Formed In Faith
Sharing the Word through Faith Formation, Archdiocese of Louisville
RCIA Training
Below is a link for a FREE RCIA Training .
http://www.icontact-archive.com/Ug7qHsB-Fl9nH5SNhP_vh708IYsCFmq0?w=4
This training is hosted by Team RCIA.
Click to find out more about Team RCIA.
Also, be sure to mark your calendars for our
Archdiocesan RCIA Team Day, June 11, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm.
(Registration forms will be available soon.)
Our presenter will be Dr. Jerry Galipeau.
Dr. Jerry Galipeau
To visit Dr. Jerry Galipeau’s blog follow this link, http://gottasinggottapray.blogspot.com/.
Please contact Maureen Larison, Archdiocese of Louisville Consultant for Adult Formation and Initiation, at mlarison@archlou.org or 448-8581 Ext. 1308, should you have any questions about RCIA, or the RCIA Team Day.
‘Amoris Laetitia’: Start with Chapter 4
An Article by posted on the National Catholic Reporter website.
If you are a layperson and want to read the pope’s apostolic exhortation on the family, skip the first three chapters and start with Chapter 4. If you are a priest, moral theologian, or divorced Catholic, read Chapter 8.
The 263-page exhortation, Amoris Laetitia (“The Joy of Love”) was released at noon today at the Vatican, 6 A.M. Eastern Time.
The opening chapter is a scriptural reflection, but frankly it comes off as a collection of Scripture references that don’t really hang together well.
It is not that the chapter is bad; there are some good passages. For example, it is nice to see a positive exegesis of Genesis’s description of Eve as a helper fit for Adam. Later in Chapter 4 he deals with St. Paul’s wives “be subject to your husbands.”
The second chapter examines “the actual situation of families, in order to keep firmly grounded in reality.” This chapter, like the first chapter of the pope’s encyclical on the environment, reflects the pope’s insistence that facts matter.
I think it gives a realistic description of the state of family life, but there are a few surprises.
One remarkable feature of this chapter is its call for “a healthy dose of self-criticism” in the church.
“We often present marriage in such a way that its unitive meaning, its call to grow in love and its ideal of mutual assistance are overshadowed by an almost exclusive insistence on the duty of procreation,” he writes. “At times we have also proposed a far too abstract and almost artificial theological ideal of marriage, far removed from the concrete situations and practical possibilities of real families.”
“We also find it hard to make room for the consciences of the faithful, who very often respond as best they can to the Gospel amid their limitations, and are capable of carrying out their own discernment in complex situations,” he continues. “We have been called to form consciences, not to replace them.”
This chapter also calls for state action to promote employment, decent housing, and adequate health care, as well as care for migrants and persons with special needs.
Most remarkable is the condemnation of the excesses of “patriarchal cultures” and “male chauvinism,” and the demand that we must “see in the women’s movement the workings of the Spirit for a clearer recognition of the dignity and rights of women.”
The third chapter recalls “some essential aspects of the Church’s teaching on marriage and the family.”
He starts by emphasizing that the church’s “teaching on marriage and the family cannot fail to be inspired and transformed by this message of love and tenderness; otherwise, it becomes nothing more than the defense of a dry and lifeless doctrine.”
Alas, the chapter does sometimes get bogged down in dry and lifeless doctrine, with numerous quotes from the past three popes and Vatican II.
Let me emphasize, I am not saying don’t read the first three chapters. Rather I am saying begin at Chapter 4 and come back to these chapters later.
Chapter 4 is a masterpiece.
Click here to continue reading this article.
Other Catholic media articles on the subject.
Press release – “Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation on Love in the Family Welcomed by USCCB Family Life Committee Chairman” (Bishop Richard J. Malone, of Buffalo, NY)
“Share truth of family with mercy, help those struggling, pope says”, The Record
Summer Catalogue- 2016
Our Summer 2016 Professional Development and Faith Formation Catalogue is here.
Click the image below to see the full catalogue with classes from the School Office and the Formation Office.
Click here to view the catalogue with classes from only the Formation Office.
