As adults, we recognize the need for ongoing education and renewal in our chosen career field, yet we try to live our faith on what we learned as a child.  Adult issues and problems require an adult understanding of our faith and a spirituality different from a childhood approach.  Ongoing formation and community support help us to live out our faith in a culture that often ignores or challenges faith.  In the Winton Wyoming Pastoral Region, we offer many avenues to continue growing in our adult spirituality.

Catechesis is a responsibility of the entire Christian community. This is should not be the work of catechists and priests alone, but of the whole community of the faithful. The Christian community follows the development of catechetical processes, for children, young people and adults, as a duty that involves and binds it directly. (GDC 220) A fully Christian community can exist only when a systematic catechesis of all its members takes place and when an effective and well developed catechesis of adults is regarded as the central task of the catechetical enterprise.” (ACCC, no. 25). 

This Bible study is an excellent way to broaden our understanding of the salivific power of Christ in our lives as revealed in the Holy Word of God.  Please contact Dave Nissen if you would like to participate in a bible study (or start a new one) in our region!

Click the Formed logo, and search for 45218 to sign up, or click the "Sign In" button if you already have an account and follow the instructions!

Our prayer lives should not be limited to a single hour on Sunday mornings. In fact, the richer our prayer lives are throughout the week, the more fully we will be able to enter into the Sunday celebration of the Eucharist. Here are some ways to make your daily life more prayerful:

• Try attending daily Mass at least once a week.

• Stop in a church before or after work or on your lunch hour for fifteen minutes of quiet prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.

• Make it a practice to say grace before every meal—even if you are eating in the car.

• Schedule time for family prayer at least once a week. This prayer can be as simple as saying the Our Father or a decade of the Rosary together.

• Take time during the week to read or listen to the readings for the upcoming Sunday. The readings are available online (in print and audio) at www.usccb.org.

• Begin your day with a brief prayer of thanksgiving to God, offering your day to him.

• End your day with an examination of conscience, looking at your successes and failures in what you have done or what you have failed to do. If you are aware of serious sin, receive the Sacrament of Penance before you receive Holy Communion again.

THE LENTEN AND EASTER SEASON

Through this yearly cycle, the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains, "the various aspects of the one Paschal mystery unfold" (CCC 1171). The Easter Triduum holds a special place in the liturgical year because it marks the culmination of the yearly celebration in proclaiming the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Latin word triduum refers to a period of three days and has long been used to describe various three-day observances that prepared for a feast day through liturgy, prayer, and fasting. But it is most often used to describe the three days prior to the great feast of Easter: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday and the Easter Vigil. The General Norms for the Liturgical Year state that the Easter Triduum begins with the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday, "reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil, and closes with evening prayer on Easter Sunday" (par 19).

Just as Sunday is the high point of the week, Easter is the high point of the year. The meaning of the great feast is revealed and anticipated throughout the Triduum, which brings the people of God into contact — through liturgy, symbol, and sacrament — with the central events of the life of Christ: the Last Supper, His trial and crucifixion, His time in the tomb, and His Resurrection from the dead. In this way, "the mystery of the Resurrection, in which Christ crushed death, permeates with its powerful energy our old time, until all is subjected to him" (CCC 1169). During these three days of contemplation and anticipation the liturgies emphasize the sacrificial death of Christ on the Cross, and the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist, by which the faithful enter into the life-giving Passion of Christ and grow in hope of eternal life in Him.

Acknowledgement:

Carl E. Olson. "The Easter Triduum: Entering into the Paschal Mystery." Ignatius Insight (March 18, 2008).

Martha Mary Ministry is a scripture study of multi-generational women
assisting one another to grow in faith. 

Luke 10:38-42   "38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[ a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

Titus 2:3-4    3 “Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children.”

