The Paschal Candle in Church by the ambo
Recap of Last Class
During the Easter Season, we celebrate how Christ has made a way for us to Heaven, and how we can experience Heaven while on the way there, which gives us a new outlook on life. We heard about that in the story of Father Burke Masters, the chaplain for the Chicago Cubs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
We hope your daughter/son enjoyed hearing his story, even if s/he isn't a Cubs fan.
Indeed, by the Resurrection, the Real, Living Presence of Christ has come so close to us. One of the most powerful ways we experience the Risen Christ is in the Eucharist. While it is a great mystery of our faith, God makes Himself known through the offering of the Body and Blood of Christ.
No matter where we go in the world, Christ is offered in the same re-presentation of the Last Supper at every Mass.
One way to stay connected with Mass when you travel out of town is to find a Church using the Mass Times website.
Simply enter in a location and the search results will list nearby parishes and information on Mass and other offerings.
Paul shared a story he heard at a Lenten Mission in early March 2020, about a conversation a bishop had with a Muslim while the bishop was with a pilgrimage group in Israel. The Muslim asked three questions about the Eucharist, and here is a representation of the conversation.
How does the bread and wine become flesh and blood?
We eat food for nourishment so that we grow all throughout our lives--we certainly don't look the same as we did the day we were born. And when we eat food and drink liquids, we don't turn into the food and drink: Rather, they became flesh and blood within us. Similarly, the bread and wine became the flesh and blood of Christ.
How can the vast God fit into finite pieces of bread and a cup of wine?
You can view this screen by looking at it with just one eye, just as you can see it with both. The whole of the screen fits into one eye. Similarly, God can fit into small morsels.
How can God be present in multiple pieces of the consecrated host when broken?
This one post is read by multiple people, and the information from one person goes into multiple people's brains. So God is present in the multiple pieces of the broken consecrated host.
As we keep growing in relationship with God, we gain greater insight to better understand this mystery and all mysteries of our faith.
Activity for this Week
We provided these instructions at the end of class: Take an object that can serve as a reminder about faith and put it in some place where you will see it regularly this week. Stick a piece of paper by it that reads "Reminder about Faith" or something similar. You may also draw something that serves as a reminder about faith.
Please note that there isn't anything that needs to be submitted for this activity.
You are also welcome to participate in a service activity of creating notes for residents at Belmont Village. Please contact Paul for more details and a list of names. There are many residents on the list, and if we can get multiple students in class to participate, we could get notes to all of them.
Looking Ahead
We are going to meet for our final class of the Religious Education year on Tuesday, April 27, from 7-8 PM in Church.
All students are welcome to bring up to 4 family members. We ask parents to register ahead of time as part of our protocols for gathering in Church. The link for the registration form to get free tickets was sent via e-mail. Please contact us if you need the link again.
During our final class, we're going to spend time in reflection and prayer.
We're really looking forward to seeing you.
As usual, please feel free to contact us with questions, for any clarifications, etc.
We pray God's blessings and much Easter joy to you.
We remain connected as One Church:
All my relations,
Debbie Lopez
Paul Rubio
Additional Information
There was one exit slip question from a previous class:
Why did Jesus accept the fact that a lot of people still hate Him?
Because of sin, people turn away from God and
even oppose His work in the world.
Jesus came to do God’s work, and people weren’t willing to accept
Him. But Jesus remained obedient to the
Father, knowing that God’s power was greater than any opposition He would face.
Here are some additional links from what we did in class.
The opening music for class was the song "All Things New" by Steven Curtis Chapman.
It is based on the passage Revelation 21:1-5.
We listened to a short excerpt of the Newsboys song "God's Not Dead", which references a lion, the symbol for St. Mark, whose Gospel we're going through this year, and whose feast day is typically April 25.
The closing song was "Glory Bound" by Matt Maher.
This article tells about a Mass celebrated at the US-Mexico border a few years ago. It contains a powerful image of Bishop Kicanas distributing communion to someone through the border fence.
Here's a view of the sanctuary inside our Church from up in the dome.
Nestled in the fit pit are q-tips from Confirmation back in February, burned to create the fire for lighting the Paschal Candle on Holy Saturday.
