New and Improved! Making Disciples
Sherry and Fr. Mike have been working on a new four-day workshop that will
help parishes focus on the essential task of forming disciples of Jesus
Christ. It will be energetic, informative, interactive and practical and
may be just the seminar your parish staff needs to help create a vibrant,
mission-oriented parish community.
Awakening Vocations in
the Called & Gifted Parish
Mary Sharon Moore, a Called & Gifted teacher, discerns her charisms and
discovers a whole new ministry of parish-based vocational discernment. Her
dream is ambitious. "From here on out I am dedicating my best energies
to awakening and sustaining a theologically and spiritually robust
vocational culture in every diocese and every parish in the U.S."
The Difference of One
Life
We all want our life to mean something, to make a difference.
"What does God want from me?" we ask. Sometimes we can forget
that the difference we make is measured in the lives we help to change as
God works through the charisms He has given us. Here's a story of a second
chance given to a young child.
Building Intentional
Community
The Institute is at it again! This time we're sponsoring a
conversation on building better Catholic community within our parishes.
Catholics are called to intentional discipleship, and disciples have a need
for both formation and personal support. How can our parishes provide these
elements that are so essential to continued growth in the Lord? What are
parishes already doing? Come to Colorado
Springs and be a part of this new groundswell of
intentional living of the faith!
Visit our NEWLY UPGRADED WEBSTORE, the
Siena Shoppe. Please give us suggestions and feedback, and pick up some
great resources while you’re at it! You can also make a donation
to help with our mission of making disciples and equipping apostles.
Fr. Ronald
Rolheiser, OMI
Fr. Rolheiser is the president of the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, TX,
a nationally syndicated Catholic writer, and author of several best-selling
books, including The Holy Longing: the
Search for a Christian Spirituality. His website offers
reflections on the Gospel, the Christian life, and other topics of interest.
Western
Dominican Province
Visit the website of the Dominicans in the west, and read about one friar's
experience at the Sundance Film Festival (his short film won an award!). Or
read one of the Fellows' Lectures, or look into a Dominican vocation, or...
Theology of
the Body
The 'Theology of the Body' is Pope John Paul II's integrated vision of the
human person - body, soul, and spirit. As he explains, the physical human
body has a specific meaning and is capable of revealing answers regarding
fundamental questions about us and our lives. The site includes articles
and locations and times of discussion groups around the country.
This is a workshop for pastors, parish staff,
and other lay leaders who would like to explore how to foster a culture of intentional discipleship and discernment in their parishes. The formation
provided will help participants learn how to evangelize parishioners who
will then worship, pray, give, study their faith, and discern God's call
for them out of a loving relationship with Christ.
Cost for either venue:
Commuter (training + meals only) $545 per person
On-site (training, room + meals) $695 per person
For information or to make reservations, contact
Mike Dillon at the Institute office.
July 29 - August 2,
2007
Colorado Springs, CO
Sunday evening through Thursday noon.
Location: The Franciscan Retreat Center, nestled in the foothills
of the Rockies just north of Colorado
Springs at 6500 ft elevation. The Retreat Center
provides panoramic views of the Rampart
Range and the Pikes
Peak region.
November 4-8, 2007
Kearneysville, WV
Sunday evening through Thursday noon.
Location: Priestfield
Pastoral Center. Enjoy the splendor of autumn color in scenic West
Virginia, just outside the Washington, D.C.
metro area. Situated on a large wooded property along the Opequon Creek,
the overall serenity of Priestfield is complimented with well-maintained
walking trails through the woods and along the creek, water gardens,
outdoor decks and patios providing many choice places for quiet reflection.
Building a Community of Disciples
August 31, 2007
Colorado Springs, CO
A national gathering of laity and clergy interested
in improving community life in our parishes. Held at the beautiful and
historic Penrose
House from 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. and concluding with
a festive picnic at a nearby park.
For additional information, take a look at this
article on our blog, Intentional Disciples. If you are interested, or if you have questions regarding the
event or hotel accommodations, please call or e-mail Mike Dillon at (888) 878-6789.
