Second Week of Advent - Video Reflection

Here's the second week's video reflection from the University of Notre Dame.  The author this time is a student.

First Week of Advent - Video Reflection

For the past few years, the University of Notre Dame has released a series of video reflections to coincide with Advent.  Below is the video for the First Week of Advent.  May it help us be patient and learn to wait!
 

What's the Advent Wreath about?

Check out this two-minute video about the history of the Advent Wreath.

Catechists Needed: is God calling you?

Each year, Fr. Pat makes a plea for catechists during August and September. And each year through the generosity of parishioners young and old, God provides catechists who hear and answer the call to hand on our Catholic faith to children who seek to know God and the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Christ is our teacher

During the plea, I stand in the narthex ready to talk to anyone interested in learning more about being a catechist. Sometimes parishioners approach me after Mass and say, “I don’t know why I’m saying yes, but I feel like this is the year I need to come forward.” Their subtle hesitation is found in many of us who hesitate from further involvement with children and youth: “I don’t know what to say;” “I’m too young/old;” “You wouldn’t believe my schedule;” “I’m afraid.” These concerns are valid and we can only decide the right time to say yes to God through honest, prayerful discernment with ourselves and our families.

But over 2500 years ago, the prophet Jeremiah had a similar response to God’s call: “I do not know how to speak. I am too young!” (Jer 1:6). Reading into Jeremiah’s deeper hesitancy, God answers: “To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you.” (Jer 1:7f). These powerful words are meant not merely to pacify Jeremiah into saying yes to God, but to reassure Jeremiah of God’s presence and guidance on what would be a rocky road ahead – imminent death at speaking God’s word to powerful people.

Although catechists do not face the same circumstances, their work can be prophetic to a generation in need of people to energize and criticize; to inspire and teach; to lead them to encounter Christ, the ultimate aim of all catechists.

Feast of Sts. Peter & Paul

St. Paul in the Vatican

St. Peter in the Vatican

Today, the Church celebrates two of our most beloved early Christians, Sts. Peter & Paul.  Peter was the leader of Jesus' handpicked disciples and, together with Paul, the leader of the Early Church.  Paul's influence lives on in his letters to the earliest Christian communities in Rome, Corinth, Thessolonika, and other places.  Although they clashed on at least one recorded occasion (see Galatians 2), their passion for Jesus and their intense desire for discipleship helped them overcome any disagreements and focus on spreading the Good News of Jesus the Christ.

Want to learn more?  Watch this video and St. Paul.

St. Paul

Image Credits: Mary Harrsch on flickr (Paul); Mr. G's Travels on flickr (Peter).

4 Ways to Grow in Faith this Summer

Summer and faith go hand in hand

Tomorrow we turn the calendar to June.  Children all across Fairfax County will wave goodbye to their school buildings for the summer and engulf themselves into summer activities: camps, sleep overs, and (hopefully) reading a book or ten.

The summer is also a great opportunity to continue their faith formation in the home.  Here are three ways your child (and your family) can grow in your faith this summer.

Weekday Mass
Try attending a weekday Mass once or twice a week with the family.  At St. Mark, the weekday Mass is in the chapel, providing an intimate worship setting you and your family might not be familiar with.  Make sure to place an unconsecrated host from the glass bowl to the gold ciborium for every person receiving communion.  Before going to Mass, check out the readings with your family beforehand using the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop's website dedicated to Mass readings.  Use the calendar on the right hand side to find the day.

Mass is celebrated at 9:15AM Monday through Friday, at 7:30PM on Monday and 6:15AM on Friday.

Vacation Bible School

This year, give VBS a try.  It's a week full of faith, fun, and community.  Each day focuses in on a different Bible story about Jesus, with each activity reinforcing the story.  Whether it's children interacting with the story during the story time or singing songs with similar themes beforehand, they will learn about God while having fun.

This year's VBS is from July 9-13 and features Sky VBS, which focuses on trusting God in all situations.  Watch a trailer about this year's VBS to learn more information.  Or visit Our Sunday Visitor's website dedicated to the Catholic version of Sky, which we'll be using.

