The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1953-05-08


esting subject on earth. You doubt
that? l can prove it. You were
made for God more exactly than
fine watch is made for. keeping
time. Learning about God, there
fore, fits you perfectly.
Another reason that the study
of religion can be fascinating
business is this-study clubs are
not really study clubs. Or if they
arc, they make study chubby
thing. really don't know the right
name for them. Discussion clubs?
Well, they're, that too; but really
I've never heard word which ade-
quately describes them.
Could you call them Christian
ity Clubs? Well, yes. Nothing is
so chummy as Catholicity. Nothing
brings people into closer harmony
and understanding than does agree
ment about fundamental things.
Anyhow, call a club study club
or call it something else, what is
it? How does it work?
You begin, as | have said, with
six or eight or ten members
three or four or five couples in
the case of married people. They
meet at somebody's home and then
they rotate, week by week, to 9th
er homes.
You open with prayer. Some
clubs say the Rosary. Others say
shorter prayer. Then you get
down to Study"
What do you study?
Well, here's where you've got
to do some canvassing around
the group. The leader, who can
be anybody who knows the Faith
reasonably well, has got TO find
out what the group needs and
wants, what will interest the mem
bers. Several meetings might be
needed for this. There may be
some false starts.
That's all right Rome wasn't
built in a day.
One study club that | know of
got off to wonderful start with
Frank Sheds little book. "A Map
of Life" Once they had gone
through that, and talked it back
and forth and up and down, they
had their teeth into religion. They
we're thirsting for more religion
Other clubs has gone along well
with a Life of Christ, or a Lives of
the Saints, or the Confraternity
Edition of the Catechism, or the
Gospels or Epistles. There are no
end of books. The main thing is to
have something that stirs interest
and stimulates discussion ~ and
even an occasional rousing argu
mcnt.
/ believe, really. it is more inn
portant TO tell people what to avoid
than what to do.
Avoid the classroom atmosphere.
It'll break up any study club in
short order. Don't let somebody
sit and read to you for long per
iods. Pass the reading around
And don't discourage Interrupt
tions. Encourage them.
The idea is that you need to
know what it is that each person
needs to know and again, I'm
not stammering. When somebody
in the club asks question, and
il is answered, everybody grasps
the snswer-especially the per
son who asked the question.
Why is that? Well, if a mem
ber asks a question, he pays atten-
tion TO the answer But If you
just read to him something that
he doesn't feel he needs, his atten-
/ ton is likely to wander.
So keep it informal. Keep il
chubby and groupish. Don't get too
far off the subject, but don't be
afraid to take side excursions. If
somebody asks a question that no
body can answer adequately, find
volunteer who will look it up
/ for next week
The one thing about study clubs
is The Pope, bishops and priests
can't do all the work of the Church.
We're the Church, too. II the
Church is TO restore the world TO
Christ, we've got to have alert, in
formed and sanctified layfolk.
| Study clubs will Give them to us