Teaching and learning the faith together
Teresa Joseph fma is a Salesian Sister in Mumbai, India. With extensive academic work from universities in Rome, she has taught university courses, held national, diocesan and congregational offices, revised catechetical texts, was member of the drafting committee of the Indian National Catechetical Directory and launched many creative programs for teachers, parents and students. Currently, she is animator of the community at Auxilium Welfare Centre, Koregaon Park, Pune. She takes every opportunity to work with children who live in the streets.
Dorian Speed has been a classroom educator and catechist for several years. She has worked in classical Catholic education as well as traditional school settings, and writes about culture and faith at Scrutinies.
Sherine Green serves as Director of Youth Faith Formation, mother, wife, professor at Villanova and St. Josephs Maine Online. Prior to working for the Catholic Community of Christ Our Light, Sherine worked for the Romero Center in Camden NJ. there she developed retreats for high schools, colleges and parish groups from around the country. She was a Mercy Volunteer in NY and completed her graduate studies at St Joseph’s College of Maine. Sherine is from Jamaica, where she currently invites groups on mission immersion experiences; growing up Catholic in Jamaica gave a great appreciation for people, cultures, faith and travel. One of her greatest faith building opportunities came during an immersion experience to Northern Ireland; an experience which has been paramount.
Talks include theological discussions, scriptural application, church teachings, traditions and lived approach to practically living faith.
Jeannie Ewing is a Catholic spirituality writer who focuses on the topics of grief, redemptive suffering, and waiting. Her four books include a meditation journal, a devotional, and two books on the topic of discovering joy in the midst of grief and waiting with expectation. She is a frequent guest on Catholic radio and contributes to several online and print Catholic periodicals. For more information, please visit her website lovealonecreates.com.
Based on her book, Waiting with Purpose: Persevering When God Says “Not Yet,” Jeannie Ewing discusses societal roadblocks to unfurling the hidden virtues God presents to us in waiting: patience, perseverance, trust, deeper faith.
As a former school counselor, Jeannie speaks to teens and young adults about how to hear God’s voice in discerning both primary and secondary vocations.
Based on Blessed Solanus Casey’s spirituality, Jeannie presents ways we can foster greater “expectant faith” by praying with specificity, confidence, and gratitude.
In our modern world, the word “generosity” connotes a sense of obligation or duty rather than true Christian charity. In this talk, Jeannie unveils the incredible fruit produced when we say “yes” to God and others by giving of our time, above all else.
A basic introduction and overview of grief, based on her book, From Grief to Grace: The Journey from Tragedy to Triumph, Jeannie answers the questions:
As Catholics, we have all learned that suffering can be redemptive. But what does it mean to suffer well? What are the opportunities to accompany others who are in pain when we suffer loss? Jeannie explains ways God presents opportunities for a deeper sense of purpose and even mission in our crosses.
Based on the concept of “active waiting” in her book, Waiting with Purpose, Jeannie discusses how the words pregnancy, expectancy, joy, anticipation, and vigilance all tie in to the times in our lives when God has given us a specific promise that has not yet been fulfilled.
Most of the time, when we wait it’s not because we’ve chosen to wait: in traffic jams or waiting rooms, long lines at the grocery store or for an important phone call. Jeannie explains that “passive waiting” comprises most of our waiting experiences. Using principles and concepts from her book, Waiting with Purpose, she gives fresh insight into the purpose of waiting.
Using spiritual concepts from her book, From Grief to Grace, Jeannie explores the ways we can enter our pain with greater courage by way of humility, abandonment to God’s providence, holy indifference, dark night of the soul, confidence in God’s timing, and the wound of the heart.
Sometimes our brokenness causes shame, and we doubt that we are truly a beloved son or daughter of God. But when we allow our brokenness to be blessed, as Henri Nouwen explained in his book, Life of the Beloved, we begin to see our wounds as a pathway to true healing. In turn, we can help others.
This talk was created specifically for people with disabilities to be encouraged in their uniqueness and not to be afraid of their visible or invisible brokenness, but instead to allow their brokenness to be a healing gift to the world.
Amanda Woodiel is a Catholic convert, a mother to five children aged 9 to 1, a slipshod housekeeper, an enamored wife, and a “good enough” homeschooler who happens to believe that the circumstances of her life–both good and bad–are pregnant with grace. Read more thoughts on faith and parenthood at www.inaplaceofgrace.com.