We also need teenage and adult volunteers to help run VBS, so the whole family can attend or help!

Read the Bible
Public schools often have "summer reading lists," with dozens of books teachers recommend (or require) their students to read during the summer.  Why not add the Bible to the list?  Read a Bible story out of a children's Bible before going to bed at night with little kids.  Or if you have older kids, pick and read a Gospel together (maybe Mark's Gospel, since he is our patron saint!).  Any Gospel is a good place to start, as are the Old Testament stories of Abraham (Genesis 11-25), Joseph (Genesis 37-50), and Moses (Exodus 1-15).  Some of the Old Testament stories can be complicated!  Talk to Isaac if you have any questions.

Watch a Movie
A few times this past year, the blog has highlighted teachable faith moments within two popular Disney movies, The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast.  This summer will also feature Friday Family Movie Nights at St. Mark with kid-friendly movies focused on positive values.  Check the bulletin and information desk for more details.

What do you recommend?  How does your family grow in faith during the summer?

Image Credit: Bonnie Woodson on Flickr

Pentecost in Two Minutes

Continuing Busted Halo's "...in Two Minutes" series is our Church's celebration of the coming of Holy Spirit to the Apostles and to the world in Pentecost.  Check it out:

Come Holy Spirit!

Where do you need inspiration in your life?  Where do you need the gifts of Wisdom, Counsel, Knowledge, Understanding, Fortitude, Piety or Wonder/Awe/Fear of the Lord?

Virtual Stations of the Cross

If you're looking for a way to pray the Stations of the Cross at home, I recommend taking at look at the Virtual Stations of the Cross put together by Busted Halo, a website run by the Paulists (in addition to the two I previously recommended).  These stations are very well done, combining our Tradition with contemporary artwork and reflections written for people trying to follow Jesus in the world today.  The Stations are pray at your own pace, so you can reflect on and pray with one station for as long as you wish before moving on to the next Station.

I've embedded the first two below, but you can pray with the rest by clicking here.

First Station: Jesus is Condemned to Death


Second Station: Jesus Carries His Cross
 

Palm Sunday Video

Here's a video (not intended for children) about Palm Sunday.  How do we approach the only Sunday Gospel of the year where we, the assembly, have speaking parts?



Do I just go through the motions of Palm Sunday?  Where in my life do I need to turn away from sin and embrace the Gospel?

Holy Week in 2 Minutes

This two minute video which runs through the holiest week of the year, Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday.
What did you learn from this video?  What could you pass on to your children?

Raising Children of God

A February 27th article in the American Magazine pointed to four tested ways to raise your children Catholic.  Written by a mother of four, these ways resonate with my (Isaac's) upbringing.

Below are two of the the four ways (another post later in the week will cover the other two).  The entire article can be read here, but only if you have a subscription to the American Magazine.

Involvement
Consider your own participation in the life of the community.  Your children will mirror your modeling of the faith, for better or for worse.  Try to involve them in however you volunteer at the parish.  Are you a catechist? Ask them for help on a lesson plan.  Are you a Eucharistic Minister?  Pray with your family before Mass for you to be the EM God wants you to be.  Are you a lector?  Practice reading with your child.  When they get old enough (5th grade for St. Mark) they can become an altar server.  And when they get even older (middle school) they can become a lector.  Eventually, they'll see the good that you do and want to follow in your footsteps.  My mom played flute in the choir, and now I share my musical gifts with our community.

Intellectual Engagement
Do you have an 8th grade understanding of literature?  Or math?  Or science?  Our religious education shouldn't end with 8th grade either.  As an adult, continue your own intellectual development of our faith.  Visiting the RE blog or other faith-filled websites is a start.  So is reading a good book or two about our faith.  Encourage your children to think about our faith off the St. Mark property.    Prepare for Mass before going to Mass.  Talk about Mass afterward, asking if anything stood out, a particular prayer or phrase.  Quiz them on the Gospel.  Ask them good question after their RE classes.  Read the Bible together once a week or more.  Whatever works for your family, do it.

