Why Pray to Saints!

Hi All! The second group of RCIA Candidates discussed some interesting facts about sainthood and some of the many Saints which the church recognizes.

Every RCIA Candidate must have a Saint name and for those who are aware of your saint name, we would like you to research what it means and who it is and share it with us.
For those who do not have a Saint name, we would like you to do some research on some saints and see which one you would like to be named after.

You can click HERE to visit a Catholic website that can give you some added information about our Saints.

Have Fun!
Bless!

Last Things: Judgement, Purgatory and Mercy

Last Evening, Deacon Alexis, O. Carm., led the teaching on the Last Things all of humanity must pass through. Let us continue the discussion with these questions:

1. Newspapers and television broadcasts daily surround us with accounts of suffering, violence and death. How do Catholic beliefs in the “Last Things” help us better understand the mystery of human suffering and death?
2. What new insight(s) have you gained from your reflection on the “Last Things?”
3. Discuss ways in which Catholic beliefs in eternal life differ from popular or contemporary understandings of life after death.

Let's Go! Bless!

Feedback and Notices

Hi All,

It was so nice to have seen so many of you at the St. Jude's Chapel, last Friday for the Feast of St. Jude! It really was a wonderful celebration and we are happy that you all were there to witness such a beautiful liturgy. We would like to hear from you what and how you felt. So please, sound off in the comment section below!

This Friday, we will be back at the St. Joseph Parish Hall as we continue our sessions. I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone (Both Years 1 and 2 as well as the team leaders) of our Advent Retreat which takes place on Sunday 27th November from 9.30AM to 2.30PM. It will take place at the Sinsinawa Retreat House (Where Sr. Gail lives) on Picadilly Street, St. Joseph, just a few houses higher from where the parish hall is located. So please pencil in that date. More details will follow as we come nearer to that date.

If anyone has any questions, comments (and hopefully, no complaints), please know that you are at liberty to leave them in the comment section below! God Bless you all in this week ahead. See you all on Friday! 

Blessings,
Br. Brent Durham

St. Jude Feast Day

Hi All,

I would like to remind ALL candidates (Years 1 & 2) and also all team leaders that next Friday (Oct. 28th) there will be no formal RCIA session in the parish hall in St. Joseph. Instead, we will ALL join with the parish in celebrating our patron saint, St. Jude.
The feast day mass will be celebrated at 6.30PM in the Mt. D'or chapel. We would like encourage ALL to please reach as early as you can to ensure that you have a seat.
Everyone will get an opportunity to be anointed with the oil of St. Jude during the mass.

Hope to see you all there! God Bless!

Discussion on The Truth: Year Ones

Hi All,

Last Friday, Jennifer would have engaged you all in some hard-hitting questions regarding the truth. I am going to re-post the same questions that were discussed to give anyone an opportunity to continue to share and also for those who did not get a chance to respond. Remember, at least ONE response is needed.

1. Is there objective truth?
2. Is there a God?
3. Is there revelation?
4. Did Jesus really exist?
5. Is Jesus God?

Let's Go, Bless!

Salvation History: Year Twos

Hi All,

You would have engaged in some discussion last Friday regarding the History of Salvation with Deacon Jeffrey. I am sure some interesting points were raised. Let's now continue our discussion:

1. How is God's faithfulness and love revealed in the history of salvation?
2. Why did God gradually prepare humanity over thousands of years for the revelation of his Son in Jesus Christ?
3. What connections do you see between your faith journey in the RCIA and the biblical history of salvation?

Let's Go! Bless!

Discussion for Year Two: Word Made Flesh

Last Friday, I carried you all through the teaching on, "Word Made Flesh" and I shared with you all the two natures of Jesus, that is both human and divine. Let's now continue with our discussion:

1. Why is belief in Jesus Christ as 'Son of God' so central to Christianity?
2. How can you deepen your personal relationship with Christ? How can you grow in your understanding of Jesus' life, his teaching and his saving death and resurrection?
3. "Who do you say I am?" is Jesus' question to his disciples. Peter answers, "You are the Christ, the son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16). How would you answer Jesus' question, "Who do you say I am ?"

Let's Go! Bless!

Discussion Questions for Year Ones

Hi All,

Sorry for the delay. Last Friday, the year ones engaged in a discussion on 'life' and your ultimate purpose not just being in this RCIA journey, but to come to a better understanding why you are all here. Now, the ultimate reason is so that you can enter into a deeper relationship with God.
Let's now carry the discussion further:

1. How do you talk to God?
2. Has there been a change from since you were a child in how you viewed him?
3. What brought about that change?

