FROM FR. SCOTT: APR. 3, 2022
-
April 1, 2022I hope you take full advantage of the remaining days of Lent to prepare your heart for welcoming our Risen Lord in the Easter Season. Please check today's bulletin for Confession and Holy Week times, and commit yourself today to coming to these liturgies.
Communal Penance Service at St. Gabriel Parish
We are teaming up with St. Gabriel Parish on Monday, April 4 for a Communal Penance Service with Individual Confessions at 7:00 pm. The service will be held at St. Gabriel Parish (9925 Johnnycake Ridge Rd., Concord Township) and numerous priests from our area, including Fr. Spisak and me, will be present to hear confessions.
Listening Session Third Theme: Faith Formation
I am eager to continue sharing with you the fruits of our November Listening Sessions. This week we reflect on the third main theme that was highlighted, Faith Formation, with its sub-themes of youth formation, adult education, and spiritual growth. The number in parentheses corresponds to the number of times that particular sub-theme was mentioned in parishioner comments.- Faith Formation: Much hope and enthusiasm were expressed for activities for youth that will encourage their participation and interest in the Church. (18)
- Adult Education: Opportunities to focus on Scripture studies and other aspects of Catholic theology are areas of interest for programming in the parish. (8)
- Spiritual Growth: : There is a need to renew our Catholic faith and invite the Holy Spirit in to rekindle our love for God. (3)
Catechesis has the task of fostering the knowledge and exploration of the Christian message. In this way, it helps the believer to know the truths of the Christian faith, introduces him to the knowledge of Sacred Scripture and of the Church’s living Tradition, fosters knowledge of the Creed (Symbol of the faith) and the creation of a coherent doctrinal vision that can be used as a reference in life.
Serving as a reliable and hope-filled compass in life is one of the reasons that mature Catholics are eager to pass their faith on to future generations. Many, from young parents to older grandparents, desire to have their children and grandchildren experience the joy and peace of the Gospel message and the truths of our faith. Again, support for such earnest longings is also expressed in the Directory for Catechesis:
In helping young people to discover, develop, and live their life plan according to God, pastoral care of youth is to adopt new styles and strategies. It is necessary ‘to become more flexible: inviting young people to events or occasions that provide an opportunity not only for learning, but also for conversing, celebrating, singing, listening to real stories and experiencing a shared encounter with the living God.’ Catechesis with young people as well, therefore, is to be redefined by the features of this pastoral style. (includes quote from Pope Francis, Christus Vivit, 2018)
With this much enthusiasm for catechesis and formation for all age groups and the support provided for it by Church teachings, future parish planning will no doubt include the development of these types of programs. I encourage you to pray with these themes, and visit https://stpatrickthompson.org/faith-formation to read through the individual comments expressed at the listening session.
