catholic family faith

On-Line Advent Calendars

One advantage of the Internet is the availability of so many resources. 

Check out these on-line Advent Calendars to help your family count down the days of Advent:

US Conference of Catholic Bishops - http://www.usccb.org/advent/

St. Margaret Mary Parish, Naperville, Illinois - http://www.smmp.com/Advent/Advent.php

BeliefNet - http://www.smmp.com/Advent/Advent.php

You can also count down the days of Advent by doing different activities with your family.  For ideas, go to the Christian Parenting website:

 http://christian-parenting.suite101.com/article.cfm/online_advent_calendar

Featured Website for the First Week of Advent

Advent has begun.  In the midst of the chaos of our culture, our faith calls us to slow down, recall the love God has for us, and prepare for Christ's coming.

There are a number of wonderful websites to inspire us and encourage us to focus on the blessedness of the season of Advent.  One that I found and especially enjoy is Days of Deepening Friendship sponsored by Loyola Press.  Check it out:

http://deepeningfriendship.loyolapress.com/

Lord's Day Faith Chat - Christ the King - November 22, 2009

Readings:  Daniel 7:13-14; Psalm 93:1-2,5; Revelation 1:5-8; John 18:33b-37

"My kingdom does not belong to this world...For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.  Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

- John 18:36a,37

As Christians, we have been baptized into the kingdom of God, the Body of Christ.  As members of the kingdom of God, we recognize Jesus, the Christ, as our King.  This means that while we live in the world, we are first and foremost members of Jesus' kingdom, and as members of Jesus' kingdom, we should live according to the example of our king, Christ Jesus. 

With this feast of Christ the King, we end the current Church Year.  The end of the year is a good time for us to reflect on how we've lived our lives according to Jesus' example.  How well have we spent time with God in prayer?  How well have we given of ourselves to help meet the needs of others, to comfort the sorrowful, to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked...?  How loyal have we been to living as disciples, followers, of Jesus our King?

Faith Chat Question:  The feast of Christ the King reminds us that Jesus Christ deserves our loyal devotion.  How can you live as a loyal follower of Christ the King more fully each day?

Faith Response:  Create a plain crown out of paper as a centerpiece for your kitchen or prayer table.  Collect some beads and stickers.  Throughout the week, have family members do good deeds and pay attention to where they see and experience God in their lives.  At the end of each day, at dinner or bedtime, invite family members to share what good deeds they did or how the saw/experienced God in their lives.  After sharing their good deed or God experience, have them put a sticker or glue a bead onto the crown.  Have a family goal to have the crown fully decorated by the end of the week.

Prayer:  Jesus Christ, our King, help us to live according to your ways every day of our lives.  Amen. 

Alma Mater - Music from the Vatican

 
“I am convinced that music really is the universal language of beauty which can bring together all people of good will on earth” Pope Benedict XVI

Alma Mater is the first release on Geffen records of modern classical music from The Choir of the Philharmonic Academy of Rome and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra featuring prayers recited and sung by Pope Benedict XVI.

The album features one song by the Pontiff as well as eight original tracks of soul stirring modern classical music, with His Holiness backed up vocally by The Choir of the Philharmonic Academy of Rome.

 

Pope Benedict XVI is an ardent lover of classical music and has admitted to an almost life long admiration for the music of Mozart. Speaking of Mozart, he said, “His music is by no means just entertainment.” Reports confirm that he is, understandably, pleased with the recording. His Holiness is known to enjoy playing the piano while on vacation.

 

The CD is scheduled to be released on November 29, 2009.

Discover more about the music here:   http://www.musicfromthevatican.com/

Autumn Prayer

O God of Creation, you have blessed us with the changing of the seasons. 

As we embrace these autumn months,

May the earlier setting of the sun

remind us to take time to rest. 

May the crunch of the leaves beneath our feet

remind us of the brevity of this earthly life. 

May the steam of our breath in the cool air

remind us that it is you who give us your breath of life. 

May the scurrying of the squirrels and the migration of the birds

remind us that you call us to follow your will. 

We praise you for your goodness forever and ever.  Amen.

Remembering Those Who Have Died

I am currently reading Patricia H. Livingston's book, Let in the Light.  In her chapter, "Light for Each Other," she reflects on how "light can come to us from our loved ones who have died."  She quotes the theologian Karl Rahner who wrote:

The great and sad mistake of many people...is to imagine that those whom death has taken, leave us.  They do not leave us.  They remain!  Where are they?  In the darkness?  Oh, no!  It is we who are in darkness.  We do not see them, but they see us.  Their eyes, radiant with glory, are fixed upon our eyes...Oh, infinite consolation!  Though invisible to us, our dead are not absent...They are living near us, transfigured...into light, into power, into love.

What a beautiful reflection for this month of November, when we traditionally remember those who have gone before us to be with God.

(Livingston, Patricia H.  Let in the Light.  Notre Dame, IN:  Sorin Books, 2006)

Lord's Day Faith Chat - 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - November 15, 2009

Readings:  Daniel 12:1-3; Psalm 16:5,8,9-10,11; Hebrews 10:11-14,18; Mark 13:24-32

"In those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken...And then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory..."

As we near the end of the Liturgical (Church) Year, we encounter this reading from Mark’s Gospel about the end of the world.  We know of Nostradamus and others who say that they can predict the date of the end of the world.  The movie "2012," which dramatizes the supposed ending of the world in December 2012, opens in theaters this weekend.  Despite all those predictions, today's reading from the Gospel of Mark reminds us:  “But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven nor the Son, but only the Father.” 