Colorado Springs has a small airport, but you can also drive from Denver International
Airport, just a short
90 minutes away via freeway. Rental cars at the Colorado
Springs airport and local hotels are relatively
inexpensive.
Called & Gifted Workshops
April 20-21,
2007
Greenville SC
(Diocese of Charleston)
St. Mary's Catholic Church
CONTACT: Kate Tierney
(864) 230-7767; or by e-mail.
April 27-28, 2007
Olympia WA
(Archdiocese of Seattle)
St. Michael Catholic Church
CONTACT: Kathleen
Wright, Steward for Time, Talent and Evangelization, or
the parish office, (360) 754-4667 x115.
May 4-5, 2007
Sammamish, WA
(Archdiocese of Seattle)
Mary, Queen of Peace Catholic Church
CONTACT: Colleen O'Connell, Pastoral Associate,
or the parish
office at (425) 391-1178 x120.
May 11-12, 2007
Knoxville, TN
(Diocese of Knoxville)
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church
CONTACT: Marian Howard, Director of Adult
Formation, or the parish office at (865) 522-1508.
June 15-16, 2007
Bloomingdale, IL
(Diocese of Joliet,
IL)
St. Isidore Catholic Church
CONTACT: Barbara
Tillman, or the parish office at (630) 529-3045.
Modesto CA
(Diocese of Stockton)
St Joseph Catholic Church
CONTACT: Susie Dickert, Director of Parish
Events, or the parish office at (209) 551-4973.
Special Events
April, 13-15, 2007
Madison, WI
Archdiocese of Milwaukee, WI
Sherry Weddell will join Avery
Cardinal Dulles and others as a presenter at the Evangelical Catholic Institute. She will be discussing the stages of
pre-discipleship and evangelization. Click here to register online.
CONTACT: the Evangelical
Catholic office, (608) 821-3166 for more information, or send an e-mail.
Interviewer
Training
Learn how to
help others (as individuals or in small groups) to discern their charisms.
PREREQUISITES:
* Basic listening skills and
spiritual maturity (best if practicing Christian for 2 years prior)
* Must have attended live
Called & Gifted workshop or listened to CDs or audio tapes, took
Catholic Spiritual Gifts Inventory, did some personal discernment, had a
one-on-one personal Gifts Interview.
March 9-10, 2007
Greenville, SC
(Diocese of Charleston)
St. Mary Catholic Church
CONTACT Mike
Dillon at (719) 219-0056 or Kate Tierney in Greenville, (864) 297-8232.
March 16-17, 2007
Chatsworth, CA
(Archdiocese of Los
Angeles)
St. John Eudes Catholic Church
CONTACT: Katie Dawson, Director of
Evangelization at St John Eudes parish (818) 341-3680; or Bobby Vidal, Religious Education Director,
Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha parish, Santa Clarita CA, (661) 296-3180.
March 30-31,
2007
Cedar Rapids, IA
(Archdiocese of Dubuque)
CONTACT: Linda Manternach, Director of
Stewardship for the Archdiocese, by her e-mail.
Teacher Training
June 8-10 2007
Cedar Rapids, IA
(Archdiocese of Dubuque)
A training workshop to prepare teachers to
present the Called & Gifted workshop within the Archdiocese of Dubuque.
PREREQUISITE: Attend and successfully complete
the Institute's Interviewer & Facilitator Training workshop.
CONTACT: Mike Dillon at the Institute office
(719) 219-0056 or e-mail Mike.
June 15-17, 2007
Santa Clarita, CA
(Archdiocese of Los Angeles)
Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Church
A training workshop to prepare teachers to
present the Called & Gifted workshop for the Catherine of Siena
Institute.
PREREQUISITE: Attend and successfully complete
the Institute's Interviewer & Facilitator Training workshop.
CONTACT: Mike Dillon at the Institute office
(719) 219-0056 or e-mail Mike.
Day of Discernment
"For Such a Time as This: How to Find and
Live God's Purpose for Your Life."
