Confirmation

Confirmation Overview 2020-2021

Encounter

Engage

Embrace

Here we will focus on the learning and teaching of our faith. Our playlists or menu of activities for this will be focused on sacred scripture, especially on the New Testament, church doctrine and history and how it is relevant to our lives today.

Here we take what we have learned from the Encounter phase and put it into action by “practicing” our faith on both an individual and community level. Through engagement, we experience the conversion of heart Jesus speaks to as we align our lives and goals more closely with the life of Jesus. At this step, we go to Mass, engage in prayer activities, journal, and examine how we “actively practice” our faith.

Here we take the first two pieces and live our lives courageously as Catholics as Jesus has taught us. We must embrace others fully as a way of being and living. Our charge is to go out into the world and be God’s light – this is where we put into action and accept a new way of life as a Catholic. Service is an integral component of this theme.

You will note that these are all verbs, words of action. We practice, live and grow our faith by actively participating in growing in relationship with Christ. We invite you and your family to join us as we encounter, engage, and embrace this new year of faith formation.

Monthly Playlists

October: Your Journey

As we discussed when we gathered, the sacrament of Confirmation concludes our initiation into the Catholic faith. It is not a graduation, but in a sense a launching. You are entering into a new phase of your faith journey where you will publicly claim this faith as your own.

Encounter

Choose one of these stories about different journeys from the Bible and reflect:

Engage

Who do you most easily relate to in the story and why?

Who has been a guide for your faith journey?

When you reflect upon your experience with your faith, where have you been
blind to God working in your life? Click here to access your monthly journaling page!

What qualities did you see in bible story you read?

What qualities to you see in yourself that would help on your faith journey?

Embrace

Choose one of the service projects to do as a family this month such as making sandwiches for
St. Vincent DePaul, making cards for the House of Bread Lunch bags.
While working together ask your family members about their highs and lows of their faith
journey. Ask your parents why they want this sacrament for you.

Family conversation starters for the month:
What was your favorite journey and why?
How did the people you traveled with impact your journey?
How has your faith changed over the years?
How has God accompanied you on your journey?

Extras

Wisdom of the Geese (as shown during our first gathering).

Watch this to see how far St. Paul traveled to proclaim the good news! Remember he traveled by foot or by boat!!!! Imagine traveling this way today!

Always be on the lookout for miracles along the way. Check out the journey of this little guy, you never know where you will find a companion!

November: Gifts of the holy spirit

Opening Prayer

Christ has no body but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes with which he looks with compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet. Yours are the eyes, you are his body… - St. Teresa of Avila (1515–1582)

To live this call, we need certain traits or qualities. What would happen if you allowed yourself to become the person God created you to be? Through Confirmation we are not only sealed as followers of Christ, but we publicly claim this faith as our own! As a bonus the gifts of the Holy Spirit that were bestowed upon you through baptism are fortified. These are the tools or fuel you will need for your faith journey.

This month we will explore the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the sacrament of Confirmation. Why do I need to be confirmed? You may be wondering what is in it for me . . . let’s begin with what it is.

Encounter

click here

Watch the Busted Halo video on Confirmation to get a basic overview of the sacrament, then choose either the video by Dynamic Catholic or Ascension Press on the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Think of the questions that were asked of your Godparents and parents at your Baptism. They stood before God and this community stating their intention that you would be a follower of Jesus Christ. Look over the questions below, with answers taken from Creighton University, and see what your parents want for you. Just as we renew our baptismal promises every Lent, on Confirmation you will publicly affirm the this is your faith, by renewing your baptismal promises.

Do you renounce sin, so as to live in the freedom of the children of God?
I do.
Lord, all I want to do is live in the freedom you offer me.
I want to reject the unloving choices I have made,
and the sinful failures to love anywhere in my life. I reject
all injustice, all violence all that disrespects the
dignity of life.

