April 28, 2014, Volume VIII, Number 17

FEAST OF SAINT PETER CHANEL * SAINT LOUIS GRIGNION de MONTFORT

Monday of the Second Week of Easter, April 28, 2014 - Holocaust Remembrance Day (USA)

Saint Catherine of Siena – Tuesday, April 29, 2014Saint Pius V – Wednesday, April, 30, 2014

Saint Joseph the Worker – Thursday, May 1, 2014 - National Day of Prayer (USA)

Saint Athanasius – Friday, May 2, 2014 (First Friday)Saints Philip and James – Saturday, May 3, 2014 (First Saturday)

Question of the WeekFor the Feast of the Third Sunday of Easter, May 4, 2014“With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him…” When have your eyes been opened to the presence of Christ in your daily activities? Where have you recognized the Risen Christ? Where have you encountered the Risen Christ? What caused your eyes to be opened?

NCCL News

Divine Mercy Sunday

The following article was written by NCCL member James Gontis, Director of the Diocese of Harrisburg Department for Religious Education, for Divine Mercy Sunday. Please go to Divine Mercy Sunday.

Papal Intentions for May, 2014

Universal Papal Intention

That the media may be instruments in the service of truth and peace.

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Evangelization Intention

That Mary, Star of Evangelization, may guide the Church in proclaiming Christ to all nations.

Pope Francis: New Saints Were Unafraid of Gazing Upon Wounds of ChristOn Divine Mercy Sunday, the Church celebrated the canonization John XXIII and John Paul II, two of the most influential figures of the 20th century. Two tapestries, each bearing the image of the newly-declared saints, hung from the façade of Saint Peter’s basilica, overlooking the hundreds

of thousands of people who had filled Saint Peter’s Square for the occasion. One of the special guests attending the Mass was Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI who himself had beatified John Paul II, his predecessor and friend.

Opening his homily, Pope Francis noted that the canonizations coincide with Divine Mercy Sunday, a feast instituted by John Paul II. To mark this feast, the Holy Father reflected on “the glorious wounds of the risen Jesus”. “The wounds of Jesus are a scandal, a stumbling block for faith, yet they are also the test of faith,” the Holy Father said. “That is why on the body of the risen Christ the wounds never pass away: they remain, for those wounds are the enduring sign of God’s love for us. They are essential for believing in God. Not for believing that God exists, but for believing that God is love, mercy and faithfulness.”

John XXIII and John Paul II, however, were men who “were not afraid to look upon the wounds of Jesus, to touch his torn hands and his pierced side. They were not ashamed of the flesh of Christ; they were not scandalized by him, by his cross,” seeing Jesus in all those who suffer and struggle. These courageous men, he said, were “filled with the parrhesia of the Holy Spirit,” bearing “witness before the Church and the world to God’s goodness and mercy.”

John XXIII and John Paul II, he said, were “priests, bishops and popes of the twentieth century”: they “lived through the tragic events of that century, but they were not overwhelmed by them. For them, God was more powerful; faith was more powerful – faith in Jesus Christ the Redeemer of man and the Lord of history; the mercy of God, shown by those five wounds, was more powerful; and more powerful too was the closeness of Mary our Mother”.

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In their willingness to look “upon the wounds of Christ” and bear “witness to his mercy,” there dwelt within them “a living hope and an indescribable and glorious joy” (1 Pet 1:3,8). Pope Francis also recalled how “John XXIII and John Paul II cooperated with the Holy Spirit in renewing and updating the Church in keeping with her pristine features, those features which the saints have given her throughout the centuries”.

“In convening the Council, John XXIII showed an exquisite openness to the Holy Spirit. He let himself be led and he was for the Church a pastor, a servant-leader. This was his great service to the Church”. For his part, the Holy Father continued, “John Paul II was the pope of the family,” recalling the upcoming Synod on the family.  “From his place in heaven,” he said, “he guides and sustains” in the journey toward the Synod.

You can read the full text of Pope Francis’ homily at Canonization Homily. Here is a short video on the two new saints: http://www.2papisanti.org/IT/Home

Archbishop Kurtz Celebrates Canonizations of John XXIII and John Paul II  

Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II “modeled courage, holiness, charity, and attentiveness to the call of Jesus,” said Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The two popes were canonized saints by Pope Francis in a Mass at the Vatican, on Sunday, April 27.

