victim. “No greater love has a man to give his life for another.” (John 15:13) Discuss –5 ways God communicates in the NT. –Does God communicate with His people today? If so, how?

Pope Pius XII24 God and You Today many hold God responsible for all our problems (floods, illness, terrorism, accidents) We must be cautious as we recognize God’s action and call within events of our life and the world. He has the power and ability to communicate in dramatic ways.

Pope Pius XII25 God and You Many times events are outside the normal. We often disregard or, in ignorance, set into motion events that create these problems. Are these things the work of God or are we simply harvesting the seeds we have sown?

Pope Pius XII26 God and You God communicates today just as he did in the OT and NT. –Signs and wonders –Inner voice or feelings –Other people –His Church –Signs such as a new born, volcano, sunrise/sunset, babbling brook, etc.

Pope Pius XII27 God and You As humans we struggle to hear this voice of God in our hearts. Take some time to reflect on how you have experienced God’s communication in your lifetime. Share this reflection.

Pope Pius XII28 God and You God speaks to us –Bible Reading –Homilies –Teachers –Searching the Internet –Music, Books, Movies –Quiet Meditation

Pope Pius XII29 God and You Effective communication requires –Transmission of information –Reception of information As communicators we need to be –Good listeners –Good talkers As readers we need to think –What does the author mean? –What does it mean to me?

Pope Pius XII30 God and You When reading the Bible we need to ask ourselves 1.What is God saying in this passage? 2.What is He saying to me personally, today? 3.What am I going to do about it?

Pope Pius XII31 God and you Jesus is both God and human. When He made major decisions he first wanted to talk to His Father by going off alone or to a deserted place Read –Matthew 14:22-24; 26: –Luke 6:12-16, 9:18, 4:1-13

Pope Pius XII32 God and You Just like Jesus we need to create our own place to communicate with God. “A place alone, free from distraction where we can reflect on ourselves and communicate with God.” –Deserted Place, Sacred Space, a Garden

Pope Pius XII33 God and You Discuss –Where is your personal desert, sacred space, etc.? –When/why do you go there? –What kind of experience have you had with your desert, sacred space, etc. –Is there a real need for quiet time?

Pope Pius XII34 God and You Most of us were baptized as infants. Our first contact with God was through the Sacraments of Initiation –Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist

Pope Pius XII35 God and You Baptism –Began a formal relationship with God –Anointing with oil as part of Baptism and Confirmation in which we are called to live as Christians in the world. Discuss –What does anointing mean to you?

Pope Pius XII36 God and You Oils have been used as a means of anointing in many civilizations. Find three different ways that ordinary oil was used by ancient civilizations. Share. Discuss what the main uses of oil were.

Pope Pius XII37 God and You These uses are passed down to us today: What are the new types of oil and uses for oil in the world today? Of the ancient uses of oil, which have survived to this day?

Pope Pius XII38 God and You Oil of Chrism - Read –Exodus 29:4-7 –Leviticus 8:1-12 –1 Samuel 9:16 –1 Samuel 10-1 –1 Samuel 16-1 –1 Samuel –1 Kings 1:39 –1 Kings 19:15-16

Pope Pius XII39 God and You Oil of Chrism – Discuss the common thread of these passages. the specific functions, offices or calls involved in the OT scripture uses of anointing.

Pope Pius XII40 God and You Christ is Greek for the Hebrew word Messiah which means Anointed. Christ = Messiah = Anointed –In Israel those consecrated were anointed. Kings, Priests, Prophets –Read three passages from the Catechism of the Catholic Church on Page 10 of your PPXII workbook.

Pope Pius XII41 God and You Discuss –How is the universal priesthood of the faithful expressed in the personal lives of people you know. –How is it expressed in the working or professional people you know? –How is it expressed in the church lives of people you know?

Pope Pius XII42 God and You We experience and carry out God’s universal call to us in three aspects of our lives: –Our life commitments –Our occupation –Our ministry We will examine these aspects in our next three chapters.

Pope Pius XII43 God and You Jot down what you have God communicating to you. We have talked about God’s Call to us to be Christians and live out our universal call as priest, prophet, and king. What is the message you receive from God? Take time to reflect. END OF CHAPTER 2

Pope Pius XII44 Life Choices GOAL To examine and discover various “life states” to which God may be calling me.

Pope Pius XII45 Life Choices Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous Idol Worship The Beautiful People The Glamorous Lifestyle TV, Movies, Magazines

Pope Pius XII46 Life Choices Select someone, perhaps “rich and famous,” in whose shoes you would like to live. Share whom you selected and why. What is it about this person’s lifestyle that you find attractive? What are you willing to do to attain this lifestyle? Discuss.

Pope Pius XII47 Life Choices Discuss with your group any drawbacks in the person’s lifestyle. The way people live their personal lives is frequently called a “lifestyle” Defined as a manner or method of living life that has been established by authority, custom or consent. These manners or methods become models and examples for us to live by.

Pope Pius XII48 Life Choices Commitment: a major component of human existence that interfaces with our lifestyle. We make many commitments Commitment defined as an agreement or pledge that is made between you and another individual or group.

Pope Pius XII49 Life Choices Discuss We make commitments every day. What are some you have made? What do they entail? Some commitments that we make dramatically shape our lives into specific lifestyles.

Pope Pius XII50 Life Choices Discuss What kind of commitments has the “Rich & Famous” individual you selected made? Of these lifestyle commitments, which can be considered responses to “Calls from God”? What characteristics make a lifestyle a “Call from God”?

Pope Pius XII51 Life Choices All of us make commitments to relationships with others as social beings. Make a list of your friends. Identify your best friend.

Pope Pius XII52 Life Choices Discuss Elements that are integral to the development of relationships money, affirmation, prestige, friendship, etc. What is it about your relationship with your best friend that moves that relationship above all of your other friends?

Pope Pius XII53 Life Choices The relationship we call friendship is the intertwining of five separate components Camaraderie Trust Love Respect Affirmation The level of intertwining is proportional to the degree of intensity or commitment within each component.

Pope Pius XII54 Life Choices If any one component is missing, we can no longer have an honest relationship. While each component is separate and distinct, all must work together for true friendship. They feed, nurture, and develop upon one another.

Pope Pius XII55 Life Choices We have other relationships called acquaintances. Discuss: How does the relationship of acquaintances differ from the relationship of friends.

Pope Pius XII56 Life Choices In the secular world we use Lifestyle to define relationships. In the context of God and the Church we use “life states”. There are three types of commitment an individual is called to in the Church Vowed Promised Committed

Pope Pius XII57 Life Choices Discuss In my current life state and/or commitment what God is calling me to, and if not, what is it?

Pope Pius XII58 Life Choices Discuss What levels of commitment are needed in dating, girl/boy friend, going steady, engagement, and marriage? How are these commitments expressed both privately and socially?

Pope Pius XII59 Life Choices Discuss Which of the five components of relationships is involved in Dating Girl/Boy Friend Going Steady Engagement Marriage What is the degree of intensity in each state? How are these commitments expressed both privately and socially?

Pope Pius XII60 Life Choices Our attitudes toward relationships and commitments are key to discerning what life states God is calling us to. Examine Table 1 on page 12. Discuss

NEXT SESSION: Panel of people who have made these commitments. Sample questions on page 13. Pope Pius XII61

Pope Pius XII62 Next Session Sunday, November 30 –9 am to 3 pm –St. Rose of Lima Church Simi Valley