Ord Week 16th : Friday 28th July, 2017 (Mt 13:18-23) Dear Friend in the Lord, Self-Love � Rationalisation: In today�s Gospel, Jesus describes, through the Parable of the Sower, our �self-love� is easily disguised by the different degrees of deception and the �creative� justification that convince people, but not our �restless� hearts. If we love with greater sincerity, we will learn to know Jesus more personally.

Growing Spiritually and Planning for Fall The start of a new year of faith formation holds a lot of promise, but there’s much planning to be done before we open our doors to new classes. Take time for learning and growing spiritually as you progress in your plans for fall sessions. Ignatian Spirituality Take a time-out for yourself this summer to deepen your spiritual life with resources inspired by Ignatian spirituality, the cornerstone of the Finding God: Our Response to God’s Gifts faith formation program. By engaging the whole person—mind, heart, body, and soul—Finding God enables catechists, teachers, and parents to develop devoted disciples of Jesus in the Ignatian tradition. Free Finding God Prayer Card Daily Examen Prayer Downloads As we celebrate the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola on July 31, pray together with your families with these free Examen prayers from Finding God, available in English and Spanish. Ignatian Spirituality: An Introduction—Free Poster and Booklet Download a free poster and booklet to introduce you and those you serve to the characteristics and insights of Ignatian spirituality. 31 Days with St. Ignatius Explore the riches of Ignatian spirituality with the eighth-annual 31 Days with St. Ignatius, in honor of the feast of Ignatius of Loyola on July 31. The calendar will stay live after the feast day, so it’s not too late to start. #31DayswithIgnatius Becky Eldredge - Praying the Daily Examen (Video) Praying the Daily Examen (Video) Watch a video with author Becky Eldredge explaining the steps of this defining Ignatian prayer.

Ord Week 16th : Thursday 26th July, 2017 (Mt 14:1-14, 16-17) Dear Friend in the Lord, Graces from God: In today Gospel, Jesus proclaims to His disciples, 'Anyone who has will be given more, but any who has not, will be deprived of what he has.' The reality of receiving the abundant blessings, fulfilment and true happiness in life, comes from being more Christ-like at all times and to all peoples.

Ord Week 16th : Wednesday 26th July, 2017 (Mt 13: 1-9) Dear Friend in the Lord, Loving God � How Deep ?: In today Gospel of the Parable of the Sower, Jesus is challenging us to reflect on the quality of our love for God. If our love for God is deep, then we will find ways of overcoming the ' obstacles and temptations' that draw us away from God. Do you have habitual ways of living that dilute and distract you from loving God more?

Hello dear Friends and collaborators of creating a healthy community in Gonzales, invite you to a meeting on 7/25/2017 at 3;30pm at St. Theodore Church Gonzales, Room # 3 I need suggestions from you on this idea: 1. International Grandparents day celebration Gonzales Way St. Theodore Church Catechetical Ministry would like to sponsor Grandparents day, open to the public , of all faith, color and creed, only requirement is to have or had a a grand parent alive or in eternal rest. Purpose: Bring together inter generational gifts and lives of all residents of Gonzales, Gonzales way Celebrate the lives of all our Grandparents, their roots, in doing so to affirm our own roots to give wings to generations to come Celebrate the multicultural community of our home, Gonzales and the history, in making, of our rural but international community Theme:Out Roots, Our Heritage (open to suggestions???) Day/date: Sunday, 10, September 2017 time: 12noon- 3pm (or 4pm) SYMBOL: Children under a tree Entails: Creating a Map of our Roots ; world map with Gonzales focus connected to the origin of our birth writing fam ily story creating posters with the positive strengths of our grandparents story telling food, crafts, arts music of each community's origin all suggestions and ideas are welcome Pauline Sister Pauline Thomas PCL St. Theodore Church Catechetical Ministry Gonzales, Ca 93926 831-675-2100 sttheocm@gmail.com

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time – We Treasure the Reign of God Posted: 24 Jul 2017 04:00 AM PDT “Jesus said to his disciples: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it’” (Matthew 13:44-46). In this series of sayings, Jesus continues his teaching about the reign of God. What will it be like? What can we expect? His teaching is both clear as a bell and yet filled with mystery we cannot fully grasp. The treasure in the field he describes must have been very great, indeed. The fellow who found it, the text tells us, hid it so he could go and buy the entire field! He sold all he had to possess this great treasure. And the merchant who sold everything to buy that fine pearl must have nearly put himself out of business. Apparently it wasn’t the enterprise of selling pearls that attracted him but the beauty of the one fine pearl that superseded all others. Apparently half measures won’t do when it comes to fine pearls. In today’s world, it can be very difficult to sort out the good pearls from all the others. We are confused by a cacophony of noise coming from everywhere: media, Internet, neighbors, family, and our own inner voices. Which voice is of God? How can we sort it out? The key to all this is found in a simple word, easy to overlook, in the first line of the reading. Look again. Jesus teaches us that the mark of the right choice, the way we can know it, is that we will experience joy. In the old Baltimore Catechism, widely used in the Church until the Second Vatican Council, we were taught that God made us to know, love, and serve him but with the ultimate goal of being happy. When you pause to take the temperature of your conscience, finding deep joy tells you that you have made the right choices, even if the times are tough, even if the work is terribly hard. Still, if there is joy deep in your heart, it is a sign that God’s reign is present within you. – What are the times or decisions in your life that have clearly resulted in a deep inner sense of joy? Adapted from PrayerTime: Faith-Sharing Reflections on the Sunday Gospels, available at the RENEW International store

