This is home base
Everything in the reflection and discussion guide for Into the Heart of the Father is connected through this page. I would suggest bookmarking this page so it is easy to access whenever you need to return.
If you need to order copies of the book, please click on the book image.
What is the goal of this guide to reflection and discussion?
All Christian prayer is a participation in Christ’s prayer to the Father. The ultimate goal of this journey is not just to learn about prayer but to open up opportunities to actually pray more deeply and more boldly. The Catechism of the Catholic Church instructs us that to develop in our prayer with Christ, we must do three things: “first to contemplate him in prayer, then to hear how he teaches us to pray, [and then discover] how he hears our prayer” (2598). We will follow that path with this guide, as I do with my book.
We will study Christ as the one who prays as we read the Gospels closely and contemplatively.
We will heed the instructions that Christ gives to his disciples for how to pray, which includes attending to key parables on prayer.
We will discover more fully the duty of the Christian to pray, learning how to offer everything as a prayer to the Father through Christ.
How is this guide organized?
This is guide is laid out as a five-unit itinerary, which may span five weeks, or ten, or however long works for you and your group. Each “unit” corresponds to one of the five chapters of Into the Heart of the Father. Within each unit, you will find the following segments (listed here with an explanation of each):
Reflection Questions = This is a question for each individual, preferably to become the substance of a journal entry, that each person considers and responds to before reading the chapter for the given unit. In other words, this is a starting point.
Reading = This is simply the chapter and page numbers associated with the given unit. Each person’s reading is meant to happen after they have addressed the reflection question (above).
Discussion Questions = These are questions meant to generate group discussion. Of course, it would be best for each individual member to ponder these questions on their own before entering into discussion with others. But when it comes time for discussion, there is at least as much emphasis placed on listening to what other people have to say as there is saying something oneself to contribute to the discussion. These questions are actually provided in the book itself, at the end of each chapter.
Assignment Question = If this were a course, this is what each person would submit. But this probably isn’t a course for you and your group, so this is instead a final reflection before moving on from this unit. This final reflection can be entered into one’s journal, or shared with the group, or both. In fact, this is a really excellent opportunity to practice sharing with one another in a way distinct from group discussion. In other words, this is an opportunity to share something written with one another.
Additional Resources = For each unit, there will be a list of other things you might be interested in reading or considering. Some of the resources mentioned are treated somewhere in the chapter we read for this unit, but not always.
How about keeping in touch?
If you haven’t already done so, would you mind providing me with your contact info so I know who is using this guide and perhaps follow up with you from time to time?