“Instruct a wise man, and he becomes still wiser; teach a just man, and he advances in learning. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the LORD, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. “
Proverbs 9: 9-10

Adult religious education opportunities take a variety of forms and change from year to year. Special classes, workshops and days of prayer are announced in our Sunday bulletin, The Reporter. This is a good place to look for special offerings. We invite special-topic facilitators who might like to share their particular area of research or interest with other Catholic Christians to call the religious education office. Some classes offered this year include:

R.C.I.A.: Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults
“I have called you by name and you are mine.”
Isaiah 43: 1

R.C.I.A. is the process by which one becomes a member of the Catholic Church. Invited to attend are those who are unbaptized, those baptized in another religion, those baptized Catholic but uncatechized, Catholics who have been away from the Church, adults seeking Confirmation and Catholics interested in learning more about their faith. Our group meets Wednesday evenings from 7-9pm in the parish center, September through May. Bring your questions and join us for lively discussion and an unparalleled spiritual journey.

Baptism Preparation

Classes to prepare parents for their child's baptism are held the first Tuesday evening of each month at 7pm in the Parish Center. Attendance is required for parents and godparents who wish to baptize their child at Sacred Heart of Jesus. Registration for the class is necessary.

Bible Studies
“For whatever was written previously was written for our instruction, that by endurance and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.”
Romans 15: 4

Sacred Heart of Jesus Scripture Study Classes

Logos Ministries
Study of the entire Bible, Genesis to Revelation,
book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse -
Patricia and Don Binns, Moderators

Thursdays
8:15 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. in the Parish Center

Tuesdays
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the home of Neil and Linda Schiffhauer
Please call 303-530-3460 for directions

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“The Upper Room”
Lectionary Bible study based on the readings for the coming Sunday.
Lively discussion, good food and wonderful fellowship. Drop-ins welcome.
"The Church has always venerated the Scriptures as she venerates the Lord's body." (Catechism of the Catholic Church)
Thursdays
7:00 to 9:00 pm in the Upper Room of the Parish Center

The Upper Room: Where you can find food, friendship and faith.

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Father Bill's Scriptural Catechism

Our pastor, Father Bill Breslin, will lead discussions based on the book he wrote, "A Scriptural Catechism of the Catholic Faith", following the 8:30am Mass from 9:50-10:20am in Jubilee Hall beginning Sunday, September 23rd. Grab your coffee and donut and a seat and get engaged in becoming more up to date theologically and spiritually. Our aim will be to become more confident and a disciple of Christ and more competent in discussing why we have in our hearts that very special something that leads us to be as faithful as we are. We will also aim at becoming spiritually proficient in knowing why (and how) we can help others to know of the love of God.

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Father Terry's Talks

Fr. Terry Ryan, CSP, is a Paulist priest, ordained in 1977. For 27 years he has been presenting the teachings of the mystics of the Western Tradition from the Catholic Christian perspective. This rich tradition opens to us a deeper understanding of our contemplative roots and a contemplative understanding of the gospels.

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Exploring Our Catholic Faith
A Treasury of wisdom

Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:15 p.m.
Parish Center
Spring 2008

Exploring Our Catholic Faith is for anyone interested in learning more about the Catholic Faith: for new Catholics who want to build on the good foundation they received in RCIA, for life-long Catholics who want to enrich their faith, and for non-Catholics who want to learn more about the Catholic Church and her teachings.

This Spring: Starting January 15, Exploring Our Catholic Faith examines A Short Walk through the Catechism.

Each class is one hour long, followed by an informal "coffee talk" for those who want to continue discussion of the evening’s topic.

Led by James Cavanagh, the Director of Evangelization and Catechesis for the Archdiocese of Denver. He has a B.A. in Religious Studies and an M.Div. from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley. This popular series meets in the Parish Center (14th & Mapleton). James was an Episcopalian priest for 17 years before being received into the Church in 2005.

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Would you like to lead a Bible Study? Catholic Scripture Study is a wonderful program that doesn’t require previous knowledge of the Bible. Materials and training are provided. Please contact the Office of Religious Education for more information. Consider doing this as a "book club" with your friends!

