catholic family faith

Happy Feast of St. Lucy!

Today, December 13, is the Feast of St. Lucy.  I have grown to appreciate St. Lucy more over the years.  For her story, go to http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=75.

Light a candle and ask St. Lucy to pray that you will see the Light of Christ in your life.

Online Advent Resources

It's the end of the first week of Advent.  Are you still looking for something to inspire you in this season of preparation and anticipation of Christ's coming?  Check out some of these websites:

• Loyola Press - http://www.loyolapress.com/liturgical-year-advent.htm?ftm=ocf - Advent calendars, wreaths, and activities  (I really like their on-line Advent experience - a reflection or activity for each day of Advent.)
• CatholicMom.com - http://catholicmom.com/advent_kids.htm - coloring pages, word puzzles, and other activities for Advent
• Homeschooling Countdown to Christmas - http://homeschooling.about.com/cs/unitssubjhol/a/advent125.htm - each day of this Advent calendar offers a recipe, a game, a coloring page, an activity page, and a craft
• Catholic Icing - http://catholicicing.com/category/adventchristmas/ - this is a "sweet" website filled with crafts and recipes

Whatever you do this Advent, make sure you make time just to simply enjoy the season.  If you need some rest, take it.  Too often we try to cram too much into the season - baking, shopping, wrapping, church, get-togethers with family and friends - to the point where we get sick or feel depressed.  When God became human through the Incarnation, God didn't intend for us to feel overwhelmed with having to do all kinds of stuff.  God really wants us to be filled with joy and peace.

I pray that whatever you do this Advent, you are able to experience God's abundant joy and peace and love in a profound way.

 

 

The Sacred Heart of Jesus & The Immaculate Heart of Mary

Yesterday, July 1, was the Solemn Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  Today, July 2, is the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  Two feasts celebrating tremendous LOVE.

The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is celebrated 19 days after Pentecost.  The Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary falls on the Saturday following the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus had been practiced as a private devotion since the Middle Ages, especially among the Benedictines, Cistercians, Franciscans, Dominicans and Carthusians.  In the 17th century, Margaret Mary Alacoque claimed to have had visions of Jesus Christ.  Through her visions, Saint Margaret Mary promoted the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  The Church, in its typical sceptical fashion, did not immediately embrace the revelations of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  It wasn't until Pope Leo XIII at the end of the 19th century that the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was officially instituted in the Church.

In his encyclical Annum Sacrum (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/leo_xiii/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_25051899_annum-sacrum_en.html), Pope Leo XIII decreed that the entire human race be consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 11, 1899.  Pope Pius X decreed that this consecration of the human race be renewed each year.   Pope Leo XIII also established that June be the month devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and encouraged the entire Church to practice the devotion of the Nine First Fridays.  Since that time, Catholics around the world have gone to daily Mass on the First Fridays of the month.

It doesn't happen often that the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus falls on July 1st.  This occurs only when Easter is the latest that it can be, at the end of April, which did happen in 2011.

Even though yesterday, July 1, was the offical Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, I would suggest that individuals and households pray the Litany to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Download Litany_SacredHeartofJesus.pdf (58.7K)

The devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary refers to the interior life of Mary, her joys, sorrows, and virtues, and her devoted love of God and complete self-giving to her son, Jesus.  Devotion to Mary's heart and her example of selfless love have been practiced since the first century Church.  The alliance of the devotions of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus officially began in the 17th century with Saint Jean Eudes, prior to the visions of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque.

For more on the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, visit

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Heart and http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07163a.htm

For more on the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, visit

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immaculate_Heart_of_Mary and http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07168a.htm

keeping current from children's ministry

I just receive the July/August 2011 children's ministry magazine.  One of the magazine's featured articles is "keeping current."  Here are some interesting tidbits of information...

• Grade point averages of kids who attend church regularly are 14.4% higher than the GPA of kids who don't.
• 70% of kids ages 5 to 9 have a TV in their bedroom.  Of those kids, 32% are already overweight or at risk for becoming overweight.
• 7.5 million kids under the age of 13 actively use Facebook, according to a recent survey conducted by Consumer Reports.

children's ministry magazine is a wonderful resource!  If you are a parent or catechist and would like to see more articles from children's ministry, check out

http://www.childrensministry.com/

What can we do about the problem of illegal drugs?

