One month after my pilgrimage to Philadelphia, I am still processing the experience. There were many blessings! After the lovely drive across Pennsylvania (even if I did not enjoy that long tunnel with construction going on), I participated in the Catholic Parent Revival on Wednesday, September 23 at St. Peter the Apostle Parish (which also houses the National Shrine of St. John Neumann, where his body now lies in state, enclosed in glass under the altar.) We listened to personal witnesses of married couples who integrated faith into raising their children. Thanks Jenni and Steve Angrisano, Maggie and Bob McCarty, and John Angotti. We were also invited to talk with fellow participants and pray for each other. To read more about the parish/shrine, visit: http://www.stjohnneumann.org/parish.html To learn more about CPR, visit: http://www.strongcatholicfamilies.org/cpr/ You can also watch a recording of the CPR session that took place the next night near Philly: http://livestream.com/OCPLiveStream/24-CatholicParentRevival and know that Dave Schmidt, Director of Pro-Life, Marriage and Family and I have discussed adapting the program to support families here in our diocese, so look for more on that in 2016. On Thursday, after an educational visit to ther Liberty Bell and Independance Hall (hey, when in Philly...), where we saw the preparations for the Papal visit that would take place there days later, we went to the World Meeting of Families and were fortunate enough to see Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Archbishop of Manila, speak with such passion and joy. He discussed how we all have wounds and hurts, which can be great opportunities to rely on God. These woulds also help us to better witness to the saving power of God to others. You can watch a recording of his session, and several other session from the WMOF on their website: http://www.worldmeeting2015.org/the-latest/congressvideos/ These recordings are great for those who were not there to be inspired and learn from the sessions, and serve as great reminders for those who were there. (You may need to be patient as they begin or fast forward to the speaker you want to hear/see.) It was interesting to see how many vendors and organizations exhibited at the WMOF. Some of the same I see at youth ministry events, lay ministry conferences and education convocations, while others were new to me. It is reassuring to know that there are so many resources around wanting to support the Domestic Church! On Friday, I met up with the busloads of Youngstown folks who traveled with Wednt to see the theatrical production of "Joseph." Oh my goodness, the Sight and Sound Theater truly invests in the productions there, with support sound and staging. Also, real animals! The show also gave me new aspects of the Joseph story to ponder. If you are ever in the Lancaster, PA area, this is a worthy investment. Visit their website at: https://www.sight-sound.com/WebSite/home.do We then enjoyed family-style dinner at the Hershey Farm Restaurant and Inn near the theater. What a fun evening discussing the play and to upcoming weekend plans with folks from Blessed Sacrament Parish (and others on the bus from there!) Saturday brought the Festival of Families. This meant creative planning for transportation and packing for the day, but it was all worth it. Security lines moved along smoothly, over 3,000 port-a-pots were available, food vendors lined some streets, and jumbotrons helped those of us without tickets enjoy the entertainment, pray along, and view the parade. I decided to settle in with a busload from the Solon area at JFK part near the Love Sign. There, we were fortunate to see Pope Francis go by in his Popemobile TWICE! It was amazing! (The picture above gives you one glimpse of my view.) On the jumbotron, we enjoyed: Nigeria/Igbo Community @ St. Cyprian Viva Mas Mutya Philippine Dance Company St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Community Oscuro Quintet Everything Fitz Joe Castillo Jackie Evancho (not sure why some Disney songs, but sounded lovely) Matt Maher American Dance Wheels Sister Sledge (We are Family!) Jim Gaffigan (a few family-themed laughs) MC Mark Wahlberg The Philadlephia Orchestra Comments and pray by the Holy Father Aretha Franklin The Fray Andrea Bocelli (oh, that Lord's Prayer was fantastic!) Juanes (although, I will admit, we started to head to the train station during his performance, nothing against him, it was just getting late!) You can read more about some of these performers at: http://www.worldmeeting2015.org/papal-center/festival-of-families/ We (we being most often my sister, Jenn, by the way, who traveled with me) went to the Cathedral where there was a temporary grotto dedicated to Mary, Untier of Knots, who is one of Pope Francis' advocates. They had strips of cloth on which to write the situation or people suffering with "knots" that need untied. These clothes were then hung around the grotto (or being knit into a tapestry, as you can see in the photo below of the woman at work.) It was a powerful place of prayer. Sunday brought a lot of time to meet people from all around the globe as I chose the wrong side of the city to enter (retrospect, hundreds of thousands of us did not know at the time what was going on as security checkpoints were moving very slowly, being closed, redirecting people to another checkpoint, etc. for hours... while on the north side, they seemed to get inside in 30 - 120 minutes.) We gave up after a few hours, but not before meeting lovely faith-filled people from many states and countries. We also clapped along and sang a bit. While I did receive text messages from friends who made it inside, we watched the parade from ComCast Center (where I was interviewed by a Philly paper and while misquoted, they spelled my name right, ha!), then settled in for a while near JFK Park. It was an interesting juxtiposition to have thousands sitting and sitting, attentive to a jumbotron while some vendors still tried to peddle their wares. Latter, we paused near City Hall and the thousands of Catholics who had celebrated Mass there, before heading back to the train station. It wasn't the day I planned or hoped for, and I really didn't fell like I was part of Mass, but I was very much part of a larger community that made the best of the situation and were singing and responding and celebrating! Oh, I almost forgot, I also did my best to watch some of the coverage of the Holy Father addressing various audiences. I LOVED the address to the Congress. To have