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Day Three: Joy of Humility

Introduction to the Beatitudes

The rest of this week is going to be focusing on the face of Christ revealed in the Eight Beatitudes, taking a few at a time in order to really understand them.

Christian morality is about following Jesus Christ. Too often, however, when we hear about “Christian” morality, all we hear is the Ten Commandments from the Old Testament. The Commandments tell us what to do/not do. The Beatitudes tell us who we should be, what type of disciple Christ wants of us. We ought to start morality with the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount and not just on the Commandments. They come second, because Identity and Destiny come first, which is what the Beatitudes unfold for us.

Catechesis, Spirituality, TheologyMichael GormleyJune 25, 2012Beatitudes, Humility, Meekness, Mourn, Poor in Spirit

Day Two: Joy of Eternity

Introduction to Our Joyful Eternity

No one normal ever really likes talking about Hell. It’s unpleasant, sad, negative and is hard to deal with. But what’s really odd is that no one is really talking about Heaven either! Imagine a whole bunch of people on a bus talking to each other about their journey, but no one mentions the destination. They go on and on about the trip, about how hard it is, funny things that happened along the way, why they are on the trip to begin with, without ever mentioning the point of getting on the bus in the first place, the destination. Yet, that is what happens when we don’t think about, speak about, and desire Heaven.

However, when we stop and think about Heaven, about the promises and rewards that Jesus Christ pledges to those who love him and have faith in him, then how could our hearts not be overwhelmed with joy? We do not deserve this Heaven. It is freely given by the God Who is Love.

Catechesis, Spirituality, TheologyMichael GormleyJune 22, 2012Heaven, Hell, Joy of Eternity, Summer Camp

Day One: Joyful Identity

The Subject of My Own Life

We need to focus on the “I” that is the subject of this journey. Who am I and what am I? If we don’t answer these questions, then “where am I going and how do I get there?” just don’t matter. We need to stop and really dig down deep into these questions. You and I need to think about this stuff, using the gifts of our own brains that God gave to us, so that in prayer we can wrestle with these big issues. These are the fundamental questions of our Identity: Who am I? Who should I be? Who am I becoming?

Catechesis, SpiritualityMichael GormleyJune 17, 2012Beatitudes, Identity, Summer Camp

A Keynote on participating in the Mass

CatechesisMichael GormleyNovember 15, 2011high school, keynote, roman missal

A Keynote Presentation, this time for the EDGE

We had a middle school night on the upcoming changes in the liturgy. What I wanted to do was build off of the idea of cultivating silence. So, borrowing from a night written for high school students, we did a "silent talk". I had one of my Teen Assistants, the wonderful Bianca, walk up to the stage, remove the microphone, set it on the floor, and as the room went dark the screen displayed the following 20+ slides.

CatechesisMichael GormleyNovember 3, 2011Liturgy, keynote

Introduction to the Beatitudes

Introduction to Our Joyful Eternity

The Subject of My Own Life

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