For Meeting held on 15th October 2005 ( Click here )

Report on
AUTUMN STUDY DAY OCTOBER 7th 2006

On a fine October Saturday morning members of Our Lady's Catechists gathered at the Church of La Salette and St. Joseph, whose Parish Priest, Canon Michael Cooley, had kindly granted us permission to use the Church and a study room for the day.

Initially people arrived in dribs and drabs - some were early enough to enjoy the 9.15 Mass and others arrived later, somewhat bemused to find themselves at a Mass.  Was it ours?  What had gone wrong?  Had we come to the wrong place?  By the time 10 o'clock arrived and the Mass had finished, the early arrivals realised they had not read the instructions properly and the Study Day was due to start at 10.30 am! 

After the initial signing in, when we greeted each other and exchanged the news, and fortunately Marie Francis, Chairman of OLC, was there to organise us into the day.  (See picture: Marie in Charge)  It was then that we began to be aware that Marie had been awarded a Papal Bene Merenti Medal at the instigation of her own Parish in recognition of her work there with Our Lady's Catechists. 

It was fortunate for us that Marie was in charge, together with Helen Cooley, Canon Cooley's sister.  All began falling into place, and after Coffee and more chat, we stopped everything to celebrate a wonderful Holy Mass, with Fr. Harry Curtis officiating.  The Feast of the Day was Our Lady of the Rosary, instituted to mark the victory of Christianity over the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571.  As Our Lady's Catechists generally have a Study Day in October, the fact that this year the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary fell on a Saturday, the date was perfectly chosen to allow us to celebrate a very special occasion in the life of the Rosary. . .

During the Mass, Fr. Harry referred to the honour accorded to Marie who came up to the church's unaccustomed pulpit to acknowledge everyone's congratulations. 

After lunch, which included a delicious fruit cake made by the School Cook to celebrate the 40th Anniversary  of St. Joseph's Catholic Primary School which is attached to the Parish, we all made our way to the Study Room for Fr. Harry's very interesting talk.   The subject of the day was a Meditation on the Rosary with particular reference to the Mysteries of the Christian Life.  Father Harry is in the process of writing a book on the Four Mysteries of the Rosary of which we were privileged to have an early view!  Publication will eventually take place after all the copyright business has been sorted - the dreary side of academic writing!  We shall all have to wait awhile. . .

At the end of the afternoon Father Harry led us in prayer in the beautiful Church with a meditation followed by Benediction of the Holy Sacrament.   Alas, there was no organist among us but we managed to sing our hymns a capella with surprising success and a great thank you was accorded to Father Harry at the end.  Thanks and congratulations for the organisation of the day went to those who were responsible, especially Marie, who had worked so hard to make the day a success.

Indeed the entire day was a triumph, enjoyed by everyone who attended.  It is always difficult to find the perfect venue when trying to gather people from one end of the country to the other, not to mention those from one side to the other, but those who were not able to be present at the Study Day this year surely kept in their hearts a thought for their colleagues in London and remembered them in their prayers on the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, as we who were at the Church of Our Lady of La Salette and St. Joseph on that day did for them.

A Report on the Autumn Meeting in Cambridge

Our Lady's Catechists Autumn Study Day, 15th October 2005,

Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology, Cambridge.

The Group attending this Study Day included Catechists, Associate Members, Students and Diocesan Representatives were joined by OLC's Spiritual Adviser, Fr Harry Curtis, Dr Clare Watkins, Vice-Principal of the Institute and Dr Oonagh O'Brien, Director of Studies.

The day began with Mass in the Chapel celebrated by Fr Harry.

Dr Oonagh set out the programme of the day where the theme for the day was “Eucharist: Summit and Fount of the Church's Life” (Vatican II: Sacrosanctum Concilium 10*).

Dr Clare said Catechesis must have its bedrock on faith. Catholic doctrine of the Eucharist must be received, lived and transmitted to the faithful, a life-long work. Elaborating the theme, she pointed out that unless we are not careful, the routine of the Mass and the receiving the Eucharist, can dim if not extinguish the very Mystery of the Eucharist.  By declaring the Year of the Eucharist, the late Pope John Paul II wanted to rekindle the Amazement of the Eucharistic. It is only after we have been amazed and lived remembering the experience, that we are truly able pass it on and share with others.

Working in four groups we shared our personal thoughts on the ‘Catechism of the Catholic Church’ using texts selected by Dr Oonagh O’Brien:

v     Group 1 (Paras. 1322-1344)  The Sacrament of the Eucharist.

v     Group 2 (Paras. 1345-1355)  The Liturgical Celebration of the Eucharist

v     Group 3 (Paras. 1356-1372)  The Sacramental, Sacrifice, Thanksgiving, Memorial,  Presence.

v     Group 4 (Paras. 1373-1381)  The Presence of Christ by the power of his Word and the Holy Spirit.

In each section the groups were asked to respond to two these two questions:

v     What is significant, or inspiring to you here, in terms of your own personal faith?

v     What, in this text, is challenging or difficult for your personal faith?

As the day was so warm and lovely, some groups chose to work outside. After packed lunch, we resumed and shared our thoughts whilst Oonagh and Clare added further thoughts.

Afterwards, using the same texts, each group was asked to choose an age group and show how they did, could or would use these texts in teach situation. A scribe in each group was chosen to take notes and report back. Half an hour was spent on deciding what we did, could or would do.

Afterwards we came back together to discuss the suggestions from each group, which finally melded into a view as to how, generally, we run sacramental groups.

The Autumn Day ended with a blessing. given to us by Father Harry Curtis.

 (This entry is based on an article by Elizabeth Rodgers, Middlesbrough Diocesan Representative)

 * 10. Nevertheless the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows. For the aim and object of apostolic works is that all who are made sons of God by faith and baptism should come together to praise God in the midst of His Church, to take part in the sacrifice, and to eat the Lord's supper. (Sacrosanctum Concilium – Pope Paul VI 4th December 1963)