February 1 Class Update: Candlemas and More on Mass

Greetings everyone!

Thank you again for your adjustment to joining class virtually this week, which was very likely the last time we'll meet virtually during this RE year.  Hopefully, you've had some time to enjoy the snow of the past couple of days.

We hearkened back to Christmas with our opening prayer, when I played "Songs of Thankfulness and Praise" on the piano.

We spent time in class on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, celebrating when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to present Him in the Temple in Jerusalem 40 days after His birth.  The story is recorded in Luke 2:22-40.  It's a customary day to bless candles, as we celebrate Christ our Savior, Who is a Light to the Gentiles and Glory to Israel, as Simeon proclaims when he sees Jesus in the Temple.  And it's the midpoint of winter, and so speaks to the custom of Groundhog Day.

If you haven't yet lit the blessed tea candle you got in class on January 25, I invite you to do so this week.  Since it is blessed, please treat it with care until the wick burns down.  There is nothing to submit for this week's activity.

It's marvelous to think that in the midst of darkness, a light shines brightly, as does Jesus Christ, our Light.  He gives us that light, and invites us to shine it for others who are in need of it.

We also watched this interview with Simone Biles, who talks about her faith, in keeping with the Winter Olympics starting February 4, and with the recent Feast of St. Sebastian on January 20, the patron saint of athletes.

And we watched more videos in the series on the Mass: the Creed, the Prayers of the Faithful, the Preface, and the Offertory.

Looking ahead, the Confirmation meeting on February 10 will be a teaching Mass celebrated by Father Bob, where you'll learn more about the parts of the Mass.

And we finished class back where we began, with a Candlemas-themed Taize song, the words of Simeon in Latin, "Nunc Dimittis", words which are part of the Night Prayer, or Compline, in the Liturgy of the Hours.

We're back in class on February 8, and at least part of the time will be spent at a reconciliation liturgy in Church as you get closer to Confirmation.  Our plan is to meet in the school first like usual before going to Church.  I sent a confession guide to all the parents via e-mail, so you, students, can take some time to prepare before Tuesday.

One extra credit opportunity available for this week is Taize prayer, on Friday, February 4 at 7:30.  You can attend in-person or watch it on YouTube, live, or any time later.

Another opportunity is to go shopping for diapers and wipes for this weekend's collection of those baby supplies.  You can bring them by Church when Masses are scheduled.

Please feel free to contact me with questions, etc.

Let us rejoice in Christ our Light!

We remain connected as One Church: All my relations.

God's blessings,

Paul

Display for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord on the altar at Ascension

Above and below are scenes of the window depicting the Presentation of the Lord.  Above is the view from outside.  Below is the view from inside, right by the sacristy.

How marvelous is the light of a candle, even as a symbol of Christ our Light!

Look at how brightly the lights shine in a dark December night that are strung up on the dome of the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield.

Look at how brightly the cabin lights shine as the westbound Amtrak Empire Builder train travels through the Cascades tunnel in Washington on the approach to Seattle.