Full text of Archbishop Kurtz’s statement follows:

I join many millions of people around the world in joyfully celebrating the heroic virtue and fidelity to God exemplified by the lives of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II. The Church’s formal proclamation makes official what so many of us already believed– that by God’s grace these two beloved leaders of our Church modeled courage, holiness, charity, and attentiveness to the call of Jesus. Both of them, in their own unique way, have shown us what Pope Francis has rightly called “the joy of the Gospel,” the joy of knowing and following Jesus Christ. In celebrating and imitating their lives, may we all hear anew the call of Jesus and, with enthusiasm, follow in the footsteps of these two great saints to be “full of fervor, joy, generosity, courage, boundless love and attraction!” (Evangelii Gaudium, 261)

The Canonization of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II

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The canonizations of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II marks a historic moment for the Catholic Church. To explore the meaning of the lives of these modern-day spiritual heroes, the U.S. Bishops Office for Media Relations asked several persons to reflect on their contributions. Writers include scholars and theologians – Catholic, Orthodox and Jewish – and media personnel involved in coverage of the much travelled John Paul II. Each could have written a book, but were limited to the brief reflections presented here.

Looking Back to Seminary Days and Election of a Pope by Bishop Kicanas

Pope John Paul II and the Orthodox Church by Thomas FitzGerald

Remembering the man who told the modern world: ‘Do not be Afraid’ by Bishop Soto

A Saint’s Autobiography: Journal of a Soul by Father John Crossin

The Surprising Humor of St. John XXIII by Father James Martin

Vatican II: The Call to Religious to Change by Sister Doris Gottemoeller, RSM

Pope John XXIII and the Quest for Ecumenism by John Borelli

Pope John Paul II at Judaism’s holiest site by Rabbi Eric Greenberg

John Paul II: The Move Toward Christian Unity by Father Ronald Roberson

Two Popes and the Code of Canon Law by Sister Sharon Euart, RSM

John Paul II Captures New York by Phillip Alongi

Travels with the Polish Pope by Phillip Pullella

John XXIII Transformed Catholics’ Understanding and Relations with Jews by Rabbi A. James Rudin

Pope John XXIII and a Christian's Unfinished Business by Don Clemmer

Pope John XXIII’s Gift to the Church: Laity at the Center by Dolores Leckey

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Discipleship For Confirmation And Beyond The National Conference for Catechetical Leadership is branching out into electronic resources for evangelization and catechesis through a supplemental resource for Confirmation preparation. The organization is partnering with noted religious educator, Dr. Michael Carotta, in offering Discipleship For Confirmation And Beyond as an online downloadable program that provides Confirmation candidates and their parents formational exercises to be completed on their own in conjunction with their existing parish programs.

Leland D. Nagel, NCCL’s Executive Director explains that “We want to help our diocesan members and their parishes become more comfortable integrating electronic sources of formation into their existing programs. This supplemental resource is a vehicle to help people take a step in that direction. And it is a good example of quality adolescent religious education, providing solid content and methodology, and four sessions for parents.”

Discipleship For Confirmation And Beyond requires candidates to complete four core sessions and one of four elective sessions. Each core session builds on the previous one(s) using video segments followed by the completion of PDF exercises in a process that forms a single vision for life after Confirmation:

Discipleship …

within a community of disciples (the Church)…

for the good of the world…

and the will of God.

The first core session requires all candidates to read the entire Gospel of Matthew and complete the accompanying study guide. Dr. Carotta says this is intentional “We are trying to shape their imagination regarding Christ’s expectation of the spiritual life after Confirmation by focusing on his call to discipleship. This call is meant to be lived out and nourished within the Church with a mission to build the kingdom and live as God intended.”

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The program will be introduced at the 78th Annual Conference and Exposition in St. Louis May 19 -22. In-services will be offered this summer to dioceses wishing to have parishes incorporate the resource into Confirmation programs this Fall. Watch for more details.

Special Needs at the 78 th Annual NCCL Conference and Exposition *Session 208

Parents and CLs often wonder about the best way to catechize children with various developmental disabilities so that they are prepared to receive the sacraments. Michele E. Chronister, the author of Handbook for Adaptive Catechesis: Servin: Serving Those with Special Needs, as well as a co-author of Faith Beginnings: Family Nurturing From Birth Through Preschool will provide a learning session that will begin with the question, “How are we to prepare those who are dealing with various developmental disabilities, such as

Down syndrome, autism, and ADHD, to receive the Sacraments?” Ms Chronister will guide participants to answer the question on how we can ensure a place for all in our parish communities and faith formation programs. Come explore ways to provide access to the sacraments for all the baptized.

Interested in Adult Faith Formation – This One’s For YOUJoin the

Adult Faith Formation ONLINE Forum To participate...

· Go to www.nccl.org· Click on the Adult Faith Formation tab · Click on Adult Faith Formation ONLINE

Forum· Select the conversation in which you would like to participate

**You must be logged in to www.nccl.org to create a topic related to Adult Faith Formation.

 This is a wonderful opportunity to virtually connect with others

who are passionate about Adult Faith Formation!

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Pope: Do Not Be Afraid of Christian Joy Without Christian joy, there can be no foundation to the Church which needs an “apostolic joy” to irradiate and expand, Pope Francis said Thursday evening. Referring in his homily to the Gospel story of the disciples of Emmaus, “The disciples cannot believe their joy,” the Pope said. “They cannot believe because of their joy” on meeting the risen

Jesus after his death, he explained.  

“It is a moment of wonder, of encounter with Jesus Christ, in which there seems to be too much joy to be true. Indeed, to assume the joy and wonder of that moment seems risky to us and we are tempted to take refuge in scepticism, in 'not exaggerating'. It is easier to believe in a spirit than in the living Christ!,” the Pope added. “It is easier to go to a necromancer who predicts the future, who reads cards, than to trust in the hope of a triumphant Christ, a Christ who vanquishes death!” 

“An idea or imagination is easier to believe than the docility of this Lord who rises again from death, and what he invites us to!,” the Pope continued. “This process of relativising faith ends up distancing us from the encounter, distancing us from God's caress. It is as if we 'distilled' the reality of the encounter with Jesus Christ in the still of fear, in the still of excessive security, of wanting to control the encounter ourselves. The disciples were afraid of joy … and so are we”. You can read his whole reflection at St. Jose de Anchieta.

Earth Week: A Witness to God's Glory

Jim Wallis writes “There’s an old hymn that many Christians have sung for nearly a century. How Great Thou Art celebrates the glory of God while considering, ‘all the works thy hands have made.’ It reminds me of the psalm that reads, ‘The heavens are telling the glory of God; and

the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge.’” Here are a few excerpts. You can read his full column at Earth Week Witness.

Creation, therefore, is a witness to the wonder and awe of God. Although humanity

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has been given the honor of bearing God’s image, the earth shows God’s creativity and ingenuity. Over the years I’ve heard so many stories of people finding faith in God, not because of brilliant arguments, but because they are in awe of the complexity and glory of the created world.

But creation is not just a unique witness to God’s glory — it is, as the apostle Paul wrote, “groaning” waiting also for its redemption. This past Easter Sunday, Christians all over the world sang joyful songs of resurrection and renewal. Many of these songs proclaim freedom for all of creation — not just for humanity. One church I know of even sang “Joy to the World,” in celebration that the power of Christ’s resurrection extends “far as the curse is found.”

It’s hard to face, but humanity — image bearers of God — is largely responsible for destroying much of this great witness to God’s glory. Ninety-seven percent of climate scientists agree that climate change is happening, humans are primarily responsible, and it will keep getting worse if nothing is done. The impact of carbon pollution mars not only the beauty of God’s earth, but affects the flourishing of God’s

people. Many of the poorest among us are suffering from food scarcity, droughts, flooding and increased diseases caused by climate change. And — to use an image from creation itself — our politics on this issue are stuck in the mire of cynicism and inaction, wasting time that we simply don’t have.

Which is why for Christians, caring for God’s creation should be a priority. It is not just a matter of science or politics, but an indication of our worship and praise of the Creator. As the whole of creation acts as a witness to God’s glory and prays for its redemption, so must we. And with Earth Week following on the heels of Holy Week, it’s an opportunity to both reflect on and act in ways that will help renew creation.

New Documentary Takes Viewers Around Globe To Examine 'What Is Family?'

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For decades, Focus on the Family, a global ministry based in Colorado Springs, has been an ally of the Catholic Church with its many outreaches to build stronger Christian families. The organization's latest effort, "The Family Project," is its most ambitious yet and will include a dozen feature-length documentaries with study guides. The opening documentary of this project, "Irreplaceable," will be screened at theaters across the country for one night only May 6. A list of theaters is available at www.IrreplaceableTheMovie.com, along with a movie trailer.

The host, Tim Sisarich, travels the globe to answer the question: "What is Family?" The film explores

the desire to belong that each person has and how that longing is fulfilled in the family. Sisarich interviews a variety of experts and cultural commentators, including Eric Metaxas, author of several best-selling biographies, including ones on abolitionist William Wilberforce and anti-Nazi activist and minister Dietrich Bonhoeffer; and law professor Helen Alvare, former spokeswoman on pro-life issues for the U.S. bishops and founder of "Women Speak for Themselves." Each commentator offers their own insights into the factors that have contributed to the breakdown of the family.

David Haas Receives Emmaus Award from NPCD

Well-known composer David Haas has received the Emmaus Award for Excellence in Catechesis from the National Association of Parish Catechetical Directors (NPCD). He was recognized with this honor during the NPCD Convocation Awards Banquet in Pittsburgh. My favorite line of the evening was “How many people go out whistling the homily? Much of our Bible study in the Catholic Church is the music we sing at Mass on Sunday.”

 The Emmaus Award for Excellence in Catechesis honors someone each year with a national or international reputation in the field of catechetics and religious education who has made a significant contribution to Catholic catechesis through writing, publishing or teaching over a period of at least 10 years.

