The week of 04/14/13 in the 7th Grade

Today was our last CCD class!  We will meet again one more time on May 5 to celebrate the end of our year of instruction in Christian Doctrine with all classes.  It was an eventful year as the instruction in grade seven forms the basis for the following three years of study leading up to Confirmation.  Your children and I went on quite a journey beginning with our Catholic roots being found in Divine Revelation and the Bible, the story of Creation, the Garden of Eden, the fall of Adam and Eve and the consequences of that bad choice. In chapter four we learned about Jesus being true man and true God and how He fulfills the promise God the Father made to save mankind.  We learned about the life of Jesus on Earth and how He saved us. In chapter six we spoke about how Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to fortify the Apostles at Pentecost and how He sends the Spirit to us daily to fortify us to live according to His will - which is to love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves. We did a nice project about the seven sacraments and how the graces we receive through the sacraments also strengthen us against the snares of the devil.  We spoke about Lent, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and learned the Stations of the Cross and their origin in our religion. We also did a wonderful project on the Saints and built our own Nativity scenes at Christmas. During the year, we spoke about Saint Blaise and Saint Sr. Faustina, who gave us the feast of Divine Mercy.  Last week I began teaching about the Ten Commandments and how they are even more relevant than ever in our world today.
 
This morning I finished the Ten Commandments and finished up the lesson speaking about virtues.  We are not born virtuous.  We need to develop virtues.  A virtue is a good habit that helps us to act according to God's love for us.  As with all habits, we need to practice virtues in order to live a virtuous life. 
 
The first three virtues are Spiritual Virtues.  They are Faith, Hope and Love.
 
Faith is a gift from God and it means that we believe something to be true even though we cannot see it, feel it, smell it, or scientifically prove it. Faith is believing as children do; that what is said is true.  Didn't Jesus say that we must be like little children if we want to enter into the Kingdom!  This is Faith.
 
Hope is also a spiritual gift from God where we believe that something wonderful will happen.  We simply believe that what Scripture tells us will come true.  We will enter the Kingdom of God at the end of our lives here on Earth.
.
Love, the third Spiritual Virtue, is the greatest of the three gifts.  When some learned scholars asked Jesus what we must do in order to enter the Kingdom of God,  Jesus replied that we must love God with all our heart, all our mind, and all our soul.  This is the first commandment. And the second is to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.  This is what it means to be a Catholic.  To love God and our neighbor in such a way that everyone around us will see us as being different from the rest of mankind.  A song comes to mind, "And they'll know we are Christians by our love."
 
The other four virtues are known as the Cardinal Virtues.  They are: Prudence, which helps us to make sound decisions and directs us to what is good; Justice, which consists in the firm and constant will to give God and our neighbor their due; Fortitude, which ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of goodness; and Temperance, which helps us to keep our desires under control. 
 
We ended our morning and our year with a prayer.
 
It has been my pleasure and a privilege to teach your children this year and I hope that I have helped them to begin their journey towards Confirmation.  I handed out registration forms for next year and it is our wish that all the children will continue their journey with St. Anthony of Padua Parish.
 
Thank you all for bringing your child to class every Sunday and I wish you and your family all the best in the weeks and months to come.

PS: I would be remiss if I did not say a heartfelt thank you to Mrs. Babineau, who accompanied all the upper school catechists.  She works tirelessly to ensure a smooth operation.  Thank you, Jackie.

This past Sunday was Divine Mercy Sunday, a relatively new catholic feast day established by Blessed Pope John Paul II on April 30, 2000.  On this day, we celebrated the Divine Mercy Of Jesus Christ Himself as revealed to Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun who received frequent revelations and visits from Christ Himself from 1931 until her premature death in 1938.
Saint Faustina recorded these words of Our Lord in her diary: "At 3 O'clock, Implore My mercy, especially for sinners; and, if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in My passion, particularly in My abandonment at the moment of agony.  This is the hour of great mercy for the whole world.  I will allow you to enter into My mortal sorrow.  In this hour, I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of Me in virtue of My Passion." 
I spoke about this wonderful feast day and encouraged the children show you the 3 pages of information concerning the Divine Mercy devotions which I handed out to them.
 
