Revised January 5, 2000

MAJOR SKILLS AND MAJOR IDEAS
OF THE FIRST SEMESTER

These are skills you should have acquired during the first semester. You should not only be able to explain how to do these; you should be able to do these!

* List and describe the suggested practice of "Reading Scripture on Three Levels."
Make sure you include Mike Carotta's How to Apply the Bible to Your Life.
* Give and describe Fr. Tetlow's method of contemplation from the "Three Manners of Praying With Scripture"
* Describe five different forms of prayer.
* Be able to really get an assigned reading. Be able to describe the recommended five step process of really getting an assigned reading.
* Know how to use a spiral notebook for organization and assignments.

People you have studied a bit in this class:
John Paul II, Deion Sanders, Craig Kielberger, Ignatius Loyola, Ruby Bridges

These are passages and idea you have been asked to think about this semester. You should not only know the content of each, you should have taken time to reflect upon these and try to apply their truths to your life here and now.
The parable of the Talents (Matthew 25)
St. Paul's image of all of us being "one body, many members." (I Cor 12, 12-26)
Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15, 11-32)

Prayer services
Fr. Knapp: St. Paul's Pleas for unity and humility (Philipians 2, 1-3)
Mr. Nicollerat: Four suggestions about how to get your year off to a good start
Ms. Whealon: King to poor man, "What have you for me?"
Mr. Sheahan's "Three questions for mid-semester"
Fr. Harrison's prayer service "Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies..."
An historical illustration of the Pashcal Mystery.

These questions reflect major ideas of the first semester.
You should be able to answer each well.
* What is the ultimate goal of Jesuit education?
* According to the Catholic vision, why are you here on earth?
* According to the Christian Tradition, in what ways are human beings made in the image of God?
Key Ignatian ideals: metanoia, contemplation, discernment, magis, indifference, First Principle and Foundation.
* How is �loneliness� an unavoidable, and positive, existential reality? Remember the story of Elijah on the mountain looking for God. (I Kings 19, 11-13) How is �alone-ness� necessary for a good life?
* Name the three crucial tasks of adolescence.
* List and explain what Zanzig calls the dominant values of our culture. Why is it important for us to be aware of these? How can religion help us deal with these pressures?

* Give three key ideas from the text illustrated in the video �Ad-Libbing It.�
* How did �A Time for Justice,� the video about the Civil Rights Movement, illustrate key ideas of the text, e.g. cultural values, sterotypes, effective criticism.
* How does the life of Ignatius illustrate key ideas from the text, e.g. puberty, cultural values, idenfication, reflection, metanoia, faith, worldview, revelation.
* What is "the problem of evil?"
* What is an honest Christian response to the question �why do good people suffer?�
* How does a Christian respond to tragedy?
* How did Jesus respond to his fears?

* How Does God reveal Himself to man? Remember Mr. Geger's handout �Three Ways Man Can Come to Know God.�
* Give a simple explanation of the Trinity.
* What is the Christian belief expressed in the doctrine of the Incarnation?
* What is the understanding about humanness and creation that comes from the doctrine of the Incarnation?
* What powerful message about God did Jesus preach and live by his example?
* How was Jesus' idea of the Kingdom different from what people expected the Kingdom to be?
* What is the meaning of the Paschal Mystery?
* Jesus revealed what will happen at the end of time in the parable of the Last Judgment. The King will come and separate them as sheep and goats. What does Jesus say is the criteria by which the good will be separated from the bad?
* What did Jesus reply when asked "what is the greatest commandment?"
* Describe the Catholic understanding of how reason and faith are both needed to know God, the meaning of life and how to live.
* With what kind of love does God love each person? * What Christian belief is the foundation of trust and hope in God?

