Status Update

This is just a quick note to parents. I hope to put several of the class updates on this BLOG so you can see some more detail about what your student is learning. As a reminder, there is no SOR the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

Thank you,

Greg

The Rosary - The devil's defeat.

We are learning about the Rosary tonight in class. I would strongly recommend that the adults of the family read the book The Secret of the Rosary by St. Louis De Montfort. In addition to what you as parents need to know in order to pass on the faith, there are several stories your students might be interested in. It's also in the Adult Faith Library, if you don't want to spend $5. Have you heard of Blessed Bartolo Longo?

On the day of Bartolo Longo’s beatification, October 26, 1980, Pope John Paul II called him a “man of the Madonna”; he later called him “a true apostle of the rosary” and “a layman who lived his ecclesial pledge to the full”. And John Paul II knew what he was saying — his own Marian spirituality was influenced deeply by what, as a young man, he had gleaned from Bartolo’s life and works.

So who was this a man who so profoundly affected the greatest pope of the 20th century and who has had a permanent effect on the way we Catholics venerate Mary? Unfortunately, he is unknown to many of those in the English-speaking world. His name is Blessed Bartolo Longo. Most people who know of Bartolo have heard of him from asides made by John Paul II in his apostolic letter on the rosary — but there is much more to this remarkable man than a few pithy quotes. His feast day is October 6th, and this is his story.

In Bartolo’s time, from the 1860s onwards, the Church in Naples was experiencing a spiritual crisis. Unbelief, rebellion, and the occult were widespread and affecting the souls of the faithful, especially college students. Many of them traded the theology of the saints for the philosophy of atheists, made street demonstrations against the pope, and — perhaps most dangerous of all — dabbled in witchcraft and consulted the famous Neapolitan mediums. Continue reading the rest of the story...

Dating

Have you ever wondered about dating? Is there more to it than what your friends say?

Important Dates

Parents and Students,

Does your student have his/her saint name picked out, checked with the SOR office, and spelled right on the program? If you are not sure, call Tricia ASAP.

Here are some important dates:

April 2nd (Thursday): Penance service at the church

April 6th (Monday): Confirmation Practice

• Your practice time is 6:30 PM if you will be confirmed on April 13th
• Your practice time is 8:00 PM if you will be confirmed on April 16th

April 13th: Confirmation!

April 16th: Confirmation!

June 8 - June 12: Vacation Bible School (VBS). Here is a chace for you newly confirmed Catholics to pass on the faith to others. Consider signing up to be an aide.

July 6 - July 17: Summer SOR. Again, here is your chance to sign up as an aide.

Lost and Found: see Tricia Baldwin right away. She will give all items away at the end of the year; so if you want your stuff, go get it now.

Give your day to Jesus everyday. A great way to do this is to pray the Morning offering each day. Here's the prayer. I found it on EWTN.com if you want to look up other prayers and devotions.

O Jesus,through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,I offer You my prayers, works,joys and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, in reparation for my sins, for the intentions of all my relatives and friends, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father.
Amen.

Your brother in Christ,

Greg

Three Catholic Priests in Africa killed in one week

So, the questions are simple.

1. Are you ready to give your life for living your Catholic faith?
These priests did.

2. Fr. Joe Cramer said in one of his short and to the point sermons, "Look back on last week. Could anyone have accused you of being a Catholic by the way you lived?"

"If we are imitators of Jesus Christ and face up to all life's battles, we too will share in His victories." - St. Padre Pio

Jesus' Message of Mercy

Jesus' message was one of mercy. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." Matthew 5:7

That may be easy to forget sometimes. It is for me.

Have you heard about the Chaplet of Divine Mercy? What about the private revelation to Saint Faustina, the Polish nun who died just before the start of World War II?

You can go to the EWTN web site here to read more about what Jesus told St. Faustina. You might also look at the side menu and read the background information, as well as look up the Chaplet of Divine Mercy .

Here's the bottom line: Jesus loves you. Jesus will forgive you for any and all of your sins. Forgiveness and mercy are yours for the asking.

I know times are tough, for kids, teens, and adults alike. Turn to our Lord, ask him for the grace to serve him every day.
It's OK to struggle, but trust in Jesus.

I find it interesting that in about the last 100 years, there have been at least 3 private revelations that tell us of repentance, Jesus' mercy, and His Second Coming.

