DeSales Resources
and Ministries offers parish missions, retreats and other preaching
engagements. Consider the following parish mission options and let
us know how we can best serve you.
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Future Missions | Past
Missions
Mission Options
The following are mission programs already developed. We'd be glad
to present any of these in the next season or work with you to design
something specifically for your needs.
Each
mission program includes:
1) preaching at all weekend masses
on the scriptures (with an invitation to parishioners to
attend the mission) and presiding as mutually
agreed upon;
2) three or four evening services with scripture, preaching, music,
congregational involvement, and with hospitality following each night.
(Our experience has shown that missions start best on Sunday evenings.)
Most often, but not always, the last evening happens in the context
of a celebration of the Mass.
3) a collection(s) for the parish that has some parishes showing
a profit on the mission;
4) an option of personal availability for individual pastoral work;
5)
an option of some work with the school children or the possibility
of some daytime programming.
Some Missions to Choose
from:
I.
Salesian Spirituality Missions
Presenters: Either two Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, or an Oblate
and a lay person. Normally, these missions require two presenters.
A.
Finding God Wherever You Are : Salesian Spirituality.
Living
a full Christian life in one's own situation.
1)
Finding God in Prayer
2) Finding God in Life's Decisions and Events
3) Finding God in Relation to Others
4) Finding God in Worshipping Community (Parish Eucharist)
B. Time
for God in a Busy World
Consider
the holiness of time through the teachings of St. Francis
de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal.
1) The
Sacrament of the Present Moment
2) The Past, The Gift of Memory
3) The Future, Where Do We Go From Here?
4) Parish Eucharist
C. Even a Hard Life Can Be Holy
Focuses on
the spirituality and life of St. Jane de Chantal.
1) A Woman
for All Seasons: The Life of St. Jane and Her Relationships
2) Following God's Ways
3) Praying God's Way-the Meaning and Importance of Prayer
in St.
Jane's Life
4) Parish Eucharist
II. Other Evangelical and Catechetical Missions
A. Treasuring
Life (Requires two preachers)
Stewardship
themes focusing on the worth of all creation and our challenges
to be
responsible care givers.
1) Treasuring
Yourself
2) Treasuring the Other
3) Treasuring Creation
4) Treasuring Your Church
The following six missions have most frequently been done by one
preacher, but are greatly enriched by the presence of a second preacher:
B. Sacred Menu: Eucharist and Forgiveness
Three
nights on Eucharist and one on Reconciliation: bringing to
life these
two
sacraments
1) Welcoming
the Word: Liturgy of the Word
2) Take and Eat: Liturgy of the Eucharist
3) Responding to the Divine Lover (with confessions as an option)
Go Share the Faith: A Celebration of the Holy Eucharist
C.
Heart and Soul Spirituality
The most
frequently chosen mission program to date. Basic evangelical
spirituality and renewal:
1) Being
the Beloved: Identity as God's Own
2) Responding to God: Sin and Reconciliation (with planned
but optional
celebration of Penance with Confessions);
3) Being in Christ: Ministry of the Baptized
4) A Faith to be Shared: Liturgy of the Eucharist
D. Going Home
Inviting
us all to enter into a gospel spirituality and psychology
of forgiveness as
part of our life style as Christians..
1) Letting
Go (of our own sins and failings)
2) Releasing and Forgiveness (of grudges and resentments)
3) Mercy is Ours (recognizing woundedness all around us)
4) Reconciling to Wholeness (a habitual diet of forgiveness brings
peace and joy)
E. Dare
to Believe
Rediscovering,
enlivening and refreshing our faith, which is a gift
that is given
and confirmed by those around us..
1) Open
Home - Hospitality
2) Open Heart - Forgiveness
3) Open Arms - Loving Others
4) Open Door - Release and Trust
F. Called and Chosen
What does
it mean to be Catholic? Exploring our Catholic identity through
the lens of our seven sacraments.
1) The Call
to be Holy (Sacraments of Initiation)
2) The Call to Forgiveness (Sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation)
3) Chosen for Healing (Option for Sacrament of Anointing
of the Sick)
4) Chosen to Serve (Sacraments of Holy Orders and Matrimony)
G. Telling
the Story
The power
of God's Word; introducing participants to the way in
which we use
sacred scripture as the foundation of our Christian life.
1) "Tell
Me the Truth!"
2) "Tell Me About Jesus"
3) "Tell Me About Creation"
4) "Tell Me About the Table"
COST AND WAYS TO HELP COVER COST
| A. |
All
of our missions include a social dimension, inviting parishioners
to consider sponsoring a child or an aging person at a Catholic
mission site in the third world through *Christian Foundation
for Children and Aging (CFCA). www.cfcausa.org |
| |
The
procedure is as follows:
- At
all weekend masses a flyer is made available either in
the bulletin, in pews or handed out by ushers.
- CFCA
is simply mentioned by a presenter during the homily,
and then after communion, a 90 second announcement allows
for folders to be distributed to those who want to look
at them.
- After
mass, interested parishioners come to a prepared table
in the back of church to sponsor someone or to ask questions.
- During
each mission night, a 30-60 second announcement is made
and folders for sponsorship are available at the back
of church and at hospitality.
- At
no point on the weekend or at the mission sessions themselves
will a collection for CFCA be taken up.
The
involvement by CFCA allows us to offer the following
financial arrangements:
|
| |
|
One
Preacher |
Two
Preachers |
| B. |
Mission
Stipends |
$1,250 |
$2,000 |
| C. |
Travel
and Expenses
Plane fare, and/or gas mileage (current rate) and travel expenses (such as tolls,
airport parking...) for the preacher(s) is covered by the parish, as well as
room and board (most often in the rectory or a parishioner's home.) |
| D. |
Parish
Collection(s)
The mission includes no collection for CFCA or for the preachers; a parish can
take up whatever collection it chooses at the mission to offset the cost of the
mission. (Some parishes have collected enough to actually make the mission a
fund-raiser.) |
| E. |
Rebate
of Hospitality Sales
At hospitality each night, DeSales Resources and Ministries will provide books
and recordings for sale to enrich the mission topics. After the mission, the
parish will be sent a 10% rebate on all sales as a thank you from DeSales Resources
and Ministries. |
WHAT'S NEXT?
You may have already reserved and confirmed a date for a mission
in your parish. If not, call as soon as possible to get on our
calendar, then:
1.
Choose a mission you are interested in.
2. Fill
out the following parish information and reservation form
and submit it to us.
Parish
Mission Information/Reservation Form
When we receive this form, we will send you a detailed packet
on the specific mission you have chosen and a Mission
Agreement to be
signed and returned to us with your 50% deposit.
|