Check back later this week for the other two ways.

What do you do to engage our faith intellectually?  How are you involved?  Or how would you like to be involved?

2 Family Lenten Events at St. Mark

How is your family’s Lent this year? Okay? Good? Not so good?

There are two opportunities (both at St. Mark) in the next week for your family: (1) (Youth Mass +) Parish Lenten Mission and (2) Pizza + Children’s Stations of the Cross.

(Youth Mass +) Parish Lenten Mission
On Sunday evening, we have our monthly youth Mass at 6PM followed by a family dinner at 7PM in the Activities Center. After dinner, children (grades preschool through 8th) are invited to join in a Lenten Workshop. Parents are encouraged to attend the Parish Mission at 7:30PM being held in the church at the same time (starting at 7:30PM). (We would ask one parent to remain in the activity center if your children are in 2nd grade or below.) The title of the Mission is Lent: Our Journey into the Mystery of God.

On Monday and Tuesday Evenings, you’re invited to the other two nights of the Mission, also beginning at 7:30PM. Check out our awesome flyer (PDF) for more info.

Pizza + Children’s Stations of the Cross
Join us next Friday, March 9 for Pizza + Children’s Stations of the Cross. Pizza will be served at 7PM in the Activities Center and Stations will begin at 7:30PM in the Church. This particular Stations of the Cross caters to children in the primary grades, but is suitable for all ages. Donations will be accepted to help offset the cost of the pizza.

Please RSVP to Isaac by noon on Thursday, March 8 so we can order enough pizza.

Lent: Time for a Road Trip

This article appeared in the March, 2011 edition of the Maneline, St. Mark's monthly newsletter.  The dates are off, but the heart of the text remains true.

The view was something like this

Road Trippin'

Last Christmas I returned to my hometown, Austin, Texas. Instead of flying, my wife and I road tripped with my best friend from high school (a youth minister in Harrisonburg) and his wife. Six months into our marriages and new ministry positions, there was much to discuss: the transition to life in Virginia; our different but beautiful communities; and life with a spouse. Beyond the conversations, we shared many “meals” that usually consisted of food purchased at a small-town edition of a fast-food restaurant. But we both brought food along for the journey to share with each other. I had Star Wars gingerbread cookies and he had the most delicious homemade peanut brittle. With friendships refreshed, the end of our trip found us physically tired and hungry for substantial food, which Mom happily provided with homemade lasagna and fresh bread.

During Lent, we all will take a different sort of road trip. Though our life situations are vastly different, the destination is the same: Easter. All the extra “stuff” we do during Lent (both communally and individually) is meant to prepare us for that glorious moment when the bells are rung, the Gloria is sung, and we celebrate the Resurrection!

But what about that road trip? How will we spend our time in the car? Thankfully, the Church has been on quite a few of these road trips and has some suggestions to help change us into people ready to celebrate the Resurrection. She recommends three practices during Lent: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

Prayer
In prayer, our search for God finds a tongue and ears. On my Texas road trip, prayer took the form of conversation – listening and speaking. We talked about everything under the sun, asked each other for gum, and probably said a few “I’m sorrys” for wrong turns and incorrect fast food orders. Our Lenten prayer takes a similar shape: speaking to God about anything and everything, listening to God in silence and with Scripture, asking God for guidance and help, and saying sorry. When we relate to God in this way, our friendship is refreshed and we (s l o w l y) become better guests for the Easter party that God is throwing.

Saying goodbye to fast food can be hard

Fasting
Fasting forces us out of our M.O., our normal way of doing things. During the day long drive, we fasted from comforts normally sought when sleeping, namely a stable, horizontal bed with a variety of coverings and a familiar pillow. The words “I’m going to sleep well tonight!” came out of our mouths the second the motor stopped humming. When we deny ourselves cheeseburgers, Netflix, and judging, we become more aware of the physicality of our body, the depth of our mind, and our quick emotional reactions. By denying ourselves the comforts and normalcy of life, we relearn to enjoy them all the more and our “thanks be to God” becomes more sincere. Fasting during Lent is as much about giving up good things as it is about conversion from bad habits. When we fast from judging AND from listening to music in the car, we enter into better relationship with other Easter party guests and will enjoy the music so much more.

