Built is a Family Formation Production Series begun as a fun evening for the whole family, enjoying music, sharing a meal together and then watching a video followed by a brief discussion. Each new Built series will kick off with a dinner and kids activities ; followed by a viewing of the video on our outdoor screen. (Rain location: Gym) After that you watch each episode together once a week as a family in the comfort of your own home after your family’s dinner time.
Symbolon: The Catholic Faith Explained
We begin our journey into the heart of the Catholic Faith as pilgrims, exploring the reality of God, who he is, and how he expresses himself to us in the most meaningful way imaginable. In this 10 part series, you will follow a systematic presentation of our Catholic Faith. It will lead you through the “big picture” of the Catholic Faith and our Creed is the guide. Symbolon brings together some of the most trusted Catholic teachers in the world to guide you through the breadth and richness of the Catholic faith. Symbolon is a 2 part series: we will examine the first, which focuses on Knowing the Faith. Symbolon Part 2, focuses on Living the Faith.
We will explore this first episode, The Journey of Faith: Trinity, Faith & the God Who Is Love, together, on Friday, May 20. but then you are to continue viewing the series via the Formed link on the myParishApp .
Here’s how it works:
- 7:00 PM-8:30 PM: Families may begin arriving and set up on the Rectory Lawn. Bring low lawn chairs or blankets. Food will be provided along with a bouncy house and field games for the kids.
- 8:30 PM-9:00 PM: We will view the evening’s episode (rain location: Gym)
- 9:00 PM-9:30 PM: Join us in a discussion
- 9:30 PM -10:00 PM: Then tidy up and head for home!
You will then follow up each week watching a new episode from home. Discussion questions will be posted in the bulletin each week and archived below:
Episode and Discussion Questions:
May 20 Kick Off Event: Symbolon: Session 1: The Journey of Faith: Trinity, Faith & the God Who Is Love
- Faith is our response to the God who longs to make himself known to us. How do we make that response and how is faith in God more than just believing in God?
- The Holy Trinity is revealed to us through Jesus Christ. In other words, God wanted us to know, as the Catechism says, that “God is one but not solitary” (CCC 254). Why do you think God wants you to know that he is not solitary?
- According to the video, what are three key elements of prayer?
Week of May 22: Symbolon Session 2: Divine Revelation: God Seeking Us, the Compass for Our Lives
- What is inconsistent with this line of reasoning: “There is a God, God is love, but we can’t know with confidence who God is and what his will is for us”?
- Why do you think the Church from earliest times chose to use the word revelation, or unveiling, to describe how God has communicated to us?
- In the video, the presenter used the imagery of a three-legged stool to describe how Divine Revelation is handed on. What are the three “legs” of the stool?
Week of May 29: Symbolon Session 3: The Bible: God’s Love Letter to Humanity
- Why is it true that “ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ”?
- According to the video, what does it mean that Catholics don’t interpret the Bible in a literalistic way, but they do read the Bible literarily? What examples does the presenter give?
- Let’s say a friend of yours, while speaking about a passage she was reading in the Bible, states, “It was like God was speaking directly to me—directly into a situation in my life—when I read the passage.” How is this possible?
Week of June 5: Symbolon Session 4: The Story of Salvation: Creation, Fall, & Redemption
- Dr. Sri talks about the story of salvation and how this story plays a role in each of our lives. What does it mean that “our modern world has lost its story,” and why does that matter?
- ➛Dr. Sri speaks of a timeline that demonstrates how salvation history is the growth of God’s family as he draws mankind back to himself. Here is the process by which God’s family grows: One Couple➛ One Family➛ One Tribe➛ One Nation➛ One Kingdom➛ One Church (Adam & Eve)➛ (Noah)➛ (Abraham)➛ (Moses)➛ (David)➛ (Jesus and the Apostles) Consistent throughout salvation history are covenants. How does entering into a covenant “define the relationship” between God and his people?
- In the video, we were reminded that we all have an inclination toward sin. As St. Paul says in Romans 7:15, “For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate.” Recall sometime in the last week when you didn’t do something that you knew you should or did something that you knew you shouldn’t. Ask God to help you make a better choice the next time a similar circumstance arises.
Week of June 12: Symbolon Session 5: Who Is Jesus? Just a Good Man or Lord of Our Lives?
- According to the video, what are three things Jesus did during his public ministry that point to his being truly God?
- What do you think it means for Jesus, the divine Son of God, to be truly and fully human? Can you imagine Jesus being tired, hungry, or angry? How does seeing Jesus as having all the same feelings and experiences you have (except for sin) change the way you tell him your needs and desires in prayer?
- Dr. Sri explained to us the meaning of the painting of Jesus in the Basilica of Saints Cosmas and Damian in Rome. How does that painting confront us with a decision we all have to make?
Week of June 19: Symbolon Session 6: The Paschal Mystery: Jesus’s Death & Resurrection
1. Scripture tells us that the Son of God humbled himself to become man and was obedient to the Father even to his Death on the Cross (Philippians 2:5-11). What does God’s willingness to enter our world, embrace our humanity, and die for our sins tell us about God’s love for us? How can Jesus’s self-sacrificial love be an example for our lives?
2. Generally people try to avoid suffering. In the news we might even hear about some people with terminal illnesses who have committed suicide in order to avoid their suffering. But let’s consider for a moment this quote from John 12:24: “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Here’s another way of saying that: “Every death presents an opportunity for a resurrection. Every suffering can be a tremendous gift.” How can suffering or carrying a cross be a great gift?
3. Dr. Sri says that there are two ways to live your life: the way of self and the way of the Cross. Why is there more joy and fulfillment found in the way of the Cross?
Week of June 26: Symbolon Session 7: The Holy Spirit & the Life of Grace
1.The Holy Spirit makes sanctification possible. We know that we cannot get to Heaven on our own—we need help to get there. Justification is a very important concept to understand. What did justification, through an indwelling of the Holy Spirit, do for us?
2. How do we grow in our relationship with the Holy Spirit?
3. Let’s say your friend says to you, “All you need to do is accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior to be saved. He did all the work for us.” How would you respond?
Week of July 3: Symbolon Session 8: Why Do I Need the Church? The Mystery of the Catholic Church
1. The Church is unique among all institutions in the world, because it has both divine and human dimensions that come together in perfect unity. What are the three ways this unity of the Church is made manifest?
2. The Church has four characteristics or distinctive marks that sets her apart from all other Christian denominations. What are these “marks of the Church” and what do they mean?
3. Let’s say that your friend says to you that he (or she) is “spiritual” but not a “religious” person. What is the problem with that statement?
Week of July 10: Symbolon Session 9: Mary & the Saints: Our Mother & the Communion of Saints
1.Why do Catholics honor the saints? Why are the saints’ prayers for us so powerful?
2. What are the four Catholic dogmas about Mary? What do they teach us about Jesus and the Father’s plan of salvation?
3. How is Jesus’s command to St. John to “Behold your mother”
Week of July 17: Symbolon Session 10: The Last Things: What Happens After We Die?
1.We all have various images of Heaven, but according to the video, what is Heaven?
2. In the presentation, the Catholic teaching on Purgatory is discussed. What are some of the misconceptions about Purgatory? What does the Catholic Church really teach about Purgatory? And why can Purgatory be seen, at least in some sense, as something for which we should be grateful?