PG-13
PG-13 Religious Education
It is often remarked that though Jesus taught the adults and blessed the children, the Church seems to have gotten it backwards. We teach the children and bless the adults.
We often finish our religious education just before we begin to face the challenges and opportunities of adulthood. Then, we try to get through life with a religious formation that was appropriate for children. It’s a wonder at times that any of us bother with the Church as adults.
Adults, too, need opportunities to reflect on our faith and deepen our understanding of it. That is the reason for PG-13 Religious Ed at the Franciscan Chapel Center.
In the United States, a PG-13 rating for a film means that it is appropriate for adults and mature teenagers. This religious ed program is like that - appropriate for adults and mature teenagers.
Though it is called a “program,” PG-13 Religious Ed is not a matter of structured meetings, membership, homework, etc. There isn’t even a tuition fee! The program is built to suit the needs and schedules of men and women who are busy with family, work and the complications of life in Japan.
On the third Monday of each month, except during the summer, members of the parish gather for an hour and a half to discuss some theme or issue related to our lives as adult Christians.
We have used lectures, video, books and articles as background information for the conversations, but the main resource is our own experience of meeting and following Christ.
Why not drop in and see what you’ve been missing since finishing Sunday School? And think how much easier it will be to get your kids to go to Religious Ed when they know that you do so too!
PG-13 ADULT RELIGIOUS ED PROGRAM READING LIST SCHEDULE
PG-13 ADULT RELIGIOUS ED PROGRAM (as of April 26, 2009)
WHAT’S COMING UP
- Timothy Radcliffe: Why go to Church? The Drama of the Eucharist (September 28, 2009)
- Guy Consolmagno: God’s Mechanics: How Scientists and Engineers Make Sense of Religion (October 19, 2009)
- Kerry Kennedy: Being Catholic Now: Prominent Americans Talk About Change in the Church and the Quest for Meaning (November 16, 2009)
WHERE WE’VE BEEN
- William Grimm: Lenten weekly lecture series: The Mass: What in God’s Name Are We Doing Here? (Feb. 29 - March 28, 2004)
William Grimm: lecture on a Catholic approach to Scripture: Bible Babble (May 16 & 19, 2004)
- C. S. Lewis: Mere Christianity (Sept. 27 & Oct. 4, 2004)
- Jaroslav Pelikan: Jesus through the Centuries (Nov. 15 & 22, 2004)
- Avery Dulles: Models of the Church (Jan. 24, 2005)
- Lawrence Cunningham: Francis of Assisi: Performing the Gospel Life (Feb. 21, 2005)
- Robert Bolt: A Man for All Seasons (book & movie) (March 21, 2005)
- Eugene Gorski: lecture on Catholicism and other religions (April 25, 2005)
- Scott Hahn: The Lamb’s Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth (May 16, 2005)
- Richard Gaillardetz: By What Authority?: A Primer on Scripture, the Magisterium, and the Sense of the Faithful (Sept. 27, 2005)
- Scott Hahn: First Comes Love: Finding Your Family in the Church and the Trinity (Oct. 17, 2005)
- Kathy Coffey: immersed in the sacred: discovering the “small s” sacraments (Nov. 21, 2005)
- Richard Gaillardetz: Transforming Our Days: Spirituality, Community and Liturgy in a Technological Culture (Jan. 23, 2006)
- Thomas Santa: The Essential Bible Handbook: a Guide for Catholics (Feb. 20, 2006)
- Russell Becker: lecture, Priest, Prophet and King (March 13, 2006)
- Richard Gaillardetz: A Daring Promise: A Spirituality of Christian Marriage (March 20, 2006)
- Julie Hanlon Rubio: A Christian Theology of Marriage and Family (April 24, 2006)
- James Keenan: Moral Wisdom: Lessons and Texts from the Catholic Tradition (May 22, 2006)
- C. S. Lewis: The Four Loves and Benedict XVI: encyclical, God is Love (Sept. 25, 2006)
- Peter L Berger: Questions of Faith: A Skeptical Affirmation of Christianity (Oct. 30, 2006)
- John Garvey: Death and the Rest of Life (Nov. 20, 2006)
- Kenneth R. Miller: Finding Darwin’s God: A Scientist’s Search for Common Ground between God and Evolution (Dec. 18, 2006)
- William O’Malley: Choosing to be Catholic: For the First Time or Once Again (Jan. 22, 2007)
- Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI): Introduction to Christianity (Feb.19, 2007)
- William Grimm: Sunday morning Lenten lecture series reprised: The Mass: What in God’s Name Are We Doing Here? (Feb. 25 - March 25, 2007)
- Thomas H. Groome: What Makes Us Catholic: Eight Gifts for Life (March 19, 2007)
- James Martin: My Life with the Saints (April 16, 2007)
- Timothy Radcliffe: What is the Point of Being a Christian? (June 1, 2007) With the author present!
