Faith Formation Family News for May 16, 2013

CONTENTS: 1. Please Help Us Clean Up our Parish Cemetery (This Saturday - May 18) 2. Pre-Memorial Day Event (This Saturday - May 18) 3. Archdiocesan Youth Day (Register this month!) 4. Prayer of the Week – Prayer for Pope Francis 5. Articles for Parents from At Home with Our Faith

Tips on Managing Kids’ Activities 6. Rediscover Faith:

How should I think about Sunday Mass, and why would I want to go? 7. News from The Catholic Spirit 8. Calling Forth of Catechists 9. Friends: A One-Minute Meditation 10. Videos with a Message

Inspiring Mom: Stories about Mothers

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

The Gift of Life

At the end of this email: 11. In Italy – This Dog is a Frequent Churchgoer!

A good one for the Feast of Pentecost this weekend . . . . and for last Sunday’s Fishing Opener.

1. Please help us clean up

OUR PARISH CEMETERY

This Saturday, May 18. 10am to Noon

A perfect project for everyone, adults, teens & families.

Why is it called “St. Margaret’s” Cemetery?

St. Margaret’s Cemetery is named for the very first Catholic Church in the Hopkins area. St. Margaret’s Church was built in 1880 and stayed open until 1921, when it was merged with St. Mary’s Church in Hopkins to form the then new Church of St. Joseph. St. Margaret’s Cemetery now belongs to St. Gabriel’s

Parish

What will we do? Bring your garden tools and gloves. There is a lot of raking and tidying up to do. If you have a weed whacker or square shovels, they can be helpful for some of the tasks. We want the place to look nice for Memorial Day when Fr. Liekhus will preside at the outdoor Mass.

We also want to honor all our “ancestors in faith” who are buried there.

Directions Go south on Shady Oak Road, left on Bren Road, then the first right (directly behind the Scoreboard Restaurant). Meet us there at 10am – just inside the main entrance! No need to register – JUST SHOW UP! THANKS.

2. PRE-MEMORIAL DAY EVENT

This Saturday, May 18, following the 4:30pm Mass

ALL ARE INVITED to our Pre-Memorial Day Event on

Saturday, May 18 following the 4:30pm Mass at St. Joseph

Campus. Prayers for the Military in the Church after Mass, then a light meal in the social hall

with a Film and Talk about the Fort Snelling MEMORIAL RIFLE SQUAD!

For Food Planning - Please call Kathleen Esh at (952) 933-7610 or email

kmeyesh@yahoo.com.

3. ARCHDIOCESAN YOUTH DAY!

o Please sign up by May 29! Registrations are guaranteed by that date. After that there may be a waiting list.

Join Archbishop John C. Nienstedt in a special event just for

high school age Catholic youth (9th – 12th Grade in Fall)!

THEME: “We too believe and therefore speak.” 2 Cor. 4:13 Archdiocesan Youth Day 2013 will bring together teens from around the archdiocese for a day of

faith formation and fun! Kick off the 2013 school year by joining together with other youth in the

spirit of faith. Come celebrate the truth and joy of our Catholic faith so that you can speak of Christ’s

love!

Date and Time: September 21, 2013

2:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. (registration opens @ 1:00)

Location: Holy Family Catholic High School

8101 Kochia Lane . Victoria, MN 55386

Full day with Archbishop Nienstedt

Emcee – Dave Rinaldi

Keynote – Sean Forrest (International Catholic speaker, performing artist, author and retreat

leader)

Mass

Opportunities for Reconciliation and Eucharistic Adoration

Music by Sonar…and more!

P.S. There is no charge for this special event!

Are you ready to join? Gather your friends! Registration is by group only, so talk to Chuck Romportl or Fr.

Liekhus to sign up. Space fills up quickly, so sign up soon.

We are also looking for adult chaperones to go with our group.

Thanks! Chuck Romportl, St. Gabriel’s Faith Formation Director.

4. PRAYER OF THE WEEK.

Prayer for Pope Francis

Lord God, with great joy we give thanks for your faithful servant,

Pope Francis. Bless our Holy Father with wisdom, zeal and the gift of governance as he guides your Church in peace and unity. May his humility, simplicity and love inspire your people to share the Good News of Jesus Christ as a light for the poor, the marginalized, and all the world.

Amen.

5. ARTICLES FOR PARENTS from

Tips on Managing Kids’ Activities Dealing with: Finding a balance between children’s activities and a “sane” family life.

Pace your activity schedule to make sure it includes FAMILY TIME.

From parents who have been there—or are there right now.

