Were the Families of Parishes groupings determined by existing vicariate And regional boundaries? Not necessarily. It is evident from the list of Families that the groups did not need to adhere to vicariate or regional lines; rather, they were formed with attention given to the best interest of each community. It must be noted that…
Commissioned and supported by the parish and pastor, catechists are entrusted with the important role of formally presenting the story of Faith to our young people, after their parents, who are their first teachers. True to the past, open to the future, dedicated to deepening the faith of the present generation – if this describes…
Hopefully you had a blessed week. On this 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time the Evangelist Mark tells us of a time when Jesus was confronted with a choice. He and the apostles needed a rest. Their lives had become quite hectic, as Mark describes, ”There were so many coming and going that the apostles had no time to eat.” They had decided…
Congress is trying to force Americans to pay for abortion. The Hyde Amendment and others are renewed annually in federal budget bills. During the current negotiations in Congress, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has called on American Catholics to act by signing a petition in support of the Hyde Amendment and similar laws. Because of…
A catechist is a faith-filled Catholic who is extraordinary because he or she teaches as Jesus did. Just as the pastor gathers the parish to celebrate and share in the life of the Spirit alive in the faith community, so the catechist gathers the children and creates opportunities for them to experience the meaning and…
Welcome to the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary time. Today’s readings remind us of our Divine adoption as God’s children and of our call to preach the Good News of Jesus by bearing witness to God’s love, mercy, and salvation. In today’s Gospel, the evangelist tells the story of Jesus’ commissioning of the twelve apostles to preach the “Good News” of repentance, forgiveness…
Happy 4th of July! At the beginning of my reflection for this weekend, let me tell you a story about a bishop who was interviewing a senior seminarian before his ordination as deacon and asked him where he would like to be assigned as a deacon for pastoral training. The seminarian said, somewhat boldly, “Oh my, bishop, anywhere but New Canaan!” “Why…