Faith Formation Family News

March 26, 2014 CONTENTS:

* “The Little Ones” Cartoon *

1. No Faith Formation Sessions This Coming Sunday, March 30 2. Events at St. Gabriel’s

Adoration Chapel FAMILY Time (Tonight - Wednesday, March 26)

Perpetual Adoration at St. Gabriel’s

Catholic Relief Services Rice Bowl

3. How You Can Help Out at St. Gabriel’s 4. Prayer of the Week – A Parent’s Prayer for Sunday Morning (Short, but sweet!) 5. Articles for Parents from At Home with Our Faith

Mindfulness: Be Relentless

6. Cyber Safety for Our Children (NETSMARTZ) 7. Rediscover:Faith

How can I change my life for the better? 8. News from The Catholic Spirit

Including a review of the movie MUPPETS MOST WANTED

9. The Serenity Prayer Explained: A One-Minute Meditation 10. Videos With a Message

A Young Nun Wows Everyone on THE VOICE

(Fun to watch the entire episode!) Children with Down Syndrome Share an

INCREDIBLE Message

Bus Stop Heater (Comes on Only When You Hold Hands)

Prairie Churches

A Man Born Blind

And at the end of this email . . . .

Religious Humor

1. NO FAITH FORMATION THIS SUNDAY,

MARCH 30

No Sunday Morning Preschool and No Sunday Evening

Faith Formation this Weekend, due to Spring Break.

Our Faith Formation Sessions resume next Sunday, April 6.

Faith Formation Calendar for the upcoming

weeks:

March 30 NO SESSION – Spring Break

April 6 Sessions resume 13 Sessions Continue

2. EVENTS AT ST. GABRIEL’S

Adoration Chapel FAMILY TIME.

Tonight - Wednesday evening,

March 26.

Children are encouraged to bring their parents

and/or grandparents to FAMILY TIME in the St.

Joseph's Campus Adoration Chapel, next

Wednesday, March 26 from 7:15 - 7:45 pm for verbal

Prayers and Stories. (This is NOT Silent Adoration).

Two adults will lead the time with the children but

parents/grandparents are asked to stay. Future dates are: Thursday, April 3 and

Monday, April 7th. RSVP will help in planning seating, but otherwise, just come!

Contact Kathleen Esh-952-933-7610 or kmeyesh@yahoo.com

PERPETUAL EUCHARISTIC ADORATION

“The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who

encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set

free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness. With Christ

joy is constantly born anew.”

-Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium

Come encounter the peace and power of Christ. Jesus is

waiting for you! For more information or to register to adore our

Lord, call Barb at (952) 933-8423 or Roberta at (952) 9351774 or

email Roberta at rowheels@hotmail.com.

St. Gabriel’s Adoration Chapel is located at the St. Joseph campus, in the Rectory building (between the Church and School buildings) where the Parish Office used to be. It is open from 6am to 9pm

every day. You can come anytime within those hours, or you can sign up to come for a specific hour once a week. [Those who sign up for night time hours will be given key cards to enter securely.]

CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES RICE BOWL

All households are encouraged to incorporate the Rice

Bowl into your Lenten journey as a way to encounter

Jesus through others and make a difference in the lives of

the poor. Please pick up your Rice Bowl materials in the

back of the church. For more information you can visit

www.ob.crs.org. Rice Bowls may be returned to the

parish office following Lent. This week CRS Rice Bowl

invites us to enter into solidarity with the people of the

Philippines. We are encouraged to reflect on the

Catholic social teaching principle, options for the poor,

and reminded of Jesus’ words: “Whatever you did for the

least of mine, you did for me.” Let us pray this week for our brothers and sisters in

the Philippines and all around the world, that we see the face of Christ in the poor

among us.

3. HOW YOU CAN HELP OUT AT ST. GABRIEL’S

For This Friday Night’s Fish Fry (March 28) Contact Wade Dunkley at wgdunk@msn.com.

