RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Religious Education News

Registration Time

Registration forms for next year were recently  mailed to all currently registered students. Please return the registration forms as soon as possible. If your child will  new to the program, please call 201-843-1077  information. We offer classes for grades K through 8, as well as RCIA for adults.

Calendar reminders

Save the date for Vacation Bible School

August 11 through 15, 2008    9:00 AM - Noon

RCIA

Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults

The RCIA process is an opportunity for instruction and spiritual transformation for any adult seeking a  deeper understanding of the Catholic tradition or full incorporation into the Catholic Church. Are you interested in becoming a Catholic or completing the sacraments of Initiation- Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist? The RCIA group meets weekly. Please call Karl Pattermann at 201-843-1077.

Adult Choir Rehearsals

The Sacred Heart Adult Choir has resumed rehearsals every Thursday at 7:00 PM in the Church.  Please join us.  All voices are needed, especially men. It is a rewarding experience, and you will be blessed for helping our music ministry.

Spotlight on the Catechism

All Catholics are invited to deepen their understanding of the Catholic faith as presented in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Spotlight on the Catechism offers four courses, each of three sessions. Each course focuses on one of the four Parts of the Catechism.

Catholic schoolteachers and parish catechists who work with adults or children can earn doctrinal certification by completing courses on each of the four Parts of the Catechism.

Courses are offered each year, ordinary in March and in October. The four courses are rotated through each location, so that a participant can complete the whole cycle in two years

Dates, times and locations are on the registration forms which are in the church vestibule. If you would like more information, call Karl Pattermann at 201-843-1077 or visit the we site www.rcan.org/catechet.

Visitation Academy Pre K 3 Program

Due to demand, we are re-opening our PreK3 program. The schedule is as follows:

Monday & Wednesday    8:30-11:30 AM $212.80 per month for 10 months

Mon, Wed, & Fri             8:30-11:30  AM $280.00 per month for 10 months.

Your child must be three years old October 1, 2008. Please contact us if you are interested in a tour or additional info. We are now accepting registrations for all grade levels.

EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS

The  Pastoral Care Department of Hackensack University Medical Center is in need of Eucharistic Minister/Pastoral Visitors to bring Holy Communion and visit our patients.

If you feel called to this wonderful ministry, to bring Jesus and your own presence into the rooms of the sick, please contact: Chaplain Marianela Iribarne, Supervisor, Pastoral Care, Hackensack University Medical Center, 30 Prospect Avenue, Hackensack, 201-996-2345.

 Bible Study

Sacred Heart offers two bible studies each week focusing on the Gospel of Matthew. The evening Bible study takes place on Tuesday evenings from 7:30 to 9:00 PM, and the Wednesday morning Bible study meets weekly following the 8:00 AM Mass.

Both groups meet in the Religious Ed Office at 15 Forest Place.  Call 201-843-1077 for more information.

Our Catholic Roots
 
   

Today's first reading from the Book of Wisdom helps us  to understand that although evil exists in the world, God extends mercy and forgiveness to all people. In today's passage, the difficult question of why God allows good people to suffer and sinners to prosper is addressed. God allows the sinner to survive with the hope that the sinner will repent and change. Although God is all-powerful. Yahweh has been shown to be a God of forgiveness and compassion.

We believe that God does not cause evil in the world. There is no quick or simple answer to why God allows evil to exist at all. The Church helps us to understand that there is evil that we do and evil that is not our personal responsibility, such as an earthquake that kills innocent people. Sometimes we choose to turn our backs on God. Moral evil is the evil that we choose to do.

 In today's Gospel Jesus once again uses seeds to help us understand the Kingdom of God. In the first parable, weeds try to choke out the good seed but the sower does not get rid of the weeds right away. The weeds are allowed time to change. The good seeds represent the faithful and the weeds are the evil doers.

Jesus is the sower. This story shows how God wishes to allow time for the sinner to repent and grow in faith. In the end, the weeds get separated out and thrown away and the faithful ones, the wheat, and leaven, show how the faithful grow in God's love.

God created us with the freedom to make our own decisions. Free will and reason help us know and choose between what is good and what is evil. We are responsible for the decisions we make. We can choose to do what is good or to do evil. God is on our side, helping us make good choices. Good moral decisions help us grow as God's children. What weeds keep you from growing as a follower of Jesus? How can you pull the weeds from your life this week and allow your faith to grow?

 Ushers Needed

The Children's Choir is open for students in grades 2-8. All interested in participating should register with our music director, Paul Daher, either following any Mass, or at rehearsal. Current members do not need to reregister.

 We hope you will join us!

Catechist's Needed

Sacred Heart CCD catechists share their faith with children each week from September to April. We are presently in need of catechists for the upcoming school year. Classes take place on Sunday mornings for grades K-6, and Wednesday evenings for grades 7 and 8. All materials and training are provided.

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact us ASAP at 201-843-1077.

Vocation Reflections

YOU ARE NEEDED AS A EUCHARISTIC MINISTER