My "Teaching" Parishes

One of the privileges of being a seminarian is the opportunity to work among and for the People of God. At the Saint Paul Seminary, that means being assigned to a Teaching Parish under the supervision of the parish pastor. My teaching parishes include St. Anthony of Padua and St. Hedwig parishes, as well as the John Paul II Catholic School, all of which are in Northeast Minneapolis (a map of these is here (letters A, B, D)).

As a second-year theologian, the emphasis of the program is preparing for future ministry as a teacher, catechist and preacher. So, this month, I've been spending time with their faith-formation program, which is a consolidation of several parishes in Northeast Minneapolis, and housed at St. Boniface. Each class (roughly divided into grades 1-8) has a patron saint and asks for his or her assistance and guidance.

Last week, I was working with 6th graders (Patroness: St. Teresa of Avila) on the Catholic understanding of Revelation. We talked about God revealing His will for us and the manner in which this comes to perfection in the person and example of Jesus (Dei verbum, 3-4). We also spoke about how this revelation is passed down to us in two forms: Sacred Scripture and Tradition. The last time I discussed this topic was on the Final Exam for Foundational Theology with Fr. Jerome Dittberner. Both last semester and last week I found the audiences challenging, but this time in a very different and exciting way!

This week it's the 4th graders. May their patroness, St. Maria Goretti, pray for us!