Operation Epiphany

Today, January 6, 2011, marks the official Feast of the Epiphany, which we (the Catholic Church in America along with several other countries) have come to celebrate on the second Sunday following Christmas. The 12 days of Christmas end on January 6th regardless. And to make things more complicated, liturgically, we are in the Christmas season until the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, which this year falls on Sunday, January 9th.

So, as we begin the seemingly confusing transition back into “Ordinary Time” – as we take down our Christmas trees, pack up the decorations and retire our poinsettias – the Office of Lifelong Faith Formation wants to remind you that there is nothing ordinary about Ordinary Time. This is especially true thanks to today’s launch of Operation Epiphany; we have officially opened up registration for a plethora of wonderfully Catholic opportunities in the coming months and YOU are invited.

I leave you with this quote from J.R.R. Tolkien, "The only cure for sagging of fainting faith is Communion. Though always Itself, perfect and complete and inviolate, the Blessed Sacrament does not operate completely and once for all in any of us. Like the act of Faith it must be continuous and grow by exercise…Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament... There you will find romance, glory, honour, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves on earth." Open your hearts in 2011 to an encounter with Love!

January

Hands Around the Capital Youth Rally – Open to youth groups and families – January 15, 2011. Join us and hundreds of other people of faith as we support a culture of life in our state’s capital. There will be mass at 10am with Bishop Malone at St. Michael’s in Augusta followed by an adult rally and a walk/demonstration over at the state building. Afterwards, enjoy a bite to eat in St. Michael’s gym followed by a Keynote, a presentation by the Catholic Youth Leadership Team, a skit by the Catholic Youth Leadership Team and ending with a Praise & Worship concert. The cost is $10 (to cover the cost of food). Please register your group/family ahead of time so that we know how much food to order.

February

Capture My Heart – A Retreat for Young Adult Women – February 11-13, 2011: Theme- “I am my Beloved’s & His desire is for me” – Song of Songs 7:10. Ladies, join us for a weekend-long get-away to help women fall more in love with Jesus Christ, their Beloved. This retreat approaches womanhood in a completely positive light; it is designed to be a celebration of who we are as women, to build women up by affirming their femininity. The focus is on the truth of who God has created us to be. More information and registration information is available at cyamme.org.

Fully Alive – A Retreat for Young Adult Men – February 25-27, 2011: Theme- “The glory of God is man fully alive” - St. Irenaeus. Gentleman, join us for a weekend of brotherhood and retreat from the daily duties of life to help men refocus on their relationship with Christ. This retreat is designed to call men forth to be self-sacrificing after the model of Christ and His ultimate sacrifice on the cross. It will focus on authentic manhood and elements intrinsic to the nature of men. More information and registration is available at cyamme.org.

March

New Evangelization Weekend (N.E.W.) – A Retreat Weekend Open to Adults – March 4-6, 2011: "I sense that the moment has come to commit all of the Church's energies to a new evangelization. No believer in Christ, no institution of the Church can avoid this supreme duty: to proclaim Christ to all peoples." -Redemptoris Missio 3. Join us for a weekend-long retreat opportunity for any adult age 18 or above looking for an opportunity to grow in their faith and have a weekend away to focus on their relationship with Christ. The focus is two-fold: Discipleship & Evangelization. The retreat is designed to deepen your own relationship with Christ (discipleship) and assist you in sharing that with others (evangelization). In addition to dynamic talks centered on these two themes, the weekend will consist of opportunities for prayer and the sacraments, small group sharing and times of fellowship. More information and registration is available at camome.org.

April

Catholic Youth Convention – A Retreat for Teens in Grades 8-12 – April 29-May 1, 2011: Theme – Extreme Makeover Soul Edition: Renovated, Rooted, Redeemed. “As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so live in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” (Col 2:7). More information and registration is available at cymme.org.

May

Capture My Heart – A Retreat for Teen Women – May 20-22, 2011: Theme- “I am my Beloved’s & His desire is for me” – Song of Songs 7:10. Ladies, join us for a weekend-long get-away to help women fall more in love with Jesus Christ, their Beloved. This retreat approaches womanhood in a completely positive light; it is designed to be a celebration of who we are as women, to build women up by affirming their femininity. The focus is on the truth of who God has created us to be. More information and registration information is available at cymme.org.

