Catechetical Sunday – September 17th

For many years now, the Church in the United States has designated the third weekend of September “Catechetical Sunday” to coincide with the beginning of the new School year. 

Here is a timely quote from the national catechetical office of the US Catholic Bishops on religious education:

Catechesis is a distinct and special ministry in the Church.  As the Catechism of the Catholic Church makes clear, “Catechesis is intimately bound up with the whole of the Church’s life . . . her inner growth and correspondence with God’s plan depend essentially on catechesis” (no. 7).  This ministry of teaching in the name of the Church has a profound dignity, which is why catechists are formally commissioned by the Church.  It is only fitting that we set aside a day to highlight this ministry and invite the entire church community to think about our responsibility to share our faith with others.

Parents are truly the primary catechists of their children. They prepare the soil and plant the first seeds of faith.  On Catechetical Sunday, we not only highlight the work of catechists in parishes and schools, but we also commend parents and guardians and encourage them to take seriously their role of making their Catholic households a place where faith is passed on to the next generation. This is why the rite of blessing of catechists used on Catechetical Sunday includes a blessing of parents and guardians.

Our parish is so fortunate to have wonderful people in the religious education program. We are blessed to have Mrs. Sandra Kopka, the Catechetical Director. We are also extremely blessed to have Mrs. Gallagher and Miss Riley, Mrs. Fass and Mrs. Sniscak, Mrs. Oliveira and Mrs. Girard, Mr. Muir and Miss Morgan, Mrs. Sutter, Mrs. Strauss and Mr. Matthew, and Mrs. LeBoeuf as volunteer catechists and aids who give of their time, energy, and talents to share the Catholic faith with the Children entrusted to their care. Please keep all these dedicated people in your prayers for a successful ministry.

I hope and pray that all the young people of our parish will take part in the activities of this exciting ministry; but we need their parents to encourage them! 

Once again, on behalf of the entire parish, we extend our thanks to our Catechetical team for their dedication to our children.

Fr. Chester