Holy Conversation: September 2016

Why the name?

"Holy Conversation" does sound like an exceptionally pious name, even for a parish blog. And we can't guarantee that everything here will meet the high standard the name implies. But the phrase comes from the story of our patron saint, and we think it fits. Here's why.

St. Scholastica was a sixth-century abbess who, according to the Dialogues of Pope Gregory I, used to meet once a year with her brother, St. Benedict. On the last occasion they were together, they spent their time "satisfying each other's hunger for holy conversation about the spiritual life."

We hope that this blog can become a place where the members of our parish can find a taste of the companionship and conversation that Scholastica and Benedict enjoyed so much. Welcome!

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Cate-Carnival 2016!

Our first Cate-Carnival to kick of the fall education season was a great success! There were hotdogs, popcorn, and sno-cones; face-painting, games and crafts; and information and sign-ups for our elementary religious education program as well as adult faith enrichment resources.

Thanks to all who participated and to the religious education catechists who led the activities!

One of the most popular features was photos with Pope Francis and the newly canonized St. Teresa of Kolkata. See some samples below.

Watch out for the hotdog man!

Finding Our Place in Creation

On September 15, about 15 parish members and guests welcomed Prof. Daniel P. Scheid of Duquesne University to St. Scholastica. Dan spoke to us about Pope Francis's encyclical letter Care for Our Common Home (Laudato Si') as well as on his own recently published book, The Cosmic Common Good. St. Scholastica staff member Andrew Bechman took part in the conversation, as did several of the parish members present.

Dan Scheid

If you would like to listen to the evening's conversation, you can find Part 1 here (+) and Part 2 here (+) on SoundCloud.

You can also join us during October in reading Pope Francis's letter. Copies will be available at church during the month, and groups of parish members will be reading and discussing a condensed plain-language version of the document. More information is available here.

We encourage you to read and reflect upon this challenging and trenchant letter!

Dan's book