selected such different Americans to help make his points was inspired. It was challenging and motivating. Thank you for bringing forth some of the teachings and words of Abraham Lincoln, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton. I also watched Pope Francis as the prison. Watching a work of mercy on TV was awesome. If you missed (or want to read to review) any of the Holy Father's addresses or Homilies, know that theey are posted on the USCCB site at: http://www.usccb.org/about/leadership/holy-see/francis/papal-visit-2015/2015-papal-visit-speeches-homilies.cfm They also have a few on video to watch at: http://www.usccb.org/about/leadership/holy-see/francis/papal-visit-2015/papal-visit-2015-video-on-demand.cfm I am sure that aspects of the pilgrimage will continue to occur to me, as the messages I heard and images I saw sink deeper into my soul. THANK YOU to everyone who has allowed me to share some of my story, and for those who have shared their experiences as well as that helps me consider additional insights! In any event, may we all be blessed by the visit of the Holy Father to our country. I'll end this post with the final words of Pope Francis at the Closing Mass in Philadelphia: Anyone who wants to bring into this world a family which teaches children to be excited by every gesture aimed at overcoming evil – a family which shows that the Spirit is alive and at work – will encounter our gratitude and our appreciation. Whatever the family, people, religion or region to which they belong! May God grant that all of us may be prophets of the joy of the Gospel, the Gospel of the family and family love, as disciples of the Lord. May he grant us the grace to be worthy of that purity of heart which is not scandalized by the Gospel! Amen.
0 Comments
I was a little frustrated today to fail at finding a good pre-written session to give to one of our pastors addressing the topics of "Fear Not/Trust int he Lord." I know there HAS to a few, but I was unable to find one at the time.... (feel free to email me with ones of which you are aware! [email protected] ). I also failed at finding a good, usable for CCD/ministry video clip of a modern movie (closest I came was to an Evan Almighty (c) 2007, but it wasn't even as appropriate as I would have liked... So, at least I was able to sit down and type up a few ideas... I am posting them here just in case I want to access them again, or in case anyone else would like to borrow the ideas. Kudos to Carla for finding the activity shared below (On the Edge of an Adventure), although we cannot cite the resource as it was a loose paper in a folder. (I'm sure you can relate to that, but now note the title/publisher!) Feel free to tweak, adapt or change to fit your needs. (By the way, I did not include a good old fashioned Trust Fall activity or even a Trust Walk since you need space and blind-folds for that, but they could have been included as well!) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fear Not – Trust in God! Session ideas from Cindee Case (10.7.15) Music: If group likes to sing and/or listen to music – Be Not Afraid (Dufford) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snmwD6d9Xo4 Trust in the Lord (O’Connor) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx7ArO-freU You Are Mine (Haas) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sgm9lkTNQmc&index=3&list=RDx9m77bfUvI4 Shepherd Me Oh God (Haugen) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmFM4jZasvs Small Groups for Bible story discussions
ii.Jesus in Garden iii.Abraham – Genesis 22 iv.Noah - Genesis 6 v.Joshua - Joshua 1: 1 – 11 – God commands him to move the people of Moses – do you think the promises he heard from God made his decision easy?
---OR--- See “on the Edge of An Adventure” handout – all consider Matthew 14: 22-33 Witness story of 1 or 2 parishioners/ministry leaders share a time when they had to decide to trust in God. (Perhaps when making a decision regarding marriage, big move, child care, health care, etc.) RITUAL: Have each teen write a fear they have on a slip of paper, then bring forward and place in a basket – in exchange for a scripture verse (if utilize more than one copy of the same verse, mark one of each to signify which one to be read aloud, numbered in order of being read…) Reading of Scripture verses – select students to read one of the following (or other) Scripture verse: DO NOT BE AFRAID: Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. John 14:1 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. Psalm 56:3 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9 For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Isaiah 41:13 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. Proverbs 29:25 The Lord is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1 But when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Mark 6:49-50 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” 1 Peter 3:14 TRUST IN GOD: Blessed are those who trust in the LORD; the LORD will be their trust. They are like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: It does not fear heat when it comes, its leaves stay green; In the year of drought it shows no distress, but still produces fruit. (Jeremiah 17: 7 – 8) But I trust in you, LORD; I say, “You are my God.” (Psalm 31: 15) Trust in the LORD with all your heart, on your own intelligence do not rely; In all your ways be mindful of him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6) when I am afraid, in you I place my trust. praise the word of God; I trust in God, I do not fear. (Psalm 56:3 – 4) The LORD is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The LORD watches over all who love him, (Psalm 145:18- 20) But I trust in your mercy. Grant my heart joy in your salvation, I will sing to the LORD, for he has dealt bountifully with me (Psalm 13: 6) Thus we may say with confidence: “The Lord is my helper, [and] I will not be afraid. (Hebrews 13: 6) End with an adult reading the following: Matthew 6: 25-34 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink], or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?* Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness,* and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. God in peace! (Song) |
Details
*** Note: The Office Blog is now inactive, but posted for continued reference as needed (6/30/21) ***Cindee Case, MPSFormer Director of the Diocese of Youngstown Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry (2/2002 - 6/2021) Archives
July 2021
Categories
All
|