Posts Tagged ‘Archdiocesan Catechetical Office’

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It’s your Bible. Come celebrate it.

Friday, May 25th, 2012

For generations of Catholics, the least opened item on the bookshelf was the family Bible.  It would come out only when a name had to be inscribed as a birth, marriage or death.

Now, of course, many Catholics read the Bible, some daily. We owe this to the Second Vatican Council, which opened 50 years ago this coming autumn, and to a document from that council titled Dei Verbum, The Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation.  This constitution urged “all the Christian faithful… to learn by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures the “excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:8).  It stated unequivocally, “For ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.”

The successors of Blessed John XXIII, the convener of Vatican II, have reinforced this message.  Just a few years ago, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI called a Synod on the Word of God. Afterwards, he wrote an exhortation titled Verbum Domini (The Word of the Lord). It would be great if you could read the whole document.  However, if you are pressed for time,  read this section.

Here’s why. The section is one of the reasons that since 2010, the Archdiocesan Catechetical Office and our good friends at the American Bible Society have co-sponsored the annual New York Catholic Bible Summit. This summit looks at the Bible from many of the aspects that Pope described.

This year’s summit is on Saturday, June 16, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at the New York Catholic Center, 350 East 56 Street in Manhattan. Our theme is “Joy and Hope in the Light of the Gospel.” It comes from another famous Vatican II document, Gaudium et Spes (Joy and Hope), The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World.   We hope you will register for the Bible Summit and join us for an informative and inspiring experience.

We have two wonderful keynoters, Peter Cardinal Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace at the Vatican, and Archbishop Carlos Aguiar Retes, president of the Latin American Conference of Catholic Bishops. Our topics include Scripture and the New Evangelization, the environment, spirituality, history, prayer, discipleship and much more.  Here are details on the topics and their presenters in English and Spanish. The apostolic nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, will be the principal celebrant and homilist at the opening Mass and our own archbishop, Timothy Cardinal Dolan will preside.

Hope you’ll join us on June 16.  We’ll be looking for you.

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Pledging for those who nurtured our faith

Tuesday, March 6th, 2012

Every year, when the Stewardship Appeal comes around, in whatever name, I am reminded of my old friend, Msgr. Francis Costello, who was for many years a pastor here in the archdiocese.

Back in the 1980s, some smart person had the notion of combining the collection for retired religious men and women with the Cardinal’s Appeal, as it was called then, highlighting the work these people had done. Well, the appeal was a great success.

Msgr. Costello understood why. “You know,” he said to me, “I couldn’t for the life of me tell you the name of the priest who gave me my first Holy Communion. I am not sure which bishop confirmed me. However, I can tell you the names of the sisters who prepared me for those sacraments and, in fact, the name of every sister who ever taught me.” He then proceeded to demonstrate that he did indeed remember them all and the grade year they taught.

I was happy to hear on Sunday in the Cathedral that our gifts to this year’s appeal will help support  religious sisters and brothers who have worked long beyond the time when most people retire and now need care themselves.

By the way, when you give to  the Stewardship Appeal, you also support the mission of the Archdiocesan Catechetical Office, which trains the parish catechetical leaders and catechists who carry in the great tradition of those selfless religious sisters and brothers, who worked for little or no remuneration.

When you make your pledge this year, see if you can remember who prepared you for the sacraments and enriched your understanding of your God-given faith. I have a feeling that like my old friend, Msgr. Costello, you will be able to reel off all their names.

 

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A special day for Catholics who teach in public schools

Friday, January 20th, 2012

Those of us involved with handing on the Faith in parishes or in the Catholic schools have many opportunities for the spiritual renewal that is so important to the success of our ministry.

However, there are other Catholic educators, teachers and administrators in public schools, who are equally deserving of a day to recharge their spiritual batteries and be recognized for the witness they bear day after day, week after week. They preach the Gospel, not by words, but by their example, by their diligence, and by their care for their students.

So on Saturday, Jan. 28, the Archdiocesan Catechetical Office will sponsor a Liturgy and Breakfast especially for Catholics who teach in public schools. It will take place at the Riverview, which overlooks the Hudson River in Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y. The doors will open at 9:30 a.m. Bishop Dominick Lagonegro will celebrate Mass at 10 o’clock.  Our guest speaker this is Sr. Peggy Murphy, O.P. a member of the Sisters of St. Dominic of Amityville, N.Y.