Fully Alive – A Retreat for Teen Men – May 13-15, 2011: Theme- “The glory of God is man fully alive” - St. Irenaeus. Gentleman, join us for a weekend of brotherhood and retreat from the daily duties of life to help men refocus on their relationship with Christ. This retreat is designed to call young men forth to be self-sacrificing after the model of Christ and His ultimate sacrifice on the cross. It will focus on authentic manhood and elements intrinsic to the nature of men. More information and registration is available at cymme.org.

July

New Evangelization Week (N.E.W.) – A Retreat Weekend Open to Teens – July 10-14, 2011: Join us for a 5-day retreat opportunity for students who will be in grades 9-12 in the fall. The focus is two-fold: Discipleship & Evangelization. The week is designed to deepen your own relationship with Christ (discipleship) and assist you in sharing that with others (evangelization). In addition to dynamic talks centered on these two themes, the event will consist of opportunities for prayer and the sacraments, small group sharing and times of fellowship. More information and registration is available at cymme.org.

Shaina Tanguay-Colucci

Humbled to be Catholic

Every morning, I thank God for the day, for the life He has given me and most especially, for my Catholic faith. Often in our culture, faith is seen as something extrinsic, as part of our lives. I’m often accused of being too Catholic, of having no life outside of my Catholic faith. And I think to myself, why would I want to do anything outside of my Catholic faith? If I take the message of the Gospels and Scripture seriously, shouldn’t my faith inform my whole being, everything I am and everything I do (Gal 2:20)? Does this mean that I create a Catholic bubble for myself and shun the rest of the world…ok, occasionally I may be
guilty of this, but for the most part I think I am very much one of God’s workers in the world, just not of the world. Capisce?

Last weekend I attended Life Teen’s Core Member University in Boston. They made a very important distinction: for those of us who work for the Church, whether we are paid employees and/or we are volunteering our time, our work doesn’t make us exceptional Catholics. Ministry, evangelization and teaching the faith are the bare minimum of what is required of us. You may be familiar with this quote from G.K. Chesterton, "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried." I challenge all of you to rise above the bare minimum of your faith and to allow God to cast you out into the deep (Lk 5:4). Living out radical hospitality, striving to build up community and being good stewards of all that God has blessed us with (suffering included – never miss an opportunity to offer up your pains, fears and anxieties), answering those calls is what makes us different and in accordance with the dignity God has given us, exceptional. 

At a youth rally mass a few years ago, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Apostolic Nuncio for the United States, remarked that we are not Catholic Americans, we are American Catholics. In other words, our Catholic faith is at the very core of our identity and as such, we very much should be viewing the world and all we do through Catholic-tinted glasses. I absolutely love being Catholic, and I’m humbled at the gift of our faith.

Shaina Tanguay-Colucci

Taylor Swift & the Beauty of Being Female

 

I don’t have a problem admitting that I really, really enjoy Taylor Swift’s music; it calls out to the desires of my feminine heart and helps me rejoice in being created female. This is a rare happening in today’s culture where so often the truly feminine is viewed as weak and immature instead of beautiful and a gift to the world in its own right. We are often too quick to forgo our darling dresses, penchant for pink and divine desires for motherhood for the sake of “equality” to men because in modern times – equality implies sameness. Perhaps this is why so many “feminists” attack Swift and particularly her latest song/music video in which, despite coming from a broken home, her desires for marriage and a family are fulfilled.

I am not saying that all women should be relegated to the kitchen, but I am saying that we have a unique gift to this world that men can’t offer and that we should quit trying to be something we are not. Taylor Swift seems to get this – she is both girlie girl and fully-capable woman. The fact that she likes sparkly dresses (that are much more modest than all of her pop culture rivals), that she writes about “fairytale” love (thus affirming that yes, we are all made for relationship and yes, love can and is in fact meant to last) and that she continues to break records – all tell me that we don’t have to be like men to be equal to them and, not only that, but that when we embrace our feminine hearts, we truly reflect the absolute dignity inscribed in our womanly beings – body and soul.

Shaina Tanguay-Colucci