Wednesday, February 29, 2012

PSAs on loving and learning

This will wrap up my trilogy of PSAs.

First, came the appeal to help a beautiful little boy in danger, here. Malcolm now has over $5,200 in his fund, which is up $3,100 in just five days! Thank you all so much! I am addicted to Reece's Rainbow and I wish I could take in all of those beautiful children. I hope someone will step forward to bring Malcolm home now that there is a financial cushion. If you (like me) are not in a position to adopt, there are still so many ways to help these children find their way out of the orphanages and into families. Look at what love has done for our own Carla and Henry, and what is in the works for Heidi, who is preparing to adopt Peter just as soon as possible. (And, to enter Heidi's very easy iPad 2 giveaway to help bring Peter home, go here before midnight tonight!)

Second, I introduced you to three wonderful Catholic men in search of marriage, here. Ladies, these great guys are waiting to hear from you! Email me (click under my photo).

The third and last of my Lenten PSAs is an opportunity for folks to learn more about the Catholic Faith (which is what I most hope to accomplish with this blog). I first introduced you to my parish's Institute of Catholic Theology back in September. This quarter's offerings are fabulous, and because they are streamed via online video, they are accessible to everyone (as are any past courses). These are university-level courses, for only $50!

I can vouch for all three of this quarter's professors, as they are all my friends and friends to the Bubble as well….



Christology: The Truth About Jesus
Professor: Rev. Oliver Vietor, M.Div
MONDAY EVENINGS March 19th – May 7th, 6:30 PM

The truth about Jesus remains intact, coherent, and vital in every generation. In other words, Jesus is still the Son of God despite his critics. Cardinal Schónborn's recent work on Christology will lead us more deeply into the truth about Jesus, and this will help us to know the Savior himself.
Text: God Sent his Son: A Contemporary Christology, Christoph Cardinal Schónborn, (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010).


Fr. Vietor officially blessed the Little Catholic Bubble, and I also featured his courageous homily on contraception, here (check #6).

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Brave New World: A Guided Reading
Professor: Rob Drapeau, MA.Ed
WEDNESDAY EVENINGS March 21st – May 9th, 6:30 PM

Along with George Orwell, Aldous Huxley was deeply skeptical of the utopian futures imagined by H.G. Wells and others. Unlike Orwell however, Huxley's greatest fear wasn't a tyrannical government that ruled by the threat of pain, rather it was a dictatorship that enslaved through the promise of pleasure. This class will explore Huxley's ideas as expressed in his dystopian novel Brave New World. How close to realizing his dystopia are we? Is there anything being done to prevent his vision from coming true?
Text: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Rob is a Bubble reader (at least infrequently, right, Rob??), and has taught three or more of my own children, with fairly decent results. 


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Reading Scripture with the Church: A Case Study Professor: Gayle Somers, MA
THURSDAY EVENINGS March 22nd – May 10th, 6:30 PM

The Church calls us to read the New Testament in light of the Old Testament, or, as scholars say, to do "canonical exegesis." How do we do this? Happily, in his book, Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week, Pope Benedict XVI gives us an outstanding example of this kind of Scriptural reading. We will use the book as our text to learn how our familiarity with the Old Testament deepens and enriches our understanding of the Gospel accounts of Christ's Passion, an excellent Lenten opportunity.
Text: Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week by Pope Benedict XVI

Gayle is has been featured here several times, as our resident Bible teacher for "Ask Gayle Somers"!



Register for any of these wonderful classes here. And no, I don't get a kickback. :)




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10 comments:

  1. What would I do without your blogs?! I am SO THANKFUL for all you do here, Leila!

    DD

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  2. LOVE the Catholic Institute of Theology! It's how I originally found the Bubble!! (I took the class "Learning Latin through the Rosary," and the professor gave a link to CatholicPhoenix.com, which has the Bubble on its sidebar.)

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  3. Thank you for the shout-out, Leila!

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  4. Another big thank you!!

    Carla - Henry 's mom

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  5. Hi, Leila! We emailed a bit a few months ago -- can't believe it has been that long. Time is flying, and I am in my last semester of theology grad school! Whew. Between school, work, and working out, I have to admit that I haven't been visiting the Bubble -- or any other blogs! -- as much as I used to. I just wanted to tell you that after reading through your last few weeks of posts, I remembered how important it is for me to read them regularly!! It is shockingly easy for me to get caught up in academics, and lose awareness of real faith in the world. Reading your blog always brings me back to the central aspects of our faith, and I am incredibly grateful. It's great to be back, and I can't wait to read more of your Lenten posts (and beyond)!

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  6. Hi Leila, and everyone else. This is off topic, but have you seen this article about planned parenthood's brilliant new idea of exposing everybody's private sex life on social media websites by having scannable barcodes on condoms that people can scan with their smartphones while (I quote) "they're getting busy"?

    Here is the article link:

    http://news.yahoo.com/condoms-barcodes-track-safe-sex-213604485.html

    This is CRAZY.

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    Replies
    1. This is disgusting. What a way to encourage our young men and women not to behave as "gentlemen and ladies"! I know that I am going to sound like an old "fuddy-duddy" but bragging about sexual exploits like that is worse than "locker room" talk. Why aren't we teaching our young people "Theology of the Body" instead???????

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    2. No, you do not sound like an "old fuddy duddy." If you do, then we need more old fuddy duddies in this world...because there ain't enough. Of course sex should be absolutely intimate and private between the man and the woman, and is not meant to be freely thrown around facebook!

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  7. Agnes, I just posted your comment to a previous post so that Johanne could see it. She is claiming that much of what is said about PP is simply untrue. But really, who could even make this stuff up?

    You've seen the video, right? Don't let any children in the room if you are watching this. It's truly filth:

    http://www.all.org/article/index/id/MTAwMjY/

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  8. Yes, I have seen the video. I don't even know what to say to that video...

    What PP is doing is just INDESCRIBABLY FILTHY AND IMMORAL. I cannot believe how obsessed they are with sex?! When I've seen the part where they teach little kids to masturbate, I was outraged!! I mean, WHATTTT?!?!?! why are you trying to pervert our children and get them hooked on sexual pleasures at the age they should be playing hide-n-seek and riding bikes with friends?!?!?

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