- U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops: United States Catholic Catechism for Adults
- Part 1: The Creed: The Faith Professed (Sept. 17, 2007)
- Part 2: The Sacraments: The Faith Celebrated (Oct. 15, 2007)
- Parts 3 & 4: Christian Morality: The Faith Lived and Prayer: The Faith Prayed (Nov. 12, 2007)
- George Dardess: Do We Worship the Same God?: Comparing the Bible and the Qu’ran and Mosque (Maryknoll video). (Dec.10, 2007)
- Daniel J. Harrington: How Do Catholics Read the Bible? (Jan. 21, 2008)
- Jack Bernard: How to Become a Saint: A Beginner’s Guide (Feb. 18, 2008)
- C. S. Lewis: The Chronicles of Narnia (March 17, 2008)
- Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI): Jesus of Nazareth (April 21, 2008)
- Dr. Muhammad Alzeer, Arabic Islamic Institute of Tokyo, presentation on Islam (May 19, 2008)
- James T. Bretzke: A Morally Complex World (Sept. 22, 2008)
- Thomas Cahill: The Gifts of the Jews (Oct. 20, 2008)
- Tony Brodniak: talk on prayer (Nov. 17, 2008)
- Thomas Cahill: Desire of the Everlasting Hills (Dec. 15, 2008)
- Kevin W. Irwin: Models of the Eucharist (Jan. 26, 2009)
- Russell Shaw: Catholic Laity in the Mission of the Church (Feb. 16, 2009)
- Daniel Pilarczyk: Being Catholic: How We Believe, Practice and Think (March 16, 2009)
- Thomas Massaro and Thomas Shannon: Catholic Perspectives on Peace and War (April 20, 2009)
- Anne Rice: Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt: A Novel (May 18, 2009)
WHERE WE MIGHT (or MIGHT NOT) GO IN THE FUTURE (If you have any suggestions or requests, please tell Fr. Grimm)
- Dennis J. Billy & James Keating: The Way of Mystery: The Eucharist and Moral Living
- Francis S. Collins: The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief
- James F. Keenan: The Works of Mercy: The Heart of Catholicism
- James Martin, ed.: Awake My Soul: Contemporary Catholics on Traditional Devotions
- Thomas J. Massaro & Thomas A. Shannon: Catholic Perspectives on Peace and War
- Gerald O’Collins & Mario Farrugia: Catholicism: The Story of Catholic Christianity
- Daniel Pilarczyk: Being Catholic: How We Believe, Practice and Think
- Garry Wills: What Jesus Meant
- Vatican II: Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes)
- Michael Walsh: Roman Catholicism: The Basics
BOOKS WE WON’T LOOK AT TOGETHER, BUT WHICH YOU MIGHT FIND USEFUL
- Francisco J. Ayala: Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion
- Peter L. Berger: A Rumor of Angels: Modern Sociology and the Rediscovery of the Supernatural
- Joseph Bernardin: The Gift of Peace
- Thomas Bokenkotter: A Concise History of the Catholic Church
- Ruth Burrows: Essence of Prayer
- John Haldane: An Intelligent Person’s Guide to Religion
- Abraham Joshua Heschel: Who is Man?
- Abraham Joshua Heschel: The Prophets
- Paul Johnson: A History of Christianity
- Walter Kasper: Sacrament of Unity: The Eucharist and The Church
- James F. Keenan: Virtues for Ordinary Christians
- Timothy Keller: The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism
- Hans Kung: The Church
- C. S. Lewis: The Screwtape Letters
- Richard McBrien: Catholicism
- James Martin, ed.: Celebrating Good Liturgy: A Guide to the Ministries of the Mass
- Kathleen Norris: The Cloister Walk
- Rowan Williams: Tokens of Trust: An Introduction to Christian Belief
- Garry Wills: The Rosary
