This is newly ordained Deacon Joseph Gifford giving a blessing to Sister Maddie Shogren. Both are former Family Formation kids from our parish and we’re so proud of both of their generous “yesses” to Jesus, we just had to share the moment!
If you’d like to learn more about diocesan vocations or Pro Ecclesia Sancta, follow the links.
Or, “Funnest Vocations Event of the Year!”
Mark your calendars for the 2018 Archdiocesan Priest and Seminarian Basketball Tournament. Come watch the seminarians from the Saint Paul Seminary and Saint John Vianney College Seminary, as well as the priests of the Archdiocese. Find more information here.
This week, we’re learning about God’s call to each of us and more than anything, if you want to hear you need to develop the skill of listening. I’m pretty sure that the greatest modern obstacle keeping us from growing in holiness is busy-ness (either perceived or real), so asking families to prioritize time for prayer and quiet is hard! (Really, really hard.) But start small and look for areas where you’re more likely to have success: Is there a specific commute where your car radio can be off? Can you collect everyone’s phones at 8:30 each evening? Can you bless your children before bed?
In last week’s lesson, we learned to Pray, Ask, Listen, and Obey and it’s good to review that simple formula this week as we learn about vocations. God is always communicating with us (Literally always!), and He’s always inviting us to His Best Plan for our unique and unrepeatable lives. We have the free will to answer however we’d like, but the invitations keep coming and quite often they are intimately tied to our vocation, so in this lesson we learn more about them.
We give you lots of activities to choose from and hope they will help your kids learn more about vocations and perhaps picture themselves living them out.
For your younger kids, we have the My Vocations Friends Coloring Book to encourage them to think about the people they already know and which vocation those people are following. And remember that the saints in heaven are our friends too so if you don’t happen to personally know someone in each vocation, branch out in this direction, perhaps starting with your family’s patron saints!
We also hope you spend a few minutes with the Wheel of Vocations. There is a little prep work, but we think it will be worth it as you see your little ones playing with it over and over as they picture themselves in different vocations.
For older kids, we’re focusing a little more on a personal response as they consider what their own vocation might be. Is God Calling Me? gives some details on various vocations about things like what kind of preparation and service is involved in each. How Someone Becomes a Priest on page 7 of the lesson gives more information on this specific vocation.
And we also hope older kids and parents will spend a little time with the online religious ministries directory found here. It’s a great search engine helping you sort through hundreds of religious orders throughout the country. From there, you can go to their sites, request information, and lots more.
Keep in mind that our older saint/younger saint recommendations are merely guidelines to help simplify your life a bit, parents. There are many, many exceptions based on your children’s interest, attention span, skill level, and the time you have to devote to any particular lesson.
This month’s Classroom Lessons (and some of the Home Lessons) are looking at what it means to hear and answer God’s call to a specific vocation, so we’re going to add to all that fun here with some added information for parents. First up, you’ll find a page in your January packet on how to promote vocations, but it’s so great that we wanted to share it here too. (see below)
I do want to make a minor edit, though. Instead of How to Promote Vocations in Your Family, I think it should be entitled How to Help Your Kids Become Committed Catholic Adults Who Have a Great Relationship With Jesus. Every idea on the double-sided 10-point-font page is simply a wonderful way to share your faith, strengthen your family life, and encourage your kids to embrace the joy of being Catholic. (And yes, that will probably lead them to ask and listen to the Lord’s specific call to them.)
We hope you’ll spend a few minutes with it and find a few fresh ideas!
“I was just overwhelmed by how much I have to be grateful for. I just want to say thank you – I guess I’ll start from the beginning. My parents were equipped to teach the children because of Family Formation, and that is huge. I want to thank the parish for that. A lot of creative skill went into all of that.”
Family Formation congratulates Brother Damien Joseph on taking his final vows with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal! We are so proud of him and grateful for the impact he’s had on our parish! It’s an honor to have some small part in his vocational story.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Church of Saint Paul for its great role in helping me grow in my faith. Thank you to all those who have helped in developing and implementing the Family Formation program, as this was foundational in my journey of faith.”
Family Formation would like to congratulate Father Peter Hughes on his ordination yesterday! We are so proud of you and are very pleased in having some small part in your vocational story.
Here’s another vocations story, this time from a sister of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist.
