Santa Maria Addolorata/RCIA

I'm hoping that all is well with you! Please stay safe. We will be in touch soon!

What to expect on Confirmation day?  Happy Feast of the Annunciation! Today we celebrate the memory of the Archangel Gabriel appearing to Mary and announced that she was chosen to be the Mother of our Lord. Her Yes or to put it more exactly, “ Let it be done according to your word” is an example of our response to God when we celebrate the Sacraments, especially Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist. Continuing the discussion on Catholic Practices & the How To’s, in this session we will discuss the topic of what to expect on Confirmation Day. If you are in First Communion program and received your Confirmation as a baby, these steps will give you some idea of how the rite was celebrated when you were a child. Yes, and as I’ve explained before, in the past baptism and confirmation were celebrated together. This for most this is no longer the practice today. Apart from the RCIA program, you will receive all three sacraments at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday. I ...

Continuing with the topic of Catholic Practices and the "How To's, " in this session I will be discussing the ways in which we receive Holy Communion. We have already discussed in detail what the Eucharist is in January. I'll include those presentation slides as a reminder for you. In this session, I will use the names Eucharist and Holy Communion interchangeably since it means the same thing. At the end of this, I will also insert the Cardinal's message regarding the COVID-19 aka Coronavirus. Outline:  1.      Preparing to receive Holy Communion 2.      Posture and Gestures 3.      In the hand or in the mouth 4.      After receiving Communion 5.      Video 6.      Cardinal Cupich's Message regarding COVID-19  7.      Reference Links  1. Preparing to receive Holy Communion Before receiving the Eucharist ...

Due to the Coronavirus, we will not meet for RCIA & Adult Religious Ed on Sunday and next Wednesday until further notice. We will finish off our sessions online. Please comment or post a thumbs up in the 'comment box' below to show that you are checking in. I am unable to tell if you are reading this. You can also post a question about a particular Session if you wish. When permitted, I will contact you so we can meet for our Final Session. Also, I wanted to inform you that Confirmation Practices and Confirmation has been postponed. The parish will post updated information on the website as well as Facebook. It would be a good idea to check here for more information on Mass times, Confirmation and other updates. Santa Maria's website:  http://smacatholichurch.com/ Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/santamariaaddolorata.church.9 In these last few weeks of our RCIA/Adult Religious Ed program, we will discuss all the 'How To's" How to go to Confessi...

In session 19, I spoke about the three main prayers (among many) that I believe every Catholic should. These prayers are: the Glory Be (Doxology), the Lord's Prayer and the Hail Mary. Here's a few highlights from the class: Doxology means a prayer of praise or glory. The Glory Be is a beautiful prayer to our Blessed Trinity.  The Lord's prayer was given to us by Jesus to his disciples: see Matthew 6:9 , or Luke 11: 1 The first part of the Hail Mary can be found in Luke's gospel: see Luke 1:28 & Luke 1:42 In session 20, yesterday, we spoke of other useful prayers such as the Lectio Divina, Adoration prayers, the Angelus,  etc. Here are the PowerPoint presentations & handouts used in both sessions Session 19 Session 20  The Angelus & Regina Coeli Lord's Prayer Lectio Divina Stations of the Cross Traditional Prayers Holy hour I want to thank you for participating in our Lenten retreat yesterday as well Here is the PowerPoint presen...