As I mentioned a few weeks ago and have announced at Masses from the chair, the RCIA program is aimed at welcoming non-Roman Catholics into the faith by leading them on a journey to whet their appetites and come to know the teachings of Christ, why He loves humanity so much and why He desires us to freely love Him back, thus becoming members of His Mystical Body on earth and live in His Kingdom forever.

Today our Church celebrates the Kingship of Jesus Christ—a kingship that has nothing to do with an earthly understanding of power, might and authority. Pontius Pilate had no real understanding of the power Jesus would wield, nor did he understand what Jesus the Christ was all about. Pilate feared a new king entering his territory who would challenge his word with new decrees or another military.

Busy at work, overwhelmed with the children, the family and everything else in the world? Finding it difficult to carve out a few minutes each week for yourself, no less to “get involved” in helping another—even though you want to and know you should? Let Saint Catherine of Siena help you with this conundrum. Again this year our parish will hold our Advent Giving Tree Ministry (AGTM) collection from December 1st to January 6, with the hope of enabling everyone in our parish to take on the persona of Christ and help someone out who is really suffering.

This weekend we hear again from the Gospel of Mark whom we have been listening to for a good part of the past year—and as we soon end this current Liturgical Year (with the coming of Advent) we will say goodbye to the Markan Gospel. Today we hear about a poor widow who put into the Temple Treasury the equivalent of about two (2) cents while other, more well-to-do members gave larger sums of money. And yet, the Lord considers the widows gift to be of greater value than “the larger sums.” Why?

The process of “becoming Catholic,” known in the Church as the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA), calls for the “whetting the appetite,” if you will, for someone on a journey to a deeper relationship with God. RCIA is not meant to be a credited course in theology nor is it meant to answer every question one has about the Roman Catholic faith. Rather, it is meant to open one up to come closer to God via faith in the Church: her sacramental life, theology and the lived-experience of being Catholic in the community.

Thanks to the generosity of our parishioners in the monthly Repair and Refurbishment collection, Saint Catherine of Siena Parish is able to maintain and improve our parish facilities. While no one likes to do all these projects, it is certainly better to “keep up with things” then to play “catchup.” Current projects underway are: