In every age, the Church needs to
renew her witness of the Gospel. This
weekend, the seminarian interns assigned to us from the Josephinum are sharing
information about their work with the New Evangelization. The Seminary has invited us to collaborate
with them by taking the Gospel door-to-door, giving the Church a personal face
to those who live in our neighborhood.
Many who live nearby may know that we are here, but they do not know us
personally or much about us. This
intentional effort to reach out is in response to the Church’s call in the
present era, especially highlighted by Pope Francis, to “go to the outskirts,”
that is, to address ourselves to the marginalized.
Every family has members who have
little to no contact with the Church.
Many families that have had long and faithful histories of connection to
their parish community watch the younger generations drift away. Sometimes, this happens due to the negative
witness of members of the Church, and for this we must repent and change our
ways. More often, it occurs simple due
to neglect. Now is the time to invite a
new look at what the Church has to offer.
Our witness is to Jesus Christ.
God knows us and He has established
a Church that meets our needs. God
destines us to share in the very Life of the Trinity and the Church is meant to
be a Communion of Love, a Community of Believers united as one in mind and
heart. God’s call and invitation have
gone out. Our response personally and
practically is needed for His plan for us to unfold.
The life of the Church, through the
Sacraments, brings us to a right relationship with God and gives us a taste of
the glory God has in store for us.
This past week, we have recalled our
part in the Communion of Saints. With
the Feast of All Saints, we set our sights on our brothers and sisters who have
been admitted into the Kingdom and who pray for us, spurring us on to Victory
in Christ. All Souls Day brought to mind
all our beloved dead who are in need of the touch of God’s Mercy in order to
enter the Kingdom. Our own role as the
Church on the March is in view as we worship God and as we seek to invite
others into a living relationship with Him.
Who is awaiting your invitation to
share the life of the Saints?
Year of Faith October
11, 2012 – November 24, 2013
We continue our journey through the Year
of Faith. As one way of observing
this year, each week a small section of the Catechism
of the Catholic Church is read before the start of Mass.
CHAPTER THREE MAN’S RESPONSE TO GOD
ARTICLE 2 WE BELIEVE
I.
“Lord, Look upon the Faith of Your Church”
168 It
is the Church that believes first, and so bears, nourishes, and sustains my
faith. Everywhere, it is the Church that first confesses the Lord: “Throughout
the world the holy Church acclaims you.” as we sing in the hymn “Te Deum”;
with her and in her, we are won over and brought to confess: “I believe,” “We
believe.” It is through the Church that we receive faith and new life in Christ
by Baptism. In the Rituale Romanum, the minister of Baptism asks the
catechumen: “What do you ask of God’s Church?” And the answer is: “Faith.”
“What does faith offer you?” “Eternal life.” (Roman Ritual, Rite of
baptism of adults)
169
Salvation comes from God alone; but because we receive the life of faith
through the Church, she is our mother: “We believe the Church as the mother of
our new birth, and not in the Church as if she were the author of our
salvation.” (Faustus of Riez, De
Spiritu Sancto 1, 2.) Because she is our mother, she is also our teacher in
the faith.
Comment: Some try to
create a false dichotomy between Faith in Jesus and Faith in the Church. In truth, we cannot say we believe in Jesus
if we do not accept His teaching in and through His Church. The Scriptures reveal the Church as Christ’s
own and her members are members of Christ because they are members of His
Church. How do you respond to the
awareness that you belong to Christ in and through the Church?
Focolare
Word of Life for November 2013: “Be kind to one another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.” (Eph
4:32)
The New Evangelization at St. Timothy Parish
Our Seminarian interns,
Stephen Vaccaro and Alex Pacelli, are making the rounds of parish groups to
share their mission for the year at St. Timothy Church. They have visited with the Knights of Columbus,
the Parish Pastoral Council, the Youth Group, the Home and School association,
and the Men’s Club. Saturday October
12th was the first Door-to-door mission with Seminarians of the PCJ New Evangelization
Club for this year.
Upcoming events including the Seminarian interns
for the first semester are as follows:
This weekend the seminarians are speaking at the Masses
of Sunday morning to promote the November 9th Mission
Nov. 8th - Meeting to teach parishioners about
going door-to-door
Nov. 9th - Door-to-door mission
Nov. 14th – School Visit
Nov. 17th - Youth Group
Nov. 24th - Youth Group
Dec. 5th - Planning day at the parish
Anyone who wants to tag along or participate in
some way can contact Stephen Vaccaro at smv4h@virginia.edu. The hope/plan is to
create our own Evangelization Club to learn about the process of evangelization
and to create opportunities for members of our parish to respond to the
Church’s call for a New Evangelization – new in its ardor and new in its
methods.
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