March 11, 2025, Class Update: Journeying Together as One Church

Lenten Greetings Everyone!

To set the tone for our Lenten journey, our opening prayer in class was "Jerusalem My Destiny".

The major idea of Lent is that it originated as a time period of intensified preparation for those preparing to be baptized and initiated into the Church.  In fact, the composer of the song wrote it to encourage his young children as they prepared for baptism.

For those of us already baptized, it's an opportunity for us to take up practices that help us grow in our relationship with God, so we can be ready to renew our baptismal promises on Easter/Resurrection Sunday.

We remember that although we have sinned, God says we are worth fixing, just like Sally says Radiator Springs is a town worth fixing in the courtroom scene of the movie Cars, my favorite animated film.

So we enter into the desert with Jesus, similar to the scene in the Oak Park Conservatory's Desert Room, a stark environment where we can be purified.

I shared the story of participating in a Native American Sweat Lodge ceremony 12 years ago when I traveled to Nebraska, which is a spiritual purification experience.

As Catholics, we hold to the idea of purgatory, a process whereby God, in His mercy, removes the effects of sin upon us as we transition from this life to Eternal Life with Him.

Michael W. Smith's song "Purified" speaks wonderfully to this idea of purification.

Lent leads to Easter Sunday, when we celebrate the Resurrection of Christ and our new life in Him.  The night before, new members of the Church are initiated through Baptism and Confirmation. We renew our baptismal vows and profess our faith as belonging to One Church.

I shared the story of Belong Designs, the apparel company my cousin Mark co-founded, which is based in the Denver Metro Area.

This video of "Behind the Brand" tells its story.

God desires to fill us with a passion for Him and we find that we belong as we follow our passion for Him and grow in faith.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, in faith, we come together as One Church.  In Confirmation, we are united more closely to the Church.

To illustrate this idea, I shared the song, "I Believe" performed by Canadian pop-jazz singer Nikki Yanofsky for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Here's a French-language version of the song.

Here's a bilingual version performed by the One Voice Children's Choir, and another bilingual version performed by Nikki Yanofsky and Annie Villeneuve.

To conclude, I shared a prayer I have been offering in the lead-up to Confirmation Day on March 15 from a Pentecost Novena card.

Indeed, we profess one faith in God and are connected as One Church:

All my relations.

And remember, you're not just lucky, you're blessed because God has called us to be part of His Church.

God's blessings,

Paul

Here's the recipe for homemade pretzels that I brought to class, which I got from a special Lenten bulletin many years ago at Ascension:

Mix 1 package active dry yeast with 1 tablespoon sugar in 1 1/2 cups lukewarm (100-110 degree) water.  Mixture should bubble.  Stir in 1 teaspoon salt and 4 cups flour.  Place on floured board and knead in 1/2 cup more flour.  Knead about 8 minutes.  Divide into pieces, roll into ropes, and shape into pretzels.  (As you fold the "little arms", pray the Lord's prayer or another Lenten prayer.)  Let rise until about double in size.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Place  pretzels on greased cookie sheet.  Brush with mixture of 1 egg yolk mixed with 2 tablespoon water, and sprinkle with kosher salt.  Bake 12 minutes or until golden brown.  Depending on the size of the pretzels, this recipe can yield anywhere from a dozen to three dozen pretzels.