Dear Parishioners,
On Saturday, November 8, I will be teaching a diocesan course that catechists can attend for certification. The name of the course is Mysterium Christi. Actually, this will be one of five total sessions that make up the course. The session starts at 9 AM and ends at 2:30 PM, so that I can get into the confessional on time before the Saturday evening Mass in Payne. The content of this first session is the Creed; or you could also say the content is the first quarter of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catechism is divided into four parts, and this session will blitz through the first part.
I decided to offer the course for the Diocese, when I discovered that it can be pretty hard for catechists in our area of the Diocese to find sessions geographically convenient enough to attend. The preference of the Diocese is that every Catholic schoolteacher and every catechist eventually become certified through this course. All parishes in the area have been invited to advertise the course for their catechists and teachers.
But I also want to offer the course for anybody who wants to attend. This can be an opportunity for adult education, even for those people who never intend to become catechists for us. Please do not be intimidated by the fact that the Diocese is handling registration. The Diocese wants to keep track of attendees, so as to know which catechists in the Diocese have become fully certified. You will not be forced to become a catechist for us, simply because you attend the course. Also, you need not intend to take all five sessions, in order to sign up for this one. You can attend as many as you are able. As a pastor, I want provide some continuing education opportunities for all of our adults. Here is one of them. If you have any questions whatsoever about the course, please do not hesitate to contact Theresa Conley, our DRE. She is handling all of the practical details; although I will be doing the actual teaching of the course. I am also quite willing to field any questions (although I think Theresa knows the practical details better than I).
On another note, because I have sensed some interest in it, I have decided to organize a pilgrimage to Italy Monday, February 15 – Friday, February 26, 2016. The initial itinerary is Assisi (two nights w/day-trip to Siena), Cascia (St. Rita, and a Eucharistic miracle) and Norcia (birthplace of St. Benedict… and a current traditional Benedictine monaster. one night here), Loreto (house of Mary), Lanciano (Eucharistic miracle), San Giovanni Rotondo (tomb of St. Padre Pio… two nights here), ending with three nights in Rome (catacombs, colosseum, major basilicas, Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, Scavi Tour [if available], papal audience). If you think you would be interested in this trip, please contact the parish office, and we will send a more specific itinerary as soon as I get it finalized. This initial notice will give me a sense for whether we have enough people to make such a pilgrimage financially feasible. I think we will plan on enough space for 50 people. I think we could make the trip happen with as few as 25 people as well. We will use a pilgrimage coordinator whom I know well from prior trips.
Last week a new metal roof was put on the school and the hall in Payne. The $19,500 for the school roof came from one of the $100,000 donations last year that designated this as a project. The $17,500 for the hall will come from the parish maintenance fund.
Have a blessed week!
In cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Poggemeyer