For Next Friday Night’s Soup Supper (April 4) Contact Kathleen Esh at.

ANNUAL SPRING TEA (Saturday, May 10)

Entertainment/Fellowship in the Social Hall at St. Joseph Campus

11:00am - 1:30pm

$7.00 Adults and $4.00 12 yrs and under.

Limited seating - Reservations are required. .

Volunteers are always welcome for set-up and serving – please call Janet at (952) 933-2085.

4. PRAYERS OF THE WEEK

A Parent’s Prayer for Sunday Morning

God, help us get ot church today

with minimal fuss and fighting,

with everyone dressed and ready to pray,

with all our bags packed, prepared for anything.

And if the kids get fussy and distracted,

please let there be a song to soothe them,

a colorful window to enchant them,

and kind pew mates to accept our flaws.

Amen.

Diana Macalintal, The Work of Your Hands

5. ARTICLES FOR PARENTS from

MINDFULNESS: BE RELENTLESS

Dealing with: How you can turn mindfulness into prayerfulness.

If you’re striving toward taking 10 minutes to start your day with prayer but aren’t quite

there yet, consider blending prayer into the more mundane aspects of your day, says

Mary DeTurris Poust in Everyday Divine: A Catholic Guide to Active Spirituality

(Penguin).

“Decide on one activity you’ll do with total mindfulness today,” she writes. “It can be a

mindful meal, a mindful cleaning project, or a mindful wait at the post office.” Poust

notes that we must be “relentless” about our mindfulness, not allowing a cell phone or

other distraction to worm its way in. She gives examples of how mindfulness becomes

prayerfulness:

Contemplative cooking: Think about where the ingredients came from and

the people involved in getting them for you. Pray silently as you chop vegetables or

stir soup.

Driving: Don’t turn on the radio. Notice the world around you; pray for those in cars

around you. While stopped, pray for the intentions of loved ones.

Walking: Be attentive to where you are walking, the weather, your breath. If you

are downtown on a lunch hour, look at the buildings you normally rush past.

By Annemarie Scobey, from the pages of At Home with Our Faith, Claretian Publications’ print newsletter for parents on nurturing spirituality in the home. Winner of the Best in Class award in 2013 from the Associated Church Press, as well as a First Place General Excellence award from the Catholic Press Association for the past four years running.

6. CYBERSAFETY FOR OUR CHILDREN

NETSMARTZ Our Archdiocese requires that each parish train their children to protect themselves from all varieties of potential harm (in addition to teaching our staffs, employees, volunteers and parents the same concepts). With the rapid development of technology, new strategies for safety need to developed just as quickly. In this Newsletter, I will be giving parents some of the latest information available on Cyber Safety, to help us all keep up with what is current.

NETSMARTZ is a source for all kinds of Safe Environment information for parents,

children, teens, educators, and MORE. It is sponsored by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Check out their website for all the latest creative ways you as a parent can teach safety to your child. Here is the link: http://www.netsmartz.org/Parents

7. REDISCOVER:

FAITH

Want to learn more about

your faith?

Check out http://rediscover-faith.org/ for their large collection of answers to questions of importance to all of us.

For example, here’s a 3:13-minute video answer to the question:

How can I change my life for the better? http://rediscover.archspm.org/strength-freedom-peace/topic.php?id=7036

8. NEWS FROM

The March 21 edition:

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?ca=e6e3b36a-1c27-45df-8dd9-a7d78d09f0a9&c=80b5cc70-35a9-11e3-bb5c-d4ae52843aae&ch=8254af60-35a9-11e3-bb78-d4ae52843aae

9. SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE: A One-

Minute Meditation

Thought for the Day

Let us consider the term "spiritual experience" as given in Appendix II of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous. A spiritual experience is something that brings about a personality change. By surrendering our lives to God, we are changed. The nature of this change is evident in recovered alcoholics, and can be seen in the life of anyone who puts effort into following the will of God. This personality change is not necessarily in the nature of a sudden and spectacular upheaval. We do not need to acquire an immediate and overwhelming "God-consciousness," followed at once by a vast change in feeling and outlook. In most cases, the change is gradual.

