Our Lady of Sorrows Church...Our Lady of Sorrows Church May 2019 ADULT EDUCATION 2018-2019 YEAR IN...
Transcript of Our Lady of Sorrows Church...Our Lady of Sorrows Church May 2019 ADULT EDUCATION 2018-2019 YEAR IN...
Sharing his love of writing and love of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, our Pastor Rev. Msgr. Martin Muller launched our first session. Msgr. Muller told the crowd he felt called by God to write his latest book that focuses on the Mass. He explained man’s relationship to God and that sacrifice is the natural form of gift-giving. “Think about the value, the importance, the awesomeness of being able to make an offering to the Almighty who is the Son of God Himself,” he said. Msgr. Muller’s talk touched on several elements including the parts of the Mass, the Real Presence, the priesthood of the laity, and how the Mass is rich in ACTS: adoration, contrition, thanksgiving, and supplication.
Parishioner David Anders, Ph.D., who earned his
doctorate in Reformation
history from the University of Iowa in 2002, presented
Why There was a Reformation: The Story You’ve Never Heard.
Anders, Director of Catholic Education and Lifelong
Formation for the diocese, a broadcaster, and writer,
discussed the early Church,
John Calvin, Martin Luther, St. Francis of Assisi, sola
scriptura, and the celebration of the Mass. He said, “The
heart of the Reformation … has to do with how people related to the worship of the
Church and to the authority
structure of the Church.” He pointed out that the relationship
between people and the liturgy is
still important since polls show that people leave the Church
because they “do not know how to relate to the Mass, to the
sacraments, to devotions, to the traditions.” This creates a chal-
lenge: “Today we really do have
a tremendous burden to educate ourselves in the faith to make
sure that we know how to relate to Christ in the liturgy and then
how to explain it and evangelize
our neighbors.” He said, “… to draw people into a relationship
with Christ in the liturgy is, I think, the evangelistic burden of Catholics today and it’s been that
way now for 500 years.”
Pastor Imparts Wisdom on the Mass
The Mass and the Reformation Connection
Our Lady of Sorrows Church
May 2019
ADULT EDUCATION 2018-2019 YEAR IN REVIEW
Rev. Msgr. Martin M. Muller, Pastor
Sharing his love of writing and love of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, our Pastor, Rev. Msgr. Martin Muller, launched our first session. Msgr. Muller told the crowd he felt called by God to write his latest book that focuses on the Mass. He explained man’s relationship to God and that sacrifice is the natural form of gift-giving. “Think about the value, the importance, the awesomeness of being able to make an offering to the Almighty who is the Son of God Himself,” he said. Msgr. Muller’s talk touched on several elements including the parts of the Mass, the Real Presence, the priesthood of the laity, and how the Mass is rich in ACTS: adoration, contrition, thanksgiving, and supplication.
Kent Graeve, OLS Bible study leader, and Adult Education coordinator Frances Smith presented a three part series, Bible Basics. “Reading the Bible and growing in our knowledge in God’s word is not an option,” Graeve said. Referring to Rev. 3:16 he said, “The challenge for us… is not to be luke-warm. We can’t have one foot in the world and one foot pursuing God…. He expects 100-percent commitment.” The series in-cluded a summary of the Old and New Testaments and expanding prayer time. “We can fall in love with scripture, but we won’t fall in love with it if it sits on our shelf,” Graeve said. Smith offered sugges-tions on finding more time for scriptures like: read while children nap, listen to an audio Bible, and join a Bible study.
Insights on India
Our associate pastor Father Balta shared about his home in his talk The Mission in Warangal, Telangana, India.
Prayer and Bible Study
Putting Missionary Discipleship in
action was explored by
Alex Kubik, Coordinator of
Discipleship and Mission for the
diocese: “We all know that there
has to be something in the Church,
someone in the Church that opens
the doors and invites people in.”
Kubik said that Bishop Robert
Baker’s method is Called. Formed.
Sent: one must listen and discern,
undergo formation of the head,
heart, and habits, and then go into
the community to share the good
news of Jesus.
Catholic View of Marriage
Page 2 Our Lady of Sorrows Church
David Anders, PhD, shared thoughts from his new book The Catholic Church Saved My Marriage. The book, in part, describes how he and his wife transformed marital despair to marital bliss after their conversion to the faith. He explained the two valid forms of marriage according to the Church, the difference between the Protestant and Catholic views on marriage, and the purpose of marriage. Anders said his goal in writing the book was to show the relevance of 2,000 years of the Church regarding “the nature of marriage and how it fits into the plan of the Church and our path to heaven.”
Missionary Discipleship
Parishioner Michael Blackstone pondered
Faith: Why Bother? covering points including Satan’s
plan, individual excuses, and contemporary challenges.
“Everything that we do, everything that we look at we are
feeding ourselves…. We will become that which we love,” he
said discussing moral character. He suggested reflecting
on how one uses suffering and stressed the
importance of prayer. He encouraged everyone to expand
their knowledge of the faith.
Kent Graeve’s
Prayer Time Tips
Be open to the Holy Spirit’s guidance
Praise the Lord
Make an act of contrition
Express gratitude
Offer petitions
Come to the scriptures
Mercy in the Womb
Writer and broadcaster Ellen Marie Edmonds
unveiled a new devotion, Divine Mercy in the Womb Chaplet and Novena, which can con-nect us to intimacy with the heart of Jesus in the womb of the Virgin Mary. “It focuses on His first heartbeat instead of His passion on the cross,” she said. The chaplet is “in the moment of joy” she said. “I wanted to bring a consolation to her sorrowful heart.”
