Fortnight For Freedom (June 21 – July 4, 2013)

The U.S. bishops have called for a Fortnight For Freedom, a two-week period of prayer and action, to address many current challenges to religious liberty, including the August 1, 2013 deadline for religious organizations to comply with the HHS mandate, Supreme Court rulings that could attempt to redefine marriage in June, and religious liberty concerns in areas such as immigration and humanitarian services.

My husband and I was fortunate enough to go to the Opening Mass (June 21, 2013) at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore, Maryland (Archbishop William Lori, Celebrant) and the Closing Mass (July 4, 2013) at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. (Donald Cardinal Wuerl, Celebrant and Homilist). Celebrating Mass with so many people was awe-inspiring. It was an experience I will never forget!

Are you a lurker?

This is a post for all you lurkers out there. You know who you are. Don’t try to hide behind a “not me” expression on your face. We see right through it and we want you to come out, come out, where ever you are.

According to Blogs as Virtual Communities: Identifying a Sense of Community in the Julie/Julia Project by Anita Blanchard states that lurkers are people who regularly read blogs but do not leave comments.

So how many lurkers are there out in cyber space? Blanchard says that lurkers may comprise the vast majority and they get none of the attention they so rightly deserve because they do not comment on blogs.

You don’t want to end up at Lurkers Anonymous and have to go through a 12 step program that will make you feel embarrassed and forever labeled as a “lurker”.

Believe it or not, we want to here from you. Your comments DO matter. So why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself- who you are, where you’re from, what you do, what you like the most and what you would like to see on this blog. This will also help you to get to know some of the other lurkers and will even give you a few hits to your blog if you have one.

It’s now time to come out of the blog lurker closet and give us a holler. You’ll be glad you did!

Finding Faith in Art: Loyola Press Celebrates Creative Expressions of Faith

*Loyola Press is launching a new online series called Arts and Faith. As the name suggests, it celebrates the many ways people express their faith and find God through the visual and performing arts—including catechetical ideas.


A religion teacher who prays while singing opera. A lieutenant in Afghanistan who brings spiritual healing to soldiers through artwork. A young dancer who uses movement to interpret Scripture. A Jesuit who studies Mexican drug ballads to find God’s presence. These are a few of the fascinating stories we’ll be bringing you in Loyola Press’s new series, Arts and Faith.

Arts and Faith is a collection of stories from Catholics around the globe who demonstrate the inspiring—and surprising—ways art expresses and deepens their relationship with God.

The special series kicks off on LoyolaPress.com with daily articles, videos, slide shows, and more from four categories of interpretive art: Music, Dance, Drama, and Visual Arts.

Arts and Faith covers a wide scope of the personal and public ways faith is shared. A catechist explains why and how arts and crafts should be used in the classroom. A 20-something describes his ministry of playing the organ at multiple parishes every weekend. A faith formation leader reflects on how she prays a form of the Examen through photography. Whether you’re a catechist, an artist, or a creative soul, you’re sure to find inspiration and meaning in the stories you’ll read.

The stories in Arts and Faith capture snapshots of how spirituality is explored, revealed, and ultimately, celebrated in our faith communities. We hope these 40+ stories inspire you to tap your own talents to express your faith through sewing, sculpting, design, fashion, cooking, collage, spoken word, photography, poetry, modern dance, and so on.

As our series illustrates, you don’t have to be a Monet to participate in the arts. Jump in, explore the stories, and share the creative ways you’re expressing your faith!


Arts and Faith is online now, but the first installment of stories begins on May 15th.

CCD and Religious Education Starting Soon

Since CCD and religious education is starting soon, I will start posting lots of activities and ideas pertaining to this starting in August. I hope this will help you get ready for the year ahead.


Things I Will Post:

• Gospel for the Mass (Year B)- I will post the Gospel for the Mass Year B by date and scripture. A link will take you directly to the post on my blog for that Gospel reading. I hope it will make it easier for you to find what you need. I plan on doing a Year C and a Year A page as well so everyone can find activities whenever they need them.

• Church Potluck Recipes- A few of my favorite dishes that I like to bring that might come in handy for you.

• Student Folders/Binders- To cut down on lost papers and to be better organized.

• Top Things That MUST Be Done Before Every Class- What are the top things that must be done before every class? Well, everyone is different as well as their needs, but maybe sharing what we found that has to be done before class so it can run smoothly and efficiently will help others.

• Crafty Crafters- Neat and educational crafts for Bible stories and religious topics.

• Special Events for the Month- Each month I will post special events for that month. I will have links to activities, coloring, crafts, games, puzzles, worksheets, quizzes, etc. that can help you with your classroom or at home.

• My Top Ten Must Have Items For CCD- To have a safe and educational classroom here is a list of My Top Ten Must Have Items For CCD.

• What You Should Do The First Day of Classes?- The Boy Scout moto: “Always be prepared!” is also essential for any catechist or religion education teacher. The infamous question “What should you do?” the first day of classes nags in the back of your mind and you cringe every time just thinking about it. Fear not, there is hope and you can have a great beginning to the start of the year if you utilize the following ideas.

• What will you do in your classroom or home?- I will post what I will be doing in my classroom each week. Please comment so I can add the link to your blog to the post. We would love to see what you do!

DIY Mass Bag

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Do you have problems getting your kids to behave during Mass? Well, Alicia at through-my-is.blogspot.com came up with a great idea for this problem that might help you.

Check it out! She has lots of ideas and links to help you make your own Mass Bag for your children.

More Games Added To Celebrating the Mass Lessons

I added more games to help students learn the various prayers and acclamations for the new missal. I hope the students enjoy the new activities for Celebrating the Mass Lesson Plans.


