Here is a sample essay. This is the form you should use. The only difference is that I did not skip line; you should skip another half line.
Matthew Sciuto
Th 100
September 30, 2001
in Chapter One and Two of Our Text.
In chapter one and two of Understanding Catholic Christianity, Thomas Zanzig tells us about adolescence and the journey toward faith. He speaks of worldviews and societal influences, God�s revelation, and this as invitation and our response as we develop our identity and faith. The life of Ignatius Loyola illustrates these well.
Zanzig reminds us that we all have a worldview, that this worldview is the result of so many experiences and that it is a big part of our identity. Ignatius early worldview was greatly formed by his society. Where consumerism, individualism, sexual permissiveness, popularity and technological fixes dominate our days, for Ignatius the dominant societal values were militarism, fame, and nationalism. His early life centered on the pursuit of military glory. After his conversion began we can see how his worldview changes. After Pamplona, it was God�s word that became the primary influence in Ignatius� worldview. This changing worldview continues throughout his life and his experiences lead to a greater knowledge and understanding of God and his call.
Zanzig tells us that God reveals himself through others, through personal experiences and through sacred writings. It was during his stay in recovery that Ignatius had so much time to be alone and think. This personal experience led to a lot of reflection, but it was a reflection spurred on by two sacred writings: The Lives of the Saints and The Life of Jesus. As he read these, he was exposed to a new worldview, a new vision of life and battle. When he reflected upon this, he felt a sense of peace and happiness (which he called �consolation�). When he thought about his prior aspirations of military glory he felt empty and sad (�desolation�).
Faced with this new vision, Zanzig says that a response is demanded and that response has two key elements: does he believe in God and, if so, how will he live his life in response to that answer. Ignatius responds with making God the center of his existence. His entire life become a quest to better know and follow God. He spends much time alone, prays, fasts, travels, serves, goes to school, begins a community, becomes a priest, later forms a religious order, all in his journey to come to better know and love God. He takes the God question seriously and responds with his whole life.
Ignatius was a person whose early life mirrors many of our lives as described by Thomas Zanzig. By seeing the challenges, the mistakes, the attempts of Ignatius to satisfy his heart�s longings, we might find some guidance in how each of us can satisfy the longing of our heart.