Adult Faith Formation & Initiation

The Messiah is coming… Emmanuel.  How do we know this?  Prophets through the ages have been telling us and their scribes have been preserving those words so that we can recognize the signs.  Our readings for this coming Sunday give a picture of who this deliverer will be, who he’s come for, and how we should respond: The Word for the 2 nd Sunday of Advent Isaiah 11:1-10 Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17 Romans 15:4-9 Mathew 3:1-12 Our first reading is from the prophet Isaiah.  Here he describes for us a vision of the ideal king… the one who will “fear the Lord” and be a just judge; whose words will be his only weapons and whose reign will bring universal peace.  It will be so glorious that all the nations will seek it out.  To our Christian ears, this “shoot of Jesse” (King David’s father) sounds very much like Jesus himself.  But wait… This passage dates back some 720 years before Jesus.  Sometimes when we get a prophecy like this we need to pause and remind ourselves tha

As I noted in the commentary for the 1st Sunday of Advent, this is a season of penitent reflection, a time for us to slow down and consider if we are ready to meet Christ when he comes again. Seems I'm not alone in that thinking.  Here's some links I'd like to share: From the online Catholic news magazine Crux: https://cruxnow.com/commentary/2016/11/26/culture-frenzy-advent-always-slows-us/ From  the online forum "For Her": http://forher.aleteia.org/articles/3-advent-rituals-embrace-season/ From Matthew Kelly's Dynamic Catholic ministry, there's Best Advent Ever http://dynamiccatholic.com/best-advent-ever/ And lastly, from America Magazine: http://www.americamagazine.org/content/the-word/stay-awake On some of the outer fringes of Protestant Christianity there has been this growing movement to "Take Back Christmas."  They are understandably frustrated with how our secular society has taken over this uniquely Christian celebration a

The First Sunday Advent marks the beginning of the new Liturgical year.  The green vestments and décor of Ordinary Time are put away, replaced with the purple vestments and décor of Advent.  Like Lent, Advent is a season of penitent reflection.  While our secular culture sees this time as the beginning of a frantic holiday season, we Catholics are asked to slow down, take a step back, and prayerfully consider if we are ready for the coming of Christ… that is, his second coming. The Word for the 1 st Sunday of Advent Isaiah 2:1-5 Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 Romans 13:11-14 Matthew 24:37-44 Our first reading comes from the second chapter of the book of the prophet Isaiah.  The book of Isaiah is one of the longest of all the prophets, and spans a period from before the Assyrian attack on the Northern Kingdom, all the way through (and long after his death) to the end of the Babylonian Exile.  This Sunday’s passage comes from the beginning of Isaiah, showing us a vis

Monday morning quarterbacking.  That long standing tradition during football season where people gather around the water-cooler on the Monday after the big game that weekend to provide their own analysis of the outcome.  Why not do that with Church?  So, here we go... Christ the King. Now first I have to admit that the solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe happens to be one of my favorite feast days.  Not only does it give a regal close to our Liturgical year, but it stands as a testament to the truth behind the journey we've been on for this entire Liturgical year:  That it is God who is above all others, and all of us others are equal to no one else but God. This isn't a new idea.  In fact, it is a pretty consistent theme throughout all of scripture, and it is in those moments when we forget this lesson that we find ourselves, as a people and as a society, getting into trouble.  We forget that God is our king, and we start elevating others into position

I am a Catholic, and I am a catechist.  I live my faith as best I can, but I am also a person "of this world."  I have a regular, secular career that helps support my family (including their Catholic school tuition and my catechetical hobbies), and I engage in activities and relationships outside the Church.  For the most part my life in both these worlds have found a harmonious balance... that is, being able to engage in a secular society without compromising my Catholic faith.  There are times, however, where this can be a challenge, and sometimes we need to recognize that we are in a battle for our very souls. This morning the following advertisement arrived in my email: "Lust can be rationalized."  Think about that for a moment... "Lust can be rationalized." I looked at this advert, and I was dumbstruck!  It stopped me in my tracks.  Once I regained my mental composure, the first thing that came to my mind was, "this is what we're up

This Sunday we close our Liturgical Year with the Solemnity of Christ the King.  I can think of no better time than now, especially after such a divisive election season, for us to remember that it is only in Jesus Christ to whom we owe our allegiance.  This celebration was created in response to the growing nationalism and secularism of the early 20th century.  It was Pope Pius XI who instituted this feast in his 1925 encyclical letter Quas Primas .  At the time the world was still recovering from the first World War while revolutions in Russia, China, and Spain were sparking continued unrest.  All over the world citizens were calling into question the their models of governance and economics.  It would seem today the world is in similar turmoil, calling us once again to recognize that above all else, we serve Christ. The Word for the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe 2 Samuel 5:1-3 Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5 Colossians 1-12-20 Luke 23:35-43 Our fi

As we near the end of our Liturgical year, our readings take us to “the end of days.”  Jesus is in Jerusalem and he knows the end is near.  Our readings this week remind us that even in the face of adversity we must persevere if we are to gain eternal life: The Word for the 33 nd Sunday of Ordinary Time Malachi 3:19-20a Psalm 98:5-6, 7-8, 9 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12 Luke 21:5-19 We open with a reading from the prophet Malachi, who’s name literally means “my messenger” in Hebrew because the author feared retribution.  In this short passage the prophet gives us a view of post Exile Jerusalem, dating to around 445 BCE (around the same time as the Prophet Nehemiah’s return to Jerusalem).  Here the prophet warns what will become of “evildoers” while there will be justice for those who “fear the Lord”.  This was a time of great spiritual upheaval in Jerusalem.  God loves his people, but the prophet finds that love is not being reciprocated.  It’s been almost 100 years since the

The afterlife.  The Apostles Creed teaches that we believe “in the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.”  The Nicene Creed substantiates that belief when we profess that we “look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.”  These beliefs are integral to our understanding of God and the nature of our souls, but yet we still can have some doubts.  Our readings this week help us to lay some of those doubts to rest: The Word for the 32 nd Sunday of Ordinary Time 2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14 Psalm 17:1, 5-6, 8, 15 2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5 Luke 20:27-38 or Luke 20:27, 34-38 Our first reading is a from 2 Maccabees, a book written about 100-150 years before Christ.  This week’s passage tells the story of a Hebrew family being tortured and killed by their Greek Seleucid overlords.  The reading shows their valiant desire to keep God’s law, which in itself is noble, But that’s not the point o