The Zacchaeus Course E-Book

Pierre-Yves Gomez

• Herausgeber: Éditions de l'Emmanuel
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 360

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

The social doctrine of the church simply explained for everyday life.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Pierre-Yves Gomez is an economist and professor at emlyon business school, where he has been director of the French Institute of Corporate Governance since 2003. He has participated in the debates and reforms of corporate governance in France, and since 2008 has been writing a column on this subject in the newspaper Le Monde.

Leseprobe

The Zacchaeus Course

The Zacchaeus Course

The Social Doctrine of the Church in everyday life

Emmanuel Publications

Composition : © Soft Office (38)

Édition originale :

© Éditions Emmanuel, 2012

Nouvelle édition révisée et augmentée :

© Éditions Emmanuel, 2016

89, boulevard Auguste-Blanqui – 75013 Paris

www.editions-emmanuel.com

ISBN : 978-2-35389-602-8

‘He entered Jericho and was going through the town and suddenly a man whose name was Zacchaeus made his appearance; he was one of the senior tax collectors and a wealthy man. He kept trying to see which Jesus was, but he was too short and could not see him for the crowd; so he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus who was to pass that way. When Jesus reached the spot he looked up and spoke to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I am to stay at your house today.’ And he hurried down and welcomed him joyfully. They all complained when they saw what was happening. ‘He has gone to stay at a sinner’s house,’ they said. But Zacchaeus stood his ground and said to the Lord, ‘Look, sir, I am going to give half my property to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody I will pay him back four times the amount.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham; for the Son of man has come to seek out and save what was lost.’

Gospel of St Luke 19:1-10

Find all information about the Zacchaeus Course on our website: www.zachee.com

Notification of or changes to your course:

If you launch the Course or change it, please inform us via the website www.zachee.com, it will then be shown on the map and you will receive up-to-date information. You will also have access to a private page offering many tools to help you run your course!

Do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] and send us your testimonies, share helpful methods, ask questions, or receive information, etc. We are here to help you!

NOTICE TO THE READER

If you are reading this,

• Either you are attending a Zacchaeus course

• Or you want to run the course,

• Or you want to do the course on your own using this material.

For all of the above, the printed material will help you to make the most of the course. Whatever your motivation, an understanding of how it was designed will help to know what can be expected from the course.

The Zacchaeus course is a program intended to help Christians and all men and women of good will who wish to harmonize their faith, values and convictions with their daily lives ‘in the world’. It was launched in 2006 by a team led by Pierre-Yves Gomez, a member of the Emmanuel Community. All courses are coordinated by a team which may be contacted on the website www.zachee.com

The Course consists of eight major themes. Each theme is followed by two series of exercises which link the teachings to your daily life. These pages are designed for you to write in them by completing the tables and writing notes. Use them – it’s your travel diary!

You will find in the introduction all the constitutive elements to the course, not only so that you will fully understand the Zacchaeus Course, but also to be able to organize the course yourself. Whatever your situation, start by carefully reading the introduction in order to be inspired by the spirit of the course. This is indispensable in making progress. Section VII of the introduction is particularly for those who cannot do the course with a group. For you too, the Lord will say ‘I must stay at your house today!’’

INTRODUCTION

THE ZACCHAEUS COURSE, WHAT IS IT?HOW IS IT CONSTRUCTED? HOW DO I DO IT?

I. What is the purpose of the Zacchaeus course?

What originally inspired the course? It was inspired by the need to harmonize our life of faith with our daily lives.

The Zacchaeus Course aims at a spiritual transformation. It has been designed primarily for lay people who wish to deepen their Christian life in its daily dimension – whether in the family, professionally, socially and/or politically. It is built on the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church (SDC), in particular the 2004 Compendium, the Catholic Catechism and texts from the Magisterium. However it is neither a course presenting the SDC, nor on how to apply it, but it is a spiritual journey designed to find a means of sanctification in our daily lives.

The vast majority of Christians live in the world and are of the world. They spend most of their time engaged in professional, family, social and sometimes political activities. They find their livelihood in the world. It is where they live out (or avoid) their responsibilities and the exercise of their authority, their sense of justice and their capacity for loving. To a large extent, their activities, which serve the world, are the ones that the world uses to evaluate them (or to deprecate them).

