Those involved in the online resource Faith At Home are pleased at the positive responses they’ve been receiving from both the English- and Spanish-speaking communities.
“I have seen many Hispanic churches sharing it on Facebook and various parish leaders as well as regular parishioners,” noted Jossie Ramos, bilingual administrative assistant in the diocesan Department of Evangelization and Family Life.
Faith At Home, an online resource that helps families grown in their Catholic faith, was introduced in April by the diocesan Departments of Catechesis, Evangelization and Family Life, and Youth andYoung Adult Ministries. It launched at the height of the coronavirus pandemic to keep faithful connected since they were not able to attend weekly Mass in their parishes because of COVID-19 restrictions.
Each week, families can download a pdf with links to various Catholic websites and discussion questions related to each Sunday’s Gospel. There are also resources and prayers for individuals, adults, families with young children, teens and married couples. The pdfs are available in English and Spanish and can be found at www.dioceseoftrenton.org/faith-at-home or www.dioceseoftrenton.org/fe-en-casa.
Faith At Home has continued to grow with its accompanying video series, too.
“The use of videos has been a very important part of the Faith At Home resource since the beginning,” said Dan Waddington, director of the Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministries. “Videos can help ‘break open’ the theme in a powerful way.”
In the videos, priests from around the Diocese reflect on the Readings for an upcoming Sunday Mass. The videos include: Father Grogan, pastor of Nativity Parish, Fair Haven, sharing thoughts on fatherhood; Father David Swantek, pastor of St. Martha Parish, Point Pleasant, speaking on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus; Father Javier Diaz, pastor of Christ the King Parish, Long Branch, speaking on the Solemnity of Pentecost; Father Jeffrey Kegley, pastor of St. Mary Parish, Middletown, also reflecting on Pentecost, and Father Rene Pulgarin, pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Keyport, for the Solemnity of the Ascension.
“YouTube videos were always a critical component for Faith At Home,” said Josué Arriola, director of the Department of Evangelization and Family Life. “Many of our priests are doing amazing things to bring the message of hope to our communities, and Faith At Home brings those messages to the whole Diocese.”
“The more weeks Faith At Home is out, the more people are engaging in it,” he added.