A link for you

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops produces a series of different videos and makes them available free, online.  These USCCB Videos include daily scripture-based reflections, or series devoted to particular topics, e.g. the seven sacraments.

Maybe you'll find them helpful?

Compassion

This weekend's Scripture readings present a good opportunity for you to talk with your child(ren) about compassion. (The root words of compassion mean 'to feel with' or 'to suffer with') In the Gospel, Jesus tells us a parable about the poor man Lazarus (his name means 'he whom God helps') and how his needs were entirely ignored by the rich man. Not only his material needs, but his need to be recognized as a person.

We all know that there are a lot of hurting people in our world today: people suffering from natural disasters, the recession, cruel governments, domestic violence, homelessness, bigotry, etc., etc., etc. All of that can seem way out of the sphere of our own control.

But what about the loneliness of the new kid in school, or the one who is seen as being clumsy, or slow, or in whatever way 'different'? Does your son or daughter know someone like that? Maybe you could ask him/her, "I wonder what life is like for that child right now?"... and get a conversation started that helps them begin to think about life from another person's perspective. "How do you think they are feeling? How would you feel? What do you think Jesus would do for/with/to this child?" Can they make any connections between the Gospel story and the circumstances they have described?

We can't solve all the world's problems. We can be people of compassion, doing what we can in our everyday lives to extend the love of Jesus by being boys and girls, men and women who live and love like Jesus.

Here's a prayer that fits both the concept of compassion and is timely (the feast of St. Francis of Assisi is coming up on October 4):

The Prayer of St. Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen

For your calendar

Here's a quick reminder for your calendar that we'll be doing a Church Tour for you and your child(ren) on Monday, October 4. 6:30-7:30pm, meet in the Gathering Space of the Church.

There are no Faith Formation classes that night, and this will count as a Grace Event.

Light a Candle

Maybe you've noticed a small room to the left just before you enter our worship space (sanctuary) at St. Andrew's? It's dimly lit and has a couple of kneelers facing an icon of Mary (as Our Lady of the Atonement) and Jesus, with a bank of votive/vigil candles off to the side.

Or possibly you've found the Chapel (off the main courtyard, behind the statue of St. Francis). Inside this quiet room for prayer is another set of votive/vigil candles. Do you remember lighting a candle when you'd go to church as a child? What I remember in my home parish was a section off to the side, just before the altar area, with several rows containing many blue or red votive/vigil light holders, with sand in the tray in which to extinguish the long matches or wicks. When I was little, I loved being allowed to light a candle, and then making that flame go away by sticking the long match into the sand! I must confess: the main point of lighting a candle for me WAS literally lighting a candle.

Okay, enough with memory lane: what about this tradition of lighting candles? What I learned while looking up an answer is that the words 'votive'(vow) and 'vigil'(wait/watch) come from Latin words that describe two purposes of prayer .. and because he does it so clearly, I'm simply going to quote directly from the book:

The former [votive] is associated with seeking some favor from the Lord, Mary, or a saint in return, usually, for some promise or vow. The candle is burned as were sacrifices in ancient times. The latter, as its name "vigil" indicates, accompanies prayer of attention or waiting. (Greg Dues, Catholic Customs and Traditions, p. 183, 2000 rev. ed)

I like to think of the burning candle representing that our prayer lives in the heart of God long after we have finished offering it.

You may hear people say "I'll light a candle for you" - that's another way of saying that you will be in their prayers.

On a practical aspect, you might notice the "Offering" slot on the candle stand. Let's be VERY CLEAR about this- the donation is not meant as a 'spiritual bribe' to be sure that your prayer gets heard! It's simply that candles, as any other materiel object, DO cost money to purchase and restock, so a quarter, fifty cents, or whatever contributed is appreciated. One more little point, especially for younger children- the goal is not to light every candle (like pushing every elevator button), but to light one that represents your prayer intention (and to save candles for the prayers of others!).

What to do at Communion time?

Stuck in their seat? If your son or daughter has not yet received their first communion, here at St. Andrew's we welcome them to come up during the communion procession and receive a blessing. The symbol for this that our priests and extraordinary ministers of holy communion recognize is for the person desiring a blessing to approach with their arms crossed over his or her chest.

this is actually baby sign language for 'teddy bear'
but unclench those fingers and all is well!

(Some parishes do not have this custom, so if you are traveling and the priest or extraordinary minister does not offer them a blessing, the simplest thing is for you to bless your child after you have received the Eucharist.)

Something new at St. Andrew's!

When your family comes to Mass this weekend, look for a new statue of Mary near our Church building! If you come from the main parking lot, look right, just as you are passing the back exterior wall of the Cry Room. If you parked up in the smaller lot, go past the entry doors and look left.

Surrounded by flowers and with a small bench for quiet prayer, is a new statue of Mary, the mother of Jesus. What do your children notice about the statue? That she looks happy/peaceful? That she's holding out her hands to us? That she's stepping on a snake?!

About that snake... go to Genesis 3:15 (Genesis is the very first book in the Bible), and as God is communicating the consequences for sin in the Adam and Eve story, God describes the snake who tempted them to sin as their enemy. Toward the other end of the Bible, in Romans chapter 5, Paul compares Jesus to Adam... as sin entered the world through one human (Adam), through the "new Adam", Jesus, sin is overcome. And through succumbing to temptation by one woman (Eve) we explain our tendency to selfishness, through the generous faithfulness of the "new Eve" (Mary), we can know that we are able to overcome temptation and say 'yes' to God.

We don't worship Mary, that's not the point of a statue. Rather, it's a visual reminder of someone who can be a role model, a hero for us in faith. A statue can remind us that we can ask Mary to pray for us, that we be good and faithful and loving like she was. We can think about what qualities she had that made her the first disciple of Jesus, and work on being like that in our own lives.

Maybe showing them the statue would be a good opportunity to pray the Hail Mary together, or to teach them the words, if they aren't familiar with the prayer:

Hail Mary, full of grace, 
the Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

It is good to have places set apart to remind us to pray. Places where we can focus without distraction. Where in your home do you like to pray? Where is your child used to praying? If there's not a place right now, maybe you can figure out one together!