S U M M E R / F A L L
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SEAS SPIRIT
Formed By The Holy Spirit
On April 1 this year, 100 youth of our
parish received the Sacrament of
Confirmation. Monica Schweiger, a
High School Junior who received the
Sacrament, shares her thoughts
about the formation she received
and how this Sacrament has affected
her Faith life.
What Confirmation Name did you
choose? Why?
I chose Maria Goretti for my Confirmation name because she is a great
role model for saying yes to God,
even when saying yes to Him resulted in her suffering.
How did you choose your sponsor?
Choosing a sponsor was easy because I’ve been blessed with a wonderful godmother that is like a second mother to me. She was chosen
by my parents to sponsor me in Bap-
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish Mission:
Guided by the Light of the Holy Spirit and
the example of Mother Seton, our mission is
to bring our parish family closer to God and
one another and to serve those in need.
By Erika Higgins
tism, this time around she was chosen by me to sponsor me in Confirmation.
How did your Confirmation classes
better prepare you to receive the
Sacrament? Was there anything you
learned that really stuck with you?
My Confirmation classes cleared up
any questions I had and helped me
to understand what Confirmation
was in a deeper sense. Something
that stuck with me was the video we
watched called The Star of Bethlehem. The video discussed all of the
signs in the sky that pointed to Jesus
being the true Messiah. It was very
interesting to watch.
How did you feel on the day of you
Confirmation?
Nervous, mainly because I didn’t
want to embarrass myself, and ex-
cited for the new chapter in my faith
life.
How has the Sacrament of Confirmation affected your Faith, your life,
and your relationship with Christ?
The Sacrament of Confirmation has
matured my faith and opened my
heart and mind to receive a deeper
presence of God. The Sacrament of
Confirmation blesses me with the
strength of the Holy Spirit to discuss
my Faith without hesitation and
helps me trust in God’s Will.
Formation Opportunities at SEAS
The St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish
flourishes with stewardship opportunities. There are various
ways to serve and much to do. It is
said that this is “the parish that
never sleeps.” Stewardship, however, goes deeper than all the
“doing.” Our “busy-ness” must be
fruitful in order to bring us closer
to Christ – our core mission. Below
is a sampling of the various formation ministries offered at SEAS:
Bible Studies – Sacred Scripture is
to our soul what nourishment is to
our physical body. Familiarity with
scripture places the issues of our
life in a broader context.
Jesus’ Little Lambs – The mission
of the Jesus’ Little Lambs program
is to provide preschool-age children of our parish their first opportunity for religious education in
a classroom environment through
age-appropriate scripture, crafts
and activities.
Marriage Preparation
(Mentoring Couples) – Married
Couple Mentors help engaged couples preparing for marriage. Couple
mentors meet one-on-one with
engaged couples to discuss the
skills and gifts necessary for a sacramental marriage.
Mother Seton Book Club – The
Mother Seton Book Club promotes
spiritual reading and encourages
the exploration of ideas related to
the Faith through discussion and
sharing.
Natural Family Planning Educator
– Teaching safe, effective and morally acceptable alternatives to artificial birth control. Training provided through the Family Life and
By Joshua Hampel
Natural Family Planning Office.
Parish of School Religion (PSR) –
The St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Religious Education Program assists
parents and ensures that all Catholic youth have an opportunity for a
quality religious education.
RCIA/RCIC – The Rite of Christian
Initiation of Adults and Children is a
process through which men,
women and children are initiated
into the Catholic Church. The process is open to all persons seeking to
join the Catholic Church or wanting
to learn more about the Catholic
Faith.
Vacation Bible School (VBS) – Assist with a week-long summer celebration of faith for children.
Call Candi Spacil, 721-1686, for more
information about these or other
parish formation opportunities.
Formation in Action in Our Parish
Children of SEAS learn about the power of prayer with Mary Ebberwein & Brenda
Menges and Fr. Orr gives a lesson in courage as he glides across the “Big Dipper” zipline
at Eberly Farms during Vacation Bible School.
The SEAS Boy Scouts Troop Summer Camping
Trip in Tres Ritos, NM (2012).
8th Graders place the crown of flowers on
Mary’s head for the May Crowning.
SEAS Children’s
Religious
Formation seen
in action with
the Diocesan
Stuff the Bus
program
for those in
need.
Fr. Voss leads youth during a Totus Tuus
Praise & Worship service.
For more information on formation
opportunities offered at St. Elizabeth’s,
contact the parish office - 721-1686.
The Rise & Development of the Catholic
Church
by Susan Osborne
Ever wonder how the Catholic Church
grew from a small band of Jesus’ apostles and followers in the Jerusalem area
to a dominant worldwide religion that
changed the course of the world? In
today’s world, word can spread within
milliseconds, but not so in the year 33
A.D. In my latest interview with Fr. Orr,
we focused on this subject.
