What’s a ‘Scapular’?
This small piece of cloth hung around your neck really does mean something. It’s a call to remember who you are, a child of God and much loved, a disciple of Jesus and the need to pray.
This is a long-standing Marian devotion. Long ago, Mary appeared to St. Simon Stock and gave him a ‘scapular.’ St. Simon was a Carmelite. Men went to the well of Elijah on the top of Mt. Carmel to pray. They were called hermits and lived in community. People saw their devotion and wanted to be like them. They received scapulars from the Carmelites to wear, too. Over time, they became smaller. In a ceremony, our Pastor blessed the scapulars and put them over the heads of students and their teachers. They promised to try to be a disciple like Mary, follow Jesus and ask Mary for help. They would say the Morning Prayer and at least 1 Hail Mary a day with the approval of our priest. The challenge would be for the kids to say 3 Hail Marys a day! Of course, adults can pray a rosary every day.
Our Lady said to St. Simon Stock, a Carmelite
“Take this Scapular, it shall be a sign of salvation, a protection in danger and a pledge of peace. Whosoever dies wearing this Scapular shall not suffer eternal fire,” and, “Wear it devoutly and perseveringly. It is my garment. To be clothed in it means you are continually thinking of me, and I in turn, am always thinking of you and helping you to secure eternal life.”
Conditions:
1) Wear the scapular at all times
2) Be chaste according to your state of life (married or single)
3) Do an action showing devotion to Our Lady
a)Pray the Hail Mary
b)Pray the Morning Offering
Morning Prayer
O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world. I offer them for the intentions of Your Sacred Heart: Reparation for sin,
the salvation of souls, and the reunion of all Christians. I offer them for the intentions of our bishops and especially those of our Holy Father this month.
Amen
Aha! Do I get it? Did I see it? Hmmm
Happy new year! We just celebrated some awesome days in the Church: The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas), New Year’s Day/Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, and the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Listen to Fr. DiTomo’s homily for the Feast of the Epiphany by clicking here: http://tinyurl.com/zuu9tro. Become a follower on Sound Cloud!
It’s officially Ordinary Time, but there is nothing ordinary about it! This is the time of regular watering of our faith as we journey toward Lent and the Resurrection.
Our Faith Formation students have been asked to decide on their faith projects, keep coming to classes, complete their lessons, serve at the Family Mass and Dinner, challenged to pray every day during Advent and now look for the ‘sign’ or ‘Epiphany’ in their lives like the star that the Magi followed to find Jesus. Opening the Word has been about the gifts we bring to Jesus and offer the Church community as well as the ‘ordinary’ gifts we bring to the altar during Mass. I used my Morning Prayer to discuss what my ‘offerings’ are every day regardless of the season. I had a gift bag with ‘signs and sayings’ as props.
O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
I offer You my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world. 
I offer them for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart: the salvation of souls, reparation for sin, and the reunion of all Christians. I offer them for the intentions of our bishops and of all Apostles of Prayer, and especially those of the Holy Father this month. Amen.
Donna’s Morning Prayer
(adapted from the Daily Offering of the Apostleship of Prayer)
We talked about what we can offer Jesus as a gift even if we don’t have gold (king), frankincense (God) or myrrh (man). We offer our big and little prayers, works, joys and even our sufferings and tears to Jesus. Just like the bread and wine we bring to the altar during Mass, Jesus takes them and transforms them into something good, better, beautiful and extraordinary. We ask the Holy Spirit to transform US. I ask that you remind your children that we come bearing gifts following the Light of the World who came to save us. We find him in the Mass!
We talked about the difference between the baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist and the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. How we may have gone swimming and tried to see how long we could hold our breath. The people who came to John the Baptist to be baptized were only baptized with water. They went under and came back up breathing in new life. They made confessions of their sins and shortcomings and committed to do better and be better.
John the Baptist warned them that someone was coming ‘greater than I’. Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit. There was a sign of the dove who descended upon Jesus and the words of God, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” And this is echoed during the Transfiguration when God adds, “Listen to Him.”
During the past season and through these Feasts and Solemnities, we ‘see’ there were many signs: Angels, dreams, stars, and then the dove. How does God appear or reveal (epiphany) Himself in our lives? It’s a great discussion and can change the way you see others and the world.
Every week during Opening the Word in Church at the beginning of class they are asked to practice the 4-step prayer. (Say hi, talk about your day, ask for help and say thank you!) Ask them if they remember it! Prayer is a conversation. A student asked why we would tell Jesus about our day or week if he already knows. I said that we often talk to our friends about something that we were both at. Our friends already know what we did and what happened but we talk about it anyway. Reminisce about the meaningful parts, laugh at the silly parts and tear up at the sad ones. Jesus wants us to talk with him and help us carry our burdens. That’s what friends are for. That’s what a Savior is for. Jesus said he would make our burdens light!
Many blessings in the new year, Donna
Where Faith and Legos Meet
Fr. Leopold is the world’s smallest priest!
