St. Ambrose Cathedral will conclude its regularly scheduled 10:30 a.m. Mass that day with a procession to the St. Anne Chapel followed by a Holy Hour.

Bishop Richard Pates will conduct a Holy Hour at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish in Glenwood at 3 p.m.

Check with your parish to find out when its Holy Hour is scheduled.

Resources

21 Ways to Worship: A Guide to Eucharistic Adoration

by Vinny Flynn

Anytime people start talking about Eucharistic Adoration, one question always seems to come up: “A whole hour? What’ll I do for a whole hour?” The purpose of this little book is to present at least a partial answer to that question enough to encourage you to give it a try if you’ve never done it, or to offer some additional suggestions if you’ve already spent some time in Adoration and would like to experiment with more ways to pray while you’re there.

31 Questions on Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

This resource takes a pastoral approach to the long-standing practice of Eucharistic adoration. It addresses frequently-asked questions about Eucharistic adoration especially what is the relationship between Mass and Eucharistic adoration, what is the importance of Eucharistic adoration, and the difference between Eucharistic adoration and exposition. It also includes excerpts from Redemptionis Sacramentum and Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharist Outside Mass.

O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth! (Psalm 8)

It’s a good time to take a “praise walk” either with the company of others or on your own.  Simply walk in your neighborhood, around a lake or a favorite park.  Drink in the beauty and goodness of the summer season.

Notice all of God’s creation unfolding before you.  Listen to the sounds both in nature and of our world.  Touch the first rose petals.  Offer praise and thanksgiving to God for all the magnificence of our world.  Lift up your heart and mind to the praise of God.

You can do a simple litany as you walk.  A litany is a form of prayer composed of lists–petitions, titles of Jesus, Mary and the saints, proclamations of praise which invite a response.   You list aloud or in your heart all the gifts before you.

After each prayer, you can say, “I praise you, O God” or “Bless the Lord.”  Try reading the Book of Psalms or the beautiful litany of praise in the book of Daniel 3:52-90.

Praise God for the summer!

(Mary Green, Director of Adult Faith Formation, Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart Parish)

Probably the tear-jerking-est song I have heard this year is Trace Adkins’ “You’re Gonna Miss This.” The song traces the life of a young girl who is 18 years old and ready to bust out into the world.

It follows her through her early married days dreaming of owning a house and having children up to the point where she has a crazy life with young kids crying, pets barking, and chaos pretty much reigning in her life and just waiting for peace and quiet.

She always seems to be longing for the next stage of her life—like that stage is where happiness really lives. But her parents keep trying to tell her:

“You’re gonna miss this
You’re gonna want this back
You’re gonna wish these days
Hadn’t gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you’re gonna miss this.”

Don’t miss these moments

My children are still young, and I am doing my best not to miss these moments. As we were heading back from a LONG day, culminating a LONG weekend, we had some fighting children in the car and some crying because we decided we should go home rather than attend another family gathering.

I tried to sing the song to cheer us all up, but my husband just looked at me and said, “I don’t think I’m going to miss THIS!” But even if every moment of our crazy lives may not be “miss-worthy,” it is worth thinking about whether or not we truly appreciate the beauty and happiness this moment holds.

Decide to live in the present

The truth is, if we don’t make the decision to live in the present moment, we really are going to miss it. Our children grow. We grow. If we spend our days just thinking about tomorrow, all of our todays are going to pass us by. So let’s make the decision not to miss today. These are some good times, so take a good look around. Don’t miss the opportunity to find joy and happiness right now. Don’t miss this!

(Mandie DeVries,  Director of Religious Education, All Saints Parish)

So how amazing that Jesus sent his Holy Spirit, the Advocate, through breath as we read in the Gospel of John.

He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’

The Jewish people call breath, “ruah.”  The “ruah” or Spirit of God moved over the waters of creation and continues to bring to life to all peoples through the gift of the Holy Spirit.  This “ruah” is the animating force that moves within us to help us, encourage us and propel us to act as Jesus did.

As we celebrate the great feast of Pentecost, let us celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit by taking some quiet moments to reflect on our own breathing.

Still yourself to be aware of your breathing.  Breathe in the Holy Spirit and breathe out fear.

