Intentional Seekers Seek Truth St. Dominic’s November 2014 Truth is so obscure in these times, and falsehood so established, that, unless we love the truth, we cannot know it. Blaise Pascal 1 Intentional Seekers Overview What do you mean by Intentional Seeker? Last year at St. Dominic’s we focused on Intentional Discipleship. It was an opportunity to explore what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, and to become more intentional about discipleship. Let’s face it, before we can truly be disciples we must acknowledge and engage barriers that prevent us from starting the journey. We all have barriers! The question is not whether or not we have barriers, it is whether we are willing to seek ways to overcome those barriers. This series is a way we can all explore some of the most common barriers present in our own lives and in the lives of those around us. What is asked of me? First, pick up a booklet at St. Dominic’s each month and follow along. If you can, attend one of the Explore sessions (everyone is welcome) offered each month. If you want to go deeper, sign up for a Small Christian Community. Small communities will meet twice a month to discuss. We hope to be able to offer committed small communities and drop‐in small communities as we get a better understanding of people’s interested. Please see the back cover for specific dates. When did the Intentional Seeker initiative start? St. Dominic’s kicked off the Intentional Seeker initiative in September 2014. We are gradually rolling it out to the whole parish. We hope to be able to connect people whenever they learn about the initiative or are ready to get involved. What if I’m not sure how much of this I’m ready to do? Pick up a booklet, and try it out. Pray about it. I’m interested, but I just don’t have the time. We understand that this will not fit everyone’s interest or schedule. We would like to ask you to pray for this initiative in the parish. Dear Jesus, grant your way to all who seek you, your truth to all who want to know you, and your life to all who share your love. 2 Format Each month we’ll have a theme based around a common question or barrier. We’ll pick scripture passages and other writings that will help us explore this theme. We’ll spend the month going deeper and challenging ourselves. In September and October, we will roll this out to the parish. We will form several small communities. It is not too late to join one if you are interested (see the back cover). We plan to make this a yearlong initiative. Here’s the planned format for each month: Week 1 - Explore Break open the texts and explore the questions and barriers. Our goal here is to recognize that we not alone in our search. Many people today and many people throughout history have traveled this road. What are some of the answers that others have found? What insights speak to me? What difference would it mean in my life if I overcome this barrier? How can I help others who are struggling with this barrier? You can explore the theme on your own through this book, or you can attend a presentation (see the upcoming schedule on the back cover). Week 2 - Share Consider joining a small community to discuss the themes and barriers in our lives. There is something powerful about gathering with others to explore our desires and our struggles. If you can’t join a small community , you can take time each day to pray the texts and reflect on your own journey. Week 3 - Act This week we’ll challenged ourselves to take some practical step in our daily lives. We’ll do this on our own, so if you’re part of a small community, there will not be a meeting this week. Week 4 - Share Gather again in your small community or reflect on your own. 3 Intentional Seekers Seek Truth Starter How do you define truth? What makes something true or false? Where and how do you seek truth? 4 Week 1 - Explore Jesus answered, "You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." Pilate said to him, "What is truth?" John 18:37b‐38a “What is truth?” This is the question that Pilate ask Jesus, but he could just as easily be asking us. The concept of “truth” seems to be a battle ground in our modern times. There seem to be so many different ideas of what truth is, and how we arrive at the truth. Seeking assumes truth because, if there is no real truth, why bother seeking? As we try to struggle with our beliefs and our barriers, we often come face to face with with a question: What truth do I accept? For many people today, the only acceptable truth is truth that stands up to the scientific method. This is a problem because many aspects of life fall outside of scientific answers. For example, what is the meaning of life? Science can tell us how life “works” and how life evolved, but it can’t answer questions of meaning. One big battle ground around truth is about what determines truth. Is it something in the nature of the thing itself (endowed by its creator)? Or is it something we determine individually or collectively? In the Christian understanding truth comes from God because God creates. I can know something true about creation by examining it (through science and other methods like philosophy). Truth is something we have to seek, but it can be sought because we have the been given the gift of reason. Christians can also seek because we believe in a God who wants to be known. In addition to the gift of creation, we have the gift of revelation, and that revelation obtained its fullness in the person of Jesus Christ. Finally, we believe in being truth seekers because we will never have the fullness of truth until we stand with our God who is Truth itself. I have met many who wanted to deceive, but none who wanted to be deceived. Saint Augustine 5 Exercises Take some time to reflect on truth: 1) Make a list of some things you believe to be true 2) What is the source of this truth? (1) (2) e.g., human dignity________ ____________________________________ e.g., science_________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________________ 6 Do you believe these things are true for everyone or just for you? Are some truths more important (central) than others? How do you judge truth that someone else proposes? How is truth connected to your notion of God? 7 Main Texts What Is Truth? John 18:33So Pilate went back into the praetorium and summoned Jesus and said to him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" 34Jesus answered, "Do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?" 35Pilate answered, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?" 36Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here." 37So Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." 38Pilate said to him, "What is truth?" In both East and West, we may trace a journey which has led humanity down the centuries to meet and engage truth more and more deeply. It is a journey which has unfolded—as it must—within the horizon of personal self‐consciousness: the more human beings know reality and the world, the more they know themselves in their uniqueness, with the question of the meaning of things and of their very existence becoming ever more pressing. This is why all that is the object of our knowledge becomes a part of our life…Moreover, a cursory glance at ancient history shows clearly how in different parts of the world, with their different cultures, there arise at the same time the fundamental questions which pervade human life: Who am I? Where have I come from and where am I going? Why is there evil? What is there after this life? … They are questions which have their common source in the quest for meaning which has always compelled the human heart. In fact, the answer given to these questions decides the direction which people seek to give to their lives. ‐ Pope Saint John Paul II, Faith and Reason, 1 Read prayerfully: What thoughts arise out of these readings? 8 Seek Truth & Love John 3:16For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.