January 26 Class Update: The Power of One

Greetings students (and parents)!

As the date of Confirmation draws near, we spent time in our most recent class on the deeper significance of Confirmation, when we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, completing our initiation into the Church.

One Bible passage that mentions the anointing of the Spirit is in Luke 4:14-21, when Jesus proclaims the fulfillment of a prophecy from Isaiah.

Then, we did a guided meditation on baptism, the sacrament when we first receive the Holy Spirit.  The meditation was from a homily by Father Chris at St. Teresa's, the church Paul attended in college.  The entire homily can be found here.  The meditation is from the 6:50 mark until about 11:00.

It is an experience that draws us more deeply into the catholic, or universal, Church, and equips us with the gifts to fulfill God's mission.  After sharing responses to the prompt of places we have traveled and want to travel, we looked at the story of Pentecost in Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples gathered in Jerusalem.  

Above is an image Paul took of the Pentecost window in Church, on the south side of the nave, the long part extending from the altar to the East Avenue entrance. If you look closely, you can see small flames on the heads of the people.

People from all over the Mediterranean world and Ancient Near East were gathered there and saw the descent of the Holy Spirit. On this webpage is a map of those places specifically mentioned in Acts 2. This account is a great story about how the Holy Spirit truly binds us together as one church.  Paul connected the story of Pentecost with his experiences at World Youth Day 2019 in Panama City.  You can read more about his trip and see photos on this post on his personal blog.

We listened to the song "I Believe", performed by Canadian singer Nikki Yanofsky for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, and its lyrics contain ideas about the power of a world brought together as one.

We watched this version in class.

We also saw a small portion of the French language version, with the English translation included.

Here is a bilingual version performed by Nikki Yanofsky and Annie Villeneuve in 2010.

Here is a bilingual version performed by the One Voice youth choir.

Looking ahead, next week Tuesday, February 2, we aren't meeting for a virtual RE class.  Instead, you'll go to church for reconciliation, as a way of preparing for Confirmation.  Please spend some time preparing for reconciliation by reviewing the handouts from the RE office that include tips for making a good reconciliation and an examination of conscience.  Please contact us if you need us to send you those handouts again.  And if you haven't registered for a time to attend reconciliation, please do so at this link.

February 2 is also Candlemas, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, which happens 40 days after Christmas.  The story of this feast is recorded in Luke 2:22-40.  When St. Joseph and the Virgin Mary bring the baby Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem to dedicate Him to the Lord, a godly man named Simeon approaches the Holy Family and praises God for keeping His promise, that he would see the Messiah before his death.  Simeon's canticle is regularly prayed as part of the Night Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours.  We encourage you to offer up this short prayer at night before going to bed, found in Luke 2:29-32.  Here is a webpage with the lyrics, in both Latin and English, and a video of this prayer.

Confirmation liturgies are scheduled for the afternoon of Saturday, February 6.

We look forward to being present with you next week for the sacramental experiences.

We're back in class again on Tuesday, February 9, when we'll have opportunity to continue learning about faith and what it means for our lives. 

As usual, please feel free to contact us with questions, for clarifications, etc.

Please be assured of our prayers for you as you prepare to be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit.

God's blessings,

Debbie Lopez

Paul Rubio

January 12 Class Update: Baptism and Confirmation

Greetings Students (and Parents)!

In our most recent class, Paul started out sharing a reflection about his visit to the birthplace of Pastor Martin Luther King, Jr.

Above is the home on Auburn Avenue in Atlanta, GA, where Pastor King was born on January 15, 1929.  Typically, free tours are offered to the public of the inside. If you haven't had the chance to visit yet, hopefully, you will. Below is the grave of Pastor and Mrs. King, about 2 blocks from his birth home.

Then, Paul shared clips from when he participated in the 2005 Geography Bee School Round as a student at Julian.  The winning question included olive oil, which has been used for centuries as a means of anointing, and is used today in sacraments.

Above is a container of olive oil in Paul's home. Perhaps your family has it at home, too, for cooking or when eating bread.

Below is a photo Paul took of the blessed oils used for sacraments in our Church.

The Confirmation rite uses blessed and scented olive oil as a way of sealing the confirmand in the Holy Spirit.  Oil is also part of anointing in baptism, when the Holy Spirit first comes upon a person, just as it came upon Jesus at His Baptism, which we celebrated recently at the conclusion of the Christmas Season.

During the latter half of class, Father Rex addressed questions that were submitted in the Confirmation e-log.  One major point he emphasized is that God gives us the opportunity to cooperate in the works He has been doing in this world, and that's part of living out Confirmation.

Please note, for this Tuesday, January 19, there is a schedule change.  The calendar states we are meeting, but we are excusing everyone from class based on our understanding that there is a required meeting that same evening for 8th graders who are transitioning to OPRFHS in 2021.

January 19 is the due date for submitting a letter to the parish center to Father Rex requesting to be confirmed.

