Hello, Everyone!
        The next Areopagus meeting will be held this Friday, July 18, at the Kot's residence.  The meeting shall commence at 7 p.m.  Please bring a snack to pass and plenty of questions for the box. 
         I will be e-mailing the address of the house, but not posting it on the blog.  If you need it but have not received my e-mails, please e-mail me at tgagnon@centurytel.net.
         Safe traveling!  I hope to see everyone there!
      
          In Christ,
               Evelyn             
       

Joyful June

      Greetings Areopagites!
          We had a great time at the Pilarski's last meeting with many Areopagites attending.  We are very grateful to the Pilarski family for opening their floodgates to our teen-aged tidal wave!
           Due to the present season of summer, we did not discuss Cicero this past meeting, but instead Father Ward spoke to us about summer modesty and the importance of modesty to our spiritual life.  Several of the Areopagites also gave some good standards of modesty to be followed for both girls and boys.  One of the suggestions by an Areopagus teen was that, as a guide for girls, if Our Lady wouldn't wear an outfit, then they shouldn't either. 
          We went through a lot of great questions.  Some of them were:

• Can the Bible be wrong in small, inconsequential ways?
• What is a healthy friendship?
• How should a Catholic respond to a college that hosts a "Black Mass" as an "educational" and "exploratory" event into different "religions"?  Could they attend that college?  What if they already attend that college?
• Is torture intrinsically evil?
• What is the difference between the Tridentine Low and High Masses?
• In war is it moral for non-fatal military actions against civilians?
• Where did ketchup originate? (This was a trivial matter)
• When a boy and girl who are unmarried hug, would it be more prudent for them to perform a "side" hug in order to guard against temptations to lust?
• Is there a reason we do not call characters from the Old Testament that we know to be in Heaven (such as Moses and Elijah) "saints"?
• In following the Principle of Subsidiarity, if a higher level in a hierarchy (such as the state) can perform a task more efficiently than a lower level (such as the city) could, should it interfere in the lower level's performance of that task? 

           The July 18th Areopagus will be held at the Kot Residence.  I will be sending out a reminder e-mail soon with the address.  Please make sure that I have your e-mail address so that you can stay informed.  Hope to see everyone there!
               
                 In Christ,
                      Evelyn

St. Maria Goretti, Pray for us!

           
             
                                            

    Hello Everyone,   
       This month's meeting will be held this Friday, June 20, at 7:00 p.m.  We shall congregate at the Pilarski residence.  I will not post their address on the blog, so if you need it please e-mail me at tgagnon@centurytel.net.  Please bring a snack to pass and plenty of questions for debate.  Looking forward to Friday!
       In Christ,
            Evelyn

May Areopagus

        We had a wonderful meeting at the Spankies' home.  We are grateful to them for hosting the multitude of teenage philosophers (and parents) attending.  Father Ward began as he has for the past several meetings with reading a part of Cicero's discourse on old age and discussing it with the Areopagites.  As odd a topic as it seems for teenagers, Father uses Cicero to show us how we can prepare as youths for a better old age.  
        We had some other interesting discussions at this and the last month's meeting in April.  These were concerned with various topics, including:

• Would you go to Heaven or Hell if you committed suicide while wearing a scapular?
• Why do priests wear robes (cassocks)?
• What would have happened if Mary had said "no" to being the mother of Christ?  Would Christ have been born of someone else? 
• Is it wrong to not prevent someone from doing servile work on Sunday?
• Was WWII a just war?  Were the A-bomb incidents just?
• Is there a proper way to fold your hands for prayer (palms together versus fingers laced)? 
• If the Lord says to call no one "father", why do we call priests "father"?
• The immorality of yoga (do stretches, don't do yoga) 

          The next Areopagus will be held at the Pilarski residence on Friday, June 20th.  Here's hoping the weather will stop its fluctuation by then.
                      In Christ,
                           Evelyn Gagnon
        
           Mary, Mother of God, pray for us!
       

  Hello Everyone,
      
          The May Areopagus will be held tonight, May 9th, at 7 p.m. at the Spankies' house.  I apologize for not having posted the reminder on the Blog earlier.  I sent e-mails last week and last Wednesday to everyone.   They are titled under the subject of "May reminder", or "May Areopagus" and contain the address of the house.   If you did not receive or cannot find those e-mails and do not know the Spankies' address, please e-mail me at tgagnon@centurytel.net.

        In Christ,
            Evelyn Gagnon     

 

      My Philosophical Fellow-teens:  Greetings!
                This month's Areopagus meeting will be held Friday, April 11th, at 7 p.m. in Sacred Heart Catholic Church's social hall.  The address is 700 Maple Vista, Imlay City, MI, 48444.  For emphasis:  The meeting will be held in the social hall attached to the church, NOT the rectory.
                 If you could, Father Ward would like it if some of the Areopagites came to the 6 p.m. Way of the Cross devotions before the meeting.  Parents are welcome and Father suggests that they bring more comfortable chairs for themselves to sit on instead of the folding chairs in the hall.  Please bring a meatless snack to pass and plenty of questions to read and discuss.
         In Christ,
               Evelyn Gagnon
       

Felicitations, Fellow Philosophers!

    As many of you already know, I have taken over secretarial duties from Henricus Tyranicus.  Many thanks to him for his loyal service!
    Our last Areopagus was held at the Kostiuks' house.  We are very grateful to them for hosting the ample army of Areopagites!  This month and February we discussed various topics. (I had not posted the questions from last month, very sorry about that.)  The questions, comments and trivial matters included:

• How could one persuade and explain to Protestants that Purgatory is a real place?
• Is flirting a sin?  The following topic branched off of this question:  When does teasing become sinful or fall under flirting?   
• Is having a boyfriend or girlfriend while still young (high school, early college, and under) and with no intention of marrying that person OK? 
• Is it OK to write fictional stories about saints (especially if there is little known about their life)?
• How should one bear witness to God when constantly surrounded by people who reject Him?
• What can one do to avoid getting distracted or get out of distraction while saying the Rosary? Also:  What should they be meditating on while saying it?
• Would attending the marriage of a Catholic cousin getting married outside the Church be a mortal sin?
• What should someone about to have spiritual direction think about before going?
• How should one respond to a professor who insists that the evangelization of the Germanic peoples was tyranny on the part of the Catholic Church?                                                                

       I do not yet know for certain where the next Areopagus will be held.  As a note, April's meeting will not be held the third Friday of the month, but the second Friday (April 11th), as Good Friday falls on the third Friday.  If you are interested in hosting a meeting, please let me know. 
Have a blessed Lent Everyone!
       In Christ,
            Evelyn Gagnon