Rev. Vincent Capodanno, M.M. - cause for canonization.
Fr. Capodanno was a Maryknoll Missionary who served as a Navy chaplain during the Vietnam War. Father Capodanno died in battle as he attempted to assist the wounded and administer last rites while in direct line of enemy fire.
For his gallantry he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. For his virtuous life and sanctity he was named Servant of God in 2006.
The Archdiocese for the Military Services welcomes interest in Father Capodanno’s cause. For more information contact: The Archdiocese for Military Services, USA; http://bit.ly/19T6K6Z or PO Box 4469; Washington, DC 20017.
Here is a brief video from the Maryknollvocations about Fr. Capodanno's life - http://bit.ly/15m8vM1
Generations of Faith - The latest column from Fr. Mock:
Over the course of the last two weeks that I have been writing about a new beginning for Generations of Faith, a few people have asked not what it is, but why are we doing this? Among the many things a pastor is responsible for is this: ensuring the transmission of the faith.
This is an important responsibility. I believe we accomplish this well for our young people, both in our parochial school as well as in our Monday classes for our public school students. But, let’s be honest — we often end our faith formation when we receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. The reception of this sacrament is often treated as though it is a graduation from faith formation—and we stop there—for life!
Our Catholic faith incorporates and balances Sacred Scripture and Tradition — spelled with a capital T, because it is the official teaching of the Church passed down for centuries.
By “finishing” faith formation after Confirmation we end up with a very limited understanding of Scripture and Tradition. We would not conclude any other education or formation after tenth or eleventh grade, yet for many Catholics this is what we do with our faith. This is precisely where Generations of Faith comes to the fore.
Generations of Faith is designed to help young people be formed in our faith, but more importantly, it is an opportunity for adults to come to a deeper understanding of our Catholic faith. It recognizes that at every step in our journey through life, we can find a deeper understanding of who Jesus is and how an evolving knowledge of Scripture and Tradition can allow us to continue to grow into the person God has called us to be. And that, in a short column, is why Saint Benedict Parish will have a strong focus on Generations of Faith.
Faith Formation—understanding our faith—is a life long project. At every age we come to understand ourselves and our God in a new and deeper way.
I’m excited to share an opportunity for everyone in the parish to engage in gaining this deeper understanding of our faith. Generations of Faith is a process meant for everyone in the parish—from pre-school through our most senior and wise members.
Here’s how it works:
The focus is on a specific topic with a celebration at a Sunday Mass. The celebration is the peak and there is a formation session prior to the celebration to enhance our understanding of what we celebrate.
St. Scholastica
window in our sacristy
I invite everyone to mark your calendars for our first celebration on Sunday, October 6 at the 10 AM Mass and to join us for the formation sessions on Sunday, September 22. The formation session will begin at 9 AM with a shared breakfast.
It will continue with various formation experiences for all ages. There will be different formation sessions for various age groups, so all will be appropriate to the learning stage of each participant.
We will conclude at 11:20 AM. This allows everyone the opportunity to be present for the 5 PM Mass on Saturday, or the 8 AM or 11:30 AM Mass on Sunday and still join us for the entire formation experience.
Our first session will be on the lives of some of our most familiar saints—Saint Benedict and his twin sister, Saint Scholastica, Saint Teresa of Avila and Blessed John XXIII-about to be Saint John XXIII. Each of their lives teaches us something about our lives as Catholic Christians as their lives magnify the presence of the Lord for us.
This year, Target will give money to schools all over the country for one simple act: a vote. Our school needs just 25 votes to earn a $25 donation from Target. But that's only the beginning. For each additional vote, our school will get $1 more. So please remember that, although the gesture is small, the rewards are potentially huge.
Go to GiveWith.Target.com to vote for St. Benedict School once a week through September 21 or until Target has given away all $5 million. And please forward this email to your friends.
Deacon William Hynes will lead us in: The Psalms through History Psalm Types and Themes The Psalms and Jesus The Psalms in Contemporary Culture Praying the Psalms today - individually and liturgically.
CHURCH OF SAINT BENEDICT Office of Lifelong Faith Formation 3980 Main Street Amherst, NY 14226 836-6444 msmith@saintbenedicts.com
Dear Parents,
If you have not done so already, please take moment to register for Religious Education at St. Benedict’s parish for the 2013-2014 academic year. Enclosed, please find materials that you need to register your child, or children. Please return the forms and the tuition as soon as possible so we can arrange class lists and obtain the proper number of textbooks and teachers.
We offer two styles of Religious Education on two different days; one centers on the family, the other in the classroom.
SUNDAY CLASSES – Generations of Faith All people of all grades and ages are welcome to join our intergenerational faith sharing program.