A day devoted to the practical art of
discernment with Sherry Weddell, Co-Director of the Catherine of Siena
Institute.
April 21, 2007
Riverside, CA
(Diocese of San Bernardino)
St. Andrew's Catholic Newman Center
CONTACT: Newman Center
office (909) 682-8751; or e-mail.
The Catherine of Siena Institute is a religious non-profit with 501C-3
status. We receive no financial support from any diocese or from the Western Dominican Province,
but are entirely self-supporting. Your donations and gifts-in-kind are
essential to our ongoing operations. To learn how you can help us, please
contact our Development Officer, Mr.
George Martelon at (303) 847-7052.
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New and
Improved! Making Disciples
by Sherry
Weddell, Co-Director, Catherine of Siena Institute
Intentional discipleship is a term in widening use to
describe the kind of Christian life that seeks an ever-deeper maturity in
faith and an ever-increasing ability to be effective in shining the light
of the Gospel into the world at large. Intentional disciples donate
generously to their parish. As parents, they actively pass on the faith to
their children. They eagerly fill faith formation classes,
become ministry leaders who begin exciting pastoral initiatives. They
discern vocations to priesthood and religious life. Their work and
participation in secular society is shaped by their Christian worldview.
The church exists and grows because of the presence of
intentional disciples.
If you're reading this, you either are one or are curious
about becoming one.
Curiosity is the first stage for everyone. But then what? How
do we, in our parish communities create opportunities to recognize
intentional disciples in-waiting? How do we, for ourselves and others,
create opportunities to move forward along the progression from curiosity
to a deep, committed, radiant Christian life?
When Jesus asked Simon to "come, follow me," Simon
did not drop his nets and set off after Jesus across Palestine for the next three years accidentally. He did not become St.
Peter unconsciously.
Neither will the next generation of practicing Catholics, priests,
religious, and lay leaders emerge accidentally
or unconsciously.
The non-negotiable foundation for Christian maturity and
vocation today as it was for St. Peter, is intentional discipleship. And the key to intentional
discipleship is a critical part of catechesis that seldom happens in the
Catholic community:
pre-evangelization and the initial proclamation of Christ that asks for a
deliberate personal response.
To help parishes
build this essential foundation, the Catherine of Siena Institute is
offering a new four-day seminar called Making Disciples twice in 2007. One seminar will be held in Colorado Springs in the summer, and the other will be
held in West Virginia
in the fall.
Designed for pastors, directors of evangelization, religious
education directors, adult faith formation leaders, vocation directors,
spiritual directors and catechists, Making
Disciples is a four-day seminar that will help you:
- Understand intentional discipleship, that
it is the normative source of spiritual life, and thus the
foundation of all pastoral ministry.
- Understand why initial discipleship
precedes catechesis and how life-changing catechesis builds on
discipleship.
- Learn how to listen for and recognize
pre-discipleship stages of spiritual growth.
- Learn how to facilitate the spiritual
growth of those, baptized or not, who are not yet disciples.
- Discover ways of articulating the basic
kerygma that awakens initial faith in a gentle and non-threatening
way.
- Explore how to use these skills in a wide
variety of pastoral settings: RCIA/inquiry, adult faith formation,
sacramental prep, spiritual direction or pastoral counseling and gifts
discernment.
- Prayerfully reflect on your own journey of
discipleship.
For more information, see the advertisement for Making Disciples on the sidebar to
the left. We hope to see you in cool, sunny Colorado
in the summer, or in West Virginia in the peak of autumn
glory!
Building
Intentional Community in the Parish
by Sherry Weddell, Co-Director of the Catherine of
Siena Institute
One of the comments we hear repeatedly from people around the
country concerns the need for stronger connections between Catholics in our
parish communities. The lack of community support is one of the reasons
"fallen away" Catholics say they no longer participate in their
local parish or have joined a local Evangelical church. A rather extensive
discussion on this topic was held over several days on several blogs, including
the Institute blog Intentional Disciples. To read them, click post 1, post 2, and post 3. In these posts
you will learn about the genesis of an intentional community that sprang up
at Blessed Sacrament parish in Seattle,
WA, known simply as, the Nameless Lay Group.
