February 23-March 2 Class Update

Greetings Everyone!

Recap of Last Class

In our most recent class, our opening prayer was an African-American spiritual, "Lift Every Voice and Sing", which is regarded as the Black National Anthem.

We spent much of our class time with our two special guests, Dan and Ann Ruggaber.  They are a retired couple Paul got to know at St. Teresa's church during his college years.

They drew from their life experiences and shared their perspectives on faith.

One major take-away that Ann mentioned is that in Confirmation, we receive a great gift from God, and we are called to give of ourselves by getting involved in the life of church in a way that God calls us to, and be a blessing to others.  Now is a great time to explore what ways you can get involved.

Also during our class, we touched upon an important part of Lent, especially in the readings for Sunday Mass: covenant.  Ever since our good relationship was broken by sin, God has sought to reconcile us.  He did so through a series of covenants, which we hear about in the Sunday Mass readings, culminating in Jesus Christ, Who reconciled us to God by His Death and Resurrection, the Paschal Mystery.  Reconciliation is a big theme in the 2nd reading for Ash Wednesday Mass, 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2, which speaks powerfully about how now is the time to seek after God.  This passage was our closing prayer in class.

As mentioned before, Lent started centuries ago as an intensified period of preparation for those who were planning to be initiated into the Church, and remains so to this day.  For those of us already baptized, it's an opportunity for us to better understand what it means to be in relationship with God and how we can grow in it more deeply.

Activity for this Week

Here are several options for an activity to do during this week.  We hope that this activity will help you continue growing deeper in relationship with God, building upon the foundation laid in baptism and confirmation as we continue in this Lenten season.

Please submit a short reflection of at least 2 sentences at this link.  Submissions are due by class time on March 2.

1. Spend some time reflecting on the idea of covenant in the readings for Sunday Mass.

Here are some options based on the Year B readings, which we're doing this year:

Genesis 9:1-17

Genesis 22:1-18

Exodus 20:1-17

2 Chronicles 35:14-16, and 19-23

Jeremiah 31:31-34

There are other options available for Years A and C.  Please feel free to contact us if you want help looking up those options.

2. Watch one of the videos for Best Lent Ever and write a short reflection on what stood out to you in any of the videos.  All videos, for the current day and past days, are available for viewing at this link.

3. The booklet "Words for the Weary" was distributed to all RE families. Write a short reflection on any of the reflections in the booklet.  If you haven't gotten one, they should still be available to pick-up in Church.

4. In-depth option: Watch Lenten Vespers, about 30 minutes, from the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, offered every Sunday of Lent at 3 PM CT.  You can view it on this webpage, where the video will be available live on Sunday afternoon, and a program is included so you can follow along.

It is also available for viewing live or archived afterward on the Shrine's YouTube channel.

5. In-depth option: Friday, February 26, is a Jewish holiday called Purim, which celebrates how God delivered His Chosen People from destruction through Esther.  Spend some time this week reading the book of Esther and reflect on what stood out to you.  You can read this book in one sitting, but you're also welcome to read the book over multiple days.

Looking Ahead

We're scheduled to have Father Bob join us in class this coming Tuesday, March 2.

And we'll continue exploring Lent and what it means for our lives in faith.

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

We remain connected as one Church:

All my relations,

God's blessings,

Debbie Lopez and Paul Rubio

Above and below are photos Paul took on the morning of Sunday, October 4, at the time of sunrise while traveling by train through the Arizona desert near Petrified Forest National Park.

Remember, even in deserts, places that are dry, there are signs of life.  Even in our penitential desert time of Lent, God is at work, working great wonders.