Haas, a member of the campus ministry team at Cretin-Derham Hall in St. Paul, Minnesota, is a liturgical composer, cantor, workshop leader, conference speaker, author, concert performer and recording artist.

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Beginning in the 1980’s, along with fellow Minnesotans Michael Joncas and Marty Haugen, Haas influenced the direction of new genres of liturgical music that continued to emerge as a result of the renewal of the Second Vatican Council.

Since then he has composed and produced over 50 collections of original liturgical music and is highly regarded as one of the pre-eminent liturgical composers in the English-speaking world.  For over 30 years he has traveled extensively presenting workshops, retreats and concerts throughout all 50 states, as well as Canada, Australia, England, Ireland, Germany, Italy, The Bahamas, Israel and Greece.

Father Rolheiser Receives Pope John Paul II Seminary Leadership Award

Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI, President of Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas, received the Pope John Paul II Award from the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) for his distinguished seminary leadership. The Seminary Leadership Award is given for outstanding service on behalf of priestly formation in the U.S. and Canada.

To honor the legacy of Pope John Paul II, the award provides an opportunity to celebrate the holistic vision of priestly training that Pope John Paul II championed in his

acclaimed encyclical, Pastores dabo vobis (I Will Give You Shepherds).  The annual award recognizes the creativity, leadership, and service of individuals who contribute to the development of effective priestly formation programs in the U.S. and Canada.    Fr. Rolheiser is a distinguished author, scholar and Catholic educator.  In addition to his spiritual and scholarly work, Fr. Rolheiser has provided outstanding seminary leadership.  The Oblate School of Theology provides theological education and formation for priests and laity for many Dioceses in Texas and the Southwestern U.S.  Fr. Rolheiser has spearheaded several important initiatives at the Oblate School of Theology including the establishment of a doctoral program in Catholic spirituality.

CONGRATULATIONS: Religious Educational Excellence Award (REEA)

This NCEA/NPCD award recognizes parish catechetical leaders who exemplify leadership within the parish faith

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community, whose programs offer new ideas or unique approaches fostering lifelong faith formation.

The 2014 Award was presented to Joyce Guris, Transfiguration Parish in Marietta, Georgia, at the NPCD Convocation Awards Banquet in Pittsburgh. Joyce is a member of both NPCD and NCCL.

Transfiguration parish, under Joyce’s leadership, offers opportunities to learn more about our Catholic faith for 3 year olds to adults. PEEP [Preschool and Elementary Education Program] is for 3 year olds—Grade 6; ChrisTeen is for Grades 7-12) Check out their Word of the Week.

The Strange Tension Between Theology And ScienceIn an Opinion piece in the Washington Post, Michael Gerson addressed the big bang theory and religion. He makes excellent points about the issues that arise when either science or religion demands that one give up the knowledge associated with either religion or science. This seemed like an appropriate piece to go with the

request for NCCL members to participate in a survey about conversations with adolescents in religion class that dealt with science (2014-04-14). Here are his concluding paragraphs. You can read his full column at Theology and Science.

This approach (theological resistance to scientific assertions) raises two protests. First, it will eventually fail. It is a deep weakness for any theology or ideology to be wrong about the scientific nature of the universe. The children of believers are presented with a cruel and false choice: In order to accept the scientific method, they must abandon the beliefs of their community. And many will naturally choose science. If theological conservatives define themselves by their skepticism about the (marvelous, breathtaking, compelling) findings of modern science, they will eventually lose — not only in public debates but in the minds of their own children.

Second, this strategy is completely unnecessary. The scientific method is the proper way — actually the only way — to understand the physical universe. There is no philosophical or theological method to study the structure of a star or a starfish. But this does not mean that the knowledge revealed by the physical sciences is the only valid type of human knowledge. There is ethical reasoning. There is also theological belief — involving the possibility that the Creator might

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suspend the laws of nature in certain circumstances, such as the parting of the Red Sea or the Resurrection.

The problem comes when materialism, claiming the authority of science, denies the possibility of all other types of knowledge — reducing human beings to a bag of chemicals and all their hopes and loves to the firing of neurons. Or when religion exceeds its bounds and declares the Earth to be 6,000 years old. In both cases, the besetting sin is the same: the arrogant exclusive claim to know reality.

FREE Professional Development Webinar – THIS Tuesday, April 29, 3:00 pm EDT

Ave Maria Press, in partnership with the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership, the National Association for Lay Ministry, and National Federation of Priests' Councils presents a series of free, online workshops

on professional development for parish ministers. This webinar, The Be Healed: A Guide to Encountering the Powerful Love of Jesus in Your Life is offered on Tuesday, April 29 at 3:00 pm EDT. You can register at PDW - 04-29-2014 (http://tiny.cc/j0u9dx). For a complete listing of professional development webinars in this series, please visit www.avemariapress.com/webinars .

