Volume XIII, Issue XXXXI October 21, 2024 | |
Echoes~
Your Weekly Catechetical News from the
Office of Christian Formation
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Next Catechetical Leaders' Gathering
The next gathering of the parish DREs/CREs, and AREs will be on Tuesday, November 12 at the Catholic Center in the Hurley Auditorium beginning at 10:00 am with morning prayer. Our morning presentations and presenters will be provided by:
NCCL Family Grant Sharing of Ideas Denise Pressley
Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche program opportunities Anne Marie Skaggs
St. Joseph Neighborhood Center opportunities Sisters of St. Joseph
Studio 316, a supplemental formation opportunity Gary Neil
Your RSVP here
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As usual, on November 1 OCIA coordinators of record will receive the request for expected numbers for the Rite of Election.
November 1 has long been the cut off for those entering the process for reception this coming Easter. Rare exceptions are made. Of course, catechumens are to be in process for 1 - 3 years, so they would not be added. Assignment of dates for celebration will be published shortly after all numbers are received and evaluated.
Full annulments are 8 months or more from the time all paperwork is submitted, so those folks cannot be presented and would not be in your number.
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DOSA Welcomes the OCIA
Training dates and site locations:
Saturday, December 14, 2024 St. Madeleine, High Springs 9:30 am - 3:30 pm
Sunday, December 15, 2024 Blessed Trinity, Jacksonville 1:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Saturday, January 4, 2025 Corpus Christi, St. Augustine 9:30 am - 3:30 pm
Sunday, January 5, 2025 Sacred Heart, Fleming Island 12:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Thank you to our host sites for your generosity
Parish OCIA teams should plan on attending together with your OCIA Ritual Study Guide. Registration is open.
$10 per person
3/$25 from the same parish
6 or more from same parish $50.
Fee includes a meal and materials, but not the ritual study guide. Those will be on sale at location for $25 on a limited basis.
Register for your chosen location
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Adult Confirmation
Bishop Pohlmeier will confer the Sacrament of Confirmation on adults, those 18 and up who have been baptized and have already received First Holy Communion in the Catholic Church on two occasions in 2025:
Saturday, February 8, 2025 at the 5:00 pm Mass at St. Patrick Parish in Gainesville.
Sunday, June 8, 2025 at a 2:00 pm Mass in the Cathedral Basilica.
Parishes need to complete the registration forms and submit to the office 6 weeks prior to the celebration to have their people included. Incomplete forms cannot be accepted.
Adult Confirmation Registration Form
Adult Confirmation Check List for Parishes
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Discernment Evening~ Ministry Formation Program
Any vocation within the Church, including the call to lay ecclesial ministry, involves a discernment process. The term "lay ecclesial minister" is a term used for the last 30 years by the U.S. Bishops to describe those lay people who answer a call to serve the Catholic Church publicly alongside Bishops, priests and deacons.
This call begins with a discernment and it is followed by a systematic program of formation in the areas of: spirituality, academics, human development, and pastoral skills. Our diocesan Ministry Formation Program fulfills this mandate of the U.S. Bishops' found in the document: Coworkers in the Vineyard. Coworkers in the Vineyard (document)
In order to assist those who might be thinking about this call to recognized lay ecclesial ministry, the Office of Ministry Formation is hosting a discernment night on the Monday, November 18 from 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm. All are welcome to attend to explore the possibility. The session will be held at the Catholic Center, 11625 Old St. Augustine Road in the Hurley Auditorium. An RSVP to Lauren would be helpful for those who wish to attend.
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Resources for All Hallows' Eve
The word "Halloween" is a contraction of the expression "all hallows' eve" or "all saints eve." It's roots are deeply Catholic. The Celtic culture had a celebration called Samhain, which literally means the "end of summer." This was the beginning of their new year. During the festival celebrations, Celts believed the souls of the dead returned to mingle with the living. In order to scare away the evil spirits, people would wear masks and light bonfires. When the Romans conquered the Celts, they added their own touches to the celebration of Samhain. This included homage to Pomona, the Roman goddess of orchards with activities such as bobbing for apples and drinking cider among other things.
Enter Christianity in 835 with Pope Gregory IV moving the celebration of the martyrs (later All Saints Day) from May 13 to November 1. The night before became known as "all hallows' eve" (Halloween). Many of the customs we associate with Halloween are derived from these ancient celebrations.
While in our secular world, Halloween has quite a commercial look to it, as Catholics we are called to recall it as part of our faith tradition.
Loyola---Celebrating Family Values at Halloween: a little child friendly history and some activities that provide value lessons
Explaining Halloween to Catholic Kids (Catholic Icing)
Halloween Prayer for Families and more. This website is bilingual
It's Time for Catholics to embrace Halloween (Word on Fire ....nice article)
The Surprisingly Catholic Origins of Halloween (Aleteia)
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New Course from National Catholic Partnership on Disability (NCPD)
NCPD's comprehensive online course bundle empowers parishes to create more inclusive, supportive environments for persons living with autism and their families. It offers practical insights for sacramental preparation and systematic catechesis. Featuring voices of self-advocates, and addressing mental health, this training equips parish leaders to bridge gaps between Church and family to ensure everyone feels a sense of belonging in faith communities.
Each of the 8 courses can be taken and paid for separately ($25) or you can bundle them all for $119. Courses include:
Introduction to Autism
Profoundly Affected by Autism
Application to Parish Life
In Our Voices: Self Advocates
Autism and Mental Health
Sacramental Preparation
Systematic/Symbolic Catechesis
Bridging Relationships between Church and Family
Autism and the Church Series
The Office of Christian Formation will reimburse anyone who completes the 8 course bundle.