Thus, even if a lay person does not want to be of the world, he or she is nevertheless in the world. But how can we be in the world while not being of the world? We might be tempted to separate the two spheres, that of our life of faith on one hand and that of our everyday lives on the other. But this condemns the lay Christian to a double life – a life ‘outside the world’- pious and churchgoing (on Sunday, during prayer or when serving the Church) and another life ‘in the world’ which is profane and worldly (at work, in everyday society). Christians would then be forced to think about how to cause the ‘least possible harm’ in the world, understanding that real spiritual development is ‘outside the world’, without the constraints of society.

This is neither satisfying nor sustainable. Indeed, when separating our lives of faith from our daily activities, we generally consider the world as a place leading us to sin and which never gives us opportunities for sanctification! In fact despising the world deprives us of our main place of sanctification. If we don’t progress towards holiness there, where will we do so? If this is not the place where we confess ourselves to be disciples of Christ, where will we do this? By refusing sanctification in our daily lives in the world, we are neglecting the path to sanctification that we are called to in our lives. We are then reduced to a life of guilt and disappointment that our times of prayer and Church life can only occasionally soften or may even mortify.

This is the starting point of the Zacchaeus course – to seriously consider that the essential part of the spiritual life of a lay Christian takes place in the world, through activities which must be made to bear fruit. This world is the space given to us for our sanctification. If we realize that every day society offers us not only temptations to sin, but also opportunities to grow in holiness, we can make our everyday life more spiritual and combine it with our life of prayer. In participating, by our activities, in the Divine Creation, in pursuing the Common Good, in using our possessions justly, in paying particular attention to the poor, in wielding authority, in taking on responsibilities, in living in community etc. we can accomplish the ‘Eucharistic consistency’ that Pope Benedict XVI refers to in Sacramentum Caritatis (§83 et seq.). There is no longer a separation between our spiritual and our daily life – rather a single Christian life lived out for the Lord.

How do we do it? A spiritual journey to discover the way of Zacchaeus

In chapter 19 of the Gospel of Luke, Jesus says to Zacchaeus ‘Today I must stay at your house.’ Think carefully about the words ‘today’ and ‘your house’. The time is the present, that of our daily lives, and it is in our own home that the Lord wants to stay. This includes our family and our job as well as our social or political activities. Jesus wants to invite himself into them and it is through them that we may receive Him. So that at the end of the Gospel, the Lord did not say to Zacchaeus ‘Sell all that you have and follow me’. He leaves him in the world, now illuminated and transformed by His visit.

Zacchaeus is the model and image of our hope – that the Lord should come today into our life and stay at our home.

Understanding that the Lord visits us in the most mundane and even the most trivial parts of our lives often requires a conversion prior to the Course. We are too used to our double life – with its spiritual side and its profane side. It is not uncommon for us to suffer from this situation. We can however also feel quite comfortable with it because separating the spiritual from the temporal has an advantage – we can consider ourselves victims of the world when we sin or when we fail to act as disciples of Christ. And to be honest, it allows us to avoid examining our more questionable behaviour.

The first objective of the Zacchaeus course is to convey the necessity for a change in perspective and to communicate what this implies. To benefit from it fully, participants should not only want to learn this, but also to desire to reconcile their thirst for God with the activities in which they are involved.

The second objective is to become familiar with a spirituality of everyday life, where we learn to see that this life offers countless opportunities for our sanctification. Exercises, fraternal sharing and times of personal or collective prayers are offered to participants. At the end of the Course, they should be able to see that, within God’s plan, their life consists of an extraordinary ‘range of opportunities’ that they may use to grow in sanctity – and to marvel in it!

The content of the course is based on the Social Doctrine of the Church. Nevertheless, it is not simply to ‘apply’ this Doctrine in finding solutions for the problems facing us in society. The SDC enlightens us on how to transform our minds and hearts to live in coherence with this society, including denouncing its injustices and disorders. The Zacchaeus Course invites us to find the practical ways of achieving the Christian lifestyle that we are offered by the Catholic Church.

