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August 8, 2005
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Greetings and welcome
to Faith Formation Update,
a free monthly e-newsletter for catechetical leaders with a focus
on parish catechesis beyond textbooks and classrooms. I'm Judith
Dunlap. In each issue I offer a brief starter
and my "Every Family" column.
My co-worker and fellow religious educator Joan
McKamey offers video resources and ideas in her "Seen
and Heard" column. Our co-worker Chuck Blankenship
suggests other faith formation resources for adults from St. Anthony Messenger Press in his column, "Sowing Sampler." Finally, we encourage YOU to share views and
program ideas about this month's topic on our online bulletin
board, "Faith Formation Forum."
Blessings on your work! —Judith
Dunlap p.s. You're receiving
this either because you signed up, or because you're a loyal customer
of St. Anthony Messenger Press. We will never send you unwanted
e-mail. There is an unsubscribe link at the bottom of this page.
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The focus of the August issue of this newsletter is to familiarize you with what’s new from SAMP. I’ve chosen to talk about a book we’ve recently revised, Meeting the Merciful Christ: How to Go to Confession by
Msgr.
Joseph Champlin.
I’ve been a fan of Msgr. Champlin’s since I heard him speak a dozen or so years ago at a national catechetical conference. I liked his practical approach to the sacraments. I remember his saying that catechetical leaders have a golden opportunity to evangelize parishioners when they bring in their children for first sacraments. He reasoned that some of these young parents may be ready to look at faith from an adult perspective.
This means we need to talk about more than dates, times and what their youngsters will need to know before receiving a sacrament. Parents also need to understand the sacrament. We especially need to prepare parents for Reconciliation.
I once heard a group of priests discuss how parents often receive their second Reconciliation when their children receive their first. Although Reconciliation is a wonderful celebration of “God with us,” Catholics do not flock to it. Some of the hesitancy we find in our adult parishioners may exist because they are unfamiliar with the rite.
First published in 1986, Msgr. Joseph Champlin’s Meeting the Merciful Christ: How to Go to Confession has been revised to meet the needs of today’s Catholics. This small book has a contemporary look, is an easy read and answers many common questions about the sacrament. (Click here to find the answer to “Why go to confession at all?”) It also offers an examination of conscience and a step-by-step explanation of the rite.
Meeting the Merciful Christ would be an excellent book for parents to read as they prepare their children for first Reconciliation. But it would also be a great resource to have available before parish Penance services. The book is $2.95 per copy but can be purchased in bulk at a discounted cost.
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Look for a new book from Mary Cronk Farrell this fall entitled Celebrating Faith: Year-Round Activities for Catholic Families. It provides family-friendly activities and reflections for parents sharing their Catholic faith with their young children. The author invites her readers to be creative and inventive by using activities and reflections to help integrate the Catholic faith into their own family traditions, rituals and experiences.
Mary Cronk Farrell is a celebrated and award-winning writer and the recipient of many major awards for her work in television journalism in Seattle. The book is still at press, but here is a peek at the introduction:
This book seeks to provide you with practical help in teaching your children Christian values and fostering faith in everyday family life. Chapters offer ways to celebrate the Church’s liturgical year, as well as secular holidays. You will find simple explanations of the Church seasons and major holy days. Scripture readings, simple prayers, rituals and activities are suggested throughout, as well as true stories from family life meant to inspire, encourage and offer food for thought. Finally, it’s back to school time, and you might want to introduce your principal to the small book I wrote for the Handing on the Faith Series called When You Teach in a Catholic School. It’s written for all Catholic school teachers whether they teach religion, math, science, etc. Click here to see a few pages from the introduction.
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As I sit down to write this, back-to-school supplies are prominent in every store I visit and every ad I see. Once again I gave in to my daughter’s “need” for a new pack of crayons for school, even though we already have more crayons in our house than we will ever use.
There is something exciting and satisfying about new beginnings—writing on the first page of a brand-new notebook, putting your name in the first user’s space in a new textbook and, yes, I admit, picking up a new pack of crayons, opening the flap (it hasn’t fallen off from overuse yet) and finding 24 perfect crayons awaiting your creative whim.
While some of you are still catching your breath after invigorating summer parish events, others are gearing up for school programs. Whatever your schedule or parish responsibilities, it does seem as if the return to routine after summer schedules provides many of us with new beginnings and fresh starts.
Before you are lost in the fall frenzy, I encourage you to take time to consider your life’s road map, as you would periodically along any trip, at the beginning of another leg of any adventure. Matthew Kelly notes that if we don’t know where we’re going, we’re already lost. Do you know where you’re going? Do you know what you want from life? These are the questions we don’t dare lose sight of or all of our frenetic efforts are for naught.
I expect that many of you are like me. I can answer those questions in a vague way. I have been unwavering in my general direction. I feel good about my life choices and know that I am making a difference both personally and professionally.
I know I’m not lost, but I also know that I am not living every day fully with passion and purpose. That’s what Matthew Kelly talks about in his New York Times best-selling book The Rhythm of Life: Living Every Day With Passion & Purpose.
I like Matthew Kelly and his message a lot. His message challenges me. It’s pretty basic, and that’s what I like about it. That’s why I think he has such a broad appeal to so many. He doesn’t water down Christianity and say it’s easy, but he does a marvelous job of calling us back to the fundamentals of what we need to be doing if we are serious about living as Christian disciples.
Living every day with passion and purpose sounds pretty appealing to me. Please join me this fall in taking some time from these busy days to come up with more specific answers to the questions: Do you know where you’re going? Do you know what you want from life? I’m going to start by listening to the abridged audiobook version of Matthew Kelly’s The Rhythm of Life: Living Every Day With Passion & Purpose. Click here to listen to the sample I’ve selected for you (RealMedia | Windows Media).
Here’s to new beginnings! May we all make the very best of them!
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If you’re like me, you probably have a file full of “things that work” for you: handouts for RCIA meetings, handouts for parent meetings, booklets for this purpose or that. When I find something that works, I tend to order it again and again.
That’s the case for many of the Catholic Update titles that St. Anthony Messenger Press publishes. Some of these handouts have been around for years, but they still “work” for us. One example is a best-selling Update entitled “A Walk Through the Mass” by Fr. Tom Richstatter. This summer, 16 years after it was first published, this Catholic Update was updated, given a new set of illustrations and brought up-to-date with the latest changes in the way the eucharistic liturgy is celebrated. So when you order this Catholic Update, don’t be surprised at the fresh look. It’s still the same “handout that works.”
A couple of other resources that have been revised and updated include Meeting the Merciful Christ: How to Go to Confession, the best-selling booklet by
Msgr.
Joseph Champlin that has helped so many people learn “how to go to confession.” With a fresh look and up-to-date content, this is another must-have resource for your programs.
Finally, Believing in Jesus: A Popular Overview of the Catholic Faith has just been reissued in a new fifth edition. Current with Church documents and events, this handy volume references the Catechism of the Catholic Church and includes discussion questions and a newly updated and expanded “resource” section. This fifth edition makes a good resource even better than ever!
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Share your ideas on adult faith formation at our online bulletin board. Our editors will screen and post your thoughts, and you can learn from others' ideas. Submit your ideas by clicking here. |
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