Monday Message, January 27, 2025

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KNOW

We have a Parish Leader Check-In tomorrow. Link is here.

A new process for requesting dates for Confirmation was announced last week. The memo from the bishop is here. The link to the form was sent to pastors on Friday. You can find it here. The Bishop would prefer that the pastors submit the information and that only one request per parish be submitted. Just so you know, this will be the only request for Confirmation for the entire pastoral year. There will no longer be separate fall and spring request forms. The deadline to submit this initial request is no later than Tuesday, April 1, 2025.

Please forward the names and email addresses of all those you invited to the parent meeting with the bishop (not just those who showed up) to Carmela, as the bishop requested , so he can follow up.

If you have practicing Catholics over the age of 18 who are in need of only Confirmation, please send them to this link (assuming your parish does not offer formation).

We have updated the Start with Sunday site to include marketing materials. Could you check it out here?

SAVE THE DATE

On May 1st, Bishop Caggiano will invite all parish faith formation leaders to a strategy session to discuss how best to engage parents in the formation of their children.similar summit with principals in March—details to follow. A similar meeting will be held in March with principals and pastors. Read about it here to get a sense of what is coming.

LOOKING AHEAD

Foundations in Faith JPII Fund for Faith Formation will be accepting application from parishes and deaneries for grants up to $10,000 for faith formation programs. Through this competitive grant we seek to highlight programs aligning with “The One,” that demonstrate collaboration, innovation, replicability, and from historically under-resourced applicants. The application window opens on February 15 and closes on April 6 2025. If your parish or deanery has a really great idea that checks one or more of these boxes but lacks the funds to make it happen, consider applying for a grant! For more information please visit this link or contact Carol Incarnacao-Schirm.

REFLECT

This week, we hear a great reading from St. Mark’s Gospel about the farmer who spread seeds. You know the story: some seeds fall on rocky ground, some on thorns, some on the path, and some in good dirt. This is the version where Jesus explains what he meant later. The story always makes me smile because I imagine Jesus telling the story – about farming to a group of people who make their living off the land – and I cannot help but wonder if they aren’t all giving Jesus the side-eye as he talks about this farmer dude who is just scattering seeds anywhere.

“What an imbecile,” they must be thinking. “What kind of farmer wastes seeds like that?”

Of course, we know the rest of the story. We know that the point is that God’s Word is open to all, God is for all, God is with all, and God loves all. His mercy is everlasting, and it, too, is open to everyone. You can get in trouble for suggesting that these days.

We also know thorny people. They poke us, prod us, and press our buttons—and sometimes not in good ways or in ways that are enjoyable. And we know rocky ground, too. We know trouble and strife, and we all experience moments that are not smooth. The pathway has a place here, too: sometimes, we walk over people or let people walk over us.

And then there is the good dirt—those people around us who take God seriously when he says, “Love one another,” and those people who are kind, generous, helpful, and lovely. We need more of those people. We need to surround ourselves with those people if we are to grow.

This week, make an effort to cut out the thorns from your life. Avoid rocky ground if you can, and be careful where you walk.

Most of all, be open to the Word when it gets chucked in your direction.

LAUGH