Sr. Peggy, who holds a doctor of ministry degree in pastoral theology from Drew University School of Theology, currently is a professor of religious studies at Mt. St. Mary College in Newburgh, N.Y., where she also has served as a division chair. An educator and counselor, she is additionally a gifted musician, and expert on Celtic spirituality. She has appeared on television with Regis Philbin and in the Broadway production of “Nunsense.” Sr. Peggy is the recipient of countless awards, including several as a woman of achievement, which she certainly is. At heart, however, she is an educator.

The suggested fee is $20 per person. Many of our guests at this annual event tell us we should charge more but we want to keep it within the reach of everyone.

If you are a Catholic teaching in the public schools, you are cordially invited to join us. Or perhaps you have a friend or relative who is. Why not come and invite that teacher to join you?  You’ll meet lots of other like-minded men and women with whom you can share experiences, dreams and even your professional frustrations.

Just contact Helen Doon at the Catechetical Office by Wednesday, Jan. 25, at the latest. You can reach her at 212-371-1011, Ext. 2822 or e-mail Helen.doon@archny.org. She’ll be happy to take your reservations and answer your questions.

See you there.

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Don’t settle for less than the best

Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

A few weeks ago, at the beautiful chapel of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers in Ossining, the Archdiocesan Catechetical Office honored its most faithful catechists and catechetical leaders, and recognized those who have completed the various formation programs designed to give every parish excellence in religious education for children, youth and adults.

Additionally, two pastors, Rev. Raymond Nobiletti, MM, of Transfiguration in Manhattan and Msgr. Hugh McManus of Our Lady of Fatima in Scarsdale, received the Terence Cardinal Cooke Award for their support of the catechetical ministry. Bishop Gerald Walsh, rector of the St. Joseph Seminary, presided and joined Sr. Joan Curtin, CND, director of the Catechetical Office in presenting the awards and certificates.

Where do coordinators and directors of parish religious education programs and their catechists come from? They come from very neighborhood, every ethnic and national group, every walk of life. Most are moms and dads and grandparents. Most have other jobs. And that’s tough because as any qualified catechetical leader or catechist will tell you, parish catechesis is not a part-time effort. It takes much more time than the 90 minutes a week that are mandated by the Archdiocese for each parish. Anyone who has not served this ministry doesn’t know all the hidden extra hours these worthy people devote to the ministry. It takes a qualified leader.

Ideally the leader of parish catechesis (which is a more appropriate name than religious ed) should be a full-time director, that is, a professional who has a master’s degree in theology, religious studies or religious education. But that’s not always possible. What is possible is that anyone engaged as coordinator (this person would not have the above graduate degree) completes our training process, which will qualify him or her to be a catechetical leader. And this person should be paid a just wage for his or her professional commitment.

There is more to leading or teaching in a parish catechetical program than opening the doors, spending an hour and a half a week with the students, and then organizing the reception of First Penance, First Eucharist and Confirmation. In fact, to call the catechetical formation of your children a mere program is to grossly understate its importance. Catechesis is an ongoing process of Christian development, one that begins in early childhood and goes on for the rest of one’s life.

Parents of Catholic School students wouldn’t tolerate an unqualified principal or teacher, or one who works only a one or two days a week, to deliver the education excellence they expect for their children. Why should religious education parents have to settle for this?

Well, you shouldn’t have to. And you don’t have to. Support your parish so that it will be able to engage and justly compensate a qualified catechetical leader…or someone who is willing and able to attend the training that will qualify him or her. It may be the biggest favor you have ever done for your parish because when people are able to discover more about their faith, they become more engaged in their parish and will help it to thrive.

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Sept. 11, 2011. We’re still here.

Sunday, September 11th, 2011

Some believe that those who perpetrated the events of September 11, 2001, have succeeded in their purpose of making us people of fear, turning on one another and using religion as a weapon. I don’t think so. Like that wonderful woman in the Stephen Sondheim “Follies” song, we New Yorkers are still here. And we are not easily intimidated.

In the best tradition of this town, which a friend of mine named Donald Reilly, OSA, described 10 years ago as “a resilient city of God,” we are determined that we will not be cowed into becoming people of fear and selfishness. We will heed, in our New York fashion, the better angels of our nature.

In the meantime, allow me to offer this prayer from Sr. Kathleen Deignan of the Congregation of Notre Dame. She speaks for many of us.

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Tolle lege! Tolle lege! Then come find out more about Scripture.

Thursday, May 26th, 2011

“Tolle lege! Tolle lege!” “Pick it up and read it. Pick it up and read it.” That’s what children’s voices said to St. Augustine of Hippo when he was in despair ’way back in the late fourth century. The “it” was the Bible. He took the advice, picked up the Sacred Scripture,  and started to read Romans 13, 13-14. It changed his life…and ours, too, for that matter. That’s because Augustine went on to become one of the most influential philosophers of Christianity and of western civilization.

