Catechetical (DRE) Leader Opening Mass and business meeting

Please find below the jotform link to register. Each parish should be sending a catechetical leader or delegate to this opening gathering.

We will be at Marywood in the chapel and then in the Wisdom Center.

9:30 am Mass with Bishop Pohlmeier

Light continental breakfast

Conversation

Business

Lunch

Even more business

Jotform to RSVP by September 7th please

Reminder on Textbooks for Religious Education/Sacramental Preparation

Lots of call this week. Pease note that it is a requirement to use those materials that have been vetted and approved in their entirety by the USCCB Subcommittee on the U.S. Catechism. While this group is now only looking at doctrinal content, it is important that we look at the whole product to make sure that it is sensitive to the local cultures, provides adaptations for special needs/learning styles, and is written at an appropriate level for those you are serving.

Products by Dynamic Catholic and Sophia Press are not on this list (in one case not completely as the instructor manual has not met the doctrinal criteria) and therefore are not to be used.

Please see list from July 13, 2023:

USCCB Conformity List

Catechetical Sunday is September 17, 2023

Catechetical Sunday is celebrated in the United States on the third Sunday of September to acknowledge and commission those who serve the parish and school community as catechists. In his Apostolic letter, Antiquum ministerum, Pope Francis describes the role of the catechist as: 

 “Catechists are called first to be expert in the pastoral service of transmitting the faith as it develops through its different stages from the initial proclamation of the kerygma to the instruction that presents our new life in Christ and prepares for the sacraments of Christian initiation, and then to the ongoing formation that can allow each person to give an accounting of the hope within them. At the same time, every catechist must be a witness to the faith, a teacher and mystagogue, a companion and pedagogue, who teaches for the Church. Only through prayer, study, and direct participation in the life of the community can they grow in this identity and the integrity and responsibility that it entails.”

Annual Theme

“Come to me all you who labor and are burdened”

“Vengan a Mí, todos que están cansados y cargados”

Commissioning of Catechists

We encourage using Catechetical Sunday to publicly commission and pray for those who will serve as catechists and teachers in the parish community. A commissioning rite is available to use at the Sunday Masses or in a special prayer service:

USCCB Commissioning Service English

 USCCB Commissioning Service Spanish

Catechetical Sunday also offers an opportunity to recall that all of the baptized have roles in handing on the faith in their daily life, families, work, and church involvement. 

Resources

The USCCB provides resources for parishes to use for the celebration of Catechetical Sunday: USCCB Resources

Liturgical Year Book Orders for Year B

It is that time of year again to begin thinking and preparing for the next liturgical year. Please find below the order form for various books that are tied to the liturgical year at the OCF’s discounted rates. 

Orders are due by August 25 for inclusion. Invoices will be provided when you receive your order. 

Liturgical Year B Orders

5th Annual Home School Mass and Dinner

Family registration is now open for the 5th Annual Blessing of Home School Families which includes Mass and a dinner.

Please see graphic above for information on time and location and the link below to register your family.

Jotform to register and volunteer

Registration opens later this week for September 30.

Safe Environment ~ Circle of Grace

Training for new leaders and those who would like to have a refresher will be held via Zoom on:



Thursday, September 28 at 11:00 am

Zoom links will be provided closer to those dates, but mark your calendars.

For school leaders, lessons will be posted on a closed website.

For parish leaders, a new flash drive and a closed website will be provided. Flash drives are being distributed. The new edition is purple.

Two Part Workshop on American Sign Language (ASL) for teachers/catechists and other parish ministers

Sr. Rita Baum, SSJ will be providing a 2 day workshop on American Sign Language, ASL, on

Saturday, September 16 from 9:00 am - noon

Saturday, September 23 from 9:00 am - noon

Sr. Rita is a Sister of St. Joseph who began using Sign in 1974 and became an interpreter in 1978 using these skills mainly in religious education classes and religion interpreting. These two workshops will include hymns and prayer as well as a broad vocabulary for basic communication.

The OCF is hosting this event. A free will offering of $5 will be accepted.

