Analysis Of Brian Taylor's Attraction To The Benedictine Way

Directions: Read the book! And while reading, feel free to make notes in the margins on pages that contain what you believe are critical moments in the life of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Give in-depth definitions for each of the terms below. Type thorough and thoughtful responses to each of the questions below. Each response should be between 250-300 words in length. Be prepared to submit your study guide to your Scripture teacher during the first week of school. A summer reading quiz will be given during

Catholicism: A Very Short Introduction written by Gerald O’Collins is a short read that gives an insight to the Catholic church without getting confusing to the reader. It touches on the basics of Catholicism such as the history, practices, and core beliefs. Through each chapter Gerald O’Collins a research professor in the field of Theology at St. Mary’s University College and Twickenham, as well as formally Dean in Gregorian University for the faculty of Theology, shares his knowledge on the Catholic religion one question at a time.

     Perhaps what Benedict is trying to assert is that culture and personality are not the same, nor are they different. A personality is shaped by the culture in which it is born into. A culture is shaped by the repeated ceremonies, traditions, beliefs, and ideals performed by the individuals in the community over time:

God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, therefore a predetermined path of righteousness or condemnation is contradictory to the core values of Christianity, as it eliminates the need for the will to be saved by Christ. This shows that God does not control our actions, in hopes that we live in accordance to him.

The Sangha, the Buddhist monastic order, comprises Bhikku (monks), Bhikkuni (nuns), laymen, and laywomen. While the Bhikku and Bhikkuni depend upon the laywomen and men for economic support, the lay community depends on them for spiritual guidance and ritualistic practices. This well-rounded mutual relationship is clearly a division not only amongst religious status, but determined by gender as well. This is quite a contradiction with the Buddhist belief that your physical self is impermanent and ultimately attachment to your illusory self will cause you suffering. The second Noble Truth states that suffering originates from our ongoing desire, a clinging to possessions, attachments, and self. Why would a religion founded in the idea of shedding attachment focus so much on gender, which is an attachment? I feel that the Buddha’s hesitation in allowing women to be initially recognized in the Sangha originates from his early childhood convictions of women, fear of the Dharma becoming further compromised, and ultimately leading to the deterioration of Buddhism altogether. The Buddha’s hesitations regarding women becoming monastics seem to be questionable because of the way women have responded to this discrimination even during the Buddha’s lifetime. These women are evidently devoted to the ideals and teachings of Buddhism because of their ability to shed attachments and embody a fully monastic lifestyle. As they are shedding their attachments they give up their gender.

Deep within the trees little hooded men walk along a path to meditate and pray dressed in brown robes tied with nautical rope. They dwell in silence and live a life of celibacy. This is what most of think of when we hear the word monk. Throughout the years, monks have always been people of intrigue. They live a different lifestyle than most. They live a life of seclusion far from the mores of modern society, which often makes people ponder who these people really are and why they choose to participate in such a foreign religious movement. This paper will attempt to unravel the mysteries of this peculiar movement of by researching it's origin, the true meaning of a silent lives, and how key leaders have helped to

The Reformation was a movement in the 16th century that was marked ultimately by rejection or modification of some Roman Catholic doctrine or practice and led to the establishment of the Protestant Churches. Although this was mostly viewed as just a religious movement, there we also many political and social aspects of it. In the beginning Johann Tetzel sold indulgences, a pardon for certain types of sin, the guilt that has been forgiven which was a position very harshly challenged by Martin Luther. Luther was later a German professor, but at this time came to be known as a seminal figure in the Protestant Reformation. Anyway, Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses which he wrote as a protest against the selling of indulgences. After this he was

When taking the communal path to reach salvation, some people decide to become obedient monks and live in monasteries. Once in a monastery, monks are

The five Benedictine Values are incorporated into every class as a way to better ourselves. Each is defined from the college website and includes topics that are important for continuing my education based upon what I have learned in class. The first one is community, which is creating an environment that promotes a sense of community by being responsible and supporting each other. To be a community we need to treat each other with love. Life chances is a part of being a community. Life Chances is where a person born into poverty stays in poverty. This is a phenomenon that refers to how families can never get out of poverty because it passes on to the next generation. Life chances are what each person is given to become something in life. Someone that has a lot of money has much better life chances than does someone born into poverty. A person born into poverty is more likely to remain in poverty. We can become a community by eliminating the lower, middle, and upper class in the United States. When we eliminate this monetary value we are just one big community that we are all open arms and willing to help anyone.

I think that Las Casas’s intention was one relating to his ideals as a true Catholic Priest. He had hoped to free the Indians from the injustice he saw before him and to save them the mistreatment given by the Spaniards. Although Las Casa had been involved in the exploitation of the Indian labor he freed his Indian slaves in 1514 and became one of the major voices against the Spanish atrocities committed against the native peoples of the Americas. This shows his compassion and empathy, Christian principles taught by Jesus Christ. Las Casa chose to follow his true Christian values in a time and setting when his home country and its entire government chose to enslave and exploit an entire race of people under their Christian façade. Although

By the late 1500s, Christian denominations had been popping up all over Europe. This was in response to the reports of indulgences (selling of freedom from purgatory), clerical immorality, abuse of money, along with many other bad actions that were rampant among the Church. It was these problems that Luther and others rebelled and created their own religions. With the rising of these Reformation movements, the Church needed to make some reforms itself. These reforms took the form of educating the clergy, opening monasteries, the Inquisition, and the organizing of councils. In fact, even though Protestant attacks brought these reforms, many of these reforms were needed anyway. The problems in the Church were so bad that the Church would not

It seems self-evident that one cannot be a leader unless he or she has followers; put differently, one cannot hold a leadership role unless others are prepared to hold followership roles. These roles are more or less symbiotic - done effectively, each role can support and benefit the other. Nevertheless, the term “follower” has acquired a negative connotation, and leadership is generally considered to be the pinnacle to which we should all strive in our working lives, if not our personal lives as well. However, thanks to the work of authors such as Robert E. Kinney, who introduced the concept of followership, the characteristics, roles and paths of followers now receive increased attention. Kinney’s groundbreaking article, “In Praise of

The nature of Cluny lay in the circumstances of it’s foundation. It was endowed with a measure of independence by it’s founder, Duke William, allowing the monks to elect their own abbot, placing the abbey directly under the guardianship of St Peter and the Apostolic See. As a house dedicated to reviving strict Benedictine observance Cluny was not unique, but it was this indepencence, the succesion of talented abbots and it’s organisation set up by Abbot Berno that laid the foundations of the abbey’s later greatness.

Discernment is the process of making choices by noting the responses we receive through prayer, imagination, and self-reflection. David Traub stated that discernment requires awareness of body and emotion and not just of mind (Traub, 2008). It is an act of faith that we are acting on a decision that involves the guidance of God so that we can live according to His will. This paper will discuss the concept of attachment/detachment in Christianity, Buddhism and Ignatian spirituality as well as the prayers and practices that each one follow to allow for properly discerning that which is in our hearts.

I will explore a few of unique approaches as outlined in the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola. I will describe my experience of integrating some of the concepts of spiritual direction into my practice.