“Finding the Core of Our Spiritual Longing”
10:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. (Lunch Provided)
Speaker: Fr. Romane St. Vil, MM
Bishop Marshall Center
260 State Street
Springfield, MA 01103-1780
St. John Paul II Foundation – “Shepherd’s Heart For Life”
9:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. (Lunch Provided)
Speakers: Roland Millare, S.T.D. (St. John Paul II Foundation) and Rev. Tad Pacholczyk, Ph.D. (National Catholic Bioethics Center)
Bishop Marshall Center
260 State Street
Springfield, MA 01103-1780
This topic was requested as a follow-up to the June 7 Clergy Day: Planning Through Retirement.
Here is a checklist that pastors, pastoral councils, principals, and parish catechetical leaders can use to examine the role that the Word of God plays in the life and mission of the parish community.
The article provides a theological reflection on the permanent diaconate and sheds some light on diaconal identity, spirituality and practice. Suggested Use: Ongoing Personal Enrichment, Discussion at Deanery Meetings, Diaconal Gatherings, and Diaconate Formation Classes.
“We are called, then, to draw near to the poor, to encounter them, to meet their gaze, to embrace them and to let them feel the warmth of love that breaks through their solitude. Their outstretched hand is also an invitation to step out of our certainties and comforts, and to acknowledge the value of poverty in itself.”
(Pope Francis Message World Day of the Poor 2017)
Interreligious Life in the Church
Bishop Marshall Center (Fr. Huller Hall)
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. (Lunch Provided)
Speakers:
Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski, Past Chair of the USCCB Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs Committee
Erik Ranstrom, Ph.D., assistant professor of Theology and Religious Studies at Rosemont College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. He holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Theology from Boston College and has published articles and essays on Panikkar, the Theology of Religions, and Contemplative Spirituality.
Here is a resource for deacons and priests to consider in preparation for the Clergy Day.
Who Do We Say That We Are? Christian Identity in a Multi-Religious World — World Council of Churches
This brief work, distilled from lengthy and broad theological consultation facilitated by the World Council of Churches, suggests ways in which our faith is deepened and exciting new vistas opened on traditional Christian faith commitments through interreligious dialogue and engagement. Our sincere engagements with the other can lead to a growing grasp of our own faith identity and, indeed, more profound encounter with the mystery of God.
https://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/publications/who-do-we-say-that-we-are-christian-identity-in-a-multi-religious-world-interreligious-dialogue-and-cooperation-programme-world-council-of-churches
Annual Diocesan Priests’ Retreat
May 21-25, 2018
MIRAMAR Retreat Center
121 Parks Street
Duxbury, MA 02332
Retreat Director: Fr. William Murphy, Director of Spiritual Formation, Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary, Weston MA.
For priests and deacons
Tuesday, March 20th (11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.) at the Bishop Marshall Center
Fr. John Tuohey will be the speaker. The theme of his reflection is “Goliath Never Had A Chance, Personal Reflections On Humility in Ministry.”
Lunch will be provided, and confessors will be available for the Sacrament of Penance.
Fr. John is a native of Westfield and Our Lady of Blessed Sacrament Parish. He studied at the American College in Louvain, Belgium and was ordained in 1981. His assignments include Holy Name in Springfield and the Newman Center at UMASS, Amherst. He completed his Ph.D. in moral theology at Louvain with an emphasis in healthcare ethics and was on the faculty in the Department of Theology at Catholic University of America from 1987-1996.
Fr. John spent a short time with Mercy Health System in Oklahoma City, OK before moving on in 1998 to take on a newly created endowed chair in applied health care ethics at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, OR. He returned to the diocese in June 2017 and was assigned to St Mary’s parish in his native Westfield, the parish where he was baptized.