The last couple nights have been busy for me; Tuesday night I went on a blog hiatus. I was actually repelled by my computer, for some reason. So I went to Mass (this is a common occurrance), came home, and just spent the evening in silence, did some reading (Theology of the Body), prayed a lot, and I guess had a mini-retreat.
God was silent, though...he didn't offer any direction or even a new job offer to get me out of the hell I go to every day. This HAS to be worth something to someone, somewhere! So offering it up continues.
Last night our now-very-small RCIA team met to discuss next year and the format. We are actually going to be creating our curriculum from the Catechism published by the American Bishops, which quotes the CCC but lays the Church teachings out in a very readable format. It includes discussion questions and the like, and I praise this idea. It's solid catechesis and covers so much more than the liturgically-based program, yet there will still be a blend there as we'll go over the upcoming Sunday's readings each week, too. We are also blessed with a priest very knowledgable in scripture (I think he has a Doctorate relating to scripture), and some other people who can come in occasionally to teach in their areas of expertise.
So good things are happening here. We are also seeking ways to help the new Catholics find their way into our huge parish and get involved. If any of you out there have suggestions as to what your church does or what worked for you (if you are a convert), or if you have suggestions, please comment or send me an e-mail if you're more comfortable in doing so.
Now, as far as more blogging, I'm hoping to be more inspired tonight, having had two evenings "off"; maybe there is another "Blogs of our Lives" episode to be completed. We'll see.
Most importantly, please keep Angela Messenger and her community in your prayers. The river is flooding, people are being evacuated, and Angela's house is cut off. She also has no access to internet from her home, but does from work, so keep an eye on her blog for updates. The river is expected to crest on Saturday.
3 comments:
I can only make the observation that what draws people to my parish (a parish membership roster that includes 80+ zip codes -- I kid you not), often from far extremes of the Twin Cities metro area, is solid teaching from the pulpit. This includes fearless preaching regarding contraception; fearless teaching regarding the need to evangelize; fearless teaching about the need for personal holiness and to know one's faith; and the challenge to rise above mediocre, bare-bones faith faith. Also, to be honest, I think the priest needs to make the sure the Eucharist is treated with proper respect, and that is reflected by how people dress: it has bothered me, when I go to Epiphany, to see how many people are dressed no differently than they would be if they were going to the grocery store, yet they are meeting the King of Kings! Their dress suggests they don't know that. And when people see the Eucharist respected, they will be drawn to that.
Just my two cents......
Hang in there! Sometimes a hiatus is good. I love the idea of your mini-retreat. I'm hoping to escape to the Sisters' in July providing it's not too hot!
Jean ~ I agree, however, in RCIA, I have no say in what is stated from the pulpit, however we can work to emphasize proper dress for Mass, both by example and in our suggestions. Last year, during the different Rites, we did emphasize dressing well, being respectful, etc, and we all did appear as such ourselves. I didn't wear a skirt as I have no winter skirts, nor did I have boots at the time (dress boots), but there were no jeans in sight!
Orthodoxy is so important. And one thing I did this last year was to emphasize Adoration. I even had an after-class "field" trip..it started with one, I think I had about 5. They had wanted to go, but dind't know what to do or how to act and needed an example of sorts. We entered and left in a few minutes, but I know at least one of them made it a habit to go into the chapel and pray after that. I don't know about the others, or about any who did not come with us.
So I encourage ALL Catholics to be ready and willing to live that example and if you can, bring people with you to Adoration, if only for a few moments. Some people won't go because they are not sure how to behave, the postures, etc. They understand the reverence in the chapel, and once they understand that, it's easier to draw them into reverence in the Sancturary where the presence of Jesus is not so obvious.
DSP ~ Hi! It works every now and then...sometimes silence is needed. I need a weekend retreat, am dying to get out out town, but nothing so far, and I need someone to watch my dogs! (I have one friend who can but she's out of town a lot on weekends herself).
Life is hard. So we just offer it up and take our retreats where God offers them, even in our own livingrooms.
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