Jotform to register

Sorting the Fish ~Finding the right spot for everyone~ Preparing People for Sacraments

It is absolutely imperative that before someone, either a child or an adult, is admitted to a sacramental preparation process that you have discerned with them their baptismal status. This could involve multiple steps. There is no way to be certain where the person is on their sacramental journey without this cornerstone piece.

Likewise, someone who is trained and well versed in the process of sacramental preparation should read (or translate) the baptismal certificate to ascertain the correct placement for the person in the parish programming

Below are a list of Catholic Churches in full communion with Rome. People who belong to these churches also are normally fully initiated at the time of their baptism. They are welcome to celebrate Mass within our churches as vice versa. They are not converting if they discern to switch Rites. They are already in the family.

There are 23 Catholic Rites in Communion with Roman. These are listed below arranged by "family":

Latin Rite

1. Latin (or Roman) Catholic Church (us)

Alexandrian Rite

1. Coptic Catholic Church
2. Eritrean Catholic Church
3. Ethiopian Catholic Church

West Syrian (or Antiochene) Rite

1. Maronite Catholic Church
2. Syriac Catholic Church
3. Syro-Malankara Catholic Church

Armenian Rite

1. Armenian Catholic Church

East Syrian (or Chaldean) Rite

1. Chaldean Catholic Church
2. Syro-Malabar Catholic Church

Constantinopolitan (or Byzantine) Rite

1. Albanian Catholic Church
2. Belarusian Catholic Church
3. Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church
4. Byzantine Church of Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro (or Križevci Catholic Church)
5. Greek Byzantine Catholic Church
6. Hungarian Greek Catholic Church
7. Italo-Albanian Catholic Church
8. Macedonian Catholic Church
9. Melkite Greek Catholic Church
10. Romanian Catholic Church
11. Russian Catholic Church
12. Ruthenian Catholic Church (also known as the Byzantine Catholic Church in America)
13. Slovak Catholic Church
14. Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

There are, of course, other 'Catholic Churches" or churches that use the word catholic in their title. These churches are not in Communion and would be treated as converts with perhaps a valid baptism.

In general, a person baptized in an ORTHODOX Faith would be a convert. They have already been fully initiated and their baptismal certificate will indicate this. The Roman Catholic Church finds all sacraments received in an ORTHODOX Church to be valid. People coming from an ORTHODOX Faith are not baptized or confirmed again. They simply, after formation, join the Roman Catholic Faith by a profession of faith. This is noted in your sacramental records as "received by profession of faith."

The full Baptism document with norms: 

English

Spanish

Welcoming All Who Come to Our Doors

OCIA with Children: An Overview with Pastoral Suggestions and Best Practice Sharing

Sunday, September 17, 2023 (NOTE DATE CHANGE)

1:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Catholic Center Hurley Auditorium

Jotform to register

Resources for OCIA teams:

Beginning Anew ~ LTP materials for teams (all free)

Team RCIA Many resources and training opportunities. Not everything requires a paid membership.

Basic Certification (Level I)

Registration is now open for the second weekend to be held at Epiphany Parish in Lake City on August 27-27, 2023.

August 26 Scripture and Church

August 27 Liturgy/Sacraments/Basic Beliefs

Jotform to register for the offerings at Epiphany Registration link through jotform

Level I at St. Francis of Assisi Mission in Yulee.

Registration is now open

September 9 Scripture and Church

September 10 Faith Development and Catechetical/Legal

September 23 Role of the Catechists and Practical Skills

September 24 Liturgy and Sacraments and Basic Beliefs

Jotform to register

Standard Certification (Level II)

Three ways to achieve, all online:

1. Searchlight Virtual School
2. University of Dayton VLCFF
3. Notre Dame STEP Program (password now must be used: staugustine)

Standard Certification Information

The big question for catechetical leaders is how can the vision and practices of the Directory for Catechesis guide catechetical ministry in parishes across the United States. This is the focus of the 2023 NCCL Convocations being held regionally across the United States. We are going to explore how the catechetical vision of the Directory and the practices that flow from that vision can transform catechesis with all ages and generations in a parish community.

Draft # 2 of the Convocation (a sneak peek, we are still working on it)

Our regional gathering will be at:

October 24-25: Tampa: Franciscan Center

$395

Information and registration