Do you reject the lure of evil, so that sin may have no mastery over you?
I do.
Lord, I admit that some evil has a hold on me:
it is attractive, it has such powerful rewards,
it has become a habitual way for me to be myself.
Lord, I renew my commitment this day
to turn from that evil
and from letting any disordered attachment,
any empty promises master me,
and try to separate me from you.
By this promise, I commit myself
to greater courage in acting justly.

Do you reject Satan and all his empty promises?
I do.
Lord, as I renew the promises
that accompany my becoming one with you
in the baptism of dying to sin and rising to life,
I renew my commitment
to reject Satan, and all his ways.

Do you believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth?
I do.
Lord, you made me and give me life every day.
I believe in you, I turn to you,
and I place my life,
and the graces I need each day,
in your loving hands.

Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered death and was buried, rose again from the dead, and is seated at the right hand of the Father?
I do.
Jesus, my Lord and Savior,
my life is in your hands.
I believe in you, I turn to you,
I commit myself to growing closer to you,
placing myself with you,
in love - compassionate, self-sacrificing love -
for others.

Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body,and life everlasting?
I do.

I believe in and renew my commitment to
your work among us.
I want to contribute to the unity that you desire for us.
I promise to be merciful,
for I have known your mercy.
God, the all-powerful Father of
Our Lord Jesus Christ has given us a new
birth by water and the Holy Spirit,
and has forgiven all our sins.
May he also keep us faithful to
our Lord Jesus Christ for ever and ever.

Now that you have been reminded of what we commit at Baptism, watch either the Dynamic Catholic or The Chosen (Part 1 and 2) video on the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Engage

Read Bible Gateway.  After watching the videos and reading this passage,
            What gifts has God given you?
            Which of the gifts of the Holy Spirit do you utilize as a teen?

Open the small envelope in your “gift” and write on the back of at least four of the gifts cards a time when you used that particular gift or how teens use/need this gift today.

Embrace

Use your gifts to help others. This month try to do at least two of the following:

Start a family gratitude jar and focus this month on the many gifts God has given you.
Pray each morning or evening thanking God for your many blessings.
Reach out to someone via snail mail. Send a card to a grandparent, parent, friend, cousin, coach and let them know you are thinking of them.
Make 25 inserts for our lunch bags for House of Bread wishing people a nice day.
Take the time to have dinner with your family and ask the questions below or make up additional questions for your family to answer based on the gifts of the Holy Spirit like: What would you like to be more knowledgeable about? When were you courageous? When were you closest to God? Who is the wisest person you know and why?
Make sandwiches for House of Bread – coordinate with Mrs. O’Neill for supplies or to pick up sandwiches you and your family make with your own supplies.
Gather with family and make some boxes for Operation Christmas Child – due to the church the Sunday before Thanksgiving.

What was the best gift you ever received and who gave it to you?
Why was this gift so important to you?
What was the most helpful gift you ever received?

Which of the gifts of the Holy Spirit do you think you need the most?
Pick one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and share how you currently use it and why it is important.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful and kindle in them the fire of Your love. Send forth Your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth. O, God Who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy Your consolations. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

December: Advent - a joyous season of preparation

Lord of all love,
As I step out the door, show me my neighbor.
As I read the news, show me my neighbor.
As I prepare for your coming,
show me my neighbor.
On my left, on my right
Perhaps turning to me right now
Show me my neighbor.

Where my eyes half past before and then turned away
Show me my neighbor.
We are my ears have heard cries for that I have ignored
Show me my neighbor.
In this time of hope and anticipation, let me be a beacon of your light.
Show me my neighbor.

And then let me love them
In their joy and in their distress
That their delight be mine
And their pain be mine too.
Let me love them
As completely and mercifully as you love me.
In true solidarity
Singing our songs together until the new song emerges, let me love them.
For it is in knowing our neighbor that We create your kingdom here on earth

Open my heart and help me,
during this advent season and to see my neighbor.
Heavenly Father, in your name we pray.
Amen
Adapted CRS Prayer

December is typically a time when we are fully immersed in the holiday season, but do you know what has changed in our church since the last time we gathered? What would you say if I wished you a Happy New Year? Every once in a while in our program we will shed new light on elements of our faith that you may have forgotten, such as the new liturgical year.

