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FOCUS ON RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
Religious Education for our children begins
today. Classes will meet hereafter on Sundays from 10:00 to
11:00am in the school. Parents will be provided with a schedule
of classes. Parents should bring their children upstairs to
their classrooms each Sunday. Children will be escorted to
Church for Liturgy at the conclusion of classes.
Parents (and grandparents!)
are the primary educators of their children. Our
efforts in the catechetical program will succeed if they are
reinforced at home by:
Daily prayer
—it's up to parents to teach their children the
basic prayers and to make them comfortable with praying. Grace
before meals and bedtime prayers are two wonderful traditions
that should be part of every Christian home. You can find
traditional Byzantine Catholic prayers in any Byzantine prayer
book or at
http://www.catholic-forum.com/members/popestleo/dailyprayer.html
including some audio clips.
Reinforcement—discuss
what your children are learning in Sunday School. Walk them
through the church calendar and discuss the feasts and fasts of
the Church as they occur. There's a wealth of information on our
Parish wall calendar which every family should have and display.
There's even more at
http://www.catholic-forum.com/members/popestleo/dailyprayer.html
Good Example—the
Byzantine Catholic faith will be real and credible for your
children if they see YOU practicing it, by prayer, fasting,
attendance at Liturgy and acts of charity. The best example you
can give your children while they learn about their faith is to
attend ADULT FAITH FORMATION and continue your own education.
Adult Education (on the Psalms) begins Tuesday, February 16 at
7pm in the Church Hall.
Regular Attendance—if
Sunday School is treated as something important, it will be
something important. Please make the effort to bring your child
to Sunday School on time, every Sunday.
THE DIVINE LITURGY—studying
about Jesus is one thing; encountering Him in the Liturgy and
the Sacraments is another. There is no point in Sunday School
without regular participation in Sunday worship. God is not an
idea and Christianity is not a lifestyle or a moral value—it's a
RELATIONSHIP with the three Persons of the Holy Trinity, who
encounter us in tangible ways in the seven Sacraments of the
Church. Stay and worship with us as a family.
WE THANK OUR CATECHISTS,
who come to us with excellent credentials and have generously
volunteered their time to minister to our children.
THE SAFETY OF OUR CHILDREN AND TEENS IS OF
THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE TO US ALL.
All of our catechists have undergone the
screening and training required by the Eparchy of Passaic's Safe
Environment Policy. This policy is observed in all parish
activities. Any suspicion of abuse of any child or teen in this
parish should be reported immediately to the Pastor or to the
Eparchial Coordinator of the Safe Environment program, Fr. David
Barratelli (973-890-7777).
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The Holy
Gospel A Byzantine Perspective