Success! I want to acknowledge with deep and grate-ful thanks Kathi Bonner and Judy Pluta, our director of religious education and our youth minister, respectively, for last weekend's (October 1 & 2) wonderful Confirmation class re-treat on Saturday and Sunday's Youth Ministry concert, both presented with nationally known youth minister and musician Steve Angrisano. As you may know, Steve was present at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, when two students entered the school and took the lives of 12 fellow students, wounding some 23 others. He speaks to teenagers and adults around the world on matters of faith. Aside from his national tour, Steve has been highlighted at some 7 World Youth Days sponsored by the Catholic Church. His message is powerful and he was very well received by our retreatants and youth ministry students. Over the last 12 months Kathi and Judy have both been working on this first-time ever "in-house" Confirmation retreat and youth ministry concert. Untold numbers of hours and a lot of creative energy have gone into both of these very successful events. In decades past, our Confirmation retreats took place at a local retreat center and while always very good, this year's efforts by Kathi and Judy, along with the help of our Confirmation teachers and volunteers, were able to personalize the retreat and target the coinciding concert to the lives of your sons and daughters here in our parish. I am very, very pleased with the enthusiastic comments I heard from our Confirmation candidates and youth ministry students, as well as from the many adults who attended the concert. Additionally, I have heard lots of comments from non-parishioners and even local merchants who have told me this week that people have been talking about these two successful events in town.
This past weekend was great, it was moving, and it was lots of fun! Steve Angrisano, as a musician is excellent, and as a spiritual speaker is extremely motivating realistic, practical and relevant. My hope is that we are able to do some-thing like this again next year and to open it up to the entire parish. In the end, it is all about our youth and building up their faith both intellectually in the knowledge of what Christ teaches us and how the Church continues His mission and ministry today as well as in having them be able to live out God's laws of love in everyday life the practical application of our Catholic faith. We see that in our youth’s successful efforts to raise more than $6800 two weeks ago by washing cars to Feed the Hungry (and that amount will pay for one full year of food for the homeless) and in their dedication to their religious education service hours in ministry visiting McLean Home, helping neighbors, caring for the marginalized a strong sense of faithful action-which are no small tasks nor are they simply deeds to "fill up time," but rather to instill in them an idea of service to our brothers and sisters in need. In Evelyn Underhill's book entitled, The Spiritual Life, the author notes that in saying the Lord's Prayer the words “Thy Kingdom Come,” must stand for conviction -- those words must mean, "Here I am! Send me!"-- active, costly col-laboration with the Spirit in whom we believe. Our younger St. Catherine of Siena parishioners are illustrating that clearly.
Again, my sincere thanks to Judy, Kathi, our Confir-mation teachers and volunteers, and to Linda Butler and Mike Grappone for their staff support.
Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) is about to begin in November so that we are able to prepare those who wish to consider entering into or complete their sacramental preparation for full Communion with the Church. If you are of another faith but attend St. Catherine of Siena with your spouse, children or family and would like to learn more about the Catholic faith, I invite you to come to a preparatory meeting on November 9th at 7pm in the Library off the Atrium. This is a great opportunity to come and see not only what the faith is all about but how you may fit into our loving faith more fully. The first two meetings are really discernment meetings: “Is this right for me?” We will talk about the process of becoming a Catholic in the RCIA program and will layout the path to that end. The RCIA program meets approximately 12 times from November until Holy Week and then culminates with entrance into the faith at the Great Easter Vigil and the study of Mystagogy. We will discuss all seven sacraments of the Catholic Church, the moral and faith teachings of the Church, the make-up and work of the Catholic Church and faith, history of our faith, and briefly discuss the Old and the New Testaments and the four Gospels. While RCIA is not an all-inclusive study of our faith, it is a wonderful overview and beginning to whet one’s appetite to learn more deeply how God’s power enters into our life and empowers us to do His Will in so many different ways. Add to that the understanding that faith truly is a “family affair” and this might be a great opportunity to place yourself on the road to joining those you love in a common practice of faith. I hope you will pray about this decision, and consider what it might mean for you. Welcome!