Let's go! Bless!

Feedback from the Year Ones

Hi All,
Last evening, Deacon Jeffrey gave our new candidates a grand tour of the church and for some, it was the first time being aware and privy to such information about the church. For example, why we have statues, the various vestments among other interesting points. We would love to hear your feedback on it. Please, leave a comment. Your questions are always welcomed!
I hope this time it is a lot easier in terms of leaving a comment (see the 8 step procedure below this post).

God Bless!

How to a post a comment on the blog: 8 Step Tutorial

Discussion: Sacred Scripture, God's Word Among Us

Hi All,
Last evening, we received a lot of food for thought when Fr. Alan Ventour led the teaching on Sacred Scripture, God's Word Among Us. We are sorry that not all the candidates were present for this but you can still benefit from the discussion as we continue on the blog. Here are some questions for you to reflect on. Remember, AT LEAST ONE response from the candidates is expected. God Bless!

1. Why is it important for Christians to read and reflect on the words of the bible?
2. How can you make the bible part of your daily prayer and reflection?

Let's get the ball rolling. Year Ones, feel free to share your feelings on these two questions. 

Bless!

Questions: Year Ones

Greetings,

Tonight, you all viewed the movie, "The Ultimate Gift". Many themes came out from that movie. Lets now look at some guided questions:

1. If you were Jason, the lead character in the movie, would you be willing to go to the lengths that he was forced to endure to receive the inheritance. If yes, why. If no, why.
2. The movie is replete with vices and virtues, name a few.
3. The title of the movie is, "The Ultimate Gift". What, in your opinion is the gift and the lesson. 
4. What life lessons can you relate with in this movie, either from personal experience, or people that you know.

Bless

Questions: New Candidates

Greetings to our incoming candidates on this journey!
Please be assured that you are in our prayers! We would like to provide you with the platform to continue to ask any questions that you may have regarding the RCIA Process, the Faith, etc.
The Team Leaders are ready to answer them.

Bless!

Discussion - Revelation & Faith: Returning Candidates

Greetings All,

Last Friday, we had our teaching on "Revelation & Faith' conducted by Sr. Gail. In her teaching, she stated that God reveals himself in various ways- Creation, Jesus Christ and Scripture. Lets keep the discussion going by reflecting on these questions:

1. Why do we need God's revelation?
2. How is God's revelation experienced in everyday life?
3. What does it mean to say that faith is our personal, free and ecclesial response to God's revelation?
4. What is the nature of Christian revelation?

So let us begin our discussion. Remember, each candidate must provide AT LEAST one response.

Bless!

Questions for New Candidates

Greetings to our incoming candidates,

Once more, we wish to welcome you as you all journey with us. Please be sure that our prayers and support are with you always. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them in the comment section below.
Tonight you all would have discussed some Elements of our faith, if you have any further questions regarding tonight's topic, you can also leave a comment here as well.

We look forward to your full participation. May God bless you all!

Discussion - Human Search for God: Returning Candidates

Greetings All,

Tonight we had an active group discussion on the topic, "Human Search for God". Lets keep the discussions going. I am going to post four questions up for further discussion. Please, we are urging that we get full participation from our candidates and also, avoid commenting as 'anonymous'. To the new candidates, you all are free to leave a comment as you so desire as well.

Discussion Questions:

1. How has your personal faith journey led you to the Catholic Church?
2. Discuss ways in which human beings tend to look for happiness apart from God?
3. How can we know that our search for true human happiness is with God?
4. Where do we find evidence of God's desire for human happiness?

So let the discussions begin. Please number your responses in accordance to the question. We, the catechists, are looking on and are ready to reply as needed. 

Welcome

Welcome to our virtual space. Here you can chat with your team mates and team leaders as you journey with us in this RCIA Program.

Notices and discussion questions, among other reflections will be posted on this blog and we would like full participation from everyone.

When you have to leave your comment/reflection, you simply click on the 'No Comments' tab just below this post and a comment box for you to leave your reflection will appear. There will also be a 'Comment as' area. If you have an existing Gmail account, you can log in and comment as a Gmail user. If you do not have a Gmail account, you can still comment by clicking on the 'Name/URL' option and you can enter your name (you can omit the URL option). We would like to encourage all members to avoid commenting as 'anonymous'. Hope that was helpful. 

May God Bless you all!