September 27, 2022, Class Update: Our Church Tour

Greetings everyone!

During our September 27 class, we went on a field trip to tour the church.

We started outside by the St. Francis Shrine.  I read Psalm 148, which talks about God's presence in nature, and then we prayerfully admired the nature around us.

Inside, we looked at the scenes and people depicted in the stained glass windows.  We then looked at the various altars, the ambo, the sacristy (with the church's best-kept secret), and the choir loft.

Toward the end of class, I also did a show-and-tell with incense as we rolled into our concluding prayer.  Psalm 141:2 says, "Let my prayer be incense before you."  This Psalm is part of the Evening Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours.

As part of our closing prayer, everyone wrote a specific prayer intention on a slip of paper.  For this week, keep that slip of paper someplace where you'll see it regularly and take one moment each day to offer up that prayer.  I will not collect that slip of paper for this activity, so it's for you and anyone you choose to share it with.

Looking ahead, we're going to look at our mission as people of faith in Christ.

One event I want to highlight for this weekend is the blessing of pets, which takes place close to the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.  You are welcome to bring your pet to Ascension at 11 AM on Saturday, October 1, for a blessing.  You're also welcome to come if you don't have a pet.  If you come, I will count this as an extra credit activity for class.  All extra credit activities are optional.

Another activity you can do this weekend is to purchase diapers or wipes for a collection that's taking place this weekend at all Masses.

As usual, please feel free to contact me with questions, etc.

God's blessings,
Paul

The view of the altar and the high altar inside Church

This window shows the scene of Christ, in the center pane, when He was about 12 years ago, in the Temple in Jerusalem.  His mother, Mary, in the left pane, appears in blue, as she discovers Him there.


P.S. In case you're wondering, the background image appearing at the top of this blog page shows the railroad tracks looking east from the back of a westbound Amtrak Southwest Chief train near Topock, AZ, close to the border between California and Arizona along the Colorado River.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

January 17, 2023, Class Update: Social Justice and Living Faith

Image
Greetings everyone! In our most recent class, we started by reflecting on the life and legacy of Pastor Martin Luther King, Jr. And we also reflected on what it means to be a disciple, a follower, of Jesus Christ. Then, we had a very special guest star join us, my uncle, Bernie Rupe.  He is the executive director of Chicago Voyagers , a not-for-profit organization that helps inner-city youth from troubled homes and neighborhoods by taking them on nature outings. My Uncle Bernie shared about what CV does in meeting the needs of the youth they serve.  He also discussed what social justice is. The big takeaway from class is that Christ has brought light into our world and into our lives.  We're called to share that Light with others. For this week, there is nothing to submit for the activity.  Instead, everyone got to take home two items: The first is a slip of paper with the traditional Epiphany household blessing: 20 + C + M + B + 23 Please tape it up somewhere to re...
Read more

Introduction and Welcome to the New RE Year

Image
Greetings Students and Families! I am Paul Rubio, the catechist-teacher for the combined grades 7 and 8 Religious Education (RE) class for the 2022-23 RE year on Tuesday evenings. I am excited to welcome you to this new year. I am a long-time Ascension parishioner, since about 2000, after attending St. Giles Family Mass Community for several years.  I attended Ascension’s RE program as a student during grades 7 and 8.  I am now starting my 10th year as a middle school RE teacher.  I am a lifelong Oak Parker, having lived here for 30 years, as of this coming November.  While growing up in Oak Park, I attended local public schools: I am  Irving   Class   of   2002 , Julian  Class   of  2005, and OPRFHS  Class   of  2009. I graduated in May 2016 with a Master's degree in Library and Information Science from Dominican University.  After working at the Oak Park Public Library for nearly ...
Read more

September 13, 2022: 1st Class Update: The Journey and the Ocean

Image
Greetings everyone! It was great to gather for our first class this past week. Thanks to Bill Wilson who's serving as our class aide while we wait for Gabby to join us as our aide, scheduled for next month. To recap, we gathered with all the other students in the Pine Room, and Mrs. Monaco led a prayer of blessing over our books.  Then, in our classroom, we had the chance to get to know one another. I played this music video of " Baba Yetu ", which is the Lord's Prayer in Swahili, which I heard at the Baccalaureate Service on the morning I graduated from college. One major point I emphasized is that even though God is mysterious and hard to take in, like the ocean, He reveals Himself to us in various ways so that we can get to know Him:  It's like He gives us floating devices so we can swim in the ocean.  I, as your catchiest, have the role of teaching you how to swim.   Throughout our journey, our faith helps us see how God is all around us, beyond our time at Ma...
Read more