Becoming Catholic Podcast - St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center

Matt’s keynote presentations: Lent, The Saints, & Four Last ThingsSmall-Group Questions To Ask Yourself Throughout the Week:- Why is hell such a difficult doctrine to believe in?- How might you explain the concept of the intercession of the saints to a skeptic?Prayer Practice: 1 Timothy 2:3-4- Ask This of Yourself When Praying With It- How does He desire YOU to be saved?- Where have you seen God in your life desiring you for Himself?Homework: Practice incorporating one saint into your daily prayer life.- Read about a saint for 15 minutes.- Look up a devotion to him/her?- Practice a devotion/incorporate him/her into your daily prayer life in some way.Additional Resources- Catholic Catechism, paragraphs 988-1209.- Theology and Sanity by Frank Sheed, pages 326-357- Between Heaven and Hell: A Dialogue Somewhere Beyond Death... by Peter KreeftLive near Boulder, Colorado? Sign up with the RCIA Interview Form and join us every Tuesday night at 7pm in St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center.Donate to help St. Thomas A

Matt’s keynote presentations: MaryClass Homework: Read about one approved apparition by the Catholic Church for at least 20 minutes (wiki “Marian Apparitions”).Prayer Practice: Luke 1.46-55Additional Resources:- Catholic Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraphs 963-975, 946-962.- Theology and Sanity by Frank Sheed, Pages 231-246, 319-326.- Hail Holy Queen: The Mother of God in the Word of God by Scott Hahn.- Rethinking Mary in the New Testament: What the Bible Tells Us about the Mother of the Messiah by Ted SriAbout Mary's Response to Gabriel that she doesn't have a husband: Josh brought up a great question about how Mary's response does not make sense if I'm proposing that Mary is confused because she had made a vow of celibacy in the context of marriage. After all, she is confused because she doesn't have a husband according to Mary. I did a little research and this is what I found:- The greek word is "ginosko" which means "to know" not "to have". The literal translation is "I do not know a husband/man.

Matt’s keynote presentations: Holy Spirit and ChurchPrayer Practice: Colossians 1.24-26Homework: Memorize 7 Gifts and 12 Fruits of the Holy SpiritAdditional Resources:- Catholic Catechism, Paragraphs 683-945.- Theology and Sanity by Frank Sheed, pages 279-336.- Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium.Live near Boulder, Colorado? Sign up with the RCIA Interview Form and join us every Tuesday night at 7pm in St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center.Donate to help St. Thomas Aquinas.Contact Matt: matthew.boettger@thomascenter.orgMusic: Tenderness - Bensound.com

Matt’s keynote presentations: Christ’s Death and ResurrectionSmall-Group Questions to Reflect Upon This Week Since We Didn't Get to Them- Describe a “path to Glory” in your own life. Where has Christ provided light in the darkness?- Give an example of “dying to self” leading to “finding self.”- How does Christ provide hope for you in times of uncertainty?- If Christ could gift you with one thing as a response to giving/surrendering yourself to Him, what would it be?Prayer Practice: The Examen- When Have I Loved Others Selflessly? Thank God- When I have Been Loved Selflessly? Thank God- When I have Failed to Love Others Selflessly? Examine where God was during those moments. Talk to Him. Seek his Loving forgiveness- When Have Others Failed to Love you Selflessly? Ask for God’s Grace to Forgive.- Make a Concrete Act of Change with Grace.Homework: Read the Gospel of Mark, Asking:- Where is Christ in my suffering?- Where is the gift in my suffering?- What is one thing I can do tomorrow to respond more faithfully

Matt’s keynote presentations: The Mystery of the IncarnationA Note from Matt: I failed to mention in the podcast that I wrote a three-part series on purgatory for anyone interested. Please see the links below:- Purging Misconceptions About Purgatory, I- Purging Misconceptions About Purgatory, Historical Continuity- Purging Misconceptions About Purgatory, IndulgencesHomework:- Read the Gospel of Matthew Asking Two Questions to yourself: Who is Jesus? What does it mean to be a disciple?- Write at least three bullet points for each question to bring to class next week!Prayer Practice: Pray with Philippians 2.4-14Additional Resources:- Catholic Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraphs 422-570.- Theology and Sanity by Frank Sheed, Pages 231-278.- Jesus and the Victory of God by N.T. Wright.Live near Boulder, Colorado? Sign up with the RCIA Interview Form and join us every Tuesday night at 7pm in St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center.Donate to help St. Thomas Aquinas.Contact Matt: matthew.boettger@thomascenter.org