Generations of Faith is a wonderful program to strengthen faith in your home, as well as within our larger family of faith, the church! Children and parents gather on nine Sundays throughout the year. Each meeting is three and half hours long, from 9:00 AM – 12:30 AM, which includes a delicious breakfast, prayer, lively discussion and mass! Parents are the first and often the most influential teachers of the faith.
We will meet: September 22, October 20, November 17, December 15, January 12, February 9, March 16, April 6, May 4
MONDAY CLASSES - Traditional Classroom Instruction
Grades 1-5 meet from 4:00 - 5:15 PM Grades 6, 7, 8 & 11 meet from 6:45-8:00 PM (Note: Grades 9 & 10 now meet at St. Leo’s for Confirmation preparation, see http://www.stleothegreatamherst.com/religiouseducation.php ) We will meet: September: 23, 30 October: 7, 21, 28 November: 4, 25 December 2, 9, 16 January: 6, 13, 27 February: 3, 10, 24 March: 3, 10, 17, 31 April: 7, 28 May: 5, 12
In summary, one engages the whole family in sharing our faith and meets on Sundays, the other program is traditional classroom instruction and meets on Mondays. Sunday gatherings are longer (and include more homework) but only meet once a month. Monday classes are shorter and meet most every Monday during the school year. Families are invited to choose which program they like best.
Transportation: Please note parents will need to arrange for their child's transportation both to and from all classes. To ensure student safety, we request that parents walk their children into the school building and come into the building to pick their children up, especially of students in grades K-5.
Tuition: For St. Benedict’s Parishioners, the tuition for one child is $60, two children $100, three or more is $140. For non-parishioners, the tuition for one child is $80, two children is $140, three or more is $190.
No one will be turned away from the program if they can’t afford the tuition. Tuition is waived for the children of teachers in our program.
Snow: If the Public School is closed due to snow or bad weather, we automatically do not have class.
Sacraments: Information about the Sacramental Programs will go out in another mailing, but for now please note that First Confession for children in 2nd Grade will be held in early March, and First Communion for children in 3rd Grade in early May, and Confirmation in the 10th& 11th Grade will be held sometime in early May).
Office Hours: Please feel free to stop by the Office of Faith Formation before or after all masses on the weekend, or set up a meeting any other day by appointment. The Office is located on the ground floor of the School near the front door, as indicated at the top of this letter, or you may email Matt Smith, the Director of the Office of Lifelong Faith Formation, at msmith@saintbenedicts.com and/or call 836-6444.
Matthew R. Smith Director of Lifelong Faith Formation
As you know, Deacon Bill spent part of the summer in Nigeria observing and providing service to Catholic schools run by the Brothers of the Christian Schools (FSC's). He worked primarily in Naka, Benue State and Ondo, Ondo State (Central Nigeria). The majority of students in Naka are from the Tiv tribe and those in Ondo are primarily Yoruba. Both tribes are substantially Catholic.
Here are some photos from his recent visit.
Most of the villagers of Naka, and most of the students when not boarding at the school, live in round mud huts such as these:
Here is a photo of the road leading to the school. It is traversed by foot, motorcycles and the occasional car. It is the rainy season now so it is usually very muddy. About 3km down this road was St. Therese's Parish where I attended daily and Sunday Mass. There were about 100 villagers for daily Mass. There were two Sunday Masses the 6:30am in English and the 10am in Tiv.
Here are some photos of Deacon Bill with students at the schools:
In addition to working with the secondary school (they use the JSS and SSS system - middle school and high school ages) students, Deacon Bill gave theological presentations to six Postulants of the Brothers of the Christian School. Postulants are those considering a vocation as a Christian Brother. If they choose to continue and if they are approved for admission, they will become Novices and spend about seven years in Nairobi, Kenya. Here he is with five of his postulant students:
Nigeria has many vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life. One seminary Deacon Bill visited had 800 seminarians (in one diocese alone!!!). Permanent deacons, however, are new to Nigeria and Africa in general. There are three permanent deacons in Nigeria currently. When Deacon Bill asked how many of his students wanted to become priests or sisters, virtually every hand went up.
The Church in Nigeria is very grateful for the European and American Catholic missionaries who established the Church in Nigeria. While it may seem that Nigeria has priests to spare, the fact is that the population of Nigeria is growing so quickly that many of the parishes have three and four "outpost" parishes they service. Most of these outposts are not financially able to become independent parishes yet, but undoubtedly will do so in coming years.
Pray for the growing Church in Nigeria!
Feel free to contact Deacon Bill if you want to discuss his visit in more detail - deaconhynes@gmail.com.
