October 12 Class Update: Our Sacred Tradition

Greetings 8th graders!

It was great being back in our classroom again this past Tuesday.

At the start of class, we heard from my Dad, Ed. Rubio, who shared about a ministry he volunteers for, Kolbe House, an archdiocesan ministry to inmates and those reentering society from prison.

Then we literally tossed around ideas about what makes us unique as Roman Catholics.  After we shared our ideas, we watched a video filmed in Philadelphia that discusses the importance of Sacred Tradition in the Roman Catholic Church.  The big idea is that Christ established the Church, and then handed it and its teachings on to the apostles, and it has been handed on throughout the centuries to us.  Indeed, faith was handed on to me, and now I'm handing it on to you.

One of the great treasures of our Tradition is the stories of the saints.

Carlo Acutis was a devout young person in Italy.  To help people grow in devotion to the Eucharist, he created a website documenting Eucharistic miracles.

For this week, the activity is to visit that website and pick one of the miracles to read about.  There are dozens listed that happened all over the world.  You only have to pick one and spend a couple of minutes reading about it.  If you want to read about more of them, that counts as extra credit.

Everyone got a slip of paper in class so you can write down one thing you learned from the Eucharist miracle you picked.  Please bring it to class this coming Tuesday.

Looking ahead, we're going to spend time focusing on the Eucharist and the Mass in upcoming classes.

As usual, please feel free to contact me with questions, etc.

Also, the Coat Drive is happening this weekend and next at Ascension. Here's a sign-up for this great service opportunity.

And as I mark the 16th anniversary of my Confirmation on October 15, I give thanks for how all of you have been part of my life of faith.  You all are part of the reason why I celebrate, and party.  ; )

We remain connected as One Church:

All my relations.

God's blessings,

Paul R.

Here are some additional resources from class this past Tuesday.

Our opening prayer during class was written by Cardinal John Henry Newman and recited by St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta and her Missionary Sisters of Charity each morning before they went out to serve the poor in Kolkata/Calcutta.

Here is the Kolbe House website.  My Dad mentioned that they accept donations of clothing, so if you have anything to donate, please let me know and I can connect you to the right channels.

Here is a link to the video we watched.  Please note, we only watched the video until just past the 5 minute-mark, up until it switches to the part where Chris is in the library.  We viewed the remaining 3 minutes during our virtual class on October 5.

Our closing prayer was 2 Timothy 1:5-14.

On a totally unrelated note, this coming weekend is Open House Chicago, where nearly 100 sites are open for public tours, many of them normally off-limits.

I will be volunteering at the Nichols Tower at Homan Square in the North Lawndale neighborhood on Saturday afternoon from 1:30-4 PM.  If you have the time, and are interested in seeing Chicago's original Sears Tower, please feel free to stop by and say hello.  I'm fairly certain visitors will have the chance to take in the views from the 11th floor.

Here's the webpage for more information.

Here is the window inside Ascension Church that depicts Christ handing on the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven to St. Peter, showing how Christ handed on the Church to the apostles.