November 4, 2013, Volume VII, Number 44

November 4, 2013, Volume VII, Number 44

FEAST OF SAINT CHARLES BORROMEO

Monday of the Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time

Saints Zechariah and Elizabeth – Friday, November 8, 2013

Dedication of the Lateran Basilica – Saturday, November 9, 2013

YEAR OF FAITH - Oct. 11, 2012, through Nov. 24, 2013

Question of the Week

For Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 10, 2013

“That the dead will rise even Moses made known…” Have you studied the Old Testament enough to know what Jesus means? What is your interpretation of the words “the dead will rise”? How do you explain that in today’s culture of zombies? Whatis the promise that Jesus makes in his answer to the Sadducees?

NCCL News

Pope Names Bishop Leonard P. Blair Archbishop of Hartford

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Archbishop Henry Mansell, 76, from the pastoral governance of the Archdiocese of Hartford, Connecticut, and named Bishop Leonard Blair, 64, of the Diocese of Toledo, Ohio, to succeed him. NCCL extends its congratulation and prayers to Bishop Blair who has been serving as the Episcopal Advisor to the organization.
Archbishop-designate Leonard P. Blair was born April 12, 1949, in Detroit. He attended Sacred Heart Seminary, Detroit, and the North American College, Rome. He earned a licentiate in sacred theology at the Gregorian University in Rome in 1978 and a doctor of sacred theology in 1997 at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas there.
Ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit, June 26, 1976, Bishop Blair was appointed titular bishop of Voncariana and auxiliary bishop of Detroit July 9, 1999. He was ordained a bishop August 24, 1999 and was appointed bishop of Toledo in 2003. He chairs the U.S. bishops' Subcommittee on the Catechism and is a member of the Committees on Doctrine and Evangelization and Catechesis.
Hartford was established as a diocese in 1843 and created an archdiocese in 1953. It comprises three counties and 2,288 square miles in the state of Connecticut and has a total population of 1,944,607, of which 591,528, or 30 percent, are Catholic.

Papal Intentions for November

General

That priests who experience difficulties may find comfort in their suffering, supporting their doubts, and confirmation in their fidelity.

Mission

That as fruit of the continental mission, Latin American Churches may send missionaries to other Churches.

Message for the 2013 Day of Prayer in Solidarity With Indigenous People

The National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples is celebrated on December 12 every year, on the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas, who appeared to a humble Aztec peasant, Saint Juan Diego, in Mexico in 1531. The Canadian Catholic Aboriginal Council celebrates this day of prayer, solidarity and reconciliation by issuing an annual message honouring Indigenous people who have been inspired by their Catholic faith. This year, the Message is on ?ehtseoEreya, a Dene prophet who preached the good news of Jesus.?ehtseo means grandpa in North Slavey or Dene Roi. The “?” symbol indicates a pause at the beginning of the word.Link to the 2013 Message

Pope Francis: Saints Aren't Superheroes, They Just Never Strayed From God
Saints aren't superheroes, they are regular people who just never left God's side after encountering him and his love, Pope Francis said on the feast of All Saints. "Being a saint is not a privilege of the few, like someone getting a large inheritance. All of us have inherited through baptism the ability to become saints," he said Nov. 1. Before reciting the Angelus with people gathered in St. Peter's Square, the pope talked about God's call to holiness. "The saints are friends of God," he said. But they "are not superheroes, nor were they born perfect. They are like us, each one of us." What makes them stand out, he said, is once they encountered Jesus, they always followed him. "The path that leads to holiness has a name and has a face, it's the face of Jesus Christ; he teaches us to become saints."

Barbara Campbell Needs Our Prayers

Jim Campbell posted this message on Facebook and I was sure our NCCL members wanted to aware of this situation so prayers of healing could be offered. Longtime members of NCCL, Barbara and Jim both worked at Loyola Press prior to their retirement.

When we were driving home from New Jersey Sunday Barbara began to experience loss of motor function on her left side. We stopped at Marymount Hospital in Garfield Heights near Cleveland. Barbara was admitted. She has suffered a stroke which impairs function in her left hand and leg. She is receiving excellent care. Prognosis for recovery is encouraging. We came as strangers and they accepted us as family. We ask for prayers.

Pope Francis: The Communion of Saints Is a Solidarity Between Heaven and Earth

Continuing catechesis on the Creed in the Year of Faith, Pope Francis began his catechesis by explaining the meaning of the expression of the “communion of saints”, saying that it relates both to the communion with holy things and the communion among holy persons. Choosing to reflect on the second aspect of this expression, the Holy Father stated that no one is alone but, rather, there exists a communion of life between all who belong to Christ.

