Catechetical Sunday is celebrated this weekend (September 14/15) with a Blessing of the Catechists (aka religious education teachers) at the end of each Mass.  The United States Catholic Conference of Bishops has chosen a 2019 catechetical theme: Stay With Us.  What does this mean for us at Saint Michael Parish? The Gospel this weekend has Jesus sharing with us over and over that God will never stop seeking us, even if we feel discarded and abandoned.

God stays with us always.  Passing on the Catholic faith, echoing our faith through the ages, is not just about teaching our children and teens; it requires adults who have the courage to stay with their spiritual journey.  The more difficulties the world brings, the more each of us, as adults, can take opportunities for forming and renewing our faith lives in hopes that we might bring our young people authentically into a vibrant relationship with Jesus.  Stay With Us for adults means staying with your own faith formation and religious education as you mature.  As your own authentic spiritual life grows, you might hear the call of the young people saying, stay with us, as they experience their faith in new and joyous ways.  When you respond to that call, to teach our youth, you are responding directly to God.  Being or becoming a catechist is unlike any other volunteer opportunity you will experience.  When you volunteer in this way, you are reflecting on the role that each person plays, by virtue of Baptism, in handing on the faith and being a witness to the Gospel.  Catechetical Sunday is an opportunity for all of us to rededicate ourselves to the mission of the Church as a community of faith.