As our CCD classes are quickly coming to an end, we skipped a few chapters in our book and went to chapter 13 which talks about "Living God's Laws".  This is the chapter on the Ten Commandments. We read how God has reached out with love over and over again to the Israelites in the Old Testament (and to us in the New Testament), wanting to set them apart and forming them into a holy people.  God did this by entering into a covenant with them. This covenant are the Ten Commandments and when Moses descended from Mount Sinai, where he received the Ten Commandments from God Himself,  the people said that they would do everything that the Lord God had told them. 
Now the Catholic Church teaches us that the Ten Commandments are for us, too, and that no human law can change them.  When we are faithful to God and obey His commandments, we grow closer to Him in friendship and love.  When we live by the Ten Commandments, we grow in holiness and happiness.
 
We spoke about the first 5 commandments.
 
The first three commandments focus on our direct relationship with God.  The remaining seven center on our relationship with ourselves and others.
 
The First Commandment reminds us that we should worship and serve the one true God and have no other gods to take His place.  How often do we worship false gods such as money, power, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, pornography, video games, gambling ..... to name a few. We adore God when we acknowledge that He is the Creator and Savior and that we are totally dependent on him for our life and happiness.
 
The Second Commandment directs us to honor God's name and not take it in vain.  Respecting God's name is a sign of respect that God truly deserves.  We should also be careful not to swear oaths in His name either, as the breaking of those sworn oaths in His name are sinful.
 
The Third Commandment demands that we participate in the celebration of Mass on Sunday, the Lord's Day, and keep that day holy.  How easy is it today to convince ourselves that God understands that we have no time to worship him because of the million things we "have to" do! Observing the Third Commandment helps us to develop a family, social, and spiritual life.
 
The Fourth Commandment requires us to honor, respect, obey, and care for our parents and guardians. By honoring our parents, we honor God Himself.  By obeying our parents, we obey God Himself.  By caring for our parents, we care for God Himself.  Our reward will be great!
 
The Fifth Commandment requires us to respect the sacredness of life and the dignity of the person.  We live in a culture of death where the media bombards us with murder, abortion, suicide, and mercy-killing.  This is sinful and must be revealed as the evil that it is.
 
We finished up with a prayer.  It was a really great class and we will finish the last 5 commandments next week.  I wish you all a blessed week and thank you for bringing your child to Catechism class.  God will bless you for your efforts.
 

This past Sunday was Palm Sunday, the day Jesus rode into the city of Jerusalem on the back of a colt and was celebrated as a great prophet or even king.  It was to be His last visit to the city for the celebration of Passover.  The envious and cruel leaders of the Jewish people saw Jesus as a threat to their power and plotted His death - which took place on Good Friday. However, before we can celebrate the great joy of Easter Sunday, we need to first journey with Jesus along the path of suffering leading up to Golgotha.  Thus we have the Stations of the Cross.  As I mentioned in my last letter, early Christians used to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in order to walk along the "Way of Suffering", or, as it is known in Latin, as the "Via Dolorosa".  They did this in memory of the suffering and death of Jesus.  As Christianity spread, it became more difficult for Christians to travel to Jerusalem.  So the Church established the 14 Stations of the Cross in every church so good men and women of faith could also take part in this holy devotion.  On Sunday, we spoke about the Stations 5 through 14.

Station 5: Simon of Serene helps Jesus carry the cross.  It's quite interesting here how a "foreigner" is forced into carrying the cross for Jesus. He is an outsider.  Someone who was not like the Jews.  But we will forever remember his name as the only one who helped Jesus carry His cross.  Will we do the same? 

Station 6: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.  Only Veronica had the courage of her convictions and despite the jeers and mocking of the crowd, she ran to Jesus and wiped His holy face of blood and sweat.  She alone did not care what the others thought about her helping Jesus.  Will we have the same courage?

Station 7: Jesus falls a second time.  Jesus bore all our burdens and sins, and continues to carry us. We pray that He will free us from our bonds and give us a heart capable of seeing His love and goodness.  He never gives up.  Will we?

Station 8: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem.  Jesus sees the women crying phony tears because it is expected of them.. He tells them to weep instead for the evil being committed and to teach their children to love and respect God's laws.  Do we, too, only pretend to be sorry for our sins, or are we sincere in our repentance?

