Office of Religious Education
Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn
61 Rockwood Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
Telephone: (617) 522-0225
Fax: (617) 522-0194
August 30, 2016
May We Have a Prayerful Year!
Beloved Brothers and Sisters in the Lord:
Clergy, Laity, Parents, Guardians and Catechists:
It is the sacred duty of all of us, in the Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn, to provide a sound religious education to our children and youths. This duty begins with the bishop, a successor of the apostles, with his co-workers, the priests, along with the eparchial catechetical team which consists of the deacons, the Sub-deacons, the parents or guardians, the teachers and the catechists who are entrusted with passing on the faith. We all share this catechetical responsibility, be it in our homes or around our parish, making sure that our youths learn the doctrine of the faith and live our rich spiritual tradition.
Gradually our world is becoming more secular, making it difficult to live our faith and to practice our religion. Many distractions today feed our diversion from practice and prayer and create for us a tougher challenge. Unfortunately, prayer in our daily life is decreasing. For very many Catholics, daily prayer is either non-existent or at the bottom of their agenda. How appropriate is the theme of this catechetical year “Prayer: The Faith Prayed”, which has been chosen by Archbishop Leonard P. Blair, Chairman of the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis, and his catechetical team! It really hits home.
The theme “Prayer: The Faith Prayed” has been chosen to remind us of the importance of prayers and the effects of its power in our life. It has also been chosen to reinstate PRAYER in our daily lives and to invite us all: clergy, laity, old and young, parents, catechists and teachers, to devote ourselves to a deeper study and practice of prayer, for our own spiritual good and for the good of those we serve.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis provided powerful catechetical resources on prayers for this year. We, Clergy, Catechists, and Parents, the eparchial catechetical team, co-workers and assistants to Bishop Gregory, are directly involved in catechizing our youths. The following articles should assist us in our catechetical endeavors as we embark on this prayerful journey.
- For Clergy: “Embracing Our Universal Call to Holiness.” By Rev. Robert J. Hater, PhD. This article helps pastors deliver great sermon on prayers, and lead their parishioners to a more prayerful and spiritual life.
- For Catechists and Teachers: “What Every Catechist Needs to Know About Leading Others in Prayer.” By Joe Paprocki, D.Min, National Consultant for Faith Formation at Loyola Press. This article provides good tools to catechists and teachers to lead others in communal prayers, to instruct children about faith and prayers, and to have an effective and spiritual relationship with Jesus.
- For Parents or Guardians: “Praying with the Fathers of the Church: A Reflection per Day for Advent-Christmas and Lent-Easter.” By Mike Aquilina. This article helps parents and guardians encourage the family to pray together according to designated liturgical seasons. It also assists parents in bringing up children to be true Christians, in teaching them to love the neighbor, and to understand how much God loves us and all those around us.
These articles along with many other catechetical resources are posted on the (USCCB) website. In order to read them and explore additional articles about PRAYER please visit their website at: www.usccb.org/catecheticalsunday/.
The Lord Jesus himself felt the need to pray. He frequently broke away from the crowds and resorted to prayer. Quite often his days were interrupted from continuing a journey in order to spend a few hours in prayers to the heavenly Father. His disciples were moved to ask him to teach them how to pray. May all of us, clergy, laity, parents, guardians and catechists draw closer to the Lord and to one another, through a deeper and more faithful commitment to prayer, in private and with others. Let us strive throughout this coming year to spend more time with the Lord, to pray fervently to him and to understand the essential element of our discipleship.
Truly yours in our praying Jesus,
Msgr. Georges Y. El-Khalli, Ph.D.,
Eparchial Director of Religious Education
