St. Michael Parish
New Beginnings
Thank you for signing up for our New Beginnings program and for making the effort to develop your relationship with Jesus through the Catholic Church! This is a huge step in your Spiritual life. These next two years will be a wonderful experience as you prepare to be fully initiated into the Church, growing closer to the Lord.
Through Baptism, Confirmation and Communion, we become full members of the Catholic Church. We call this process ‘initiation’. For different reasons your initiation was either never begun or not completed. With this new program at St. Michael, our mission is to lead you on a two-year journey that will ultimately end with your celebration of the sacraments and an understanding of what it means to be a full member of the Catholic Church. However a one-time sacramental celebration is not our goal. Rather, through this two-year preparation and formation process we hope that you will become an active and vibrant member of our growing Catholic community. So welcome back and thank you for agreeing to accept Christ and His Church as a focal point in your life.
Before you begin your journey to Christ, we would like you to reflect on the following statements that form the basis of this process. It is called a Covenant. In the Bible, a covenant is the faithful loving commitment God makes with His People.
As a New Beginnings Pilgrim I will faithfully attend Sunday (or Sat. evening vigil) and Holy Day of Obligation Masses.
I will fully participate in the Sacramental life of the Church, meaning regular Communion at weekly masses and frequent Reconciliation once you have been prepared to celebrate these sacraments.
I will regularly attend and participate in this two-year journey of Faith.
I will do my best to live up to the teachings of Jesus to help me gain Eternal Salvation.
Throughout the process, the parish staff, candidates and New Beginnings teachers are responsible for determining your readiness to celebrate the sacraments. Therefore, this must be an interactive journey. We all will share and we all will be given the opportunity to safely discuss important faith based topics.
We will use the following in our discovery of Christ’s love for us:
The New American Bible (With the Revised Book of Psalms and the Revised New Testament)
Catholic World Press/World Bible Publishers (June 1990) ISBN-10:0529064847
Jesus: A Pilgrimage, by James Martin, S.J. Harper One (March 2014) ISBN-10: 006202423X
Our Catholic Identity, RCL BenzigerISBN: 978-0-78290-780-3
October 14, 2014, 7:30-9:00
Teachers: Mr. Russ
Mrs. Marie
Director of Religious Education:Mrs. Debbie
Parish Priests:Fr. Adam Muda
Fr. Leonardo Lopez
Parish Deacons:Deacons Joseph Keenan, Stu Murphy, & Richard Bias
Welcome:
Program Introduction:
The Beauty of the Catholic Church from the Diocese of Milwaukee.
Why are you here… Listen to Saul’s Conversion
1Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers.So he went to the high priest.2He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains.
3As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him.4He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,“Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”
5“Who are you, lord?” Saul asked.
And the voice replied,“I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting!6Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
7The men with Saul stood speechless, for they heard the sound of someone’s voice but saw no one!8Saul picked himself up off the ground, but when he opened his eyes he was blind. So his companions led him by the hand to Damascus.9He remained there blind for three days and did not eat or drink.
10Now there was a believerin Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling,“Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord!” he replied.
11The Lord said,“Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now.12I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.”
13“But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believersin Jerusalem!14And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.”
15But the Lord said,“Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel.16And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”
17So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”18Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized.19Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength.
The Basics…
The Catholic Mass:
Church Tour:
We will head up stairs and take a look at our church.
The Weekly Readings:
Readings for October 19th: Isaiah 45:1, 4–6/1 Thessalonians 1:1–5b/Matthew 22:15–21
Readings for October 26th: Exodus 22:20–26/1 Thessalonians 1:5c–10/Matthew 22:34–40
Homework: For the next two years we will be using Jesus: A Pilgrimage, by James Martin as a supplemental resource. For our next meeting on the 28th of October please read the introduction of the book, pages 1-15. As Fr. Martin will explain, getting to know Jesus is a like a pilgrimage. This book will take us on a spiritual journey and will put you where Jesus lived, worked, preached, and died. It will be a book you will come to enjoy as it gives you a great timeline of Jesus’ life and public ministry.
We will meet again on the 28th of October.
A look ahead…Preparation for October 28th:
On the 28th we will be looking at the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church.
The liturgical life of the Catholic Church revolves around the Eucharistic sacrifice and the sacraments. There are seven sacraments in the Church: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Matrimony, and Holy Orders. These are necessary for salvation. The sacraments are the vehicles of grace which they convey.
Baptism
The first and fundamental sacrament and the gate to the other sacraments, is the purifying and sanctifying sacrament of rebirth. It is the means by which its recipients are incorporated into the church in a sacramental bond of unity.
Confirmation
By a signing with the gift of the Spirit, confirmation enriches the baptized with the Holy Spirit, binding them more perfectly to the Church, and strengthening them in their witness to Christ by word and deed and in their work to bring to its fullness the Body of Christ. Confirmation is conferred through anointing with chrism and the laying on of hands.
Eucharist
The Eucharist is the most august sacrament, in which Christ himself is contained, offered and received, and by which the Church constantly lives and grows. The Eucharistic Sacrifice, the memorial of the death and resurrection of the Lord, in which the sacrifice of the cross is perpetuated over the centuries, is the summit and source of all Christian life and worship; it signifies and effects the unity of the people of God and achieves the building up of the Body of Christ.
As children reach the age of reason, generally around age seven, the Church extends to them an invitation to celebrate the sacrament of Eucharist. The initiation into the Christian community that took place at baptism is further extended by inviting children to enter fully into the heart of Christian faith through participation in the Eucharist.
Penance
Through penance, the faithful receive pardon through God's mercy for the sins they have committed. At the same time, they are reconciled with the Church community. The confession, or disclosure, of sins frees us and facilitates our reconciliation with others.
Anointing of the Sick
Through the sacrament of anointing, Christ strengthens the faithful who are afflicted by illness, providing them with the strongest means of support. Jesus showed great concern for the bodily and spiritual welfare of the sick and commanded his followers to do the same. The celebration of this sacrament is an opportunity for the deepening of the faith of the community who are able to witness the faith and devotion of those being anointed.
Marriage
The Church has a rich tradition in its teaching on sacramental marriage and covenantal union. The Old Testament authors write of God making a covenant with the chosen people and promising them that they will never be forsaken. The New Testament authors write of Jesus as the new covenant and compare the relationship of Jesus with the Church to the relationship of a husband and wife. The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership for the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring.
Holy Orders
Is the sacrament by which bishops, priests and deacons are ordained and receive the power and grace to perform their sacred duties. The sacred rite by which orders are conferred is called ordination. The apostles were ordained by Jesus at the Last Supper so that others could share in his priesthood.
Christian Burial
The Church asks spiritual assistance for the departed, honors their bodies, and at the same time brings solace of hope to the living. The celebration of the Christian funeral brings hope and consolation to the living. While proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ and witnessing to the Christian hope in the resurrection, the funeral rites also recall to all who take part in them God's mercy and judgment and meet the human need to turn always to God in times of crisis.