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Page 1 Religious Education FAMILY NEWSLETTER for the DOMESTIC CHURCH
Religious Education FAMILY NEWSLETTER for the DOMESTIC CHURCH
Sharing Faith...Sharing Ideas
ADVENT begins a new Liturgical year in the Church!
IN ONE LITURGICAL YEAR, WE,
RECALL & CELEBRATE the WHOLE LIFE of Jesus Christ.
The Church year is based on the life of Christ and the celebration of his life in the liturgy.
It is centered around three great FEASTS….the INCARNATION (God becoming Man);
the PASCHAL MYSTERY passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; and PENTECOST the descent of the
Holy Spirit.
The readings we hear, the colors we see, and the songs we sing help us to know what Season we are celebrating. The Church year begins in late November or early December with the season of Advent The first Sunday of Advent this year is NOVEMBER 30!
ADVENT Blue-Violet or Purple for Hope CHRISTMAS White for Purity and Joy ORDINARY Green for growing in faith LENT Violet /Purple for Penance /or preparing HOLY THURSDAY White for JOY and PURITY GOOD FRIDAY RED for Jesus’ sacrifice HOLY SATURDAY White for joy and eternal life EASTER White for joy and Eternal Life ORDINARY Green for growing in faith
A Great Tradition for Kids! Making Small Sacrifices for the Ba-by Jesus During Advent
Advent is known as “little Lent,” and prayer, alms, and sacrifices are an im-portant part of the liturgical season as we prepare for the coming of Christ. To help children participate in the true purpose of Advent (rather than the temptation to treat it selfishly as a countdown to getting their presents on Christmas day), a visual teaching aid can be very helpful.
One of the popular ways to help children understand the meaning of Christmas is to encourage them to thoughtfully make small offerings for the Baby Jesus throughout the days and weeks of Advent. These offerings can be a small sacrifice, a good deed, a
kind word, or a prayer.
Join in this tradition using the Baby Jesus figure either from your nativity set (which may be a little too small de-pending on the size) or opt for a larger solitary nativity creche with a Baby Jesus figure that you can find here. Place the creche in a prominent place in the home, perhaps next to your Advent wreath, and encourage children to make their spiritual gifts out of love for the Baby Jesus each day leading up to Christmas. For each small sacrifice or good deed done by a child during Advent, a piece of straw (or something that compara-ble that you can purchase at a craft store) is added into the manger or creche. On Christmas day the Baby Jesus figure is placed inside the creche, and the prayers and sacrifices symbolized by the pieces of straw have added up to prepare a comfortable place for him to rest, just like Mary and Joseph pre-pared for him in the manger at Bethlehem by Gretchen Filz, November 1, 2016
Confirmation Class Schedule for December...Typically, Con-firmation classes meet every other week—with the excep-tion of November & December due to holidays. December Schedule for Confirmation Classes is
SUNDAY classes: December 6 & December 13 WEDNESDAY Classes: December 8 & December 15
St. Nicholas and Your Shoes! A St. Nicholas Day Tradition by Gretchen Filz
December 6th is the feast day of Saint Nicholas, the pa-tron saint of childfree, which falls during the ADVENT sea-son.
This tradition grew from the story of when St. Nicholas, the Bishop of Myra, threw bags of dowry money, either through a window or down a chimney, into the home of an impoverished family to rescue their daughters from being sold into slavery. This was just one of his many acts of good will and charity towards the poor, especially poor children
Ideas to include in your children's shoes are bags of choco-late candy coins, a small toy, new socks, a tangerine, and inexpensive religious items, such as a Christmas ornament, a rosary, saint bracelet, and prayer card
Confirmation
Classes resume
Sunday, Dec 6
Wednesday, Dec 8 Annual Touching Safety Lesson will be
presented. This year’s theme is Speak Up! Speak Out!
The FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT
On the First Sunday of Advent, the family gathers around the wreath decorated with greens. One candle should be lit.]
Leader: We gather around our wreath to begin the celebration of Advent. Let us ask our Father in heaven to fill our hearts with grace. Silent pause for prayer
Heavenly Father, we look forward to the celebration of Christmas and to the coming of the Lord in glory. Bless this Advent wreath and all of us. As we pray daily around it, fill us with your life and strengthen us for our daily tasks. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
Leader: Heavenly Father, as we begin this Advent, give light to our eyes and peace to our hearts. May the Lord find us watching and waiting in joy when He comes. We pray in Jesus' name. All: Amen.
Confirmation 1—Catholic School Track A ENDS
December 6/8 & TRACK B begins December 6/8
Away in a Manger Illustrated by Jean Claude (SPCK) The words of the beloved Christmas carol are beautifully and colorfully rendered in this picture book. This is a good selection for very young chil-dren and for parents looking to nurture their child’s faith knowledge through imagery and art.