“A communion that is born of faith; in fact, the term “saint” refers to those who believe in the Lord Jesus and are incorporated to Him in the Church through Baptism,” the Pope said. Speaking on the Gospel of John, which relates Jesus’ prayer that his disciples “may be one, just as your are in me and I am in You”, the Pope said that Christ explains the profound bond that exists between God and the Church.

“The Church, in its most profound truth, is a communion with God,” the Pope explained. “This relation between Jesus and the Father is the “matrix” of the bond between us Christians: if we are intimately inserted in this “matrix”, in this fiery furnace of love that is the Trinity, then we can become truly one heart and one soul, because the love of God purges our selfishness, our prejudices, our internal and external divisions.”

The Holy Father went on to say that this fraternal communion among Christians, rooted in the love of God, leads to the individual communion with God. This second aspect of the communion of saints is fundamental, the Pope stressed, saying that our faith needs the support of others, particularly in life’s most difficult moments.

“How beautiful it is to sustain one another in the wonderful adventure of the faith!” the Pope exclaimed. “I say this because the tendency to close oneself in private has influenced even the religious sphere, thus many times it is hard to seek spiritual help from those who share with us the Christian experience.”Pope Francis told the crowd that within the communion of saints exists a great family where each one helps and sustains the other.

A final aspect of the communion of saints, he continued, is the spiritual bond that exists between those who continue their pilgrimage on earth and those who have passed the threshold of death into eternity.“All who are baptized down here on earth, the souls of Purgatory and all the blessed already in Paradise form one big Family,” the Holy Father said. “This communion between heaven and earth is realized especially through the intercessory prayer,” he concluded, calling it the “highest form of solidarity,” as well as the foundation of the liturgical celebrations of All Saints and All Souls, which the Church will celebrate in the coming days.

Declining Proportion of Baptisms a Cause for Concern

The CARA Report for Summer 2013 featured an article from CARA's award winning Blog, 1964. This article chronicles the decline in baptisms over the last 50 years. Below is an excerpt of that article. For more information or to read the Blog, click here. This edition also featured a special section on U.S. and Worldwide Church statistics, including data on the proportion of immigrants who are Christian, one-year and five-year changes in worldwide Church statistics, and updated Frequently Requested Church Statistics for the United States.

According to the report, "From 1995 to 2004 there was about one Catholic infant baptism for every four births in the U.S. This is how Catholicism remains a quarter of the U.S. population. Some leave before reaching 18 and some of these people come back later in life. Immigration also adds numbers. But after 2004 the pattern begins to shift with several years of more births (until the recession) and fewer Catholic infant baptisms." Moreover, in confirmation of this trend, "there were more First Communion celebrated nationally in 2011 than infants baptized."

It is significant that these statistics are not survey data that is subject to margins of error. The situation reported is really happening. There are two possible reasons. The first is that "Catholics are just as likely to baptize their children now as in the past, but they are having significantly fewer children than non-Catholics. Possible but unlikely." The second is that "Catholics are just as likely as non-Catholics to have children but are less likely to baptize these children than in the past. More probable."

Catholic Campaign for Human Development Sets National Collection

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop's collection for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) is slated for November 23-24, the weekend before Thanksgiving. The collection is taken up in parishes and dioceses nationwide. The theme of this year's collection is: "Defend Human Dignity. Take Poverty Off the Map."
This annual national collection is the primary source of funding for CCHD's anti-poverty grants and education programs. These programs enable low-income people to join together to identify problems, make decisions and improve their communities. For over 40 years, CCHD has funded organizations that address the root causes of poverty, providing lasting solutions for the future.
During the 2012-2013 grant cycle, the campaign gave out 214 grants in community and economic development, totaling more than $9 million. Of these grants, 178 went to community development and 36 went to economic development and job creation projects. Additionally, 10 grants were given in the category of technical assistance,
"In the United States, 46 million people live in poverty," said the Most Rev. Jaime Soto, Bishop of Sacramento, California and chairman of USCCB's Subcommittee on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. "Many families face continuing unemployment and increasing costs of living; our neighbors are struggling to meet the cost of health care, child care, and even food,"
"CCHD brings the Gospel message to issues of social justice. We cannot simply help a struggling family today and leave them with no means of support tomorrow," continued Bishop Soto."Instead, the projects funded by CCHD focus on long-term solutions to poverty. This complements the work of direct-assistance programs like Catholic Charities and pro-life activities."
Twenty-five percent of the proceeds from each CCHD collection stay in each diocese to fight poverty and foster liberty and justice at the local level. CCHD uses the national portion of the collection to fund projects across the country through grants. These grants fund community efforts to promote human dignity and fight poverty. Many of the funded projects focus on health care, immigration, community safety, political participation and environmental justice.
CCHD funded projects help people and communities in a number of ways:
Started by Italian immigrants in 1943, Holy Rosary Credit Union is a not-for-profit credit union that extends development and financial education services geared toward the low-income population of Kansas City, Missouri. With help from the collection, the credit union encourages thrift, savings and the wise use of credit for individuals and small businesses. It teaches its members how to manage and control their finances, helping move them out of poverty and into financial stability.
·In the Archdiocese of Seattle and the Dioceses of Spokane and Yakima, the Intercommunity Peace and Justice Center works with help from 16 religious communities and local "Women's Justice Circles." One program, "Justice for Women," organizes women living in poverty by bringing them together with economically stable women from local faith communities. With low-income women in the lead, the Circles identify the conditions that need changing and offer women spiritual strength and support.
Through CCHD-funded projects, the support of individuals and organizations across the country is helping to end poverty one community at a time. More information about the Catholic Campaign for Human Development is available at . For collection materials and other resources, visit and search "CCHD Collection Resources."

