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"The Next Step" - Read On!
A "Faith Reflection" Group
"The Next Step" is an online book club and formative experience. It is better characterized as a "Faith Reflection" group. Through discussion and thoughtful application of the material, each person discovers how the readings and authors invite and inspire growth. This experience will "reflect" and deepen your faith.
Online
Sessions meet weekly (number of weeks depends on book length) for discussing leading topics and authors.
Each week, we discuss one chapter of the selected book. A reflection summary and questions are available prior to each gathering providing initial discussion guidance.
It's friendly, supportive and formative. Join us in the next step. Call 763-227-8462.
A Journey is made of many steps...
Insightful and Formative
Each meeting provides an opportunity to reflect on the content of the given week. Insights AND experiences of the writing are invited to be shared. Here's a good way to prep.
Prepare:
- Read the week's chapter (or the portion of the chapter)
- Review the facilitator's essay and thoughtful questions
Agenda:
- Prayer and Welcome (Facilitator)
- Review and context/commentary on the week's reading (Facilitator)
- Guided Sharing (All)
- Looking Ahead (Facilitator)
- Prayer (All)
All this in a 30-minute meeting (Okay, sometimes 34-minutes!)
Each of us is a "step" in the group's "Next Step" journey!
[COMPLETED] Fall, 2024 - "Discernment; Reading the Signs of Daily Life." By Henri Nouwen
Starting October 22 at 9-9:30 pm CT.
Every Tuesday for 11 weeks
Click here for essays and insights about each chapter.
October 22, 2024 - INTRODUCTION: Where There is Darkness, Light
October 29, 2024 - ONE: Embracing the Practice in Solitude and Community
November 5, 2024 - TWO: Distinguishing Spirits of Truth and Falsehood
November 12, 2024 - THREE: Read the Way Forward
November 19, 2024 - FOUR: Read the Book of Nature
November 26, 2024 - FIVE: Pay Attention to People in Your Path
December 3, 2024 - SIX: Discern the Signs of the Times
December 10, 2024 - SEVEN: Test the Call; Discerning Vocation
December 17, 2024 - EIGHT: Open Your Heart; Discerning Divine Presence
December 26, 2024 - NINE: Remember Who You Are; Discerning Identity
January 2, 2025 - TEN and EPILOGUE: Know the Time; When to Act, When to Wait, When to be Led
[COMPLETED] Spring, 2025 - "Dilexit Nos; He Loved Us." Papal Encyclical: Pope Francis
Starting March 6, 2025. 9-9:30 pm CT.
Every Wednesday for 8 weeks
Click here for essays and insights about each chapter.
*March 6, 2025 - Introduction
March 12, 2025 - Invitations and Inspirations
March 19, 2025 - The Current State
March 26, 2025 - Symbols and Imagery
April 2, 2025 - The Incarnation
April 9, 2025 - Reparation and Consolation
April 16, 2025 - Our Mission
April 23, 2025 - Pastoral Implications
* Ash Wednesday is March 5, 2025
A note to listening professionals, spiritual directors and spiritual direction students:
2025 is an exciting year for the Catholic Church. It is the Year of Sending (from the Eucharistic Congress in America). It is also the Jubilee Year of Hope. Pope Francis' 2024 encyclical letter calls us to consider the power of love in our lives. For spiritual directors and those in the listening ministry, this is a key time to encourage people to hear the call of their hearts. This book club will explore the Holy Father's teaching and consider the implications for our ministry.
Coming this Fall, 2025 - "Veritatis Splendor, The Splendor of Truth," St. John Paul II
Starting September 24, 2025. 9-9:30 pm CT.
Every Wednesday for 8 weeks
In our life of continued discernment (Nouwen) and as we are called to turn our hearts to Jesus (Francis), this book club/formation group invites us to move from "Confirmation to Conformation."
We will examine the angst of the Rich Young Man. We will explore the Beatitudes as the ethic by which we conform to Christ by living in a disposition that expresses the spirit of Catholicism.
All of this is seen through the lens of St. Pope John Paul II's 1993 papal encyclical.
Registration for this experience will open on September 1, 2025.
Limited to 15 participants.
Back Along the Path
Barron. R. (2023). This is my body; A call to Eucharistic revival. Word on Fire
Brooks, D. (2019). The second mountain; The quest for a moral life. Random House
Duska, R. & Whelan. (1975). Moral development; A guide to Piaget and Kohlberg. Paulist Press
Egan, S. (2016). Devoured; How what we eat defines who we are. Harper Collins
Francis. (2020). Let us dreqm; A path to a better future. Simon & Schuster
Guardini, R. (1986). The Lord's Prayer; Understanding the 55-word catechism Jesus gave us. Sophia Institute Press
Green, A. (2016). Judaism's 10 best ideas; A brief guide for seekers. Jewish Lights Publishing
Heschel, J. (1951). The Sabbath. Farrar, Straus and Giroux
MacIntyre. A. (2007). After virtue; A study in moral theory. University of Notre Dame Press
Pine, G. (2022). Prudence; Choose confidently, live boldly. Our Sunday Visitor
Rahman, I.J. (2013). Spiritual gems of Islam. Skylight Paths
Rohr, R. (2021) The universal Christ; How a forgotten reality can change everything we see, hope for, and believe. Convergent
Sacks, J. (2005), To heal a fractured world; The ethics of responsibility. Schocken Books
Thibodeaux, M. (2020). Ignatian discernment of spirits for spiritual direction and pastoral care. Loyola Press
Put a Little "Extra-" in "Ordinary" Time!
Join us in July for a 34-day facilitated Ignatian Examen Retreat guided through Fr. Mark Thibodeaux's, "Reimagining the Ignatian Examen." And it's all online. We'll gather once per week online to discuss our daily progress of taking 15 minutes each day to spend time with the Holy Spirit.
Cost: Complimentary.
Limit: 15 participants.