In the spirit of this journey, the team in charge of welcoming participants and giving the teachings must first be motivated by the desire not only to convey knowledge, but also to give to their brothers and sisters in Christ the opportunity to transform their daily lives, and then to transform their entire existence by taking on, according to their rhythms of life and their own capabilities, the art of living the Christian life. The person responsible for the group should strive to maintain this benevolent, fraternal, and yet demanding dynamic regarding each person involved in the Course.

This is why the Zacchaeus Course must be seen and experienced as a work of the Holy Spirit. Even if it provides concrete ways to make progress and the leadership team assumes its role in welcoming and encouraging the spiritual growth of participants, only the Spirit can act in everyone, touching their hearts and transforming them. An important dimension is the support of the participants in prayer by the organizers of the course.

THREE KEYS POINTS IN UNDERSTANDING THE ZACCHAEUS COURSE

• Have in mind that participants should grow in their relationship with God by discovering and making full use of the opportunities offered to them in society.

• Grasp the importance of adopting a Christian lifestyle by implementing a personal understanding, rather than an understanding that is purely intellectual.

• Consider that such a course is the work of the Holy Spirit in each one of us. Do not try to compel or convince, but try to support in a brotherly way, in order that people may be open to the work of the Spirit.

II. Content of the Zacchaeus Course

The course consists of -

1. An evening to present the Zacchaeus Course.

2. Teachings – these are designed to introduce the main themes, based on the SDC. The themes view the world as the place of our sanctification.

3. Personal exercises – these are related to the teachings. Participants are invited to consider questions regarding everyday life and how to better achieve spiritual growth by answering these questions.

4. Regular sharing groups. Participants gather in small groups to share their experiences. These exchanges are based solely on the exercises. The groups are not for discussing the SDC or their personal life, but are designed to understand in a practical way how each participant was able to do the exercises, the problems they had, etc. The exchange of experiences in doing the exercises is essential. The group leader, who is a member of the organizing team, is responsible for a group composed of 6-8 participants.

5. Social time. It is important that the course itself is a fraternal time for the participants. Meals, evenings or weekends together may be arranged for this purpose, so that a Christian lifestyle is also achieved within the course itself.

If you intend to do the course independently using this material, you obviously have to make time for the lessons and exercises. However, be aware before starting that the spirit of the course should also lead you to share what you learn. That is why it is good to try to work with at least one or two other people. We always make more progress together.

1. Evening to present the Zacchaeus Course

Before launching your course, it is better to organize a presentation evening to publicize the course and to allow those who are interested to commit themselves to the year with full knowledge.

The evening may be divided into five main stages:

1. Praise / Prayer – 10 min

2. Introductory Teaching: “Taking care of Creation” (written text available on request) – 35 min

3. Presentation of the Zacchaeus Course: program, themes, calendar – 20 min

4. Testimonies from previous participants (wherever possible) – 15 min

5. Enrolments – 15 min

2. Teachings

Eight themes will be covered -

Theme 1 : Participants in God’s Creation – His creation and how it relates to our activity in the world.

Theme 2 : Serving the Common Good – how it guides our activity

Theme 3 : The Just Use of Our Possessions – possessions are necessary and are entrusted to us. How do we use them justly in our lives?

Theme 4 : The Preferential Option for the Poor – why a special concern for the weakest in our society is essential to make our activities fully wholesome?

These first four themes are called ‘The Compass’ because they indicate the four cardinal directions by which we navigate the world.

Theme 5 : What is it to exercise authority as a Christian – what is obedience?

Theme 6 : Living in community – principles for organizing the life of a social community.

Theme 7 : Unity and Freedom – how can we construct a society that is unified and free?

Theme 8 : The Art of Living a Christian Life – a summary of the Course which shows how the themes converge to form a coherent vision of life in our society.

These last four themes form ‘The Dividers’ because they allow us to measure our relationships with others and our involvement with society.

The two parts of the course are highly complementary, but each has its own logic. In order to organize a course, it is important to understand the overall plan while recognizing the coherence of each part. All the teachings were originally given by Pierre-Yves Gomez, the founder of the Zacchaeus Course.

