Ascension Church Tuesday Grades 7/8 Religious Education

Greetings everyone! The fully lit Advent wreath inside Ascension Church In our most recent class, nearing the celebration of Christ's Birth on Christmas Day, we took a closer look at Old Testament prophecies about the coming of the Messiah, which are specifically listed below my signature. Just as we wait for so many things throughout our livers, so the people of Israel waited for a long time for the coming of the Messiah, the Anointed One Who is our Savior. We are off from class on December 27 and January 3. During our break, as the Church, we will celebrate the Christmas Season, extending from Christmas Day, December 25, 2022, until January 9, 2023.  There are several feasts during this season, including Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord, each of which is a celebration of how God revealed Himself to us through Christ.   We resume class on January 10, and the plan is to take a closer look at the revelations celebrated in those feasts. At the end of class this week, ev...

Advent Greetings Everyone! When we met this past Tuesday, we spent a little bit of time in class focusing on topics of Advent and Christmas, including special feasts that happen in December, like the joyful meaning of Gaudete Sunday (the Third Sunday of Advent), the Feast of La Virgen de Guadalupe, and the Feast of St. Lucy/Lucia. Then we went to the annual Religious Education Pageant. We meet once more, on December 20, before we go on break. The weekly activity is listening to an Advent Inspiration from Relevant Radio. These are 1-minute soundbites with a variety of topics about Advent and Christmas Seasons. Go to this link and play any of the soundbites. Then, in the form at this link , submit a reflection of at least 1 sentence about what stood out to you. This activity is due by class time on December 20. If you listen to all the soundbites, you can get extra credit.  If you choose this option, note that in your submission and then, in your reflection, share which one you like...

Advent Greetings Everyone! In our most recent class, we started class with Mary, the Blessed Mother, with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception this week on December 8. Next, I took time to share my story of faith in my life. Then, we considered Bishop Barron's insights into why God allows suffering, with a short clip from  this homily  by Bishop Barron in which he discusses why there is suffering in this world that God created.  From about 8:00-11:40, he tells a story about his dog when he was growing up.  It's a great story, and, parents, it's well worth your time to listen to the story in that segment. And then we learned more about the Trinity, which is the subject of chapter 6 in the green book, Christ Reveals God's Mystery. In celebration of the very special Feast day this week, the weekly activity is an opportunity for you to explore the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, in Washington, D.C.  (I highly recommend visiting there ...

Advent Greetings everyone! Happy New (Liturgical) Year! The Advent wreath inside Ascension Church, with the first candle lit In our most recent class, we celebrated and learned more about Advent, the start of this new liturgical year. At the start of class, everyone created a hand turkey as a way for us to continue giving thanks to God for all His gifts to us, as we are called to live a lifestyle of thanksgiving day after day. We also spent a little bit of time on St. Mother Katharine Drexel. And we continued learning about the Eucharist, by looking more closely at the words of the Eucharistic Prayer II, and then I shared a story about a bishop who used some analogies to explain the mystery of the Eucharist. Thanks to those of you who submitted your donations for our class Christmas Angel project. If you haven't already, you have until December 6 to submit your minimum donation of $5.  Please remember you can't just ask your parents, or other relatives, for the money.  You may...

Greetings everyone! It was great to be back in class with you again. We spent some time remembering those we know who have passed on from this life, which is customary to do during the month of November as we reach the end of the liturgical year. I'm glad that I had the chance to incorporate the celebration of 100 years since my Grandpa José's birth during class time, and it certainly seems like you enjoyed the pan dulce. I also took some time to address some of your questions from previous classes, and it's good that you are all thinking deeply about questions pertaining to faith. In the spirit of remembrance, we shifted focus toward the end of class on the Eucharist, when we remember and re-present the sacrifice of Christ and encounter His living presence. We are off from class on November 22, and we resume on November 29. Our class is going to make a contribution to this year's parish-wide Christmas Angel project. We agreed each student in our class will contribute a...

Greetings everyone! While I was absent from our most recent class on November 8, I had the chance to speak with Matt Goto, the substitute teacher.  It sounds like you all had an interesting class and posed some good questions about the existence of God, which is the focus of chapter 5 "Divine Activity" in the green book Christ Reveals God's Mystery. Through our senses and intellectual abilities, we come to see how God reveals Himself in the world around us, and through His work in salvation history, especially in the covenants, by which He brings us into relationship with Himself. Thank you, Matt, for substituting while I was doing the incredible work of serving the community at a polling place on Election Day. As a reminder, there is a Scripture reflection activity due by class time on November 15. Visit  this link  with the Scripture readings calendar on the USCCB website and pick any Scripture passage for any day of the week.  (Please note the psalms are written i...

Greetings everyone! In our last class, we explored Scripture, the subject of chapter 3 in the green book Christ Reveals God's Mystery :  The Bible is a canon, or collection, of books.  The author of each book was inspired by the Holy Spirit.  And the Holy Spirit guided the church leaders centuries ago in compiling the collection of books that we have as our Bible today. We also watched a couple of videos that speak about faith and sports, with gymnast Grace McCallum and Cubs chaplain Father Burke Masters.  If you want to watch them again, the links are below my signature. I hope you also enjoyed the treats I brought in celebration of my Grandma's birthday. For the weekly activity, please take time to reflect on Scripture. Visit this link  with the Scripture readings calendar on the USCCB website and pick any Scripture passage for any day of the week.  (Please note the psalms are written in a responsorial form, so it's a different format than the other readi...