The Office for Catechesis of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, in conjunction with local parishes, will once again offer faith formation courses for adults, according to Jonathan Sullivan, director. Courses are designed to assist Catholics who want to know more about their faith, respond to questions about the church, and make faith-filled decisions in their lives.

Knights of Columbus Council 364 in Springfield is hosting the 89th Annual K. of C. Cooperative Barbecue from noon until 8 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 29.

TAYLORVILLE — Handmade baby quilts and hand-knit and crocheted baby covers are on their way to Haiti to help the smallest of victims in the aftermath of last year’s earthquake in the island nation.

Approximately 70 educators met at the invitation of the diocesan Office for Catechesis' Catholic Schools Office in the Cathedral atrium in Springfield Aug. 12 to learn more about equitable participation in federal education programs.

Sister Ann Bailey, 89, of the Hospital Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis died Aug. 12 at St. Francis Convent, Springfield.

The Diocese of Springfield in Illinois is already preparing for the First Sunday in Advent in 2011, when the new English translation of the Roman Missal will be used for the first time, according to Eliot Kapitan, director of the Office for Worship and the Catechumenate.

If a stranger walked up to you today and asked for your name, would you share it? What about your e-mail address? Would you give a stranger your personal photos? What about your cell phone number?

With the exception of your name, chances are you probably would never share any of that information.

Or would you?

In the Aug. 1 edition of Catholic Times Bishop Thomas John Paprocki spoke of the trip that he and I made to Ss. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake, Mich. The seminary there specializes in pairing seminarians from Poland with dioceses here in the United States where they might serve as priests.

Q My wife and I have been married 66 years. She is Catholic, I am not, but I want to join the church if that’s possible. We have gone to Mass together through all those years, except when I stayed home with our young children so she could go.

She now has Alzheimer’s disease, but I still take her every Sunday. She doesn’t want to walk up to Communion anymore. I offered to go up with her, but she says no. She’s never alone.

Can you help me? What do I need to do to become Catholic? (Virginia)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Swiss Guards have the colorful uniforms and the heroic legends, but the Vatican police and firefighters have the ancient church.

Actually, the Church of San Pellegrino inside the Vatican once belonged to the Swiss Guards and still is decorated with the coat of arms of each commander of the corps from 1517 to 1982.

Ben Sira was a second century B.C. Jerusalem sage and teacher whose distinctively Hebrew wisdom remained popular through Greek and Persian translations centuries later. His message was clear: Know your place in the world and be content with what God has called you to do! We all have special gifts and a unique purpose in the grand scheme of things. True humility therefore means that we do not overstep our boundaries but take our place in God’s mysterious and great plan.

Daily Scripture readings for the weeks of August 29 and September 5

Bishop Paprocki's public schedule for the weeks of August 29 and September 5.

Daily events occuring throughout the Diocese.