Encounter

Since our last class we have started a new year in the church!!! Check out this link to get a brief overview of what that means. After reading the article, you know we are in the season of Advent. This is a joyous season of preparation.

This year we will be reading Mark’s gospel throughout the year – there are three cycles or readings for our church. This is year B where we read the gospel of Mark. Believe it or not Mark’s gospel does not begin with the birth of Christ, but instead with John the Baptist baptizing Jesus in the Jordan. Remember each of the gospels tell the story of Jesus’ ministry but the audience for whom they were written is different. We will discuss this in more detail later in our program

The infancy narratives or the story of the birth of Christ are told in the gospels according to Matthew and Luke. Advent is the season where we prepare for the coming of Christ. It is the four weeks before Christmas. Need a refresher? Watch this video and see if this is your reality of the infancy narrative?

Now let’s see if we can go back to the source.
Click below to read passages from Luke and Matthew. Pay attention to the tone and details.

Engage

Sacred scripture is foundational to our faith, yet even some of the most familiar stories are not what we think.
How many wise men are there in these stories?
What animals are mentioned?
Where is the little drummer boy?
Think about the different stories of the infancy narratives that you read above. Who do you most closely relate to?
   Vulnerable like the Jesus?
Full of faith like the magi?
Trusting like Mary and Joseph?
Anxious and angry like King Herod?
Given the fact that we have just started a new year in the church let’s reflect on what our faith means in the world today. In preparation for Father Lerner, please reflect upon questions you may have about God, being Catholic or your faith journey.  If you have thought of additional questions since our last class, please send them to Mrs. O'Neill by November 22 to be included in the list being sent to Father Lerner.

Embrace

Commit to shopping at small local business or at an online fair trade retailer such as these.
Pick one charity you believe in and make a donation in someone’s name. Be sure to do some research and find an organization that has had success with their targeted population.
Make Christmas cards and get them to the church by December 12 so Mrs. O’Neill can share them on behalf of our class community.
Make a Jesse tree this year with your family, see directions here.
Make an Advent calendar or wreath, or follow the Advent Calendar on BustedHalo.com.
Continue (or start) a Gratitude Journal.

Conversation Starters:
What is your favorite memory from past Christmases?
What is your favorite family tradition for Christmas?
What is one thing you can do to spread joy during the season of preparation?
What about this season fills you with joy and anticipation?
What surprised you most about reading the stories back to back?

January: COntinue

Opening Prayer

Continue
by Maya Angelou

Into a world which needed you
My wish for you
Is that you continue

Continue

To be who and how you are
To astonish a mean world
With your acts of kindness

Continue

To allow humor to lighten the burden
of your tender heart

Continue

In a society dark with cruelty
To let the people hear the grandeur
Of God in the peals of your laughter

Continue

To let your eloquence
Elevate the people to heights
They had only imagined

Continue

To remind the people that
Each is as good as the other
And that no one is beneath
Nor above you

Continue

To put the mantel of your protection
Around the bodies of
The young and defenseless

Continue

To take the hand of the despised
And diseased and walk proudly with them
In the high street
Some might see you and
Be encouraged to do likewise

Continue

To plant a public kiss of concern
On the cheek of the sick
And the aged and infirm
And count that as a
Natural action to be expected

Continue

To let gratitude be the pillow
Upon which you kneel to
Say your nightly prayer
And let faith be the bridge
You build to overcome evil
And welcome good

Continue

To ignore no vision
Which comes to enlarge your range
And increase your spirit

Continue

To dare to love deeply
And risk everything
For the good thing

Continue

To float
Happily in the sea of infinite substance
Which set aside riches for you
Before you had a name

Continue,

And by doing so
You and your work
Will be able to continue
Eternally

(poem written by Maya Angelou in 2016 for Oprah) 

To continue and grow in our faith, that is the journey we are on as disciples of Christ. To do that we need to act, to live, and to be open to God working in and around us. We need to believe that we are made in his likeness and image and therefore worthy of God’s love. And if we believe we are made in God’s likeness we must commit acting in a way that shows God’s love and light in this world. This month’s lesson will be a mini retreat focusing in on:

Why am I here? Why was I created? Does God really know me? What is the plan for my life and how does Jesus fit into the picture? And how about the Holy Spirit? These questions will be explored as you experience a retreat that aims at helping you uncover why the Good News of Jesus is so good.

