Some members of the Youth Group pose for a picture during their meeting on Sunday! The Youth Group will be meeting again this Sunday at 6:00pm in the Youth Room. All 9th-12th graders are welcome!!
Happening This Week in Corpus Christi Parish Community
Tuesday, January 19th - The Presence of Christ Bible Study 7:00pm @ St. Barbara's or via zoom
Wednesday, January 20th - Eucharistic Adoration with the Sacrament of Reconciliation 7:00pm @ Holy Child
Sunday, January 24th - Group B CCD!
Sunday, January 24th - High School Youth Group! 6:00pm @ Holy Child Youth Room
Speak Lord!
When I worked as a full-time Director of Religious Education, one of my responsibiliites was preparing Confirmation candidates for the Sacrament. To help do this, each year I hosted a retreat day for candidates and their sponsors and I would use the Call of Samuel (1 Samuel 3:1-18) which we heard in the first reading on Sunday. I always felt that it was a perfect reading for sponsors and candidates to reflect upon together. The older and wiser Eli, assists the younger Samuel in recognizing and responding to the voice of God in his life. Since becoming a parent, I feel that this passage has taken on even greater significance.
God has given me five children. He has entrusted me and my husband with raising, educating and forming them. When we had each of them baptized, we stood before God and the Church and vowed to accept "the responsibility of training him (her) in the practice of the faith. (It is our)...duty to bring him (her) up to keep God's commandments as Christ taught us, by loving God and our neighbor." (Baptismal Rite) And we responded that we clearly understood what we were undertaking! Additionally I have a solemn responsibility to my godchildren, nieces and nephews to have my own personal relationship with the Lord.
Eli was able to understand that it was God calling and speaking to Samuel, because Eli had lived in the Temple and sought the Lord. Did he do it perfectly? No. But he strived to do it faithfully.
If I am to help my children, godchildren and family to recognize when the Lord is speaking to them, I myself need to know what His voice sounds like. In order to be able to raise my children up to know and follow Him, I myself must know and follow the Lord. Then, when they come to me with questions I'm prepared to direct them back to the One with all of the answers.
St. Paul, the writer of many letters in the New Testament, the greatest Missionary that has ever lived was at one point in his life not only someone who hated Christians, but he actively hunted them down to have them killed. He is a beacon of Hope for us that with God - all things are possible, and that one is never "too far gone".
As a family read about his conversion - Acts of the Apostles 9:1-19 and discuss Paul's response to God's action in his life. Then discuss how God may be calling your family to draw closer to Him.
As a family, play a fun version of "Blind Man's Bluff". Take turns blindfolding one another, then scatter and hide as the one blindfolded tries to find the others.