The Good News that God came to us born as a baby has a great impact on our lives.
It is truly reason for joy.
Our opening prayer was this music video of "Joy to the World", a beloved Christmas carol that was originally written as a song anticipating the 2nd coming of Christ and is based on Psalm 98.
This video was filmed in Jerusalem and is trilingual, in English, Hebrew, and Arabic.
We also watched a music video of the song "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" performed by Casting Crowns. The song was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in the midst of a trying time in his life and in the USA in the 1860s.
We also watched this music video of "Joy to the World" by the One Voice Children's Choir based in Utah.
On our liturgical calendar, the Christmas Season concludes with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Just as God revealed Himself in Christ's birth and in the Epiphany when the Magi came, so God revealed Himself when Jesus was baptized.
All four Gospels tell this story near the beginning and describe how the Holy Spirit came down upon Jesus and anointed Him and a voice from Heaven spoke, declaring Jesus as God's "Beloved Son". We, too, become God's beloved in baptism and are anointed with the Holy Spirit in the form of specially blessed olive oil that serves as the Sacred Chrism. (Olive oil was also part of the winning question at the 2005 National Geographic Bee School Final Round at Julian.)
At the National Eucharistic Congress, Katie Prejean McGrady shared a great story about Canon 877, which requires that each baptism at a parish be recorded, and she used it to illustrate how important baptism is in our lives. (This link goes to a video of the NEC session that begins at the moment when she tells the story, and it lasts for about 4-5 minutes.)
We concluded class with the final prayer of the Holy Name Litany, since January is the month dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus.
As Confirmation gets closer, if you have not already selected a saint for Confirmation, now is the time to do so. This saint will serve as a heavenly role model and support for you, students, as you live out your Confirmation.
To give you, students, the opportunity to express who this saint is and what s/he means for you, we ask you to write a paragraph to share some biographical information about who the saint is, and even what the saint is the patron of, and why you picked that saint and how that saint will be a role model for you in living as a Confirmed Catholic.
We ask this paragraph be submitted by class time on February 4. A printed copy is preferred for submission, but electronic submissions are okay, too.
Please note that the parents must submit a form that includes the saint name of their daughter/son by January 31. This paragraph is to be written by the students and is in addition to the form.
The websites of Catholic Online or Franciscan Media are two resources to help you pick a saint if you haven't already done so.
I originally assigned an activity to complete a Scripture reflection by January 21. To give you the chance to focus on the saint paragraph, the due date for the Scripture reflection is now February 11, if you have not already completed it.
Looking ahead, our plan is to continue exploring the message of Christmas, that God is with us. We'll do a show and tell in class on January 21. Please bring in an item that is associated with a memory you have.
This coming Sunday, January 19, is Hospitality Sunday, with food and drink served after both morning Masses at Ascension. I will be giving a presentation of about 10-15 minutes on my experiences at teh National Eucharistic Congress last summer. Your families are welcome to attend, and I will make sure that it counts as a faith booster for Confirmation. I will open the floor for Q&A after my presentation.
If you're out of town this weekend, Masstimes.org is a great resource to find a place to attend Mass.
As usual, please feel free to contact me with questions, feedback, etc.
We're not just lucky, we're blessed.
We remain connected as One Church through faith in God, Who has come to us in the Incarnation at Christmas and continues to abide with us:
All my relations.
God's blessings,
Paul
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| The baptismal font in Ascension is adorned with Christmas decorations: God manifested Himself at Christ's Baptism, and at ours, too. |
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