Have you heard that you can get a Legos Mass set? You can even change Fr. Leopold’s vestments for the liturgical seasons! This is a fun way to ‘practice’ Mass. Too simple for you? Are you to ‘big’ for a set with only 174 pieces?
Last year, a priest displayed a pretty impressive Lego project at the Franklin Institute in Pennsylvania.
About 500,000 Legos later, Fr. Bob Simon had created a replica of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican in honor of Pope Francis’ visit. It is 14’ x 6’ feet and took more than 10 months to create. He said it was a prayerful experience to build.
Another fun fact: He tried to create St. Peter’s Basilica when he was 7 years old and was sure he wanted to be a priest then, too!
According to Fortune and Wired, it would cost about $50,000 to make!
How many Legos do you have? Can you ‘build’ your faith? What would it look like?
The Ark Encounter
In the news:
They actually built the boat! It’s a 510 foot-long wooden ark that is in a theme park in Kentucky!
Also:
Mosaics depicting prominent Bible scenes were uncovered during annual excavations of an ancient synagogue in Israel’s Lower Galilee.
Check that Bible story out in Genesis Chapters 6-9!
A Workout
This is the greatest Commandment according to Luke!
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” “But who is my neighbor?” (Lk 10:25-37)
Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan. The Good Samaritan didn’t know the injured man on the road. He wasn’t from the same country or tribe. He wasn’t from the same faith. But he still helped him. So who was a good neighbor? The one who treated the injured 
man with mercy. He cleaned his wounds, picked him up and took him to a place that would help him. He even paid for his healthcare.
A good parable to talk about during the Year of Mercy!
How will you get your spiritual workout? We all could use a little help and a little mercy! So be a neighbor to everyone around you! Stay strong!
My Light Saber
A priest who makes his own light saber? You betcha. And soon he will be a bishop!
Deep in the heart of Texas, a campus chaplain is busy making his final spiritual and practical preparations for becoming a bishop. However, unlike many of his soon-to-be brother-bishops, Fr. David Konderla is carving his very own staff – or crosier – to signify his new position and duty as a teacher and head of a diocese.
“Every Jedi has not completed his training until he’s made his own light saber that he uses to fight evil with – so this is my light saber,” Bishop-elect David Konderla told CNA in an interview.
You probably never thought of a priest or a bishop as a Jedi. And you probably never thought that they would need a light saber although they do fight evil. For Fr. Konderla it’s a symbol of his role as a bishop. How does he make a crosier? What does it stand for?
A crosier is a hooked staff – based on the shape of a shepherd’s staff – carried by bishops in the Catholic Church to symbolize their pastoral function in the Church. Other important symbols of a bishop’s position are the pectoral cross worn on a bishop’s chest, the mitre- or hat, and the episcopal ring.
Fr. Konderla saved wood from trees that were taken down to build a parish center. “I was able to incorporate some of that wood into this crosier so it will have that special meaning.”
The crosier has a bottom section that is detachable so that you can travel with it. The hook is a little trickier to make. Fr. Konderla takes thinly-sliced strips of wood that are softened with steam from a kettle on his stovetop. After they soften, he quickly bends them around a form and lets them cool. Then they can be glued together to form an “ugly” square piece of wood that is whittled and smoothed until it takes the form of a hook. He will use different woods in the same process to make three rings of wood that he sees as “representing the trinity.” Then the staff will be stained and polished.
Fr. Konderla and his brother, a jeweler, are working together to design and make a ring based on St. Pope John Paul II’s fisherman’s ring. The ring includes gold from their mother’s wedding ring and incorporates his devotions to the Sacred Heart, Divine Mercy and Mary.
Fr. Konderla said that this project of creating the crosier and ring are reflecting the beauty that God creates in the world. “Art is expressive of the divine,” and woodwork in particular is an art form that must respect God’s own beautiful creations, he said. He will be setting up his workshop in his new garage as a bishop!
Everything in our Church has meaning from the stained glass to the vestments that the Priest wears. Our homes say a lot about us from the colors we like to the style of furniture. We wear different styles of clothing or jewelry. Do you have your Grandmother’s favorite teapot? Maybe something that belonged to your great-grandparents? As Christians, we all choose how we show our faith. I wear a cross and a few Saint medals. I have crosses in my home and religious pictures among the many of family or art that I have created. I also have treasures that have been handed down in my family. All of those are carried with me like the bishop’s crosier. They ‘shepherd’ and guide me through life just like the shepherd’s staff. Our challenge is to be good shepherds to those around us.
Here are some staffs from our popes:
Pope Francis looks pretty serious here as he listens intently. He has asked us to show mercy to each other, especially our families and listen to the poor. He wants us to make a difference in the world around us!
Pope Benedict XVI is smiling! 
Out of This World
Check out this article about astronauts who take their faith into space and even take Communion with them! Full CNS Article
Here are some excerpts:
“When you see the Earth from that vantage point and see all the natural beauty that exists, it’s hard not to sit there and realize there has to be a higher power that has made this,” said Hopkins, who is Catholic.