Almsgiving

A statue of a beggar receiving alms

Sharing is difficult, but so much more so when you only have a finite amount of resources. And homemade peanut brittle proved to be very finite on the long trip. Yet, my friends kept giving, not from their excess but from their very limited supply. Lenten almsgiving should affect those closest to us in addition to those most in need. Giving tangible gifts to the poor is a great way to give alms, but what if instead of giving our ugliest, never-worn sweater we gave our favorite jacket? Or if we sat down as a family and decided not to eat out after mass on Sundays and instead give that exact amount to the poor each week? These gifts affect us more because there is an actual cost involved. Giving to the poor then becomes giving ourselves—our time, our post-mass meal, our favorite shirt, our skills—and the gift, in a certain way, becomes more genuine. When we give these gifts of self to the poor and to God, we prepare ourselves to receive the ultimate authentic gift of self at the Easter banquet, the Eucharist.

Lent gives us the wonderful opportunity to reorient ourselves to God by committing to practices meant to make us more fully alive, giving new life to parts of life in need of a change. Our three disciplines are not ends in themselves, but a means to participate in the workings of the Spirit and in the Body of Christ as a whole during this season. We do not do them to win the favor of God, but to become more aware of the love that God has for us by preparing the way.

May our road trip together be fruitful. Happy traveling!

Image Credits: Christian Cable, Thiophene Guy, on flickr

10 Common Lenten Questions

Why is Lent 40 days?  Why do we give up things during Lent?  What's the deal with the ashes?

Below is a great short video that will answer these questions and more as we prepare for the beginning of Lent.


Prefer to read?  Check out the transcription to the video.

Do you have any questions about Lent?  Leave a comment and I'll respond with the answer.

Praying with your day: the Examen

Prayer is for everyone

How has your day gone?  What are you thankful for?  Where was God during your day?

I vividly a snippet of a homily from late Msgr. Cassidy about prayer: "all of life is data for our prayer."  The Ignatian Examen is a method of prayer that takes what Msgr. Cassidy said seriously, as it uses our life experiences and asks those questions above and a few more.  The goal is to become aware of how God is acting in your life so that we can be grateful for God's presence afterward with the hope that in future days we learn to be grateful for God's presence in the moment.

There are many, many resources online on praying the Examen.  Here are two that I find most helpful.

Pray-As-You-Go Audio Examen
Before the "no turning back" point of falling asleep, play this audio meditation version of the examen (MP3 link).  I've used this before and it brings me much peace.

The lady (with a foreign accent) guides the listener through the course of their day from morning to evening, asking questions and allowing time to reflect.  Within eight minutes, you'll find that God was more present in your day than you might have thought, and have an opportunity to speak to God about whatever it is that went on in your day.  Peaceful music helps settle even the most restless listener's heart so they can more authentically enter into the meditation.

Five Step Prayer Method
In a website crammed full of good resources for prayer, the page How Can I Pray? stands out.  On the page you'll find an explanation for praying the Examen with easy to understand explanations.


Here are the five steps.  To see the complete explanation click here.

1. Become aware of God's presence
2. Review the day with gratitude
3. Pay attention to your emotions
4. Choose one feature of the day and pray from it.
5. Look toward tomorrow

However you can pray through your day, give it a shot!  You won't be disappointed.  But don't take my word for it.

Do you have another way of praying through your life experiences?  How?

Image credit: More Good Foundation on flickr

Beauty & the Beast: 2 Teachable Moments

This past weekend I had the opportunity to see the re-release of Beauty & the Beast (in 3D!).  After adjusting to the (somewhat) cheesy-ness of the 3D, I immediately did what any good DRE does, think about how this film applies to our Catholic faith.  As I did with the Lion King re-release in 3D, here are two key faith and moral moments/themes to talk about with your children after the movie.

