Embracing Belonging

Weekend Bible Readings to spend some time with the Word.

This Week's Homiles: https://sjlibertyville.podbean.com/

Reflection Questions

1. How often do your conversations with other adults go below the surface level, and help you and the other person to become more and more the best version of yourselves? 

2. What do you think a church community should look like and act like when it's at its best? 

3. What do you feel your greatest contribution can be to making the church community even more vibrant and welcoming starting this week? Be as specific as you can.

4. What would your response be if you were asked by someone who doesn’t belong to St. Joseph Catholic Church: what would I be signing up for if I joined the parish?

*Quotes from Church Teaching

“God, Who has fatherly concern for everyone, has willed that all men should constitute one family and treat one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” 

-Pastoral Constitution on the Church In the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes), 24

“In Baptism we become members of the Body of Christ, sisters and brothers of our Redeemer, and children of God.”    

-Youth Catechism (YOUCAT), 200

“All men are called to the same end: God himself…Love of neighbor is inseparable from love for God.” 

-The Catechism, 1878

“…those whose life has been transformed enter a community which is itself a sign of transformation, a sign of newness of life: it is the Church, the visible sacrament of salvation.”

-Saint Pope Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, 23

*emphases added

Weekend Bible Readings to spend some time with the Word.

This Week's Homiles: https://sjlibertyville.podbean.com/

Reflection Questions

1. Describe how you handle conflict both with people you are close to and with people you don’t know well. Is there a difference?

2. The first tip Fr. Emanuel shares is to remember God’s mercy on us, and to then extend mercy to others who offend us or create conflict. How aware are you of the gift of God’s mercy in your life? 

3. What are 3 healthy rules for conflict resolution you would suggest for the Church community to handle conflict well (in a way that reflects Christlike love)?

4. How can we practically and concretely cultivate an atmosphere of open communication and mutual respect, ensuring that conflicts are opportunities for growth rather than division within our Catholic family?

*Quotes from Scripture and Church Teaching

“Merciful forgiveness- the mercy that we show to others and the mercy that we ourselves seek - is indivisible. If we ourselves are not merciful and do not forgive one another, God’s mercy will not reach our hearts.”  

-Youth Catechism (YOUCAT), 524

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” 
-Jesus Christ,  Matthew 5:9
 

“Forgiveness also bears witness that, in our world, love is stronger than sin.” 
-The Catechism, 2844
 

“Christ always gives his Church the gift of unity, but the Church must always pray and work to maintain, reinforce, and perfect the unity that Christ wills for her.”  

-The Catechism, 820

*emphases added

Weekend Bible Readings to spend some time with the Word.

This Week's Homiles: https://sjlibertyville.podbean.com/

Reflection Questions

1. Describe your relationship with the Holy Spirit.

2. The Youth Catechism states that the Holy Spirit calls people into the Church’s service and sends them the necessary gifts (YOUCAT 119). What would you ask the Holy Spirit for right now so you can better serve your parish community?

3. What would you ask the Holy Spirit to do for the parish community as a whole right now, at this moment?

4. How can our community better support and encourage each other in living out Christ’s commandments to be sure that we continue to know Him well?

*Quotes from Church Teaching
 

“The Spirit is also the energy which transforms the heart of the ecclesial community, so that it becomes a witness before the world to the love of the Father, who wishes to make humanity a single family in his Son.”   

-Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 19

“Love of neighbor, grounded in the love of God, is first and foremost a responsibility for each individual member of the faithful, but it is also a responsibility for the entire ecclesial community at every level…As a community, the Church must practice love.” 

-Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 20

“Those who have received the Good News and who have been gathered by it into the community of salvation can and must communicate and spread it.” 

-Saint Pope Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, 13

*emphases added

Weekend Bible Readings to spend some time with the Word.

This Week's Homiles: https://sjlibertyville.podbean.com/

Reflection Questions

1. Why do you think some people don’t consider it important to be part of a Church community?

2. What do people miss out on when they don’t connect and participate in the Church community?

3. What aspects of your personal experience of the Celebration of the Eucharist, the Lord's Supper, give you a stronger sense of connection with fellow Catholics? How?

4. From your own experience, what are two or three benefits you have received from being part of a parish community that you would share with someone else?

*Quotes From Church Teaching

“I cannot possess Christ just for myself; I can belong to him only in union with all those who have become, or who will become, his own. Communion draws me out of myself towards him, and thus also towards unity with all Christians. We become “one body”, completely joined in a single existence.” -Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 14

“God, Who has fatherly concern for everyone, has willed that all men should constitute one family and treat one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” -Pastoral Constitution on the Church In the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes), 24

“…man is by nature designed for fellowship…love is the central commandment for all Christians; through it we profoundly belong together and are fundamentally dependent on one another.”  -Youth Catechism (YOUCAT), 321

*emphases added

Weekend Bible Readings to spend some time with the Word.

This Week's Homiles: https://sjlibertyville.podbean.com/

Reflection Questions

This week, let’s dive into the three “R’s” we heard about in the video:

1. Rooted. Jesus tells us in the Gospel to remain in Him (John 15:4). What specifically do you do to stay connected to Christ? 

2. Reading. What is your level of familiarity with how Christ loved, and taught us to love and treat others, in the Gospels? 

3. Reaching. Think about one person you know who is not connected to the Church. What is the very next step you can take to connect with that person and/or extend an invitation to a parish event?

4. Which one do you need to grow in the most: Rooted, Reading, or Reaching?  Identify one and take a first step this week.

*Quotes from Scripture and Church Teaching
 

“The principal fruit of receiving the Eucharist in Holy Communion is an intimate union with Christ Jesus.”  -The Catechism, 1391

“If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples…” -Jesus Christ (John 8:31-32)

“Those who with God’s help have welcomed Christ’s call and freely responded to it are urged on by love of Christ to proclaim the Good News everywhere in the world.” -The Catechism, 3

*emphases added

Weekend Bible Readings to spend some time with the Word.

This Week's Homiles: https://sjlibertyville.podbean.com/

Reflection Questions

1. Think about your experience at a Sunday Mass at St. Joe’s. How many people do you interact with before and after Mass? 

2. What can you do on Sunday to help warm, welcoming, and Christlike love become more strongly the “water we swim in?” In other words, how can you contribute to creating an even stronger culture of welcome when you come to St. Joe’s for Mass? 

3. What might get in the way of people feeling seen, known, and loved in our parish community?

4. Jesus says people will know we are his followers by our love for one another (John 13:35). What would it really take for our Christ-like love to be increasingly known by the larger community of Libertyville? How would it impact our local community?

*Quotes from Scripture and Church Teaching

“[I was] a stranger and you welcomed me…”  -Jesus Christ, Matthew 25:35b

“Within the communion of the Church, the Holy Spirit “distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank” for the building up of the Church…”  -The Catechism, 951

“Christian unity is the business of all Christians, regardless of how young or old they are. Unity was one of Jesus’ most important concerns.”  -Youth Catechism (YOUCAT), 131

“I learn to look on this other person not simply with my eyes and my feelings, but from the perspective of Jesus Christ. His friend is my friend.”   -Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 18

*emphases added