Bishops’ Fall General Assembly: Via Satellite, Live Streamed, Live Tweeted

The 2013 fall General Assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will be broadcast via satellite, November 11-12, to Catholic television outlets and all broadcasters wishing to air it. The satellite feed will run Monday, November 11, 9:15 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Eastern, and Tuesday, November 12, 8:15 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Eastern, covering both the meeting and media conferences. The proceedings will also be live streamed at News updates, addresses and other materials will be posted on this page.
For those wishing to follow the meeting on social media, the meeting will be live tweeted atwith the hashtag #USCCB13. Updates will also be posted to

The meeting will include addresses by Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, president of USCCB, and Archbishop Carlo Mario Viganò, apostolic nuncio to the United States. The bishops will also elect the next president and vice president of USCCB and the chairmen of several USCCB committees. The bishops will also vote on several English and Spanish liturgical items, as well as whether to proceed with the drafting of a statement on pornography.

The Baptismal Catechumenal Model Webinar RecordingNOW Available

Sadlier and the NCCL Adult Faith Formation Committee have announced that the recordings from their recent webinar has been posted in both English and Spanish. The description of the webinar along with information about the presenter follows the links.

• English -
• Spanish -

The General Directory for Catechesis (#59) calls the baptismal catechumenal the “model for all catechesis.”What pastoral significance does this have for the catechesis of adults within parishes and dioceses? Join XimenaDeBroeck on this informative webinar to learn about the history of the baptismal catechumenate and how this model can inform and transform your adult faith formation efforts.

XimenaDeBroeck is Coordinator of Adult and Sacramental Formation for the Archdiocese of Baltimore. She has served as adjunct faculty at St. Vincent Seminary, PA and Seton Hill University, as Coordinator of Faith Formation and Sacramental Preparation at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral and as pastoral coordinator for the Archdiocese for Military Services. Ximena earned a Master of Arts in theology, with a Sacred Scripture major, from Saint Vincent Seminary. She has completed her doctoral coursework

FREE Professional Development Webinar –THIS Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Ave Maria Press, in partnership with the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership, the National Association for Lay Ministry, and National Federation of Priests' Councils presents a series of free, online workshops on professional development for parish ministers. This webinar is offered on Tuesday, November 5 at 3:00 pm EDT. You can register at PDW-11-05-2013 .For a complete listing of professional development webinars in this series, please visit

Faith Formation for Families with Six Sacred Rules

Presented by Tim and Sue Muldoon, Authors of Six Sacred Rules for Families

Tuesday, November 5, 2013 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM EDT

For centuries, the spiritual tradition of Saint Ignatius has contributed to the faith formation of thousands of priests and religious men and women. In recent decades, lay men and women have turned to this tradition for in their spiritual lives. In their new book, Six Sacred Rules for Families: A Spirituality for the Home, Tim and Sue Muldoon open up this tradition to Catholic families seeking spiritual growth in the domestic church.
Tim, a theologian who teaches at Boston College, and Sue, a therapist and religious educator, reflect on how Ignatius spirituality offers parents a way of looking at their vocation of raising faith-filled children. They draw six sacred rules from the Ignatian tradition that people in all walks of life—no matter what their current relationship to the Church may be—can use to cultivate a spiritual life both for themselves and their children.

FREE Professional Development Webinar –Tuesday, November 19, 2013