Tag: Adult Faith Formation

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May Explanation Station – St. John Nepomucene Adult Faith Formation

May Explanation Station – St. John Nepomucene Adult Faith Formation

With the arrival of spring, it seems timely to address the beauty of the Catholic Church. Beauty is the single aspect of God which can be expressed physically within the earthly realm. It is critical to the setting of the holy Mass. God is present at the Mass, in the Eucharist. The church stands as the dwelling place of the Lord on Earth and reflects the Church dwelling in Heaven.

Beauty is not merely man’s arrogance or a waste of resources which could be directed to the poor. Beautiful settings,  artwork,  music and liturgy are appropriate and necessary aspects of God’s everlasting mystical presence before mankind. Please take time to prayerfully absorb the beauty of every church you enter as you contemplate what Heaven might be like. 

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March Explanation Station – St. John Nepomucene Adult Faith Formation

March Explanation Station – St. John Nepomucene Adult Faith Formation

What is a good Bible for Catholics?

The New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition (NRSV-CE) is a Bible translation approved for use by the Catholic Church, receiving the imprimatur (an official license to print a religious book) of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The imprimatur is located on the back of the title page. An imprimatur indicates that the Bible is free of errors in Catholic doctrine.

A Catholic edition will include the Church’s complete list of sacred books along with introductions and notes for understanding the text. Catholic Bibles have seven more books than Protestant Bibles.

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February Explanation Station – St. John Nepomucene Adult Faith Formation

February Explanation Station – St. John Nepomucene Adult Faith Formation

Why do we praise God?  Imagine never being taught to say thank you. We would never be truly appreciative of anything we receive in life because we would simply expect it to be done.

The priest, in the introduction to the Eucharistic Prayers, says, “Let us give thanks to the Lord our God!”  We respond, “It is right and just!”

We give praise because it is right to praise God’s goodness. God could easily be less merciful and still be perfectly just. The praise we give to God is partly our just duty but also keeps us mindful of His goodness and love. Let us shout out often during each day: “Lord, I thank you and I praise you!”  Let us remember to do it especially when things are not going well.

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St. John Nepomucene – Members needed for Adult Faith Formation Committee

St. John Nepomucene – Members needed for Adult Faith Formation Committee

Are you wishing to become involved with helping parish adults deepen their faith? Then please come and join our Adult Faith Formation Committee!

We are seeking 10 new members to share and deepen our faith in prayer, education and fun fellowship opportunities! If you are interested, please contact Sarah in the parish office at (920) 788-9061 or via email at: szteske@stjn.org.

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July Explanation Station from St. John Adult Faith Formation

July Explanation Station from St. John Adult Faith Formation

Our Amazing Catholic Faith

Catholics are prone to accept dogma, doctrines, and Tradition not because we understand them but out of habit ingrained in us as children. We became familiar with the phrases we learned and, since we were raised in the faith, we accepted the Church’s teaching at face value. As we mature, we hopefully want to learn more about the beauty of Catholicism.

Ongoing study of our Catholic faith helps us become informed and able to confidently converse with others, something many of us don’t often feel qualified to do. Study helps us become familiar with Scripture, history, theology and philosophy. We grow to understand our Catholic roots, and our culture comes alive.

We will be challenged, but the process will also strengthen us. By studying just a little every day, we will be amazed at the wonders God places before us!

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June Explanation Station from St. John Adult Faith Formation

June Explanation Station from St. John Adult Faith Formation

Pope Francis, in his Pentecost Sunday homily, provided  powerful examples of how to recognize the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

“The Holy Spirit will never tell you that on your journey everything is going just fine.  No, he corrects you; he makes you weep for your sins; he pushes you to change, to fight against your lies and deceptions, even when that calls for hard work, interior struggle and sacrifice.

The evil spirit pushes you to always do what you think and what you find pleasing. He makes you think that you have the right to use your freedom any way you want. Then, once you are left feeling empty inside – it is bad, this feeling of emptiness inside, many of us have felt it – and when you are left feeling empty inside, he blames you, becomes the accuser, and throws you down, destroys you.”

Let us keep these words in our hearts and minds as we continue to make important choices in our daily lives. Come, Holy Spirit! Fill us with joy and peace.

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May Explanation Station from St. John Adult Faith Formation

May Explanation Station from St. John Adult Faith Formation

Preparing hearts for the Ascension of the Lord

Ascension is a time to teach our children that by living the faith, the day will come when “we all shall be taken up in clouds to meet Christ and to be with our Lord forever.” As joint heirs of heaven, we must keep before their eyes and ours the fact that this was the reason for our creation. We must also stress the words of Christ, our Brother, words of consolation for us at His Ascension: “I go to prepare a place for YOU.”

Our prayers for Ascension Sunday (May 29th) must indicate triumph, because Jesus has accomplished the world’s redemption. They must also express the joy with which the angelic choirs are preparing to lead Him to His throne and to adore Him. “Lift up your gates, oh ye princes, and the King of glory shall enter in.”

Source: www.catholicculture.org

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April Explanation Station from St. John Adult Faith Formation

April Explanation Station from St. John Adult Faith Formation

The Beauty of the Paschal Mystery
Let’s take a look at the word Paschal. It comes from the Hebrew word PASACH which means to PASS OVER. This refers to the first Passover when the Lord passed over the homes of the Israelites while striking down the firstborn of Egypt. In that case, the Israelites smeared the blood of a lamb on their doorposts to signify their belief in the one true God. The sacrificing of an innocent lamb became the means of their salvation and their deliverance from captivity in Egypt. In the same way, God sent His Son to be our paschal lamb. The essence of our faith is this: that Jesus came to die for us, to free us from sin, and so that we might have a new and eternal life.

Source: www.catechistaide.com

During these last days of Lent, let us set aside time to learn all we can about this Paschal Mystery. We hope you will take part in all three days of the Easter Triduum: Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter. 

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March Explanation Station from St. John Adult Faith Formation

March Explanation Station from St. John Adult Faith Formation

Spending Lent with the saints is a great way to grow in holiness. While most of us do not have million-dollar fortunes to give away, we can be more generous with what we have toward those who have less. While few of us will have ecstatic visions in prayer, we can commit to spending more time in silence with God. While likely none of us could subsist on only one meal a week, all of us can recognize luxuries and extras that we can do without.

By putting aside these things, we will find we have more room in our hearts for the one thing necessary: God’s grace.  Source: Aleteia.com

Note: Bishop Robert Morneau, for many years, had a favorite book on saints called All Saints: Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time by Robert Ellsberg. It’s a great one! You can even find this book used at a low cost on Amazon.

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February Explanation Station from St. John Adult Faith Formation

February Explanation Station from St. John Adult Faith Formation

Why Catholic Bibles have more books than Protestant Bibles

The Catholic Church is entirely responsible for the composition of the Bible, which books are included, as well as the breakdown of the chapters and verses. There are 73 “books” in the Catholic Bible and 66 in the Protestant Bible. Protestants removed seven books because some verses were inconsistent with their theology.

Martin Luther removed Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach and Baruch. He attempted to remove James and Revelation, but this was rejected by his followers and those two books stayed. Catholics are often accused of adding seven books, but despite this common belief, it is false. Older, pre-Protestant, Catholic translations of the Bible include them. 

Source: http://www.Catholic.org