Belle's Selfless Love
Belle's father, thrown in prison at the hands of an angry beast, is sick with a potentially deadly illness.  Upon seeing her father, Belle feels like she only has one choice: to save his life by offering herself in a prisoner exchange.

Highlights

• Belle's love for her father and her desire to save his life drives her to selflessly give up her future in exchange for her father's life.  Although we're not always faced with such a high stakes choice, we decide daily how to love and interact with our family.  Self-sacrifice in small things goes a long way.
• Even though Belle knew what she did was right, it still hurt and caused her much sadness.  The same is true for us.  Sometimes doing the right thing hurts emotionally, but at the end of the day we need to follow our conscious to love one another.
• Lumiere (the candlestick) stands up to the bully, suggesting that the Beast let Belle stay in better living condition.  We should always be concerned with how others are treated, especially the downtrodden and the poor.  But our concern needs to move us to action, like it does for Lumiere.

Love: the Foundation of Good Relationships

Love, love, love.

A much wider theme throughout Beauty & the Beast is the importance of love in a relationship.  The reason Gaston wants to marry Belle is not because he feels a great love for her, but rather because desire to have "the best" in everything in life, even at the expense of other's freedom -- he's willing to throw Belle's father into the insane asylum if she doesn't marry him!  Furthermore, Gaston has no respect for Belle's desires and interests (throwing her book into the mud).  He doesn't love her, but wants to use her for his own benefit.

Contrast that to the relationship between the the Beast and Belle.  Although it starts a little rocky (the Beast has anger issues), the Beast develops a genuine concern and love for Belle, even allowing Belle to return home at the risk of remaining a Beast forever.  Before that, the Beast risks his life to go after Belle, protecting her from a pack of wolves.  And of course, in the memorable scene, the Beast gives Belle what she most desires (well, after her freedom) -- a room full of books.  The Beast takes the time to get to know Belle so that he gets to know how to best love her.  

Then there's Belle.  Her love is not based on the exterior, but on the interior of the person.  Gaston's physical strength and appearance isn't enough to offset his arrogance and conceited nature.  The Beast's physical appearance is appalling (as is his temper), but she looks past the former and helps him with the latter as she falls in love with who the Beast is on the inside.

Summary

• Don't be like Gaston.  In any circumstance.  Pretty much at any point ever.
• Like the Beast, we need conversion of heart to love well.
• Love like Belle.  Look into the heart and past the exterior and help your friend overcome difficulties.

Which moments in Beauty & the Beast do you find helpful to talk about with your children?

Image credit: epSos.de of flickr

Presentation of the Lord: a musical meditation

About Today

Today we Catholics celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, also known as Candlemas or the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin.  As required by Jewish law, Mary and Joseph went to the temple to pray and dedicate Jesus, the first born, to God.  In the temple, they ran into Simeon and Anna.  When he looked at Jesus, Simeon prayed the a prayer now prayed nightly in the Night Prayer, found in Luke 2:29-32 and reprinted below:

Lord, now you let your servant go in peace;
your word has been fulfilled:

my own eyes have seen the salvation
which you have prepared in the sight of every people: 

a light to reveal you to the nations
and the glory of your people Israel.

Musical Reflection
Sit back and take 4.5 minutes to listen to this musical reflection on the Presentation, a song called "Simeon's Joy" by Danielle Rose:


What kind of response do I give when I'm in God's presence?

Car Conversation: On Your Way to Mass

Kids in the car!

