General Intention: The Word of God as a sign of social development
That in less developed parts of the world the proclamation of the Word of God may renew people’s hearts, encouraging them to work actively toward authentic social progress.
Missionary Intention: for the end of war
That by opening our hearts to love we may put an end to the numerous wars and conflicts which continue to bloody our world.
Don’t miss this week’s Lesson Plan feature in the Catholic Spirit entitled Feast on Feasts and 36 other ways to make faith a bigger part of your daily life! It’s two full pages of ideas for bringing the Faith into your family in a fuller way and many of them will fit in to your commitment to Family Formation very nicely.
Follow the liturgical seasons
Being in tune with the Liturgy is a central theme of Family Formation and we encourage families to do so in many ways. Have you dressed your priest paper doll? Is your liturgical calendar hanging on your fridge, and did you read what the Paulines are doing this week? If so, you’ve already adopted this awareness into your family’s faith life. Good job! If not, these are all things we work on each year and we’ll be doing so in a special way in 2010-11 as our overall theme is learning more about this topic.
Light a candle
Each time, before you begin your Home Lessons, we encourage you to do something to mark that time as sacred. Begin with prayer, light a candle, sing a few simple praise songs – all great ways to remind your family that something special is about to happen!
Try Adoration
We are so blessed to have perpetual Eucharistic Adoration available at the Church of Saint Paul, and Family Formation does everything possible to encourage families to take advantage of it! It’ll be a part of more than one Home and Classroom Lesson this year – I promise (it always is)! Believing that Christ is truly present in the Eucharist is the foundation of what makes us Catholic. Passing on that firm belief to your children will be the anchor that will help keep them Catholic.
Open your Bible
Almost every lesson contains numerous Scripture references, and while they’re usually printed in the lesson for your convenience, we also encourage you and your kids to look them up and read them directly from the source. It’s great practice and a weekly appointment to becoming more familiar with the Bible. Also, make sure each of your kids has their own Bible and encourage them to bring it to Mass and to their Family Formation classroom each month.
Attend religious ed.
Of course this is a basic requirement, but it looks a little different when you’re part of Family Formation. As a family, it’s critical that you set time aside each week to do your Home Lessons. That’s where all the exciting growth will happen as you build memories, create common experiences, and learn together with your kids!
For the monthly classroom lesson, you actually have a little bit of choice. Each family has signed up for Monday or Saturday as their regular attendance day, but if you ever happen to know in advance that you can’t make it, just call the office (763-757-1148) and we can schedule you in a substitute class for the alternate day.
The goal is to build a truly Catholic culture in your family and there are lots of other great suggestions in the article. Hop on over and see just what will fit into your family’s faith life in the upcoming months.
For better or worse, you’ve undoubtedly noticed that it’s back to school time in the retail world, and now is the most cost-effective time to purchase all your school supplies for the upcoming year. While you’re out with your lists for school, you might want to keep Family Formation in mind also.
New supplies give a fresh start to the year. It’s just nicer to open a box of sharp, unbroken crayons and a glue bottle that’s not mostly empty with the lid stuck on. It fuels enthusiasm and creativity. It marks something special and new. This time of year you can get everything you need for just a few dollars, so stock up!
We recommend the following essentials:
After you have everything together, tuck it away and just bring it out at Home Lesson time. This has a couple advantages: (1) you know the stuff will be there when you want to use it and (2) it sets these things apart for this sacred purpose.
This is the perfect time to get organized (or reorganized) to make your Home Lesson time run smoother this year.
Years and years ago (wow, almost 18!), I figured out that the single most important factor* influencing our Home Lesson time was how prepared I was. When I was familiar with the lessons, we all learned. When I did the necessary prep work, things flowed well. Each month we would bring home a little mountain of paper and it really helped to sort through it all right away and get the big picture. What needs to be done each week? What activity pieces go with each lesson? Did I bring home everything I needed, or did I need to stop by the office for that extra piece I forgot? In short, I found it was really helpful to get it all organized right up front, and that’s where my Top Pick comes in.
It’s this. Simple, cheap, and effective.
My expanding file has 6 sections and is big enough to hold legal-sized pages. I divide all the pages necessary for each of the three Home Lessons in the first three file slots. Next is all the vestments for our Priest Paper Doll. Fifth are some lyrics sheets we’ve used for a short praise time before lessons, and the last slot holds pages of art (from calendars, the internet, etc.) that I use on our prayer table. It’s not the most attractive thing, but it fits on a bookshelf and really has lasted for all those years.
*Yes, I know that God’s grace is really the single most important factor influencing our Home Lesson time. It does help a lot, however, when I choose to cooperate with it. :-) I also know that there are lots of other important influences, but those are posts for another time.
