Academics, Activities, School News, Student News

7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Posted by Sister Kathy on

NEED.TO.KNOWThere are a number of events taking place or on the horizon that we wanted to share with you so this week’s post has a slightly different format.   Entitled “7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW”, this post is a collection of resources and links to topics about which you really do want to know more.

 

1. THE SYNOD OF BISHOPS 2014

On October 8, 2013, Pope Francis announced that in October 2014 there would be an Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on topics related to the family and evangelization. A Synod is “Extraordinary” when it is convened to deal with matters “which require a speedy solution” (Code of Canon Law, canon 346.2) The Extraordinary General Assembly taking place in Rome now will be followed by an Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in October 2015, on the same topic. This Extraordinary Assembly is only the third ever held. The other two took place in 1969 and 1985.

Although a permanent institution of the Church, The Synod of Bishop is still a relatively new institution, by Church standards, as well. Synods were begun by Pope Paul VI in 1965 following the Second Vatican Council as a way to continue the spirit and work of the Council into the future. The current Extraordinary Assembly runs from October 5 through October 19 in Vatican City and will focus on “the pastoral challenges of the family in the context of evangelization”.

To learn more about the significance of this Synod, follow the links and resources listed below.

 

2. RESPECT LIFE MONTH

October is Respect Life Month.  To read Bishop O’Connell’s reflection on respect life month, follow the link below.  The resources listed provide more information on Respect Life activities and events which students and families may enjoy.

 

3. LOVING LIFE LOGO CONTEST

The annual diocesan Loving Life Logo Contest is now accepting entries for its 2014 competition, which carries the grand prize of an Apple laptop and the chance to create the logo used for Respect Life programs for the next year.  The contest, sponsored by the Diocese of Trenton’s Respect Life Ministries, is open to high school students living in or attending school in Monmouth, Ocean, Mercer, or Burlington Counties, who create an original computer-generated or hand-drawn logo bearing the words “Loving Life 2014.” “Being Catholic is all about loving God’s wonderful gift of life,” states the Respect Life Ministry website. “Our motto, ‘Loving Life’, says exactly that: we’re proud to tell everyone we know that all life is sacred, and that every single person is deserving of our love and protection, from conception to natural death.

 

4. ENTEROVIRUS D68

As the flu and cold season begins, concern about Enterovirus D68 has grown.  The New Jersey Department of Health issued important information regarding Enterovirus D68.  Please click on the link below to learn about this virus and the best ways to protect yourself and your children from becoming infected.

 

5. BECUASE …I’M WORTH IT

The Respect for Life Ministries of the Diocese of Trenton is sponsoring BECAUSE I’M WORTH IT with international chastity speaker, Pam Stenzel.  Drawing from her personal story, as well as her visits with teens around the world, Pam talks about the consequences-both physical and emotional-of sex outside of marriage.  It’s been her experience that, if given the facts, today’s young people are fully capable of making good, healthy decisions.  For years, Pam was on the “front lines” as Director of Alpha Women’s Center, a counseling center for women undergoing crisis pregnancies. Her experiences taught her that before teen pregnancy and STD rates could decline, attitudes of teens toward sex first had to change. Desiring to bring about that change, Pam started speaking nationally full-time and is in great demand both in the U.S.A. and in other countries such as Mexico, Australia, Ireland, and Canada.

The Diocese is offering the Because … I’m Worth It over two days.

  • March 26 at St. Robert Bellermine in Freehold
    • The program is 7-8:30 p.m. for teens in Grades 8-12.
    • Parents are welcome
    • Admission is $10 per family.
  • March 27 at St. Gregory the Great in Hamilton Square
    • The program is 9:30 -11 a.m. and is open to Diocesan Catholic School 8th graders.
    • Parents are welcome to attend
    • Admission is $5 per person.
  • For more details see the flyer here: Because I’m Worth It Event
  • For more information on Pam Stenzel click here: Pam Stenzel

 

6. ADVENT REFLECTION BOOKS

Our Lenten Reflection Booklet has been so popular that faculty, students, and staff have been asked to create a similar resource for Advent and Christmas. Please encourage your son or daughter to consider writing a reflection on one of the Advent or Christmas daily readings.  Students can sign up with Sister Eileen for a day in Advent and the reflection is due by November 5.  Sign ups were due by October 8 but, if you are interested, you can still sign up outside Room 104 or email Sister Eileen.

 

7. YEAR OF CONSECRATED LIFE

In 2013, Pope Francis declared that a Year of Consecrated Life (YCL) be celebrated throughout the world.  The Year of Consecrated Life begins on November 30, 2014.  The Year of Consecrated Life takes place in the context of the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council. There is a three pronged focus for the celebration:

•   renewal for men and women in consecrated life,
•   thanksgiving among the faithful for the service of sisters, brothers,priests, and nuns,
•   invitation to young Catholics to consider a religious vocation.

The Year of Consecrated Life will begin in November, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the promulgation of Lumen Gentium (the Second Vatican Council’s constitution on the Church), which has a specific chapter dealing with consecrated life. The anniversary of the Council’s decree Perfectae Caritatis (the Second Vatican Council’s decree on the Renewal of Religious Life), will be the occasion of the close of the Year, in November 2015.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *