2021-22 Grade 8 Ascension Religious Education

Greetings everyone! March 22, 2022, is Laetare Sunday, which means we're more than halfway through Lent 2022. Recap of Last Class Upon arriving, and before we started, everyone read about the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy, and also 4 ways to form conscience. In our most recent class, our guest speaker was Bob Pence, one of my fellow pilgrims to World Youth Day 2019.  He was in a catechism class while serving in the military in Germany many decades ago.  Later in life, he became reinvigorated in faith as he facilitated RCIA for those preparing to enter the Church. One aspect of catechism class that stood out to him was the Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross. We then talked about our pets, childhood stuffed animals, and favorite animals to prime us to hear from Bishop Barron, who explains the meaning of suffering with a story from his childhood when he took his dog to the vet.  We watched a portion of a longer homily , starting around the 8:08 mark until about...

Lenten Greetings Everyone! First of all, God's blessings to the 5 students in our class who were confirmed on March 12.  It was a blessing to be in attendance at the Mass. Recap of Last Class The readings at Mass during Lent describe what it means to be in a relationship with God, as catechesis for those preparing for initiation into the Chruch, and for those of us already baptized, it strengthens our faith. In our most recent class, I started by sharing that on the first Sunday, we hear the story of Jesus's 40 Days in the desert. On the 2nd Sunday of Lent, the Gospel passage is the story of the Transfiguration, which happens on a high mountain, traditionally considered Mount Tabor. Lent calls us to an intense penitential focus, but the practices we do have a goal of helping us encounter God's glory in a powerful way on Resurrections Sunday.  The Transfiguration gives a glimpse of the glory to come. We took a few minutes to recite the Lord's prayer line by line to grow ...

Lenten Greetings Everyone! Recap of Last Class First of all, thanks for your contributions to the Mothers' Day Collection for inmates. We last met on Fat Tuesday, and we spent time looking ahead to Lent, which began the next day on Ash Wednesday. Our opening prayer had a series of Scripture-based passages that speak about ashes, based on the customary palm burning prayer liturgy used in years past. Mr. Smyth visited to discuss this year's Lenten project, which, in collaboration with St. Giles, is raising funds to support Housing Forward House-to-Home kits.  Everyone got paperwork to take home with details.  We encourage you to contribute using money from allowance, chores, or whatever extras you're giving up for Lent. We then did a snowball toss to think about Lent.  The Season of Lent has its origins in a lengthy , intensified preparation period that took place 40 days before the celebration of the Resurrection for those preparing for baptism.  For all of us who are...