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April 8, 2005
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Greetings and welcome
to Faith Formation Update,
a free monthly e-newsletter for catechetical leaders with a focus
on parish catechesis beyond textbooks and classrooms. I'm Judith
Dunlap. In each issue I offer a brief starter
and my "Every Family" column.
My co-worker and fellow religious educator Joan
McKamey offers video resources and ideas in her "Seen
and Heard" column. Our co-worker Chuck Blankenship suggests other faith formation resources for adults from St. Anthony Messenger Press in his column, "Sowing Sampler." Finally, we encourage YOU to share views and
program ideas about this month's topic on our online bulletin
board, "Faith Formation Forum."
Blessings on your work!
—Judith
Dunlap p.s. You're receiving
this either because you signed up, or because you're a loyal customer
of St. Anthony Messenger Press. We will never send you unwanted
e-mail. There is an unsubscribe link at the bottom of this page.
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Perhaps this Easter you can bring some “new life” into your Adult Faith Formation program by focusing on this holy season for all seven of its weeks. Easter is the biggest, grandest, most sacred time of our Christian year. It certainly deserves seven weeks of celebration. Yet much like Christmas, we end up spending more time and energy getting ready for the three-day celebration. Granted, every catechetical leader who works with RCIA has earned at least a week off after the big day. But maybe with just a little forethought and a little delegating, you can help your parish focus on Easter past the grand day itself.
The newsletter Scripture From Scratch offers a mini-course for the Easter season, written in every-day language that works great for individual or group use. (Click here to see the articles included in the series.) The articles present contemporary Catholic biblical scholarship in a clear, easy-to-follow manner. The stated objective of the mini-course is “to see Easter as the crowning season of the liturgical year rather than a single Sunday.”
If I were using this in my parish I would probably use only three of the four articles. Rather than meeting during the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th weeks, I’d take a break the week after Easter Sunday and meet during the 2nd, 4th and 7th weeks. I would probably skip the suggested newsletter “From Spirit to Holy Spirit in the Old Testament.”
Week two would be a good time to review the Resurrection stories in the Gospels, and week four, a good time to look at the early Church in the Acts of the Apostles. Finally, during the last week of the Easter season, you can begin focusing on the Holy Spirit just in time for Pentecost.
I always learn or relearn something new when I read SAMP’s newsletters, and often my faith gets just the boost it needs. When I read the newsletter article “From Spirit to Holy Spirit in the Old Testament,” I was reminded that the Hebrew word for spirit is ruah, which means breath or wind. The author forgot to mention that ruah is a feminine term, but I kept that in mind when I read each of his citations. It sort of balances the Greek term for Paraclete in John’s Gospel, which is masculine.
Raymond Brown, in his newsletter article “The Holy Spirit as Paraclete: The Gift of John’s Gospel,” reminds us of the many ways the evangelist likens the Spirit to Jesus. With that parallel in mind, we see why John uses the masculine pronoun in his Gospel. There I go, rushing the holy season of Easter as I anticipate Pentecost.
Happy Easter. May you experience the peace and joy of the Good News in the weeks that follow this great feast of hope.
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Years ago I wrote an article for CHURCH magazine about “Christian” Seder meals. It was titled “No More Seder Suppers.” I still remember the conversation I had with a rabbi as I prepared to write about this sacred Jewish meal.
He said he was happy to introduce Christians to the Seder but had a problem when they adapted the meal to fit Christian traditions. He told me the word Seder meant order, stressing the importance of following the ritual to the letter.
He was recalling a particular Christian “Seder” he was invited to attend where the prayers and ritual were changed and the guests were served ham instead of the traditional lamb (a bit of a problem for an orthodox Jew at any meal). He asked what I would think of attending a service that substituted Jewish prayers and theology in our eucharistic ritual and called itself a “Jewish” Mass.
After our conversation I came up with and wrote about an “Easter Supper” that referenced the Seder supper of our Jewish ancestors in faith. It used some of the same symbols and built on the Passover theme of freedom and covenant. When I was finished writing, I gave it to my rabbi friend who gave it his okay. Below is the basic framework.
For the first hour, everyone worked together getting ready for the celebration. Participants brought the food, which they finished preparing in the parish kitchen. Youngsters decorated the hall, making paper flowers and a table runner depicting the life of Jesus.
Teens sculpted sticks of butter into paschal lambs (cloves for eyes, a thin red ribbon around the neck). They also put together the plates of bitter herbs (radishes), salt water, hard-boiled eggs, haroshes and unleavened bread. They filled pitchers with grape juice.