Three Primary Jewish Sects
Fr. Orr began by noting that in the days
of Jesus’ preaching 3,000 - 5,000 were
often converted in one day (Acts of the
Apostles). Who were these new converts? Fr. Orr explained that there were
three groups of Jewish people in those
days-- the Pharisees, the Sadducees,
and the Essenes. The Pharisees were
legalistic, and Jesus often fought
against them. The Sadducees were the
elite and collaborated with the Romans.
Fr. Orr believes that the Essenes
(who were more spiritual, and included
John the Baptist, Joseph and Mary)
were among the first to be converted,
especially because this group of Jews
“disappeared” from the Jewish ranks at
the same time that the Christian religion spread. The Essenes were also concentrated in the area of Jerusalem,
where the first large burst of converts
occurred. Once outside the Jerusalem
area though, the apostles and new converts had to spread the word through
first building relationships with Pharisees and Sadducees. Paul and other
apostles spread the Word among all
Jews, and the Church morphed a bit by
taking on a similar hierarchy to the Jewish church—one high priest (the Pope),
helpers (the apostles who ultimately
became Bishops), and their helpers
(today’s priests) who were called elders. Beyond the Middle East, apostles
(and all converted Christians) multiplied
and spread the word through Asia,
Europe, and eventually the whole
world. And so, the Christian Church became established and then legalized by
the Roman Emperor Constantine. By the
year 400, it was the only legitimate religion throughout the Roman Empire.
The History of Women in the Church
Interestingly, the early Christian Church
chose not to separate women as did
Jews of the time. Today, women remain
separated in the Islamic and Orthodox
Jewish religions. As the Christian Church
developed, there were deacons and deaconesses, but the role of a deaconess
was limited to wives of deacons whose
main role was to baptize women (so that
the deacons would not have to touch a
woman’s chest). Fr. Orr says that some
make the false assumption today that
the early Church had women priests
based on the fact that there were deaconesses and women were not separated. Women were apostles in that they
were among the first followers of Jesus.
They spread the Faith, and they also provided much of the financing for the early
church. This is evidenced through the
story of Mary Magdalene, who was
among the first followers of Jesus.
Throughout history, there have been
disagreements over the validity of ordained female priests; however, the
Church continuously reminds us that
everyone has a unique and special role
in the Church.
The “Dark Ages”
During the “Dark Ages,” which began
according to today’s scholars with the
overthrow of the Roman government in
the year 476 AD, the population and
degree of education in Europe declined.
As Fr. Orr stated, “all of Europe went
backwards.” Centuries of feudalism,
wars, bloodshed and the disintegration
of civilization followed. In many European lands, uneducated groups spread,
replacing the more educated Romans.
Literature and art were discouraged and
learning to read was often illegal. The
only opportunities for education and art
occurred in the monasteries of Europe,
and the Church began to assume a governmental role in addition to a spiritual
role.
Christian and Islamic Tensions
In the 7th century, the Islamic religion
began in the area of the Arabian Peninsula. Largely through wars, Muslims
spread their faith and customs through
the Middle East, Morocco, Southern Italy
and Southern France. Most of Spain became Muslim. Muslim armies (Turks, Ottomans and Mongols) remained undefeated until the year 1076 when they lost
the Battle of Vienna. The Polish king recognized that defeat of Western Europe’s
Christian armies would mean an Islamic
Europe, and he sent his army to the rescue and helped defeat the Turkish Muslim
army. Never again did Muslims win a major battle. The date of this defeat? September 11, a date that radical Muslims of
today have not forgotten.
The Renaissance
By the fourteenth century, the enlightenment period called the Renaissance began
(after the Black Plague had eradicated
nearly 1/2 of the world’s population).
Society became more secular and better
educated. A focus on art, literature and
classical history reemerged. During the
Dark Ages, the pope had become a powerful political force in addition to being a
spiritual leader. During the Renaissance
period, the Church gave up its role in government and settled back into its spiritual
role. Fr. Orr noted that St. Gregory (Pope
Gregory the Great who served from 590
to 604) said “I almost hate being Pope
because I’m drawn to pray and worship
God, and compelled to also consider
taxes and protection of people against
Brigands.” Yet, despite its excesses during
the Dark Ages, the Catholic Church and its
leaders recognized its true mission and
turned the reins of government back to
the people. Today, the Catholic Church
exists world-wide, thanks to its apostles
who spread Jesus’ word throughout the
lands.
Paris h
What percentage of SEAS' parish families have signed up for at least one parish
ministry?
