February 8 Class Update: Reconciliation--We are Worth Fixing

Greetings all!

It was great to be back with you in class again, just as it was wonderful gathering with all of you on Thursday evening for the teaching Mass.

Recap

We offered our farewell and thanks to Francisco as he switches to help with the Kindergarten-3rd Grade class.  It was great having his assistance with our class.

We then welcomed our new class aide for the remainder of the year, Kim Tanner, and we thank her for stepping up to volunteer for this role.

We were in church for about half an hour where everyone participated in the sacrament of reconciliation as part of preparing for Confirmation.

Back in class, I shared a couple of different stories, one about my visit to the birthplace of Pastor Martin Luther King, Jr. Then we watched the courtroom scene from Cars that I used to speak about the power of reconciliation, because even though sin wrecked humanity's relationship with God, He looks at each one of us and says we are "worth fixing".

We also did a quick review of looking up Bible passages.

Activities for this Week

First, please take a handful of minutes to watch one of these videos about Confirmation.

1. This video is by Donald Hying, currently Bishop of Madison, WI, but was serving as Auxiliary Bishop in Milwaukee at the time of the video.  It is a little over 2 minutes long.

2. This video is extracted from Bishop Barron's series on the sacraments. It is 1 minute and 40 seconds long.

3. This video about Confirmation is from Aleteia and is 3 minutes and 42 seconds long.

After watching one of these videos, please go to this form and type your name and a response of at least 1 sentence on what you learned in the video or what stood out to you.  Please submit your response by class time on Tuesday, February 15.

If you watch all of them, please note that in the form and you will get extra credit.

As another extra credit opportunity, read this article that Bishop Barron wrote about Confirmation, or watch the video version of it--about 10 minutes long.  You may submit your response in the form at the link above.

The second activity is to make a contribution to the a collection of supplies Ascension Parish is hosting for inmates to write notes to their moms for Mothers' Day.  Everyone in class is expected to make a donation with their own allowance money or with money earned from doing chores or helping around the house. It is similar to when we did our class Christmas Angel gift.  It can be as simple as getting a pack of blank cards at the Dollar Store.  You can also buy stamps.  You may also bring a minimum of $1 to class and I will use that money to buy donations.  There is more information in the parish bulletin.

Your contribution is due on March 1, as the collection ends on March 6.

Looking ahead

The plan for class on February 15 is to spend time learning more about and reflecting further on the meaning of Confirmation.

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

We remain connected as One Church: All my relations.

God's blessings on your week,

Paul

Here is a ceiling fixture with the dove of the Holy Spirit inside the former St. Cornelius Parish on the Northwest Side of Chicago, where I was baptized.

P.S. The opening prayer at our reconciliation liturgy was from Matthew 5:1-12, the Beatitudes at the start of the Sermon on the Mount.

We watched this video of "Lift Every Voice and Sing".

Above is the house on Auburn Avenue where Pastor Martin Luther King, Jr., was born in Atlanta on January 15, 1929.

Here is the gravesite of Pastor and Mrs. King.

We watched the courtroom scene from Cars.

At the end of class, our closing prayer was from Isaiah 6:1-8, the first reading for Mass on Sunday, February 6.

Here is a link to the archived livestream video of the teaching Mass on Thursday evening, which includes the Q&A afterwards.