Summer is the season for so many enjoyable outdoor activities!  Most us of love the summer months.  But, as with most things in life, it is the time for endings and transitions.  Now is the time to surrender to the coming days of autumn.  For many parishes throughout the Diocese, it is the time to attend more formally to the faith formation programs and events offered in the parish. 

On Sept. 21, we celebrate Catechetical Sunday; its theme is “Teaching about God’s Gift of Forgiveness.”  As we prepare to bless those in the catechetical ministry: parish catechists, Catholic school teachers, Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults teams, and many others, we seek to incorporate this theme in our various ministries.  All of us experience hurts, betrayals, separations and losses in our lives. How do we reconcile with each other?  How do we teach our children to be people of forgiveness and reconciliation, for they learn from us.

We are called each and every day to be disciples of Jesus Christ the Lord.  To be a disciple is to sit in the school of Jesus Christ and take on his attitudes, his values, his way of interacting with others.  Each one of us is called to be an evangelizer.  Our children are, too.  We are called to proclaim Christ, to preach Christ, to bear witness to Christ, to teach Christ, and to celebrate who Jesus Christ is in our lives.

To be the hands and feet of Christ in our world today is no small mission.  Our parishes are places of learning and provide us with opportunities to be Christ’s Body through all the many ministries they offer.  But, especially do the Catholic schools and parish religious education programs undertake the mission of forming disciples of the Lord.  Traditionally, the parish religious education programs help parents/guardians keep the priority of instruction in the faith prominent.  Each year these programs seek to integrate the “Six Tasks of Catechesis” found in the General Directory for Catechesis and in the Elementary Religion Curriculum Guidelines for the Diocese of Trenton into the program: 1) promoting knowledge of the faith; 2) liturgical education; 3) moral formation; 4) teaching to pray; 5) education for community life; and, 6) missionary initiation.

Though instruction in the faith, young people seek to deepen their knowledge of the basic doctrines and devotions that are such a part of the heritage and tradition of the Catholic Faith.  Who are we as Catholics; and, are we who we say we are?  What do we believe; and, how well do we share the truths of our Faith with clarity and conviction? 

Through liturgical education, those being formed enter more deeply into the cycle of seasons (the Liturgical Year) that keep the life of Christ ever before us as we come to understand how to live Jesus this year in our lives.  We also celebrate the cycle of feasts of the saints who followed his example in such a prominent way and shine forth as models for us.  We look to Mary, the first disciple, to help us and guide us to bring Christ to birth in our daily lives.  How well do we celebrate our patron and parish saints?

In classroom and other settings, the children learn the moral teachings that challenge them to enter a “journey of interior transformation that deepens one’s personal conversion to Christ” – to live a life centered on the Gospel values given to us by Jesus Christ. With events in the world that bombard us, it is challenging to know what is the right and good way to respond.  Jesus Christ has shown us the way.  Jesus is the Light to all nations and has placed his Light within us to dispel the darkness that surrounds us.  He has left us a Church to help guide us through the ambiguities and darkness that exits in our world.  Through the reception of the Sacraments, we are empowered to let that Light radiate into all the dimensions of our lives and to all the corners of the world.  How are we doing at showing the face of God to those we meet?

Through daily prayer and learning to be people who know how to pray, we allow the life of Christ to grow in us and the Holy Spirit to be our companion and guide.   We realize that our prayer life includes prayers of adoration for who God is, contrition for failing to live out our Baptismal call, thanksgiving for all God’s gifts, and supplication (asking or petitioning) God for our needs and the needs of the whole world.  ACTS!  This is a good way to remember that each day our prayer is comprehensive and full.  What does your daily prayer life look like? 

As members of a community of believers through our Baptism, we come to understand more fully how to be people of service.  Each time we participate in Mass, we are nourished by God’s Word and Sacrament.  We are sent forth to glorify the Lord by our lives and to go out to serve God’s people not only by the witness of our lives but also through outreach to those most in need within the parish and in the global community.  How do you serve the people of God in your life?  What parish ministries are a part of your family life?

Finally, we come to appreciate the mission of the Church.  The Church exists to evangelize, we are told by Pope Paul VI.  We are called to spread the message of Jesus Christ and his Gospel to the ends of the world.  Everything about us as an individual, as a family and as a parish family speaks our faith to the world.  Are we aware of this?  Is my family, my parish, my work place better because I am there?  Is it more loving, more kind, more Christ-centered because of my presence?

Next September, Philadelphia will host the “World Meeting of Families.”  Its theme is “Love is our mission.”   May our hearts, our families and our parishes be places where love is taught and lived each day.   As we move through this catechetical year and its events, may we come to embody the love of our God in every aspect of our daily lives.