Trivia
a) 20% b) 40% c) 60% d) 80%
*Answer on page 4
Formation Deepens our Faith in Christ
This issue of the SEAS Spirit highlights our parish’s formation ministries. In reality, past articles on education, the liturgy, marriage, stewardship, and social opportunities all reflect one essential mission: formation.
Unlike setting personal goals that reflect our desires in this life (e.g., a new
house), formation reflects God’s desire
for us to live with him eternally. Jesus
tells us to “be perfect”—not in the
worldly sense but in the ways of the
Father. Faith tells us that the Holy
Spirit came into the world to continue
Christ’s work of forming us into his
disciples by grace and the sacraments
in the Church. As members of the
Church, each Christian is called to
form and to be formed in every walk
of life—husbands and wives form one
another; parents form their children;
teachers form students; and seminaries and religious orders form men and
women in their vocations.
Openness to formation is critical.
For several years at St. Elizabeth’s,
each RCIA participant arrived for ses-
sion one to a small jar of Play-Doh. At
the front of the room was a hard lump
of Play-Doh. The image served to remind participants that God intends to
form our hearts—and formation of the
“soft heart” is much less painful than
formation of the “hard heart.” At a
wedding recently, the deacon reminded the couple that Christian marriage is meant to form the couple into
saints. This observation is true! With
the help of grace, a couple can contribute to the formation of each other
through practice of the virtues, sacrifice, gratitude, humility, and forgiveness. And since raising young children
requires real selflessness, one might
say that children play an important
role in the formation of parents. When
parents, in the formation of their children, model openness to being
formed themselves, children are more
likely to respond in a way that is “softhearted” (less painful for everyone!).
Christ provided the perfect example
by allowing himself to be formed in
By: Chris Ebberwein
the ways of faith and family in the
home of Mary and Joseph.
Education and the formation that
takes place in seminaries and religious
orders all deepen the formation begun
in the home. Our diocese’s religious
education guide emphasizes formation
that deepens knowledge and practice
of the faith in order that individuals
can respond to the dilemmas of life
that are contrary to the truth—not
just for their own good, but for “the
good of all humankind.” Similarly,
Church teaching on the formation of
priests emphasizes the ongoing development of the person so as to become
“a bridge and not an obstacle for others” to encounter Jesus Christ. The
Church is clear that all formation
serves to develop the Christian on
earth so as to live a life with God in
heaven. However, if we fail to achieve
that Godly perfection in this life, God
allows us to continue a different kind
of formation in Purgatory—that place
of purification in advance of heaven.
Important Upcoming Parish Events
September 2 - St. Rose Sewing Group (7 p.m. 1st & 4th Tuesdays, October 18 - Blood Drive, 8:00 a.m.
9 a.m. 1st & 3rd Tuesdays)
October 31 – HS Youth “Trick-Or-Treating for Can Goods”, 7
September 3 - Public School of Religion Classes Begin, 6:30 p.m.
p.m. (Every Wednesday in school year)
November 1—All Saints Day
September 4 - Moms Group Mtg., 7 p.m. (Every 1st Thursday.) November 15 - Tour of Tuscany Parish Spirit Night & Auction
September 11 – Knights of Columbus Patriotic Rosary, 7
November 21 - Friday Family Movie Night, 6:30 p.m.
p.m.
November 30 - First Sunday of Advent
September 12 - Friday Family Movie Night, 6:30 p.m.
December 8 - Holy Day Feast of the Immaculate Conception
Vigil Mass, 6 p.m.; Holy Day Mass, 6:30 a.m., 8 a.m., 5:30 p.m., and 7 p.m.
September 13 – Over 55 Lunch, 11 a.m. Repeats October
11.
September 19 – Meat Making for Bierocks for Craft Fair,
Myth Buster: How did the Catholic Church acquire its
3:30 p.m.
power and wealth? A common belief, or myth, is that
September 20 – Make Bierocks for Craft Fair, 8 a.m.
once legalized under Constantine, the Church began takSeptember 21 – Parish Picnic, 3 p.m.
ing over the governments and hoarding great wealth.
September 27 – MSYM Dodgeball Tourney, 6:30 p.m.
Check the SEAS’ Facebook page and website to learn the
October 4 – Craft Fair, 9 a.m.
whole story!
October 17 - Friday Family Movie Night, 6:30 p.m.
Trivia Answer: 40% (actually 40.04%). Consider increasing that percentage this fall
when you receive your stewardship packet. There are many to choose from & some
others require minimal time. Trivia Q & A & Myth Buster by Susan Osborne
ST. ELIZABETH ANN SETON
CATHOLIC CHURCH
645 N. 119TH WEST
WICHITA, KS 67235
To join the SEAS Spirit Newsletter team or send your comments and suggestions, contact Erika Higgins;
(316)729-8391, [email protected].
(316) 721-1686
WWW.SEASWICHITA.COM