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As we approach the celebration of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, it is important to remind ourselves that Marian feasts are not primarily about Mary! In fact, the Blessed Virgin Mary would be the first to resist our efforts to draw attention to her. Her great Magnificat prayer proclaims that it is the Lord who is to be magnified. Like all Marian feasts, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is ultimately about Mary’s Son, […]
The Feast of All Saints, falling on November 1 of each year, is celebrated on the doorstep of Election Day in the United States. This annual coincidence provides us with an opportunity to make a connection between the lives of the saints and our civic duties. Pope Francis explained that “an authentic faith…always involves a deep desire to change the world, to transmit values, to leave this earth somehow better than we found it….If indeed ‘the just […]
When I was a young boy, I collected baseball and football cards. I traded for my favorites and found ways to pass on those I didn’t care for to other individuals. As an impressionable child, I saw these athletes as my heroes. They were famous, rich, and able to bring their teams to victory even when defeat seemed imminent. I cannot imagine the hours I must have spent over the span of my life memorizing […]
At major concert events, it is customary to announce which performers are headlining. On October 14, 2018, the Catholic Church will canonize seven Blesseds, but there is no doubt who is “headlining” the event: Archbishop Óscar Romero and Pope Paul VI. Here is the lineup: Paul VI (Giovanni Battista Montini), Supreme Pontiff; Óscar Arnulfo Romero, archbishop of San Salvador, martyr; Francesco Spinelli, priest, founder of the Institute of the Sisters Adorers of the Most Holy Sacrament; […]
I love Our Blessed Mother! My devotion to Mary is easily shared with my third graders. In my classroom there is a print of Our Lady of Guadalupe, an icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, a statue of Our Lady of Grace, and a poster of Mary, Undoer of Knots. Even more images of Mary can be easily shown on an interactive whiteboard. When we celebrated the Queenship of Mary, I found 20 different […]
Over the last few years I have become more and more attentive to the saints. I am not sure if this heightened awareness came from being a catechist, but it surely has changed the way I catechize. As a second-grade catechist, I introduce the children to saints of the month, we have an All Saints Day celebration, and the children complete a saint’s report. Each month I pick two saints whose feast days fall during […]
Bring St. Paul to life in your school or parish by producing the three-act play Paul, the Apostle. Young people can perform each act for their peers in the classroom, or adults and youth can work together to perform the entire play for a community audience. The acts introduce in a fun way: Paul’s Youth Saul’s Conversion Paul’s Missionary Journeys Perfect for a summer gathering around the Solemnity of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (June […]
Too often we think the only time to teach about the saints is during November or the end of October as we lead up to All Saints Day. While that is indeed a great time to talk about all the saints, opportunities to learn about the saints exist all year long. As we settle into the new year, let’s look at some of those opportunities. In January, many people like the tradition of picking a […]
With both the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary (a holy day of obligation) and the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe in December, and the readings in the second half of Advent telling Mary’s story in the days before Jesus’ birth, this is the perfect time to teach the children in our classes about Mary. I realized in my planning my Advent arc of activities this year that the Finding God art prints […]
In honor of the approaching feast of St. Martin of Tours, Bob Burnham talks about wielding God’s weapons of peace, joy, and love. Burnham is the author of Little Lessons from the Saints. How are you incorporating lessons about the saints in your classes this month? Don’t forget Fr. Solanus Casey will be beatified on November 18, 2017. Download Burnham’s reflection and meditation on Fr. Solanus here.
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