ENDOW
“I began to think of the soul as a castle made of a single diamond in which there are many rooms, just as in Heaven there are many mansions.”  
Teresa of Avila

ENDOW's mission is "to educate women towards a deeper, more profound understanding of their God-given dignity and vocation as women". This fall, the Sacred Heart of Jesus Endow group will study "Humanae Vitae" (On Transmitting Human Life), the widely discussed encyclical written by Pope Paul VI nearly 40 years ago. Facilitated by Janet Teran and Caroline Cavanagh, meeting times and dates will be announced in the bulletin. If you would like more information, visit EndowOnline.com.

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LIGHTWORKS
"Lighting a Fire Within"

A 14-week group introduction to Ignation spirituality

Each session offers presentations on prayer themes and
practices, and time for reflection and conversation, in order
to deepen one’s relationship with God and the world.

What exactly is LightWorks?

LightWorks is a light form of work, a series of limbering-up exercises for the spirit. Exercise stretches limbs, works muscles, builds strength and stamina. This is true for the spirit as well as the body.

St. Ignatius Loyola, as a layperson, developed what he called “Spiritual Exercises” as a way to help people find their way to wholeness and happiness. His exercises have proven very
effective in doing this for over four hundred years.

These spiritual exercises can be done in various ways and at various levels of intensity. Some individuals have the time and energy to take 30 days apart, praying for up to 5 hours a day and seeing a director each day, learning to discern their most life-giving path and coming to know God very well. (20th Annotation.)

Others are better able to do this in daily life, praying for about an hour and a half each day and seeing their director once a week. This form is referred to as “Spiritual Exercises in every day life,” or “in daily life.” (19th Annotation.) There is no fixed length for this since the action of God in a person’s mind and heart cannot be predicted in advance, but it tends to average
between 7 and 9 months.

However, there are still others who long to grow in relationship with God, find greater freedom and clarity in their lives, but who simply don’t have the time or energy for the 7-9 months of prayer and direction. This group will benefit from lighter exercise, or LightWorks.
(18th Annotation.)

Participants in such an exercise program would agree to come to all the meetings, to pray for a half-hour daily according to the suggestions made, to reflect on their prayer, and to be willing to share with the group at least some of what happened during the past week, wherever God seemed to show up.

In LightWorks, the director will give some input at the beginning of the meeting. Then the participants will form into groups and share according to the explanations and suggestions given by the director.

Participants learn deep respect for each other, develop skill in listening to others, as well as skill in their ability to recognize God in their own lives.

Following this sharing, the director will offer some comments and then explain the exercises that the participants will engage in on their own during the following week.

Those who engage in LightWorks will get a good taste of the full Spiritual Exercises, as a way to help decide whether they might want more later on.

If this fits with what you are looking for, please contact Michelle Anderson, Director of Religious Education at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, 303-442-6158, ext. 112 or andersonm@shjboulder.org.

LightWorks has been offered in Denver and at Regis University each year since 2005. The retreats have been facilitated by Fr. Stephen Yavorsky, S.J., the director of the newly established “Ignation Spirituality Program”, an outreach of Sacred Heart Jesuit Retreat House in Sedalia, Colorado.

LightWorks at Sacred Heart of Jesus will be facilitated by Lynne Collins, Ph.D., an experienced Spiritual Director and retreat provider. Lynn completed LightWorks under the direction of Fr. Steve in 2005-06 and the Exercises of Daily Life under the direction of Fr. Bill Breslin in 2006-07. Lynne is a member of St. Thomas Aquinas parish.

LightWorks: Annotation Eighteen “Lighting a Fire Within”
Information Session: Monday, September 24, 6:15pm, SHJ Middle School Library

Session I: October 8, 15, 22 and 29
Session II: November 19, 26, December 3, 10, January 7, 14, 21
Session III: February 11, 18, 25

Sessions meet in the SHJ Middle School Library from 6:15pm-7:45pm

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Small Christian Communities
”For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."  
Matt 18: 20

Sacred Heart of Jesus has many small Christian Communities whose participants forge a close relationship with one another. Activities include: studying Scripture, faith-sharing, praying and learning more deeply about our faith. Some groups are also involved with service projects that reach out to the community. These groups meet weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.

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Please contact Michelle Anderson at 303-442-6158, ext 112 for more information on any of these programs.

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