Like many adult children who have lost their parents, I have a tendency to talk to my mom and dad when I have something on my mind. When it’s something to do with writing, I check in with my dad, especially when a column deadline is looming and I’m struggling with an idea.
Every year, on the third Sunday of September, the Church celebrates Catechetical Sunday, when those in each parish community who have been designated to serve as catechists may be called forth to be commissioned for their ministry.
Writing has been used since ancient times to express the emotions and the realities of life we find hard to acknowledge. Experts say it helps heal trauma, strengthen resilience, and reduce anxiety by giving us a voice we often have trouble finding. In this era of uncertainty, pandemics and violence, where things seem so terribly out of control, sometimes writing is the only thing youth can do to make their voices heard – in poems, in prose, in song lyrics and in wrenching narratives we may not want to hear – but we need to hear.
An enthusiastic crowd of some 150 seniors gathered July 25 in the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, Piscataway, for the second annual “Celebrate Life, A Morning for Grandparents and Seniors,” sponsored by the diocesan Office of Human Life and Dignity.