On June 5th, we begin our fourth series in the Mystagogy program with ten weeks dedicated to “The Riches of Magisterial Teaching.” We will break open together some of the key papal documents that have guided the Church in the modern age. Here is a link to a flyer with the entire schedule. Please do share with your family and friends.
We begin the summer with the brief but seminal encyclical by Pope St. Paul VI, Of Human Life (Humanae Vitae). Promulgated in July 1968, the work has proven to be prophetic in so many realms as to modernity’s assault on the family and the true nature of sexuality. We discuss why the work shook the Church and the world and explore the amazing “why” behind the most ignored and vilified, yet central Catholic Church teaching for our time. We will also consider keynotes of Pope St. John Paul II’s follow-up to Humanae Vitae in his lifelong reflection called “The Theology of the Body.”
We are blessed to have an amazing guest presenter to kick-off our summer series. Sr. Helena Raphael Burns, fsp is a member of the Daughters of St. Paul, an international congregation of Roman Catholic Sisters founded to communicate God’s Word through the media. She has an M.A. in Media Literacy Education; a B.A. in theology and philosophy from St. John’s University, NYC; studied screenwriting at UCLA and Act One-Hollywood; and holds a Certificate in Pastoral Youth Ministry. Sr. Helena wrote and directed a documentary on the life of the Church’s new media saint, Blessed Father James Alberione: MediaApostle.com and is a co-producer on The40Film.com. She has written a Theology of the Body curriculum used in her online TOB Certificate Course through Sacred Heart College, Peterborough, ON, Canada. Sr. Helena gives Media Literacy & Theology of the Body workshops and courses to youth & adults all over Canada and the U.S., and believes that media can be a primary tool for sharing God’s love and salvation. She is a dual citizen, Canada/USA: an international woman of mystery.
This is going to be a great summer. In studying papal teaching, we place ourselves in the heart of the gift that it is to be Catholic. We have not been left to the whims and wiles of the world, but rather Jesus is present as our Shepherd in the documents we will study over the next ten weeks.