Monday Message, June 30, 2025
KNOW
Notes from our Evangelization Summit on May 1st are here. These will be a large part of our Fall Forum.
Registration for Ongoing Excellence: Hispanic Catechist Formation Program is currently underway! This formation opportunity supports and enriches our Spanish-speaking catechists through faith, community, and professional development. For more information or to register, please click here. Yes, this counts for ongoing formation for LEAD. There are classes in Bridgeport and Danbury. Email Deacon Ed for more information.
Fr. Joseph Gill asked us to share this memo about the retreat team he is creating with young people. See this memo.
The 2025-2026 Calendar of Events draft is ready for your review. It is a draft, though most of it is set in stone. We are updating the online calendar on the website a little more each day.
Have you registered to be formed in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd? If not, see this page.
Save the date – Fall Forum – September 13, 2024 with Bishop Caggiano. Details here.
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INVENTORY TIME
Annie Cornell, an intern with our office, will be conducting an interview with every parish catechetical leader. First, schedule your time with Annie. Then download a copy of the inventory to see the questions she will be asking. Every single parish needs to be represented, so please make sure you participate. And no, you cannot just submit your answers. The interview is an essential element.
Many thanks.
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- Liturgical Music Ministers Retreat – July 11 – See flyer
- Pilgrimage to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel – July 16 – See flyer
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NEW THIS FALL – Nominate a Catechist of the Week
The Directory for Catechesis reminds us that “the catechist is a witness of faith and a keeper of the memory of God… an accompanier and educator of those who are entrusted to them by the Church” (DC 113). Now more than ever, we want to celebrate those who live out this sacred calling in our parishes. This fall, we will invite parish leaders to nominate a Catechist of the Week—someone whose faithful service, joyful spirit, and commitment to walking with young people in faith deserves to be seen and celebrated.
Each week, one catechist will be:
- Featured on diocesan social media
- Publicly recognized for their witness
- Held in prayer by our diocesan community
Let us give thanks for those who help form disciples, one encounter at a time. Stay tuned for details and in the meantime, start thinking about who you might nominate.
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In Wayne Muller’s book Sabbath, the author reminds us that rest is not optional; it is a command. In the Ten Commandments, we are commanded to keep holy the Sabbath, and for a faithful Jew, that meant resting from work. The busyness of our lives can become like a violence in our midst, forcing us to work day and night, respond to emails at all hours, and work tirelessly to “get the job done.”
When we live without listening to the timing of things, when we live and work in twenty-four-hour shifts without rest – we are on war time, mobilized for battle. Yes, we are strong and capable people, we can work without stopping, faster and faster, electric lights making artificial day so the whole machine can labor without ceasing. But remember: No living thing lives like this. There are greater rhythms, seasons and hormonal cycles and sunsets and moonrises and great movements of seas and stars. We are part of the creation story, subject to all its laws and rhythms.
This week, let us make a conscious effort to rest. It’s been a crazy year and our bodies and minds will function much more effectively if we take time this summer to unplug, recharge, step back, and rest.
Now if only I could follow that advice…
LAUGH