I just read an interesting article on npr.org about the failure of the global war on drugs.  The Global Commission on Drug Policy just releasted it's report with recommendations for changes in policies on drugs.  (You may read the entire report at http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/Report)

One of the recommendations struck me:

Less emphasis on "simplistic 'just say no' messages and 'zero tolerance' policies in favor of educational efforts grounded in credible information and prevention programs that focus on social skills and peer influences."

I think that the Church and parents have an opportunity to make a great impact "in favor of educational efforts grounded in credible information and prevention programs that focus on social skills and peer influences"?  How can we influence social norming so that people of all ages (it's not just a teen problem) will be moved to care for and respect their "temple(s) of the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 6:19)?

Food for thought on a beautiful spring day!

Mid-Lent Status

Today ends the third week of Lent; tomorrow is the fourth Sunday of Lent.  So at this mid-Lent point, how are you doing with your Lenten practices?

I feel that I haven't been very faithful to my spiritual desires.  I had wanted to fast more, spend more time in prayer, go to the Stations of the Cross every week at our parish, and do something significant to connect with God and other people.  High expectations, low results.

I have a number of excuses - there are always excuses.  As I think about those excuses, though, I realize that maybe I'm being too hard on myself.

One of the excuses is that I don't seem to have any extra time to spend alone with God in prayer.  I've been working Sunday through Thursday with parish meetings, lesson planning, connecting with catechists and families, regular every day office work, etc.  On Fridays and Saturdays I care for my grandson and get some things done around the house.  When I get into bed at night, I try to read (a friend loaned me Megan McKenna's, We Live Inside a Story), but I seem to read a page or two then fall asleep.  But...

Every morning when the alarm goes off, I push the snooze button for 9 more minutes.  In that 9 minutes, I offer God a "Good Morning" prayer and ask God to bless the day.  I've been keeping the radio off in the car - at least when I'm alone - and use that quiet time to think about God.  Throughout the days, I've experienced moments of overwhelming peace and know that God is with me. 

So maybe my prayer is okay, for now.  I do know that I could do more...We can always do more...

I haven't fasted as much as I've wanted to fast.  My excuse is that my daughter's birthdays are during Lent, so we have to eat cake!  And once I start eating cake, I can't stop till it's gone.  I've also tried to fast from playing iPod games, but I haven't done so well there, either.  The games are semi-brainless and help me to wind down.  Excuses, excuses.

I've gone to one Stations of the Cross prayer this Lent.  While I really would like to attend, my daughter doesn't pick up my grandson until after 4 p.m. and then I feel that I have to catch up on what I didn't get done (like getting groceries).  So when it comes time to leave, I'm either in the middle of something (like putting groceries away) or just too tired.  However, my younger daughter and I have been making recipes from Operation Rice Bowl every Friday.  (There are some yummy recipes from Senegal, Kenya, Haiti, Indonesia, and Honduras.  Check them out at http://orb.crs.org/, click on "Countries.")

What I've realized in this reflection is that even though my expectations are great for myself, I think that God is happy that I'm trying.  Even if when Lent is over I haven't "accomplished" anything, God gives me another chance every single day.  I will continue to expect more from myself and challenge myself to grow in my relationship with God.  At the same time, I am thankful that God accepts everything that I do with love.  By recognizing God's acceptance of anything that I do, I feel closer to God.

Take some time this weekend to reflect on your Lenten journey.  Rather than focusing on what you've done or not done, think about how in your doing or not doing you have grown closer to God, Who Loves You Very, Very Much!

February Faith & Fun for Families

Here in Michigan it's cold and snowy.  It's fun to play outside in the snow, but only to a certain point.  When you can no longer feel your fingers, toes, or nose, it's time to go inside.  So in February, kids and adults in the north often suffer from "Cabin Fever" from being pent up in the house too long.

Check out these sites for activities to help your family beat Cabin Fever with faith & fun.

Family, Faith, and Fun from Loyola Press - Includes February Saints calendar, family activites, and inspiration for daily family life.

Pflaum Reproducibles for Winter - Reproducible activities for winter from Pflaum Publishing.

Winter Activities for Kids - Top 10 outdoor activities from FamilyEducation.com.

Winter Craft Activities for Kids - Fun crafts to fight winter boredom from FamilyEducation.com.

Family Fun Ideas - A website full of fun ideas for families - FamilyFun.com.

 

Vocations Awareness Week

The Catholic Church in the United States celebrates National Vocations Awareness this week, January 9-15, 2011. 

