My Catholic Morals! Meeting Three for Study

To Love God

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Preparation Before the Meeting
Make una ask the people wey go take part to read Chapter Three for the My Catholic Morals! book before this meeting.

5 minutes – Gather Together
Make small chops and time to relax and gist dey as people dey arrive. Try to keep to time, and gather everybody together before 5 minutes pass after the time wey una plan to start.

5-10 minit – Opening Prayer and Scripture
Everybody go sit quietly as di leader start with di Sign of di Cross, then invite dem to stay silent for some time with these words:

Make we quiet our hearts as we begin together to study the glorious teaching of our Catholic faith about how we suppose live.  “Lord, as we sit here quietly for one minute, help each of us to bring our own questions, worries, fears and joys to You.  For this quiet moment, help us to listen well to Your gentle voice as You dey speak to us, guide us and call us to deeper faith.”

Make everybody close eye and keep quiet for about one minute, so that each person fit tell our Lord about the particular things wey dey worry am.

Di leader go read this invitation: 

Make we think deeply about the Word of God. Make we use these questions take reflect on our own journey of faith: I believe?  How deep my faith be?  I dey open to allow God speak to me?  I dey open to the Word of God, and I ready to allow God’s truth enter deeper inside me?  I ready to allow this new faith change my life?

The leader of the session go read these Scripture passages with prayerful mind, one at a time, and pause for about 30 seconds between each verse:

Exodus 2:2-5:  Na Me be the LORD your God, wey bring you comot from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. Make you no put any other gods before Me. Make you no carve any image for yourself, or make anything wey resemble anything for heaven above, for the earth below, or for the water under the earth; make you no bow down to dem or serve dem. 

Matthew 4:10:  Dem don write am say: “Na the Lord your God you go worship, and na only Him you go serve.” 

Exodus 20:7:  Make you no use the name of the Lord your God anyhow. 

Matthew 5:33-34:  Una don hear say dem tell people for olden days, “Make you no swear false oath….” But I dey tell una, make una no swear at all. 

Exodus 20:8-10:  Remember the Sabbath day, and keep am holy. Make you work for six days and do all your work; but the seventh day na Sabbath for the Lord your God; make you no do any work for that day. 

Mark 2:27-28:  Na for human beings dem make the Sabbath, no be human beings dem make for the Sabbath; so the Son of Man na Lord even of the Sabbath. 

Then the leader go talk: Make we keep quiet for small time to think deep about these words. (one minit of silence)  

The Leader go invite everybody to pray for their heart as the leader dey pray this prayer aloud:

Lord, help me to love You with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength.  Help me to honour You for the ways wey You don show me, and to keep You for the centre of my life.  Make I always keep Sunday as holy day wey I dedicate to You, and make I always dey faithful to attend Mass.  Make I honour You with both my words and my actions, and make I learn to love You more deeply every single day of my life.

Amen.

The prayer time go end as everybody profess the Apostles’ Creed: 

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: wey the Holy Spirit cause make His Mother conceive Am, wey the Virgin Mary born; wey suffer under Pontius Pilate, wey dem nail to cross, wey die and wey dem bury. E descend go hell; on the third day E rise again from the dead; E ascend go heaven, E siddon for the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there E go come judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life wey no go ever end. Amen.

45-50 minutes – Questions for Discussion
Make una invite each person to share something or ask question, if e want, about the questions and things to discuss wey dey below.  Take the questions one by one, and give each person chance to talk if e want.  No let one or two people take over the discussion.  Give everybody for the circle turn, and no fear to share!  Wetin you understand fit help another person understand the topics better.  The question wey you get fit be the same question wey another person get.  Some of the questions below go ask make you share from your own life; other questions go ask make you share wetin you read for Chapter Three with others.  The aim na to share from our own lives and make sure say we express the faith of our Church clearly and everybody understand am.

1. First Commandment:
   1. God dey call us to love Him with our whole being.  Discuss the ways wey we fit fulfil this great calling through adoration, prayer, sacrifice, promises & vows, and freedom of religion
   2. This Commandment forbid every way wey we dey go against God’s law by putting false gods before Him.  Discuss any of these ways of breaking this Commandment wey stand out to you: superstition, idol worship, divination & magic, lack of respect for religion, belief say God no dey, and belief say we no fit know whether God dey.
   3. The best way to keep this Commandment na to grow for the theological virtues of Faith, Hope, and Love.  Discuss the ways wey these virtues dey fulfil the great calling to love God.
2. Second Commandment:
   1. Discuss the different ways wey people dey break this Commandment through swearing: for ordinary talk, as habit, for anger, or by swearing oath for God’s name. 
   2. You dey think well about the “great calling” of this Commandment?  No be only to avoid swearing God dey call us to do; E dey call us to get deep respect for Him and His holy name.  Which practical ways you fit take fulfil this mission for your life?
   3. How this Commandment concern the way we dey treat others, talk about dem, and talk to dem?
3. Third Commandment:
   1. Wetin be the difference between the Sabbath Day for the Old Testament and the way wey Christians dey fulfil am now on the “Eighth Day?”
   2. Why Holy Days of Obligation dey? Why we suppose go Mass for these days?
   3. Discuss the difficulty wey many people dey face to attend Mass faithfully on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation.
   4. Wetin be our duties concerning “rest” on the Sabbath? Make una talk about how culture dey influence people and how things wey society dey do fit reduce the respect wey people suppose give the day of rest as holy day. Wetin we fit do about this?
4. Now wey una don discuss all three Commandments, make una look again at any particular sins wey people don commit, according to wetin our Church dey teach about mortal sin: The matter must be grave, the person must know fully say na sin, and the person must freely and completely agree to do am.
   1. How una see these three things as dem concern the sins wey people dey commit anyhow today for our culture?
   2. Wetin you fit do to make sure say you no fall into these sins for way wey go make dem mortal sins?

20 minutes – Reflection and Sharing for the End
Make una go round and give each person chance to share wetin stand out pass for them from the discussion, or wetin confuse them pass, so that wetin others go share fit help them understand better.

5 minit – Closing Prayer
Make the leader start with the Sign of the Cross, then ask everybody to close their eyes and keep quiet for one minit.  Make each person reflect on wetin una discuss, especially wetin touch am pass.

Then make the leader pray this prayer:

Lord, we thank You for wetin we share and discuss today. Help each of us to take the message wey You want make we hear from this discussion. Make Your voice clear, and make each of us get the courage and wisdom wey we need to fulfil the great calling wey we get to love.

Jesus, na You I trust.

Di leader go then invite everybody wey dey there to offer dia own prayer like dis (Note: Dem fit pray am aloud, but e fit better make dem pray am for silence, as di leader decide): 

Make each of us now bring wetin dey worry us personally before our Lord, as we trust say He dey hear us and He know everything wey we need.  Make we put these prayers for His hand with full confidence say He want to take control.

(Take one minute of silence so that each person go talk to God about their own personal needs).

Then the leader go invite everybody to end with Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be.

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