www.stcatherineop.com Christ Renews His Parish: COURIER Bringing the good news to the parish! VOLUME 2017 ISSUE ONE APRIL 2017 My Dear Parishioners, Christ Renews His Parish has been such an important spiritual experience for hundreds of parishioners at St. Catherine over the past 15 years. I have personally witnessed how CRHP has encouraged members of our community to become more at how many people throughout all of our ministries have be- As you know, CRHP has been acquired by Dynamic Catholic, CRHP has brought to our parish. This issue of the Courier celebrates what CRHP has meant for our parish and the fellowship it brings, while also looking toward the future to see how the - In February, St. Catherine hosted a Day of Renewal, which to experience this day with all of you. The speakers from Dynamic Catholic demonstrated the excitement of the future of all of us have experienced on our CRHP weekend. The theme Fr. Ignatius visiting the snack room during CRHP 17. Lilia Flores and Glenn Barton at CRHP Day of Renewal of Believe the Incredible and You Can Do the Impossible, a today. I was so happy that over 200 people came to St. Catherine to celebrate Christ Renews His Parish and the renewal that has happened in our parish and parishes throughout the diocese. I pray that you enjoy this issue of the Courier and join in In Jesus Love, This issue of the Courier is dedicated to the memory of Rose Scanlin, long-time Editor of the Blarney Stone and Cornerstone Newsletters, and member of CRHP Team 2
CHRP: Touching the future If you look back at the past 15 years here at St. Catherine, you would see that some things haven t changed: babies having water poured on their heads mornings. excitement growing in parish- year. But, you d also see many changes. - Marian garden, and you would see a program called Christ Renews His Parish (commonly abbreviated CRHP and pronounced as chirp ) being introduced to the parish. CRHP was introduced in September of 2002 when St. Joseph s Catholic Church assembled a traveling team to present a weekend retreat to St. Catherine s. One recalls, Those people that we didn t that I had ever been on up to that point - and I had been to a lot of retreats. Nothing touched my heart like CRHP did. about the weekend, prayer service held by candlelight and being able to over- struggles of the know the Holy Spirit was working that weekend. It is no surprise that she found the weekend so unique and so moving. By design, there has never been another CRHP weekend at St. Catherine that was presented by a team from another parish. Since then, all have been presented by the most recent recipients of teams change, the way parishioners were moved to greater faith retreat after retreat will always remain unique. Pat explained that when her CRHP team Fr. Jose Kaluthinal, Pat Crane, and Dulce Lake Page 2 St. Catherine s Courier Spring 2017 presented to CRHP 2 in April of 2003, the team took great strides to make sure they did it the same way to ensure they gave as great of an experience as St. Joseph s had given to them. Thus, the weekend have been felt in every retreat since. It is clear that they were successful in this women of CRHP to meet for 14 years. In fact, they had a reunion as recently as March 19 of this year. All had on them, their faith, and their parish that she believed that each member of her team was like a sister to her. The whole room voiced their agreement. help highlight the reality that CRHP not only helps its in friendship with Christ but in friendship with others members of the parish community. For many CRHP parish community was a driving force behind their desire to try it out. This highlights another aspect of CRHP. At the end of your retreat, you are in- to them. This being said, many CRHP experiences started out as a way to return a favor or a way to help out a friend who Cuevas, a spiritual guide for CRHP 2, laughed that she was able to convince asking him on Mother s Day when she, knew he couldn t say no. Dan Donovan, CRHP 10, found himself in the and ended up on a retreat weekend to help out a friend. However, it ended up being much more than a simple favor, I went to CHRP and it really made so many friends through CRHP that, it felt like high school again. He He believes that it has made all the difference. He added, Coming to church volved in a variety of ministries at the parish, eventually becoming the director of the CRHP program. This leads to another main theme of CRHP: involvement in the parish. CRHP is designed to jumpstart the idea in parishioners being Catholic doesn t just have It can also be about a genuine friendship with Jesus Christ, helping out with var- to know a community that you can worship, pray, and grow together with. Brotherhoods and sisterhoods have been formed that will never be broken. Faiths have been restored, created, and for years to come. gin to renew his parish in this unique way once again. The future of CRHP, as Pat Crane puts it, has great and won-
CRHP 1: A close network of disciples of 2002 that St. Catherine would Christ Renews His Parish, I decided that I wasn t interested. in 1979 and how do you top that? It was announced at Masses and in CRHP weekend, it was once more be the last day of sign up and that front door and went over to take a brochure and sign up. It was as middle of my back and directed me to the person giving out the brochures. I couldn t have been I had second thoughts all week, Saturday morning. If I didn t learn anything else at Cursillo, I learned to listen to the Holy Spirit di- experience. The ladies from St. Joseph bought a team to St. Catherine s and they put on the weekend for us, and did a great job. We were divided up into groups and had table leaders from the team. There were several women in my group that I already was over, we had bonded and become friends. thought provoking. We had discussions among our groups Though they did not know