Mission Matters: Dec. 1st, 2015

This week’s “Parish Table Talk”: Jubilee Year of Mercy begins next week; United Nations Climate Change Summit; Responses to Pastoral Planning Survey; Family Faith Resources; ASL Mass; Camp GLOW Christmas Party; Advent Sermon and Catechetical Formation Day at MAC. Plus, this Thursday’s Blog post from Archbishop Lori.

Watch for this Thursday’s Post:

Look for the blog from Archbishop William Lori on the upcoming Year of Mercy.

Parish Table Talk

• Jubilee Holy Year of Mercy begins December 8th.  Archdiocesan resources and information are available on the ArchBalt website. There are eight holy doors of mercy in our diocese that you can plan to visit the coming year.  To mark the beginning of this special jubilee, staff at the Catholic Center will have the opportunity to perform corporal works of mercy in the local community on December 8th.  What will your parish be doing to celebrate this year of mercy?
• Do you look at the logo for the year of mercy (depicted to the right) and wonder what the artist was trying to portray?  We have created a short 4 minute video with Fr. Timothy Klunk of Our Lady of Victory parish to explain this icon.

• Paris is once again on our minds as the United Nations Climate Change Summit is underway.  As we pray for the decision makers, we are reminded of Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si, On Care for our Common Home.

• Interested in the response to the Pastoral Planning survey?  You can view the data by clicking on the “Track Survey Responses”.  This document is updated every Monday and will let you see how many of your parishioners are giving their input.

• Strong Catholic Family Faith – Here is a collection of resources compiled by pastoral leaders from various dioceses, seeking to help strengthen the Faith in families.  There are some interesting resources for the Year of Mercy with families, listed under “Current Events” on their website.

• ASL Mass at St. Ignatius in Ijamsville will be held Sunday, December 13th at 10 AM.

• Camp GLOW Christmas Party will be held on Sunday, December 13th at the Monsignor O’Dwyer Retreat House from 1 – 4 PM.  Please RSVP to Pat Ashby at pashby@archbalt.org if you plan to attend.

• Here is a translation of the first Advent sermon delivered last Friday, Dec. 2, by Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, the preacher of the pontifical household.

Saturday, February 6th at the Mid Atlantic Congress is available for your catechists and volunteers.  This one day registration of $30 will allow them to attend MAC, see the keynote Mark Hart, attend breakouts offered in Spanish and English and visit with publishers.  There will be a shuttle this year  to reduce costs of parking.  Sign up your volunteers today!

Questions? Feedback? Please leave a comment below.