One Simple Thing: 
Living the Presence of Jesus
The Spirit must have been moving
across France
on Christmas night of 1886. Thérèse Martin, later Saint Thérèse of Lisieux,
while standing on a staircase in her family's home, recovered the strength of
soul she had lost when her mother had died; Jesus changed her heart, she would
say later. In Paris,
during vespers at the Cathedral of Notre Dame, a young atheist named Paul
Claudel was converted to Catholicism; he would become a prominent Catholic
writer and diplomat. And Charles de Foucauld, in his late 20s-an aristocratic soldier-adventurer,
explorer, and sometime libertine-experienced what he called his first "Christian"
Christmas.
His
spiritual rebirth lead Foucauld, now Blessed Charles de Foucauld, to the back
country of Algeria,
a solitary Christian witness and a great friend to the Muslim Tuareg
tribespeople. There he lived what he called his "Nazareth," his call to imitate what he
envisioned Jesus' life in Nazareth
to have been: manual labor, poverty, humility, hiddenness.
Though no
Christians lived near or with him, Charles was no hermit. He was a preacher-not
with words, but by his presence: his own, and that of Christ. "Our whole
lives," he wrote, "no matter how silent or public-whether the life of Nazareth, the life in the
desert, or the public life-must preach the gospels from the rooftops."
As a
priest, he did not receive permission for many years to celebrate the
Eucharist, and it was only later he got permission to reserve the Blessed
Sacrament. By necessity he celebrated alone. But in the solitude of these
Eucharists he saw his mission to make Christ more present in the world.
Charles was
killed in the confusion of a rebel raid on his borj or encampment in December of 1916. When soldiers arrived later
they found the Blessed Sacrament thrown in the sand along with pages of the
Tuareg dictionary he had so painstakingly compiled-two symbols of the love of
Christ whose presence he had sought to bring to the Algerian desert.
Each of us has our own Nazareth, our own opportunity to witness to the
loving presence of Christ in the world around us. Blessed Charles imitated
Jesus, and as a saint he calls us to imitate Jesus through him. "Everyone knows,"
he wrote in a letter, "that the first effect of love is imitation."
-Joel Schorn
Joel Schorn is a writer, editor, and STEP
facilitator living in Chicago.
|
What's New at STEP?
New Web Site Live October 2oth
We are pleased to announce that the new STEP web site and ND Marketplace
storefront is now up. Click here to check out our new features and new look!
http://step.nd.edu/.
In addition to offering a more secure and streamlined registration experience, we hope this enhanced site will serve as a portal through which both current and prospective STEP students can tap into some of what is going on at Notre Dame and in the Catholic community.
Because of this tighter security, though, STEP will not migrate
user data into the new system. This means each STEP student will have
to create a new profile before they register for their next course.
In order to celebrate our new web site, STEP is offering
credit card users a 10% discount until November 30th. See below for details.
And please let us know what you think of the new site. We welcome your comments and feedback!
_______________________________
New Courses in Development
STEP continues to develop new courses
to fill content gaps and meet participants'
needs. Some of the new courses that are being developed are:
- On Christian Marriage
- Emerging Models of Catechesis
- History of Christianity: 1000-1500 AD
Look for them in the upcoming months!
|
|
The Church
Feast of All Saints
On November 1 the Church celebrates the Solemnity of All Saints. The feast gives all Catholics
the opportunity to honor all the saints. During the year, we celebrate individual
saints on their feast days, but on this one day, we celebrate all saints.
In the early church, Christians celebrated the anniversary of the martyrs
who died for Christ. Pope Gregory III
(731-741) consecrated a chapel in the Basilica of St. Peter to all the saints
and fixed the anniversary for November 1st. Pope Gregory IV (827-844) extended the celebration to the entire Church.
Read about the Saint of the Day
americancatholic.org
_________________________________
 The Synod on the Word
The Twelfth Ordinary Synod of Bishops took place in Vatican City from October 5-26, 2008.
The theme of this Synod was "The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church."
The basic role of the Synod of Bishops, held every three years or so,
is to advise the pope and solidify church communion.
Pope Benedict XVI stressed, at the opening mass of the synod, that knowledge of Scripture is essential to
the church's evangelizing mission in an increasingly godless society.
"It is indispensable that the church know and live that which she
proclaims, so that her preaching is credible, despite the weaknesses
and poverty of her members...
Only the word of God can profoundly change the heart of man."
More can be learned about the synod at the US Bishops web page on the Synod.
And at this web site devoted to the synod
http://www.scripturesynod.com/
|
Course Participants
 STEP Survey 2008
The results of the survey shared a few insights about STEP course participants.
- 60 % are female and 40% are male.
- The majority are 46-65 years of age.
- 40% are graduates of a Catholic college or University.
- Come from nearly every diocese in the U.S. and 13 international diocese.
- Over 80% plan to take a course in the next year.
Thank you to all who participated in the survey and shared their time and thoughts with us.
_________________________________
MA Course Opportunity
Announcing a special opportunity to take a masters level course over the Christmas holiday. THEO 60240 Contemplation and Action with Prof. Matthew Ashley will be offered at the Redemptorist Renewal Center of Picture Rocks, Tucson, Arizona, December 28, 2008--January 9, 2009.
If you are interested, please contact Dr. Matt Zyniewicz at (574) 631-6292.
|
University of Notre Dame
 While
not everyone can come to campus and enjoy the beautiful fall colors
(and as it gets colder here few may want to), you can take a virtual
tour of campus any time here.
___________________________________
ND Forum on Sustainable Energy
"The issue of sustainable energy touches each of us. We might be
frustrated by how much we pay at the pump, fret over security and
environmental issues presented by our car's dependence on oil, or
wonder about the damage pollution is causing the earth...
The 2008 Forum on Sustainable
Energy invites us to take note of the issues; to review a variety of
perspectives-from science, the Church, and the media; and to come to an
understanding of our own individual accountability."
You can read more about the forum on their web site http://enlighten.nd.edu/
Students through the Center for Social Concerns are working to reduce the carbon footprint. Read more here.
|
|