Drawing on some of the experiences of intentional community
that Sherry and others had in the Nameless
Lay Group, the Catherine of Siena Institute is sponsoring a
day-long gathering on the subject of building intentional community in our parishes.
The discussion will be held in Colorado
Springs, Colorado
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, August 31, the day before Labor Day
Weekend. We will also discuss attempts made in parishes around the country
to foster intentional community. We would like to hear your ideas and learn
from your experiences as well.
Our day together will be spent at the beautiful Penrose House at the
base of Cheyenne
Mountain. Lunch will
be provided, and the day will end with an evening barbeque starting at 6
p.m. at a nearby city park.
This will be your chance to get to know some of the bloggers
who contribute to Intentional Disciples, including Sherry Weddell and Fr.
Mike Fones, O.P., Sherry Curp, (a.k.a. "the other Sherry" on the
blog) and Kathie Lundquist. In addition, Mark
Shea and his family, some of the original members of the
Nameless Lay Group, will be joining the festivities!
To cover the cost of meals and the other expenses of hosting
this day, we are asking for a donation of $40 per participant for the whole
day. Unfortunately, because there are no child care facilities on the
Penrose House grounds, and the Institute cannot provide child care, the gathering at the Penrose House is an adult-only
event. There are many child-friendly attractions in the Colorado Springs
area, and a few are described here. People of all ages
are welcome to the barbeque. The cost for adults and teenagers to attend
the barbecue only is $20 and for children under 12 to attend the barbecue
only would be $10.
We do need you to pre-register for this event by August 1 so
we can make the appropriate arrangements. Let us know as early as possible,
since our meeting space, the old Coach house, can hold a limited number of
people.
Awakening
Vocations In the Called & Gifted Parish
an interview with Mary Sharon Moore, Awakening Vocations
After extensive discernment of charisms in her own life,
Called & Gifted teacher Mary Sharon Moore is now prepared to help
dioceses and parishes to awaken vocations to ministry in the Church and
mission in the world. Teaching the Called & Gifted workshop over the
past four years, says Mary Sharon, has led me to ponder the vital role of
Baptism in the mystery of God's calling. Equipped with a master's degree in
theological studies and experience in liturgical spirituality and adult
faith formation, Mary Sharon recognized the important piece that the Called
& Gifted workshop brings to parish renewal. She notes, though, that one
more piece had to fall into place before the Baptism-vocation link could
emerge.
One vocational charism becomes key.
Upon turning fifty, Mary Sharon recalls noticing a
lifetime pattern of not being married.? Shaken but
not discouraged, she knew it was time to see what God was up to,?since my
vision for my life obviously was not bearing fruit. Another two years
passed before she experienced a pivotal moment in her own vocational
awakening. When I attended my first Called & Gifted workshop, I finally
could name my experience of not being married in a positive way, as the
lifestyle charism of celibacy. This was a liberating moment for me.
Over the next few years her discernment of this
charism and others brought about a profound vocational awakening to
celibate life as a lay person,? available
to God’s purposes, no strings attached."
While Mary Sharon was embracing her lay celibate calling, one
of her brothers, a priest of ten years, was in the very painful process of
acknowledging that he was not called to celibate life, despite his promise
and intention to honor that lifestyle for the sake of his priestly
ministry. Sorting out and patiently discerning the celibate vocational
lifestyle is so important, yet so difficult to do in a couples-oriented
culture, Mary Sharon reflects. And discerning a celibate calling, in the
celibate environment of seminary or novitiate, when your heart is already
oriented toward ministry in the Church, can equally obscure God's calling
to Christian married life. Reflecting on the challenges of discovering
God's calling to the vocational lifestyle of Christian marriage, celibacy,
or single life, Mary Sharon realized that a solid foundation for such
discernment is often missing at the diocese and parish level.
Parish-based vocational discernment.
