RCIA (The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults)
After a rather warm and wet summer, I hope you’re ready for fall. This is a time when our children get serious about their education once again after a summer of fun and relaxation. This is also the time when I invite the adults of the parish to consider getting serious about their ongoing education and formation in the faith. There are three excellent programs that can help you get more serious about your faith journey. One of them is called The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). Are you an adult Catholic who, for whatever reason, never received the Sacrament of Confirmation? Or, do you know anyone in your family or among your friends who is interested in joining the Catholic Church, or maybe just curious to learn more about it? RCIA “is designed for adults who, after hearing the mystery of God proclaimed, consciously and freely seek the living God and enter the way of faith and conversion as the Holy Spirit opens their hearts.”
Although this program is intended specifically for non-Catholics who are interested in learning more about the Catholic faith or adult Catholics who have not yet been confirmed, I would also like to invite any Catholics who would like to learn about their faith from an adult perspective. Many of you have not had any formal education in your faith since you finished grade school or high school. Some of the answers that you learned back then are not adequate for you today. Why not give yourself the opportunity to learn about your faith in an adult environment, where you don’t just memorize the answers that will get you an “A” on a test, but are invited to delve deeply into the issues of your faith with fellow adults? I will again be coordinating this program this year beginning on Tuesday evening, 25 September. Please contact me (610-688-4584 or halb@sks.org) to let me know of your interest to attend.
Bible Study and Faith Sharing
Another excellent way to deepen your faith is through the study of the Bible. God reveals himself to us through the Bible today just as clearly as he did when it was first written but, just as it had to be understood correctly back then, it is important to understand it correctly today. The Bible Study and Faith Sharing program will resume this Thursday, 13 September, in the parish center. There will be two sessions, one from 9:00 to 10:30am and the other from 7:00 to 8:30pm. The sessions have two parts. For the first 45 minutes or so, I lead the participants through the Sacred Scripture from an historical perspective. In the last 45 minutes, I offer an in-depth overview of the readings of the upcoming Sunday. This helps us all prepare for the Sunday Eucharistic Celebration and make it much more meaningful, since we will already be familiar with the readings and the Church’s reason for selecting these readings for the particular Sunday. And, since the Sunday readings present almost all of the New Testament in a three-year cycle, we will have the opportunity to comprehensively explore God’s revelation through his son, Jesus, and the early Christian community.
Anyone who is interested is welcome to come and learn about the Bible and share how it affects our lives as followers of Christ. You don’t need any Scriptural background to attend, just an open heart to God’s Word. You don’t have to attend every week, but are welcome whenever you can. You don’t have to do anything to prepare for a session, although you are most welcome to do so. I encourage participants to ask questions about the faith and offer their reflections throughout the sessions; that’s why the program is called Bible Study and Faith Sharing. A strong, faith-filled community of about 30 people already attend these sessions, but there is always room for more! Come join us, and bring your own Bible, so we can benefit from the various translations available to us today.
Walking with Purpose
We believe that men and women are created equal, both made in the image and likeness of God. But, as part of God’s design, we are different in many ways. One of them is in our spiritual development. Walking with Purpose (WWP) is a Catholic Bible study program that aims to bring women to a deeper personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It offers personal study and small group discussion that link everyday challenges and struggles with the solutions given to us through the teachings of Christ and the Catholic Church. WWP endeavors to meet women where they are, giving them practical Biblical teaching that is consistent with Church doctrine and uses the Catechism of the Catholic Church as an additional resource. Led by dedicated and well-trained parishioners, this program has, over the past three years, brought over 50 women in our parish together around the Bible, deepening their understanding of God’s Word and their love for Jesus.
WWP will begin again on Tuesday, 18 September, in the parish center. Each session begins at 9:15am and ends at 11:00am. This year, two programs will be presented. Opening Your Heart, the foundational study, is designed for women new to WWP. For those who have already been involved in WWP, a second study group will be led through Living in the Father’s Love and Fearless and Free. You will find more details about these programs elsewhere in this week’s Parish Bulletin.
I encourage all women of the parish to prayerfully consider joining this excellent program. If you have any questions or want to sign up, please contact Maureen Reilly (610-745-6320 or cmkjmr@yahoo.com) or Susan Wiener at (610-331-3847 or smw1330@comcast.net) or visit WWP online for more information (click here).
Our Lord calls each of us ever closer to himself and into faithful community. If you aren’t already attending any of these excellent programs, I strongly encourage you to join in; I assure you, you will be richly rewarded!