AS YOU WILL DISCOVER, THE TEACHINGS FOLLOW IDENTICAL STRUCTURES, WITH FIVE MAIN SECTIONS TO HELP THE PARTICIPANT UNDERSTAND THE BASICS

• First section – the link between the theme and Christian anthropology, its roots in the Christian vision of mankind, and therefore in its Creator. It thus avoids the suspicion of an ideology and shows that the same Christian anthropology is the link between all the themes.

• Second section – the definition of the theme, its content and its implications.

• Third section – the ‘complement’ or sometimes seemingly contradictory counterpart to the theme. For example, the theme of ‘work’ is complemented by ‘rest’, the theme of ‘wealth’ is complemented by ‘voluntary deprivation’ etc. This allows you to explore each theme fully and helps you in its practical implementation.

• Fourth section – pathological traits. For each theme, we stress things which prevent us from thoroughly living a Christian lifestyle. Our weaknesses or sins most commonly occur during practical activities, rather than by ‘sinning’ in a general sense. For example, hyperactivity is a sin associated with work, shopping therapy is a sin associated with wealth, fear of exercising authority is a sin associated with leadership, etc.

• Fifth section – the Word of God. It is important to conclude the theme by commenting on a relevant text from the Gospel. The commentary is a short but apt reminder that Jesus is the final model of the Christian lifestyle.

• After the teachings, the topics are not discussed amongst the participants and questions are not answered in the group. Each participant must first reflect on the teaching by himself. This requires that the teachings should be clear and unambiguous enough for the participant to be able to reach conclusions on their own. Specific references to texts from the Magisterium are systematically given so that each participant can explore the theme further if they wish. The course is orthodox with respect to the teaching of the Church – this is a condition for setting up the course and in avoiding error.

3. The exercises

The printed material contains a variable number of exercises to follow each teaching. There are more exercises at the beginning of the course than at the end to enable participants to become accustomed to the idea of self-learning. The participants should gradually discover the exercises that are most relevant to their lives, and the ones that need to be done again. The exercises generally only take a few minutes per day. Taking notes afterwards is essential – these may be written on these pages. The objective is not to reflect vaguely on the question posed, but to derive two or three important practical points from it. Experience shows that this is essential in order to derive the full benefit of the course. It is also an important starting point for the group discussions.

The exercises are in two parts -

• The first series of exercises comes after the teaching of the theme and consists of personal exercises related to the theme.

• After the sharing group (see below), the second series of exercises contains new tasks and spiritual questions relating to texts on the theme, periods of Adoration, meditation on the Word of God, texts from the Fathers of the Church or from the Magisterium, etc. These exercises complete the practical part of the theme and are more ‘free’ and ‘personal’. They will not be discussed in group sharing.

Exercises need to be done on a regular basis. Participants often lead very active lives and may find this difficult. Personal involvement is imperative in order to benefit from the course. Otherwise, we risk acquiring only an abstract understanding of the themes without making the link with everyday life.

In fact, in order to understand what a Christian lifestyle means, we must experience it. Obviously everyone will progress at their own pace. The objective is not to put too much pressure on participants to do the exercises and even less to return the homework they have done, as in school teaching.

The most important thing is to underline early in the course and then at regular intervals the importance of doing the exercises. Participants who only intend to follow the teachings should be discouraged from the start, as this approach fails to take advantage of the most important benefits of the course.

4. Sharing Groups

The sharing groups meet two weeks after the teaching on a theme. Each group is composed of 6 to 8 participants, under the responsibility of a group facilitator. The objective is to exchange experiences, points of difficulty, personal discoveries, and surprises coming from the exercises. The facilitator must interrupt discussions if they are focused on opinions or interpretations, even if they are about the themes of the teaching. The exchange should be about the participants’ experiences. These should stem from the exercises themselves. While encouraging a fraternal exchange the leader must ensure that the sharing is rooted in the participants’ work so that they may deepen their understanding of it. The leader will take particular care to ensure that participants express themselves in the first person (“I”).

