lenratajczyk

RECENT CLASS SUMMARY — For our class in May, we studied Homiletics or Preaching the Word of God.  One of the roles of a Deacon is to preach on the Word of God during the celebration of Holy Mass.  The goal of preaching is to hopefully facilitate dialogue between God, people, and life in the […]

MARCH CLASS — For this month, we attended class at Saint Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana. We explored the theology of the Eucharist.  As Catholics, we believe the Eucharist is the real presence of Jesus, his body, blood, soul and divinity. Jesus gave us the Eucharist through bread and wine at the Last Supper. When we celebrate

FEBRUARY CLASS — The course topic was Catechesis which is probably better described as teaching the Catholic Faith.  The word Catcheses is of Greek origin and means to echo and repeat.  Specifically, to echo the teachings of Jesus for the conversion of hearts and minds.   Our instructor stressed that as Deacons, we will be teaching the

JANUARY CLASS — We attended online classes this month due to COVID.  This class focused on the lengthy history of the American Catholic Church from Christopher Columbus’s arrival to modern times.  We learned about early Spanish efforts to colonize the American Southwest.  Also, we discussed the back-and-forth struggle for control of North America between the

DECEMBER CLASS — We continued with Part II of Pastoral Counseling. Our instructor started the class by checking in with us to see how life is going. We all took a few minutes to share with the class any ups and/or downs in life at the moment. This type of personal sharing is a simple

NOVEMBER CLASS  —  Pastoral counseling was the topic for November.  Our instructor reminded us that many people have had at least one public speaking class, but very few people have had a listening class. So, we did a lot of team exercises that encouraged listening skills.  A key skill we focused on was the power of

OCTOBER CLASS — We focused on Mary’s unique role and cooperation in the work of Jesus Christ. We reviewed the book called There is No Rose by Aidan Nichols.  The book served as reference point to discuss the Church’s rich teaching on Mary. For an assignment, we wrote short papers on how Mary brings people

SEPTEMBER CLASS — For September’s Deacon formation class, the topic was Christology or the understanding of the person and saving deeds of Jesus Christ. The instructor began class asking each of us to describe whom Jesus Christ is to us. We had a variety of answers that were similar, but, unique based upon our personal

Back to School This month is the beginning of the the 4th year of a 5 year Deacon Formation program. I realize some of you reading this may have little understanding of Deacon Formation. But, I hope to explain more about the process as I post monthly. Here is a little snapshot of what happens