In preparation for this lesson, I encourage you to watch, read and listen to the materials below. These are only here to help you grow as a person, grow in faith and relationship with Christ and grow in understanding of discipleship. Consider January an opportunity to re-set behaviors that don’t serve you, reflect on where you are headed and who is accompanying you and how can you begin, strengthen and grow your personal relationship with Christ.

Encounter

“Acquire the habit of speaking to God as if you were alone with Him, familiarly and with confidence and love, as to the dearest and most loving of friends. Speak to Him often of your business, your plans, your troubles, your fears — of everything that concerns you. Converse with Him confidently and frankly; for God is not wont to speak to a soul that does not speak to Him." — St. Alphonsus de Liguori

Read the following quotes from scripture. Which ones do you find easy to believe? Which ones do you resist? Why?

So God created man in his own image; in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.   Genesis 1:26

I will praise you, for You made me with fear and wonder; marvelous are Your works.    Psalm 139:14

But I have called you friends, for everything that I have heard from My Father have I made known to you.    John 15:15b

Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?    1 Corinthians 3:16

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.    Ephesians 2:10

For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:26

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
    Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
   Isaiah 41:10

Because you are precious in my site, and honored and I love you.
Isaiah 43: 4

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13

Read or watch the video by Father Mike or read the message by Kurt Vonnegut. Do you believe that God sees us for who we are and does not define by what we accomplish or what we have? Simply being who you are is enough.

Fr. Mike sharing some thoughts on becoming the person God created you to be : “God sees us as we are, but he approaches us as we could be.”

Excellent Message!
By Kurt Vonnegut

“When I was 15, I spent a month working on an archeological dig. I was talking to one of the archeologists one day during our lunch break and he asked those kinds of “getting to know you” questions you ask young people: Do you play sports? What’s your favorite subject? And I told him, no I don’t play any sports. I do theater, I’m in choir, I play the violin and piano, I used to take art classes.

And he went WOW. That’s amazing! And I said, “Oh no, but I’m not any good at ANY of them.”

And he said something then that I will never forget and which absolutely blew my mind because no one had ever said anything like it to me before: “I don’t think being good at things is the point of doing them. I think you’ve got all these wonderful experiences with different skills, and that all teaches you things and makes you an interesting person, no matter how well you do them.”

And that honestly changed my life. Because I went from a failure, someone who hadn’t been talented enough at anything to excel, to someone who did things because I enjoyed them. I had been raised in such an achievement-oriented environment, so inundated with the myth of Talent,
that I thought it was only worth doing things if you could “Win” at them.”

This is how God sees you – an interesting person worthy of his love!

Engage

One of the best ways we grow in relationship with one another is to listen. To understand the other. To recognize the humanity and all of us and that we are all God’s children.

Watch the first 6 minutes of the Enesto Sirolii’s Ted talk entitled: Want to help someone? Shut up and listen! He frames his reflection within the context of foreign aid but this is true for individual relationships, relationships with those we serve, and our relationship with God. Reflect upon preconceived notions you may have about others, about yourself, and about God, how do these encourage or hinder your ability to grow in deep relationship with these people especially with regard to service.

Now apply this to your relationship with God – how do I or can I connect with God?

Embrace

Sit quietly this month. Commit to taking 10 minutes to reflect on your holidays this year. How was your preparation and celebration different? What was better? What did you need to let go?
Get up early one day and watch the sunrise. That is God’s gift to you – all He asks is that you open your heart to appreciate the gifts He has and is giving you and recognize that this is an expression of his love for us.
Complete the New Year’s resolution sheet (click to print a copy). Reflect on what you would like to commit to doing to grow as a person in the coming year.