The sharing lasts an hour maximum. This duration must be clearly stated at the beginning of the sharing and respected so that it does not lead to endless discussion.

The 3 missions of the group leader

• To ensure that everyone can speak if they wish to and that no one monopolizes the conversation.

• To encourage fraternally the participants to deepen their experiences by doing the exercises. The group leader must, of course, give a good example on this point.

• To stimulate a change of outlook on the world by encouraging the participants to see how the world provides opportunities for sanctification through shared experiences.

If you do these exercises outside of an organized course, you will discover that sharing is an important part of the whole course. It is in fact a key component which anchors the experiences to the teaching and which may change the views of the participant, by listening to the other participants’ progress, their questions and difficulties, as well as praying with them and being stimulated by them. That is why, if you are doing the course by yourself, it is good that you should share your experiences on a regular basis.

5. Social times

These moments are also critical to the success of a course -

• At each meeting, a special effort must be made to welcome participants warmly. The participants often come to the meetings after a day’s work and are tired or stressed. It is important that they feel at home.

• An evening meal or other relaxing time together should be organized at least twice during the course so that the course is also a time of personal encounters.

Mass can also be arranged for the participants during the course. Adoration together may also be proposed.

Be creative and charitable! In order for the course to go as well as possible, the logistics team, who are part of the organizing group, will pay special attention to details (rooms, respect for times, information communicated etc.) to ensure that the course is pleasant for everyone. It is important that the participants be impressed by the care taken for their comfort. For the logistics team it is also an exercise and a part of the course!

III. Structure of a typical meeting (Teaching or Sharing)

Total time 1hr 30min

• Welcome time – 10 minutes (the time may be increased depending on the group size)

• Praise – 10 minutes. This allows attention to be directed to the work of the Holy Spirit. Care should be taken in leading the praise in this regard.

• Teaching or group sharing – 60 minutes

• Prayer together – 10 minutes. This helps to close the evening by inviting participants to continue to allow the Spirit to work in them. Spontaneous prayers may be made to summarize what has been said and heard in front of the Lord. Participants may be invited to participate in this spontaneous prayer.

Out of respect for the participants it is important to stay with these times, even if the meeting continues on an informal basis afterwards.

NB – It is recommended that the groups meet at the samelocation each time (parish room, private house etc.) to help foster the spirit of community and fraternity throughout the course.

IV. Example of a course calendar

The course takes place over eight months minimum (corresponding to the eight themes of the book). We recommend that you follow the course over a school year, because experience shows that courses that take place over a calendar year are more difficult to re-start after the summer break. It is very important to ensure that meetings take place regularly, every two weeks if possible, which strengthens the fraternal bonds between everybody, and therefore encourages regularity on the part of the participants. To avoid leaving too long a time between meetings, it is best to organize the year’s calendar taking the school holidays into account.

You can arrange a short break at the end of the first part (the Compass) to allow everyone, participants and organizers, a breather before starting on the second part (the Dividers). But to prevent the momentum falling off too quickly, this break should not last more than three weeks because there is a danger that the rhythm of the exercises will be lost, and may take time to re-establish. At the end of the first part, (and of the second), you can arrange a social or spiritual event: for example, a meal, a social evening, a weekend event, a retreat, some service together for others. Be creative!

In addition, the Zacchaeus Forum is a highlight in the year, which complements very well what people experience in the course, especially when they attend with other members of their group. The Forum is held annually in May in Paray-le-Monial, in France. It is organized by a team from the Emmanuel Community. The theme chosen will deepen understanding of a particular aspect of the Social Doctrine of the Church: (for example: solidarity, subsidiarity, ecology, the common good, or the preferential option for the poor). The Forum is aimed at all those who seek fresh resource and wish to exchange with others and allow themselves to be challenged by Christian suggestions for building a more just society. The Forum is, of course, open to all, not only those who are following the Zacchaeus Course.

