Religious Formation
Religious Formation is a life-long process that begins at Baptism. This section of Assumption's website is where you will find both head and heart tools to help with the spiritual aspects of our journey, including CCD, Youth Ministry, RCIA, Young Adult Ministry, as well as in-house inspiration. Scroll down through the page for more information.
Assumption Youth Ministry
The youth at Assumption are always invited to join in our youth activies. Assumption Youth Ministry offers a variety of spiritual and social events that allow the youth to share their faith. Click here to go to the Assumption Youth Ministry website.
Young Adult Ministry
This group is comprised of young (adults ages 18-39) in the parish both married and single.
They offer various social, service and spiritual events throughout the year.
To open the Assumption Young Adult Calendar, click here.
To open the Diocese of Pittsburgh's Young Adult Ministry calendar, click here.
Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA)
The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is designed for adults who consciously and freely seek the living God and want to follow the Catholic way of life as the Holy Spirit opens their hearts.
The RCIA is a time of spiritual preparation that takes place within the Community of the Faithful through prayer, faith sharing, celebrations of the Word of God, instruction in the fundamentals of Catholic teaching and introduction into the outreach of the Church in the world.
The RCIA culminates in the celebration of the Sacraments of Initiation of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist at the Easter Vigil.
We become Christian through a process of conversion-turning our hearts and lives around from me-centered to Christ-centered and other-centered. Jesus Christ invites all to "Come and See." - John 1:46
To go to the RCIA webpage, click here.
In-house Inspiration
Collective Memory
Most of us have family stories that we love to tell. These stories, often embellished, transcend time so that when we tell the story, we become the family member and experience the same event. These stories identify us as members of a particular family more closely than bloodlines. They give each family a Collective Memory. They connect us with our past; our ancestors and our future children gather together for a moment through the telling of a family member's story.
The Jewish People most clearly exemplify people for whom Collective Memory shaped them into who they were, are, and will be for all time. After wandering in the desert for forty years, Moses tells them, "Take these words of mine into your heart and soul" (Deut.11:18). Moses was not just talking about the Law. For Moses, "these words" were their entire history. "These words" were all that happened to them in the desert, all they experienced as slaves in Egypt, and all they hoped to enjoy when the reached the Promised Land. They knew Abraham and Jacob so well that they could remember them by telling stories about them.
By Jesus' time, we know that some Jewish people wore "these words" on their foreheads and on their wrists. These ornamental objects, called phylacteries, were meant to remind them of their history of being God's Chosen People. Jesus' criticism is not the Collective Memory; rather, the hypocrisy of certain individual's actions.
At what came to be the Last Supper, Jesus told those around the table to "Do this in memory of Me." Jesus was speaking to people who knew the sacredness of Memory - not something simply remembered, but something, when repeated, would transcend time; would keep them connected to the event they were experiencing. It is not surprising that they gathered often for the Breaking of the Bread.
Like the desert wanderers, we are told to connect with our Collective Memory. Every time we attend Mass we are reminded that we are participating in an event that is timeless; we are not only gathering with the people who are sitting around us. We are gathering with all those who celebrated before us and with all those who will celebrate after us. When we look at Mass from this perspective, it is impossible to deny our desire to be there.