Be Healed: A Guide to Encountering the Powerful Love of Jesus in Your Life

Presented by Bob Schuchts, author ofBe Healed: A Guide to Encountering the Powerful Love of Jesus in

Your LifeDate: Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Time: 3 p.m. EDTThis webinar is for all those who truly desire to share Jesus' powerful love with others, and who personally long for ever

deepening healing encounters with Him. With over thirty-five years of experience in parish ministry and in working intimately with Church leaders, Bob Schuchts has led many into profound healing encounters

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with Jesus.

During this webinar, Bob will invite each of the participants to take a fresh look at their personal lives through the lenses of their baptisms and the prodigal son story, showing how we all readily adopt false identities and, in doing so, obscure the face of Jesus in our ministries.

New Evangelization Strategies Launched

Paulist Father John Hurley is launching a timely national initiative for the Paulists, New Evangelization Strategies which will be based in downtown San Francisco at one of the oldest Paulist foundations in the United States, Old Saint Mary's Cathedral.  Father Hurley will serve as a missionary and consultant to pastoral leaders and others in keeping ministry mission focused with the joy of the Gospel. This initiative is a response to Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium/The Joy of the Gospel where he says, "I invite everyone to be bold and creative in this task

of rethinking the goals, structures, style and methods of evangelization in their respective communities." Father Hurley hopes to take up residence in San Francisco in late June, 2014. To read more, go to New Evangelization Strategies .

How Does The Catholic Church Declare Someone A Saint? You might have heard — Popes John Paul II and John XXIII were declared saints this weekend. Have you ever wondered about the steps to canonization — that is, being named a saint by the Catholic Church? Who is eligible? What happens on the way to being named a saint? Aren’t there miracles involved? Busted Halo answers all those

questions and more in this saint-filled video. Check it out at Declaring Someone a Saint.

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Easter Thoughts from Mia About Our Two New SaintsHello there my everybody. I heard the big news that you gots two new Saints to call your own. I knows their names so Happy Saints Day to you, St Pope John the XXIII and St. Pope John Paul II!

Last week I wents to chat with my Mia Papa. He was talking with Fr. Peter, buts I interrupted oh so most politely to ask "Mia Papa is the Pope going to make you a Sainty too?” Fr. Peter made a funny kind of sound, something like this, “bahahahahaha” so I guess I must have made a joke.

I decided I needed to have some understanding of being a Saint – so you know what I did? I wandered around the Gathering Area when people were coming for daily Mass and did some overlistening and sure enough – everyone was talking real excited like, about the two new Saints, and I learndid some very fun stuff.

Pope John XXIII was a real plain kind of person, and not a fussy duddy. He worked at printing a newspaper and liked reading history and became a teacher. When the war came to his Country, he helped all the sick people by putting them on stretchers and carrying them to the ambulances.

I thought I heard someone say Pope John liked to eat turkey, and I like to eat turkey too, but what really happed was that once he went to a country called Turkey and he did all sorts of special little secrets that helped save 24,000 Jews from bad things were going to happen to them.

Pope John was 78 when he became a Pope, but he was no lazy bones. Pretty soon he went all around his big house called The Vatican and opened the windows so that the Holy Spirit would come in all breezy like. And lots of cardinals and bishops came to the windy Vatican and had a great big meeting with the Pope, and got renewed and they named it after the open windows, calling it Vatican II, and I am pretty sure that I did not just make that up!

Pope John was also very funny, he liked to make jokes. One of our church ladies was telling the others that one day a newspaper reporter askdid Pope John how many people worked at the Vatican, and he said “Oh about half of them”. That made all the other ladies laugh real hard and I did a wiggle waggle.

My peoples were much more chatty about Pope John Paul II because he is a recently. He’s even my recent because I was a puppy the year he died. Well anyhows things stated out not so good for Pope John Paul II because his Mama died when he was just a little boy. But he grew up liking spots and liked to play football. He liked to be a smarty, so he spent lots of time

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studying and reading books. He always did his homework – and never once did he tell his teachers that his dog ate it! (I chewed up one of Mia Papas homilies once. It tasted like chicken.) During a World War Karol (his name before he changed it to Pope) had to hide from the bad guys, but he took lots of other people to hide too so they all would be safe. He was also very good at being with them teenager people and he’d go skiing with them and talk to them about Jesus. He wanted all people to come to know and love Jesus so he talked very nicely to people of other religions. That is called ecumenism. When he was Pope he also liked to travel all over. He’d smile and wave and tell everyone “Be good – Jesus loves you” and this made people feel most happy. I also thinks he must have liked playing the game "Ring Around the Rosy" because he helped to make the walls fall down on something called communism. I heard one of our daily Mass guys tell the others in Gathering Area that Pope John Paul was a good Father but he was also strict. He wanted people to follow the rules and if they were rule breakers, he wanted them to say “sorry” and try real hard to be better.