 

While we don't know the day or hour of Christ's return, we do experience endings in our lives.  Loved ones die.  Children change grades or schools or leave home.  Work projects come to an end.  Jobs are terminated.  But with each ending, we experience a new beginning.  When a loved one dies, we believe that their suffering is ended and that they are at peace with God.  When children grow up and leave home, we experience new opportunities with not having to maintain some many family schedules.  When work projects come to an end, we move on to other projects and endeavors.  Even when a job is terminated, there is a new beginning, a new way of life, even if it is a difficult transition.

 

Endings are inevitable, but as people of Christ, we have hope that with every ending, there is a new beginning.  Someday our world as we know it will end, but imagine what it is going to be like with God in heaven for eternity. 

 

Faith Chat Question:  

If Jesus returned today, what would you like to be doing?  For what would you tell Jesus that you are most grateful?

Faith Response:  With your family, talk about some endings that you have experienced in your life and family, and how you were able to survive and even experience new life from those endings.

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, help us to live each day as if we were meeting you face-to-face.  Amen.

Germs versus The Body and Blood of Christ

With the outbreak of H1N1 and all of the other autumn viruses, I have heard reports of pastors advising parishioners in taking or not taking the Blood of Christ for Holy Communion.  They say something like, "Use your discretion in drinking from the Cup."  And I've heard people saying things like, "I'm not taking the Cup because I don't want to drink from the same cup as all those sick people."

In hearing these kinds of statements, I wonder:  Do we really believe that when we receive Communion, including taking the Cup, we are truly receiving Christ's Precious Body and Blood?  What could be more healing than receiving God's very own Body and Blood into our own bodies?

I have never heard a report of anyone getting sick from receiving Holy Communion, in receiving the Body of Christ and drinking from the Cup.  In fact, I've heard more stories about people feeling healed or at least strengthened and encouraged from receiving Holy Communion.

Who are we going to let influence us more:  Germs or the Body and Blood of Christ?

Let me know what you think by sharing a comment.

Images of the Trinity

At a recent religious education session, our pastor asked the students to raise their hands if they believed that Jesus was God.  Only a handful of people raised their hands.  While we were frustrated that the students didn’t understand that Jesus is God, as I think about it now, it really doesn’t surprise me.

 

Many students – and adults – have a hard time grasping the concept of the Holy Trinity: Three Persons in One God.  We imagine three persons and, therefore, three different beings.  Our language and images of the Trinity don’t help.  Many pictures and icons of the Trinity show three different beings/entities/images:  God as an old man, Jesus as a young man, Spirit as dove or fire.  We proclaim belief in “Father, Son, and Spirit”; three different words, three different understandings, and in our world, three different entities.  We say that Jesus is God’s Son.  Well, if Jesus is God’s Son, how can he be God?  And what, exactly, is the Holy Spirit?

 

So I’ve been thinking:  How can we help students move beyond language to understand that God is One Entity, One Being, experienced in three different ways?

Some examples that catechists have used to explain the Trinity include water, fire, and ourselves.

 

We experience water in three different manners.  We have fluid, flowing water.  When that water gets cold, it freezes into ice.  When that water gets hot, it evaporates into steam.  It’s still water, but experienced in three different ways:  fluid, ice, and steam.

 

We experience fire in three different manners:  Heat, flame, and light.  We see the flame of the fire.  We feel the heat of the fire.  A room is illuminated with the light of the fire.

 

We even experience ourselves in three different manners.  Women can be daughters, wives, and mothers.  Men can be sons, husbands, and fathers.  One person, but three different relationships.

 

And now God.  There is only one God.  Yet we experience God in three different ways, three different relationships.  We experience God as Creator (Father), who creates and gives life to everything in the world.  We experience God as Jesus (Son), who took on human flesh and shared in our human condition.  We experience God as Spirit, who inspires us, gives us wisdom, and moves us to do good in God’s name.  One God, three different experiences of God, three different styles of relationship with that one God.

Lord's Day Faith Chat - 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - November 8, 2009

Readings for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time:  1 Kings 17:10-16; Psalm 146:7-10; Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44

Many rich people put in large sums.  A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents.  Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, "Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury.  For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood." (Mark 12:41a-44)  

What does it mean to be rich or poor?  Are you poor if you don't have a closet full of new clothes in your closet?  Are you rich if you own your home?  Are you poor if you eat peanut butter and jelly more often than not?  Are you rich if you have a comfortable savings account and are working to build your retirement account?

Whatever we have or don't have, being rich or poor depends on our perspective, and our perspective affects how we give of ourselves, our time and our money.  We can either feel sorry for ourselves because of what we don't have and envy others because of what they do have, or we can appreciate what we do have and use it to the best of our abilities. 

And how do we give?  Do we give out of obligation?  Or do we give with the understanding that whatever we give will make a difference in our community and our world?

Faith Chat Question:  When you think of your own life, do you consider yourself rich or poor?  How do you spend your time and money?  How do you share your gifts?  Is there anything you should be doing differently?

Faith Response:  Make plans for your family to participate in your parish's holiday giving activities.  Provide food for Thanksgiving food baskets.  Take a tag from the Advent/Christmas Giving Tree.  If your parish doesn't have many activities, make a donation to a food pantry or mission.

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, help us to share the gifts we have with those in need around us.  Amen.