Excerpts from The Apostlescopyright © 2007 by Libreria Editrice Vaticana and Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division. All rights reserved. The Scripture citations contained in this work are taken from the Catholic Edi- tion of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible(RSV), copyright © 1965 and 1966 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2007 by Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division Our Sunday Visitor, Inc. Published 2007 12 11 10 09 08 07 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ISBN 978-1-59276-409-9 (Inventory No. T495) LCCN: 2007932881 Cover design by Amanda Miller Interior design by Sherri L. Hoffman PRINTEDINTHEUNITEDSTATESOFAMERICA CONTENTS Introduction 5 First Set of Six Sessions: Chosen by Jesus 13 1. Jesus of Nazareth and the Twelve Apostles (Chapters One to Two) 14 2. Peter (Chapter Five) 18 3. Andrew, James the Greater, and James the Lesser (Chapters Six to Eight) 22 4. John (Chapter Nine) 26 5. Matthew, Philip, Thomas, and Bartholomew (Chapters Ten to Thirteen) 30 6. Simon and Jude (Chapter Fourteen) 34 Second Set of Six Sessions: The Living Body of Christ 37 7. Judas Iscariot and Matthias (Chapter Fifteen) 38 8. Paul (Chapter Sixteen) 42 9. Timothy, Titus, and Stephen (Chapters Seventeen to Eighteen) 46 10. Barnabas, Silas, and Apollos (Chapter Nineteen) 50 11. Priscilla and Aquila and Women at the Service of the Gospel (Chapters Twenty to Twenty-one) 54 12. Jesus of Nazareth and the Church He Founded on the Apostles (Chapters Three to Four) 58 INTRODUCTION The Apostles is a collection of the catecheses Pope Benedict XVI gave during his weekly General Audiences in 2006 and 2007. The talks were given in either St. Peter’s Square or, in less favorable weather, the Paul VI Hall next to St. Peter’s Basilica. Pope Benedict has followed the tradition of John Paul II in organizing the General Audience talks according to themes and using them as an opportunity for a systematic teaching. Pope John Paul II’s formulation of the “Theology of the Body,” for example, was publicly articulated in General Audience talks from 1979 to 1984. This teaching is rich in scriptural, historical, and theological content. In each presentation, the Pope takes care to indicate con- temporary spiritual applications of each of his points — applica- tions that are helpful to our faith as individuals and our lives as members of the Body of Christ, the Church. This study guide is offered to help readers of The Apostles deepen their understanding of the content offered and reflect on the contemporary applications. The major themes that readers and participants will encounter include: (cid:127) Who is Jesus and what was His mission on earth? (cid:127) How is His mission continued today? (cid:127) Is it really possible to know Jesus today? How? (cid:127) What is an Apostle? (cid:127) What were the Apostles’ faith and mission all about? (cid:127) What is the relationship between Jesus, the Apostles, and the Church today? (cid:127) What do each of the Apostles, in their journey with Jesus and their missions after Pentecost, reveal to us about our 5 6 The Apostlesby Pope Benedict XVI (cid:127) STUDY GUIDE own lives as disciples of Jesus and members of His Body, the Church? (cid:127) How do the struggles and joys of the Apostles shed light on our own? How can we be strengthened in our role as disciples to invite people to “come and see” Jesus? HINTS FOR LEADING AN EFFECTIVE GROUP STUDY OF THE APOSTLES 1. The group leader should have a clear sense of the purpose of the gatherings. The Apostlesand this study guide are designed to help readers and participants grow in their understanding of the content and nature of faith in Jesus Christ as witnessed to and handed down by the Apostles, and to apply that understanding to their lives today as individuals and as a Church. This distinguishes this offering from a “faith-sharing” model in which the emphasis is on participants sharing their stories and feel- ings about a topic and reacting to each others’ stories. There is a place for the faith-sharing model in adult catechesis. However, The Apostles is not designed with that goal in mind, but rather to feed the hunger many adults have to grow in understanding of the con- tent of faith in Jesus Christ and how to experience that today, in their own lives as Catholics. The Pope is primarily a teacher, and participants will have gathered to learn from him. 2. The group leader should be a person who can effectively facilitate learning through discussion. That person should have the following qualities: (cid:127) The commitment to prepare beforehand, have a clear sense of the points to be covered, and introduce each ses- sion with a summary of the chapter to be discussed. (cid:127) A balance of openness, flexibility, confidence, and firm- ness. The group leader should have a welcoming person- INTRODUCTION 7 ality so that all participants feel encouraged to speak. He or she must also have the confidence to respectfully end discussions that have gone off-course and to redirect those discussions. Allowing one person to dominate a session is unfair to the other participants, and a group leader must keep this in mind and be sensitive to it. (cid:127) The willingness to say, “I don’t know the answer to that question. Let me look it up for the next time,” and move on. 3. Problems can sometimes arise in group discussions. Be aware, in particular, of the following: (cid:127) Dominant personalities: The best way to deal with dom- inant personalities in a discussion is to consciously and frequently encourage others to speak. If the problem per- sists, the individual who is