Faith Formation 2011 - Living out God’s Great Commandment in the Modern World

A series of 6 sessions will be held at Holy Cross Parish on Monday evenings from October 3 to November 21, 2011, with the exceptions of October 10 (Thanksgiving), and October 31 (Halloween).

This series of presentations is a continuation of Holy Cross Parish's annual Faith Formation program. Previous series included Alpha, Catholicism 201 and Five Pillars of the Spiritual Life. Last year, the focus dealt with Reflections on Catholic Life in the Modern World and this year, our fifth, we will continue to look at living our life in the modern world but our focus will be on one particular aspect, that is, applying in our daily life God’s Great Commandment to Love Him with All Our Heart and to Love One Another as Ourselves.

The series is open to all who wish to learn more about the Catholic faith: Holy Cross parishioners - young and older, members of other parishes and the general public. The schedule of topics is:

PART 1: Recognizing our gifts from God, and being responsible stewards of those gifts.

• Monday, October 3 and October 17 – Applying God’s Great Commandment in our daily lives and as a Catholic Community. Fr. Maurice Dionne, Office for Catholic Stewardship, Archdiocese of Ottawa will present the subject and lead discussions. We are called to reflect, with gratitude, on God’s gifts to us, and then, to share these gifts as responsible stewards of God’s love throughout our communities and the whole world
• Monday, October 24 – Reflecting on the application of God’s Great Commandment in the life of our Parish Community. From what has been learned in the first two sessions, a reflection led by members of the Parish will focus on the gifts we have received from God, personally and as a parish, and how we are responding to God’s call by passing on those gifts within our community and to the world.

PART 2: Reaching out in love to other communities by promoting better understanding.

• Monday, November 7 - Reaching out in Love to other Christian Communities. Within the context of the overall theme of our programme to live out God’s Great Commandment to love one another without restrictions and to promote greater understanding, Fr. Maxym Lysak, Pastor of Christ the Saviour Orthodox Church and professor at St. Paul University, will offer for reflection, areas which could provide a means for better understanding. Professor Catherine Clifford, Vice Dean, Faculty of Theology of St. Paul University will facilitate the discussion and assist in presenting a Catholic viewpoint. An open dialogue will follow.
• Monday, November 14 - Reaching out in Love to other Non-Christian Communities. Following the pattern set out in session 4, Rabbi Charles Popky, Agudath Israel Congregation will offer for reflection, aspects which could provide a means for better understanding. Fr. Jacques Kabangu of the Archdiocesan Office will facilitate the discussion and assist in presenting a Catholic viewpoint. An open dialogue will follow.

PART 3: Reaching out in Love to our Parish Community as we implement the new Missal.

• Monday, November 21 - With the introduction of the new Missal scheduled for the first Sunday of Advent, the sixth session is meant to ensure that Holy Cross parishioners will be comfortable and even eager to receive the new Missal. Fr. Bill Burke, Director of the National Liturgy Office, Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, will make a presentation and provide an opportunity for discussion.

The presentations will be held in the parish hall, beginning at 7:00 p.m. and ending at 9:00 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. There is no charge for admission. To register, please use our online registration form. Alternatively you may call the parish office during office hours at 613-731-7834.