Preparing for the Jubilee Year of Mercy Faith Formation
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Are you ready for all the blessings and graces that will be showered upon the world during this year? I think one of the easiest ways to open ourselves to the graces that the Lord desires to pour into our hearts is by practicing the works of mercy. As we are told in Scripture: “He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none and he who has food must do likewise…If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit?’” (James 2:6). St. Simon of Cyrene comes
Inspiring Talks at St. James Coffee! Office of Faith Formation brings in Theresa Martin to speak at SJC in Rochester. Join us!
"One Holy Family Can Change the World." December 18 at 7:30 p.m. "What can I do to make a difference in this world? I am just one person. We are just one, little family." The answer will surprise you! Come join us to learn from the Saints how the little you give can make a great difference. Theresa Martin Catholic author, wife, & mother of six boys
to mind as I reflect upon the works of mercy. Let us ask ourselves, “How can I help to carry the cross that someone else is being faced with at this moment?” I found a list of ideas of the corporal works of mercy from Lisa Cotter at FOCUS. I’ve taken my favorites from her list and added a few of my personal favorites: Feed the Hungry - Donate and/or volunteer at a soup kitchen. - Take a meal to one who is ill or had a baby. - Consider keeping a gift card with you to hand out to people you encounter who are in need. - Keep granola bars to give to people in need. Give Drink to the Thirsty - Pass out water bottles to the homeless. - Pay for the coffee of the person behind you. - Take water to a neighbor doing yard work. - Donate baby formula to local pregnancy center. Clothe the Naked - Go through your closet and give away what you don’t need. Encourage your kids to participate. - Host a clothing drive and donate the items. - Knit or sew baby blankets for a pregnancy help center, or scarves/ hats for homeless shelter. Shelter the Homeless - If you are able, volunteer to help build a home – for example, Habitat for Humanity. - Volunteer to help in the upkeep of a shelter. - Send a care package to an orphanage. - Host a fundraiser for a family working towards adoption. Visit the Sick and the Imprisoned - Visit the elderly in a nursing home. You will bring joy! - As an extraordinary minister, bring the Eucharist to the homebound. - Visit a seriously or terminally ill parish member. - Support and/or participate in ministries for the incarcerated. - Donate bibles to a prison. - Support programs that provide holiday gifts for prisoners and their families, and also pray for the inmate and their families. Bury the Dead - Offer food for a funeral. - Help a widow or widower in need. - Visit the cemetery and pray for the dead. - Donate to ministries that offer free Catholic burials. - Pray at an abortion clinic for the lives lost to abortion.
Counsel the Doubtful - Work at being optimistic and avoiding cynicism. - Respond to cynicism, and doubt with hope. - Be articulate about your own hopes. Instruct the Ignorant (those who don’t know) - As a parent, you have been gifted with the incredible responsibility of bringing your children into relationship with the Lord and the Truths of the Catholic Faith, and also to help lead them in their path toward heaven. The school, the
Jesus also remarked to St. Faustina, the apostle of Divine Mercy: “When you approach the confessional, know this, that I Myself am waiting there for you ... Tell souls that from this fount of mercy souls draw graces solely with the vessel of trust. If their trust is great, there is no limit to My generosity...Let the greatest sinners place their trust in My mercy."
faith formation teacher – not even the pastor or priest – is meant to be the primary educator of your child…that has been entrusted to you as part of your task of being a Mom or Dad. We must remember, “You cannot give what you do not have.” So I encourage you to learn more about the faith. Does your parish have adult faith formation? If not, ask about it. Learn the faith so that you can live it and model it to your children! - Commit yourself to learning about the Catholic faith and share your understanding.