* What is the five-step process of development that most of the books of the Bible went through? Describe each step in a sentence or two. Reread Mr. Geger's "Stages in the Formation of the Gospels". This process in the formation of the Gospels is very similar to the stages in the formation of Hebrew Scriptures. This handout will help you review the stages and remind you of important information you need be aware of in reading scripture.
* List the four major sections of the Christian Testament.
* List the four major sections in Hebrew Scriptures
* What is the Christian approach to finding the religious truth in any given biblical passage? Offer an example from the versions of the nativity given by Matthew and Luke.
* What is meant by a sense of the sacramental?
* What does it mean to say that Jesus is the fundamental sacrament of God?
* What does it mean to say that the church is the sacrament of Jesus?
* In the liturgical year, what do Christians walk through?
* In what ways does the liturgical year transform us, if we are open to it?
* What is the heart of the liturgical year, and why is it considered the heart?

* What is the Catholic understanding of a "Scriptures and Tradition" approach to knowing God's truth?
* What is the Church's Magisterium? Why is it needed?
* What is the meaning of church Tradition? * Give three important facts about The Catechism of the Catholic Church. What is the importance of this for Catholics? When was it issued? List the four major sections of the Catechism.

* What is necessary for any relationship?
* Describe how a genuine spirituality can affect a person's whole life.
* What is prayer? How is it related to spirituality?

* Who is a the center of Christian spirituality? What does this person teach you about how to grow spiritually?
* What act of worship is the core of Catholic life?
Give the why, the what, the how and the who of Christian morality.
* Give brief summaries of the three themes the Catholic church has emphasized in its moral teaching in recent decades.
* What does the Catholic church teach about following one's conscience and responsibility for moral actions?
* Catholic teaching speaks of the "the four last things" List these.

Personal, reflective questions
* What does it really mean to be a Christian? What does it really mean to be a Catholic?
* Are you choosing to be a good Christian? If so, how are you trying to live this. If not, why are you ignoring/rejecting Jesus?
* Why is going to Mass, celebrating Eucharist, so important for a person who is trying to follow Jesus? Give a good, rational, practical explanation, filled with ideas you have learned from this course.
* What does your relationship with God need in order to grow and survive?
* If you are pursuing your relationship with God as a Catholic Christian, who is at the center of Christian spirituality? What does this person teach us about how to grow spiritually?

Vocabulary worldview | problem of evil | effective criticism | salvation history | revelation | contemplation | meditation | consideration | consumerism | sexual permissiveness | immediate gratification | popularity | technological fixes | individualism | metanoia | Incarnation | parable | synagogue | doctrine | dogma |
grace | Kingdom of God | seder | Paschal Mystery | epistle | Communion of Saints | Hebrew Scriptures | Pentateuch | Gospel | canon | oral tradition | faith | inspiration | grace | �saving moments� | symbol | ritual | sacrament | Magisterium | Tradition | Trinity | creed | Liturgy of the Word | Liturgy of the Eucharist | Ascension | Pentecost | Immaculate Conception | Church | People of God | Temple of the Holy Spirit | Body of Christ | spirituality | morality | Christian morality | prayer | conscience | sin: original, mortal, venial | free will | virtues and vices | the theological virtues: faith, hope and charity | the cardinal virtues: prudence, fortitude, temperance, justice
A message to you from John Paul II      Do not be afraid! Do not be afraid of your own youth and of those deep desires you have for happiness, for truth, for beauty and for lasting love! Sometimes people say that society is afraid of these powerful desires of young people and that you yourselves are afraid of them. Do not be afraid! When I look at you, the young people, I feel great gratitude and hope. The future far into the next century lies in your hands. The future of peace lies in your hearts...
     For it is true to say that life is a pilgrimage of discovery: the discovery of who you are, the discovery of the values that shape your lives, the discovery of the peoples and nations to which all are bound in solidarity. While the voyage of discovery most evident in the time of youth, it is a voyage that never ends...
     The world need young people who have drunk deeply at the sources of truth... You must form in yourselves a deep sense of responsibility...
     So do not be afraid to commit your lives to peace and justice, for you know that the Lord is with you in all your ways.
You are my hope...�


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