Matt’s keynote presentations: Salvation HistoryHomework: For the next 7 days, examine your day at the end, reviewing where you may have held too tightly to your own name. Ask Christ to help you make tomorrow more grounded in Him.Additional Resources:- A Father Who Keeps His Promise by Dr. Scott Hahn- Walking with God by Dr. Tim Gray and Jeff Cavins- Ignatian Study Bible- The Bible TimelinePrayer Practice: John 3.16-21Live near Boulder, Colorado? Sign up with the RCIA Interview Form and join us every Tuesday night at 7pm in St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center.Donate to help St. Thomas Aquinas.Contact Matt: matthew.boettger@thomascenter.orgMusic: Tenderness - Bensound.com

Homework:Practice seeing everyone as an end to themselves and treat them in this way. Try to become aware of even the little place where we might reduce someone as a means to our own end/use them.Every night before bed, ask God where your “perfectly redeemed day” did not come to fruition and ask Him for help to see why it did not. Ask God for the grace to live 1% more in His Love tomorrow. Thank him for those moments where His love prevailed in your life!Prayer Assignment:Genesis 2.18-20 - Think about how God desires us to come to our own awareness of what brings us life and not forcing Himself upon us.Matthew 5.27 - Pray through this passage through the lens of hope. That Christ is revealing the true problem with humanity for the purpose of providing the antidote….Himself!Additional Resources:Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 279-421Theology and Sanity by Frank Sheed, pages 127-207Love and Responsibility by Karol WojtylaTheology of the Body for Beginners by Christopher WestLive near Boulder, Color

Donate to help St. Thomas Aquinas.Contact Matt: matthew.boettger@thomascenter.orgMusic: Tenderness - Bensound.com

Matt’s keynote presentations: Divine InitiativeHomework:- Pray through the attribute of God that you must resonate with and the one you are the weakest in (i.e. Truth, Goodness, Beauty, Justice, Mercy, Love, etc). Give thanks to God for the strength he has given you. Read a passage from one of the Gospels, looking for how Christ reflects those two attributes perfectly, asking for the grace to better express the attribute you struggle with.- Journal and prayer through the question: How am I reflecting the mystery of God as "Gift." Where do I struggle receiving and giving of myself? Ask for the grace to be able to give of ourselves more authentically to those closest to us!Prayer Assignment: (choose at least one to prayer through until we return together).- Isaiah 55.8-11- Exodus 3.13-14- John 3.16- John 14.16-17- John 16.7Additional Resources:- Frank Sheed, Theology and Sanity, Chapters 3-8- Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraphs 199-278.Live near Boulder, Colorado? Sign up with the RCIA Interview Form a

Matt’s keynote presentations: Divine InitiativeHomework: Read about the life of one saint and how they responded to God's initiative in their life.Prayer Assignment: Pray with Ephesians 6.10-17Additional Resources:- Catechism of the Catholic Church, Pages 13-50.- Saintly Solutions to Life's Common Problems by Joseph M EsperLive near Boulder, Colorado? Sign up with the RCIA Interview Form and join us every Tuesday night at 7pm in St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center.Donate to help St. Thomas Aquinas.Contact Matt: matthew.boettger@thomascenter.orgMusic: Tenderness - Bensound.com

Matt’s keynote presentations: Our Capacity for GodHomework: Practice searching for the gift one time a day by reviewing your day, finding a difficult/challenging moment and asking God, "Where is the gift in this for me?" Journal about for at least 3 minutes.Prayer Assignment: Pray with Lk 18.18-23 || Lk 19.1-9 or John 3.1-21Additional Resources:- The Religious Sense by Luigi Giussani- Deep Work by Cal Newport- Digital Minimalism by Cal NewportLive near Boulder, Colorado? Sign up with the RCIA Interview Form and join us every Tuesday night at 7pm in St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center.Donate to help St. Thomas Aquinas.Contact Matt: matthew.boettger@thomascenter.orgMusic: Tenderness - Bensound.com