Do I see a gradual and continuing change in myself?

Meditation for the Day

"Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." For rest from the care of life, you can turn to God each day in prayer and communion. Real relaxation and serenity come from a deep sense of the fundamental goodness of the universe. God's everlasting arms are underneath all and will support you. Commune

with God, not so much for petitions to be granted as for the rest that comes from relying on His will and His purposes for your life. Be sure of God's strength available to you, be conscious of His support, and wait quietly until that true rest from God fills your being.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may be conscious of God's support today. I pray that I may rest safe and sure therein.

You are reading an adaptation from the Hazelden book:

Twenty-Four Hours a Day By Anonymous

10. VIDEOS WITH A MESSAGE

Young Nun Wows Everyone on THE VOICE! Sr. Cristina Scuccia is a 25-year-old member of the Ursuline Sisters of the Holy Family who has appeared on Italian version of "The Voice." Listen as she sends up the Alicia Keys song “NO ONE” with great spirit! In her conversation with the judges following her audition, she gives a wonderful witness to God who gave her her voice and her talent! To see the subtitles, click on the cc button at the bottom right of the YouTube Screen. Here is the entire 8:20-minute episode:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/20/nun-italy-the-voice_n_5002937.html

Children With Down Syndrome Share an INCREDIBLE Message An expectant mother was afraid when she learned that the baby she was carrying had Down Syndrome. She wanted to know what she could expect from her baby.

THIS is the beautiful response you've got to see and hear. Watch the 2:29-minute video here: Right mom?

Bus Stop Heater Comes On Only If You Hold Hands At an outdoor bus shelter in Montreal strangers have been holding hands this winter so they can keep warm. Duracell installed battery operated heaters that rely on the human body's ability to transmit an electrical current. They shot a video capturing the reactions of cold pedestrians when the heat comes on after completing the battery connection through their hands. Check it out the 1-minute video at Bus

Stop Heater.

Prairie Churches If you have a spare hour over Spring Break, this 57-minute video will be worth the watch. It showcases the diverse history and architectural traditions represented by 117 churches throughout Manitoba, Saskatchewan, North Dakota and Minnesota. Prairie Public's video crew filmed prairie spires, onion domes, and steeples through four seasons. "Prairie Churches" explores the role churches have in sustaining the history and culture of the vanishing rural landscape of the prairie. Often the first community structure to be built and the last to close its doors, these landmarks represent the hopes and dreams of early settlers and the congregations that currently occupy them. This is an our program about the faith of the people who built these churches. Watch Prairie Churches.

A MAN BORN BLIND (A “between Sundays” reflection from THE FIVE LOAVES.)

4th Sunday of Lent

Jesus Heals the Man Born Blind

- John 9:1-41

Jesus gives sight to the man blind from birth and in the process, also gives him the spiritual insight to know in faith that he is from God. Unlike the Pharisees who not only doubt Jesus’ power to heal but also his identity, the Gospel writer, John, wants his late-

first century community to believe that the risen Christ is in their midst. Throughout our lives there are times when we need the gift of spiritual insight, of wisdom, to know a path we must take or how to respond in faith. We need the Holy Spirit’s counsel, and regular time studying the scriptures to trust that God walks with us in all things. Open my eyes, Lord.

You can watch the 7:40 minute video here: http://www.thefiveloaves.com/

[The video changes each week, in preparation for the upcoming Sunday’s readings. In order to

see this particular video AFTER this Sunday, click the Playlist tab to view videos from previous

weeks.]

And at the end of this email . . . .

RELIGIOUS HUMOR (Good Clean Jokes)