Invite the Holy Spirit to flow into your heart and soul so you breathe out the life and love of Jesus Christ.

(Mary Green, Director of Adult Faith Formation, Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart Parish)

So, this summer I’m continuing my ‘Year of Intentionality.’ The thread that has been woven through my conversations this year at home, work, and ministry is that to grow in our faith we must be intentional. It will happen when I take time. It will happen when I plan.  It will happen when I focus.  I’m taking it to heart.

When our hearts, minds, and bodies can grow complacent in the vacation months, I’m striking forward with a plan for a faith-filled summer. I will have three rules.

1. Start small. I tend to make grand plans, but forget to finish them.  We’ll aim for five faith-focused minutes each day, whether it’s memorizing a Bible verse, learning about a saint, or saying special prayers.
2. Relax.  I plan to pick a biography of a saint I’ve always been interested in and when I need it – I’ll take a five minute break and read while they play.
3. Rejoice.  There is much to be thankful for every day.  I will enjoy time with my children to look at bugs, flowers, baseball games, etc.  We’ll revel in the glory of the earth and I’ll teach about conservation, recycling, and care for God’s creation.

The importance of prayer

My children are young, so my biggest challenge is often trying to remember to take time myself to pray in among the busyness. I keep a prayer journal and use it every morning for five minutes to reflect on a Bible verse.

Attending Vacation Bible School and continuing to play the CD of VBS music helps tremendously with my four year-olds.  During the school year I work with middle school youth, so I know some of the challenges there are trying to help them see the everyday impact of their relationship with Christ in their lives.

Help them, firstly, by praying for them every day.  Also help them by showing how Christ is present.  Consider taking a pilgrimage to the Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend for a day trip.  Find out the patron saint of whatever they’re involved (hint: St. Adjutor for swimmers).  Create a prayer wall somewhere in the house (dry erase board & markers) where everyone can list their intentions for the day.

The importance of service

Our family will also be volunteering our time weekly at a community garden that donates all produce to local food pantries; it’s important for my children to learn the importance of Matthew 25, beginning now.

Children follow where we lead.  Help them to keep their faith alive this summer by taking a few extra moments each day and every week to explore in their faith.  Keep it simple and keep it heartfelt.

(Abby Henderson, Assistant Director of Religious Education, Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart Parish)

Jesus didn’t leave his followers (or us) alone after the Ascension as he sent the Holy Spirit to remind all of his teachings and give strength and inspiration.

I was struck by a phrase in the gospel reading when Jesus says:  “You are witnesses of these things.”  And after Jesus blessed his disciples, they went forth “with great joy.”

So what does this mean for us today?  With the popularity of social media and websites such as “Angie’s List,” it seems that we don’t make a move in our lives without getting others’ recommendations.  If others trust us to make simple recommendations such the best place to get pizza, doesn’t it seem likely that people also look to us for testimony about our faith?

We are continually called to be witnesses to the world to all that we have seen and heard concerning Jesus’ teaching, life, death and resurrection.  Not as a Bible-thumping street preacher but as people of strength, joy, courage and much love as we go about our daily lives.  We can encourage or discourage others by our words and actions.  How does a living witness of Jesus live?  Go and do likewise.

(Mary Green, Director of Adult Faith Formation, Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart Parish)

I imagine it’s even harder for the parents who have borne total responsibility for the protection of their child until this point. For those parents who have raised their child in the faith, there is an added worry, for the latest statistics show that 85% of Catholic young adults lose their faith in college.

It’s a grim reality for those sending a student off to college in the fall, but don’t get discouraged! There are several ways you can help your child transition to college with faith intact.

1.  Use Scripture to fight for your kids’ faith. Parents of the 21st century are not the first to fight for the faith of their children amid worldly pressures.

St. Paul wrote to his spiritual children in Colossae, whose faith was being threatened by the culture:

As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in him, rooted in him and built upon him and established in the faith as you were taught… See to it that no one captivate you with an empty, seductive philosophy according to human tradition, according to the elemental powers of the world and not according to Christ. (Colossians 2:6-8)

2.  Talk about Jesus with your teens. Bring St. Paul’s exhortation to be rooted in Christ into conversations with your high schoolers while you still have them at home. Tell them you want them to be so rooted in Christ that they not only survive college with faith intact, but thrive with the radical faith of a disciple.

