Sunday by Sunday by Joan Mitchell CSJ

[DavidtheGnome]

Hello,

I am currently attending RCIA and each week we get a copy of Sunday by Sunday by Joan Mitchell CSJ. It is published by Good Ground Press. This week’s issue had a prominent nuns on the bus article which focused on social justice so I wanted to see if their website covered the life issues at stake in this election. On their website I found references to every social justice issue I could think of but no clear pro-life or sanctity of marriage resources. In all fairness, I cannot eliminate the possibility I missed them since there are so many links!

Can anyone comment on the faithfulness of this publication (not the order of the Sisters of St. Joseph) to the magesterium and all of its teachings?

Thank You

 

[iloveangels]

Abortion is the pre-eminent social justice issue for Catholics and most practicing Catholics agree with that. If that’s not explicit in what you have, then it’s off-kilter.

Be careful about making a big fuss about it though. You may see things going on that are biased. It’s not unusual in RCIA classes. The idea is to get through the class, learn as much as you can, and learn how to be a Catholic. You will have plenty of time to work out all these details because Catholic is for the rest of a person’s life.

Welcome to the Church. We’re glad to have you aboard!

Oh, PS. I almost forgot to say. I’m a convert myself. More than 25 years now.

 

[Pug]

Feel free to ignore whatever publication they pass out at RCIA for weekly study of the bible.

Unless you can confidently discern the value of the publication, I’d ignore it, since stuff in RCIA is often subject only to a diffuse or cursory vetting process. And yes, I’ve read Sunday by Sunday. I chose to ignore it, as did the other team members on our RCIA team. The powers that be eventually figured that out and gave us a different publication.

I’d point you to a very old post of mine on the subject, but the search function fails to turn it up for some reason.

 

[PaulfromIowa]

Hello,

I am currently attending RCIA and each week we get a copy of Sunday by Sunday by Joan Mitchell CSJ. It is published by Good Ground Press. This week’s issue had a prominent nuns on the bus article which focused on social justice so I wanted to see if their website covered the life issues at stake in this election. On their website I found references to every social justice issue I could think of but no clear pro-life or sanctity of marriage resources. In all fairness, I cannot eliminate the possibility I missed them since there are so many links!

Can anyone comment on the faithfulness of this publication (not the order of the Sisters of St. Joseph) to the magesterium and all of its teachings?

Thank You

First, I am happy for you that you are joining the Church.

Second, the ‘Nuns on the Bus’ and anyone who praises them are in open rebellion against Christ and his Church. Period. This heretical filth should NEVER be used at any RCIA class nor be distributed in any Catholic Church. I would complain to the pastor and the bishop.

 

[Julia_Mae]

Feel free to ignore whatever publication they pass out at RCIA for weekly study of the bible.

Unless you can confidently discern the value of the publication,…

I’m not sure, but I believe it is a sin to tell this person to place his own judgement ahead of his Pastor or his appointed teachers. Why would anyone decide posters on an internet forum are better able to advise him or her than the actual people his Pastor has appointed to the task? You are promoting scandal, IMO, and encouraging an appalling lack of humility and trust in the Church in someone so new to the faith.

OP: make an appointment with your Pastor and take your question to him. You may find that the series was written some time ago and is about timeless issues in Scripture and not intended as a contemporary news source. I wouldn’t know, I am not familiar with the publication. But it is time for you to trust the Church, and the Church for you is your Parish, Pastor and Bishop.

If you already had all the answers, you wouldn’t need RCIA at all, would you?

I also encourage you to immerse yourself in your RCIA experience, your Parish and the people there.

 

[Pug]

I’m not sure, but I believe it is a sin to tell this person to place his own judgement ahead of his Pastor or his appointed teachers. Why would anyone decide posters on an internet forum are better able to advise him or her than the actual people his Pastor has appointed to the task? You are promoting scandal, IMO, and encouraging an appalling lack of humility and trust in the Church in someone so new to the faith.

If you are not sure that whatever you are concerned about is a sin, perhaps you might want to investigate, since it might come up again. I still recommend that if you (a general person) suspect a publication is unorthodox, then avoid reading it as a faith-building tool until you know otherwise. There are plenty of great things to read out there, enough to last a lifetime, and each of those will have a true positive impact in your life. For me to suggest in general otherwise than this seems wrong, especially to a beginner.

In case if this information is not obvious, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and also the pope’s various speeches and writings on the vatican.va site are reliable reading material. Those are two places to hear what the Church has to say (which is what we want to do).

 

[iloveangels]

If you are not sure that whatever you are concerned about is a sin, perhaps you might want to investigate, since it might come up again. I still recommend that if you (a general person) suspect a publication is unorthodox, then avoid reading it as a faith-building tool until you know otherwise. There are plenty of great things to read out there, enough to last a lifetime, and each of those will have a true positive impact in your life. For me to suggest in general otherwise than this seems wrong, especially to a beginner.

In case if this information is not obvious, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and also the pope’s various speeches and writings on the vatican.va site are reliable reading material. Those are two places to hear what the Church has to say (which is what we want to do).

Hey, do you have a Catechism of the Catholic Church yet? You can buy it or you can find it online. Here’s a great searchable copy>>>> scborromeo.org/ccc.htm You can look up anything that bothers you or that doesn’t look quite right.

 

[Pug]

Hey, do you have a Catechism of the Catholic Church yet? You can buy it or you can find it online. Here’s a great searchable copy>>>> scborromeo.org/ccc.htm You can look up anything that bothers you or that doesn’t look quite right.

Also, if you like to read the Catechism online in conjunction with the weekly readings, I love this site where you can type the gospel of the day into the search box and it will come back with a listing of every Catechism paragraph that quotes or references that particular gospel. It doesn’t just list them, it has the whole paragraph there to read.

One of our forum members made this site several years ago. You can do this using one of the indexes in the back of the larger version of the Catechism, but if like me you read online a lot at the site iloveangels mentions, this additional tool is great.

 

[DavidtheGnome]

Thank you for all of the advice that has been offered, I especially appreciate the catechism resources!

My first explorations of Catholic theology were an attempt to convince myself I did not need to convert so I spent a lot of time reading Catholic Answers, listening to podcasts and books on apologetics and conversion. In this process I covered many of the hot button issues including contraception, abortion, the sex scandals and the male only priesthood. Coming from a protestant church where contraception and female ministers were both accepted meant these teachings took some time to come to terms with. Only after I was convinced of the truth of these teachings did I actually attend a mass for the first time.

As several responses have advised, I am in RCIA to learn how to be Catholic and to grow in faith as part of a community. It is not my intent to be a dissident force or to challenge every resource provided in the program. As a potential convert experiencing the range of Catholic thought and opinion in America I am especially sensitive to any perceived bias or omission in presenting key teachings of the Church. If my concerns persist I will privately take them to our RCIA Director for guidance.