Station 9: Jesus falls a third time.  How heavy must our sins be that Jesus falls yet again.  But He never complains.  He never gives up on us. He bears our burdens.  And He stands up again.  He arises from the dust.  He alone can save us.  He alone can raise us up, too.  Oh Jesus, have mercy.

Station 10: Jesus is stripped of His garments.  Jesus was exposed to shame and ridicule.  He was stripped of all His pride and dignity.  Do we do the same to our fellow man by saying evil things about them?  Do we strip them of their honor and dignity?

Station 11: Jesus is nailed to the cross.  Jesus accepted the cruelty of His suffering, the destruction of His body and dignity without complaining.  He did not flee from His sacrifice.  May we never flee from what we are called to do.  May we, too, be Christlike and bind ourselves to helping others in need.

Station 12: Jesus dies on the cross.  Jesus gave His life so that we may live.  May we be strong enough to die to our sins so we may live in paradise forever.

Station 13: Jesus is taken down from the cross.  Jesus descended into the darkness of death.  He did this not because "God is dead" as our modern world is trying to make us believe, but rather to conquer Satan and death.  To banish death for those who truly believe.  We ask Jesus to give us the strength to withstand moments of confusion and a love ready to embrace Him in our utter helplessness.  We pray that Mary, His mother, will accept us into her arms as she did her Son being taken down from the cross, and lead us to His waiting arms in heaven.

Station 14: Jesus is laid in the tomb.  As on the seventh day of creation when God rested, so, too, Jesus rests after completing His task of saving mankind from the snares and evil of the devil.  Like the grain of wheat, Jesus is put into the ground where He will rise again in triumph and become the bread of life for us all.  Help us to grow in love and veneration for His Eucharistic mystery so that we may receive this bread of life and share in His resurrection.  Amen.

So, dear parents, I pray that I have not been too long-winded in my letter to you today.  It is my sincere wish that you and your children will have a holy and blessed week leading up to the great feast of Easter, and that you will be able to attend some, if not all, of the services at St. Anthony of Padua this week.  May God bless you.

Today is the fifth Sunday of Advent. We only have 2 weeks left until Easter.  Next Sunday is Palm Sunday and then Holy Week begins. An awesome time in the Church year.  And we have a new Pope.  Francis I. A truly holy man who will certainly endeavor to "rebuild (Christ's) church" just like St. Francis did.

So we began our lesson today talking about how the Holy Spirit guided the cardinals in their choice of a new spiritual leader. We spoke about how St. Francis in a dream heard the Lord say to rebuild His church and Francis thought He meant to "physically" rebuild San Damiano. So he set out gathering stones and mortar to rebuild the church. But eventually Francis realized the Our Lord meant for him to rebuild the Church spiritually. And our newly elected Pope Francis has already demonstrated through his humility and homilies that he intends to do the same.

We then read the Introduction to Chapter 6 in our books which talks about how Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to guide us on our journey through life. In the picture found on pages 36 & 37, we can see the dome of the German Bundestag building located in Berlin, Germany. This is where the German Parliament meets to discuss politics and pass laws.  This dome was constructed only after the Berlin Wall came down and looks like a huge light house dome. This was done purposely as a reminder to all politicians that they should be the light of German life.

We then spoke about how the seventh graders were beginning their journey to the sacrament of Confirmation and how the Holy Spirit remains in them and is in them on this journey. We ended our reading on page 38, column one.

I felt that we had discussed enough stations for today and will continue them next week.  I encourage you to try and say the stations of the cross with your children this or next week.  You will receive many graces.

Today we spoke about lent and the Lenten journey. Lent is a time of penance, purification, reflection, prayer, sacrifice, and alms-giving.  The Church in her wisdom gives us 40 days in which to prepare our hearts and souls for the great feast of Easter.  During this time we should reflect upon what it means to be a follower of Christ and think about how we can imitate Him, the Son of God.  The number 40 has a special significance in the Bible.  It rained for 40 days and nights when God sent the great flood to purify the earth from evil. The Jewish people wandered in the desert for 40 years after they erected a golden calf and bowed down to it as the Egyptians had done during their captivity.  When Moses came down from the mountain and saw this blasphemy, he threw the tablets at the calf, destroying it. The 40 years of wandering which followed served to weed out those who had bowed down to the golden calf - an act of purification. Jesus went into the desert for 40 days in order to prepare Himself for the greatest task of all - redeeming mankind of their sins.  So we, as Christians (followers of Christ) should follow these examples and perform our own purification through penance, prayer, meditation, sacrifice, and helping those who are less fortunate than we are through alms-giving.
 