For further information refer to the website www.zachee.com

Course Start

Introductory evening:

Presentation of the Zacchaeus Course with the introductory Teaching 0: «Taking care of Creation»

Month 0

Information and selection of participants

Month 0

THEME 1

Teaching 1

Day D Week W Month 1

2 weeks

Sharing Group on Theme 1

Week W +2

2 weeks

THEME 2

Teaching 2

Week W + 4

2 weeks

Sharing Group on Theme 2

Week W +6

2 weeks

THEME 3

Teaching 3

Week W + 8

2 weeks

Eucharist together

Sharing Group on Theme 3

Week W +10

2 weeks

THEME 4

Teaching 4

Week W + 12

2 weeks

Sharing Group on Theme 4

Week W + 14

2 weeks

End of First Part – Break

Fraternal moment

Week-end or meal together – 

Week W + 16

THEME 5

Teaching 5

Day D Week W

2 weeks

Sharing Group on Theme 5

Week W + 2

2 weeks

THEME 6

Teaching 6

Week W + 4

2 weeks

Sharing Group on Theme 6

Week W + 6

Adoration together 2 weeks

THEME 7

Teaching 7

Week W + 8

2 weeks

Sharing Group on Theme 7

Week W + 10

2 weeks

THEME 8

Teaching 8

Final fraternal moment together

Week W + 12

V. Who does what in a Zacchaeus Course

The Zacchaeus course needs an organizing team and a sufficient number of participants. Course leaders are requested by the Central Zacchaeus Course Team to follow the course and the instructions suggested in the printed material and not to change the contents, the teachings nor the booklets which may be provided. They are also asked to keep the Central Zacchaeus Course Team informed regarding the progress of the local course.

These conditions are important since the course touches on sensitive elements in the human make-up. It is possible to take wrong paths and also to manipulate people. To protect both participants and organizers, and in fidelity to the Church, it is essential that there can be no suggestion that the Course is a way to exert personal power or any influence contrary to what is expected of such a service given in fraternal charity.

For the preparation of the organizing team, see section VI. The following paragraphs define the spirit which should reign during the organization of the course.

The practical suggestions for putting the Course in place may be adapted to local situations.

The participants

There may be between 12 and 40 participants per course. This will give 2 to 5 sharing groups.

It is important to ensure beforehand that the participants understand the meaning and content of the course.

• And that they are motivated by a desire to develop themselves spiritually and not just do a course on the Social Doctrine of the Church.

• That they are ready to make the personal effort required by the course. The course leader should discern whether prospective participants have conflicting activities that would prevent them from following the course to its completion. It is the leader’s role to advise the participants in this matter.

• That they are well informed about these things at the preliminary meeting.

There are no restrictions regarding age or occupation. Instead a mix of generations and states of life is desirable.

TWO IMPORTANT POINTS IN ACHIEVING ‘THE SPIRIT OF ZACCHAEUS’

• Throughout the course, participants are invited by the organizers to help with the organization of the course. Participants must not be passive about the existence, implementation and sustainability of the course. Leaders should also ensure that during the course all participants are able to help with something related to the course organization. The course is not something that is just followed, but rather something that is created together

• At the end of the course, a new organizing team should be created to start a new course. This should be encouraged fairly soon in the course. Indeed, the course is not meant for personal enrichment only but also to help others access the treasures of the SDC. In this way we understand that we are all invited to participate in God’s creation. The success of the course is gauged not just by the satisfaction of participants but also by the generation of an enthusiasm and energy which will create a new organizing team from among participants in starting a new course.

The organizing team

The team must have members who can take on five roles, that of – chaplain (if possible), course organizer, course teachers, sharing group facilitators and logistics manager. The number of leaders depends on the number of participants – for example there would be one sharing group facilitator for 6 to 8 participants. A logistics manager is needed for groups of 20 or more.

It is better if the team includes people from different states of life (married, single, committed in celibacy) and occupation (housewife, employee, businessman, etc.)

The chaplain

• The chaplain accompanies the course leader, participates, if he wishes, in the course activities, celebrates the Eucharist for participants and meets the participants, if he wishes. He ensures the insertion of the course into local Church and parish life. If you are doing the course by yourself, do not hesitate to talk to a priest who could accompany you.

The course leader

The course leader receives the authority to guide the course and gives special attention to the common good of all the participants. The course leader –

• Exercises authority over the organizing team.

• Makes the necessary decisions.