• “When choosing among activities, we look for those lifetime activities that people

continue to be involved in after they’re done with their schooling—cross country running over lacrosse, for example.”

—Denise, mother of three

• “We will not miss Mass for a game or practice. If there is a game Saturday afternoon

and Sunday morning, one will have to be missed. We might not be able to go to Mass as a whole family; some of us will go Saturday and some on Sunday, but with some flexibility, Mass is not skipped.”

—Carol, mother of four

• “Learning to find the lesson in the various activities they do takes time, but usually

you can break down things into how we should treat people and how God wants us to behave.”

—Scott, father of two —by Annemarie Scobey, from the pages of At Home with Our Faith, Claretian Publications’ print newsletter for parents on nurturing spirituality in the home. Winner of the 2012 Best in Class award from the Associated Church Press, as well as a First Place General Excellence award from the Catholic Press Association for the past three years running.

6. REDISCOVER FAITH

Want to learn more about your faith? Check out http://rediscover-faith.org/ for their large collection of answers to

questions of importance to all of us.

Here’s a sample of a short 1-page answer to the question:

How should I think about Sunday Mass, and why would I want to go? http://rediscover.archspm.org/belonging/topic.php?id=7173

7. NEWS FROM THE CATHOLIC

SPIRIT (Our Archdiocesan Newspaper)

The May 10 edition:

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=qpa4ffcab&v=001ETD-

u6eVKYs1BauYC_CeK_zt2dHovWtYRgfOA6TJRxO3kxCMdz57EFx_mIeMtYWy1LqkodIAV0StpG4kJDbb_oYhq

UrdTa9ckyzoFs48ryEzXKqwQcV52U46lDc1D35S

8. CALLING FORTH OF CATECHISTS

Please give this some prayerful thought

Do you have a sense that God is calling you to

share your faith with young people? Or do you

know someone whose gifts suggest that they

would excel at being a catechist? Please

prayerfully consider these questions and please

talk to Chuck Romportl, our Faith Formation

Director, about this. Your prayers for our

catechetical ministry are always appreciated.

9. GOD IS GIVING US

OPPORTUNITIES: A One-Minute

Meditation

Seize the opportunity by the beard, for it is bald behind.

--Bulgarian proverb

Through laziness or inattention, we often miss opportunities to grow. Maybe we don't play our hunches or listen to our intuition. Maybe we see an opportunity but fail to act because we're not sure it's what we ought to do. An opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream has appeared, but we don't trust our good fortune. A chance has come to use our talent to help someone, but we don't know how the person will handle it, so we do

nothing. And we rationalize. We decide it's a frivolous impulse, a whim that's not worth our attention. We decide it couldn't be our Inner Guide. God seldom takes us by the scruff of the neck and pulls us to our next destination. God provides the opportunities; it's up to us to seize them. God talks to us; it's up to us to listen. Today I'll be on the lookout or God's opportunities.

You are reading an adaptation from the Hazelden book:

In God’s Care by Karen Casey

10. VIDEOS WITH A MESSAGE

Inspiring Moms: Stories About Mothers

A mother’s love is hard to put into words–it is the fuel that leads us to

learn, grow and achieve great things! For Mother’s Day, HooplaHa

asked people to share their favorite memories of their mom. Here are

four people who talk about theirs for about a minute each. This is

dedicated to all our mothers out there – and to all of us who have a mother. We thank God for you.

http://tiny.cc/pqvpww. Go to

And from:

THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT To help you prepare for THE FEAST OF PENTECOST this weekend, please go to http://www.thefiveloaves.com/ to hear Church musician/composer Ken Canedo share his reflection on THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, followed by his song, HOLY SPIRIT. (8:40 minutes).

THE GIFT OF LIFE For a very moving story, also go to http://www.thefiveloaves.com/ and his the CLICK HERE button to go to last week’s video to hear Kimi Tomaszek share The Gift of Life - which is

followed by Jesse Manibusan's prayerful song, "Holy Spirit, Come Now," just in time for

Pentecost. (7:08 minutes) On Mother's Day, we honor the gift of life that we have been given... not just by our

mothers (and fathers), but in fact, by God who has loved us into being. In this week's

video reflection, Kimi shares a wonderful story of one mom who persevered against all

odds and brought a miracle child to birth.

If you want to join The Five Loaves email list and receive Between Sundays videos

via email every week. Free. Go to http://thefiveloaves.us5.list-

manage2.com/subscribe?u=6a69870a02a8f4ba23c91dd3d&id=c8786db0be.

11. IN ITALY – This Dog is a Frequent

Church-Goer!

Please go back to the main email message to see these photos.