St Anthony Parish is also offering us the opportunity to bow down in adoration before the Most Holy Eucharist on Wednesday, February 20, 2013 from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm in the Chapel of the Holy Cross in St Anthony Church. We have asked all our students to try and come for at least 15 minutes to kneel in adoration and share our love, our hopes, our needs, and our thanks with Jesus - who is truly present!  This is a most wonderful opportunity to gain graces during our Lenten journey.
 
We also spoke about the way of the cross and I gave each child a pamphlet entitled: "The Way of the Cross with Pope Benedict XVI".  I explained the origin of the way of the cross.  Originally Christians were encouraged to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and walk the same path that Jesus walked on His way to Golgotha and death. Those who were able to make this pilgrimage were given special graces and even a plenary indulgence which erases all temporal sin from our souls.  But as Christianity spread throughout the whole world, it became impossible for most Christians to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.  So the Church established the way of the cross in every church as a substitute pilgrimage to the Holy Land.  So when we perform this ritual of walking to each station, pondering the event depicted and saying the right prayers, this will count as a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and we will gain all the graces and indulgences that actual pilgrims to Jerusalem receive.  What a Blessing!!

On Sunday, February 3, the feast of St. Blaise and the blessing of the throats, we began our lesson by learning about the life of this revered saint. St. Blaise was the Bishop of Sebaste, Armenia in the early 3rd century.  He was a very learned man, a physician, who healed not only people but animals as well.  As Christians were being persecuted, St. Blaise lived in a cave deep in the forest on Mount Argeus. Here he was cared for by the animals and those people seeking his help. 
   
One day Agricola, the governor of Cappadocia, came to Sebaste to persecute Christians.  His huntsmen went into the forests of Argeus to find wild animals for the arena games, and found many waiting outside St. Blaise's cave.  Discovered in prayer, Blaise was arrested, and Agricola tried to get him to recant his faith.  While in prison, Blaise ministered to and healed fellow prisoners, including saving a child who was choking on a fish bone; this led to the blessing of the throats on St. Blaise's feast day.
   
Blaise was tortured and beheaded by Agricola.  He is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers revered by the Church.
We then turned our attention to the seven sacraments: Baptism, Penance, Eucharist, Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders, and the Anointing of the Sick.

We learned that a sacrament is 1) a visible sign 2)  instituted by Christ  3) to give us grace.

We spoke about the visible part of the signs: water, oil, blessings, etc. and the graces we receive from Christ when we receive a sacrament. I prepared several worksheets and we had fun making a flip chart again this week and gluing in the pictures and describing the sacraments.  I ask you to please take some time and ask your child to show you his/her flip chart and talk about the sacraments.

    Next Saturday, February 9, Fr. Dion will be offering a penitential rite to everyone from 9:00 am to 10:00 am in honor of the second graders who will be making their "First Confession" in preparation for their "First Holy Communion". We have asked everyone to attend to show solidarity and community with our second graders.  Later that day, after the 4:00 pm mass, and again after the 3 Sunday masses on February 10, the religious education classes 7 - 10 will be responsible for the coffee and cake/sweets that St Anthony Parish offers regularly to parishioners and church-goers. If you would like to participate, your help will be truly appreciated. Your child brought home a flyer prepared by Mrs Babineau and Mrs Lemarier explaining everything.

This past week was such a busy week for me at school that I didn't get a chance to post our lesson for Sunday, January 20.  We spoke about the glorious mystery and miracle of the Resurrection of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, and what this event means to us today.  Had Jesus not risen from the dead, He would have simply been another good man, yes even a prophet, who spoke about loving one's neighbors and who performed a few magical tricks. But He did rise from the dead and this has made all the difference in the world.  The Resurrection and Easter Sunday are the very cornerstones of our faith and without them we are lost.
 
