It was truly a blessing to be part of Confirmation last weekend, and, even in the midst of pandemic, to see God mightily at work as you professed your faith and were sealed in the Holy Spirit.
Recap of Last Class
In our class this past Tuesday, our opening prayer was the song "Receive the Power", which was the official song for 2008 World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia. Its lyrics speak about the power of the Holy Spirit that leads us to worship God and sends us to live as a light in the world.
Then, we had a special guest star, who is a TV star of sorts: We heard from Paul's friend Will Haenni, who studied meteorology at Valparaiso University in northwest Indiana and is currently a broadcast meteorologist for WWMT-CBS 3 TV in Kalamazoo, MI. He talked about how much of a positive impact being part of a church community has had on him throughout his life, especially during college and post-college years. He encouraged everyone to start each day with 10 minutes of prayer, taking time to volunteer in service, and show a positive attitude and kindness in every situation.
Paul then shared the story about Belong Designs, a Colorado-based apparel company his cousin Mark co-founded. Their slogan is "When you follow your passion, you find where you belong." This slogan is part of their mission, which has driven their product from its start back in 2013.
In some respects, this slogan speaks to the life of faith: God desires for us to be filled with passion for Him as we use the gifts and talents He's given us, and truly find that we belong to Him as a daughter or son of God and as part of the community of faith in the Church.
God has granted all of us in the church community the mission to live our faith and be a blessing by making Him known in the world.
The passage of 2 Timothy 1:6-14, which was our closing prayer, speaks richly about the call of God to guard the gift of faith He gives us through the power of the Holy Spirit.
We're going to spend the next few weeks learning more about how to live out our mission as baptized and confirmed people of faith.
Also during class, we touched briefly upon Lent, which starts on Ash Wednesday, February 17, in the coming week.
Many centuries ago, people preparing for initiation into the church went through a long preparation process, which culminated in an intensified 40-day period right before their baptism at the celebration of the Resurrection at Easter. We now observe this 40-day period as Lent.
Still to this day, those in the process of joining the church intensify their preparation during Lent.
For those of us already baptized, it's an opportunity for us to spend time growing more deeply in our relationship with God, so that we can be ready on Resurrection Sunday to proclaim our faith through the renewal of our baptismal promises, just like happened at Confirmation liturgies. Ultimately, the Death and Resurrection of Christ means something for us as we grow closer in relationship with Him, conforming ourselves more and more to be like Him.
Activity for this Week
Please take some time this week to think about a plan for how you'll observe Lent, through pray, fasting, and almsgiving.
Here is a sheet, in JPEG form, that you can use to sketch plans:
It was also sent to all your parents via e-mail in JPEG and PDF formats.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of suggestions for how to spend time growing closer to God during Lent:
Dynamic Catholic has the Best Lent Ever program. You can subscribe via e-mail and get a short video, usually under 5 minutes long, sent to you Monday-Saturday.
Relevant Radio offers Father Rocky's 40 Lenten Lessons on the Mass, which includes a short e-mail sent you to Monday-Saturday with an explanation of some part of the Mass. There is also an optional to listen to an audio version, and a short video version, too, which is new this year.
You can spend a little bit of time each day reading and reflecting on Scripture, including the Sunday Scriptures. You can find the readings for each day of the week on the USCCB Bible website. There is also an option for getting the readings sent to you via e-mail daily.
You can also think back upon some of the faith boosters you did in preparation for Confirmation and pick one that you liked to continue doing during Lent.
There isn't anything you have to submit, but please take time to think about what you'll do during Lent and how you'll make the most of it for God.
Looking Ahead
We'll spend some time on Lent and its practices at our next class on February 16.
**Please note that the original schedule doesn't include a class on that day, but we ARE meeting that evening at our usual time from 7-8 PM, to make up for being off on January 19, which was a scheduled date.**
As usual, please feel free to contact us with questions, for clarifications, etc.
We remain connected together as one Church, bound together in the Holy Spirit: All my relations.
God's blessings,
Debbie Lopez
Paul Rubio
The candles on the altar during Confirmation liturgies representing the 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit
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