-Familiaris Consortio (The Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World), 38
Last week’s Catholic Spirit had a great article that fits well with our Super Summer Sacraments Scavenger Hunt. Your Great Catholic Minnesota Road Trip is filled with ideas for trips within the state that will help you learn more about the Catholic heritage of the area while spending fun family time together (in affordable bites). Check it out! There’s still plenty of time for little vacations before school starts, and if it won’t work out this year, file the ideas away for next summer. And be sure to bring your Scavenger Hunt booklet!
General Intention: for the unemployed and homeless
That those who are without work or homes or are otherwise in serious need may find understanding and welcome, as well as concrete help in overcoming their difficulties.
Missionary Intention: for victims of discrimination, hunger and forced emigration
That the church may be a “home” for all people, ready to open its doors to any who are suffering from racial or religious discrimination, hunger, or wars forcing them to emigrate to other countries.
We went on a little field trip last weekend and found the following additions to our Super Summer Sacraments Scavenger Hunt:
Latin inscriptions honoring Mary and Joseph!
Hail Mary, full of grace
Inspiring statues!
Lego model of the St. Paul Cathedral
Cornerstones
And the “gate of heaven!”
Porta Coeli
Hello Again,
So, what does Phase Three look like?
Continue to pray, pray, pray! By this point, praying without ceasing should be your habit! 
Recruit classroom catechists for the once-per-month gathering. This can be tricky. Put announcements into the bulletin. Post fliers in the Church, on your door even. Call former catechists, current or former teachers. Parents themselves can be a great catechists. Some parents like the idea of being able to teach their children, especially when it comes to things like first reconciliation and communion.
Train catechists. This is sadly a neglected aspect in most parish catechetical programs. Catechists need to be trained. They need to be spiritually nourished. They need the basics of classroom management, how to use different learning styles, etc. In other words, talk to an elementary ed teacher to get ideas or search online. They need to know your expectations, parish policy and procedures, as well as you need to be there constantly to support, encourage, and train them to be better.
Hold a kick-off/information session for parents. In short, explain the program if it hasn’t already been explained, make sure parents know who their child’s teacher will be and where the class will be held, answer questions, and be sure to get father to have the parents renew either their marriage vows or the promise that they made at their child’s baptism. For much more on this, go to the Family Formation Coordinator’s Manual. Do not for one minute underestimate the importance of the kickoff and especially the renewal of marriage or baptism vows. Do it every year. It renews and re-energizes the parents every time giving parents the grace to be their children’s primary educators.
Implement the program parish-wide as the only option for religious education. If you are truly practicing what you are preaching you will realize that the time will come when the only way to do catechesis in the parish is to do family catechesis. Again this happens in God’s time, but it is the ultimate goal. If you have two competing programs running against each other, one family catechesis and the other not, for any extended period of time, especially when one touts itself as being THE way to catechize based on the teachings of the Church, you are sending a mixed message. Family catechesis, and ultimately Family Formation, won’t be fully effective unless you live up to what you are preaching.
Encourage your families! Your role should be much more of a cheerleader than it ever has been in the past. If you are excited they will be. Be there to support, encourage, and call parent’s on to be the best they can be.
Lastly, watch for the blessings as family faith formation becomes a way of life!
God bless you and your parish. We are praying for you and that the Holy Spirit bring great fruit to all your efforts.
Yours in Christ,
Matthew Brounstein
Hello Everyone,
So, what other things happen in phase-two of getting Family Formation up and running in your parish? Well, read on.
There are two ways to implement Family Formation in this phase.
Have a pilot group of families be part of Family Formation while you continue to run your current program. In this situation, these families become your best cheerleaders. Be sure to get a good cross-section of families including some home school families, Catholic school families, public school families, the families you see at church for everything, and those who show up only occasionally. It is one thing for you to be on board and father to be on board, but you want people to promote the program who have actually been through it. Pilot groups are very successful because not only do they work, but people talk to other people about how well the program works! Some things that you can do for a pilot group are sacramental preparation, Little Lambs with Sunday Celebration, or the normal Family Formation program.
If you feel you have built a strong enough foundation through Phase I, start cold turkey! (Make sure your pastor is supporting you in this.) Make Family Formation the only option for your families. See the points listed in Phase Three, in upcoming posts, for help in becoming fully operational. This has been done by many parishes, including our own, but make sure you have all your ducks in a row before you do this and make sure the Holy Spirit is leading you to this option. If not, do the pilot group.
Lastly, continue to engage your pastor in your plans and progress. He does not need to be in on the planning and implementing, but he does need to be the voice that pushes your progress forward. Father is the captain and every parish needs a captain to give pep talks and guidance. You can help father by suggesting to him to come to one or more town hall meetings with key or all members of the parish. He can help answer some key questions, give the vision, and of course hand off some questions to you (or you could feed him the answers).
Can you believe it? You are almost fully functional! Next up, Phase Three.
Yours in Christ,
Matthew Brounstein
Matt Brounstein
Sue Klejeski
Molly Koop