Inspired by the insightful writings on vocational discernment of Francis
Kelly Nemeck, OMI, and Marie Theresa Coombs, canonical hermit, Mary Sharon
developed Awakening
Vocations, a ministry to identify, shape, animate, and
sustain the vocational culture of parishes. Vocational discernment is the
necessary work of every baptized person, says Mary Sharon. We are, every one of us, Co-laborers with Christ. Living
our baptismal life with competence and conviction is not an option but an
imperative. People in the pews need good vocational tools to do good work.
Awakening Vocations touches every generation and every aspect
of faith formation in the parish. Leery of programs the effects of which
fade when the programs end, Mary Sharon aims to go to the roots of how a
parish expresses itself and forms its people vocationally. There's something
of a vocational renaissance among young people whose hearts are on fire to
serve God, she notes. It's the rest of us who hunger for vocational
clarity, direction, guidance, a process we can get our arms around,
something we can really respond to. The profile of recently ordained men
nationwide is telling: Many of these men have been in the pews, living a
life of faith into their middle years, searching for God's fingerprints in
the course of their careers. Many are looking for something more enduring
than a career. They are looking for God's calling.
Four phases of awakening vocational culture
"There is no quick fix or simple solution to
increasing the number of men called to priestly life, or women and men
called to vowed religious life, says Mary Sharon, "nor is there a
shortcut to discern God's calling to Christian married life. We are talking
about a profound awakening of the people of God for service in the Church
and in the world. So our approach must penetrate right down to the hidden crevices
of parish culture, so that for every baptized man, woman, and youth,
orientation toward God's calling is as natural and life-sustaining as
breathing.
The first step in the parish process is what Mary Sharon names
The Culture Café a half day gathering of the parish's leaders and
visionaries in an inviting café environment, to ponder the meaning,
implications, and process of developing an effective, whole-cloth
vocational culture within the parish.
The second step is the anchor workshop titled Awakening Vocations.
This weekend workshop for the entire parish provides a theology of vocation
that links Baptism, the Church's mission, and God's unique calling and the
individual's free and gifted response. The workshop also includes a
vocational discernment process.
The third step, the Parish Core Team Immersion, is, in Mary
Sharon's terms, the unique piece that turns the ship around. This weekend
PowerPoint workshop, based on the U.S. Bishops' pastoral plan,
Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us, is designed for
all those in the parish who shape or touch the spiritual formation of
adults and youth in any way, with a particular focus on lifelong vocational
catechesis and formation. This pastoral plan is one of the undiscovered
treasures of the U.S.
Bishops for the Catholic Church in the United States, notes Mary
Sharon. If their vision were implemented in every diocese and every parish,
our world would look different. This is a powerful document, but powerful
only when it is implemented at the diocese and parish level.
The fourth step is the Formation Workshop for Vocational
Guides, a one-day PowerPoint formation workshop for those men and women in
the parish who are especially skilled in listening, and gifted in wisdom
and encouragement, to serve as in-house guides for fellow parishioners in
lifelong vocational discernment.
A vocational process for campus ministries
and young adults
The Next Step Café designed for young adults in campus
ministry or parish settings, is a weekend gathering offered in a relaxed
café environment. The Next Step Café provides a theology of vocation and
discernment process in a way that frees them to hear and discern God's
calling.
While not focused on promoting any one particular ministry or
way of life, The Next Step Café offers a solid basis for distinguishing the
three vocational lifestyles of Christian marriage, celibacy, and single
life, and practical, achievable steps to discern God's calling. The weekend
includes teaching, individual and small-group time, interaction with local
priests, religious, and lay people who are discerning or living their
calling, plus time for personal prayer, adoration, Reconciliation, and a
closing Mass.
There is no shortage of vocations in the Church today, Mary Sharon firmly believes, but rather, a
shortage of discernment readily available to Catholic men, women, and
youth. From here on out I am dedicating my best energies to awakening and
sustaining a theologically and spiritually robust vocational culture in
every diocese and every parish in the U.S., says Mary Sharon. It's a
big goal, I know, but I am not working alone.
