Everyone is invited to attend any class of interest with no
registration required.
Jan 2: No Class—Happy New Year!
Jan 9th The Sacrament of Holy Orders Deacon Al Lundy
By Baptism, all the members of the Church share in Christ’s holy priesthood. It is called “the common priesthood of the faithful”. To perpetuate this priesthood, Christ gives to his Church the ordained ministries of bishops, priests, and deacons through the Sacrament of Holy Orders. The three degrees of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, bishop, priest, and deacon are all conferred by ordination.
Sacramental signs are natural and carry a divine meaning as established by Jesus. The ministerial priesthood is more than a pastoral service: it ensures the continuity of the ministry Christ entrusted to the Apostles. They represent what they signify by a natural resemblance. When the priest acts in the person of Christ, he takes on the role of Christ, being His recognizable representative. The deacon has a special attachment to the bishop in the tasks of service and is configured to Christ, the Deacon or servant of all. By Baptism and members of the Church we too are called to be disciples and to serve.
Jan 9th The Sacrament of Marriage Nick Becker
God created man and woman out of love and commanded them to imitate His love in their relations with each other. Man and woman were created for each other and are equal in human dignity, and in marriage the two of them become one body, both are united in an unbreakable bond. This covenant between baptized spouses has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament protecting the essential purpose of marriage: the good of the couple and the generation and education of the children. Both husband and wife accept the responsibility of helping the other realize their eternal reward of heaven.
acramentals and Popular Devotion Carl Wenning
Sacramentals are sacred signs that resemble the Sacraments in the sense that they signify spiritual effects that are obtained through the intersession of the Church. The Church instituted sacramentals to sanctify certain ministries, states of life, and the variety of situations in which Christians are involved. They included blessings, actions such as processions, pilgrimages, prayers such as the Rosary, novenas, litany’s, Stations of the Cross, and objects such as holy water, palms, ashes, candles, and medals. While the liturgy is “the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed” it isn’t possible for us to fill up all our day with participation in the liturgy. According to the teaching of the apostles we must pray without ceasing. When properly used popular devotional practices don’t replace the liturgical life of the Church: rather, they extend it into daily life helping to foster our “ceaseless” prayer.
Jan 23rd Life In Christ: Part 1 Dave & Molly Kistner
Our Morality Part 1
Jesus was frequently called teacher or Rabbi. The Ultimate teacher of morality. He taught us about God His Father and ours, about His mercy and forgiveness of sin. He taught about the Kingdom His Father established, about Himself as the Servant of God, to bring about conversion. He taught His disciples how they were to live to achieve fullness of life as is God’s will for all people. Jesus reiterates the fundamental importance of the Ten Commandments for a moral life, and then calls for a detachment from material goods and their distribution to the poor. Jesus gave us the blessings and virtues from His sermon on the Mount foundations for Christian discipleship. We can effectively lead a moral life through practice of both the Theological and Cardinal Virtues. Jesus taught us that love is at the heart of all law including the love of my enemies.