Just Listen:

Family Conversation Starters:
Who is the best listener you know? Why?
When have felt closest to God?

February: SURELY GOD IS IN THIS PLACE

Let’s take stock for a minute of where we are?

            Did you make any New Year’s resolutions?
            Think about why do we make them?
            Do you ever resolve to grow your faith? Be a better person (other than physically)?

So far we have discussed:
Our faith journey (who or what do you take? Where are you headed?)
Gifts of the Holy Spirit (what are they and how do we use them?)
Exploring questions or obstacles to our faith
Sharing a retreat experience where we discovered or re-enforced the idea that God loves us so much that he wants a personal relationship with each of us.

This month we will ponder how we do this and who is God to me?

Encounter

Complete the attached form and reflect upon what we learn about God in the Bible. I have provided some of the scripture citations of passages for you. Some have the scripture text but feel free to look up and discover more about your heavenly Father.

Watch a short clip from the documentary “Wasteland” about artist Vic Muniz
who creates beautiful masterpieces of people
often invisible in society.
God sees the masterpiece within each of us.
God sees us as beautiful.

Engage

As you reflect upon who God is and how you can develop a more personal relationship with Him let’s review what you already know.

We believe in a Trinitarian God. Yikes – are you thinking that is new.
Don’t worry here is a quick review of the Trinity.

Now that we are feeling more comfortable
about God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit, let’s focus in on who God is.

Take a moment to think about these videos and
bask in the knowledge that you are the beloved child of an unconditional God.

Read Reflecting on who God is,
then complete the journaling page
Who is God to Me?

Now complete your Spiritual Autobiography.
Reflect on your first memories of God, who has brought you closer to God? What has put
distance between you and God? Take this time
to dig deeper into how you view God and
your relationship with Him.

Think of your relationship with God, what can you do to grow any relationship? What are you willing to do to grow your relationship with God?

Embrace

How can you get to know God better? Being Catholic is not a passive activity. You must work on it just like any other meaningful part of your life.
To be a contributing member of a class, team, theater group, choir, family or community you must be willing to put in the time. To work and practice. Pick yourself up when you get it wrong, seek forgiveness and then move on. You must love the other, not in the romantic sense, but in the sense that we are all God’s children. If one is hurting the entire community is less than its potential. Here are some ways to grow closer to God.

Go to Mass – pick a Sunday and log onto our recorded Mass. Listen to the readings, the music, Father Sas’ homily. What is God telling us today? What is the message for you?

Watch one of the video reflections on the USCCB website for the daily readings before our next class.

Review the list of attributes of God. Pick one or two and practice incorporating them into your daily life by your actions and choices?

Participate in one of the service projects this month and be the hands and feet of Christ for another. What can you do to create God’s kingdom on earth? How can changing your behavior towards others let God’s light more fully shine through you?

Say a prayer for a different person each morning when you wake up.

Participate in Creating on the Margins competition and access your creative side!!!! Details can be found here.

Make a Valentine for your grandparents or elderly relative or neighbor.

Keep a look out for new projects coming soon!

Write one of your teachers or coaches a note letting them know how much you appreciate their support!

Make lunch bags for House of Bread (I have the supplies).

Buy a few items at the grocery store and bring them to the Food Bank.

Find five items such as clothes or books that you no longer use and bring them to Goodwill. If you go to the Goodwill in Middletown or Rocky Hill let me know as we have coupons that can be turned in with donations that provide clients at St. Vincent DePaul credit to go in and purchase items for their families.

Make sandwiches for St. Vincent DePaul – must be brought to the church on Thursday, January 28th or Thursday, February 25th between 8:30am-1:30pm or 7:00-7:30pm.

Make peanut butter sandwiches for House of Bread (I have pb&j).

Make cards for the homebound.

Thank your parents for supporting you as you switch from virtual to in- person school.

March: Who are we to God?