presenting the problem can be spoken to privately. (cid:127) Too much information: Occasionally, individuals will use a group setting to unload personal problems or issues with the Church in ways inappropriate to the setting. When this happens, a group leader should respectfully but firmly redirect the discussion, giving due credit to the individual’s pain. Afterwards, depending on the nature of the individ- ual’s issue, the group leader should suggest that the person contact a priest or perhaps even alert a priest about the situation himself. Again, the leader’s primary responsibil- ity is to the group as a whole. (cid:127) Quiet personalities: Individuals who don’t participate can be gently encouraged to speak, but not persistently. If a person is content to listen and learn, let them do that — do not draw attention to them in a joking manner. (cid:127) Going off topic: Sometimes this is serendipitous, some- times it is a problem. The group leader should be sensitive 8 The Apostlesby Pope Benedict XVI (cid:127) STUDY GUIDE to this, careful to judge whether the course of a discus- sion is actually helpful to everyone present (is everyone engaged and interested?) or if it is just serving as a means for a small part of the group to engage with each other. If it is the latter, the discussion should be brought back to the topic. Participants’ time is valuable, and their sacrifice to be present at the session should be respected. PRACTICAL POINTERS Place: It is best to have parish-sponsored events on the parish grounds. Size: It is very difficult to have a group discussion with more than 15-20 people. If you have more than that register, consider breaking the group in two, adding a session, or even formatting the sessions along the lines of a class rather than a discussion. Time: Evenings, in between Masses on Sunday mornings, weekday mornings, during children’s religious education sessions, or on weekday mornings after children are dropped off at the parish school are all good times for adult education in a parish. Different times appeal to different groups of people, which is why, if possible, it is good to try to have multiple sessions. Some older people, for example, don’t like coming out at night, and people who work during the day prefer weekend or evening times. At least one session should have child care provided, free of charge, so that younger parents may attend. Materials: All participants should have a copy of The Apostles, this study guide, and, ideally, a Bible. If possible, participants should not be charged for materials, as this is immediately discour- aging to some potential participants. Free-will offerings might be taken, but individually paying for the materials should not be a INTRODUCTION 9 requirement or expectation for participation. Parishes might also consider making the materials available for those who cannot par- ticipate in the group study. Number and length of sessions: There are 12 sessions in the study guide, but leaders should feel free to design their own pro- gram and be flexible. No sessions should be omitted, for every- thing Pope Benedict says in these talks is interrelated and his ideas build on each other. But leaders might find that some topics lend themselves to more than one session (for example, the material on Paul and John is particularly rich and diverse). The introductory chapters have been broken up into two sections, one at the begin- ning, and one at the end, with the thought that chapters three and four would provide a good opportunity for wrapping up the entire series. Ideally the 12 sessions have been designed in such a way that they could be done in two series of six sessions, for example one six- week session in the Fall and another six-week session in the Spring. Sessions should be planned to be from 60 to 90 minutes in length, with time for a break and simple refreshments such as water and coffee. Whatever the planned length, stick to it out of respect for participants’ busy lives and varied commitments. USING THE STUDY GUIDE All of the materials presented in the study guide are intended to support a helpful and enriching session. Leaders may use as many questions from either category as desired as well as add their own. Prayers are designed to help enhance the catechetical experience – they are drawn from the rich, living tradition of the Church and are all related to the topic of each session. 10 The Apostlesby Pope Benedict XVI (cid:127) STUDY GUIDE PLANNING YOUR SESSION Begin the session with the Sign of the Cross and the Prayer to the Holy Spirit: Sign of the Cross In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen Prayer to the Holy Spirit V. Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful and kin- dle in us the fire of Your love. R. Send forth Your Spirit and we shall be created, and You will renew the face of the earth. Let us pray: O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit instructs the hearts of the faithful, grant that by that same Spirit we may be ever wise and rejoice in His consolations. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord. Amen. Reading Invite a participant to read aloud the excerpted passage from The Apostlesgiven at the beginning of each set of questions. Then allow for a few moments of quiet recollection and reflection on passage from The Apostles(about five minutes). Discussion Begin the discussion with a starter question. For example, for the first session: “What is your general impression, from reading these two chapters, of the importance of the Apostles in the Church?” Use the response as a brief opportunity to help participants become comfortable and then move into whatever Questions for