Lenten Speakers

Parishioner Bill Thomas will offer a presentation on which prayer styles work best for various personality temperament classifications. Participants are asked to come knowing their Myers-Briggs or Keirsey temperament classification. If you don’t know your temperament (I’m an ISFJ or I’m an idealist), please take a free assessment online at www.keirsey.com. Bill Thomas is an organization and leadership development consultant and has taught at two seminaries. One of his former students was Msgr. Rick Woy.

We often think that the Mass has been relatively unchanged over the past 2,000 years (with perhaps the exception of the revisions of Vatican II). However, the Mass has been celebrated in a number of different formats since the Last Supper. Deacon Ron Thompson will present a history of the Mass in two sessions: Tues. Mar. 2 and 9 at 7 PM.

The talk on the History of the Mass will cover:

• The origins of the Mass at the Last Supper
  
• The Mass of the early Christians with influence from Judaism-(Synagogue Service)
  
• The Mass in the Middle Ages
  
• The Mass influenced by Saints, Popes and Kings
  
• The Tridentine Mass after the Reformation
  
• The New Mass after vatican II- The return of active participation of the congregation
  
• The Eucharistic Liturgy as a dynamic, living reality

"End of Life Issues and What Can Be Wrong with Advance Directives," presented by Rita Marker and "The Catholic Church's Teachings on End of Life Issues," presented by Fr. McLean Cummings.

Rita Marker will be talking on the legal and moral aspects of end of life issues, such as feeding tubes, hydration, etc. and what to look for in making advance directives, the various types of advance directives and which ones to be wary of. Rita Marker has been the executive director of the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide since it began in l987. Fr. McLean Cummings (former associate pastor at St. John) will speak on what the Catholic Church teaches on such issues stated above.