Stay-at-Home Activities During COVID-19 Pandemic

The Lifelong Learning and Adult Faith Formation Committee at Ascension is planning several stay-at-home resources and activities for the parish, including small group book discussions using a video group format over Zoom. Zoom is easy to use; you just need a computer (hopefully with a camera) capable of downloading the Zoom software, and an email address. Several groups at Ascension are using Zoom already for Bible study and other gatherings.

READING & DISCUSSING SPIRITUAL CLASSICS

We invite you to join us for book discussions on spiritual classics. We have already read and discussed The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis, Dark Night of the Soul by Saint John of the Cross, Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich, and The Cloud of Unknowing. Classics are generally available from multiple online sources for free, so they should be easy to access during this pandemic crisis when libraries and bookstores are closed.

To participate, just send an email to llaffc@ascensionoakpark.com with the name of the book title in the subject line. You’ll receive a return email before the discussion with a link for the Zoom meeting and further instructions. Reading the book before the discussion is ideal, but feel free to join even if you haven’t finished it.

The next Spiritual Classics book discussion will be on Tuesday, September 8 at 8:00 pm to discuss Practice of the Presence of God: The Best Rule of Holy Life by Brother Lawrence.

Nicholas Herman of Lorraine, known to the world as Brother Lawrence, was born in 1611. He was a soldier and a footman and later entered the Carmelite monastery and worked in the kitchen. His conversations and letters were published a year after his death in 1691. Brother Lawrence is one of the most admired and imitated sons of the Catholic church.

Lawrence is known for his devotion and ability to bring God into every aspect of his life. His classic Christian work, Practice of the Presence of God, is a short but magnificent work showing how to gain a constant and comforting connection to God. He rejoiced in everyday tasks, prayed constantly, and was known around the monastery for his kindness and willingness to help others.

Brother Lawrence famously said that "the time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clutter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the Blessed Sacrament.”

The book is available for free online at the Christian Classics Library and the Gutenberg Project.

The Spiritual Classics discussions are led by Jeff Wood, a member of Ascension since 2018 and chair of the Lifelong Learning and Adult Faith Formation Committee.