After finishing Chapter 5, we moved on to do the Unit 1 Assessment found on pages 34 & 35.This little test summarized all the units that we have covered since September and proved to be a rewarding experience for your children.
 
This week, January 27, we spoke about the reconciliation program that is being offered on Saturday, February 9 from 9 am to 10 am. The sacrament of reconciliation gives all of us an opportunity to make things right with God and as with any sacrament, we receive an abundance of Grace from the Holy Spirit to help us on our journey.  If you would like to attend this service, you are cordially invited.  Please encourage your child to attend to show community with the second graders who are preparing for this their first "confession".
 
We also did a project where we spoke about the 37 miracles of Jesus, which are reported in the Gospels, and I asked the students to choose 7 of them and enter them into a flip chart that we made out of construction paper.  They then wrote down a sentence or two to explain the miracle, or drew a picture.  We all had fun!
 
Next week we will be talking about the 7 sacraments and what they mean to us as Catholics. Books are not needed next week.  We will also talk about St. Blaise who is the patron saint of sickness of the throat.  Have a great week.
 

Today we celebrated the Baptism of the Lord ending the Christmas season.  We began our lesson by looking at a crucifix. We then tried to explain the symbolism behind it.  I asked the children why a sign of the most cruel method of Roman executions has become our symbol of faith. I was encouraged by their answers. They said that it shows Jesus’ love for us sacrificing Himself unto death. Or that Jesus loved us so much that He endured the cruelest suffering possible for the forgiveness of our sins. Great insights!  We also spoke about the next step which followed the death on the cross - that of the Resurrection. For it is the Resurrection that gives us hope that all the suffering we must endure as Disciples of Christ will have some purpose or meaning. We will speak more about the Resurrection next week in our books on page 32, "By rising from the dead, Jesus Christ brings us new life".

We then spoke about Jesus, the Savior from chapter 5 in our books.  We spoke about the word Messiah and why the Jewish people were not willing to accept Jesus as their Messiah!  They were looking for a warrior King who would drive out all foreigners from their lands and reestablish Israel as the leading nation in the world. Jesus preached forgiveness and peace.  His mission was not directed toward himself or earthly kingship and prosperity, but toward the Father. He fed the hungry and helped the poor. He forgave sinners and healed the sick.  He taught people about God and what is asked of them. He called on everyone to share in God's love. This was not what the Jewish people were looking for they wanted a temporal leader not a healer or holy man!

We ended our session by reading about how Jesus also offended the religious and civil leaders at that time by proclaiming to be the Son of God. This led to His passion and death on the cross.  (This is the reason why I asked them about the crucifix at the beginning of class!) 

Next week we will speak about the Resurrection and then do the Unit 1 assessment found on pages 34 and 35.  I wish you and your child a great week.

Please let me take this opportunity to wish you and your family a very happy new year and may God blessings come down upon you in abundance. We are slowly leaving the Christmas season and will soon be beginning to prepare ourselves for lent. This past Sunday we celebrated the Epiphany of Our Lord and this coming Sunday we will celebrate the baptism of Jesus by St John the Baptist. Next Sunday concludes the Christmas season and all churches will take down the Mangers and Nativity Sets and put them in storage for next year.

On Sunday I spoke about Epiphany, which means "manifestation", or more commonly, making oneself known. Jesus made Himself know to mankind through His birth in Bethlehem.  At first He made Himself known to his Beloved Mother Mary and to St. Joseph, then to shepherds (who represent the Jewish nation), and finally, on Epiphany, January 6th, to the Magi, who represent all gentiles. It is through this feast that we know that Jesus came to save all mankind, not just the Jews!  We spoke about where the Magi came from and what they brought as gifts. We know the names of three of the Magi, namely: Caspar, who came from India, Melchior, who came from Persia, and Balthazar, who came from Arabia. They came from afar bringing gold, myrrh, and frankincense. They came to worship and adore the new King. They went back home taking a different route and spread the good news to all in their respective nations.  A fitting example to all of us!
 
