Weekly Resources: March 31, 2020

Parent Video

Key Points

• Faith Formation from home right now is about family togetherness, focus on prayer and conversation first!
• Weekly resources will be provided for the purpose of supporting you, please don’t let them stress you out.
• Right now is a difficult time to parent: working too much, working not enough, working at home, worrying about economics and health and … plus coaching home learning for kids and social distancing = hard stuff!
• Take breaks! Give yourself a pat on the back! Take a nap on the couch (or in a locked room). Trust in God.

Family Greeting

Video Summary

• Lisa, Fr. LeRoy, Fr. Timothy, the parish staffs and your catechists miss you and are praying for you!
• We’re safe at home, but there are still ways to stay connected to your church and your faith!
  • Pray (and sing!) together.
  • Talk about God in your life, and show love.
  • Pray, create, and explore using our website.
• One of my favorite Bible verses is John 3:17: For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through him. (NABRE)
• God sent Jesus into the world because he LOVES YOU. Live loved!

Sharing a Song

Refrain: Fully Rely on God, Fully Rely on God! F R O G Faithfully, Fully Rely on God!

Verse: Open my eyes, so I might see you. Open my ears to hear your voice. Open my heart, that I might come to know … the Way the Truth and the Life!

Want to make a remix of our Theme song? You can find it on BandLab. I’d love to hear your work! Or, record yourself doing the actions and send in your video to me, make sure your parents have given you permission!

Family Video

Discussion Questions

What did you see? What did you hear? What special things does your family do for Holy Week?

Content Review

See what people remember from the video. What is Holy Week? What season is Holy Week the end of? What happens on Palm Sunday? What does Triduum mean? What do we celebrate on Holy Thursday? What does it mean to venerate the cross? What do we remember on Holy Saturday? What is the name of the longest Mass of the year? What word do we use on Easter that we haven’t said all Lent? What is the “Good News”?

• Holy Week is the last week of the season of Lent and a time of prayer and preparation for Easter.
• On Palm Sunday we remember when Jesus entered Jerusalem, and people rejoiced saying “Hosanna” while they waved palms. We read the Passion Story of Jesus’ last days and death.
• The Triduum is Latin for “the great three days” and begins on Holy Thursday.
• We celebrate the Last Supper on Holy Thursday, reenacting how Jesus washed the feet of the apostles.
  • We hear Jesus’ words, “As I have done for you, you should also do.” Love means serving others.
  • We celebrate the Institution of the Eucharist and the Institution of the Priesthood.
  • We are reminded that we are all part of the Body of Christ through the gift of the Eucharist.
  • We end with silent prayer and adoration of Jesus’ Presence in the Blessed Sacrament.
• On Good Friday we remember Jesus’ crucifixion and death by reading the Passion and venerating the cross.
  • Veneration means reverently kneeling, kissing or touching the wood of the cross.
  • We venerate the cross because this object of death is also the instrument of our Salvation.
• Holy Saturday includes reflection, contemplation and waiting…
  • We stand between the sorrow of Christ’s death, and
  • The Hope of the Resurrection.
  • On Holy Saturday we celebrate the longest Mass of the year, the Easter Vigil.
    • Fire and candles bring light into the darkness.
    • Scripture readings tell us the whole story of our salvation.
    • We initiate new adult Catholics into the church through Baptism, Confirmation and their first Holy Communion.
• On Easter Sunday, we sing Alleluia! Jesus Christ, our Hope and Salvation, has Risen!
  • Good has triumphed over evil! Love has conquered death! We are filled with Joy!
  • Renewed by the resurrection, we go out to share this Good News!
• We are challenged to live out the Holy Week lessons all year, because Jesus’ sacrifice and love are always present to us.
• As Catholics it is our duty to bring the hope and joy of the risen Jesus to everyone!

Family Activities

Print Palms

On Palm Sunday we’d usually be bringing home Palms from church. Hop on over to Catholic Icing to print some palms to cut out. If you’re crafty, use her idea to design your own palms to paint or color. Use your palms when you watch the recorded Mass on Sunday, waiving them as you sing “Hosanna!”

#worldofhearts

Spreading hope is one of the things Christians do, because we know about God’s love. Consider contributing to the #worldofhearts project where families are creating dioramas of hearts and sharing them on social media. See some examples here. Tag your submission with #taocatholic to also share your art with our faith community!

Online Catholic Youth Group

Project YM live allows teens to log in for games, teachings and music from top Catholic Youth speakers across the country. Sessions go live from 7-8pm on Wednesday nights. More information here.

Supplemental Materials

Gospel Background and home lessons at Loyola Sunday Connection

Markkula Center for Applied Ethics — Build. Plant. Grow. is a free faith formation program for schools, parishes, and families. Engaging lesson plans pair scriptural readings with children’s literature and experiential education. Build. Plant. Grow. aims to promote the spiritual and character development of children ages 5 to 13 years. Palm Sunday Lesson