Mission in the Light of the Gospel By: Sister Marie Paul Lockerd RSM, DO, RSM
“That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 Jn 1:3). The entire mission of the Church is to bring persons into communion with Jesus and through Jesus into communion with God the Father. The image of Jesus’ disciples being grafted onto the vine is a clear image of mission. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit” (Jn 15:5). Saint John Paul II in his Apostolic Exhortation, Christifideles Laici,(32), states that “communion and mission are profoundly connected with each other, they interpenetrate and mutually imply each other, to the point that communion represents both the source and the fruit of mission: communion gives rise to mission and mission is accomplished in communion. It is always the one and the same Spirit who calls together and unifies the Church and sends her to preach the Gospel ‘to the ends of the earth.’ (Acts 1:8).” The entire mission of the Church is to evangelize. All persons in the Church are called to evangelize the Gospel. We are all called to proclaim the truth of Jesus’ redemptive mission. We are called to our own conversion to serve Jesus who is Truth and to invite others to share the joy and the hope of knowing Jesus Christ who will show us the Father. This is the first and prime mission. Saint Paul in his second letter to Timothy states: “Preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching. For the time December, 2015 w The Courier
is coming when people will not endure sound teaching,” (2 Tim 4:2-3). We have need in our day for the mission of proclaiming the truth of the Gospel. There is a spiritual poverty that goes deeper than physical poverty. It is the poverty of not knowing the hope to which Christ calls us. There is a poverty in not believing what Jesus taught and there is a poverty in not loving as Christ loved. Jesus was the prime example of mission being a gift of self. Saint John Paul II quoted many times, “man can only find himself in a true gift of self” (Gaudium et Spes # 24:3) and “Jesus reveals man to himself and makes his supreme calling clear” (GS #22:1). Mission proceeds from love of Christ to the point of desiring to give of oneself for the sake of Christ. At that point we will be able to receive the Grace to be led by the Holy Spirit into knowing how, when, and where to give of ourselves. Religious men and women are called to a particular mission first to witness to the spousal love of God. Saint John Paul II described spousal love as a reciprocal gift of self and a reciprocal receiving of the other. Consecrated persons are called to witness by their faith and love to the fulfillment in heaven when there will be no marriage between man and woman. In the fulfillment of heaven there will be a spousal participation in the inner life of the Trinity. Married couples bear witness to the love of the Trinity in this life and Consecrated persons bear witness to the love of the Trinity in the life to come. Both are called in this life to conform themselves to Christ. Then in whatever works they do, they will bring the love of Christ to the world.
Sr. Paul Mary Rittgers, R.S.M. Director faithformation@dow.org
Admonish sinners - This is certainly challenging, but let us read Scripture, “My brothers, if anyone among you should stray from the truth and someone bring him back, he should know that whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” ( James 5: 19-20). - Courageously yet compassionately call people and institutions to be faithful to the teachings of the Church. - Surrounded by people who gossip? Walk away, or draw their attention to the positives. Comfort the afflicted - This is one we can all do! First and foremost through prayer. Then, even a smile or a few words of encouragement makes a huge impact. - Walk with others through their pain. - Offer words of encouragement. - Be present to those who are struggling or in emotional pain or despair. - Offer sympathy to those who are grieving. Forgive offenses willingly - Let’s start with those closest to you for this one. Is there any way that you could extend the mercy you have received from the Lord to someone in your family? Is there someone with whom you have not spoken in years – or perhaps you spoke to them 10 minutes ago – that might need to hear “I’m sorry” or maybe even “I forgive you.” As we are told in 1 John 4:20, “Whoever claims to love God yet hates his brother is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.” So, our challenge is this: find the person in your life that you have the hardest time dealing with, or hold ill feelings toward, and show them in a special way the love and mercy of God through your actions. Bear wrongs patiently - Work at being less critical of others. - Give people the benefit of the doubt and always assume the good of the other person. - Pray for those who have wronged you. Pray for the living and the dead - Offer daily prayers for those with terminal illnesses and for those who have died. - Talk to your priest about having a Mass offered for the soul of a deceased relative or friend. - Pray for the poor souls in purgatory. - Give someone a “spiritual bouquet” as a gift. I’m sure that you can think of many more ideas that could be added to this list. Find something that enlivens you, and then go do it! You can also contact Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Winona at (507) 454-2270 or info@ccwinona.org for even more information. During this Jubilee Year of Mercy, I encourage you to discuss ways in which you and your family can incorporate the works of mercy into your life. Most importantly, I encourage you to experience the Lord’s mercy in your own heart through the Sacrament of Penance. As the Lord tells us in Luke 15, “…There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance…I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”