eCatechist

7. What was the new Christian identity Paul offered?

The goal of Paul's work was to start communities, offering a new identity and belonging, and then give the group what they needed to flourish and sustain themselves in an indifferent or sometimes even hostile society.

            So wherever Paul went, he invited people to enter a “new creation” (2 Cor 5:17)—a community that will live “in Christ” and where the old social, cultural and religious practices (and the worldview and values that legitimated them) were replaced by the new Christian worldview (“the mind of Christ,” 1 Cor. 2:16 and Phil. 2:5), a reversal of the world's values (the “folly of the cross,” 1 Cor 18-25) and a new way of loving service (1 Cor 13). The eucharist was their weekly celebration of their new Christian identity—neither Jew nor Greek, but the brothers and sisters of Jesus who composed the new family of God.

 

From Paul and the Eucharist: The Heart of Christian Community

By Steve Mueller

©2011 Steve Mueller

Paul and the Eucharist will be available as an e-book in the summer of 2011.

Catholic Updates for Catechists

I recently went through the the list and review of the Catholic Upadate Newsletter, monthly publication of St. Anthony Messenger Press. The following titles may be of special interests to catechists. All issues can be viewed online and print copies can be ordered. Archive

Dan Pierson

 

Eucharist: Understanding Christ's Body, William H. Shannon


Eight Good Reasons for Being Catholic, Richard Rohr, O.F.M., and Joseph Martos


A Walk Through the Mass: A Step-by-Step Explanation, Thomas Richstatter, O.F.M.


Are Our Images of God Growing?, Pat McCloskey, O.F.M.


Finding Jesus in the Eucharist Four Ways He Is Present, Rev. Lawrence E. Mick

Eleven Lessons From Nelson Mandela

On July 18 we celebrated living legend Nelson Mandela’s birthday. Looking back on his 93 years, there are 11 lessons (from many) that I would like to share from his legacy which would help us make a small but positive mark in our society. Here they are: continue

From OdeWire

6. How did Paul go about gathering a Christian community?

When Paul came to a new town, if there were Christians there already, he would connect with them. But where there were no Christians, he would visit the Jewish synagogue if he could find one and in their meeting try to convince them that Jesus was the expected Messiah. Sometimes he made converts, but most times he was rejected. So he gathered the few who shared his excitement about Jesus and created a Christian community. He then worked hard to help them understand their Christian identity and their sense of belonging to the group.

 

From Paul and the Eucharist: The Heart of Christian Community

By Steve Mueller

©2011 Steve Mueller

Paul and the Eucharist will be available as an e-book in the summer of 2011.

Vision

“Without a vision the people parish.” 

            -The Bible

    We all have a vision of the kind of family we would like to have.  Most of us have not carried this vision with us as we go about our day. It is easy to forget our vision during the challenging moments of trying to get out the door with a dawdling toddler or when facing the back talk of an angry teenager.  However, our vision is there to guide us through these challenging moments as a parent. 

    Vision anchors us to that which is truly important to us; it inspires us, and reminds us of the bigger picture.  Vision provides us with a guide for choosing the next right thing.  If something we are considering supports our vision we know we are on the right track.  We don’t need a parenting book, we need a vision.

 

Reflection Question:  Envision the kind of family you wish to create.  What qualities make up your ideal family?

 

C) Holli Rietmulder, 2011

5. Why would Paul focus on the cities?

Paul seems to have made a deliberate choice, especially after his first long missionary journey through Asia Minor, to recruit converts first from the Jews and then from the Gentiles in cities. But why cities?

            They offered the best possibility for creating a new community because the immigrants from the country who sought work or opportunity usually had to break their tight-knit family bonds when moving to the city. Since the family, not the state or the law, offered protection from harm and provision of basic needs, leaving one’s family to live in a city was precarious and even dangerous. Christianity offered them a way to belong to a new support group.

 

From Paul and the Eucharist: The Heart of Christian Community

By Steve Mueller

©2011 Steve Mueller

Paul and the Eucharist will be available as an e-book in the summer of 2011.

4. What kind of a city was Corinth?

First-century Corinth was a booming, wide-open Hellenistic (Greco-Roman) city. Rebuilt by the Romans about a hundred years before Paul's time, it was the crossroads port of the whole Mediterranean. There was even a popular saying that highlighted the sense of wonder and excitement of a visit: “See Corinth and die.”

            Like Los Angeles or New York today, its population was socially, ethnically, and economically diverse. The fabulously rich, merchants and tradesmen like Paul, wandering philosophers, sailors, slaves and prostitutes all vied for the attention and business of its visitors.

            From this world of diverse and sharply divided classes, races, and religions, Paul shaped a Christian community that challenged him as a pastor and even more led him to further understand what being a Christian community required.

 

From Paul and the Eucharist: The Heart of Christian Community

By Steve Mueller

©2011 Steve Mueller

Paul and the Eucharist will be available as an e-book in the summer of 2011.

Let's Talk About Taxes by Fr. Brian Joyce

Introduction

Two years ago I had the opportunity to be with Fr. Brian Joyce and a small group of pastoral and catechetical leaders to discuss the future Catholic book publishing. Fr. Joyce (age 70+) is the pastor of Christ the King Church in Pleasant Hill, CA, a parish in the diocese of Oakland, CA. He is an "awesome" priest, pastor and prophet. He loves the Church and truly understands the theology of Vatican II and the teachings of the United States Catholic Bishops. He is seriously committed to adult faith formation in his parish (check the parish website). I found our conversations and time together personally enriching and spiritually encouraging.

His July 3 column in the parish bulletin articulates what I have been feeling, thinking and wishing to share with others, especially those in our Local, State and Federal Governments. Thank you Fr. Joyce for your prophetic voice.

Let us support one another as Catholics and catechists as we share our Catholic teachings about taxes.

Dan Pierson

From the the parish bulletin of Christ the King Church, Pleasant Hill, CA

“The fourth” is a great time to celebrate our freedom and to realize that freedom isn’t free.  The biggest cost is certainly in the lives (some lost, others painfully spent) of those who defend our freedom and safety in service as military personnel, peace officers, firefighters, and public servants.  Another cost for freedom and prosperity comes in economic terms – most obviously in the form of taxes – federal, state, local, excise and property taxes.  So let’s talk about taxes.
           
Whether we agree with it whole heartedly or not, there is a pretty clear and consistent Catholic teaching about taxes and taxation.  Years ago Pope John XXIII wrote “as regarding taxation, assessment according to the ability to pay is fundamental to a just and equitable system.”  In 1986 the U.S. Bishops restated that in their pastoral letter “Economic Justice for All” when they wrote “the tax system should be continually evaluated in terms of its impact on the poor”.  Now, given our economic recession, our continuing budget debates and opposing proposals, it leaves us all divided, dismayed and often even disgusted. 

The Little Ones - July 3, 2011

"For permission to print, copy and use with your children in a faith formation class or Sunday bulletin, contact Jim Burrows at www.jimburrowsartist.com"