Sean Purcell

Catholic Educator | RE Leader | Lasallian Education & Formation | Educational Leadership | Championing the Common Good

[Sean Purcell @commongoodsean]

@ProudlyPastoral That borders on the blasphemous as a product tbh.

[Sean Purcell @commongoodsean]

What if we recognised God's presence in the ordinary moments of everyday life?

🎙️ Episode 2 of In the Presence explores one of St John Baptist de La Salle's most powerful teachings: living in the presence of God.

A reflection on faith, prayer and finding God in our daily lives.

🎧 Listen now:
https://t.co/VvzieYzdGv

#Lasallian #CatholicFaith #CatholicEducation

[Sean Purcell @commongoodsean]

@Luis_Cook1 Congratulations!

[Sean Purcell @commongoodsean]

@ALucieSmith It is very curious indeed. I am going to be charitable and assume he misspoke...good on @BishopBarron for calling it out.

[Sean Purcell @commongoodsean]

@garydench @holy_scribbler

[Sean Purcell @commongoodsean]

I introduced Pearson's Entry Level Religious Studies qualification at my school. Ten students gained a qualification they might otherwise have missed out on.

Why aren't more Catholic schools considering it?

My latest article on inclusion, ambition and Catholic education 👇

https://t.co/lIEybl8yPl

[Sean Purcell @commongoodsean]

This 👇

[Fr Gary Dench @garydench]

These articles are rarely interesting. What is presented as brave, independent thinking is usually little more than the comfortable orthodoxy of the metropolitan secular establishment. There is nothing particularly courageous or original about agreeing with everyone around you.

[Sean Purcell @commongoodsean]

He's not wrong...

[Bishop Robert Barron @BishopBarron]

Well, another Cardinal has come out with a, shall we say, puzzling take on evangelization.

A few years ago, Cardinal Américo Aguiar, at the time auxiliary bishop of Lisbon, said that he and the other organizers of World Youth Day in his hometown had no interest in converting anyone to Christ.

Now Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco of Algeria has opined that “the Church is not there to convert” and “Christians should approach other religions through fraternity rather than seeking conversions.”

Excuse me, but…what?

Last time I checked, the Founder said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Sure sounds like conversion to me.

When St. Paul came to Corinth or Athens or Thessalonica, his purpose was not to listen or to form a discussion group but rather to declare an unnerving message: the euangelion (glad tidings) that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.

So impassioned is he for this work that he says, “I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:22); and “If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:16)!

Moreover, the entire thrust of the Second Vatican Council was toward bringing the Light of Christ to the peoples of the world (Lumen Gentium). And this missionary élan has given rise in the last few decades to the idea of a “new evangelization,” which is to say, a fresh declaration of the Lordship of Christ.

Quite obviously, no one thinks that this work of evangelization should be done in a brow-beating, overbearing, or disrespectful manner (proselytization), but for God’s sake, let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater.

If I really thought that the Church does not exist to bring people to Christ, then I would resign and get an honest job.

[Sean Purcell @commongoodsean]

@PhilJC2 Same

[Sean Purcell @commongoodsean]

@BrentwoodRC @ATCRE_EW @NATREupdate @catholicEW

[Sean Purcell @commongoodsean]

@pearson

[Sean Purcell @commongoodsean]

About to release an article about the @pearson Entry Level Certificate in Religious Studies and my experiences of it. Curious to know if anyone else on here has delivered it. #edchat #ukedchat @NATREupdate @ATCRE_EW

[Christopher Hale @ChristopherHale]

I was in the room multiple times when President Biden met with and prayed with Catholic bishops.

They didn’t run cameras, because he and those present didn’t want to politicize prayer and encounter for electoral gain.

When Biden lost his second child in May 2015, he prayed nearly all night in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

It’s the same thing he did in 1972 when he lost his daughter and late wife to a drunk driver.

He went to Mass every single Sunday as president, oftentimes next to the parish cemetery of his children, and relied on his faith to guide him through hell and high water.

You might not like his politics, but I encourage you to act with Christian charity towards the sincerity of his faith and take the view of the late Pope Francis, who called him a “good Catholic” in 2021.

[NATRE @NATREupdate]

It is encouraging to see a shared commitment to strengthening RE for all young people. Constructive dialogue and collaboration across the education sector will be key to securing a positive future for our subject. #REmatters
@RECouncil @ReThinkREnow @educationgovuk

[Sean Purcell @commongoodsean]

@ShaneSchaetzel I have always wondered why more don't go for a reverent NO. We have a beautiful liturgy in our church that is reverent, and attendance keeps going up.

[EWTN News @EWTNews]

When Father Witold Kaczmarzyk arrived at Christ on the Mountain Parish in Lakewood, Colorado, earlier this year, he inherited a parish unknown by many in the Denver Archdiocese and arrived with a mission from his archbishop: to breathe new life into the community.

Kaczmarzyk’s solution involved an electric scooter, a little comedy, and a willingness to step outside his comfort zone by using social media — all in the hope of helping more people encounter Jesus Christ.

Born and raised in Ostrow Wielkopolski, Poland, Kaczmarzyk lived there with his parents and younger brother until he was 25, after which he moved to the United States to attend seminary.

He remembers first thinking about becoming a priest at the age of 6. However, as he grew up, he realized that being a priest meant sacrificing having a family. After high school, he went to college in Warsaw and planned to become a nuclear physicist.

“I went to like a Polish MIT [Massachusetts Institute of Technology] in Warsaw. And thatʼs actually what I called my Damascus — like Paul riding to Damascus, I was riding on a train to Warsaw to pursue my dreams and thatʼs when God caught me,” he told EWTN News.

When he arrived at the university, Kaczmarzyk met several people who began to encourage him to pray, read the Bible, and get more involved in his faith.

“Slowly this desire since childhood came back to the surface level,” he said. “And I kind of felt weird because my love for physics, for science, was going down, and then my love for God was increasing day by day.”

After six months, Kaczmarzyk dropped out of college and entered the seminary. Originally, he felt called to become a missionary priest, with the desire “to be like the apostles.”

“I didn’t want to be just the boring priest of a parish in Poland. Thatʼs not me. I wanted to go into Africa, Asia, other cultures, languages, [and] dangers,” he said. “I told my parents I want to become a missionary… Well, my parents thought I was crazy. Even my dad was like, ‘You might get killed,’ and Iʼm like, ‘Thatʼs even better. I will be a martyr, that’s an express path to heaven, sign me up.’”

Kaczmarzyk’s new tenure at Christ on the Mountain Parish is his first as a pastor. He had previously been a parochial vicar at several other parishes in the archdiocese. When he received the assignment from Archbishop Samuel Aquila, former archbishop of Denver, he was told to help get people back into the Church and on fire for Christ.

Read more: https://t.co/7rM2Drwjjg

[Diocese of Brentwood @BrentwoodRC]

We are looking for an organised and reliable person to join our team as a part-time assistant within the Chancery and Tribunal Offices in Brentwood. Interested? https://t.co/1wqveFrCx8

[Sean Purcell @commongoodsean]

@CTSpublishers Sounds great!

[Rich Raho @RichRaho]

Pope Leo: "War can never be waged in the name of God. For us believers, to fight in the name of religion means attacking religion itself. There is no such thing as a holy war: only peace is holy." https://t.co/T9wmnR5xl2