catholic family faith

Lord's Day Faith Chat - 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time - July 12, 2009

Like he did with his disciples, Jesus sends us out to share the Good News with the world.  Every time the priest or deacon sings or says, at the end of Mass, “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord,” we are sent forth to live and act in Christ’s name.  Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we are able to tell others about Jesus by our words, but mostly by our actions.  But we don’t do this alone.  We do Christ’s work in communion with our families and faith communities.  Christ puts people in our lives who encourage us and help us to live our faith.  Our parents, siblings, other relatives and friends share their faith with us so that we, in turn, are able to share our faith with others.  Isn’t it comforting to know that we don’t have to do Christ’s work all by ourselves?

 

Faith Chat Question:  Who encourages you and helps you to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others in your world?  How is this person an example of Christ to you?

Faith Response:  Create "God loves you" cards with your family.  Give the cards to people with whom you want to share the good news of God's love.

Pray:  Lord Jesus Christ, empower us to share your love with our families, friends, and world.  Amen.

Featured Website: Cozi.com

I was just paging through the July/August 2009 issue of Children's Ministry Magazine (a great magazine, by the way!) and in their "Keeping Current" column read about a cool website called Cozi.com, so I had to check it out!  It is a free website to assist busy families in getting organized on-line.  Of course, there are a lot of computer programs & PDA processes to help families get organized electronically, but this one is FREE! 

Cozi.com provides on-line processes for maintaining your family calendar, shopping lists, remember family happenings in a family journal, as well as access to articles on their "Live Simply" blog.

In 2005, a group of Amazon, Microsoft, & Expedia veterans got together to explore options to help busy families maintain balance and harmony in their homes.  (See more about Cozi Group, Inc., at http://www.cozi.com/About-Overview.htm.)  Along with cozi.com, they also provide Cozi Mobile resources for your iPhone, Blackberry & other PDAs.

Check out Cozi.com to help get your family organized and living in better harmony!

Lord's Day Faith Chat - 14th Sunday in OT - July 5, 2009

It is sometimes challenging to live our faith, especially among those with whom we are closest.  We may not say or do anything out of fear of being rejected.  Even if we do speak or live our faith, others won’t listen to us or take us seriously. 

 

As parents, we can help our children to speak about and live their faith by encouraging them and really listening to them, especially when what they say challenges us.  Children are often more bold about speaking the truth.  They speak what’s on their minds rather than trying to please others.  May we not discourage them!  May we be more like them!

 

Faith Chat Question:  When have you struggled to speak the truth among your friends or co-workers?  What makes this difficult?  What are the consequences?

Faith Response: For your family prayer this week ask Jesus to help your family live your faith at home. Talk about how you can be more supportive of each other. Pour some perfumed oil in a bowl. Form a circle and have family members mark each other's palms with the oil as a sign of sharing Jesus' love with each other.

 

Pray: Lord Jesus, help us to share your Good News with our families and friends, especially when it is difficult and they don’t listen to us.  Amen.