So, I’ve been talking a lot about the upcoming Year of Faith. Now, I’d like to hear from you! What’s your parish or diocese doing to mark the Year of Faith? Share your thoughts below (in the box under Leave a Reply)…looking forward to hearing from you!
Newsworthy
A Year of Faith…So What?
OK, that title above might be a little provocative. I am certainly not approaching the Year of Faith with a dismissive attitude. However, the “so what?” question is always key: we need to be able to explain what it is that we do as Catholics and why. So, a Year of Faith…faith in WHAT? Faith in whom? Simply put, our faith is not in a set of ideas or in an institution. It is in […]
Online Retreat for Catechists
Year of Faith Retreat – Week 3, Day 3: First-Aid (The Works of Mercy)
WEEK THREE: The Moral Life (Life in Christ) DAY 3: First-Aid (The Works of Mercy) What would you expect to find in a typcial first-aid kit? No doubt bandages, antiseptics, pain relievers, burn ointment, and so on. What would you include in a spiritual first-aid kit? The fact is, we provide first aid for people when they have an urgent physical need. Some physical needs that people have are ongoing and are not the result of a medical emergency. […]
Catechists in Action
Catechists in Action – An Evening with Nick
Last night, I attended 5th grade catechist Nick Yonto’s religious education session at Sts. Peter and Paul Parish in Cary, IL. This was the first installment of my new feature, Catechists in Action, in which I will be visiting and videotaping catechists in the Chicago area, and posting about the experience here on my blog. I thoroughly enjoyed Nick’s class last evening and am working with my colleagues here at Loyola Press to ready the […]
The Archdiocese of St. Louis, Mo is trying to set up a program of “Door to Door Evangelization” as well programs for Adult Faith Development. As parents and any adult we can not pass on to our children what we ourselves do not have. This is why Adult Faith Development is so important. We are also trying to reach out to the “unchurched” as well as those wishing to know more about God and HIS CHURCH (THE CATHOLIC CHURCH).
We are celebrating the Year of Faith in our Religious Formation program by having each class visit the adoration chapel (grades 1-8), all the catechists and 8th graders, who are preparing for Confirmation will all be getting the YOUCAT, all catechists were given a bottle of holy water blessed by our Pastor at the opening catechist meeting to use in their classrooms since baptism is the door to faith, and I made magnets for each family to help engage their children in the faith at home that say, Just for today… Say 1 prayer, do 1 act of kindness, and make 1 sacrifice. We’ll see how it works out.
“Door to Door Evangelization” is way serious, specific, and action-oriented. Please let us know how this works out.
Our parish is offering four lectures on the four Constitutions of Vatican II. Our presenters are all experts in their fields and one was actually present at the Council.
And we haven’t forgotten the importance of hospitality! Dinner will be served first!
Our parish has been planning for the Year of Faith since it was first announced last fall. Our Christian Formation Commission has taken leadership in this endeavor. We have a full year (actually 13.5 months!) planned, and continue to flesh out these plans. Since early summer we have had weekly bulletin announcements about the Year of Faith in our Sunday bulletin. This coming weekend, in conjunction with Catechetical Sunday, all parishioners will receive a Year of Faith information packet. We will also be taking orders for items that parishioners can use to celebrate the Year of Faith in their own homes – their Domestic Church. All parishioners are also receiving a Year of Faith Covenant they are being asked to sign to help them keep the Year of Faith. Our opening liturgies for the Year of Faith will be held October 13/14. Some of our other major parish events include the formation of small faith sharing groups, to meet monthly in parishioners’ homes, focusing on the Creed section of the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults. We already have 15 small group leaders we have met with and trained. These monthly gatherings in homes will begin late October and early November. There will also be monthly bulletin inserts on the Creed. We have a three-session series on the Mass planned for all ages this winter, and a three-evening session on the Creed planned during Lent for teens and adults. We also have done a lot of planning in our school, including a focus on “Credo: The Year of Faith” in our weekly Morning Prayer/Liturgical Catechesis gatherings for students K-8. We also plan to spend time looking at each phrase of the Creed with our school faculty in our monthly School Faculty Faith Formation meetings. Looking ahead to November 2013, we are planning special closing liturgies for the Year of Faith, as well as a concert, on Christ the King. We have also created a special section about the Year of Faith on our parish web site, which provides our parishioners with solid information from the USCCB and the Vatican, as well as information about all of our Year of Faith parish plans!
Wow, Sandra, this is quite impressive!
In our parish we are passing out a commitment form that lists 10 things a person can choose from to increase their faith and draw closer to God. They can choose one from the following that they currently are not doing: attend confession 1xmo; attend day mass 1xwk, read daily readings, pray rosary daily; scripture reading for 15 min daily; attend a retreat; attend one of Fr’s adult education sessions or attend wkly bible study; listen to 1 cd/mo from lighthouse catholic media; 1 hr weekly adoration on thur or Friday; come at least 5 min before mass to pray and stay 2 min afterwards in thanksgiving.
For the diocese of Fargo they have where you can sign up to read the catechism of the Catholic Church daily and in a year have it read. To to their website to sign up.
Thanks for sharing this info, Maria. I like the idea of reading the Catechism in a year!
I will be more faithful and look after others. and i will wake up in the morning to go to church.
We decided to celebreate by doing something different every month.
Last Dec – we asked families to share how they prepare for and celebrate Jesus’s birth.
In January, we held a contest asking the religious classes and families to write a prayer on faith. Everyone voted and the winning prayer is being laminated and given out as our parish Prayer of Faith.
February, we held a Saint Valentines Day party.
March – we asked families to share their Lenten and Easter traditions.
April – we are handing out cards from CTA Inc. that has a white cross with seeds in it and says “Thank you for planting the seeds of faith!”
May – Ask parishioners to share something that our Parish used to do that they enjoyed/liked that may no longer be done (ie we used to have a Sunrise Mass on Easter morning – in our parking lot or on the beach).
June – Ask parishioners to share a faith memory from their childhood (could be about a person who taught them their faith, a place they visited with religious significance, something they did with their family etc.)
July / August – We are planning activities for adults and children at our parish picnic.
September – Back to School so we are asking memories/Experiences from our Grammar School and from other Catholic schools.
October – Ask parishioners to create a FAITH poem (5 lines where each line starts with a “F” then “A” then “I” then “T” then “H” – could be one word or several words per line.
November – Ask parishioners to share their “faith” related Thanksgiving traditions.
We are then going to publish a booklet with all the responses.
Thanks Mary…great list!