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Members Present: All

Discussion Highlights: How has it effected you

- Dolan:  I found it interesting how Merton talked about the aspects of faith and how they affected his life, it inspired me to improve upon how my faith is. When he discussed how faith completely altered his life, it encouraged me to pray more and improve upon my relationship with God.
- Giannotti: I found it interesting how Merton described faith, and how it was the drive factor in his life. comparing to today, many people leave faith on the dust, and do not hold our faith and God to the standards it should be.
- Jadan: Merton’s discussion about his faith life and how he closeted his relationship with god made me want to do the same. So much that I went to mass this weekend.

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Section/Pages: 1
Members Present: Tom out

Discussion Highlights:
- Dolan - I don’t think I will like this book, the autobiography on Faith doesn’t seem all that interesting to me
- Giannotti- I think I will like the book because the faith topic appeals well to me.
- Jadan - I agreed with KC, and I don’t think this book will appeal to me all that much

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Section/Pages:
Members Present:

Discussion Highlights: What would you rate the book
- Dolan: I would rate the book an 8/10, some of the parts of the story did get a little boring and wasn’t as action filled as other books, but the book definitely changed my outlook on life and faith, and that is what made the book so enjoyable for me and one that I wont forget.
- Giannotti: I would rate the book an 7/10; although I like the topic the book I felt it was really boring and there were a lot of instances where I was not engaged and wanted to stop reading.
- Jadan: I would rate the book a 6/10. Other books I have read had a lot more action, such as One of us is Lying. Although the faith part of the book touched me, it didn’t effect me as much a retreat would or a mass would.

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Section/Pages:
Members Present: Tom out

Discussion Highlights: Thoughts on the story so far
- Dolan: So far the story has been a very unique read, I am used to reading stories that have a plot and some sort of action, but this has been a reflection of faith and how Merton lived a virtuous life and the effects of faith on the human person.
- Giannotti:
- Jadan: The Seven Story mountain is a book very different from other independent books I have read in Chaminade. The other books I have read normally build up to a climax with lots of action, but this book is mainly focused on a man’s reflection of faith.

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Name: KC
Email 25107kd@chaminade-hs.org

Name: Thomas
Email: 25151tg@chaminade-hs.org

Name: Ethan Jadan
Email: 25468ej@chaminade-hs.org

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Stay engaged

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Meeting 1 Date: 4/30
Pages / Section: section 1

Meeting 2 Date: 5/8
Pages / Section: section 2

Meeting 3 Date:
Pages / Section: section 3

Meeting 4 Date:
Pages / Section:

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Have your book

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Thomas Giannotti: Journal 1: Part One-
- "Free by nature, in the image of God, I was nevertheless the prisoner of my own violence and my own selfishness, in the image of the world into which I was born."​
-This quotes emphasizes the theme of being imprisoned by one’s actions and the value of freedom. Merton describes that by his own actions he is imprisoning himself because he is living in the world God created, but not how he willed us to live.

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Thomas Giannotti: Journal 4- Part two

"Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose."
- This quote exemplifies the theme of searching for meaning within one’s life. Merton emphasizes the fact that life is never unbearable and so bad that you should end it, unless you have no meaning or purpose, but that does not mean once you see no purpose or meaning you should give up because as Merton said earlier in the story, that when faced with adversities there is “always another way” and that if the ere is a challenge that we can not over come, “ we should challenge ourselves to change” and find meaning in our lives because there is meaning in everything, no matter good or bad, even sacrifice.

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Thomas Giannotti: Journal 3- Part three

- "In some ways suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice."
-This quote exemplifies the importance of optimism in times of crisis. The quote shows that not all suffering is in vain and there are good things that come out of suffering. For example, if you love someone you would suffer through your own sacrifice for them, and the result it inherently good, although you ultimately suffered.

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Thomas Giannotti: Journal 2- Part two

"The paradox is this: man’s nature, by itself, can do little or nothing to settle his most important problems. If we follow nothing but our natures, our own philosophies, our own level of ethics, we will end up in hell."​​
-This emphasizes the paradox of life; Merton says that a man on his own can do nothing to little to nothing, but if a man does nothing or little to nothing then he will end up in hell on his own, separate from God. How should we “perfect” this paradox, by joining and following God, because with him we can do everything together with him and then we will end up in heaven, which is eternal union, not separation, with God.

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Be kind

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What caught my eye in the beginning was the way Merton discussed about the seasons and how he managed to relate that to philosophy.

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Martin speaks on the idea of human acts and how every act is noticed. Merton also says that a human must not treat himself like he is invincible and to act with caution in everything you do or say. Another obvious thing was how the book touched me religiously.

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https://forms.gle/cCJbHs6scjgEERui7

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Access Google Forms with a personal Google account or Google Workspace account (for business use).

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The part of the story tha caught my eye was when Merton was discussing seasons and how each one has up and downs. He tied this into philosophy and how the world tells us and symbolizes many things

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Cause an effect is a theory that Merton discusses and how every action has an effect. Humans must recognize the impact they have and realize that everything they do has an effect, matters, and we should be careful about things we say or do.

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1 Brainstorm a LIST OF THEMES for the book thus far. Then, select one theme from the list and find at least three pieces of textual evidence to support it. 1

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1. We were all present and finished with the book this class.
2. We all had some positive experiences related to the book, so that makes it a success for all of us.
3. Merton was a good model for all of us and how we should be better models for living out our lives like he did.

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1. Thomas was absent this meeting, so I let him know he needs to catch up to where we are in the book.
2. Me and Ethan had an insightful discussion on How the book has affected our faith in our own lives.
3. We only have a little bit left in the book, and that allows us to finish easily before next class.

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1. All members were present and caught up to the page that we need to be at.
2. This time all members had their book, and it was our first time that all the members were present.
3. All members were productive wand engaged today which promoted good discussions focused on the book.

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1. Only KC was present at this meeting so it wasn’t as productive as it should have been.
2. Ethan and Thomas will have to purchase the book and catch up to about page 104
3. If all the group members are able to catch up, we should be in a good spot.