YEAR OF THE FAMILY, at St. Catherine of Siena.

December 21, 2018

2019 – At St. Catherine of Siena it will be a YEAR OF THE FAMILY.

Dear friends, are we ready to start another great year of faith and hope?
Last year we have worked hard on establishing a Youth Ministry, which we will continue this year; we have developed a great Catechism Program both for our children and especially for parents; we have started a Senior Group, which is growing in size and joy; we have started a series of Adult Spiritual Formation, which is offering something more to the spiritual development of our parish; we have welcomed many new Altar Servers, who are serving with enthusiasm at the liturgy; we have updated the various ministries, like Eucharistic Ministers, Lectors, Ushers and music. We have done a lot, thanks to a impressive number of volunteers, who are the strength of our parish community. There are many parish groups working silently in the background, which are reaching out to the spiritual needs of so many people. For this we are happy and grateful.
This year we want to concentrate our efforts on the FAMILY. First with the preparation to the sacrament of marriage. It has been our experience that young people are coming back to marriage in church, because they want a stable, spiritual and full life as a couple. We will continue with the same preparation, adding maybe some encounters after Marriage. We will start the CATHOLIC MOMS GROUP, which will be organized for the support of young mothers. They will form a community of friends, who will meet regularly and help each other how to be the best mothers, raising their children in the way of faith. We will organize a weekend for the FAMILY, where parents will have a chance to review their own personal relationship and will be able to reflect how to organize their family according to our Christian values. We will also organize a support group for separated and divorced families, offering them the support they need in their irregular situations. Finally we will look also into organizing a GRAND PARENTS apostolate, connected with the care for widows and widowers.
So we have a great work cut out for us all; but I need some couples who feel the call to work on this project. They do not have to be extraordinary people; just simple loving people, who are willing to share their life and faith with other simple couples. We will provide some training, but must of all we need people who feel called by Jesus to share the great grace of a Christian Family.

About Fr. Walter

Father Walter Tonelotto was born in Italy in 1947 and entered the Scalabrini Seminary at an early age. At 20 he was sent by his superiors to study Theology at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Dunwoodie, New York and then to the Toronto School of Theology. He holds a Master in Divinity from St. Paul’s University in Ottawa and a Master in Moral Theology from Union Theological Seminary at Columbia University, New York City.