Learning and living as God intended

Our Catholic faith is a precious gift carefully handed down to us through the centuries from the time of the Apostles to the present day.  It is a grace, really, that enlivens our human experience with an ever deepening recognition that we are all children of God the Father and, therefore, sisters and brothers of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.  This recognition is also a realization that in the Lord Jesus we are also sisters and brothers to one another.   We are made in God’s image to reflect his love and respect for every human person God has created.  It becomes an obligation of our Catholic faith, then, to join together as a community of faith in “safeguarding the dignity of every human person.”  On this Catechetical Sunday 2015, the Catholic Church in our country makes this theme the mission of this year’s catechetical efforts and activities in our parishes throughout the Diocese.

Catholic parents are the primary “catechists” of Catholic children.  They plant the seeds of faith in the minds and hearts of their children and families at home.  The parish supports their efforts by nurturing the Catholic faith as children grow, through the dedicated service of those catechists entrusted with the responsibility of providing parish catechetical formation beyond the home.  Catechetical Sunday is a grateful celebration of the “partnership of parents and parish” within the community of faith that is the Catholic Church, “safeguarding the dignity of every human person.”  Parents and parish catechists teaching our children that fundamental truth of our faith and giving personal witness to it is a more essential and necessary lesson in society today than ever before.  Children live what they learn.  They will not learn if we do not teach.  We cannot teach if we do not witness.  Only then will our children learn and live as God intended, respecting and “safeguarding the dignity of every human person,”

Most Reverend David M. O’Connell, C.M.
Bishop of Trenton