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Whole Parish Catechesis Mission
Statement
Saint Patrick’s Religious Education Program is committed to
teach the Gospel Message and the true doctrine, practices
and beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church in a manner that
reflects the teachings of Jesus.
It is our goal to guide our learners to better know,
love and serve God.
We will impart the Gospel Message in the format of
Whole Parish Catechesis (WPC).
WPC is a vision of faith formation that is rooted in the
documents of Vatican II, the
General Directory for Catechesis,
and other catechetical documents.
It promotes faith formation as an ongoing and
lifelong process that is greatly supported by
intergenerational learning and interaction.
We support the efforts of our families and offer the
opportunity for broadening each person’s knowledge of
Christ. We are
dedicated to doing so in a safe and caring learning
environment.
Jesus has asked us to love God and love our neighbors as
ourselves. By an
example of courtesy, love and respect we help our learners
to live God’s law of love.
Through opportunities of prayer, journaling, faith sharing,
building
Households of Faith,
reflecting on why and how we gather, and promoting active
service and outreach, all members of the community of faith
are supported in their own faith formation.
The
Whole Parish Catechesis vision recognizes and celebrates
everyone at all ages as having an equal role and
responsibility within the Christian community.
Children are as important in the catechetical process
as ever. At the
same time, we will expand our efforts to support quality
catechesis for all generations as well.
Whole Parish Catechesis Instructional
Cycle for 2008-2009
The general
session topics for the academic year 2008-2009 will be
focused on
THE MASS.
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"Blessed is he who shall
eat bread in the kingdom of God!"
Luke 14:15
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Each time the Mass is offered, the fruits of our
Redemption are poured anew upon our souls. By uniting
ourselves with the sacred rite of the Mass, and above all by
receiving Holy Communion, we enter into the sacrifice of
Christ. We mystically die with the divine Victim and
rise again with Him to new life in God. We are freed
from our sins, we are once again pleasing to God, and we
receive grace to follow Him more generously in the life of
charity and fraternal union which is the life of His
Mystical Body.
Thomas Merton, The
Living Bread |
It is common
today to hear the Mass referred to as the liturgy.
Liturgy refers to any public act that the Church celebrates.
The Mass, which is the Divine Liturgy, is God's public
service. The celebration of the Mass is: a holy
recalling of the sacrifice of Jesus that He offered God the
Father during His last meal with His apostles on the night
before He died. During that meal He took bread, gave
thanks, broke the bread, and gave it to His disciples.
The Catechism
of the Catholic Church defines the Mass in this way,
"The Eucharist is the heart and the summit of the Church's
life, for in it Christ associates his Church and all her
members with his sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving
offered once for all on the cross to his Father; by this
sacrifice he pours out the graces of salvation on his Body
which is the Church" (#1407).
The Church
is the Body of Christ, and through the
celebration of the Eucharist the Church is most fulfilled.
We witness the one sacrifice that Christ offered the Father,
and we join our own sacrifices to His at each Mass. In
addition the Mass is a banquet. If we offer our
sacrifices to those of the Lord, we will in return receive
His Body and Blood and become joined with His Body here on
earth. This is the most important act, in our lives here on
earth, that we can achieve.
Spiritual Music & Videos
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