Around The Diocese For Dec. 27
The Catechism guides us
In his fourth and final column in the bulletin at St. Theresa Parish in Evansville on the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” Deacon Dave Seibert notes a quote “from our very own patroness.”
“For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.”
Deacon Seibert, pastoral life coordinator at St. Theresa, explains that “Part Four of the CCC deals with our relationship with a living God. In this section you will find a discussion of the tradition of prayer in our faith history. You will also see the many types of prayer, the reasons for prayer, obstacles to praying and methods of prayer. All of these help us to see that it is possible to speak with God and to listen to God in every moment of our life.
“Prayer can be as formal as the Eucharistic celebration of the Mass or as casual as a conversation between two good friends. But as St. Therésè said, it is always a look toward heaven, a recognition that we have a destination beyond this mortal life awaiting us.
“Just as the first three parts of the Catechism used specific examples to illustrate their topics, so Part Four uses the ‘Our Father’ to help us understand prayer. Like the Creed in Part One that captures the essence of our Faith, the Our Father encapsulates all we believe about prayer. Each line is discussed to help throw light on those words which we so routinely say that we may not give them any thought. But this prayer is so important that it is used in all our Sacramental celebrations and frequently in less formal gatherings. Along with the ‘Hail Mary’ it is probably the most commonly used prayer in the Church.”
Deacon Seibert concludes his series by writing, “As I mentioned several weeks ago, knowing about our faith is difficult if we don’t have good information. Even a simple prayer as familiar as the ‘Our Father’ has a depth and richness to it that we may not realize until we study it. Thankfully we have the Catechism of the Catholic Church to help us understand and guide us.”
Happy Birthday!
Father Jean Vogler, a retired priest of the Diocese of Evansville, celebrates his birthday Jan. 1.
Deacon Robert Hayden Jr., retired, Evansville, celebrates his birthday Jan. 12.
Father Kenneth Herr, pastor at St. Boniface Parish, Evansville, celebrates his birthday Jan. 13.
Deacon Kevin Bach, St. Benedict Cathedral, Evansville, celebrates his birthday Jan. 13.
New office manager
Jordan Chapman is the new office manager at St. Anthony Parish in Evansville. He is a recent graduate of the University of Evansville with a degree in business administration.
Volunteers
“We had two of our Confirmation students, Sydney Blankenbaker and Breanna Hollaway, go and volunteer their time at the Loogootee nursing home,” writes Mark Potts, youth minister at the Martin County parishes.
“They decorated the residents' doors for Christmas, passed out Christmas cards, and talked to many of the residents.”
Happy Birthday!
Pam Freyberger, parish catechetical leader at St. Joseph Parish, Jasper, celebrates her birthday Jan. 3.
Connie Baehl parish catechetical leader at St. James Parish, Haubstadt, celebrates her birthday Jan. 6.
