April 19, 2022, Class Update: Starting Easter Season

Easter/Pascha Greetings Everyone!

It was such a great celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on Resurrection/Easter Sunday.  It's so great that it flows forth into the 50-Day Easter Season. So keep up the celebration!

The Paschal Candle burns brightly in our church to declare the victory over death through Christ's Resurrection.


Recap of Last Class
At the beginning of class, we had a guest speaker, Elle, one of my former RE students, who is now a junior at OPRFHS.  She talked about her experience in SPRED, which is religious education class for special needs students.  Thank you, Elle, for joining us.

I also showed a video I recorded with Paige, who shared about her medical service trip at Culture of Life Ministries in Harlingen, TX, last month.

We also spent time in class on the deeper meaning of the 50-Day Easter Season.  We celebrate that Christ is alive, having risen victoriously from death, and among us in a close way, giving us hope and transforming us.  We know Christ's Risen Presence through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, which is June 5 this year, at the end of the Easter Season.

Everyone created collages from the imagery in the Exultet, the chant proclaimed at the start of the Holy Saturday Easter Vigil Mass.

For this Week
There's nothing to submit for this week's activity.  Take the collage you created and keep it in someplace where you'll see it regularly during this week and be reminded of the great joy of Christ's Resurrection, and His victory over death.

Looking Ahead
During our final class, we'll take some time for reflection and think about living our faith.

We're planning to conclude class with a special prayer liturgy, which will include an opportunity for the parents to extend a blessing on your daughters and sons in our class.  Father Rex also plans to come for this liturgy.

The RE program is still accepting donations for the Housing Forward Lenten project.  You may bring your cash donations to class on April 26, which is the due date.  You can also ask your parents to make the donation of your money for you through the Ascension Parish Give Central portal.  At last count, there was $9400 raised so far, and so the $10000 goal is in sight.

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


Keep up P-A-R-T-Y Hard with Jesus Christ in these 50 Days of Easter Season and beyond!

We remain connected as One Church sharing faith in Christ, Who died and rose again victoriously.

Alleluia!

All my relations.

The Grace of God and the Joy of the Risen Christ be with you.

God's blessings,
Paul


P.S. We listened to this song, "Alive" during our opening prayer, which tells the story of the Resurrection from St. Mary Magdalene's perspective.



While you were creating Exultet collages, I played the song "All Things New" by Steven Curtis Chapman.


Here is the complete text of the Exultet.

This video has the complete text of the Exultet, displaying the lyrics while it's chanted.

This video is of the Holy Saturday Easter Vigil Mass at Ascension Parish on April 16.  The Exultet starts around the 9:00 mark and lasts until about the 22:00 mark.

Here I am, in a yellowish sweater vest, holding the Paschal Candle along with Father Bob in the baptismal font while Father Rex blesses the water.


Our Church is decorated in all its Easter splendor for Resurrection Sunday 2022.

My family's Resurrection Sunday Feast


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