Awakening Vocations donates ten percent of a diocese's or
parish's multiphase contract fees to support the education of the diocese's
seminarians.
Awakening Vocations, based in Eugene, Oregon,
reaches to dioceses across the United States. To learn more,
visit Awakening
Vocations or call toll-free at 1-877/687-2046. You may e-mail Mary
Sharon.
The Difference
of One Life: An Example of a Gift-Mix
by Fr. Michael Fones,
O.P., Co-Director, Catherine of Siena Institute
I have been very blessed to learn how to do gifts interviews
with individuals who have gone through a live or audio version of the Called
& Gifted workshop. Over the course of an hour, these people tell
stories that illustrate how God may have been at work through them on
behalf of others, sometimes in extraordinary ways. What is remarkable is
often the individuals don't even think their examples are unusual! This
makes sense, because if charisms are involved, they enjoy the unique way in
which the charism allows them to help individuals or groups, they get good
feedback, and see results beyond what they might normally expect. God is working
through them supernaturally, but it will feel natural to them.
A few weeks ago I was in St. Paul, MN,
and I had a wonderful interview with a middle-aged woman I'll call Angela.
She is a social worker, and we talked about two charisms in particular: Mercy
and Hospitality. Mercy empowers a Christian to be a channel of God's love
through providing practical deeds to help alleviate the suffering of
another, while Hospitality enables a Christian to welcome strangers and
offer them food, shelter and friendship.
After attending Catholic schools through graduate school,
Angela went through a conversion in 1993, after which she realized that God
was present in those who were suffering. "How could I have missed that
fact all those years before?" she asked. Conversion really is like
regaining sight, and often we don't even realize we were blinded!
Since 1993, Angela has opened her home to over 50 foster
children, many of whom were infants. One child stood out in her mind. She
had been asked to take a nearly one-year old baby home for a month while a
foster home was found for her. When she picked up the child, Hannah, she
was shocked to find that the baby weighed less than ten pounds! She had
been horribly abused, and her twin sister had died from similar abuse. Already
she had been in thirteen foster care placements. The child, Hannah, was a
crack baby and had some problems with her legs. Angela was told that Hannah
would probably be mentally retarded and have
trouble walking all her life.
Hannah was not an easy child. She screamed nearly all night
long, bit Angela, and wouldn't eat well. After saying "mama" to
Angela when they first met, Hannah refused to speak again. At night, from
her bedroom off the kitchen, Angela could hear her other children asking
each other, "what's wrong with mom?" They could not understand
why she was willing to let her life be turned upside-down by this difficult
infant.
A month went by, and it was time to take Hannah to her new foster
home, but Angela was told there was no placement available, so the child
would have to be institutionalized. After sadly putting her in the car,
Angela began to drive. By the time she reached the end of the block, Angela
was sobbing. She couldn't abandon this little girl, because she knew if
Hannah were institutionalized, she would soon join her twin in death. So
she took Hannah home. After consulting with experts who offered no hope for
comforting the screaming little girl, Angela decided to "start over"
with Hannah. She began to treat her as though she were an infant; carrying her constantly and not letting her crawl, feeding her by
hand, constantly telling the baby how much she loved her. It seemed to make
a difference, but Angela knew something more was needed.
She went to the local cathedral and spoke to a priest she
knew. Would he pray with her over the child? He agreed, and they prayed
before a statue of the Blessed Mother and poured out their hearts on behalf
of Hannah.
By the age of four, Hannah was talking, and today she is a
healthy, active sixth grader in Catholic school. She is doing great
academically, and no one would suspect her history. She still calls Angela
"mama."
You see, Angela adopted Hannah.
This is an example of the difference that one life can make.
This is the difference our charisms, or gratuitous spiritual gifts, make.
Hannah's alive and thriving because of the love of God she received through
Angela through the charism gift-mix of mercy and hospitality that God gave
Angela for this healing purpose.
Who knows what Hannah will do in her life, what contributions
to society she'll make, or who she will love? She, and we, will owe it all
to God, who continues to enter the world and change it for the better
through ordinary people like Angela, and you, and me.
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