1. The aparition of Our Lady at Fatima
2. St. Faustina's Diary and the Message of Divine Mercy
3. Anne, a lay apostle in Ireland. (She's alive today.)

You can go here to read more about the
Divine Mercy and the Second Coming.

Dear Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Nicean Blues

Irene Sendler, a True Catholic Hero

Follow this link to Patrick Madrid's blog to read about a Catholic woman who rescued more than 2,000 children from certian death. This is an amazing woman. You can watch the videos that explain what she did and how she did it.







In case you don't know, Patrick Madrid is an excellent person to listen to if you want to hear about our faith. He explains things very well and in ways that they are easy to understand.

By the way, did you pray today? Offer God this day, and ask for the grace to avoid sin.

-G

Why We Honor the Blessed Virgin Mary

Some time ago, I was listening to a CD set by Dr. Scott Hahn. The title was Answering Common Objections. It's a good set that explains many of our Catholic beliefs to common objections that our protestant brothers and sisters have.

This section was on Mary and it answered the protestant critics that say Catholics worship her. To be clear, we honor her. There is a big difference.

Dr. Hahn's (summarized) comments:

1. We believe that Jesus fulfilled the law completely and was without sin. That includes obeying the 4th commandment to honor your father and mother.

2. We imitate Jesus.

So, Catholics aren't doing anything new. Jesus beat us to it when it comes to giving his mother honor.

Try this next topic for a conversation starter:

If you have questions about how the Ark of the Covenant pre-figured Mary because it carried the word of God, the bread of God, and the power of God, I'll bet your students can give a reasonable discussion about this.

You might also ask them about the queens in the Davidic kingdom. How did they decide who was queen? Solomon had so many wives that they would have only been queen for a matter of minutes; so it wasn't the wife/wives.

Have a good chat with your kids!

Greg

Meet "Roe" from Roe v Wade

You can find our more information and see the other commercials that are being aired by Virtue Media by visiting their web site at: www.virtuemedia.org

Class on 22 FEB 09 - Test Results & Lent

Dear Parents,

We took a test today that covers what the 8th graders should know by the time they are confirmed. It was an open book test, if they remembered to bring their Bible and Catechism.

The students corrected their own tests and took them home. The purpose of this exercise was for both the students and the parents to know where a little more study about the Catholic faith might be needed.

Several teaching opportunities presented themselves during the discussion of the answers. These kids are smart, and they askd very good questions. Some of the questions were about:

• Scandal - our Catholic politicians' (bad) examples provided several good teaching points. (It might be a good idea to cover the definition of heresy, too.)
• The real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist
• Transsubstantiation vs Consubstantiation (we covered the concepts without using these words)
• Mortal sin vs venial sin
• Theological virtues (ask your student the definition of Faith - simply believing in God isn't enough, there's more)
• Cardinal virtues (hints to ask you students: Temperance, which includes chastity)
• Forgiveness of sins... ALL sins. Please cover this at home, too. God's mercy has no limits, but you won't be forgiven if you refuse his forgiveness.

BIG NOTE TO PARENTS: Several of the students have asked for us to have a class period for them to go to confession. I won't be able to fit this in the schedule any time soon. Please take your kids to confession. They are asking for a reason.

More to follow later.

Check out virtuemedia.org and look at their ads that they have created.

Scroll down in this blog to the post about the 12 year old girl and the speech she gave.

Remember: "Prayer is the oxygen of the soul." - Padre Pio

Truth from a 12 year old!

Class on Sunday 22 Feb

Remember I said there would be a test? We're having one tonight. All you need is the knowledge and understanding that you've learned over the past 8 years of SOR and Sunday Mass.

Also, please bring your bible and your catechism to every class.

Don't worry, this is a practice test.

Greg

P.S. If you have questions, you can email them to me at gwerkowitch@yahoo.com

The Catholic Family - do you know your family heritage?

Being part of a family is who you are.
Through baptism you were made part of God's family.
You were baptized in his name: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
You eat at his table.
You have an inheritance.
You are loved!

Pray the Rosary every day.
Some of you wanted to pray in a group.
Here's your chance. It starts at 6:30 PM on Thursday February 5th.

Here are some resources if you want to know more about the teaching of the Catholic Church:

1. http://www.catholic.com/
2. http://www.patrickmadrid.com/
3. http://www.papalencyclicals.net/
4. http://www.usccb.org/ (You can find an online Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church at this site.)
5. http://www.thereasonforourhope.org/