St. Michael Parish May 2018-Meeting Jesus Please enjoy the conversation with your family, make use of everything at www.stmfamily.org, and feel free to contact us with comments or questions. Happy Summer! See you in the Fall!
How To Use This Packet We want to make sure that this packet is a good resource for your family as you journey together in faith each and every month. The following guide is a suggestion of how you can use it! As you are journeying together, always remember that Susan, Becca and Tim are available if you have questions or want other ideas of things to do with your family. We have updated the blog-so please check it out! www.stmfamily.org
Welcome to the final Faith Formation session of the school year-- congratulations, you made it! (We made it!) I hope that over the past nine months this program has helped your family have deeper, more meaningful conversations about Jesus and His Church. If you and your children have felt a bit closer to Jesus, a bit more inspired by His Word, or even become a bit more confident in your faith, we have done our job, and thank the Holy Spirit for making it so. We learned a lot about who Jesus is this year. We studied some of what He said when He walked the Earth. We focused a lot on what He did-- especially how He suffered and died for our sins so we could be as close to God as our hearts long to be. We even learned how, when Jesus rose from the dead, He defeated death itself, and sent the Holy Spirit to be released in the hearts of humanity in a brand new way. He gave us a new and everlasting life. This month, we are going to consider how and why his disciples acted on His instruction to go and make disciples of all nations. Yes, He said all nations-- including those who had never heard about the one God, or the covenants, or about the rescue mission! What could the disciples say to people as they fanned out across the known world to make disciples? What could they say, with the help of the Holy Spirit, that would make them believe that the full love of God was intended for everyone? To answer this question, we are going to delve into the books of the Bible referred to as letters or epistles. These are indeed letters, most often written by Paul, which describe (among many other things) what day-to-day life is like for a Christian living with the Holy Spirit. We know, of course, that Jesus offers us eternal life with Him. This is the Most Important Thing. But we should also remember that life with Jesus in the Spirit offers joys, gifts, and consolations that renew this life and give it deeper meaning. Just like the people living in places like Galatia and Thessalonica must have done to Paul, children sometimes give parents a look which asks why would we do this? Why do we come to Church? Why does it matter? Talking about eternal life, while really important, sometimes does not sink in the way it should to our children. We must be able to explain that we do this because we love them, because their eternity matters, but also because there is someone here, this Jesus, who wants to help us HERE, NOW, TODAY. He is not a trained seal-- he does not perform tricks on command-- but when we trust Him, he gives us something that we cannot get anywhere else. When Paul and the other apostles said this, and then acted in a way which convinced people it was true, the Good News spread quickly. It can be the same for us. It is with this context in mind that I invite you to read the selected passages from the New Testament with your family. (Don t forget to pray first, even if that is a quiet whisper of
such as this? What can we offer them so that they would believe us? Even from the beginning of the Church, the apostles were forced to lean on the power of the Holy Spirit! Christ Lives Inside of Me (Gal 2:20.) Paul writes that this Christ, the Son of the Living God, lives in Him- NOT that he, Paul, is a god, or god-like. He explains that to be a Christian is to have Jesus within oneself, always present, always there. He respects our free will and does not force Himself upon us, but we can be sure that when we cooperate with Him, let Him into our lives, we will be the sons and daughters He calls us to be. (So run, do not walk, to the Sacraments, especially Confession and Eucharist!) A Spirit of Courage (2 Tim 1: 6-8.) Paul reminds Timothy, and all of us, not to underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit we have received. We need to be reminded, or perhaps we will not ask for the help we need. Why ask for a miracle you don t think can happen? Instead, Paul says, every Christian should trust what the Spirit will able to do, and be not afraid of its power. Many Gifts, One Spirit (1 Cor 12: 3-11.) Clearly, Paul has seen this Spirit in action. He has seen its gifts given to different people in the Church, and how they worked together to build the Kingdom. We should not wish we have the gifts God gave to someone else; we have our own, which God took care to give to us. Most importantly, Paul understands that these gifts are for the community-- intended to nourish a whole group of people. What would happen if those people never spent time together? Would the gifts make it to their destination? Fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5: 22-23.) Who wouldn t want these in their life? If these are the fruit of the Spirit, count me in! (Go ahead-- read them again.) Imagine...if a whole community of people in town had these -- all at once-- who could resist trying to see where they came from? The Spirit Comes To Our Aid (Rom 8: 26-27.) This Spirit-- this Advocate, this Helper-- is so loving of us, Paul writes, that it even helps us pray. That s dedication! This is what Jesus meant when He said he would be with us always. Not only did the Spirit gave us the Catholic Church, Sacraments, Sacred Scripture, and all our Sacred Traditions, but to each individual He also offers help with our own personal conversations with the Father. So ask. The Spirit will help. Please do not be afraid to use your imagination when discussing these passages with your family. What would it have been like to open, read, and contemplate a letter such as these? What would we have done? Bring your family into the scene, and let the Holy Spirit bring it to life. You will be glad you did. Thank you again for a wonderful year of Family Faith Formation. Tim
Pray Read Imagine Discuss Go forth and make Disciples: Matthew 28:19-20 I no longer live, Christ lives inside of me: Galatians 2:20 A spirit of Courage: 2 Timothy 1:6-8 Many Gifts but One Spirit: 1 Corinthians 12:1-12 Fruits of the Spirit: Galatians 5:22-23 We do not know how to Pray as we ought: Romans 8:26-27 Read the passage slowly to yourself. Reread the passage out loud for your family. Take a few minutes to think about and ponder the words in this passage. What is God saying to you in this passage? What choice can you make this week to grow closer to God?