Upcoming Events- March & April
Theology of Ministry
Dates: Tuesday, March 29 or Thursday, March 31, 2016
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Locations: Tuesday, St. Agnes (Aloysius Hall) or
Thursday, Our Lady of Lourdes (Professional Team Room)
Presenter: Art Turner, Director of Faith Formation, Archdiocese of Louisville
Cost: $10.00 (check payable to ALMI)
Registration: Register prior to class to insure class availability. Contact Lynn McDaniel at
lmcdaniel@archlou.org or (502) 448-8581 ext. 1314
Catechist Credit: 2.5 hours applies toward Theology in the content area of Catholic Beliefs and Practices
This class explores the roots and nature of ministry and the contemporary issues and movements in ministry
Leadership Workshop: “Leadership in Today’s Church”
Date: Saturday, April 9, 2016
Time: 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Location: St. Agnes Parish Center
Presenter: Various Presenters
Cost: $25 (includes lunch) (check payable to ALMI)
Registration: Register prior to class to insure class availability. Contact Lynn McDaniel at
lmcdaniel@archlou.org or (502) 448-8581 ext. 1314
Catechist Credit: 5 hours applies toward Methods
This is an interactive workshop that explores the principles, skills, and challenges of leadership in today’s Church
Introduction to Spirituality
Date: Tuesday, April 12 or Thursday, April 14, 2016
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Location: Tuesday, St. Agnes (Aloysius Hall) or
Thursday, Our Lady of Lourdes (Professional Team Room)
Presenter: Maureen Larison, Consultant for Adult Formation and Initiation, Archdiocese of Louisville
Cost: $10.00 (check payable to ALMI)
Registration: Register prior to class to insure class availability. Contact Lynn McDaniel at
lmcdaniel@archlou.org or (502) 448-8581 ext. 1314
Catechist Credit: 2.5 hours applies toward Theology in the content area of Spirituality
This is an appreciation of diverse expressions of both personal and communal spirituality and an exploration of the activities of the Spirit of the Church and in the world.
Introduction to Prayer
Date: Tuesday, April 26 or Thursday, April 28, 2016
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Location: Tuesday, St. Agnes (Aloysius Hall) or
Thursday, Our Lady of Lourdes (Professional Team Room)
Presenter: Sr. Rosella McCormick, O.S.U.
Cost: $10.00 (check payable to ALMI)
Registration: Register prior to class to insure class availability. Contact Lynn McDaniel at
lmcdaniel@archlou.org or (502) 448-8581 ext. 1314
Catechist Credit: 2.5 hours applies toward the Associate Level or Theology in the content area of Prayer
This is a study of the diverse forms of individual and communal prayer and identification of one’s own preferred style of prayer.
Faith Club Retreat 2016
On Saturday, March 5, Faith Club members and leaders gathered for their annual retreat day at Flaget Center. Under the creative and energetic leadership of Ann Pifer, the theme was “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus” through six famous Gospel passages. The Nativity, the Good Shepherd, the Prodigal Son, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, and the Road to Emmaus were told, discussed, and then acted out – in full costume! – to help show the love of God for all people. Fr. John Burke joined us to celebrate Mass and shared the message of Jesus through a wonderful homily. The day included lunch, music, laughter, prayer, and time to visit with friends from all five of the Faith Club groups. Thanks to Ann, Fr. John, and all of the leaders and helpers who made it a memorable day for everyone!
For more information about the Faith Clubs click here, or contact Maureen Larison at mlarison@archlou.org, or 502-448-8581, Ext. 1308.
Year of Mercy — After Lent, What?
Once we finish Lent and celebrate Easter, there will still be about 8 months remaining in the Year of Mercy. What to get, what to use, to mark this spiritual opportunity?
The Evangelization Office of the Archdiocese of Melbourne (Australia) has produced a fine, little resource booklet for individual and/or group-reflection.
It is titled simply as A Spirit of Mercy. This resource can be downloaded free by clicking right here: Booklet
The material centers on the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. Why? As the booklet says, these demonstrate “the real presence of the Spirit of the risen Jesus in a disciple’s life.”
Butch Ekstrom March 3, 2016
### ### ###
Dear Sister Sunday
Dear Sister Sunday,
I have four kids, twelve and younger. We received guidelines for the Lenten fast in our church bulletin at the beginning of Lent and my older kids have informed me (several times) that they are exempt from fasting. My husband and I have been pretty lax about this in the past, but we want to try and really keep Lent this year as a family. Given the Church’s law, what should I tell my kids?
Signed,
Hoping for Holiness
Feast of the Chair of St. Peter
Vincent Van Gogh’s “Old Man in Sorrow (On the Threshold of Eternity)”
When my father-in-law died, I observed that no one among his six sons, their wives and his many grandchildren wanted to sit in his chair at the table. It wasn’t fear or dread, it was something much simpler: the chair, that chair, belonged to Leonard. It always had, and, in some sense, it always would. We had eaten so many meals with him at the head of the table in his chair. We had played so many games of cards with him at the head of the table in his chair. I understood as I watched us take our places at meals after his death that the chair stood for Leonard and his place among us.
The chair is a sign of our unity and of our tradition and history.
Today is the Feast of the Chair of Peter. Each bishop has a chair, the bishop’s chair, from which he presides. The Latin word for a bishop’s chair is “cathedra.” That is the source for our word “cathedral,” which is the bishop’s home church in his diocese.
To continue reading this article by Melissa Musick click here.
Archdiocese of Louisville
USCCB
Formed In Faith 