Religious Education - Children
Catechist BlogWhat is your Election Plan?
Do you have a plan on where and how you will vote in upcoming November 2 General Election? The St. Francis of Assisi parish VOICE ministry has already sponsored a successful Voter Registration campaign on the weekend of September 25/26 - and now it is time to "Get...
Welcoming the Children
Yesterday at the 9:30 a.m. Sunday Mass I heard the voices of children. I love to hear them calling out during Mass even during my homily. It is always a sign to me that our parish is alive when we hear the voices and cries of the children. We always want to make...
Migrants and Refugees
“Towards an Ever Wider ‘We’ ” Catholics have been observing the World Day of Migrants and Refugees since 1914, each year recognizing the vulnerability of displaced persons, while embracing the opportunities that arise when migrants and refugees are supported in their...
Season of Creation – Amazonia
The Pan-Amazon nations, our South American neighbors, are home to the world’s largest rainforest and millions of indigenous persons. The importance of this region for both its immense biodiversity and climate stabilizing capacity, cannot be overstated. Yet, after...
Pope Francis Speaks
A first-ever joint statement by Christian leaders urging citizens and world leaders alike to address the moral and life issues underpinning the current ecological crisis, marked this second week of the 2021 Season of Creation. Pope Francis joined Ecumenical Patriarch...
Words of Encouragement
In today’s first reading we hear from the Prophet Haggai, who ministered in the post exilic period when the Jewish people, under a grant from King Cyrus of Persia, returned to Jerusalem. But it was not the Jerusalem remembered by their parents and grandparents. This...
Seek the Lord
In today’s Gospel we hear that Herod the tetrarch was seeking to see Jesus: “Herod kept trying to see him.” Why? Herod had heard all the wondrous things that Jesus was doing. People were saying that “John has been raised from the dead.” After Herod had imprisoned...
The Presence of Mercy
In our first reading for today’s Mass, we encounter Ezra. You might ask, “...and who is Ezra?” The genealogy of Ezra (Ezra 7:1–5) traces his priesthood back to Aaron, brother of Moses. He is also called a scribe, well-versed in the law of Moses (7:6), indicating...
From Conception to Natural Death
Every October, we in the Catholic Church consider more deeply why every human life is valuable and reflect on how to build a culture that protects life from conception to natural death. Why it’s Important One of the most fundamental truths that we proclaim is that...
The Possibility of Being a Saint
Few of us would consider ourselves Saints. We hesitate to call ourselves disciples of Jesus. When we think of saints, we think often think of individuals who were in some form, super human. Without faults or sins. The story of Matthew should tell us that just maybe...