Catholic Kermit

MASS – (Fr Alvarez) — Today’s Gospel is the Centurion who asks Jesus to order a healing (“Lord I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the words and I shall be healed.”  — from the Mass).  As in the military, orders are important and executed.  Rank is also important.  Who do we take our directions from?  the Rector?  our Spiritual Director?  a priest?  a stranger?  a friend?  or a person who says what we’ll “like” to hear?  — it’s all part of discernment.

MODERN PHILOSOPHY – (Fr Santos) — we reached Decartes’ conclusion that “I think, therefore I am” but ended the class with the question, “What is wrong with the statement? what’s missing?”  — I don’t know … a preterite conjugation? (I need to do some Spanish for tomorrow).

ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY – (Fr Santos) — we finished Plato’s “The Apology” where Socrates is defending himself on trial before 500 politicians sentence him to death.  We concluded some points on the philosophy on a “way of life” concerning the “fear of death:”

1.  one should not fear death, but remain “at my station”
2.  one should not fear death, but unrighteousness
3.  one should not build himself up by ruining others

As we finished, I began wondering if the first martyr St Stephen read “The Apology” before standing before the Sanhedrin and then getting stoned (Acts 6).  Socrates was a man of conviction who was convicted.  — “To a good man, nothing bad can happen in life or death!”

ARTS & IDEAS – (Fr Vallee) — some more on Socrates & Plato.

MINISTERIAL METHODS – (Fr Michael) — expanded on the “Significance of Baptism in the Early Church” using several passages in 1Peter 1&2, the 3-fold mission of Christ – Priest – Prophet – King, the Church of Communion with 1Cor 12:12-31 & Eph 4:7-13, and finally a passage for Lectio Divina in regards to the Ministerial Priesthood with Heb 5:1-6.

VIRTUS TRAINING — tonight, all the new guys were trained in the 3 hour course on Preventing Child Sexual Abuse that is required for anyone working with children in the Archdiocese of Miami.