Dear Parishioners,
St. Mary will have a new opportunity for you to deepen your faith this year!
Faith is a lifelong journey. As with any relationship, our relationship with God only deepens as we draw closer and get to know Him better. As St .Augustine once said, our hearts are restless, until they rest in God. In reality, that relentless inner drive for peace, comfort, healing (that we often try to fill with bigger cars, houses, trinkets) is in fact, our souls searching for God .
Come explore and deepen your faith this year by sharing in our R.C.I.A./ Adult Faith Formation process. You needn’t come every week... just when you can. Our sessions will be held each Wednesday evening, from 7:30pm-9:00pm, in the church chapel. The topics will be published in advance both in the bulletin and on our parish website, so you can plan for those that most entice you
Listed below are those topics we’ll be exploring from September–December. In January, we’ll pick up with a session on each of the seven sacraments, Christian morality and Christian mission. If you’d like to know more, or have any other questions, please contact Fr. Ruggles or Kathleen Rando.
September:
17 & 24
The Faith Journey: Divine Revelation:
What is the faith journey? Where/how do we find God? Discover God acting in your life each day in ways you never noticed.
October:
1, 8,15*
Discovering the Trinity: (1st) God the Father, Creator;(8th) Jesus, Our Lord and Savior; (15th) The Holy Spirit:Sanctifier*.
(*Please note: October 15th session will start at 7pm in the parish hall)
22 & 29 The Church: Our Christian Family & (29th)The Saints: Christian Models.
No one but Christ is infallible. How do we imperfect humans as Church become more fully His presence on earth. What is the mission of each and every member of the Church? What do the greatest saints (often first the greatest sinners) have to tell us about living spiritually in the real world?
November:
5 Life After Life: What did the resurrection of Christ accomplish? What do Catholic believe about life after death? What is the Communion of Saints?
12 The Church Year: New Year’s Day at the end of November? Seasons of celebration, reflection, and praise. What is the Catholic Church Year?
19 Creation: In the Beginning: God’s overflowing love brings life and wholeness. You’ve heard of “original sin”, but what was God’s original plan?
December
3 Decreation: What on earth went wrong? God’s contingency plan....
10 Re-creation: Always patient, always merciful. Starting with Abraham, God re-issues his invitation to relationship and renews His promise.
17 The Coming of Jesus: God’s Promise Fulfilled : Re-discover the true meaning of Christmas. Jesus is so much more that just “the reason for the season.”
This is just one of the ways we will be responding to your request for adult faith formation. We hope that this new format will better fit into your already hectic schedules. Our bulletin will be filled each week with other opportunities as well. We look forward to seeing you along the way.
Sincerely in Christ,
Kathleen Rando, MA
Fr. Ruggles, JCL