Matt’s keynote presentations: Intro to PrayerPrayer/Homework Passages (helps on these passages are in last week's email as attachments):Lectio Divina: Matthew 1.1-12Imaginative Prayer: Mark 10.46-62Spend 15 minutes a day at least three days this week praying with one of these texts and journal the experience.Additional Resources:The Five Pillars of the Spiritual Life by Father Robert SpitzerSimple Prayer by John DalrympleLive near Boulder, Colorado? Sign up with the RCIA Interview Form and join us every Tuesday night at 7pm in St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center.Donate to help St. Thomas Aquinas.Contact Matt: matthew.boettger@thomascenter.orgMusic: Tenderness - Bensound.com

Matt’s keynote presentations: Catholic PracticalsHomework: Commit to learning more about a practical of the Church and practice it for 30 days to see how it might influence your walk with Christ (i.e. prayer cards, medals, holy water font, devotions to satins, consecration to Mary, Rosary, Novena, etc.).Prayer Practice: Read Mark 8.22-25 and prayer with this passage. Sit with it and allow God to speak to you. Trying imagining you are a bystander watching things happen. What are you feeling, thinking, and what do you sense around you (i.e. the air, heat, cold, the road/grass, etc). Allow yourself the freedom to enter into the scene with your imagination. Ask God what He wants to give you in this passage.Live near Boulder, Colorado? Sign up with the RCIA Interview Form and join us every Tuesday night at 7pm in St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center.Donate to help St. Thomas Aquinas.Contact Matt: matthew.boettger@thomascenter.orgMusic: Tenderness - Bensound.com

Live near Boulder, Colorado? Sign up with the RCIA Interview Form and join us every Tuesday night at 7pm in St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center.Donate to help St. Thomas Aquinas.Contact Matt: matthew.boettger@thomascenter.orgMusic: Tenderness - Bensound.com

Matt’s keynote presentations: Theology of the MassHomework/Prayer Practice:Go to Mass this Sunday and look for three things in Mass that help you learn who God is.Additional Resources:The Lamb’s Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth by Dr. Scott HahnThe Fourth Cup by Dr. Scott HahnNot By Bread Alone by Robert SungenisA Biblical Walk Through The Mass by Dr. Ted SriLive near Boulder, Colorado? Sign up with the RCIA Interview Form and join us every Tuesday night at 7pm in St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center.Donate to help St. Thomas Aquinas.Contact Matt: matthew.boettger@thomascenter.orgMusic: Tenderness - Bensound.com

Matt’s keynote presentations: Why Be Catholic?Homework: Read Matthew 16 and Isaiah 22. Explain what Jesus is doing in Matthew 16 to someone through the Jewish backdrop.Additional Resources:- Catholic for a Reason Series by Dr. Scott Hahn et al- On Being Catholic by Thomas Howard- Upon this Rock by Stephen Ray- One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic by Kenneth Whitehead- Pope Fiction by Patrick Madrid- Rome Sweet Home by Dr. Scott HahnPrayer Practice: None this week.Live near Boulder, Colorado? Sign up with the RCIA Interview Form and join us every Tuesday night at 7pm in St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center.Donate to help St. Thomas Aquinas.Contact Matt: matthew.boettger@thomascenter.orgMusic: Tenderness - Bensound.com

Matt’s keynote presentations: Why Believe in God?Homework: Spend ten minutes a day learning more about one of the “evidences” for God/Christianity and share it with someone.Additional Resources:- New Proofs for the Existence of God by Father Robert Spitzer- The Language of God by Francis Collins The Historical Reliability of the Gospels by Dr. Craig Blomberg- Jesus and the Eyewitness by Dr. Richard BauckhamPrayer Practice: None this week.Live near Boulder, Colorado? Sign up with the RCIA Interview Form and join us every Tuesday night at 7pm in St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center.Donate to help St. Thomas Aquinas.Contact Matt: matthew.boettger@thomascenter.orgMusic: Tenderness - Bensound.com

Matt's keynote presentation: HappinessLive near Boulder, Colorado? Sign up with the RCIA Interview Form and join us every Tuesday night at 7pm in St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center.Donate to help St. Thomas Aquinas.Contact Matt: matthew.boettger@thomascenter.orgMusic: Tenderness - Bensound.com

Live near Boulder, Colorado? Sign up with the RCIA Interview Form and join us every Tuesday night at 7pm in St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center.Donate to help St. Thomas Aquinas.Contact Matt: matthew.boettger@thomascenter.orgMusic: Tenderness - Bensound.com

Donate to help St. Thomas Aquinas.Contact Matt: matthew.boettger@thomascenter.orgMusic: Tenderness - Bensound.com