Astronaut Mike Good, a member of St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Nassau Bay, Texas, near NASA’s Johnson Space Center, and a veteran of two space flights, spent about 12 days on each of his missions aboard the space shuttle. Taking Communion into space, he said, was not as imperative.
“It just makes it so obvious that God created this beautiful place. The word awe just comes to mind. … And looking out into space, it’s just a clear view. The stars don’t twinkle. It’s like a high definition 3-D TV. You look out into space and feel very small.”
Good, a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, expects that when the moment of launch comes, there’s a feeling of connection with God or a higher power among just about everyone heading to space.
Among the things Massimino took on his first flight was a Vatican City flag, which he later gave to St. John Paul II. On his second flight, he took a prayer card depicting Pope Benedict XVI, which he gave to the pontiff.
Hopkins, Good and Massimino took mementos, including religious items, from their schools, parishes and friends into space.
To keep astronauts’ spirits high, NASA arranges for occasional calls with celebrities on flights and asks each astronaut with whom they might like to talk. Vande Hei, who holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from St. John’s University in Minnesota, said he suggested Pope Francis.
His request may not be outside the realm of possibility. Pope Benedict communicated with the crew aboard the ISS in May 2011 in a 20-minute conversation.
It’s a Great Catch
What’s for breakfast?
This week’s Gospel is one of my favorite stories about Jesus in the Bible. One reason is obvious. Jesus rose from the dead and appears to the Apostles and disciples numerous times proving that he definitely has risen.
Talking to kids and teens at classes this week, I talked about what this story says to me about not only Jesus, but myself. What does God want us to know about him?
As I began the story with Peter and the disciples in the boat approaching shore, a couple of things came to mind that I may not have thought about before!
A night of exhaustion and discouragement for disciples that are reeling from the loss of their rabbi leads to an extraordinary event. A man they don’t recognize who seems to taunt them by highlighting their failure to catch any fish asks them if they caught anything to eat. Then he says, “Throw your net over the right side of the boat.”
I asked the kids and teens if they thought fish slept. Have they ever gone fishing? Maybe half had said that they had been fishing. I recalled all of the times that I fished with my Dad and brother who are quite expert and experienced with this pastime. I have eaten all kinds of caught fish that have been cleaned and descaled. Yuck! Many times, I would hear stories of how the fish were congregating in just a few areas on the lake. A good fisherman knows where those prime spots are.
Of course, fish don’t sleep. The kids thought that idea was funny. Peter and his friends had worked all night by the light of the moon. This was their job, their livelihood. How discouraging and exhausting it must have been to arrive at shore with nothing to show for it!
I could identify with the experience of failure. And there was nothing for breakfast. They didn’t catch anything. They would go home hungry.
The man on the shore says to throw your net over the right side. Did they believe him? How many times have I known that God is asking me to keep going and to try again? So they did it. They tried another time. I wondered aloud why Jesus said to put the net over the right side. Had they been fishing on the left side? Why? I asked the teens if they realized that ‘right’ has two meanings. It could mean the direction or correct. Had they been fishing on the wrong side? Was the right side the right way to fish? Was Jesus telling us that we have tried over and over again to do it our way? Maybe we should try it his way now. The Priest at our Family Mass talked about how we need to follow God’s will.
Jesus promises that if we throw out our ‘net’ like he asks, we may find a net that’s overflowing. As the kids guessed at what happens next, they thought the net would break. The net doesn’t tear or break under the weight of 153 large fish. We often think we won’t be able to do it. We think that our net will break or we don’t have the best ‘net’ for the task. God promises to strengthen our net. If we trust him, he will help us.
So Peter and the disciples find out that if they try again, their efforts will pay off. They recognize Jesus in this miracle. He then offers to make them breakfast!
So as I ended our reflection, I asked the kids to give me three things they learned from this story, I explained why I thought the breakfast was the best part.
Jesus is waiting on shore to make you breakfast. I asked about the meal that he wants to give us now. Among their guesses was the revelation of the Eucharist that we receive during the Mass. I pointed to the altar table. We are invited to this table for a meal that Jesus has prepared for us. Are we coming to the table? Jesus gives us himself in this extraordinary bread at every Mass. He’s hoping that after our long journey out in the world doing the things we need to do. that he asks us to do, we will get the nourishment that we need.
Why would we miss it?
Stay tuned for more………
My little dove…
The dove of peace I hold in my hands…
We hold our faith like that little bird, like a baby swaddled, tender and mild.
He holds us in his hands
We hold others in our hands
Give til it hurts?
What do you have?
Sometimes God is asking so much of us. It might be like the widow who uses the last of her flour and oil to feed Elijah. Or the widow who puts her last 2 cents in the collection basket. It is really hard to put that much trust in God. We need to trust that God will give us everything we need. That happened for the widow Elijah met. She had enough flour and oil to eat for a year!
Think about the Our Father the next time you say it. Do you trust that you will have daily bread? What can you donate that someone else really needs?
Based on Scriptures for Sunday, November 8, 2015
TACKLE 