3.  Encourage an examination of conscience. Have them evaluate their roots right now through examinations of conscience, identifying whether God or something else is the driving force of their day, and thinking about where their limits likely would be in situations of moral temptation in college.

4.  Go to Mass and Reconciliation with your kids. Have them strengthen their roots by tapping into the life-giving water of the Sacraments, especially Reconciliation and the Eucharist, and making it a habit of high importance.

5.  Study the life of Jesus and the Saints. Begin to stretch their roots by looking at the radical mission of Jesus that He invites them into as disciples. Study the stories of the saints, proposing bold witnesses to follow as they embark into life independently.

6.  Visit CollegeConnectionForCatholics.org, a practical resource to help your child’s faith thrive in college. Their online college search gives details on campus ministry at both universities and small colleges. If there is not an on-campus ministry, it gives details about outreach from the local Catholic parish. Help them find a good place to plant their roots once they get away from home!

7.  Pray as Jesus did. Most importantly, pray for them daily. Pray the same way Christ prayed for them on the eve of His passion: “Holy Father, keep them in your name,… I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.” (John 17:15) Be not afraid, parents, for your prayer is very powerful. Remember, St. Augustine is a saint because of the prayers of his mother.

I encourage you to find ways to bring these topics into your daily conversations. And may God bless you in your mission to form and send out the next generation of disciples!

(Tessa Schealler, Youth Ministry/Young Adult Ministry Coordinator, Diocese of Des Moines)

St. Luke the Evangelist Parish in Ankeny invite you to share six evenings out with your spouse (with free childcare available for children ages one year and older).

“Six Dates” for Catholic Couples

St. Luke the Evangelist Church, Ankeny (meeting at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church, 2110 W. 1st Street, Ankeny).

Saturdays from 5:45 – 8:00 pm through June 2013. Final date is June 22. For more information and to register and request childcare, contact Cindy Clefisch at faithformation@saintluketheevangelist.org

Brewing Faith

Locations to be announced.

6:30 PM – Social Time (Munchies Provided)

7:00 PM – Speaker

7:30 PM – Open Discussion and Q&A

Upcoming Talks

Friday, Aug 9: Living the Power of the Sacraments

Friday, Sept 20: Faith, Romance & Family Planning

Friday, Nov 15: Take Your Faith to Work Day

Sponsored by the Diocesan Office of Young Adult Ministry. For more information, contact Tessa Schealler or call (515) 237-5058.

Sister is professor emerita at the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity of the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota and currently adjunct professor at the Catholic Theological Union and Loyola University in Chicago. Her research and teaching has helped many people — from seminarians to our sisters and brothers in the pew — to find the Jewish Mary in history and Scripture as we journey in faith.

Praying as Mary Prayed
Wednesday, May 22
6 – 8 pm
St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Parish, Des Moines
Childcare provided
Light pastries, fruit and beverages will be served at 6pm. Presentation will begin at 6:30 pm.

For more information, email Sherri Simmer or call (515) 237-5058.

Sister will be sharing from her new book, In Quest for the Jewish Mary: The Mother of Jesus in History, Theology, and Spirituality.

Jesus, as is well known, was born and raised as a Jew in first-century Palestine. A great deal of theological study has focused on the Jewish cultural and religious context of his life and ministry. It is only natural that this attention should lead us to a new approach to his mother, Mary of Nazareth. To some extent, this quest for the Jewish Mary involves excavating beneath centuries of devotional reflection and artistic depictions that have presented a mythologized Mary, detached from history and from her specific Jewish identity.

Mary Christine Athans draws on the latest historical research, the fruits of post-Vatican II Jewish-Christian dialogue, the insights of feminist theology, and contemporary spiritual reflection to rediscover the Jewish Mary a woman of enormous courage, strength, and prayer. In restoring Mary to her own time and place, she helps us rediscover Mary s message for our own time.

This Year of Faith event is sponsored by the Diocese of Des Moines Department of Evangelization and Catechesis.