it - each one, through her generous sharing, helped me make sense of the faith journey I had already walked or prepared me for the journey yet to come. I am grateful. have to travel anywhere. We spent the Saturday night in Haut ful experience and I was so glad that I went. This experience enabled us to meet new people and get to closely and we considered ourselves CRHP sisters. I also real- journey and He met all our needs. I went home just elated that I had experienced it and had listened to the Holy Spirit. Part of the process was that our team became Team #1 and we would be the team leading CRHP#2. Of the 30 women who we began the process of going through our training program. At the end of the training we had a discernment and the Holy Spirit were table leaders, some gave talks, some worked in the kitch- - great weekend for the candidates. And I think it showed during the weekend. The Holy Spirit was very much alive and well in our midst. - St. Catherine s Courier Spring 2017 Page 3
Mountaintop Experience: Reflection from the CRHP Day of Renewal by Vincent Reilly end, perhaps you felt as though you had reached the mountaintop, just as Peter, James, and John experienced in today s gospel. Perhaps you felt an unusual outpouring of the Holy Spirit? Perhaps you had a one-on-one encounter with Jesus Christ? Perhaps you had a feeling in which you were momen- what heaven must be like? These mountaintop experiences are important to our faith on a project, because they are what enable us to get through - to the mountaintop, you never see things in quite the same way again. These experiences are not meant to last forever. Peter we must begin a new chapter of service to the eryday life, we should not forget the mountaintop experience. They help us to give meaning to the work we are called to do in Some of us may revisit our CRHP note- with people who experienced the mountaintop with us. Remembering our mountaintop experience allows us to be ready for Many people had a mountaintop experience in their encounter with Jesus, but perhaps the most what it would have been like to be one of the disciples whose hearts were burning as they walked with Jesus and recog- retreat. Maybe it was during Mass or when we were in ad- nature or with family. Let us take a few moments to remem- envision the encounter that you had. Who was there? Where were you? What did it feel like? How did you know you encountered Jesus? ing, the two disciples bravely ran the seven miles back to Jerusalem to recount their experience with Jesus. How did we respond to our encounter with Jesus? Did we simply go back to our everyday life or did we share our experience with others? with others in some way? Let us once more take a moment to - always. For me the biggest life-changing transformations happened after the CRHP weekend. After all these years I still remember every face and name. It turned St. Catherine s into a place where I felt like part of God s family. Page 4 St. Catherine s Courier Spring 2017
Men s Team 3 Men s Team 4 The mind blowing moment of the weekend for me was not in the candlelight ceremony, the funny skits or the table topics. Silly as it sounds, it happened when we returned to the hall completely exhausted to get some sleep after being reminded the best was yet to come. It was there I found a piece of chocolate on top of my pillow. That simple gesture, a sign that an anonymous person cared for me an overworked, overwhelmed working mother of three meant the world to me. I had been running on empty. That small gesture of kindness was Christ to me. It brought me to tears. - Jennifer O Neal Men s Team 5 Men s Team 7 Maria Mendoza Team 16 Preparing Rooney Hall for CRHP weekend. St. Catherine s Courier Spring 2017 Page 5
A life-changing experience I admit that I was a CRHP dodger. Being a cradle Catho- ly a good person. I had a good job and family, so I thought that I must have been doing something right. Why did I need to go to a Christ Renews His Parish weekend? the best decision of my life. By the power of the Holy Spirit weekend, I experienced a watershed moment. It was during that weekend, that the Christ I knew in my head, revealed Himself in my heart. As a result, my life changed. The life I had that was good, was now great. My marriage counter with Christ during my CRHP weekend, I was less anx- ing in the Lord. I also developed a sense of community at friends. Men with whom I could share my struggles, my faith and for whom I could pray. I also found a desire to learn more about the Church. I began listening to Catholic radio, going to Men s conferences, and read books (and I am not an avid reader) by Catholic authors. I felt like a born-again Catholic ber of the St. Catherine s parish. I discovered that in order to serve as Sponsor Couples for those preparing for marriage. We were also invited to a Cursillo weekend and I started to meet with other men for a weekly prayer group. Most recent- - - help me persevere. For me, Christ Renews His Parish was so much more than a weekend retreat. The return on investment of a mere $25 heart that weekend. I felt like a born-again Catholic. Since that weekend, I was no longer just going through the mo- Page 6 St. Catherine s Courier Spring 2017 Men s Team 10
From loner to leader in CRHP by Vicki Counts Vicki Counts receives a blessing from Fr. Ignatius before giving her witness talk at a more recent CRHP retreat. Last night there were eight of us that got together for dinner, stories and laughs. We do this every few weeks. We help each other out when we are sick, or if we just need an ear to listen. I love them all and loving them has brought me closer to my God and my church. St. Catherine s Courier Spring 2017 Page 7