So now I know what makes a saint – someone who does all the plain, simple stuff in an extra good way. So like I askdid my Mia Papa, I'll ask you, “When is the Pope going to make you a Saintly?” You can do it – I know you can!

Mia

Make Your Way In The Canonization With A New App: 'Santo Subito!' With hundreds of thousands of pilgrims making their way to Rome, the app 'Santo Subito!' wants to make sure they all enjoy the canonization of John Paul II and John XXIII. It's available for smartphones and tablets in Italian, Spanish, English...and Polish! It includes maps of the Eternal City, so that users can know which church

to go to during the night vigil on Saturday 26th, including the language it will be held in.

During the canonization, 150,000 booklets will be given to pilgrims who want to follow the liturgy. But the 'Santo Subito!' app also includes the texts for those that can't get a copy. And if users want to know a little bit more about both Popes, it also offers highlights of their encyclical letters and major texts. The app can be downloaded for free on Apple Store and Google Play. Go to Santo Subito.

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Canonization of Popes Celebrated April 27

This was a big weekend at the Vatican as Pope Francis elevated two of his predecessors to sainthood: John XXIII and John Paul II. The two are widely loved by both Catholics and non-Catholics—John Paul for his charismatic personality and outreach, and John XXIII for opening the Church to the reforms of Vatican II. But there is also some controversy.

Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly examine the two canonizations

with Kim Lawton, managing editor of Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, and Kevin Eckstrom, editor-in-chief of Religion News Service. Since you and other Catholics may be confronted by these issues, this article is provided as background. To listen/read this report, please go to Papal Canonizations.

Saint John Paul II National Shrine

The Knights of Columbus has established a shrine to St. John Paul II in Washington, D.C. The announcement was made during Supreme Knight Carl Anderson’s 2011 annual report at the Knights’ 129th Supreme Convention.

In addition to the shrine itself, the plans for the site include exhibits on the life and legacy of St. John Paul II, and an exhibit on the Catholic heritage of North America. The shrine and related exhibits are located at the site of the former John Paul II Cultural Center in Northeast Washington, D.C. “True to Pope John Paul II’s vision, and using the story of his life as an inspiration, the shrine will be an opportunity to evangelize and spread the Good News of the Gospel through a new evangelization,” said Supreme Knight Carl Anderson. “Because of his tireless evangelization efforts, an entire generation of Catholics has become known as the ‘John Paul II Generation,’

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and certainly we are honored to continue to spread his profound and powerful message of hope for our country, our continent and our world.”

Previously declared an archdiocesan shrine, the facility took an even greater designation in 2014. On March 19, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) designated it as a national shrine, which, according to Archbishop Joseph E. Kurts of Louisville, Ky., reflects American Catholics' love for the late pope.

The change takes effect Sunday, April 27, 2014, the day set by Pope Francis for Pope John Paul II’s canonization.  In conjunction with the raising of John Paul II to the honors of the altar, the facility will be known as the Saint John Paul II National Shrine. “The American bishops are pleased to reflect the love of Catholics in America for John Paul II by designating this location a national shrine,” said Louisville Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, who signed the bishops’ decree as USCCB president. “This national shrine is truly America’s fitting tribute and remembrance of his legacy.” To find out more about the shrine, go to http://www.jp2shrine.org/jp/en/about/index.html.

Holocaust Remembrance Day - Video: And You Shall Tell Your Children

A powerful documentary on the faith and commitment of Holocaust survivors. (53 min. Viewer discretion advised).

To watch the video, go to And You Shall Tell Your Children.

For more information, please go to Holocaust Studies.

What Technologies Do I Need To Learn This 2014 Year?

All are invited to participate in the “What technologies do I need to learn this 2014 year?” survey. Why? Technology is important in today’s catechetical world. Educators are adapting new methods in the age of technology.

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As the summer is approaching, by a quick self-assessment, you can have some idea of what you want to take time to learn during the summer months.

It is a short poll and will take 3 to 4 minutes of your time. Go to: http://www.quia.com/sv/659076.html .

Religion for $1,000, AlexIn an Op-Ed for The New York Times, Nicholas Kristof writes “if we want to understand the world around us and think deeply about it, it helps to have exposure” to religion and religious figures. He notes that “Secular Americans are largely ignorant about religion, but, in surveys, religious Americans turn out to be scarcely more knowledgeable.” He concludes by suggesting “we don’t want to emulate the long-ago Texas governor who, in one of those stories that may be too good to be true,

opposed Spanish instruction because: ‘If English was good enough for Jesus Christ, it’s good enough for us.’” You can read his opinion piece, including the Errors in the Bible story at Religious Knowledge.