The Shepherd’s Story By Jimmy Dunne (Loyola Press) Illustrated by Ivan Kravets, this book follows a young shepherd boy who witnesses the miracle of Jesus’ birth. Dunne borrows the familiar rhyme scheme of Clement Moore’s classic “A Visit from St. Nicholas” to offer a powerful telling of Christ’s birth
The Wisdom of Wild Grace By Christine Valters Paintner (Paraclete) Suitable for teens and animal lovers alike, Paintner’s newest poetry collection explores the kinship between saints, animals, and wilderness. Taking as their inspira-tion the monastic traditions of the desert fathers and others and the early Celtic church, as well as beloved saints such as St. Francis of Assisi, these poems speak to the soul and stir the Catholic imagination
Looking for meaningful Christmas presents for kids? Give your child the gift of faith-filled books. RECOMMENDED BY U.S. Catholic for preschoolers to teens
The Grumpy Old Ox By Anthony DeStefano (Sophia Institute Press) DeStefano teams up with artist Richard Cowdrey in this tale of a grumpy, prideful, and lonely ox whose spirit is healed through the grace of God. After witnessing the birth of Jesus, the ox undergoes a joyful transformation not unlike what we Christians know as resurrection of the spirit.
Grandma Taught Me to Love Mary / Mi abuela me enseñó a amar a la Santísima Virgen María By Jennifer Marte Molina and Vanessa Gar-rido Mansilla (Ignatius Press) Inspired by a real-life abuela whose devotion to Mary taught her family a concrete love for God, Mary, Jesus, and one’s neighbors, this book for young chil-dren is bilingual. The English and Spanish ver-sions are accompanied by color illustrations.
Advent and Christmas: One Day at a Time for Catholic Teens By Katie Prejean McGrady and Tommy McGrady (Ave Maria Press) This book of daily devotions, written by two youth min-isters, provides challenging questions and practices alongside comforting wisdom that will help teens devel-op a closer relationship to God during the Advent and Christmas season.
Contact PERLA PLASCENCIA
MASS TRANSIT CARDS
November 29, 2020 1st Sunday in Advent Isaiah 63:16b-17, 19b; 64:2-7 • 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 • Mark 13:33-37
“What I say to you I say to all: ‘Watch!’” —Mark 13:37 Whenever something exciting is coming in our lives, we wait for it with great anticipation. If it is a birthday or a holiday, there is a lot to do to prepare for it. We put all our energy into the prepa-rations without hesitation because we know how much fun it will be when the day comes. Today’s scripture re-minds us to prepare ourselves with this same excitement and anticipation for Christ’s coming. Since it is the sea-son of Advent, we are preparing to celebrate Christ’s birth. But we are also called to be prepared every day of our lives. Jesus wants us to be ready to meet him any day, any time, anywhere.
Dear Lord, show me how I can best prepare my heart and mind to meet you whenever you come. An Advent wreath helps us count the four weeks of preparation for Christ’s birth.
Does your family have an Advent wreath or another Advent tradition that helps you count the days until Christmas?
Outdoor Mass Schedule
EVENING Mass SATURDAY 4:00PM English SATURDAY Filipino: 5:15pm
SUNDAY MORNING English 7:30am & 8:45am & 11:15 am
SUNDAY SPANISH: 10am
Weekdays...Mon, Wed, Fri 8:30 am No Outdoor Masses on Tue & Thurs/livestream only
Walk Up Communion
Sundays 12:15-1:00pm
Watch livestream Mass prior to coming for walk up Communion
ALL OUTDOOR MASSES WILL BE LIVESTREAMED
QUESTION OF THE WEEK…..First Sunday of ADVENT Theme: Waiting, hoping, and preparing.
Breaking Open the Word Suggested text for faith sharing: Today’s 1st Reading from Isaiah
Step One: Listen to the Word As you hear this reading, what words or phrases strike you? What in this reading touches your heart? What image from Isaiah lingers in your memory?
Step Two: Look into Your Life
Question for Children: What can you do to be ready for God to come into your heart and your life?
Question for Youth: The Gospel tells us we don’t know when the Son of Man will return. If he were to arrive today, would you be ready for him? What is one thing you can do during Advent to prepare for his coming?
Question for Adults: As you prepare to re-welcome Christ into your heart while you prepare for Christ-mas, what does Isaiah call you to do? What does Isaiah call us as a people to do?
FIRST FRIDAY MASS—DEC 4
8:30AM
ADORATION & CONFESSION
5pm-7pm
FIRST SATURDAY MASS, DEC 5
8:30AM