If you haven't yet received an e-mail with instructions for the letter, please contact the RE office as soon as possible, as the office might be missing something in your Confirmation e-log.

Please also register for a time slot for confession on February 2 on this sign-up page. 

We resume class on January 26. We'll spend some time on Confirmation and confession, too.

The letter to Father Rex requesting Confirmation is due at the Ascension Parish Center on January 19.

During the week leading up to January 26, the activity to do is to spend some time learning a little bit more about the significance of Confirmation.

There are three options:

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

3. Read this article that Bishop Barron wrote about Confirmation, or watch the video version of it--about 10 minutes long.

Submit a reflection of at least 2 sentences on what you learned from what you watched or read in this Survey Monkey form.  Please also state which option you chose.  This submission is due by class time on January 26.

As an in-depth option, do two or more of the above options and submit a 2-sentence reflection.

As usual, please feel free to contact us with questions, for clarifications, etc.

Enjoy the extended weekend, and may it be an opportunity for you to ponder how to put faith in action in the spirit of Pastor Martin Luther King, Jr.

God's Blessings,

Debbie Lopez

Paul Rubio

January 5 Class Update: Christmas Season and Confirmation

Greetings 8th Graders (and Parents)!

We thank you for the effort you made to attend class this past Tuesday during a week of break.

Merry Christmas to you all as we continue through the final days of the Christmas Season.  We started this special season on December 25, when we celebrated the birth of Christ.  There have been other feasts when we recall the ways God has manifested, or shown, Himself to us: the Feast of the Holy Family on December 27; the Feast of Mary, Mother of God on January 1; and the Epiphany, observed throughout the USA on January 3, and in other parts of the world on January 6.

We spent time in our most recent class on the Good News of Christmas, which was announced by the Angel to shepherds near Bethlehem.  God has entered our world, born as a baby, to redeem us, and restore us to right relationship with God.  Now that Christ is God with us, He is so close to us, and accompanies us always, through the Holy Spirit.

He shines a bright Light into the darkness of the world.  We draw close to that Light, just as Magi traveled a long distance, following the light of a sign in the Heavens, to worship the Christ Child. We are called to embrace that Light, and be transformed by it, so we can bring it to others.

Paul illustrated these ideas through various photos from his childhood years.

One significant passage that talks about the meaning of God among us in Christ is found in John 1:1-18.  We looked at verse 14 specifically.

We viewed two YouTube videos of songs during class, "Christmas Angels" by Michael W. Smith, and "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day", performed by the Christian musical group Casting Crowns, which is slightly different from other performances in the arrangement of the lyrics.  Here's a link to the version we watched with the lyrics, and another version that shows its live performance.

The song was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in a difficult time in his life in the 1860's, when there was war in the United States, which affected him personally.  Here's a link to read more about the story behind "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day", which truly speaks powerfully about the Good News of Christmas.

Looking ahead, the Christmas Season ends this Sunday, January 10, with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, another way in which God revealed Himself to us in the world.  We'll spend some time on the meaning of this Feast in our next class on January 12, and also spend time on the significance of Confirmation, too.  We are just about a month away from Confirmation on February 6, and the classes during this month will have that as a point of focus.

For this week's activity, please spend some time reflecting on the meaning of the Christmas Season in one of the following activities:

1. Read the Prologue in John 1:1-18, online or in a print Bible, and write a reflection on it.

2. Watch any one of the video reflections from the Archdiocese of Chicago for the 12 Days of Christmas and write a 1-sentence reflection on it.  This link goes to a playlist with all of them.  As an in-depth bonus option, you may watch all of them.

3. Listen to any one song in this YouTube video collection of Christmas songs and write a 1-sentence reflection on it.  You can look at the list of songs in the description, and then click on the link to go directly to that song.  As an in-depth bonus option, you may watch all of them.

4. Read the PDF file with a Bible commentary sent via e-mail to your parents and write a 1-sentence reflection on it.  We can send it to you again if needed.

Submissions can be entered in this Google form.  Even if you've already completed the minimum 5 faith boosters, please still submit a reflection for one of these activities.

All those who completed their Confirmation e-log should receive an e-mail this week from the RE office with information on writing a letter to Father Rex about why you want to be confirmed.  The letter is due January 19.  If you haven't received anything yet, it is likely because there is something missing in your Confirmation e-log.  Please contact us and we can check what, if anything, you might be missing.

Please feel free to contact us with any other questions, clarifications, etc.

Let us continue to rejoice in the God Who has come so close to us in Christ.

Joy to the world!

Come let us adore Him!

God's Blessings,

Debbie Lopez

Paul Rubio

Above is the beautiful Nativity scene inside Ascension Church. Below is a view of the Saturn-Jupiter conjunction, in a photo from December 20, 2020, right by the Oak Park Conservatory.  The conjunction appears as a white dot just above and to the right of the tree near the center of the photo.