Wednesday 20 September 2017

The Word of God in the Sacraments of the Church

Thank you to the 68 people who gathered with the Christian Initiation Committee at the Providence Spirituality Centre in Kingston on September 15 and 16, 2017.  People from across our province travelled to be a part of this formation event. 

There were participants from the  following dioceses: London, Hamilton, Toronto, Timmins, Kingston and  Ottawa. Archbishop Brendan O'Brien from the archdiocese of Kingston joined us to Evening Prayer on Friday. 

The three focus sessions were: 

The Word of God in Our Lives                                                  
“The Scriptures are the living waters from which all who seek life and salvation must drink.”  Introduction to the Lectionary, CCCB, 2009, par. 5

The Word of God at the Heart of Initiation
“The Church has always venerated the divine scriptures as it has venerated the Body of the Lord, in that it never ceases, above all in the sacred liturgy, to partake of the bread of life and to offer it to the faithful from the one table of the word of God and the Body of Christ.”
Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, par. 21

The Word of God: Integral to Initial and Ongoing Catechesis
“Catechesis will always draw its content from the living source of the Word of God transmitted in Tradition and the Scriptures, for sacred Tradition and sacred Scripture make up a single sacred deposit of the word of God, which is entrusted to the Church” General Directory for Catechesis par. 94   

The evaluation forms indicate that the participants found the time helpful, formative and spiritually enriching.  

May all parish initiation members continue to strive to put people not only in touch but also in communion and intimacy with Jesus Christ. (General Directory for Catechesis, par. 80)