It can be a struggle to get in the car, but once you're there you have a great opportunity to engage your children in preparing for Mass.  Here are a few ideas:

• If possible, you can have someone in your car read through the Gospel.  Talk about the Gospel for the few minutes you have.  Your kids will be more focused during the Gospel after having talked it through.
• Only one driving?  When we're at Mass, we have a chance to bring in all that happened during the week and pray through the events and circumstances of our lives.  Have everyone answer and share one of each the following:
• What are you thankful for this week?
• What do you need need forgiveness for this week?
• What sacrifices have you made this week?
• What do you need to pray for for this upcoming week?
• Need some quiet time?  Ask everyone to spend a few moments conversing with God (AKA praying).  Sometimes when we're running close to the start of Mass, this quiet time is important to help us transition  into Mass.

What sorts of conversations do you have in the car with your children before Mass?  Is it pure chaos?  Leave a comment below and share.

Image Credit: Thomas Widmann on flickr

St. Francis de Sales - A Patron Saint for Today

St. Francis de Sales

The Busy Saint

Today, January 24, is the feast day of St. Francis de Sales, one of the patron saints of catechists, teachers and all who provide religious instruction -- including parents.  When you read bits and pieces about his life, you can understand why he is a patron of these causes.  For example, his words to a close friend (St. Jane de Chantal) ring true to parents and all others who have days overflowing with scheduled time: "So many have come to me that I might serve them, leaving me no time to think of myself. However, I assure you that I do feel deep-down- within-me, God be praised. For the truth is that this kind of work is infinitely profitable to me."

St. Francis lived in a much different time, when inboxes were physical and not a folder in your email directory.  He wrote that he once had over 50 letters to respond to by hand.  And it is said that he overworked himself, spreading himself so thin in his duties as a pastor that he was often sick.  In moments when we feel similar, send up a quick prayer, asking St. Francis for perseverance.

Three-years, No Results
Being with God, even in the midst of an incredible amount of tasks, provided St. Francis with the solid foundation for when he faced one of his life's many trials.  Around the time of the Protestant Reformation, he set out on a three-year door-to-door attempt at converting the Swiss to Catholicism (from a profile on St. Francis de Sales):

Then Francis had a bad idea -- at least that's what everyone else thought. This was during the time of the Protestant reformation and just over the mountains from where Francis lived was Switzerland -- Calvinist territory. Francis decided that he should lead an expedition to convert the 60,000 Calvinists back to Catholicism. But by the time he left his expedition consisted of himself and his cousin. His father refused to give him any aid for this crazy plan and the diocese was too poor to support him. 

For three years, he trudged through the countryside, had doors slammed in his face and rocks thrown at him. In the bitter winters, his feet froze so badly they bled as he tramped through the snow. He slept in haylofts if he could, but once he slept in a tree to avoid wolves. He tied himself to a branch to keep from falling out and was so frozen the next morning he had to be cut down. And after three years, his cousin had left him alone and he had not made one convert.

St. Francis later changed up his approach and found more success in his conversion attempts -- he won people's hearts ahead of their minds.  He reminds us that it's never too late to try something new and outside our comfort zone.

Everyone Can Be Holy
Finally, St. Francis was a spirituality trailblazer, insisting that everyone, regardless of vocation, can grow in holiness, that is, in the likeness of God: "All of us can attain to Christian virtue and holiness, no matter in what condition of life we live and no matter what our life work may be."  He set about helping lay people explore this idea by offering spiritual direction via letter to many, many individuals.  Among the direction, he would recommend individuals offer their days to God through this prayer:

My God, I give you this day. I offer you, now, all of the good that I shall do and I promise to accept, for love of you, all of the difficulty that I shall meet. Help me to conduct myself during this day in a manner pleasing to you. Amen.

May St. Francis de Sales be a patron and a guide for all those who provide religious instruction -- parents, pastors, catechists, teachers, and family members.

Image Credit: Lawrence OP on flickr

MLK Day

In honor of the late Dr. King and in (late) celebration of National Vocation Awareness Week, here's a quote from the late Martin Luther King Jr. on vocation, taken from "What Is Your Life's Blueprint?" a talk given by Dr. King.

If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Leontyne Price sings before the Metropolitan Opera. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well. If you can't be a pine at the top of the hill, be a shrub in the valley. Be be the best little shrub on the side of the hill.