WITH Easter and Passover freshly behind us, let’s test your knowledge of the Bible. How many mistakes can you find:

Noah of Arc and his wife, Joan, build a boat to survive a great flood. Moses climbs Mount Cyanide and receives 10 enumerated commandments; for all the differences among religious denominations, the Ten Commandments are a common bedrock that Jews, Catholics and Protestants agree on.

Sodom and his wild girlfriend, Gomorrah, soon set the standard for what not to do. They are turned to pillars of salt.

The Virgin Mary, a young Christian woman, conceives Jesus immaculately and gives birth to him in a Jerusalem manger. Jesus, backed by the Twelve Apostles and their wives, the Epistles, proclaims what we call the Golden Rule: “Do one to others before they do one to you.” The Romans repeatedly crucify Jesus — at Cavalry, Golgotha and other sites — but he resurrects himself each time.

Christianity spreads through the gospels, which differ on details but all provide eyewitness accounts of Jesus’s life from birth to death.

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Finally, Rome tires of throwing Christians to lions and becomes the first country to adopt Christianity as its religion. The Bible is translated from the original English into countless languages.

So how many errors did you spot? There are about 20 mistakes, which I’ve listed at the end of this column, and they reflect the general muddling in our society about religious knowledge.

  

'Nones' and the Common Good

Eboo Patel, founder of the Interfaith Youth Core, writes about social justice from his perspective as a Muslim American of Indian heritage, asks some interesting questions about our society, one in which “one out of every five checks ‘none of the above’ on U.S. surveys of religious identity.” His questions: “What will happen to U.S. civil society as the pews empty out? Who will support all those schools, hospitals, and social service agencies?

Who will build new ones?”

He notes that hospitals, schools, colleges, or large social service agencies (when not built by the government) “have generally been founded and supported by religious communities in the United States. This is not so much because religious people are always better human beings; it’s because religious communities value and organize such work at significant scale.” He concludes that “Religious communities play a profound role in U.S. civil society,” and when he proposes those questions to social scientists, “they turn to me and say, ‘I don’t know.’ Honestly, I don’t have a better answer.” You can read his complete column at 'Nones' and the Common Good.

Anglicans and Catholics in USA Conclude 6-Year Study With Statement The Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue in the United States (ARC-USA) has concluded a six-year round of dialogue with the release of “Ecclesiology and Moral Discernment: Seeking a Unified Moral Witness.” The full text is available online here:www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/ecumenical-and-

interreligious/ecumenical/anglican/upload/arcusa-2014-statement.pdf.

In 2008 the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious

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Affairs and the Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, asked the ARC-USA to address questions of ethics and the Christian life in the context of ecclesiology, in an effort to achieve greater clarity regarding areas of agreement and disagreement. They were aware that dialogue on these issues was also taking place between the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion at the international level, and also in other bilateral dialogues between churches of various traditions.

The statement reflects on the way the two churches pursue the work of teaching and learning within the Christian moral life. It examines the extent to which their respective church structures influence the way they teach and what they teach on moral questions. Inquiries and discussions about moral formation and the teaching charism of the churches guided them in addressing this topic. 

With a focus on two case studies concerning migration/immigration and same sex relations, the dialogue concluded that even if the moral teachings of Anglicans and Catholics diverge on some questions, they also share important common features. The statement delves into these differences and similarities and represents progress toward a more unified Gospel witness capable of addressing contemporary concerns in ways that are useful and attractive to all Christians, as well as larger society.

In the preface the co-chairmen, Bishop John Bauerschmidt of the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee and Bishop Ronald Herzog of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Alexandria, Louisiana, explain the authority of the statement: “Although the members of the dialogue do not speak officially for either of our churches,” they state, “we have been asked to represent them in this dialogue, and it is in that capacity that we submit this statement to the leadership

of our churches and to all their faithful for their prayerful consideration as a means of hastening progress along the path to full, visible unity.”

The statement concluded: “It is hard to see how our differences in moral theology and ecclesiology will be resolved, and it is not clear to many whether they should be,” adding: “The ecumenical movement teaches that legitimate diversity has its place in the Church, and history demonstrates that this is true.”

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World Day Of Prayer For Vocations Set For May 11 The Vatican has set the 51st World Day for Vocations for May 11, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, commonly known as Good Shepherd Sunday. The theme for this year’s celebration, which falls on Mother’s Day this year, is “Vocations, Witness to the Truth.”

Pope Francis, in a statement for the occasion said that “No vocation is born of itself or lives for itself. A vocation flows from the heart of God and blossoms in the good soil of faithful people, in the experience of fraternal love.” The entire papal message is available in both English and Spanish at www.usccb.org/vocations along with other

resources from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Secretariat for Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations. Resources include videos of priests and religious men and women giving witness to their vocations, videos of testimonies from parents whose children have answered a vocation to the priesthood and consecrated life, prayers and discernment resources for men and women, down-loadable lesson plans for educators and retreat resources for parishes.