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Protestant vs Catholic: One Bible Verse is All the Difference was presented by parishioner Melvin Upchurch, a convert from Southern Baptist. He covered the two major theological differences between Catholics and Protestants, the New Testament (particularly Matthew 16), the Church Fathers, and the creation of the Bible.
Cathy Fehr and Gwyn Moore presented their reflections on Stations of the Cross with an Examination of Conscience, a book by their friend Janice Nelson. They said the book is a contemplative approach to the stations. “... we all come into this journey to grow closer to God,” Moore said. The book includes photographs of the stations at the Cathedral of St. Paul, a meditation, and questions for an examination of conscience.
A Tale of Two Saints
Page 3
Parishioner and EWTN producer John Elson presented newly translated letters of Padre Pio saying the collection reveals an insight into the saint’s spiritual personality. Elson said that Padre Pio was spiritual direc-tor to 50 women to whom he could write but could not speak with. Elson said that between 1915 and 1923 Padre Pio wrote 686 letters on spiritual topics. The translation is called Padre Pio of Pietrelcina Letters, Vol. III. Elson also spoke of St. Manuel González García. The saint had a great love for the Eucharist and discovered that his mission in life was to encourage people to visit and engage with Jesus who had been abandoned in tabernacles.
Stations Meditations
End-of-Life Decisions:
A Catholic Perspective
Parishioner Jean-François Pittet, M.D., has practiced critical care medicine for over 40 years. There are many difficult decisions to be made when a loved one reaches the end of life. The Catholic Church teaches some basic principles, but a lot of questions are not specifically addressed. Dr. Pittet addressed those issues.
Learning about the Catechism
The history, structure, and usefulness of the Catechism of the Catholic Church were covered by Daniel McCormick, the Director of the Office of Religious Education for the diocese. He explained the importance of the catechism: “If we’re living the Christian life – parents, grandparents, Godparents, uncles, nephews, brothers, sisters – there’s going to be some part of our life that’s going to be a little catechetical where we’re bearing witness to what the Church teaches about Jesus Christ in what we’re saying and in what we’re doing.”
OLS member Bob Henger
discussed his book, Treasures of
Catholicism: The Christian Life
which he is using to evangelize.
Topics include: God’s will, science
and religion, family life, and
Catholicism in the 21st Century.
Seeking Answers with Anima Series
In the three-part Anima video and discussion series, we
explored how God's plan for the world gives everyone
dignity and purpose. In part one, Crux, we became
more aware of signs in ordinary life which can point
to God's greater plan for our salvation. Part two,
Kenosis (Greek for ‘emptying’) explored Jesus’ act of
emptying Himself to become human . We’re
encouraged to take part in Christ’s sacrifice by
permitting our pain to open our hearts to greater mercy
for others. Part three, Blaze, offered a new perspective
on Pentecost and the sacraments. Blaze refers to the
fire of the Holy Spirit. We’re all to explore what it
means to be Christ's presence on earth and use
practical ways, like volunteering, to be active members
of His Body. The series is available on formed.org.
Prepare, Pray, Reflect
Preparing for the Savior: Advent and Holy Land Reflections was presented by Frances Smith and included a history of Advent. She led the group in scripture readings and prayers from the Annunciation through Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem. The session was illustrated by some of her photographs of the Holy Land. A list of saints of Advent was included.
Questions Asked & Answered
Faith questions were answered by David Anders, PhD, who took part in Ask Dr. Anders. He answered questions about original sin, spiritual directors, the Creed, Godparents, the springtime of evangelization, and more. His answers combined his knowledge of Church history and doctrine, scripture, wisdom of saints, and Protestantism, along with his personal experience and reflection.
The Man and the Shroud
The mystery of the Shroud of Turin was explored during
a discussion led by parishioners John Brouillette and
Frances Smith. The shroud is a long linen cloth bearing
the image of a crucified man that many believe is Jesus
of Nazareth. The talk covered the shroud’s history,
photographic revelations, and scientific examinations.
Brouillette, who saw the shroud in Turin in 2010,
explained in photographic terms why it is captivating:
“… it’s the only negative image in the world that exists.”
There was a display of items including a relic, books, and
an Italian newspaper from 2010 when the shroud was last
viewed publicly. Smith said the Church has not declared
the authenticity of the shroud.
Truth be Told
Truth was in the spotlight when James Watts visited. Watts, Director of the Office
of Black Catholic Ministry for the diocese, discussed the Catholic definition of truth, the four types of falsehoods, the difference between morals
and ethics, and the link between reality and truth. He said that love is central to the truth, citing 1 Peter 1:22. Watts offered scenarios highlighting how truth may be viewed by different people in different circumstances.
He also provided a list of Bible verses on truth and quotations on truth from saints and clergy.
Of Saints and Icons
Parishioner and Polish history scholar Jay Flynn presented a study on St. Faustina, the Apostle of Divine Mercy, who shared her visions and messages from Jesus about His gift of Divine Mercy. Flynn also helped us appreciate icons of the early Church by explaining what icons are, their origin and their significance, as well as how they were created. “This is not simply a style of painting,” he remarked. Flynn said that icons started despite some resistance to showing God in art. He noted that icons are excellent examples of depictions of Christ in the early Church.
May the greatness of Jesus be our Goal “The ways of the Lord are not easy, but we were not created for an easy life, but for great things, for goodness.”
—Pope Benedict XVI “The world offers you comfort, but you were not made for
comfort. You were made for greatness.”