Tim talked about being an evangelist for Gino s Pizza. What would you be a great evangelist for? What makes it hard to talk about your faith in places like school or at work? Check out the maps of Paul s travels on the blog. What do you think it was like to travel on foot and by boat to all these places? What do you think people thought of him? What are some ways we can meet Jesus today? If you met Jesus in person today, what would you ask him? Think about the seven sacraments. How does a person meet Jesus in each of the Sacraments?
See how many of the fruits of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23 you can name. Go through the fruits of the Spirit and give an example of how you can incorporate them into your daily life. How do you describe the answer to the question Me+Jesus= Go around the table and say which fruit of the Spirit each person in your family shows the most. What is one thing you can do to tell someone else the good news about Jesus? What are ways we as a family can invite Jesus into our lives more?
Make Mother s Day Cards for elderly friends or neighbors that have family far away. Make a Mother s Day Card for your Godmother! Pray the Rosary (or a decade with younger children) in honor of Our Lady of Fatima s Feast Day: May 13th Visit Eucharistic Adoration (offered every Wednesday) in honor of St. Kateri Tekawitha (feast day July 14th). She had a great devotion to the Eucharist. Father s Plant Marigolds in Honor of Mary. The story is that thieves accosted the Holy Family on the way into Egypt. Mary gave them her purse. When the thieves opened it, marigolds, rather than money, poured out. Memorial Day May 29 th On this Memorial Day, we remember the men and women who have died serving our country. We are grateful for the sacrifice they have made. Lord Jesus, we pray that you will always keep these special people in your care. Amen Discuss Memorial Day with your children. Talk about the ways we remember those who have died serving our country. Cut out a cross from poster board, decorate it with the American Flag and write the names of those you know who have served our country. First Day of Summer: June 21 st Spend the day at the beach. Look for Heart shaped rocks. Thank God for the beauty of the ocean. You created the day and the night; you set the sun and the moon in their places; you set the limits of the earth; you made summer and winter. ~Psalm 7 4:16-17
Share 7 Lessons for Moms from Mary In all of history, there was no one like Mary, the mother of Christ. She was chosen by God to be the mother of his own son. And while we will never be like Mary in that way, we do share the bond of motherhood with this highly favored young woman. Here are 7 things we can learn from Mary: Mary pondered. ~ Luke 2:19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. Mary prayed. ~Acts 1:14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus Mary trusted God. ~ Luke 1:38 I am the Lord s servant, Mary answered. May your word to me be fulfilled. Mary was humble. ~ Luke 2:19 But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. Mary engaged. ~ Luke 4:28 His mother said to him, Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you. Mary believed. ~ John 2:3 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. Mary was faithful. ~ John 19:25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother
Pentecost Pentecost is celebrated 50 days or the 7 th Sunday after the Resurrection of Jesus on Easter. The word Pentecost means fifty. On this day, we remember that Mary, a couple of other women, and the twelve disciples were in the other room of a house in Jerusalem. As they prayed together a strong wind came up with a loud noise and flames of fire came to rest above the heads of the twelve disciples. Immediately the disciples were inspired and filled with courage and strength to spread the word of God to all people. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are knowledge, understanding, counsel, strength, piety, fear of the Lord and wisdom. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are love, peace, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, generosity, mildness, self-control, modesty and chastity. The dove, wind and fire are all symbols of the Holy Spirit. Celebration of Catholic Charismatic Renewal Ste Marie Church Manchester Saturday, May 20th 5pm Praise and Worship 6pm Mass Pentecost Sunday Mass 7:30am, 9am, 11am Birthday Party for the Church What better way to celebrate the birthday of the church than throw a party? Here are some party ideas: Read Acts 2:2-4 Game Ideas Pin the flame on the Apostle Tongue Twister Gifts/Fruits of the Holy Spirit Share which Gifts of the Spirit you see in one another Make paper fruit write a Fruit of the Holy Spirit on each. Pentecost celebrates the diversity and unity of the Global Church Hang signs saying, Come Holy Spirit in different languages. Make foods from different countries
Read and Reflect: Read Pentecost: Acts 2: 1-12. What happened in the story? What did the apostles do next? Just as the Holy Spirit came to the disciples at Pentecost, he also comes to us. The Holy Spirit gives us the help we need to serve God and others. When the Spirit guides our actions, we can see the results of the Fruits of the Holy Spirit. The nine fruits are: Love, Patience, Kindness, Joy, Gentleness, Self-control, Generosity, Faithfulness and Peace. Challenge for the month: Live out the fruits of the spirit in your home. How better can you serve those you love and live with. Pray that the Holy Spirit will be your aid as you live out this challenge. GAUDETE ET EXSULTATE We are all called to be holy by living our lives with love and by bearing witness in everything we do, wherever we find ourselves. Be holy by living out your commitments with joy. Let the grace of your baptism bear fruit in a path of holiness. Let everything be open to God; turn to him in every situation. ~Pope Francis Rehearsal: 5:30pm and 7pm May 9 th May 30 th - Preschool Bible Story time: 10:30-11:30am, Drouin Hall May 12 th - First Holy Communion: 10am and 12:30pm May 14 th - Middle School Youth Group: 6-8pm, Michael House May 16 th - Night In Bethlehem Meeting: 7pm, Cotter Hall May 16 th - Catechist Adoration: 8pm May 18 th - Rock, Paper, Scripture:6-7:30pm, Michael House May 21 st - Homeschool Group:1pm, Cotter Hall High School Youth Group every Sunday: 6:30-8:30pm, Michael House Team Jesus 9am and 11am mass Ascension Mass Schedule *May 9, 7pm *May 10,8am and 5:30pm MASS TIMES: St. Michael Parish Saturday: 4pm Sunday: 7:30am, 9am, 11am St. Mary Parish Saturday: 4pm Sunday: 9:30am Confession St. Michael Saturday, 2:45pm