TODAY let us begin begin a journey through the new United States Catholic Catechism for Adults in these Daily Reflections. My hope is that these moments may help me and you focus on the treasury in the catechism.
In the introduction we read that the new Adult Catechism authors have made it their effort to relate what we have in the body of the Church's teachings to the culture we experience in the United States. The writing will cite what the Bishops believe to be good for us and what is truly a challenge to our faith.
As Pope John Paul II noted in "The Church in America," there are a number of American men and women, offcially declared "saint" or "blessed" by the Church, who easily stand as models for us throughout our lives. The way they lived their lives can be examples for us as we strive to response to the gospel call of Jesus Christ: "Follow me."
At the outset of each chapter, the reader is introduced to a short story about a particular saint or blessed. These models serve us as examples of a "variety of racial and ethnic witnesses" within the Church to the Catholic way of life we are called to follow. The individual saint for each chapter is related through some aspect of his/her life to the particular topic in the chapter. For example, the saint of the first chapter which addresses the human quest for God is Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, a wealthy Episcopalian woman who became a devoted Catholic woman, mother, and the foundress of a religious community of women. She was declared a saint in 1975. She is buried just north of Washington, DC, at the Motherhouse of the Daughters of Charity, beneath an altar in the Basilica church. A good teaching experience for your children could be a drive to Emittsburg, MD --- north on I270 to MD Rt 15 --- where you can see the final resting place for "Mother Seton." There are inside and outside interesting buildings related to this American saint's life and work in Emittsburg. The drive to Emittsburg is a wonderful journey from the city through some of the farmlands just north of Frederick, MD. It is a great Fall adventure. There is a Sister there to welcome you and to lead you around the grounds. My prejudiced rating is *****
