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Note: be careful with the spelling of “biretta!” A “birretta” is Italian for some sort of beer. And “Beretta” is a gun manufacturer.

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Catechesis (cat-UH-key-sis) - religious instruction and formation for persons preparing for baptism and for the faithful in various stages of spiritual development.

The cassock, is a long, close-fitting, ankle-length robe worn by clerics of the Roman Catholic Church.

The cassock derives historically from the tunic that was formerly worn underneath the toga in classical antiquity.

The word cassock probably comes from the word "casaque" which means cloak;

Green - worn during "Ordinary Time." Ordinary does not mean ordinary in the sense of common or normal. Ordinary means counting, as in the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Red - worn on Passion (Palm) Sunday, Pentecost Sunday, and on the Feast Days of Martyrs, including the Apostles and Evangelists. White - worn during the Christmas and Easter seasons and celebration of Mary, the Angels, the Saints who were not martyrs, All Saints, Birth of John the Baptist, Chair of Peter, Conversion of Paul, and St. John the Evangelist. Violet - worn during Advent and Lent Rose - worn on the Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday) and the Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday).

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Background
Like baptism and the priesthood, the diaconate is for life: the sacrament of Holy Orders gives to the Bishop, Priest or Deacon a sacramental character or ‘seal’ which is permanent, with the grace to carry out a particular ministry. Unlike the priesthood, the diaconate is open both to single and married men; indeed, many deacons are married in full-time work, with families to support. Deacons are not, as a norm, free to remarry should they become widowers.

Permanent Deacons, while working mostly within their parish or pastoral area, may also have a diocesan role assigned by their Bishop. Time spent on each ministry will vary, depending on the Deacon’s personal circumstances and abilities; he serves the needs of his particular parish and local community, as agreed with the Bishop and his own Parish Priest.

Formation for the Diaconate
Student deacons follow a four year course - an initial year of discernment, then three years of formation. This means about ten hours’ home study per week; weekends at the Seminary and on retreat; monthly essays to write and tutorials to attend; and regular meetings with a Spiritual Director. During formation, students are instituted into the permanent ministries of lector and acolyte before being accepted as candidates.

The 3 Diaconal Ministries:-

The Ministry of Charity
• A Deacon is called to serve the poor, vulnerable and marginalised.
• He takes Holy Communion to the sick and ministers to the housebound and dying.
• He works in and with parish groups and organizations to help co-ordinate the local church’s response to people’s needs.

The Ministry of the Word
• A Deacon proclaims the Gospel and sometimes preaches at Mass.
• He leads the people in prayer at other liturgies and devotions.
• He participates in evangelization and catechesis, e.g. sharing in the preparation of people for reception of the sacraments.

The Ministry of the Altar
• A Deacon offers his service at the altar, assisting the Bishop or Priest.
• As an Ordinary Minister of Communion he distributes Holy Communion at Mass.
• He can officiate at Baptisms and Marriages, also Funeral liturgies and burials.

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Lectors have a critical role in the celebration of the Mass. Since the Lector proclaims not just any word, but the Word of God, it is essential that they develop the skills required to communicate God’s message competently.

The ministry of the lector calls for a person to grow in a warm and loving knowledge of Scripture, the living word of God. He or she is invited to enter into a relationship with a Word that is creative, powerful and effective.

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Many people have a false idea of what a saint is. For them saints are people who have never made a mistake or committed a sin in their lives. People who are always a shining virtue, humble, patient, pure. But this is false. You can be as pure as marble, but as cold as marble.
Our false image of saints can mean that we believe that they were born saints, but people become saints and are not born saints. At sometime in their life they had to come to a belief that God loved them unconditionally, not that they had to love God unconditionally.

I have had the privilege of knowing many saints in my life. For example, my grandmother. The most redeeming feature of this saintly women was that you never felt judged or condemned in her company. She always had a listening ear and a word of encouragement. That is a saint.

Sometimes we can model our saints in plaster, marble or stone. This would be wrong. The image of our saints is only there to help us to see their humanity, and give us encouragement that our humanity can be transformed like theirs. Mother Teresa was noted for her ferocious temper. In fact she tried to overcome this by getting up one hour earlier in the morning, before the rest of the sisters, to ask God to help her to keep her temper from exploding. I can understand that kind of a woman. John of the Cross on his deathbed asked his fellow monks to stop singing the Psalms and get him a bowl of strawberries. He said “I want to taste something sweet before I go to God.” He had known much suffering in his life and had overcome resentment and bitterness which are the number one offender in the spiritual life.

When we celebrate the Feast of All Souls,  perhaps it would be an idea to think of all those people who you have met in your life that gave you a glimpse of holiness
and pray to them to assist you in your human frailty.
Henri Nouwen said “Holiness means living without division between our words and our actions”. This can be very hard to achieve, but it is achievable. It is a saintly act to speak the truth with love and compassion. Sometimes we live in an unforgiving world where mistakes are made. We can project our own inadequacies onto others. The saints had a deep understanding of their own humanity and they were very much aware that they were perfectly imperfect.
Father George.

SANCTUARY: This has two meanings for us 1) the safe refuge a church offers for those in need of protection and; 2) the place in the church where the altar is situated.

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