Faith Education

To facilitate participation for busy, working people, we’ve adopted a “Soup and Substance” format. The Retreat House will provide a light meal consisting of hearty soups and breads in the dining hall (anytime after 6:00 pm) to be followed at 7:00 pm by the 90 minute educational session in one of the presentation halls, ending at 8:30 pm. People could arrive from work (or at least without the need to worry about getting supper before arriving for the sessions), experience some “down time,” and then participate in the evening’s class.

• Want to come to a better understanding of why we Catholics believe what we believe?
• Want to be able to explain the basis of our beliefs to your children or grandchildren?
• Want to deepen your understanding of Sacred Scripture?
• Want to be able to defend your faith?
• Want to better appreciate the uniqueness of Catholicism and its 2,000-year old apostolic tradition?
• Then these sessions are for you.

The Spring 2009 session of classes will run on 6 successive Tuesdays during Lent: (March 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, and concluding on April 7 – the Tuesday of Holy Week). (why not make participation in these classes part of your Lenten discipline?)

To cover our costs (food, hvac, electrical and staff expenses) we’re asking $20.on registration day and $15. per session for the remaining 5 classes – a total of under $100. for the full 6-week course: payable in installments or in a single payment.

The topic area for our Spring 2009 Adult Faith Formation series will be:

The Person of Jesus Christ
• seeing how modern Scripture study allows us to get “behind the texts”
• knowing the distinction between the “Jesus of History” & the “Christ of Faith”
• appreciating Jesus as Teacher and Prophet – universal dimensions of his Person
• recognizing Jesus as Son of God and Savior of all people
• examining the Gospel narratives of Jesus’ Birth and Resurrection as inspired combinations of historical memory, faith experience and theology




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We do need to hear from you as to your interest and intention to take advantage of this opportunity to grow in the knowledge of your faith (we at least need a count for the opening session so as to prepare adequate space and provide for dining needs). Please call Immaculata at (860) 423-8484 or e-mail us at (dmagnum@immaculataretreat.org) or drop us a note at P.O. Box 55, Willimantic, CT 06226. Let us hear from you. Please mark your calendars now and contact us ASAP (shortly after Valentine’s Day would be great) so that planning can go forward for this exciting new offering at Immaculata. Time and space are at a premium in Retreat House scheduling and so if there is not sufficient interest indicated early on, it’s likely that the coming Spring session of our Faith Formation program will have to be suspended and other programming inserted into that time frame. Help us to make the best use of Immaculata as a spiritual and faith education resource in our area. Think about it, pray about it and let us hear from you in the coming days.

             Fr. Gene Tremblay, OMI, S.T.L.

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Adult Faith Formation at Immaculata

Adult Faith Formation has been identified as a very urgent need in our area. Immaculata is positioned to be a resource for the Diocese of Norwich to help meet that need. In addition to retreat programs in the coming years, we will feature classes for enrichment for those interested in educating themselves in the faith and/or possibly catechist certification.

Fr. Gene Tremblay OMI, S.T.L., who has joined the Immaculata staff after some 30 years in educational ministry, will be offering a series of classes on the truths of our Catholic faith.

The Retreat House is heavily booked on weekends (Fridays thru Sundays) for Retreat Programs. The faith education piece will find a place in the Monday- Wednesday niche of available time and space - an evening program consisting of a 90- minute session once per week on successive Tuesdays in a 6 week block: faith formation needs to be approached in a systematic way if it is to be effective. There will be 2 such “blocks” presented in a calendar year (Spring and Fall) and the contents of these “blocks” will vary among Scripture, doctrinal and morality courses. A “block” could feature a one week hiatus at some point to accommodate holidays or just to break-up the sessions.

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The content areas will include:

1. Religion and Social Responsibility
• Christian Morality and Social Ethics
2. Belief and Unbelief in the Brave New World
   • comparative religions, atheism, philosophical underpinnings of contemporary Western culture (secularism)
3. Major Western Faiths:
   • Judaism
   • Christianity
   • Islam
4. Religion and Science
5. Catholicism Today
6. Introduction to the Bible:
   • Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures)
   • New Testament
7. Message of the Prophets
8. Letters of St. Paul
9. Christology
10. Modern Religious Thought

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The content here is challenging; however, decades of teaching experience have honed the skills necessary for rendering these materials understandable to college age young people and, therefore, to anybody interested in learning.

The populations served by such a program might be:

• DRE’s and Youth Ministers
• Catholic School faculty members
• on-going education for Deacons
• any interested laity in the area
• catechists in need of certification
• collegians
• follow-up for ACTS retreatants

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