Dear Parishioners, 

Today we celebrate Catechetical Sunday which is celebrated in the United States on the third Sunday of September to acknowledge and commission those who serve the parish and school community as catechists. This year, it comes with the theme: “Come to me all you who labor and are burdened.” 

In his Apostolic letter, Antiquum ministerum, Pope Francis describes the role of the catechist: “Catechists are called first to be expert in the pastoral service of transmitting the faith as it develops through its different stages from the initial proclamation of the kerygma to the instruction that presents our new life in Christ and prepares for the sacraments of Christian initiation, and then to the ongoing formation that can allow each person to give an accounting of the hope within them. At the same time, every catechist must be a witness to the faith, a teacher and mystagogue, a companion and pedagogue, who teaches for the Church. Only through prayer, study, and direct participation in the life of the community can they grow in this identity and the integrity and responsibility that it entails.” 

The faithful are encouraged to use Catechetical Sunday to publicly commission and pray for those who will serve as catechists and teachers in the parish community. It also offers an opportunity to recall that all of the baptized have roles in sharing the faith in their daily lives with their families, at work and through church involvement. In our parish classrooms, we are blessed with many wonderful volunteers who have answered the call to teach the faith. Our new Director of Lifelong Faith Formation – Mrs. Mary Thon has gathered a group of very devoted people who will be responsible for educating our children in the ways of our Catholic faith this year. These people are incredibly selfless, giving, and caring, always striving to see their students succeed in getting to know their faith, becoming faithful servants of God, and growing in holiness. They have traded a chunk of their week and some peace of mind to ensure that the faith of our parish community lives on. Keep in mind that these devoted catechists all have other full-time commitments, and that they must compete with baseball/soccer practice, shopping, piano lessons, and a TV, social media and technological culture that considers religion hardly as important as a new pair of fashion-conscious, expensive shoes. But our catechists keep at it... and the Church cannot do without them, and we are very excited to see what they are able to accomplish every year in forming the children of the parish. 

So, today I invite all of us to pray for our catechists and to thank the Lord for the gift that each one of our catechists is to our parish. I know that our children and youth, their families, and our entire faith community appreciate all that they do to bring our students to a deeper understanding of the Church’s teachings. 

God bless, 
Fr. Gregg