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In August, the first gathering affiliated with this grant was a Family Summit in Chicago which diocesan leaders attended. The tapes of each of the presentations as well as the surveys are available.
There will be a webinar in November on Report #1, a survey CARA did on behalf of NCCL. Details soon.
I share the Vimeo of the presentation for Dr. Annette Mahoney's presentation as well as her written survey:
Intergenerational Transmission of Faith:
Parents’ Power, Polarization, Plans, Processes, and Pitfalls to Ponder
Report 2 Maloney
https://vimeo.com/1010957778
Vimeo will not let me link, but go to the webpage or directly to Vimeo
Dr. Annette Mahoney
...is a Distinguished Research Professor at Bowling Green State University where she has taught in the Ph.D. clinical psychology program since 1994. She specializes in theory and empirical research on relational spirituality, i.e., ways that religious/spiritual cognitions and behaviors about close relationships can help or harm psychological well-being and relationships... Her latest research interests focus on the roles that religious/spiritual factors play for sexual and gender minorities, religious exiting, non-theistic parenting, coping with relationship dissolutions, and singlehood. In a 2022 Stanford University report, she was ranked among the top 2% of scientists worldwide.
Parents and Families at the Center website link
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Save the dates:
17th Annual Summer School of Theology June 23-27, 2025 Contemporary Moral Issues~ Fr. Tim Cusick, S.T.L.
41st Annual Faith Formation Day, October 4, 2025
Sadlier Publishing, main sponsor
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Well, the orders are sorted and most delivered...
We have a few of the annual liturgical resources still available for sale if you neglected to order something:
15 Manual Para Proclamadores de la Palabra $11.00
9 Living Liturgy $18.00
6 Children's Daily Prayer Book $6.00
3 Sourcebook $13.00
2 At Home with the Word $8.50
First come, first served. Erin's Email
We expect orders for all OCIA materials to be in the first week of November.
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Basic Certification (Level I) | |
Coming in November:
Basic Certification in Spanish via Zoom.
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Conversations that Matter: Reimagining Politics in the Light of the Eucharist
Online Webinar
Tuesday, October 22, 2024 | 12:30 pm EDT
American political life is characterized by hyper-partisanship and polarization. Each election cycle seems to sharpen divisions and deepen political idolatry, while leaving most of us exasperated and exhausted. Yet, the Catholic Church encourages us to participate in politics. Pope Francis expresses the Church’s conviction that politics is “a lofty vocation and one of the highest forms of charity, inasmuch as it seeks the common good” (EV, 205).
This series explores the Church’s call to participate in political life and the complexities, challenges, and possibilities therein: What is politics? How do Catholics balance the call to participation without making an idol of politics? Is our call to participate exhausted by our duty to vote? What is the mission of Catholics in the public square? What constitutes the public square? How can the Eucharist transform our understanding of politics? Can we envision a world where charity, not political ideology, guides all our actions and decisions?
Featured Panelists
Dr. F. DeKarlos Blackmon is the Vice Chancellor for Pastoral Services for the Archdiocese of Louisville. He has completed graduate studies in pastoral ministry, business, and education and holds a doctorate of education.
Robert Dunn is the Director of Public Policy for the statewide Diocese of Manchester (NH). Bob’s legal career has included service as an Assistant Attorney General in the NH Department of Justice and as the Assistant Commissioner of the NH Department of Safety.
Holly Taylor Coolman is Assistant Professor of Theology at Providence College. She earned her Ph.D. at Duke University, and her areas of interest include social dynamics, polarization, and the law.
Link to register
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Continuing Formation (Level III) Opportunities | |
One Parish, One Book: An Old-Fashioned Tool for Unity and Catechesis
Colleen Reiss Vermeulen, co-founder of CatholicBiblicalSchool.org
October 22nd 3:00 PM
How do we unite parishioners around the Church's vision of lifelong faith formation when competing schedules, diverse needs, and differing interests get in the way?"One Parish, One Book" initiatives are a way to create a springboard during a particular liturgical season to attract new participants into adult faith formation, unite parishioners who may never see each other at Mass or other parish events, and create catechetical momentum to fuel continued parish faith formation efforts.In this webinar, Colleen Reiss Vermeulen, co-founder of CatholicBiblicalSchool.org and parish leader with decades of experience, will guide ministry leaders through practical tips for brainstorming and implementing "One Parish, One Book" initiatives. Learn how to select books, plan the initiative, communicate with parishioners, leverage ministry partners, and plan a wide range of supporting and follow-up touchpoints for ongoing catechesis in the life of the Church.
Link to register
Communion with the Sacred Heart of Jesus: A Pathway to Deeper Devotion to the Eucharist
Fr. Joe Laramie
October 29th 3:00 PM
Teachers and catechists, take your students on a journey to deepen their faith by drawing closer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This ancient devotion, intimately connected to the Eucharist, allows us to experience the boundless love Jesus pours out through His Body and Blood.In this webinar, Fr. Joe Laramie will guide you through practical steps to ignite this devotion in your students' hearts. You’ll receive a special monthly lesson plan designed to honor the Sacred Heart and align with the Holy Father's monthly intentions—ideal for 'First Fridays' or any day of the school year. Strengthen your students' love for the Eucharist as you bring this beautiful tradition to life in your classrooms and homes.
Link to register
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