• For younger & older women to find nourishment and growth through the study of the Word of God in light of Catholic tradition.
• For younger & older women to find nourishment and growth for a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, our Lord & Savior.
• For younger & older women to find support in their needs as single women, wives & mothers.
• For older women to fulfill the call in Titus 2:3-4 to mentor younger women in the ways of the Christian life. 

click here for more information and contact information.

Precepts of the Catholic Church
Part 1

The Precepts of the Catholic Church are a description of the absolute minimum actions required of Catholics regarding the Church.

The Church uses these precepts to remind us that Christian life requires a commitment to prayer and active participation in the liturgy and sacraments. If we fall below this bare-minimum level, we can’t rightly consider ourselves to be in full communion with the Catholic Church.

Each of the precepts of the Catholic Church is a requirement. Together with the Ten Commandments, they represent the minimum level of moral living. Intentional violation of the precepts or the Commandments is a grave matter, meaning a mortal sin.
 

Precepts of the Catholic Church
Part 2

The Precepts of the Catholic Church are a description of the absolute minimum actions required of Catholics regarding the Church.  But what exactly are they, and how are they to be put into action?

1) You shall attend Mass on Sundays and on holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor.  Sharing in the liturgy and Eucharist is the fulfillment of our Catholic faith, and many are faithful in doing this; however, many do not observe a day of rest on the Sabbath. Consider filling this day with Mass, family, friends, and community rather than cleaning and shopping in order to replenish yourself.

2) You shall confess your sins at least once a year.  We must prepare for the Eucharist by means of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This sacrament “continues Baptism’s work of conversion and forgiveness.”

3) You shall receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season.  This applies to Catholics free from mortal sin. For hundreds of years, everyday people were not encouraged to partake of the Eucharist.  It wasn’t until the early 20th century that Pope Pius X recognized the gifts we all receive from this sacrament. A Catholic may receive the Eucharist no more than twice per day at two separate Masses.
 

Precepts of the Catholic Church
Part 3

The Precepts of the Catholic Church are a description of the absolute minimum actions required of Catholics regarding the Church.  But what exactly are they, and how are they to be put into action?  Today we look at the last 2 precepts.

4) You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church.

Fasting and abstinence help prepare us for liturgical feasts by giving us the opportunity to acquire a level of mastery over our human weaknesses.  This precept will be explained more fully as we approach Lent.

5)    You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church.

We are “obliged to assist with the material needs of the Church, each according to his own ability.”  This could mean more than just giving money. We can use time and talent, as well as treasure.

Remember, these precepts are the minimum levels of participation in the life of the Church.  Out of love for Christ and a desire to advance in our spiritual lives, most will normally try to do more than is required.

Some recommendations for this include attending Mass at least one more time a week, going to Confession at least once a month, receiving the sacrament of the Eucharist at every Mass, and making a habit of practicing penitential and charitable acts beyond those required by the precepts of the Church.

©2006 beginning Catholic.com

Small Church Communities

Our recent popes (Paul VI and John Paul II) have strongly supported the idea of developing and nurturing small communities within the larger Body of Christ in Catholic parishes.    These communities provide the way for Catholic Christians to live their Baptismal life more fully.   

What is a Small Church Community? 

A Small Church Community (SCC) is a group of adults and/or families with children who meet in homes to discuss their lives in the light of the Gospel and to share their Christian faith through prayer, friendship and service.  In SCC’s relationships are formed where sharing, listening, and genuine communication are nurtured.  Although each SCC is unique in its membership, and meeting style, every SCC uses a basic format based on the Acts of the Apostles 2:42-47

• Worship - and prayer together. 

• Word - study of the Bible or our Catholic Tradition presented in the Catechism of the Catholic Church or the lives of Saints, and applying what we learn in our lives.

• Community - is built as members share how their life events challenge or build up their faith.

• Mission – we are sent by Jesus to continue His mission of proclaiming the Kingdom of God to the world through our witness and our service done for others out of love. 

You may become a member of a Small Church Community by contacting Deacon Steve Ryan, or if you would like assistance in forming a new SCC in your parish.