I told the children about a wonderful custom I had the pleasure of witnessing for 25 years in Germany when on January 6, the altar servers from our parish would dress up as Magi of old and come around to every house in the parish, say a blessing and then print the letters 20+C+M+B+13 in chalk over each door frame.  One of the older altar servers carried a wooden Star of Bethlehem and had a small bucket where we would put donations for the youth group. It was wonderful to see all the houses adorned with this symbol of their faith.
 
Next week we will begin a new chapter and talk about the life of Jesus. Again fitting as next Sunday Jesus begins His public ministry.  Please remind your child to bring his/her book.  Thank you.

After a quick review of our discussion points of last week, namely the fall of Adam and Eve and the consequences of their wrong choice, we began chapter 4 where we learned about "The Promise Fulfilled". God in His endless love and mercy sent us His only Son to deliver us from evil and restore our friendship with Him. We read the awesome account of how the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she had found favor with God and had been chosen to be the mother of our Our Savior. Although Mary could not understand why she among all women had been chosen for such an honor, she answered with the words, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.  May it be done according to your word" (Luke 1:38). I used these words of Mary to point out that Almighty God has a mission and a purpose for each and every one of us and that hopefully when we, too, hear God calling us to fulfill our destiny, that we, like Mary, will say, "Behold, I am the handmaid/servant of the Lord.  Be it done according to Your Word."  Naturally in order to hear God speaking to us, we must, like Mary, be open to His word through prayer, reading of the Gospels, and acts of charity.  Christmas offers us wonderful opportunities to do just that!

The second reading in chapter 4 tells us about the Incarnation. Here we learn that Jesus was BOTH truly human and truly God. When I asked the children which of the things Jesus did that showed He is God , they all agreed that it was the forgiveness of sins that was the greatest gift to mankind.  What a great acknowledgement! Forgiving sins clears the way for a holy life - and heaven.

There is no Religious Ed class next Sunday due to the Thanksgiving break.  I handed out Nativity Scene assignments and the children are being asked to "build" their own Nativity Scene.  Did you know that St Francis of Assisi was the first to do so??

Today we spoke about how evil came into the world through the fall of Adam and Eve.  We spoke about how the writers of the Book of Genesis asked this very same question and through the inspiration of Almighty God they were able to teach us that evil has been a part of human existence since the very beginning.  We learned that God created our first parents out of pure love and He cared for them and did not want them to suffer. But through the evil persuasions of the devil, personified through the serpent, Adam and Eve made a bad choice when they decided to eat of the tree of good and bad and so evil came into the world.  This first "sin" is known as "Original Sin" and every person is born with it - everyone except Mary, the Mother of Jesus.  Because of Original Sin, each one of us is subject to ignorance, suffering, and death! What a sentence!  But God the father in His infinite mercy promised us a Redeemer - His Only Begotten Son who has restored us to God's life and love.
 
The children all participated with thoughtfulness and enthusiasm and we had a wonderful lesson.  We spoke about why the writers of Genesis chose a garden to symbolize Paradise and the symbolism of the serpent. We spoke about why we must endure trials and suffering in our life and how God helps us through Grace. Grace is participation, or a sharing, in God's life and friendship. It was truly wonderful to see the light of understanding in your child's eyes as they grasped these difficult concepts. 
 
Next week we will work on chapter 4 - entitled "The Promise Fulfilled" (pages 22 - 27).  We will read about how the Promised One would be from the family of David, and born in Bethlehem to Mary and her spouse Joseph.  We will speak about how Jesus is true God and true Man - known as the mystery of the Incarnation. A fitting chapter as we begin our own preparations for Christmas.

On this first Sunday of November, the children and I spoke about Circles of Care, a diocesan project aimed at encouraging all students to speak up and act according to guidelines whenever they feel uncomfortable, threatened, or abused.  All the children participated in a warm up exercise entitled, "Discussion Starters" which introduced the topic of abuse in a delicate and age-appropriate manner. We spoke about the questions in a non-threatening way and I told the children to keep their worksheets as they are private and confidential. We also discussed the questions and tips associated with this "Safe Environment Lesson", which was very informative.  We read St Paul's letter to the Galatians, Chapter 5, Verses 22-23 where St Paul speaks about the fruits of the Holy Spirit.  They are: love, joy, peace, patient endurance, kindness, generosity, faith, mildness and chastity. Unfortunately time ran out on us before we could talk about all the fruits, and we ended our session as always with a prayer. 

