“May I ?” “Thank You” “Sorry”
“Pope Francis wants my family to be filled with peace and joy!”
“In our family, when we are not intrusive and ask, “May I?”; in our family, when we are not selfish and learn to say, “Thank you”; and when in a family one realizes he has done something wrong and knows how to say, “Sorry,” in that family there is peace and joy. Let us remember these three words.” Source: Lessons from Pope Francis for Children page 20
For Families to Share Together:
Pray the Rosary with your children. Use the Rosary crucifix to cross yourselves:
How to Pray the Rosary Source: Catholic Child’s Prayer Book By Rev. Thomas J. Donaghy St. Joseph Junior Books, Page 15
“We begin the Rosary with the sign of the Cross (for this is the way that we begin all of our prayers.)
After this, we pray the Apostles’ Creed. This is a very ancient prayer that proclaims the important truths of our faith.
After the Apostle’s Creed, we pray one Our Father, three Hail Marys and one Glory Be.
Now we come to the most important reason we pray the Rosary: to meditate on the Mysteries of our Faith. We proclaim each of the five Mysteries, followed by one Our Father, ten Hail Marys, and one Glory Be.
Remember, the reason for praying the Rosary is not to tally how many prayers we can say. It is to meditate on God’s love as shown in the lives of Jesus and Mary. This is why we hold the Rosary while we pray, so that we can keep track of the number of prayers we have said.”
Begin learning the five Luminous Mysteries, “Mysteries of Light: THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD, THE WEDDING OF CANA, THE PROCLAMATION OF THE KINGDOM, THE TRANSFIGURATION, and THE INSTITUTION OF THE EUCHARIST.”
The Apostles’ Creed from Catholic Online
Happening This Week
October 11, 2017, Saint John XXII, Elected Pope in 1958 Source: Magnifikid! Prayers for Schools page 71
“Saint John XXII said that the Church needed to reach out to the poor and speak up against war and violence. He wanted Catholics to spread the faith and help people worldwide to see the love and goodness of God.”
October 13, 2017, “The Miracle of Fatima” from FranciscanMedia.org
“On October 13, 1917, tens of thousands of people gathered near a small Portuguese village to witness the fulfillment of Our Lady’s promise.”
“On May 13, 1917, the Virgin Mary first revealed herself to a trio of shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal. She would appear to them five more times over the course of the year until the great miracle of the sun on October 13, 1917. She brought a message of love and peace that was heard around the world—a sorely-needed antidote to the ravages of World War I.” Excerpt from Our Lady of Fatima: 100 Years of Stories, Prayers, and Devotions on FranciscanMedia.org
We Learn Through Storytelling
Imagine being a child growing up in Nazareth more than two thousand years ago. How different your experience would have been from a child growing up today! Young Jesus was a child, “Fully Human,” with friends, chores, and studying. We know from Holy Scripture that Jesus knew how to read and write. We know he spoke with authority and knowledge to the rabbis in the temple for three days when he was about twelve. We also know that Jesus was also “Fully Divine.” This means that he is “God, the Son.”
We all know the story of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem and how angels proclaimed his birth as they filled the heavens above his manger. We know and venerate the Virgin Mary, his mother–the Mother of God, and his “foster father,” Joseph, who raised him as his own. Jesus was not a regular baby, but the Messiah, which means, “Savior.” Three kings came from far away to bring Jesus gifts and to pay homage to the infant king. We also know how the bad and jealous king, Herod, tried to find Jesus and kill him so Herod wouldn’t have competition from another, far greater king. Do you remember how the Holy Family was helped by an angel to escape Herod’s men and flee to Egypt? During a dream Joseph heard from an “Angel of God” that he needed to take Mary and infant Jesus and escape to safety. Imagine traveling, walking and by donkey, over rough and dry desert terrain with a newborn baby and a mother who had recently given birth for about eighty miles! After several years, Joseph heard that Herod had died and that the family could return again. Joseph also heard that Herod’s son was the new king. The family moved to Nazareth instead of returning to Bethlehem, for the protection of Jesus. We know that Nazareth is where the family lived and Jesus grew up. At thirty years of age, Jesus was baptized in the River Jordan and began his life, teaching about the Kingdom of God.
Parents, please help your children understand the meanings of the highlighted words.
We Learn Through Reading
For a beautiful story about the adult life of Jesus read “The Sermon on the Mount” in Stories from the Bible Written by Kathleeen Long Bostrom and Illustrated by Dinara Mirtalipova
We Learn Through Prayer
from The Pope’s World Wide Prayer Network
Our Church Family
The Catholic Church has a structure. The Pope, Francis, is at the top. Next, all Catholic areas throughout the world are divided into dioceses. I live in San Diego, so I live in the diocese of San Diego. The top of all dioceses is the Bishop. In San Diego, our Bishop is Robert McElroy. Do you know the name of your Bishop? Next, each church is called a parish. The top of the parish is a priest, the Pastor. Some parishes also have a Deacon, who is not a priest, but can perform many duties and some sacraments. For instance, a “Permanent Deacon” is a man, who can be married if he is married prior to being ordained. A “Transitional Deacon” is a unmarried man who is on his way to being ordained as a priest. A Permanent Deacon can baptize, perform marriages, give homilies, and officiate at funerals, and has many other responsibilities, as well.
We, the members of a parish, support our church in many ways…We attend services and participate in the life of the Church by bringing up the gifts, taking up the collection, reading Scripture as a lector, teaching Sunday School (Faith Formation), serving on Boards, helping with maintenance, and helping our Priest, as needed. We support our church financially, as well. Since we are all working, praying, celebrating and enjoying our Church together, we are a “Church Family” who are able to help and support each other through good times and difficult times.
Here is a suggestion for young parishioners from Magnifikid!, October 8, 2017, page 3:
“Be active in your parish”
“You can serve the Church by being active in your own parish. You might want to go to Mass early so that you can offer your help to the Priest. Ask him if you can pass out the song sheets, take up the collection, or become an altar server.”
We Learn Through Writing
After practicing praying the Rosary as a class, the students, last year, used Sharpies to create lovely “Thank You” cards for their moms on card stock, complete with a matching envelope. Hearts and rainbows were a popular theme. We talked about the importance of thanking parents for all they do.
We Celebrate Through Art
Inspiration for “Holy Family” Drawing from Pinterest
This looks complicated, but it took less than 15 minutes. Start with a piece of white drawing paper and make circular marks of different colors with the Kwik Stix to create a brilliant night sky. With younger children, invite them to simply make colorful swirls, dashes and circles. For the older children, encourage them to draw the sky and draw Mary and Joseph kneeling with the Baby Jesus between them in a manger in an “abstract style.” Both younger and older children can then use a light blue Kwik Stix to lightly color around the other Kwik Stix marks. I also used a pinkish watercolor crayon for the heads and hands of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Wet your finger, and turn the crayon into watercolor paint. It doesn’t affect the Kwik Stix marks, and it’s fun. Please look at the original I copied, by clicking on the link above. It’s a beautiful painting titled, “Holy Family Nativity” by artist Heidi Malott.