When Catholics hear the word “vocations,” we tend to think primarily in terms of the priesthood and religious life.  So when we hear about the vocations crisis, we primarily focus on the shortage of priests and religious sisters and brothers.

The vocations crisis, however, is much broader than just the priesthood and religious life.  In addition to priests, the Church needs lay people to serve in leadership roles in parishes and other ministries.  The World, too, needs people from all walks of life to take an active role in organizations serving people in need around the globe.  Thus, it is vital that we pray for and work to instill a sense of vocation in all people of the Church. 

All persons, because they are created by and in God, have a vocation, a calling, a natural inclination to live a particular way of life utilizing the abilities and talents with which God created them.  We shouldn’t be asking, “Am I called to a life of vocation?”  Rather, we should ask, “What vocation was I created to live?” 

In his message for World Vocations Day in 2001, Pope John Paul II said, “Every life is a vocation.”  The priest, the religious sister, the lay ecclesial minister, the teacher, the doctor, the engineer, the secretary, the construction worker, the delivery person, indeed everyone is gifted with talents, abilities, and interests that incline them toward the jobs in which they work.  Vocation goes beyond work.  It includes the entire process of living. 

It is fitting that National Vocations Awareness Week begins on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, when Jesus began his public ministry.  In his ministry, Jesus drew upon his natural abilities and interests to share God’s love with everyone he met.  He utilized the talents that were woven into his very being.  Jesus enjoyed and required time in prayer, talking to the Father and gathering strength and perspective for his time teaching and working with the people.  Jesus genuinely love people, especially the poor, sick, and vulnerable.  He had a gift – a wonderful and great gift – for helping people to reconcile with God, with others, and with themselves, healing them of their physical, emotional, and social illnesses.

And who helped Jesus learn his calling and discover his natural abilities?  Mary and Joseph, as well as his relatives and neighbors in the community of Nazareth.  Jesus learned who he was from Mary’s and Joseph’s gentle challenges and encouragement to discover his gifts and abilities.  As he interacted with his relatives and neighbors, he learned what he enjoyed doing and what others appreciated about him. 

When parents bring their children to the Church to be baptized, they make a promise to raise them in the ways of Christ Jesus and the teachings of the Church.  Within that promise is the responsibility to help their children discover and grow into the persons that God created them to be.  As parents watch their children grow, they help them to discover their abilities, usually by providing them a variety of opportunities to try new things.  Parents also help their children to realize the things they enjoy doing, encouraging them to participate in the activities that they like to do.

Parents do not work alone.  The Church, specifically parish communities, has a responsibility to support them in their role.  Within the parish, children, young adults, and people of all ages are invited to engage in activities to help them figure out the purpose for which God created them.  They participate in a variety of prayer opportunities to discover the style of prayer that suits them best.  They engage in service activities that challenge them to try new things and determine the kinds of activities they really enjoy doing.  They are invited to discern their gifts and talents so as to live according to the natural inclinations of the Spirit within them.

While National Vocations Awareness Week primarily focuses on the vocations of the priesthood and religious life, the entire people of God must begin to understand the overall definition of vocations, the natural inclination to live a particular way of life utilizing the abilities and talents with which God created us.  We need to create opportunities for people of all ages to explore their personal vocations so that every person created in God’s image may fully discover who God created them to be and to live their lives, utilizing their talents and abilities to the fullest.

If every person is challenged and helped to live fully, according to the Spirit’s calling within them, we will no longer have a vocations crisis in the Church or in our world.

For resources to use to explore vocations in the home, classroom, parish, or school, visit:

 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (www.usccb.org) - http://foryourvocation.org/

Happy New Year!

I'm serious!  The new Liturgical (Church) Year begins on the first Sunday of Advent. 

As I pondered the idea of the calendar, I Googled "origins of calendars" as well as "how many different calendars are there."  Check out http://www.calendar-origins.com/ and http://www.webexhibits.org/calendars/calendar.html along with Wikipedia.  

Our current Julian calendar is just one of a variety of systems for keeping track of time.  People have kept track of time through the centuries to help them predict annual events, such as seasons and natural occurrences (e.g., spring floods).  There are solar calendars (based on the cycle of the sun), lunar calendars (based on the cycle of the moon), and lunisolar calendars, which are lunar calendars that add an extra month as needed to realign the months with the seasons.  There are also astronomical and arithmetic calendars.  Currently in use are the Chinese, Christian, Indian, Islamic, and Jewish calendars.  Then there's the Mayan, Roman, and French calendars that are no longer used.  Businesses use fiscal calendars.