Penitential Rite

Gloria

Profession of Faith

Holy, Holy, Holy

Mystery of Faith

The Lord’s Prayer

Mass Lessons for the New Missal

The celebration of Mass is a hard concept for younger students to understand and with the new Roman Missal being implemented on the first Sunday of Advent, November 27, 2011 makes it even harder. I posted 22 lessons to help students learn the parts of the Mass. The lessons will provide catechists, teachers, or parents with activities, crafts, games, puzzles, worksheets, etc. to use with their students or child to learn what goes on during Mass and what they should do. This will be geared for students first grade on up.

Celebrating the Mass Lesson Plans- All 22 lessons

The Power of Words

"It's not what you say, but how you say it."

This makes the point better than ever.
Have a look (filmed in royal Exchange Square Glasgow).

Celebrating the Mass Lessons

The celebration of Mass is a hard concept for younger students to understand and with the new Roman Missal being implemented on the first Sunday of Advent, November 27, 2011 makes it even harder. With that said I will attempt to produce various lessons to help students learn the parts of the Mass. The lessons will provide catechists, teachers, or parents with activities, crafts, games, puzzles, worksheets, etc. to use with their students or child to learn what goes on during Mass and what they should do. This will be geared for students first grade on up.


*These lessons can also be used to supplement any curriculum that you already use. I plan on using these lessons as part of my curriculum. Since our CCD classroom time is rather long at our church (one hour and fifteen minutes) I will use one lesson from Celebrating the Mass each week then continue with a Bible story lesson.



Wish me luck on this endeavor. I am sure going to need it. Please take in consideration that I am just a Mom and I'm providing these lessons to the best of my abilities. I will try to make them as accurate as possible, but I know I will make a few mistakes and it was not intentional.


*Lesson #1 will be posted on Friday. There will be 22 lessons in all.

A to Z Bible Story Lesson- Letter Z

Z- Zacchaeus

A to Z Bible Story Lesson- Letter V

V- Virtues

A to Z Bible Story Lesson- Letter S

S- Samson

A to Z Bible Story Lesson- Letter F

F- Fishers of Men

A to Z Bible Story Lesson- Letter D

D- Daniel and the Lions

A to Z Bible Story Lesson- Letter A

A- Adam & Eve

A to Z Pre K – K Bible Story Lessons

I plan on posting A to Z Pre K – K Bible story lesson plans starting next week. I will be going through the whole alphabet starting with A and ending with Z. Wish me luck!

*Each lesson plan will consist of: Objectives, Word Wall, Bible Story with questions, Songs and/or Finger Plays, Activities, Crafts, Games, Snacks, Coloring/Puzzles, Handwriting Sheets, Mini Books, etc.


Does anyone have any ideas for the letter U?

So far I have:

universe
upper room
Uriah (Bathsheba’s husband)
Uzziah
unleavened bread

Fun Catholic Pre School Curriculum

Starting September 1st, Lacy at catholicicing.blogspot.com will be posting a Catholic Pre School curriculum that will be covering numbers, then moving onto the alphabet- one letter per week. There will be a different craft for every number 1-5, then a craft for every letter of the alphabet. She will be posting one themed craft each week on Wednesday, starting September 1st!

New Roman Missal for Nov. 27, 2011

From usccb.org


Vatican issues final text of the Roman Missal, Third Edition, for the Dioceses of the United States of America


The Roman Missal, Third Edition, the ritual text containing prayers and instructions for the celebration of the Mass, has been approved by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. First use of the new text of the new Roman Missal will be on the First Sunday of Advent, November 27, 2011.

Pope John Paul II announced a revised version of the Missale Romanum during the Jubilee Year 2000. Among other things, the revised edition of the Missale Romanum contains prayers for the observances of recently canonized saints, additional prefaces for the Eucharistic Prayers, additional Votive Masses and Masses and Prayers for Various Needs and Intentions, and some updated and revised rubrics (instructions) for the celebration of the Mass. The English translation of the Roman Missal will also include updated translations of existing prayers, including some of the well–known responses and acclamations of the people.

This website has been prepared to help you prepare for the transition. Here you will find helpful resources for the faithful, for the clergy, and for parish and diocesan leaders, so that all of us will be ready to implement the new Missal next Advent (2011). The receipt of the recognitio marks the beginning of the proximate preparation for the implementation of the Roman Missal. During the time leading up to actual first Sunday of use of the new text, pastors are encouraged to make use of the wide variety of resources available to prepare parishioners not only for the reception of the new text, but to engage in reflection and study about the Mass and the Eucharist.

May the implementation of the revised Roman Missal be a time of deepening, nurturing, and celebrating our faith through the renewal of our worship and the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy.


The Order of Mass- Sample text

People’s Part- Sample text

Priest’s Part- Sample text

Silent Monks Singing Halleluia

Favorite Class Activity?

We have one more CCD class before we break for the summer and as I look back I think of all we have done and it amazes me. During the year, we studied the parts of the Mass and learned the roles of the priest, the other liturgical ministers, and the community as well as the responses of all the other rituals and actions that take place during the liturgy. My students learned some of the items used at Mass and how to behave properly during Mass. Each week we studied various Bible stories from Creation to Pentecost and also the Catholic beliefs, sacred tradition, and most importantly, how it relates to their life. Throughout the year, we did crafts, games, and activities to emphasize Bible stories and the Catholic Church. These activities make the Bible stories and aspects of the Catholic Church more concrete and easier for the students to understand and also a lot of fun. As I thought back, I contemplated which activity was the student’s favorite and the curiosity got the better of me so I asked my students.

The overwhelming majority of my students said that their favorite activity was exploring the events and meaning of The Last Supper while creating chalices.



What was your student’s favorite activity they did this year?