Table of Content
1. Community Life as a Present Need
2. What Christian Relationships Ought to be
3. Community in the Lord
4. Spirituality of the Laity
5. Community Lifestyle Foundations
6. Christian Community Rule of Life
7. Community Identity and Image
8. Seven Dimensions Purification, Community
9. The Pilgrims Progress
1. The Culture of Life Paradigm
2. “Purify Thyself” Paradigm
a. Brief History of Purification (Penitential)
b. Reform Development
c. To Purify is to Heal
d. Imago Dei
e. Better than Adam and Eve
f. Monasticism Lifestyle Paradigm
g. The Penitent Movement
h. Saints in the Middle Ages
3. Fully Human and Deeply Spiritual Paradigm
a. Participants of the Divine Nature.
b. Divine Life versus Eternal Life Paradigm
c. High and Low Christology Paradigm
4. The Pilgrims Progress Paradigm
a. Purgative, Illuminative and Unitive
b. Charismatic Renewal
5. Community Lifestyle Paradigm
6. Seven Dimensions of Purification Paradigms
7. Healing, Purified and Saved Paradigms
8. Purification of the Body Paradigm
a. Role of Christian Community
b. The place of Work and Exercise
9. Purification of the Soul Paradigm
10. Purification of the Human Spirit Paradigm
11. Purification of Family Relationships
12. Purification of Social Relationships
a. The Narrow Road
13. Purification or Harmony with Mother Earth and God’s Creatures
a. Piercing the Ozone Layer
14. Purification or Sanctification of the
Relationship with the Communion of Saints
a. The Holy Spirit
b. A Spirit of Power
15. Rich in Living Nutrition and Fasting
16. Rich in Spiritual Techniques and Devotions
17. Rich in Prayer, Meditation and Praise
18. Rich in Health, Joyfulness, & Holiness
19. Rich in Reason, Heart, & Beauty
20. Rich in Sacred Senses & Asceticism
21. Rich in Marian and Saintly Devotion
22. “Pray Without Ceasing”
23. Our Assurance in Prayer
24. A Personal Relationship with Jesus
25. Learning How to be Still
26. Steps to Becoming Still
27. Practical Suggestions for Bible Reading
28. As Family, God gave Covenants
29. Ways in Which God Speaks
30. Ten Key Insights to Hearing God’s Voice:
31. Discernment – A Key Question
32. Conditions for Hearing God’s Voice
33. How do I know if this is of God?
34. Trust and Delight in the Lord and Obey
35. Is the Community built by God?
36. Jesus Heals
37. Spiritual Healing
38. Mental Healing
39. Volitional Healing
40. Emotional Healing
41. Physical Healing
42. Nutrition, Fasting and Exercise
43. What We Stand For and Work For
44. Our Spirituality
45. Principles of Basic Christian Community
46. Covenant Community and Church
47. Why a Covenant Commitment?
48. What does Charismatic mean?
49. Charismatic and “Mixed” Groups, Leadership
50. Essene Communities in Biblical Times
51. Dietary Discipline of Early Christians
52. Bishop James and the Jerusalem Community
53. A Toxicology Study on the Torah
54. Three Altars of the Lord
55. Christianity a Continuation of the Essenes
56. Mary the New Eve an Order of Eden
57. Fasting the Church Fathers and Scriptures
58. Principles of Saints Founding Communities
59. Gospel Paradigms of Communities
60. Intentional Communities are Coops
61. A Co-op and Internet Structure
62. Community Constitutions and Norms
63. The Holy Spirit and New Communities
Leon Joseph Cardinal Suenens
64. Community a Spiritual Family
Pope Francis
1. Bio of Fr. Bill McCarthy
2. Bio of James Tibbetts
3. My Father’s House Retreat Center
4. Endnotes
Introduction
Introduction – 3. Christian Community Life
God’s Best Plan Simplified
Community is way of life it is a structure, a commitment, a progressive teaching for people seeking a stronger Christian and/or Catholic way of life. The book brings forth the key paradigms and principles of community. It looks at Community from the perspective that the paradigms and principles are key Christian principles, without which you cannot have a successful community.
Today we are called to be fully human or fully mature integrated human beings living in community. We are also called to be deeply spiritual, involving holiness and approaching divinity. It involves choosing between the “Culture of Life” and the “Culture of death.” This is a pilgrimage from one plateau to another, as we are going up Mount Zion or Mount Carmel into the Divine Life. It is about concrete spirituality in community and a biblical way of life: body, soul and spirit.
The penitential process can be summed up in the concept: “purification,” this term is used as purify, purity, purification, to cleanse, to be clean or unclean in the Bible. These are usually describing two levels of purification: physical and moral, in other words physiological and psychological purification. This purification is the key for health and healing; physiological, psychological. It is also important for spiritual growth, maturity and holiness.
In Covenant Community We are called to live, work and strive, by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that others might have true life in Christ, now and forever. The purpose of Community is to help members live a committed Catholic life of prayer and witness in the ordinary situations of their life in family and occupation; to carry out a work of direct evangelization; ecumenism on the grassroots level and more. The focus of this book is about forming and living a community lifestyle and spirituality.
Both Jim Tibbetts and Fr. Bill McCarthy added chapters to this book. Jim added A, B, C and H; Fr. Bill added D, E and F. Chapters G and I are mostly edited from other works.
This book is designed with seven sections for each chapter so that it can be a daily meditation or read one chapter at a time for a week; as a 7-day meditation. This could be done for 9 weeks or over a 3-month period.
What God is doing on earth is creating community and family. The reason for that is that the God we worship is a community, is a family. St. Paul says for this reason we kneel before the Father from whom every family in heaven (the Trinity) and on earth takes its name.
The Christian… Simplified series is following:
Books coauthored with Fr. Bill McCarthy
1. Christian Spirituality Simplified
2. Christian Prayer and Meditation Simplified
3. Christian Community Life God’s Best Plan Simplified
4. Christian Insight into Mary Mother of Jesus Simplified
5. Christian Insight into the Virgin Mary His
Ark of the Covenant Simplified
6. Christian Healing and Wholeness Simplified
7. Christian Renewal by the Holy Spirit Simplified
8. Christian Practice with the Gift of Tongues Simplified
9. Christian Insight into the Eucharist Simplified
10. Christian Insight into Body, Soul, and Spirit Simplified
11. Christian Biblical Strategy of the Cross and
the Cross of Biblical Nutrition Simplified
12. Christians Ten Best Practices Simplified
Books with Forward by Fr. Bill McCarthy
13. Christian Purification with Nutrition Simplified
14. Christian Purification with Fasting Simplified
15. Christian Insight into Biblical Nutrition Simplified
16. Christian Insight into Biblical Fasting Simplified
This book series; Christianity…Simplified can be ordered from lulu.com
St. Pope John Paul II is more explicit he says, God is the family because in the God-head all the essence of family life is there: Fatherhood, Son-ship, relationships, friendships and love. Of course, the essence of family life is love. So, this is a book about community, family and love.
Fr. Bill wants to dedicate: This book is affectionately dedicated to: Mrs. Judith Craig – The mother of our community at My Father’s House.
“Repent you (purify thyself) and believe the gospel.” Mk 1:15 “I came so that you might have life and have it more abundantly.” John 10:10 “In My Father’s House there are many mansions.” John 14:2
“Dear friend, I am praying that everything prospers with you and that you be in good health, as I know you are prospering spiritually.” 3 John 2
Thank you for your interest in this book.
May God bless you with health and healing.
Sincerely in Christ
Fr. Bill McCarthy
James Tibbetts