As Father Anthony Ciorra, a great friend of the Archdiocesan Catechetical Office, reminded our staff the other day, this is good advice for all us. The Bible is not simply that book that we pull off the shelf to record family births, weddings and deaths. It’s not just a wedding or religious jubilee gift. It’s the living Word of God, emphasis on living.

Sacred Scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit to speak to all generations until the end of time. You could read the same passage on three different days or three different years, and discover each time that your understanding of that passage and of yourself is deepening.

Pope Benedict XVI, an admirer and scholar of St. Augustine of Hippo, released a wonderful exhortation recently, one that reminds us of the importance of picking up and reading our copies of the Bible. It’s called Verbum Domini and you might enjoy reading it.

Then do yourself a favor. Discover the liveliness, influence and relevance of the Word of God by coming to the Second Annual New York Catholic Bible Summit on Saturday, June 25, here at the Catholic Center and sponsored by the Archdiocesan Catechetical Office, the American Bible Society and Fordham University. It’s your chance to meet, hear and talk with some of today’s best scholars, historians, artists and musicians – a host of experts who will make Scripture a livelier experience than you ever dreamed. There will be workshops in both English and Spanish. Keynoters are the Rev. Donald Senior, CP, who edited the New American Bible and who is now president of the Catholic Theological Union; and the Rev. Gabriel Naranjo, CM, Secretario General de la Confederación Latinoamericana y Caribeña de Religiosas/os (CLAR) Bogotá, Colombia.  Among the many experts is New York’s’ own  Msgr. Robert Stern, president of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, who will speak about the Holy Land, ancient and modern. That’s a timely topic and will give added context to our reading of the Word of God.   Find out about the rest of our speakers and register today, so we can get you into the workshop of your choice. If you prefer registering by mail, you have that option, too.

Hope to see you there.

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Our brothers and sisters in the Middle East urgently need our help

Tuesday, January 11th, 2011

In the endless struggles between Jews and Muslims in Israel and the West Bank, in countries like Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan and other places where they are a minority population, Christians are suffering terribly. They are in a no-win situation. Politically, they don’t count to the powers-that-be; economically, they are in dire straits. In some places, they are not even allowed to self-identify as Christian. This is a source of deep concern to Pope Benedict XIV and should be to us as well.

The internal resources of the Eastern churches themselves are not able to keep up with the pastoral, educational and social services needs of their people, especially in the places that are experiencing violence. The Eastern churches need our assistance.

Fortunately, there is a way for us to help: the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA), a pontifical agency established in 1926 in Rome by Pope Pius XI with administrative offices here in New York City at the Catholic Center. Its mission is to assist the Eastern Churches, to work for church unity, and to raise consciousness here in the West about the churches and peoples of the East. CNEWA works with the local churches to address their needs. This is how CNEWA describes its activities.

“From training priests to serve the people of God in India to providing clean water systems to war-damaged villages in Lebanon – from providing job opportunities to unemployed Palestinians to caring for orphaned children in Ethiopia – from providing health care to the poor in Iraq to awarding scholarships for Orthodox priests to study in Catholic universities in Rome, CNEWA connects generous North Americans with those in need living in some of the remotest parts of the world.”

So what can we as individuals, as parishes or as parish-based religious education programs do through CNEWA? We can sponsor a child’s future, help a man answer God’s call to priesthood, help men and women who wish to join religious life. And more. It is so easy.

For example, just $28 dollars per month (you can send a check or have the money charged automatically to a credit card) will make you as an individual or a team of people the sponsor of a boy’s or girl’s room, board, health care and education. The sponsor(s) receives a profile and a photo of his, her or their child annually along with a progress report. Sponsors may even write to their children. $28.00. That’s fewer than three movie tickets, about half of what it costs to fill a gas tank…but for a child in a country served by CNEWA it goes so very, very far. By the way, you’ll be interested to know that your money goes through the Church’s own diplomatic channels. Local Governments have no access to those funds.

When you join with CNEWA, you also receive a wonderful magazine, One. There’s also a terrific on-line newsletter for all to read and learn from.

Most of us Christians trace our faith to Rome. However, there are the great ancient Churches: the churches of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem. These Eastern churches are found in the Middle East, the Horn of Africa, parts of India and also Western Europe. Of course, the mother church of us all is Jerusalem, as Pope Paul VI stated. So we truly are brothers and sisters to these Eastern churches. What we do for them through CNEWA is all in the family.

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