Opening Prayer

The Mission of My Life
By John Henry Newman

God has created me to do him some definite service.
He has committed some work to me,
which he has not committed to another.
I have my mission.
I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next.
I am a link in the chain, a bond connection between persons.
He has not created me for naught.
I shall do good; I shall do his work.
I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place,
while not intending it if I do but keep his Commandments.
Therefore, I will trust him, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away.
If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve him,
In perplexity, my perplexity may serve him.
If I am in sorrow may my sorrow serve him.
He does nothing in vain. He knows what he is about.

Consider for a moment what is your mission? What is your God given purpose? What purpose were you uniquely created to fulfill?
God created you to be you, His beloved child.

Encounter

“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you” 1 Corinthians 3:16

A message from Pope Francis on who you are called to be today:
In your schools you take part in various activities that accustom you to not retreating into yourselves or into your own small world, but rather to being open to others especially the poorest and neediest. They accustom you to working hard to improve the world in which we live. Be men and women with others and for others, true champions of the service of others.

You are chosen. Through the Sacrament of Confirmation the same Holy Spirit, that descended upon Jesus after his baptism by John the Baptist, comes to strengthen you. The Holy Spirit arms us for our life-long journey to live out our God given mission. Embrace who you are and allow yourself to be fortified by the Holy Spirit, a critical companion on your journey through life. We are all flawed. We are all sinners, but God sees us for who we can become – a person created in his likeness and image. While it may seem easier at times to convince ourselves that we are too flawed to deepen our relationship with God, know that He does not abandon us. Consider what you can do to grow your relationship with Jesus and to grow into the person God created you to be. Lift the weight of sin by going to confession. Dine at God’s table at Mass. Spend quiet time with God during Adoration. Think of the changes in Zacchaeus when he opened himself up to Jesus. Are you ready to make a radical change like he did?

Read the story of Zacchaeus.
Think of the difference between how Zacchaeus was viewed by others and how he was viewed by Jesus.
What happened when he was honest with Jesus?
What was Jesus’ response?
Why was Jesus’ response so shocking to the crowd?

If you want, here is a cartoon depiction of Zacchaeus not quite Pixar, but it gets the message across:

First let’s consider – How do you relate to Zacchaeus?
Which self do you present to God?
Do you present your true self to your family? Your friends? On social media?
If we consider original works of art masterpieces, why do we often try so hard to be anything but original or the true person God created us to be?
How many masks to you wear?

Watch Father Mike’s discussion on presenting our true self to others:

Do you believe you are a saint with a future?

How can you be a Mr. Jensen? Listen to God and be your true self because you are sacred, chosen, strong, beloved and called by God.

What can you commit to doing today to become closer to your true self?

Engage

The beauty in embracing our true self is that it often gives people around us a safe space to do the same. What would your school look like if people were encouraged to be their true self, if they stopped judging and started growing? What is we allowed one another to more fully share our talents and gifts. Why is this important to put our judgments aside and create a place for people to be who God created them to be? A place where people could embrace their mission?

How can you change the lens by which you view others?

Watch the Single Story Ted Talk and reflect upon:
How do we define ourselves?
How do we define or see others?
What would it take to view others with the eyes of God?
How do we limit our circle by dividing and limiting the view we have of others?

Consider the words of identity list. These are words that God could use to define you. Please look over the list and choose 5 words that you feel define you. Write them on pieces of paper and put them places in your room that you will see every day. Believe that God does not see you as flawed or less than, He sees you as His. Please have your 5 words ready for class. Hang your list some place that you will see it every day.

Embrace

We are not called to serve merely in order to receive a reward, but rather to imitate God, who made Himself a servant for our love. Nor are we called to serve only now and again, but to live in serving. Service is thus a way of life; indeed it recapitulates the entire Christian way of life: serving God in adoration and prayer; being open and available; loving our neighbor with practical deeds; passionately working for the common good."
— Pope Francis, Homily at Church of the Immaculate Conception, Bazu, Azerbaijan, Oct. 2, 2016

This month try to do at least two of the following:

Go to one of the following:

Mass virtually or in-person
Virtual Stations of the Cross
Adoration, Sunday afternoons at 4:00-4:45pm
Reconciliation

Need a reminder on what/how it works? Watch this Busted Halo video on confession.
Need a reminder on why we need it? Watch this quick video from Mr. Rogers on forgiveness.