Adults made the haroshes with chopped apples and nuts, which were laced with honey and a little wine. In the Seder supper this mixture represents the mortar used to build the Egyptian monuments. It is a symbol we also used as a reminder of the slavery from which we were freed.
When we sat at the table and before we began the meal, we talked about the Jewish people: our first mothers and fathers in faith. We talked about God’s covenant with the chosen people and we retold the Passover story, explaining the ritual symbols. During the meal we served lamb, which we supplemented with store-bought fried chicken. (Lamb has always been rather expensive.) We prayed a few psalms together and, at the end of the meal, talked about the Last Supper. Finally, we recalled our own freedom from sin and the new covenant proclaimed in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
I celebrated this intergenerational “Easter Supper” during the Easter season in three different parishes. All three enjoyed the celebration and said they learned much about the connection between our faith and the Jewish faith. (Click here for other ideas on how families can celebrate the Easter season.)
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I always enjoy presenting the RCIA session on the Sacrament of Matrimony because I never know what’s going to happen. I can count on it being a lively evening. In addition to marriage as a sacrament, I also address the Catholic teachings on divorce, annulments and family planning. You just can’t address these topics with a group of adults without touching a few nerves. But I also love what the Church is upholding in its teachings and am proud to share them with those exploring membership in the Catholic Church.
I like being married. No, it’s not easy nor is it a thrill a minute—for me or my husband. But it is the single most important decision of my adult life. It’s a decision I have to continue to say “yes” to every day. And most days, that “yes” either comes easily or without too much struggle. During the inevitable rough patches, I search for the “yes” God has placed in my heart and pray for the strength and courage to live it.
My husband’s love for me gives me the most concrete experience of God’s love that I ever expect to experience on this earth. I get a glimpse of God’s total acceptance of me because of my husband’s acceptance of me—flaws and all. I glimpse God’s faithfulness and steadfast love through my husband’s commitment to our marriage and family. I know something of the depth of God’s passion for me because of Jon’s intense expression of emotion—usually positive, sometimes not so positive. I have learned much about God’s love from both loving Jon and being loved by him throughout the 14+ years of our marriage.
Spring and the Easter Season are times when we celebrate new life. Many engaged couples are preparing for weddings later this spring or summer. The freshness of their love is enchanting. It takes me back to the early days of my relationship with John, when life seemed so much simpler and we had so much more time for one another. These memories inspire me to make more time for my marriage in my busy life.
I read a great book on Christian marriage last year. Actually I read it and then got to listen to the author read it to me as we recorded it. The book is A Daring Promise: A Spirituality of Christian Marriage by Richard Gaillardetz. We recorded it so that we could make it available as an audiobook.
Click here to listen to a sample from Rick Gaillardetz’s A Daring Promise: A Spirituality of Christian Marriage (RealMedia | Windows Media). This sample begins the exploration of mutuality in marriage. Gaillardetz writes that mutuality, intimacy and companionship are three concrete dimensions of marital communion.
This is not just another book on Christian marriage. If you’re looking for something to help bring new life to a marriage enrichment program, marriage preparation, an adult faith formation or RCIA presentation on marriage, a couples’ group or your own marriage, this is the book!
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For those of us who market books for
Catholic publishers, spring is the busiest of seasons. I just got back from
NCEA in Philadelphia and am re-packing for Louisville. However, since my
column is necessarily late this month, I am able to consider the events
of the last few days.
The pope has died and, like all of you, St. Anthony Messenger Press
(SAMP) is in mourning as we thank God for all the gifts of John Paul
II’s papacy. As a catechetical leader I am sure your focus is on the
best way to help others respond to this teachable moment.
Many of the folks in our parishes are getting a double dose of adult
faith formation as they watch television and read the news about the pope’s
death and the coming conclave. Before I leave for the NCCL in Louisville,
I want to let you know about all SAMP had to offer you and those to whom you
minister concerning Pope John Paul II and the election of a new pope. Take a
look at our
special Pope
John Paul II section. It includes many links to international news coverage
and articles from our magazine St.
Anthony Messenger about his ministry over the years as well as a special
feature article from our May 2005 issue, which is available now AmericanCatholic.org.
We also offer books about Pope John Paul II, his life and writings,
and Catholic Updates about aspects of his ministry and how popes are
chosen.
If you are going to be in Louisville, stop by the St. Anthony Messenger
Press booth and say, hello.
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Share your ideas on adult faith formation at our online bulletin board. Our editors will screen and post your thoughts, and you can learn from others' ideas. Submit your ideas by clicking here. |
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