Lessons and Activities

by Patricia MathsonCLICK HERE for a pdf about St. Émilie de Villeneuve and other feast days in October. Copyright 2015, Bayard, Inc. All rights reserved....

Do you know these facts about the Bible? Read each statement and circle the letter next to the word or phrase that makes the statement a fact. Before you begin, fold the bottom of the page up to the dotted line. That way, you cannot see the answers until you’re ready to check your facts. Have fun and learn!

Long ago, people living in the desert or in monasteries used pebbles, sticks, or lines drawn in the sand to count their prayers. Herein lies the early roots of the Catholic Rosary. People progressed to counting knots on a cord, then to the beads we know today.

Computers, laptops, smartphones, tablets, interactive whiteboards, apps, blogs, and tweets: Technology is part of our everyday lives at home, in school, and in the parish. Technology is here to stay, and it can be a great gift in ministry!

by Virginia Prisco for 15 saint biographies you might want to use for Saint Bingo. Saints are men and women who were remarkable in...

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It started with a "noise like a gust of wind," explained the fourteen-year-old teen we now know as St. Bernadette Soubirous. Today, more than 150 years later, millions of pilgrims still travel to the once-small town in southern France where that gust of wind first heralded the presence of our Blessed Mother. The pilgrims come to pray for healing and reconciliation, to bathe in the waters, and to remember the 18 appearances, or apparitions, of the Virgin Mary to Bernadette at Lourdes.

Those of us who serve as catechists, parish spiritual leaders, mentors, and guides need to pursue our own spiritual, catechetical, biblical, and theological formation to be able to address the questions, struggles, and ambiguities that our young people bring to us. This is not a time to waffle with weak responses that have not been tested within our own desert experiences. We are called to be salt and light for all those who seek to come out of the desert.

Sacraments are wonderful gifts from God that show us how God is present in our lives.

The Mass calls us together as a community. We were created to give praise and glory to the God who loves us without end. We remember all that God has done for us.