Previous Talks
Previous talks given at A Drop of Clear Water meetings are summarized below with links to more detailed descriptions. We hope to have the talks available soon on DVDs.
Our Lady of Guadalupe
We talked about Our Lady of Guadalupe, sharing some first-hand accounts of our recent visit to Mexico City for The World Meeting of Families, particularly with regard to the Tilma of Juan Diego which bears the image of Our Lady. We reviewed the extraordinary scientific aspects of the image, the profound and complex imagery and symbolism contained within it, the historical accounts of the appearance of the image and its effects, and its ongoing effects on people today....more
Chris Godfrey: Principles of Life
Chris Godfrey is the President and Founder of Life Athletes, Inc. and a member of the Indiana Bar. Prior to graduating from the University of Notre Dame Law School, Chris played nine years of professional football. As the starting right guard for the Super Bowl XXI champion New York Giants, he earned honors as All-Pro NFL Films, and All-NFC (AP, UPI). He also played on three University of Michigan Rose Bowl teams. He spoke to our Drop of Clear Water group on Sunday, Feb. 8th, about four principles of life. 1: We are made in the image and likeness of God. 2: We are sacred; we belong to God. 3: We're of infinite value because God died for us. 4: God has a plan for our lives....more
Evolution
The theory of Darwinian Evolution is widely accepted throughout the scientific community and is taught in schools, science centers and museums. There are marked similarities between the structures of different life forms which has led most scientists to accept the concept of common descent: that all life has developed from a common ancestor. How did creatures come to be what they are? What can we know with any degree of scientific certainty?.....more
Dating With Purpose and Purity
Our culture bombards us with hedonistic messages promoting selfishness and self-gratification in everything, including dating. Most people today presume dating is a form of recreation, aiming to stir up sexual desires, and dressing and acting immodestly in order to “get” someone… to “score.” It’s like a sport! We feel it’s important to counter that with a Catholic understanding of dating....more
Manhood and Womanhood
During the first five years of his pontificate, Pope John Paul II gave a series of Wednesday General Audiences outside St. Peter's on the topic of human sexuality which collectively have become known as The Theology of The Body. The physical differences between men and women embody complimentary spiritual strengths, abilities, aptitudes and beauty all divinely designed and instilled....more
Serving The Poor
We read the parable of Lazarus at the gate of the rich man and considered how that applied to our lives today. Since most of the people in the world (over 50%) do not have enough to eat, we realized that all of us are materially rich. There is no doubt that the "rich man" in the parable applies to each one of us....more
The Shroud of Turin
In this talk we discussed the scientific findings regarding the Shroud, felt by many to be the burial cloth of Jesus. The image has fascinated believers and nonbelievers alike as it truly is an image not made by human hands. It appears to have been formed by brief, intense but cool radiation, sufficient to leave the image by aging the linen, but not hot enough to scorch it. The image is also vertically collimated, a phenomenon difficult to explain except by the cloth "pass-through" theory in which the body would have dematerialized and then as the cloth "fell through" the body, it captured the 3-dimensional image.....more
Calumny
"Honor is the social witness given to human dignity, and everyone enjoys a natural right to the honor of his name and reputation and to respect." CCC p595.A more common term for calumny today would be "bad-mouthing" or "trashing" and it is very widespread among people of all ages. We discussed the various forms such activity can take, from rash judgement to detraction, to calumny and slander......more
The Stigmata
In this talk we reviewed information about the stigmata from the perspective of a practicing hand surgeon. The Stigmata are wounds representing The Passion of Christ which have been reported in individuals throughout the centuries. While St. Francis of Assisi (or perhaps St. Paul) was the first known stigmatist we looked at a modern day stigmatist, Saint (Padre) Pio.....more
Extraterrestrials
This photograph was taken from the Hubble telescope in orbit around the earth. The telescope was directed out towards deep space where nothing was visible in real time. A time lapse photograph then revealed this image. The individual lights are not stars but galaxies and astronomers estimate that there are thousands of galaxies in this view alone.....more
The Real Presence
The word, "real" can refer to different types of realities. There are physical realities which we perceive with our senses; spiritual realities such as angels and souls which are not material; symbolic realities, which are physical objects which bring something else to mind such as a flag; and sacramental realities which transcend both physical and spiritual realities. When we speak of the "real" presence, it is this sacramental reality we are referring to.....more
Providence
"The universe was created in a state of journeying toward an ultimate perfection yet to be attained, to which God has designed it..... God cares for all, from the least things to the great events of the world and its history." -CCC 2nd ed. p.80. Everything that happens is within God's providence, including natural disasters. This means earthquakes, tsunamis, deaths of innocent children are all willed by God. How does this square with the notion of God as all-good?......more
Vatican II
Tolerance and World Religions
A Drop of Clear Water is a lay support group for Catholic teens. Our goal is to bring together teens who love their faith, are committed to chastity, and are ready to explore the wonder and beauty of Catholicism.