|
CCD Family Newsletter
May 22 - May 29, 2024
|
|
|
Our Next OLS Family Mass:
Sunday, May 26th, 10:00 am
If you aren't traveling for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, be sure to join your parish family for our next Family Mass. Let us know if your kids are interested in helping out as greeters, gift bearers or proclaimers. Or, simply join us at Mass and worship with your community! Then, be sure to head downstairs and join us for Coffee and Donuts and our kids' craft.
|
|
|
|
Memorial Day Prayer
God of power and mercy, you destroy war and put down earthly pride.
Banish violence from our midst and wipe away our tears,
that we may all deserve to be called your sons and daughters.
Keep in your mercy those men and women who have died in the cause of freedom and bring them safely into your kingdom of justice and peace.
We ask this though Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
|
|
|
|
Mark Your Calendars:
Thank You Volunteers!
If your child has helped out at our Family Masses this year, please be sure to join us! If your children have not helped at our Family Masses, they are still welcome to join us for refreshments and to cheer their friends on.
|
|
|
|
Registration for the 2024-2025 Catechetical Year will Begin on May 29th
Please see next week's newsletter for details. Information about the coming year will also be sent home via email.
|
|
|
|
Homeschooling Connection
It's just about time for Mrs. Noll to get a little face time with our homeschoolers!
Our exit interviews will begin next week. If you have not already done so, please sign up for a time via SignUpGenius. Each discussion will last about 20 minutes. If it not a quiz, but a faith-based discussion with Mrs. Noll who is looking forward to discussing the year's big topics with all the homeschoolers.
|
|
|
|
Upcoming Workshop for Families:
The Confident Catholic Parent
Like me, do you ever worry that you aren't doing the right things at home to ensure that your kids receive the Faith and continue to practice the Faith as adults? If you've ever had this feeling or simply want to learn more about how you can best transmit your faith to your children, this workshop is for you. Join Nancy from Catholic Sprouts as she talks about how her family has worked to incorporate the practices promoted by Dr. Christian Smith into her family's life. A sociologist from Notre Dame, Dr. Smith, spent decades researching the transfer of the Faith from parent to child. He studied hundreds of families in various faith traditions and after all that work he boiled down all his research into a “recipe” that parents can follow to ensure that children receive the faith of their parents. Learn more at next Tuesday's workshop. Click HERE to register.
|
|
|
|
OLS Corpus Christi Eucharistic Procession
Sunday, June 2nd is the Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (aka Corpus Christi). Mark your calendars and join some of your fellow parishioners for a Eucharistic Procession through the streets of South Orange. After all, in his homily on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ on June 6, 2021, Pope Francis said, “The procession with the Blessed Sacrament…reminds us that we are called to go out and bring Jesus to others. To go out with enthusiasm, bringing Christ to those we meet in our daily lives.” What a great way to give witness, deepen your life of prayer, introduce your kids to a different for of Christian worship, let your kids see the priest wearing one of the most beautiful liturgical vestments (a cope) while holding an exquisite vessel (a monstrance), and expand your love of Christ's Presence in the Eucharist. And, yes, get a few steps in as well;)
|
|
|
|
|
Marian Prayers in May Continued:
The Angelus
We continue to focus our attention to Marian prayers in the month of May with the Angelus. The Angelus is a brief devotion in honor of the Incarnation that consists of short verses drawn from the Bible and a triple repetition of the Hail Mary. The devotion derives its name from the opening phrase in Latin: Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae (the Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary).
The Angelus is a way for lay people to sanctify the hours of the day that echoes the monastic praying of the Liturgy of the Hours. The practice seems to have always been associated with the ringing of a bell at 6:00 a.m., noon, and 6:00 p.m. Whole villages and towns would literally come to halt when the Angelus bell rang. Laborers in the fields, workers in shops, and families at home set aside what they were doing and prayed the Angelus together.
Today many churches and monasteries—as well as a number of radio and television stations—ring the Angelus bell at six o’clock in the morning, at noon, and at six in the evening, inviting the faithful to pause at what they are doing and pray.
Praying the Angelus sanctifies the hours of the day. God is our all in all, our very beginning and the end toward which we strive. By intentionally setting aside time for prayer throughout the day, every day, we turn our whole lives over to God, who becomes the motivation of all we do and all we are. Perhaps no devotion is better suited to this end than one centered on the Incarnation.
|
|
|
|
|
SAINT / FEAST OF THE WEEK
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
May 26th in 2024
Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar. (In Eastern Christianity there is no specific day set aside to celebrate the Christian doctrine of the Trinity.) In the West, Trinity Sunday, officially called “The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity,” is one of the few celebrations of the Christian Year that commemorates a reality and doctrine rather than an event or person.
Holy Trinity Sunday is celebrated on the first Sunday following Pentecost in most of the liturgical churches in Western Christianity. It is a solemn celebration of the belief in the revelation of one God, yet three divine persons. It was not uniquely celebrated in the early church, but as with many things the advent of new, sometimes heretical, thinking often gives the Church a moment in which to explain and celebrate its own traditions; things it already believes and holds dear. In the early 4th century when the Arian heresy was spreading, the early church, recognizing the inherent Christological and Trinitarian implications, prepared an Office of Prayer with canticles, responses, a preface, and hymns, to be recited on Sundays to proclaim the Holy Trinity. Pope John XXII (14th century) instituted the celebration as a feast for the entire Church; the celebration became a solemnity after the liturgical reforms of Vatican II.
|
|
|
|
Looking for a Way to Explain the Trinity to Your Younger Kids?
Try an Apple!
As any priest which Sunday is the most difficult day to preach on and he's likely to say "Trinity Sunday". The Trinity - our belief that there is one God, and within this God there are three Divine parts: The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God - is one of the biggest Mysteries of our Faith. (Be careful though, the word mystery doesn't imply that the Trinity is something which needs to be "solved". Rather the word is meant to reflect the idea that we with our limited human intellect cannot fully grasp the enormity and complexity of the belief.)
While St. Patrick's shamrock may be the most common way to visually illustrate the trinitarian concept, I sometimes like to use an apple to talk about the Trinity with younger kids. The apple's skin acts as the Father since he protects us, the flesh acts as the Son because he became human flesh, and the seeds act as the Holy Spirit because they help us grow in our Faith! They are all different parts, but all three of them make up the entire apple. (You're right. The apple analogy isn't perfect, but it's a good way to get your kids thinking about the Trinity.)
Need more visuals? Try one of these craft ideas:
|
|
|
|
Delicious Teaching Tools for the Trinity
It's a totally different flavor profile from the Flamin' Hot Cheetos you may have served for last week's Pentecost celebration, but the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity has load of delicious options to help you mark the day in a meaningful way with your kids. First suggestion - Neapolitan ice cream! (Get it? An ice cream with three distinct favors in one!) Apple slices (see above) are always great Trinity teaching tools too. As are hardboiled eggs: shell, white and yolk - three distinct parts, yet all still egg. Need something to wash it all down? Try a glass of ice water of course! (Water - solid, liquid, gas. Another classic Trinity analogy.)
|
|
|
|
|
In the Liturgy of the Word, the Church feeds the people of God from the table of his Word. Previewing the readings before Mass then is then a bit like looking over the menu before you get to a restaurant: you have a better idea of what you can expect so that you can enter into the experience more fully prepared. And like a good discussion during a meal, discussing the readings and how they can be applied to your family's daily life helps your family to truly go out and proclaim the gospel after leaving the church.
Here are a few resources to help your family delve deeper into the Liturgy of the Word:
|
|
|
|