Next week I plan to work in our books once again and begin Chapter 3: The Fall and the Promise, pages 16 - 21.  This is a great follow-up lesson to the one we had this Sunday as we will talk about how evil came into the world (through the serpent), how Adam and Eve made a bad choice and were banished from the Garden of Eden as a result, and how God promised them a Redeemer.  Please make sure your child brings his/her book to class so we can all participate in the lesson.

I would also like to thank all the children who either attended or worked at the Penny Sale this week-end.  We had over 17 children who gave of their time to help make this important event for the parish a successful one. All the teachers of the upper classes are so proud of them. Mrs. Babineau, who devotes so much of her time and energy to help us teachers, also deserves a big thank you and I know she was especially proud of all the young helpers.

Today at Religious Education classes, the children presented their projects on the Saints in preparation for All Saints' Day this Thursday, November 1st.  What a fantastic job they did!  All who were in attendance, for the presentations were amazed.  To think that this was the first time the seventh graders had to do such a public project.  You can surely be proud of your child. Mrs. Babineau and team will be busy all week putting up displays with your child's poster to show to the whole congregation for All Saints' Day, All Souls' Day , and for all masses next weekend. We are asking you to come to the 9:30 am mass with your child next week, November 4, so your child can stand next to his/her poster and explain it to the people who will attend mass.
 
The Ladies of Saint Anne Solidarity will be holding their annual Christmas Fair/ Penny Sale/ Bazaar next Saturday and Sunday, so you are also invited to try your luck winning one of the many, many prizes or enjoy the delicious goodies offered throughout the weekend.
 
I want to thank Mrs. Babineau who took over for me the last two weekends. My son was visiting me from Germany two weeks ago and last week I had the flu. I am feeling much better now.  I wish you all a blessed week and hope to see you next weekend.

This week we began our lesson today by talking about all the drawings on my apron!  We were thus able to review what we learned during the last two weeks of classes.  New to the apron were the words, "Divine Revelation", "Bible", "Old and New Testament".  These words were the segue leading into the readings in our book, "One Faith, One Lord", pages 5, 6, &7.  I asked all the students to take turns reading the information found on these pages and we spoke about what we learned.  Some of the things we spoke about were: "What is the meaning of life" (page 5), "What is faith?" (Page 5), "Through faith we come to know God" (page 6), "Divine Revelation" (page 7), "Faith is a gift from God" (page 7) and "Faith is a personal act and choice..." (Page 7).
 
 I also handed out 4 sheets developed by the Diocese of Manchester concerning Circles of Care where we spoke about how we are special, how we care for each other, how we know adults we can trust and what to do if we are feeling uncomfortable or unsafe.  This is of major concern as the diocese wants to ensure that your children are safe and will know what to do if they feel uncomfortable.  It is my wish that you, dear parents, reinforce the idea of "Say no as loud as you can.",”Go away as fast as you can.", and "Tell an adult you trust right away."
 
I also handed out a sheet detailing the "Saint's Project" which is due on Sunday, October 28. Your child has been asked to pick a saint and create a poster which will inform everyone about the life and work of their chosen saint.  This project was begun last year to the delight of everyone who participated.
 
Next Sunday, Oct 7, there are no Religious Education classes due to Columbus Day.  So for the following week of Oct. 14, I have asked the students to prepare the readings found on pages 8 & 9.  We will most probably have time to begin Chapter 2, God the Creator (pages 10, 11, & 12).
 

As always, we began our time together with a prayer.  We talked about faith and read the Bible Story:  Matthew 8: 5-13 about the Centurion who came to Jesus and asked Him to heal his servant.  We used several worksheets on this topic.  We spoke about moving mountains and pondered what "mountain" means.  After much discussion we decided that "mountain" could also mean the mountain of sorrow, worries or fears that we have and if we have faith.  Even with the tiniest amount of faith (a mustard seed) we can be healed.  Afterwards we talked about trust and that we cannot always trust everyone. 

As part of the Diocese “Protecting God’s Children”,  and in keeping with the diocesan mandate that we teach "Circles of Care", I finished the lesson by reading about bullies and bullying and what we should do if we are bullied or we see someone being bullied.