How to deepen belief

When Marge Milanese talks about the study of Jesus Christ, as she will do at Spring Enrichment in June, she doesn't mean just the Jesus of history.

In her four-part series, "Christology: Who Do You Say That I Am?" she plans to examine how the Jesus of history is not the Christ of faith because "the only way we can come to truly know Christ is through faith."

During each of the four presentations, Ms. Milanese has prepared a spectrum of experiences for her students.

Deeper level

"We are hopefully going to come to know Jesus Christ on a deeper level by the end of these four sessions," she said. "We will do this by looking at where we are now in our understanding of Jesus, in effect asking ourselves, 'Who do we think He is?' and then looking back at the people, places and events in our lives that brought or guided us to this understanding.

"To truly know Jesus is to love Him, but how do we arrive at both knowing and loving Him?"

At each session, Ms. Milanese will guide students in experiential approaches that include music and video as well as historical data and Scriptural references. In addition, class participants will compare and contrast the synoptic Gospels to the Gospel of St. John to examine what Jesus said and meant.

Gospel messages

Ms. Milanese said that the students in her course will reflect on the stories in the Bible, "see how they evolved over time, first as reflection by the Apostles themselves, then as oral tradition, and finally in written form as Scripture.

"The Bible is not a history book, but rather our book of faith. What do the Scriptures say of Jesus? We will break open the Word to discover the message and then make it come alive for us."

Finally, she said students will see how Jesus used the Psalms to relate His message and mission.

"Why did He choose to use the Psalms?" she asked. "What does that mean for us today, and how can we use them to deepen our faith lives?"

(5/12/05)