Prepare for next Sunday’s Mass today: July 30, 2017 Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A Matthew 13:44-52 (shorter form: Matthew 13:44-46) Jesus teaches about the Kingdom of Heaven. Today’s Gospel concludes three weeks of readings from the 13th Chapter of Matthew’s Gospel. Throughout these three weeks we have heard Jesus teaching crowds about the kingdom of heaven, and we have heard Jesus interpret some of his teachings for the disciples. In this week’s Gospel, Jesus offers three more short parables. Learn more about this Gospel with reflections and activities. Religious Educators: Check out suggested activity ideas to go with next Sunday’s Gospel. Activities are available for Grades 1-3, 4-6, and 7-8. Yesterday’s Mass: Review the readings for July 23, 2017, the The Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle A

Ord Week 16th : Tuesday 25th July, 2017 (Mt 20: 20a,21b-23,25-28) Dear Friend in the Lord, Lording over Others : In today Gospel, Jesus proclaimed that instead of lording over people, we are all called to be humble and serve others. Ponder on how we tend to enjoy being served, but if we humble ourselves and serve others, the joy of Christ is even more fulfilling and lasting. Have you experienced this?

Feast of St James, Apostle : Monday 24th July, 2017 (Mt 20: 20a,21b-23,25-28) Dear Friend in the Lord, Lording over Others : In today�s Gospel, Jesus proclaimed that instead of lording over people, we are all called to be humble and serve others. Ponder on how we tend to enjoy being served, but if we humble ourselves and serve others, the joy of Christ is even more fulfilling and lasting. Have you experienced this?

16th Ord Sun : Sunday 23rd July, 2017 (Matt 13:24-30) Dear Friend in the Lord, Awareness: In today�s Gospel of the Parable, Jesus reminds the crowd that if weeds appear when the wheat ripens, then this reveals that we have not been vigilant in the way we have lived our lives. Ponder on, 'What are the weeds/selfish habits in my present life? How can I be more aware of such weeds?

From Tish Scargill, Diocesan Director for Catechetical MInistries Hi everyone I wanted to let you know that Mimi Schwertfeger, Administrative Assistant for Catholic Schools, her husband and their family are in need of prayers. While on vacation in Italy, visiting their daughter and 5 grandchildren, R.C., Mimi’s husband, had a near drowning experience. He has irreversible brain damage and is in the hands of the Italian Medical community. Mimi would like to bring him home but in order to do so, they are trying to raise $200,000.00. I have included links to two news stories and also their Go Fund Me page. If you have social media, please help spread this story and bring them home. Thank you so much! You have no obligation to do anything, or give money, This is your own choice. KSBW story 7/20/17 http://www.ksbw.com/article/salinas-man-stranded-in-italian-hospital-after-almost-drowning-on-vacation/10338152?src=app Please keep RC and Mimi Schwertfeger in prayer... They are in need of help. http://abc7news.com/…/salinas-man-unresponsive-aft…/2235003/

Catechists as Missionary Disciples Darcy Osby Being a Catechist Catechetical Sunday 2017 - Living as Missionary Disciples - clip art from USCCB Catechetical Sunday, with its 2017 theme of “Living as Missionary Disciples,” is a wonderful opportunity for us to reflect on why we do the challenging work of catechesis. How do we live as missionary disciples? Mission When I hear the word missionary, I think of a priest sailing to some far away and foreign land to preach the Gospel, armed only with his crucifix and his conviction. We might think that the call to be a missionary is a special calling meant only for a few hardy souls; we might be tempted to think, “Oh, I could never do that! Surely God is not calling me to be a missionary!” Yet that is exactly what God is calling us to be. Our mission field is not a remote village in the Amazon rainforest, but a classroom. We share the Gospel not with people who have never heard of Jesus Christ, but with apathetic sixth graders or second graders preparing for the sacraments. Discipleship On the other hand, discipleship often calls to mind something comfortable and easy. We grew up hearing that a disciple is a friend of Jesus. “Oh, yes,” we might think, “I am a disciple. I love Jesus. I go to church every Sunday. I pray. I listen to Jesus’ teachings.” But when we stop and look at what Jesus actually required of his friends, discipleship takes on a whole new meaning. Have we really “dropped our nets” and left everything behind to follow Jesus, just as St. Peter did? Are we really people of hope in the face of suffering and persecution? Do we show the children in our classrooms how to love Jesus, or do we simply have them memorize facts? Are we more interested in meeting curriculum standards than helping children meet a person? Missionary Discipleship We simply cannot be a missionary without being a disciple. If we want to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then we must have our own intimate relationship with Jesus. Similarly, we cannot be a disciple without being a missionary. Our relationship with Jesus propels us to share his love with others. There is no such thing as a static disciple. Our joy at knowing Jesus bursts forth in service, using whatever gifts God has given us. A missionary disciple is someone who loves Jesus and just can’t contain that love. What does this mean for catechists? In the perfect parish, each and every catechist would be so on fire with love for Christ that they would spark a fire for him in the hearts of every child and family they serve. However, we do not live in a perfect world. We are all in different stages of our faith journey; everyone has a unique relationship with Jesus. I have seen individuals who become catechists simply because they volunteer for everything; through service they find a love for Jesus that they never imagined. I have also seen people become catechists because they are “good Catholics,” but do not have an intimate relationship with Jesus of their own. What they teach makes no difference in the lives of the children, because it makes very little difference in their own. No matter where we are on our journey of faith, we have been called to be missionary disciples. Rooted and empowered by our loving relationship with Christ, and trusting that he will provide us all that we need, we can share his love in whatever mission field he sends us. Reflection How do you see yourself as a missionary disciple? When did you notice that catechesis became your vocation? When did you realize that you were in this ministry not for you or the children you serve, but for Christ?