“Vocations to the Priesthood and Consecrated Life are sent by God and nourished in parishes and families,” said Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Raleigh, North Carolina, who chairs of the U.S. Bishops Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations. “We recognize this especially on May 11, which is Mother’s Day this year. Parents are instrumental in helping their children hear God’s call and in providing a prayerful atmosphere within the home where vocations are supported and nurtured. I encourage all families to pray together for an increase of vocations to Priesthood and Consecrated Life from within their own families and parish communities. Such prayer is a special gift to the entire Church!”

Digital Discipleship Boot Camp

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Catechists, Teachers, Youth Ministers, High School Religion Teachers, Adult Faith Formation Leaders, Parish Catechetical Leaders, Deacons, Clergy, and Diocesan Faith Formation staff and all involved in ministry areas are invited to learn 21st Century communication and learning methodology using social media, wikis, digital storytelling and more. 

We do not just talk at you!  We engage you in HANDS ON LEARNING about the latest in technology integration, collaboration, digital resources and more.

Digital Discipleship Boot Camp is for you. Register Today!

Locations [Atlanta – June 11] ● [Online Sessions beginning June 10]

Digital Discipleship Boot Camp is a great team learning opportunity for those in your parish – and we’re happy to offer group rates to facilitate.  Contact info@intconnect.org for more details!

Join Us!

Jerusalem the Movie

A new IMAX 3D film by National Geographic Entertainment explores the beauty and sacredness of the ancient city and its holiest sites. Religion & Ethics Newsweekly Correspondent Kim Lawton reports on the film and interviews three young women—a Christian, a Jew, and a Muslim—featured in the movie about what the

city of Jerusalem means to them. To read/watch the interview, please go to Jerusalem the Movie

A Catechist's Guide: Planning and Teaching Your Catechetical Sessions

You can purchase Here's How: A Catechist's Guide: Planning and Teaching Your Catechetical Sessions (Essential Catechist's Bookshelf) from the NCCL Amazon Bookstore.

This book joins two others in the Essential Bookshelf: Catechist 101: Wade, Don't Dive by Carole Eipers and The

Spirituality of the Catechist: Feeding Your Soul, Growing in Faith, Sharing with Others by Sr. Janet Schaeffler.

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Saint Felix and the Spider

I missed the feast of Saint Felix in January. However, this is a delightful book about a saint who escaped the persecutions of the third century and you don’t have to wait for his feast day to share that kind of story. You can pour over the illustrations and you will discover that the illustrator, a bird lover, places a different bird on each page. You can order Saint Felix and the

Spider from the NCCL Amazon Bookstore

Knowing Jesus and His Message – Conociendo a Jesus y su Mensaje

This is an excellent resource. Immediately following the Learning Session on this resource at the NCCL Conference and Exposition in Cleveland, the NCCL Bookstore sold over fifteen (15) copies of the book in English and Spanish.

Based on the protocol used to evaluate elementary religion series, the book used fifteen standards for Pre-K and K through Grades 7 & 8. Included with the binder is a CD with all the materials available for duplication. This is an ideal help for any elementary catechist regardless of the series you might be using. Check out the following and use the Order Form.

PREFACE - Knowing Jesus and His Message (http://tiny.cc/nysql)

EXPLANATION - Knowing Jesus and His Message (http://tiny.cc/xuvw8)

Standards - Explained (http://tiny.cc/65wmc) Normas y Fundamentos (http://tiny.cc/zfrg2) ORDER FORM - Knowing Jesus and His Message

(http://tiny.cc/9j0mb)

CL Weekly, April 28, 2014 Page 23

Looking For A Good Book?

Stop by the NCCL Bookstore. Purchasing books, CDs, DVDs, and other products on Amazon through the NCCL Bookstore (http://astore.amazon.com/natioconfefor-20) helps support this valuable online ministry.

If you are an on-line shopper and you frequent Amazon.com, please enter through the NCCL Amazon Bookstore as the organization benefits from every purchase you make. It’s an ideal way to support our ministry. Just go to our Home page (www.NCCL.org) and click on the Store tab or click on http://astore.amazon.com/natioconfefor-20 and it will take you directly to our bookstore. It doesn’t matter what you buy, as long as you enter through the NCCL Amazon Bookstore, we get a percentage of your purchases.

We are just building our bookstore and adding titles every day, so if you have any suggestions for books you believe should be available through our bookstore, please drop NCCL a note. All books mentioned in CL Weekly are available at the NCCL Bookstore.

Please “LIKE” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NCCLonline – we have over 640 LIKES

“FOLLOW” us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NCCLonline – What’s going on in your catechetical environment?

Feedback/Comments should be addressed to: lnagel@nccl.org

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