2. BUILDING THE CITY OF GOD Holiness in the Wilderness, Leadership in the World

3. Identify two examples of how young people today try to reject a complacent or “soft” way of life. Are either of these destructive? Can either of these ways lead to a new appreciation of oneself? Why or why not?

4. Monasticism  Grow in holiness  New kind of Christian witness  Retreat from everyday life  Find truth and meaning in the silence  Struggled with questions  Who am I?  What do I truly believe?  Where is my God?  What are my demons?  How do I found out what my faith is really made of?

5. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU HEAR THE WORD MONASTICISM

6. Monasticism  Monos: “alone” or “single”  Initially hermits  Then communities under a set of rules or guidelines.  Monasticism became one of the greatest contributors to church and society

7. Why monasticism?  Get away from corruption  Avoid persecution or unjust taxes  Disgust  Believed they could hear the voice of God  Christians a new way to authentically live their faith.

8. New form of martyrdom  Ascetical life-slow form of martyrdom  Total renunciation of the world subduing one’s being through poverty, chastity and obedience

9. Contemplation  Silently listening to the voice of God within them  Led them to care for and love their neighbors, the poor, and the sick  Love for others would later be written into the rules of monastic communities

10. Where did these ideas come from?  Selective reading of the Gospel-  Pray always  Give up everything  Deny ourselves and take up our crosses  Die with Christ

11. Who were some famous monastic?

12. Antony of Egypt  One of the first Christian monks  He felt the desire to follow Jesus’ words, “sell all you own and follow me.”  He taught his followers to care for the poor.

13. Basil  Realized that monks should not be left to themselves to determine the way to holiness.  Teacher  Became a monk, many followed

14. First Rule  Own almost nothing  Eat only what is necessary  Obey the abbot of the monastery  Main work was to seek God in their heart  Help the poor and the sick

15. Jerome  He grew up as a pagan  Learned Latin and Greek  18- baptized Christian  Hermit  Studied  Pope’s secretary

16. Latin Vulgate  Latin was language of the people  Pope encouraged Jerome to translate the Bible into Latin.  Though it took 15 years, he finished the Latin Vulgate  Allowed the word of God to spread to all people

17. DESCRIBE A TIME WHEN YOU NEEDED SOME SOLITUDE TO THINK THROUGH A PROBLEM. DID YOU ACTUALLY TAKE QUIET TIME AND FIND SPACE TO WORK ON YOUR PROBLEM?

18. Ambrose  Administrator: governor and lawyer  Scholar: life long study of Christianity  Teacher: helped others understand relationship to Jesus and the Church  Pastor: he sold the gold and jewels given to his church so he could ransom people held captive by barbarians.

19. Electing Bishops  What are reasons people vote for a particular candidate?  Are they always the “right” reasons?  Based on experience with voting and elections, would election of bishops be a wise alternative in the Catholic Church?

20. Civil Disobedience  Emperor demanded that the church be turned over to Arians  Ambrose refused  “The emperor is in the the Church,not over the Church; and far from refusing the Church’s help, a good emperor seeks it.”  Would not say mass in the emperors church until he did public penance

21. Young Augustine  Born in Africa  At 16 led his class  He drank, gambled, and hired prostitutes.  At 18 finished studying  Mistress and had a son with her.  Manichaean: believing that one god created good and the other created evil

22. Augustine’s Parents  Father: Roman official  Mother  Monica  Christian  Faithful  Prayed constantly for her son

23.  Moves to Rome  Then to Milan  Plato  Ambrose Began attending mass with Monica to hear Ambrose preach  Slowly began to reform his life

24. “Our hearts are restless…  …until they rest in You (God).”  Reads New Testament  Turns passions to serving God  Became priest  Elected bishop of Hippo  His weaknesses made him more pastoral

25. Donatists  Donatus: bishop of Carthage in North Africa  Believed that denial of Christian faith could never be forgiven  The validity of the sacraments depended on worthiness of priest or bishop

26. Augustine says:  Validity comes from God  God works through weak and imperfect people  If we expect perfection we will be constantly disappointed  Leaves out room for God’s grace  Helped clarify teaching on sacraments

27. Pelagians  Pelagius: monk and preacher  Person can get to heaven without grace  Salvation based on works  Denied the need for God’s grace

28.  What is tempting about the Pelagian understanding of salvation?  If we have been taught that we are saved by Jesus and that faith in Jesus’ saving power is the requirement for salvation, why might we decide not to depend on God’s grace?

29. Augustine says:  Without God’s grace humans are powerless to overcome original sin  Without God’s grace there would be even more sin and injustice in the world

30. “The City of God”  410 CE Rome falls  People blame Christians and Christians wonder why God could allow this to happen  Augustine writes City of God and City of Man  City of God is eternal  Christians find hope in the idea they are building something good

31.  Where do we see the City of God and the City of Man in our society?  Make a chart on newsprint.

32. Pope  Rome falls to Goths in 410  Rising leadership from the bishop of Rome

33. Leo the Great  Leo I  440  Intelligent, tough and courageous  Mediator and leader  Bishop of Rome was expected to be a statesman, spiritual leader, administrator, scholar and saint

34. Pontifex Maximus  Highest bridge maker  Bridge between gods and humans in Roman religion  Supreme Pontiff  Pope comes from Greek pappas meaning father  Leo was a spiritual father but also a powerful state official

35. Pope as Peacemaker  Leo met with Attila the Hun to negotiate peace by request of the emperor  The Huns looted and burned Italian cities  Pope Leo spoke to him and saved Rome  Also negotiated with the Vandals  Pope was key figure in governmental matters of the Western empire

36. The Council of Chalcedon  Challenge to the Incarnation  Stated that Jesus has two natures  Real human  Real Son of God

37. West vs. East  At Chalcedon bishops decided that the bishop of Constantinople was 2nd to bishop of Rome  Leo objected because he felt it was motivated by politics  Eventually this leads to a complete break between the churches of the East and the West

38. Conclusions  Monsaticism begins  “right heart” and “right thinking”  Roman Empire under barbarian attack  Pope Leo steps up as leader  Doctrinal challenges  Tensions between east and west

39. Implications  We, like the early monks and nuns retreat to the desert from our society  Augustine’s teachings on grace and original sin  Pope Leo’s leadership for peace sets the tone for the role future pope’s take in politics and moral values

40.  List the topics that came into your mind  Put an x by those you wanted to think about  Put a check mark by those you did not want to think about  Did you come to a point in your meditation which you wished you could turn on the radio, TV, computer etc.  What did you learn about yourself or your relationship with God in the silence?  Will you continue this practice in you life? Why or why not?  Explain how spending time in the “desert” helps you to better understand some of the early monastics?