Monday Message, May 19, 2025
KNOW
If you missed the OCIA workshops this past Friday and Saturday, you missed some great discussions and suggestions. We will do what we can to collect notes and assist those who did not attend.
Last week, the pastors received this list of Confirmation dates for 2025-2026. This is not the final list as some parishes have still not made their request. Please do not share this list with parents who are searching for alternative dates. This is for your use only.
The third Eucharistic Procession is scheduled for next month. Please use this flyer to promote it, especially if your parish is involved. That link is correct this time.
If we were to expand Sunday Setup to include “packets” for families to use with young children, what would you like to see included? Join us tomorrow for our final Parish Leader Check In and bring your ideas. The link is here.
If you have catechists who wish to participate in formation for Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, please have them register here. The grant does not cover attending formation outside the diocese.
We will begin an inventory for all parish faith formation programs this month. Instead of having you fill out a form, all parish leaders will be asked to schedule a Zoom meeting with a summer intern working in the Institute. We will give you all the questions in advance. Stay tuned.
Confirmation Retreats will be schedule in partnership with the Seton Collaborative team. I am hoping to schedule three retreats (Norwalk/Stamford, Danbury, Fairfield) for next year. Max number of students 200 each. Cost $20. No buses. Once dates and locations are set, sign ups will commence. Stay tuned. This does not mean that you cannot do your own – it’s just a means of helping connect your candidates with others as they prepare.
Now, about the Consent and Release forms. For now, if you want to open registration and are not using LEAD, move forward as you normally would with an enrollment form. If you use LEAD or wish to use LEAD, contact Carmela. Later in the summer, all pastors and faith formation leaders will receive a letter from the bishop asking that all families complete a form prior to the start of classes in the fall. All families in parishes not using LEAD will be required to fill out the diocesan form. Why? Because the new form asks questions about safe environments and we have to collect the data – and respond to families that answer a certain way. It is not enough for you to ask the question, it has to be collected globally. Plus, we have to track responses. The form is in English and Spanish and can be done on the phone, online, etc. There will be no paper forms.
If you have any questions, feel free to email Patrick.
REFLECT
The truth is: Presence makes the heart grow fonder. If that were not the case, why would we place such value on reminders of loved ones who are apart from us? People who have suffered the loss of personal possessions, in a fire for example, say the greatest losses are photos, keepsakes, and mementos of those who have touched and continue to touch the heart in love. Sunday’s readings affirm this human sentiment. We must make God present in as many ways as possible, making the heart grow fonder.
Luke, the author of the Acts of the Apostles, describes in the first reading the preaching of Paul and Barnabas. These two are careful to install elders in each community as one sign of God’s presence. The most obvious sign, of course, is the preaching itself, that opens the door of faith to the Gentiles.
The Revelation passage proclaims presence. “He will dwell with them…. he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away” (Revelation 21:3-4). Perseverance in suffering ensures divine presence.
The gospel focuses on Jesus’ departure, an absence that will severely test his beloved disciples. The Lord, aware of the human heart, gives the formula for a continuing experience of his presence: Love one another. Wherever self-giving love is found, people will recognize disciples of Christ, and Christ himself!
This week, let us work to be the presence of Christ to others.
LAUGH