"Life is not dated merely by years. Events are sometimes the best calendars." - Benjamin Disraeli

Having worked in parish ministry for several years, I have come to love the Liturgical Calendar.  Each year, I deliberately purchase an appointment book based on the Liturgical Calendar to help me remain focused on the seasons of the Church Year.  I have found that there is wisdom in the Church Year that coincides with the natural seasons.  For example, we begin Advent today, November 28th, four weeks before Christmas.  Advent is a season of contemplation and preparation for Christ's coming, both the commemoration of Jesus' birth as well as Christ's return at the end of the age.  Advent occurs when there is more darkness than light.  And in the northern regions of our world, it is cold.  The message we hear throughout Advent is "Stay awake; hope in the Light of Christ." 

You know the time;
it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep.
For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed;
the night is advanced, the day is at hand.
Let us then throw off the works of darkness
and put on the armor of light... (Romans 13:12-13)

We celebrate the birth of Christ, the Light of the World, near the Winter Solstice, when light begins to take over the darkness and the span of daylight becomes longer.  We celebrate Easter, Jesus' Resurrection, new life, in the spring when flowers are popping up and trees are budding and birds are building nests to hatch their eggs.  We live through the Ordinary Time of winter (between the Baptism of the Lord, which ends the Christmas season, and Ash Wednesday, which begins the season of Lent) and summer (between Pentecost and the Solemnity of Christ the King), counting the weeks ("Ordinary" Time comes from the root for "ordinal," which means to count) and living our lives according to the teachings of our Master, Christ Jesus.

Throughout this next year, I invite you to pay special attention to the seasons of the Liturgical Year.  Note how the liturgical seasons align with the natural seasons.  Pray with the "moods" of the seasons.  For more on the Liturgical Year and activities to do with your family, visit:

 http://www.cyberfaith.com/liturgical_year.cfm

http://www.loyolapress.com/liturgical-year.htm

Advent Begins This Weekend

This Sunday, we begin a new Lectionary cycle (Cycle A), a new season (Advent), and a new Liturgical (Church) Year.  The Church has a three-year Lectionary cycle.  We just finished Year C, throughout which we heard readings from the Gospel of Luke.  Throughout the next year, we will hear readings from the Gospel of Matthew.

The color of Advent is violet.  Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas.  It is a time of contemplation and preparation.  For some Advent information and activities to do with your family, check out these sites: 

• http://loyolapress.com/ - search "Advent"
• http://www.pflaum.com/families3/?url=/families3? - You will have to register, but it's FREE!
• http://acyberpilgrim.org/ - videos reflecting on the first week of Advent as well as making your own Advent wreath
• http://www.dltk-holidays.com/xmas/advent.html
• http://www.catholicmom.com/advent_kids.htm

 One of the activities that we do in our home is to get our Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving.  We get bundled up, listen to Christmas music on the radio (it begins on two stations in our area the week after Halloween), and drive to a local tree farm.  We even take the dog!  We trudge out into the forest field and check out all the trees as we go.  We usually walk a while and end up at the far end of the field; that's part of the process.  It's the most fun when there's snow, but this year we're probably not going to have any.  After we cut the tree, we get hot chocolate, load up the tree, and head back home.  We put the tree up in our living room, but don't completely decorate it all at once...that's part of the Advent process.  We take our time decorating our tree and our home, putting up a little each week until all of the decorations are out and placed for Christmas.

That's the beauty of Advent.  It's a time of preparation, but we should take our time.  We are preparing for Christmas, the celebration of Christ's birth, the Incarnation, God-become-human.  We also prepare for Christ's coming at the end of the age.  That's going to take a while...we don't know the day or the hour.  So in our home, we remember that preparing is a continual process by taking our time putting out the decorations. 

How will your family celebrate Advent this year?  Make a plan to intentionally participate in this season.  Make it simple.  Pray around your Advent wreath at the end of the day.  Take your time putting up your decorations, sharing the memories of those special ornaments.  Read the Sunday readings together before you go to Mass.  Make some Christmas cookies to eat and to share.  Snuggle together and watch your favorite Christmas shows.  Even if you get to Christmas and realize you haven't done everything - or anything - in your plan, at least as you go through the season, you will be aware of the importance of preparing for Christ's coming.