• Divides the participants into sharing groups.

• Verifies that at the time of registration, participants understand the implications of the course and what is expected of them.

• Checks that the teachings are given clearly and correctly according to how the participants are progressing and that a spirit of fraternity and goodwill animates the course.

• Co-ordinates prayer time for the organizing team and may appoint the person responsible for group praise and the final prayer.

• Is the contact person for the Central Zacchaeus Course Team and is responsible for the correct running of the course and offers a summary at the end to the Course Team. He thus remains in contact with them and assures the future of courses of this type.

One or several teachers

Teachers must be skilled in conveying clear messages to an audience who do not come for lessons, but rather to discover the main elements of the SDC regarding each theme treated and how to apply them in their daily lives. It is a fraternal service provided by those who have a gift for teaching.

The teacher must have already done the exercises given to the participants in order to understand the entire course and the place of their teaching in it.

A good teaching will highlight the key points in a topic and prepare the participants for the exercises following without making explicit references to the exercises. It must also induce a desire to implement in daily life what is taught in the course.

Because the Zacchaeus course offers the experience of a ‘Christian lifestyle’, it is good if the teacher is a model of this lifestyle. This is shown by the enthusiasm and exemplary behaviour with which the teacher witnesses to this lifestyle.

As far as possible -

• the head of the course should not be the teacher

• the teacher should not do the whole course

This is to avoid confusion between the charisms of a person and the subject taught. If you have not got enough teachers, this point should be kept in mind.

Sharing group leaders

These have a key role since they befriend the participants. They facilitate relationships and try to avoid participants alternating between social interaction together during the teachings and moments of loneliness when doing the exercises or in their private lives. Their role is to foster a spirit of fraternity within their group. Every creative effort is permissible to this end in a spirit of charity and under the authority of the course leader.

• They should have about 8 participants in their care.

• They facilitate sharing groups

• They encourage fraternity among the group by their initiatives to create links between the members

• They encourage individual participants in their spiritual journey during the course, which may be adapted to their state of life, and in a way that ensures that they gain full advantage from the course.

• They pray for the participants. A very important ‘invisible’ part of their service is to assist participants in prayer, entrusting them especially to the Holy Spirit.

• They keep the leader of the course informed about how the group is working. This helps to maintain the unity between all the groups and to provide the services needed during the entire course.

If you have no alternative but to work on your own, tell us about this via the website www.zachee.com. We could create “Internet networks”!

Logistics team

This is a crucial function since it ensures that the course is run smoothly and that the material resources are provided. With the course leader and the group facilitators they ensure the cohesion and the dynamics of the course by suggesting times for social activities and by organizing them.

Logistics team members are also in charge of the course ‘publicity’, of collecting and keeping track of registrations, of publishing and distributing the printed materials and acting as secretaries to the course. They ensure that all goes well. Benevolence and charity should guide their actions.

Two notes concerning the organizing team

• Being part of the organizing team is a way of experiencing the course.

Whatever one’s role, the service must be understood as a spiritual endeavour and seen as a personal and humble opportunity for sanctification. Care should be taken that the team is animated by this spirit so that it is itself a testimony to the Christian lifestyle.

• Times of prayer and regular sharing should be organized for team members so that this spirit may be strengthened.

VI. How to start a Zacchaeus Course – the Founding Team

Perhaps you are thinking about starting a course. This is a very good way of getting to know the Social Doctrine of the Church, but also a way of deepening this knowledge by offering a service. How should you start?

To start a course, a team of people must be put together. The people must be ready and willing to organize a course because they understand that their own growth in faith is in the organization of this course in order that others might profit. This personal insight is important – for a ‘founding team’ to bear fruit, its members must be aware of the graces this mission brings to themselves as much as to others. The generosity of their commitment depends on this trust and humility.

Discernment

If you are asked to be a member of a ‘founding team’, take the time to discuss, to adore and pray together in order to discern. Luke 6:45-49 should be used to meditate on this topic and to let it talk to you –

‘The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. ‘Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you? I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house.’

The decision to form a founding team must be taken after this time with the Lord – we may then understand all the implications. Do we have the true desire, mentioned in the introduction, of converting our present life?