CRHP 2.0: Renewing the renewal by Vincent Reilly CRHP Day of Renewal led by Dynamic Catholic. The purpose of the day was to reignite the spark that each person experienced on their Christ Renews His Parish weekend. The theme Believe the Incredible and You Can Do the Impossible. Our - The day began with Mass celebrated by Fr. Tony Basso, fol- graciously welcomed everyone and encouraged all to work Risen Lord - can be the change necessary in the world. lieving the Incredible: Can I Renew His Parish? The theme with many people who believe likewise. When people come together through an experience like CRHP, parishes can be transformed. A parish is not really measured by the music or the preaching, but rather how welcoming the individuals of rishioners exude holiness. Dominick then introduced one person who has made a difference in so many parishes, Frank Wardega. Frank was the CRHP Handbook beginning in 1977 and had helped start CRHP Where there is CRHP, there is food! St. Catherine s CRHP Continuation Committee hosted continental breakfast for the 200+ people in attendance at the Day of Renewal. Page 8 St. Catherine s Courier Spring 2017 - Dynamic Catholic is doing in revising the CRHP process. Following lunch, Claire Darnell, the newly appointed CRHP ly s vision for the future of CRHP. Claire outlined the plans to release the new CRHP process to parishes across the country. She clearly stated that the majority of the process is not Catholic. The process will also have video coaching sessions for the weekends easier and more meaningful. Claire stated that Dynamic Catholic s goal is to have CRHP in every parish in the United States. - spent the majority of the week digging a hole for the school s garbage. He described that he became frustrated in digging this large hole and that he expected more from this mission trip. When he confronted the director of the program, he was told, The children don t need you, which caused him to have when we move ourselves from the center of our lives and invite the Lord to be center. We can only renew the world when we commit ourselves to Christ and be His renewal. We can do impossible things, like digging a really giant hole, when we allow Christ to renew the world through us. led by Deacon Chris Supple, the Spiritual Director of the Dioc- shared with others in the parish and that the Diocesan CRHP no and Claire Darnell, who are part of the team at Dynamic Catholic that is releasing the revised version of CRHP were all presenters at our Day of Renewal. The speakers demonstrated the excitement of the future of Christ Renews His Parish,
The CRHP 17 Weekend Women s Team 2 ing each other s talents and growing as a team. When the product was a successful group accomplishment. The ladies from previous CRHP teams came together to assist in making the weekend special to our receiving team CRHP 18. Our hope for the CRHP weekend was for it to be a special - knew. We grew together spiritually and helped to strengthen weekend and the weekend itself to be either the start already had in our heart. - Your CRHP Women s Team 17 Women s Team 11 Men s Team 8 When my family was coming out of church, I tried to avoid those handing out the CRHP brochures. Our son was the one who said he d go if I would attend. I m glad I attended as it was a life changing experience for me. It gave me the opportunity to share an experience with him that we may not otherwise have had. I now have many Brothers in Christ who I have come to know on a deeper spiritual level through my CRHP weekend. As I grow in my faith and come across a scripture passage or something inspirational, I will call our son in the drop of a hat to share it with him. Thanks to CRHP, we now have a much deeper father son relationship that is rooted in Our Father. Scott Woods Women s Team 12 St. Catherine s Courier Spring 2017 Page 9
Men s Team 12 CRHP By the Numbers 2002 Year of the First CRHP at St. Catherine 1969 Year of the First Renewal Weekend Nationwide 1,400 Parishes nationwide hosting CRHP 736 People who received CRHP at St. Catherine 380 Witnesses Prepared by St. Catherine Parishioners 36 Weekends at St. Catherine (18 men and 18 women teams) 4 Travelling Teams from St. Catherine (2 men and 2 women teams to Our Lady, Star of the Sea, Ponte Vedra Beach and St. Patrick, Jacksonville) Men s Team 13 Women s Team 14 Men s Team 17 EDITORS NOTE: We have published every group photo and have a copy please contact CRHP Men s Team 14 After 16 years of Catholic school I actually read the Bible cover to cover for the very first time. I still have the Bible presented to me in it s beautiful cover by my bedside. It is well worn. I am fascinated by the truth that there is always more to learn. Page10 St. Catherine s Courier Spring 2017
Where do we go from here? by Dan Donovan day, March 19, we reviewed the responses we received from the - CRHP program here at St. Catherine s and that Dynamic Catholic is - - We discussed the way we collected our data and its accuracy. I m sure there are some who didn t get the survey or forgot to respond. scheduling the next weekend and to relook at and strengthen our the Courier to the history of the CRHP process at St. Catherine. We have tried to get as many people as possible to send in their joyed reading this special issue. Socials. The next social will be Sunday, May 7. We will also schedule Dynamic Catholic s new CRHP process and to plan our socials and day of renewal, but anyone with an expressed interest in coming in our hearts and minds and at St. Catherine. Dan Donovan Men s Team 15 Men s Team 16 Women s Team 16 Women s Team 17 The use of the church grounds as a humble setting for a weekend makes a feeling of family and belonging. I will always treasure the time I became the Spiritual Director. It made me feel I m truly an important part of the big family called the parish. Fr. Rafael Lavilla St. Catherine s Courier Spring 2017 Page11
- to start. - Photos: Women s and Men s CRHP Team 18 from March of 2016, the last two teams at St. Catherine before the program was acquired by Dynamic Catholic Page12 St. Catherine s Courier Spring 2017