Pray for yourself, someone you love, someone you know, and someone who you find hard to love.

Write God a letter of thanks.

Give up coffee, a regular treat or simply save your spare change during the month of March. At the end of the month, give what you have saved to an organization helping others like Catholic Relief Services, Foodshare, Marlborough Food Bank, House of Bread or Catholic Worker House.

Go for a walk. Notice the gift of creation all around you. Notice the sights, smells and sounds.

Participate in some of the service projects I offer every month.

Family Questions
How would you describe how God sees you to others in your family?
When is it easy to be the person God created you to be?
When is it difficult to be the person God created you to be?
Who helps you to become the best version of yourself (this is the person God wants you to be)?
How do they do it?

Other resources:
USCCB – examination of conscience

April: Who are you called to be?

I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.
~ Saint Teresa of Calcutta

Opening prayer

Come, O Holy Spirit
Come, open us to the wonder, beauty, and dignity of the diversity found in each culture in each face, and in each experience we have of the other among us.
Come fill us with generosity as we are challenged to let go and allow others to share with us the goods and beauty of earth.
Come heal the divisions that keep us from seeing the face of Christ in all men, women, and children.
Come free us to stand with and for those who must leave their own lands in order to find work, security, and welcome in a new land, one that has enough to share.
Come bring us understanding, inspiration, wisdom, and the courage needed to embrace change and stay on the journey.
Come, O Holy Spirit, show us the way.

Last month I asked you to consider your mission. What is your God given purpose? What purpose were you uniquely created to fulfill? A part of everyone’s mission is rooted in the Social Teachings of our church. We are called to act, to care for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

St. Paul boldly proclaimed “faith without works is dead.” There is a reason why we say we “practice” our faith. Being Catholic is not meant to be passive, but to cause us to act according to our gifts and talents.

The very nature of what Social Justice teaches us requires us to build relationships and grow in community. When we recently confirmed your 10th grade classmates, we gathered to celebrate and welcome them as a community. This is what happens every weekend when we attend Mass. (remember our lesson on the Mass?) We gather and grow as a community and from that point we realize our interconnectedness – this all a part of God’s plan. Fr. Sas in his homily last week reminds us that in community members are called to care for one another especially the least among us. (here is the link to his homily if you would like to listen (15:30-24:33):

ENCOUNTER
You are called to build God’s community here and now. We are called to build community and care for one another and all of creation. Jesus clearly reminds us in Matthew 25:34-40, that whatever we do to the least among us we do to Jesus. Remember, if we believe that God is within us both spiritually through the Holy Spirit and physically as we receive him in the Eucharist, then He is within each of us. Isn’t then the person who annoys me a child of God? How about the homeless? The poor? The sick? Dorothy Day once said, “I only the God as much as the person I love the least.”
Read the passage from Matthew’s gospel and reflect upon who comes to mind?

What are your thoughts when we think about the poor.
How do we as a society or you as an individual make judgments upon other marginalized?

Now read St. Paul’s words that I mentioned earlier and reflect upon what they mean to you today. Is this a call to action? What does it mean to you a teen living in Marlborough?

Faith Without Works Is Dead14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without [a]your works, and I will show you my faith by [b]my works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is [c]dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made [d]perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was [e]accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
How do we live this today?
What does faith in action look like?
How does it differ from charity?