Gabriel Garnica is crazy enough to believe that we can all be saints, and he refuses to buy the lie that we cannot. He is a college professor with degrees in law and mental health counseling. He was born in Colombia and came to the U.S. as a young child. While Gabe continues to enjoy teaching law, his greatest fulfillment as an educator has come from his ten years as a catechist at two local parishes. Gabe is passionate about sharing his faith through writing and speaking; and he has enjoyed giving numerous talks to children on such topics as Divine Mercy, David and Goliath, The Ten Commandments, and prioritizing one’s faith. While he enjoys talking to children, it is in writing and speaking to adults that Gabe truly feels he has found his calling. His goal is to continue developing his Catholic speaking and write several books on his topics of interest, which include meditations on the Ten Commandments, Divine Mercy, the saints, parable stories, general Scripture, Pro-Life, and The Virgin Mary. He enjoys writing for his blog Deus solus https://wordpress.com/posts/deussolus9.wordpress.com and as a columnist at Catholic Stand ww.catholicstand.com/author/gabriel-garnica/
Gabe’s favorite saints are Tarcisius, Therese “The Little Flower”, and Alphonsus de Liguori, whom he describes as giving us a powerful glimpse of the loving challenge which God has given each of us. As mentioned above, Gabe believes that we are all called to be saints, but we spend more time convincing ourselves why we cannot become one than trying to fulfill our true purpose in becoming precisely that. Gabe also speaks about Catholic marriage as being the true “Love Triangle”, with each partner and God.
The Washing of The Feet is a powerful symbol of not only loving, humble service but, just as importantly, what a Christian’s feet should look like and why. This talk provides a compact and concise road map for how a Christian should and should not use his or her feet to fulfill the true purpose of bringing glory to God.
The famous story of David and Goliath is often incorrectly seen as a story of an underdog defeating a favorite. This talk challenges the listener to see this story as quite the opposite, and bridges that alternate suggestion to approaching the world while being true to God.
This talk illustrates how the greatly underestimated sin of backbiting destroys our chances for salvation by spreading three critical lies about our relationships with ourselves, others, and God.
This talk compares various characters of the Passion story to illustrate the difference between a selfie and anti-selfie mentality, and how the latter approach is the only way to fulfill one’s life mission.
This talk combines the story of Judas vs. Peter, Gestas vs. Dismas, and the parables of The Prodigal Son and The Vine Workers to paint a moving image of Divine Mercy.
This talk presents The Lord’s Prayer and Mary’s Magnificat as the prototypical and perfect prayers which epitomize what all prayer should be.
This talk illustrates how addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication provide a concise and fundamental formula for eternal salvation in the context of popular Scriptural illustrations.
This talk illustrates how three kings, Solomon, Herod, and Henry VIII, each defined their lives, and fates, by how they viewed a baby and power.
This talk takes the wisdom of Saint Therese “The Little Flower”, Saint Tarcisius, and Saint Alphonsus de Liguori to illustrate the three levels of suffering necessary for becoming the saint that we are all destined to become.
This talk illustrates how the famous psychological concept of cognitive dissonance explains the sinister and destructive cycle of sin.
This talk demonstrates that Divine Mercy is the exact opposite of sin, and therefore provides a concise explanation of why Divine Mercy breaks the cycle and lie that sin is.
This talk illustrates how the story of Gideon provides us with the exact road map to bringing peace, trust, faith, and salvation to our lives. Included in this discussion is the view of Catholic marriage as a love triangle with God.
Fr. Juan R. Vélez is a Catholic priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei, presently working in San Francisco and Berkeley. He was born in Venezuela and raised in Colombia, England and the United States. He holds a doctorate in dogmatic theology from the University of Navarre. Fr. Juan has a medical degree, also from the University of Navarre, and was previously board certified in internal medicine. He is author of Passion for Truth, the Life of John Henry Newman (TAN, 2012) and co-author of Take Five, Meditations with John Henry Newman (Our Sunday Visitor, 2010). He has also published a number of journal articles on theology and on medical ethics. He posts short reflections on Cardinal Newman’s writings at: www.cardinaljohnhenrynewman.com
