Introducing an
All-Family / All-Parish
Workshop & Retreat Day
In Preparation for Easter
Sunday, March 18, 2018
from 11:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

For it was preparation day ... (Mark 15:42)

Who is it for?

For adults and students, children and their parents, grandparents, infants, single people, engaged couples, young adults, teens, and those who have been around a few years ...

The day is for parishioners and guests, for Catholics and those who want to know more ...

It is for all our liturgical ministers
For lectors
For greeters and ushers
For altar servers and sacristans
For communion ministers
For choir members and musicians
For everybody

Por la comunidad hispana

Un día de retiro en inglés y español para toda la familia, toda la paroquia.

¡Haga que la Pascua cobre vida para usted y su familia!

Habrá dos lecciones en español: un ensayo para los lectores, y una pelicula para toda la famila, "El Misterio Pascual".


Why this day?

Several threads came together to form this first “whole family, whole parish catechetical day”. The idea came from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, who encouraged parishes to bring all the generations together for an integrated day of prayer, learning and fellowship, “in order to make Holy Week and Easter come alive”.

In addition, the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend requires all extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion to attend, as a minimum, a half day workshop or retreat each year; the local parishes are encouraged to plan such days at the parish level. This “Preparation Day for Easter” fulfills the diocesan requirement.

Finally, it has long been a desire to organize better our many different rehearsals for Holy Week. The choir, various lectors, the altar servers and other liturgical ministers now have a way to prepare for the great liturgies of Holy Week as part of a day that is spiritual, communal, fun and challenging.
 

Special Theological Advisor
Dr. Katharine Mahon

University of Notre Dame
Faculty of Theology, Department of Liturgical Studies

Dr. Katharine Mahon is very interested in helping lay people and clergy develop their sense of liturgy. She received her doctorate in theology from the University of Notre Dame in 2017, writing about the Our Father in the 16th cent. Now she teaches in the liturgical studies department of Notre Dame.

Here is her question for us: How do the Church's feasts, fasts, and seasons allow us to enter into Christ's saving work and help us to live out the Good News throughout the year?

Schedule for the day

11:30 — Lunch by Caruso's Restaurant
12:15 — Introduction by Dr. Kate Mahon (see below)
1:00 — Workshops, session 1
2:00 — Workshops, session 2
3:00 — A movie for the whole family
5:00 — Vespers (Evening Prayer)

Workshop Session I - 1:00-1:45

  • The Great Vigil of Easter
  • Social media in the service of the Gospel
  • Communion ministers’ update
  • Ensayo para los lectores hispanos
  • Rehearsal: Passion narrative of Palm Sunday
  • Rehearsal: altar servers of Palm Sunday

Workshop Session II - 2:00-2:45

  • The Great Vigil of Easter
  • Welcoming People with Disabilities
  • Communion ministers’ update
  • El Misterio Pascual (video en español)
  • Rehearsal: Passion narrative of Good Friday
  • Rehearsal: altar servers of Easter Vigil
 

Special Programs

In addition to the workshops above, there will be two additional events throughout the afternoon:

A day of religiouos adventure for children in grades K through 7

Our intrepid religion teachers have an exciting day planned for children up to the 7th grade! A mixture of movies, learning, singing, snacks and praying with God—you’re gonna love it!
 
A musical rehearsal for the Triduum

Marilee Roederer and the choir will use the afternoon to rehearse the music for the liturgies of Holy Week and Easter.

Special film presentation:
THE PRINCE OF EGYPT
a movie by DreamWorks Animation
This animated movie from 1998 tells the story of the Biblical Book of Exodus in a form the whole family can appreciate.


What is "Vespers"

The word "vespers" comes from the Latin word for "evening". It is the official Evening Prayer of the Church, part of the Liturgy of the Hours, that is, the Holy Office, as it has been prayed since the days of the Apostles themselves (ask our high school students - they know!).

We will end our retreat together by praying Evening Prayer according to the form used at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. In this way, Notre Dame in Indiana and Notre Dame in Paris both come to the support of St. Anthony's in Angola!