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Fr. Dennis McNeil Offers Unique Faith Formation Opportunities
Even with all of the changes brought forth this year by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is one reliable constant — the opportunity to engage in continuing faith formation, growing closer to God as we learn more about and reflect upon the beauty of our Catholic faith.
Fr. Dennis McNeil’s popular programs, “Lives of the Saints” and “Movies With McNeil,” have been underway since September in the John Paul II room, and are slated to continue through May 2021. These free programs offer a unique approach to continuing faith formation.
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The “Lives of the Saints” programs are held at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month, while “Movies With McNeil” are held at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month. Registration is not required.
“There is enough room to spread around with masks,” Fr. McNeil says.
Fr. McNeil has always been devoted to the saints, thanks to the book Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, which his mother read with him daily.
“We read it all the time,” he says. “There were wonderful woodcut drawings. I’ve always been fond of the saints. Each month with ‘Lives of the Saints,’ we have a different topic, such as the mystics, and American saints and blesseds. People have questions and each session is a different topic. If anyone wants to suggest a topic, I’m open to that, as well.”
Fr. McNeil has an impressive reminder of the saints in a collection of pewter saint statues in his office.
“I tell people if they want to know about the saints, I also have a database of 15,000 entries,” he says. “I think it’s important to know the saints. We’re all called to be saints as Catholics and Christians.”
During the “Lives of the Saints” sessions, Fr. McNeil emphasizes the idea that no matter our circumstances, we can become saints.
“A lot of the stories about saints are that they are very ordinary people who still respond extraordinarily,” Fr. McNeil says. “Take The Song of Bernadette, that she was just a young girl with no formal education, but she was the one chosen to be the visionary.”
The “Movies With McNeil” sessions offer films that explore different aspects of our faith. In December, Fr. McNeil will show Come to the Stable, with Loretta Young and Celeste Holm. It depicts the true story of two French nuns who come to a small New England town to build a children’s hospital.
Some of the movies theatrical releases and others are for religious education purposes, obtained from EWTN sources or Ignatius Press. Fr. McNeil will loan the films to anyone interested — he has about 200 in his collection.
“With the movies, the idea is putting faith into action,” he says. “For example, I showed the movie Seven Days in Utopia, about a professional golfer who has a meltdown and ends up in a small town. He learns how to play golf again and how to respond to his difficulties, and has a reconciliation with his dad. The idea of putting faith into action helps people to reflect and show what is possible — ‘I can live the Gospel message in my situation.’”