When the decision is made, the leader of the group should contact the Central Zacchaeus Course Team (via the website www.zachee.com) so that the group stays in touch with other courses and with the overall movement so as to constitute together a true culture of the Social Doctrine of the Church.

Training

The founding group must have enough people to perform the various roles described above, except for that of chaplain, who may join the group later. However, the group should quickly form a connection with a parish or a Catholic community where the course may be anchored.

During the 3 to 4 months of preparation, the founding team’s mission is to train for the course by -

• Following or listening to and preparing all the teachings.

• Doing all the corresponding exercises.

This material also serves for this apprenticeship. This accelerated apprenticeship requires good organization and regular meetings. The ideal is to meet once a week on a previously determined day. Each part (i.e. The Compass and The Dividers) may be covered in 12 weeks. This learning period can be organized as follows -

Meeting

Content

Objective

Week 1

Meet and discuss the first theme after reading the documents, etc.

To learn the essential points which are emphasized and prepare together the teaching.

Week 2

Meet and discuss the first series of exercises.

To have done as many of the exercises as possible and to have understood the connection between the exercises and the teaching.

Week 3

Meet and discuss the second series of exercises.

Repeat above

Week 4

Meet and discuss the second teaching etc.

Repeat above

Commitment

When the founding team feels ready, the Central Zacchaeus Course Team should be contacted to confirm the launch of the course – preferably after completion of the accelerated study of the first part of the course – The Compass. It is important to ask a referee outside the founding team before launching the course. The founding team may of course have previously ‘recruited’ prospective participants for the course!

It is good if some team members are prepared to give the teachings. If this is not an option, teachers who are not part of this organizing team may be sought out. The ideal scenario however is that the teachers are part of the organizing team and share out the teachings. However, special attention should be giving to the gift each prospective teacher has for teaching. As stated in Section V, teaching is an exercise of fraternal charity which requires commitment, but also requires an insight into one’s own talents. This assessment is left to the discernment of the group.

• Prayer together and a fraternal life are essential to enable the founding group to be fruitful. These open the door to the Spirit, so that members of the group may become instruments of a work of evangelization which go beyond their own intentions and strength. This life in the Spirit is the hoped-for fruit of the course, as we have said. This must be sufficiently clear to the founders of the course so that other founding teams can be constituted at the end of the course in following this work of evangelization of daily life.

VII. What if you cannot start a course?

Zacchaeus courses were designed to be done in groups. Indeed, it is together that we progress and a lone Catholic is a Catholic in danger!

However there may appear to be no other way of doing the course than on one’s own. Do not deny yourself this. The first question however is to find out if this is really true. Perhaps there is at least one other person who could do the course with you – a relative, a friend, a neighbour? Doing the course together is a wonderful way of being part of the Church even if you seem to be alone. It is in fact a means of breaking down your isolation by proposing to others to do the course. Thus, even if in your situation it is not possible to start a group, try to find one or a few people to accompany you, ‘for where two or three are gathered in my name, I am present at among them’ (Matthew 18:20). Who knows, maybe it will be the beginning of a founding team!

Finally if you are on own or in a small group, you should go over the introduction to become familiar with the spirit of Zacchaeus. Not only will this help you to feel in communion with others, but will also prevent you from making mistakes.

In particular, pay attention to the following points -

• Make a calendar for the work, as if you were following the course. Stick to it!

• Do not listen to all the teachings at once. Follow the teachings in turn, theme after theme. After each theme do the exercises – a maximum of one per day.

• Be consistent. It is useless to do all the exercises at once. You will have a better experience of the Social Doctrine of the Church if you slowly savor its principles and compare them with your own experience. This takes time. Do not be impatient, but do it at regular times. This is essential for changing yourself.

• Instead of sharing groups, share with the person or persons who, like you, are doing the course on their own. Find a way to speak with someone about what you are learning, about what you are experiencing.

In any case, you are not on your own. The Zacchaeus Course Team will be happy to help you. Do not hesitate to refer to the website www.zachee.com

Pray for the other course groups – this is the first way of being in communion with them!