Consider this passage from Rachel Naomi Remen on the differences between serving, helping and fixing:

Serving Is Different From Helping And Fixing
Rachel Naomi Remen

In recent years the question how can I help? has become meaningful to many people. But perhaps there is a deeper question we might consider. Perhaps the real question is not how can I help? but how can I serve? Serving is different from helping. Helping is based on inequality; it is not a relationship between equals. When you help you use your own strength to help those of lesser strength. If I'm attentive to what's going on inside of me when I'm helping, I find that I'm always helping someone who's not as strong as I am, who is needier than I am. People feel this inequality. When we help we may inadvertently take away from people more than we could ever give them; we may diminish their self-esteem, their sense of worth, integrity and wholeness. When I help I am very aware of my own strength. But we don't serve with our strength, we serve with ourselves. We draw from all of our experiences. Our limitations serve, our wounds serve, even our darkness can serve. The wholeness in us serves the wholeness in others and the wholeness in life. The wholeness in you is the same as the wholeness in me. Service is a relationship between equals.
Helping incurs debt. When you help someone they owe you one. But serving, like healing, is mutual. There is no debt. I am as served as the person I am serving. When I help I have a feeling of satisfaction. When I serve I have a feeling of gratitude. These are very different things.
Serving is also different from fixing. When I fix a person I perceive them as broken, and their brokenness requires me to act. When I fix I do not see the wholeness in the other person or trust the integrity of the life in them. When I serve I see and trust that wholeness. It is what I am responding to and collaborating with. There is distance between ourselves and whatever or whomever we are fixing. Fixing is a form of judgment. All judgement creates distance, a disconnection, an experience of difference. In fixing there is an inequality of expertise that can easily become a moral distance. We cannot serve at a distance. We can only serve that to which we are profoundly connected, that which we are willing to touch. This is Mother Teresa's basic message. We serve life not because it is broken but because it is holy.

Rachel Naomi Remen is the author of various books, including Kitchen Table Wisdom. Excerpt above is from a transcript of Noetic Sciences Review. You may also read one of another story that Rachel recently shared with us: Doctor's Heart of Compassion.

How can you change your actions for fixing and helping to serving?

ENGAGE
So what are the social teaching of the church?
Watch this video for a quick overview which focuses on the value of every person:

There are Seven themes for the social Teachings of the Catholic Church. They are:
                Life and dignity of the Human Person – all person deserve to be treated with dignity and respect
                Call to Family, Community and Participation – we are sacred and social
                Rights and Responsibilities – we are called to protect the rights of all people
                Option for the poor and vulnerable – our moral test as a society is how we treat the poor
                Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers – the opportunity and dignity of work should be protected for all
                Solidarity – we are one human family
                Care for God’s creation – we must care for all of creation

Now review the attached document and think about the social teaching of the Catholic church. Did you know this is how we are called to live? To act? To care?

EMBRACE

“Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve...You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”     -- Martin Luther King

"We are not called to serve merely in order to receive a reward, but rather to imitate God, who made Himself a servant for our love. Nor are we called to serve only now and again, but to live in serving. Service is thus a way of life; indeed it recapitulates the entire Christian way of life: serving God in adoration and prayer; being open and available; loving our neighbor with practical deeds; passionately working for the common good."
— Pope Francis, Homily at Church of the Immaculate Conception, Bazu, Azerbaijan, Oct. 2, 2016

The social teaching of our church calls us to act justly not just with charity. We call this the two feet of social justice. Look over this document and think about which foot you rely more heavily upon. How can you commit to acting justly and using both feet?

Go to one of the following:
                Come join us on April 20th from 10-3 as we serve others as a community
                Attend Mass virtually or in-person
                Attend adoration, Sunday afternoons at 4:00-4:45pm
                Start today and pray for the different themes of the social teachings of the church and those who benefit from them
                Commit to doing something that goes beyond charity and is instead focused on the second foot of social justice.

Family Questions
What can we do as a family to more fully live our gospel call?
How is it easy or difficult to reach out to others in need?
When is it difficult to be the person God created you to be?
Which of the social teachings can we commit to focusing in on for the next month?
What do I do to stand firm on both feet of social justice?
Who is a role model for me in how to live the social teachings of the Catholic church and why?

Closing Prayer
Ever present God,
you called us to be in relationship with one another
and promised to dwell
wherever two or three are gathered.
In our community, we are many different people;
we come from many different places,
have many different cultures.
Open our hearts that we may be bold
in finding the riches of inclusion
and the treasures of diversity among us.
We pray in faith.

Amen
- Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.