November Meeting

Hi All,

Join us for our discussion, "East Meets West." We have invited Fr. Mark Mancuso from St. Elizabeth the New Martyr Russian Orthodox Church to come and speak about Eastern Orthodoxy. This will be an open discussion exploring some of the similarities and differences between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches.

We will meet on Wednesday, November 11 in the back room at DeLaney's in Five Points from 6 to 8 PM.

Christ's Peace,

Zach

October Meeting

Hi All,

Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, October 7 at 6 PM at DeLaney's in Five Points. Please note the change of venue for our meeting! We will be in the back room at DeLaney's.

For this month we will discuss the ordained priesthood and how different priests have lived this out. We have tried to invite a group of priests, of different ages and from different backgrounds, to discuss their experience of being a priest. This should be a good meeting and a chance to talk with priest more candidly than perhaps you have in the past.

Come and join us!

Christ's Peace,

Zach

Vocation of Marriage

Hi All!

Our September meeting will be next Wednesday, September 16 at 6 PM at Jake's Bar and Grille in Five Points.

This month we will discuss a topic that is very pertinent to many in our group: the Sacrament of Marriage.

We have invited several couples to discuss the meaning of marriage as a vocation and it's sacramental implications for all of us. This will of course be light-hearted, but information filled meeting and should be beneficial to us all; whether married or single.

Come prepared to discuss!

Christ's Peace,

Zach

Holy Mary, Mother of God

Hi All,

Our next meeting will be all about Mary!

Mary receives a great deal of, often misguided, criticism, but what is the basis of such insidious remarks by those who feel that we as Catholics place to great an emphasis on Mary? Why is Mary important when discussing Christ, salvation or grace?

So, come join us for a lively discussion on August 12 at 6 PM at Jake's Bar and Grill on Devine St.

Christ's Peace,

Zach

Apologetics Follow-Up

Hi All,

Here are the much anticipated links as mentioned at the ColaYACs meeting last night. This list is not exhaustive and can certainly be expanded!

One caveat, the majority of links will be to Amazon for the sake of consistency (the links are not an endorsement for Amazon, you can certainly go to your own favorite book store to find these books; and don't forget St. Francis Catholic Shop on St. Andrews Road).

Apologetics:

The Beginning Apologetics series was put out nearly twenty years ago, but is still very good in helping to provide a firm grasp of the Catholic faith (the titles can be ordered separately or all together).

Where Is That in the Bible? is also a great little guide for cross referencing Catholic belief with Scripture. Please understand that this is a small book, so I strongly suggest using this with the aid of a Bible.

The Truth of Catholicism is more of a general read, but George Weigel does an excellent job of explaining some of the thornier issues that people have about Catholicism.

Catholic Answers is an excellent online source for Catholic apologetics.

Bible links:

The Catholic Study Bible. I recommend this edition because it has room to take notes, has a decent commentary on Scripture and it is the same translation that we use at Mass (the New American Bible).

The NAB is also available here.

The Jerusalem Bible. This translation is from a 1966 French translation. It is also considered more poetic. As an aside, there is also a The New Jerusalem Bible, but I do not recommend this version because it tries to use inclusive language at the expense of confusing language.

The Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition. This is the standard academic version that most mainline Christian theologians use.

Bible Study Aids/Guides:

Understanding the Scriptures: A Complete Course on Bible Study. This is a great book for background information on the Bible.

More in depth "study guides" are the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible series put out by Ignatius Press (the link is only for the study guide on Acts; there are many other New Testament titles!). Although this series lacks specific books about the Old Testament.

Catechism:

Catechism of the Catholic Church. This is something that every Catholic because it is "a sure and certain standard for the teaching of the faith" (John Paul II). I recommend this specific version because it contains excellent footnotes, a glossary, index, Biblical cross references and church council cross references. The hard cover version is also easier to use because it's more durable and will stay open when you lay it on a desk.

The Catechism is also available online here.

The Compendium: Catechism of the Catholic Church is not a substitute for the larger full version of the Catechism, but is a convenient and concise little guide similar to the Baltimore Catechism that our parents used.

Thank you all for an excellent meeting! Please don't forget to email me or post some meeting topic suggestions on our blog or on facebook.

Christ's Peace,

Zach

There is no need to apologize...

Hi All,

We've all heard the questions, "Why go confess to a priest when I can just confess directly to God?", "What's the difference between an annulment and divorce?" or "Why do Catholics think Mary is so important?". But how many of us can answer those questions for non-Catholics?

Therefore...

We will discuss "Apologetics" at our next meeting on July 15 at 6 PM at Jake's. We probably won't cover all possible questions that people will have, but this should be a fairly informative, if not lively, discussion about important questions that we all eventually encounter.

See you all on the 15th!



Addendum: Inevitably the topic of resources will come up, therefore we will provide a list of resources after our next meeting. We will have it listed on the blog the week after our meeting for anyone interested in learning more.

Next Meeting on June 17, 2009

Hi All,

Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 beginning with casual discussion at 6 PM. We usually end around 8 PM, but this all depends on how well the discussion goes! We will also meet at Jake's again.

We plan to discuss the influence of Catholicism on society--sometimes subtly, sometimes not! We intend to cover topics ranging from media's coverage of Catholicism to the impact of Catholicism on the government.

We look forward to seeing you all!

Upcoming Meeting, May 13 at 6 PM

Hi All!

Our next meeting will be held on May 13 at Jake's in Five Points at 6 PM till late (officially just 6 PM to 8 PM).

Our theme for the evening will be "evanglization", Catholic style. Obviously, this word has a negative connotation for many people, but don't let that scare you, we do not mean "proselytezation". Instead, we mean the Catholic definition of "evangelization": the proclamation of Christ and His Gospel by word and the testimony of life, in fulfillment of Christ's command. We will discuss what this actually means to us as young adult catholics.

Since the Second Vatican Council there has been a great deal of ink spilled over how Catholic should evangelize and a great deal has been put into practice. We will look at these and discuss what we can actually do. And not, this does not mean going to door to door peddling the Catholic faith!

See you all on Wednesday!

Zach

Rosary in the St. Thomas More Chapel

Hi All!

We will gather tomorrow evening to say the Rosary in the St. Thomas More Chapel at 7 PM as part of our Lenten devotions.

Please try to arrive about 10 minutes early or so.

Parking can be found down the street in the nursing lot (the building across the street from St. Thomas More).

See you all tomorrow!

Zach

February 11 Meeting

Hi All,

Our next meeting will be on February 11 at 6 PM at Jake's Bar & Grill (note our new location!).

This time we will discuss some issues pertaining to young adult Catholics. For example, the Vatican recently released a new bioethics statement, which we will discuss.

We will also take this opportunity to discuss any other questions from previous meetings which may still linger.

We hope that February's meeting will set the direction and tone for the topics that we will discuss for the rest of this year!