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Our Faith Comes Alive! A Farewell Message from Mary MacLean "They who know and know that they know are wise, follow them. They who know and know not that they know are asleep, awaken them. They who know not and know that they know not are students, teach them. They who know not and know not that they know not are fools, shun them." "God give me faith and courage to choose good leaders to follow. When it is your will, help me to be a good leader." It has been my honour and privilege to serve the Diocese of Charlottetown as Co-ordinator of the Office of Religious Education for the past eight years and as editor of these publications. As editor, having been immersed in all things catechetical, I want to share these final reflections, in the spirit of the quote and prayer above, entitled, "Ten things I know that I didn't know I knew." 1. God is a living being reaching out to me with love and asking me to respond with my love. 2. It is important to know as much as possible about Jesus. That is the way to know God. 3. The Holy Spirit never lets me down when I trust! 4. When I am with people gathered for Mass I see a people gathered with Jesus in love with God our creator. 5. When I see people who are hurt, lonely, angry, violent, suffering injustices, afraid, or when I see destruction in nature, I see God's creation in need of healing, so I have work to do. 6. The Church today must be seen as if it were Jesus living in the community. 7. Diversity is a gift of God. Each person has something important to offer the whole and it is my life's duty to make my special contribution. It is also important that I respect the contribution of every other without comparing its value to mine or that of others. 8. It takes effort to love everyone and I cannot expect everyone to love me. 9. In the mission of the Church, every diocese and parish must give priority to catechesis. 10. I am so glad to have been given the gift of the Catholic faith. I believe people drift away from the Church more so than from the faith the Church professes. If people were catechized into a deeper appreciation of the faith the Church believes and prays, there would be no problem with keeping the Church or the faith alive. Faith is a gift and catechesis and pastoral care help us appreciate and care for our gift. We need the whole process of evangelization. In the past eight years it has been a blessing to have many good leaders to follow. It was always such an amazing experience to have someone drop by just when I was struggling for an understanding about some aspect of the faith or Church that confused me. Church documents and a variety of catechetical resources awakened me to a deeper understanding of the teachings of our Catholic faith. The commitment of the many volunteer catechists taught me to recognize the value of each and every person in sharing this faith. The part about shunning is tempting, but not necessary, as there is hope in every situation. Finally, maybe some who read this article will say, "I will offer my gifts in service to my parish or to the Diocese. " and then be prepared to benefit from the many blessings of such a service. Blessings and Peace to all!
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