Archive for August, 2009

Donna Steffen, SC, a team member with the North American Forum on the Catechumenate, writes about the first time she was confronted with the idea that she would have to discern the readiness of candidates for initiation: “I was horrified. How can I judge another person?” In the July 2009 issue of Catechumenate (“Discernment in [...]

Pope Benedict XVI’s newest encyclical, Caritas in Verite, has all the elements of a guide for living the Christian life that would be beneficial to catechuemens. All the elements, except one. It is not an easy read. Simply giving the document to those who are new to the faith could be overwhelming. Fortunately, Sam Lucero [...]

Music is integral to liturgy. Singing is basic to the way we pray, the way we show love, the way we worship. So—the Rite of Acceptance always includes singing, right? For some parishes, this aspect of celebration is well in hand. The parish sings. The music ministry of the parish has acclamations ready to punctuate [...]

If you are planning a Rite of Acceptance for the fall, consider scheduling it on September 13, 2009. That’s the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B), and the readings are especially appropriate. The first reading is Isaiah 50:5-9, which begins: “The Lord GOD opens my ear that I may hear.” The early church referred to [...]

A blog post at Whispers in the Loggia drew my attention to Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana. I had never heard of him, but I’m glad now that I have. Turkson is Ghana’s first cardinal and was the spokesman for October’s Synod of Bishops for Africa. He may soon be heading up the Vatican congregation [...]

In June, New York’s new Archbishop, Timothy Dolan, came to welcome the participants at a Forum Institute held at the Passionist Center in Riverdale. (I was there.) He said a lot of positive things about the RCIA. (Click here to read his comments.) Archbishop Dolan is a church historian as well as a pastor. He [...]