What does it mean for a family to follow a Christian life in their home known as the "Domestic Church?" Leading a Christian lifestyle can be as simple as making the ordinary rhythms of life extraordinary by welcoming Jesus into the midst! Families who live out our faith in the home:

• Create an environment of love, respect, and forgiveness
• Value the gifts of one another
• Pray together
• Welcome the stranger and strives to create a just society
• Celebrate and affirm life
• Raise up vocations
• Talk and teach about God
• Provide a witness to other families in the community

In this ordinary time of our church year, how can your family focus on strengthening your own domestic church?

Join us as we prepare for the Eucharistic Revival in the United States!

We all know that Mass is an obligation. Attending Mass is one of the Precepts of the Catholic Church. Living the Eucharist takes us beyond simple obligation. When we consider how we LIVE the Eucharist, we attend Mass not out of obligation but out of a great need or desire to be in communion with God. We go, because we feel incomplete if we do not. We go to be nurtured, to experience forgiveness, and to be filled with joy in having this time each day or each week. We also, most importantly go as a sacrifice to God. We go to praise and thank God for all that we have and all that we are. As we approach the Eucharistic Revival, it will be beneficial to us all to focus not on the obligation but on the transformation. How is your life impacted and how can you, in turn, impact the world?

Photo by Sylvain Brison on Unsplash

SUNDAY READINGS:

Click on the link below for the readings that you will hear at the Sunday's Mass for the coming two weeks. This will give you a chance to prepare your heart and mind for full and active participation in Mass this weekend! For a Mass schedule in our diocese click on the maroon button below.

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021322.cfm

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022022.cfm

Family Stories: Story Time with a Positive Message.

• Kindness is My Superpower by Alicia Ortego
• I'm Joyful in the Mountains by Joe Klinker
• Dorothy and the Great Quake by Barbara Allaire
• That's Not Fair; Doesn't God Care? by Jeff White

Parenting Articles: How to Ensure Your Kids Keep the Catholic Faith: https://media.ascensionpress.com/2019/09/12/how-to-ensure-your-kids-keep-the-catholic-faith/

Photo by Samuel McGarrigle on Unsplash

Living by our Catholic virtues every day, helps us to live a Christian Lifestyle. Virtues are the opposite of venial sins and help us to make good decisions which keep us on the right path. The Catholic Virtues can be described under the following categories:

CARDINAL VIRTUES: Every human receives cardinal virtues. They help us to develop our moral character. The Cardinal Virtues are prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude.

• When we practice prudence, we avoid being too impulsive
• When we practice justice, we think about and fight for the needs of others
• When we practice temperance, we do all things in moderation
• When we practice fortitude, we avoid temptation

THEOLOGICAL VIRTUES: These virtues help us to grow closer to God. The theological virtues are faith, hope and love. Faith is our acceptance of God's invitation to believe in him. Hope inspires us to keep moving forward, even in difficult times, because we understand the promise of eternal life. Love or charity, is the attitude we assume: because we love God, we cannot help but love all of God's creation.

Pick one of the Cardinal Virtues and one of the Theological Virtues. Make a family plan about how you will practice those virtues this month. Create a list of 10 intentional ways you can live the virtues out.

As you read stories together this month, try to identify the virtues that the characters display, and talk more about the examples you see! Keep a list on the fridge of all your favorite book and tv characters and their virtues!

Family life is messy and nobody is perfect. Need some encouragement? Listen to this episode of Adventures in Imperfect Living with guest Mark Hart, a national Catholic speaker, and his not quite holy family!

Try this Science experiment to demonstrate how acts of Christian kindness can make a difference!

Materials:

• Small bottle of baby oil
• Glitter
• Cup (or something else you can pick up, like a plate or silverware)
• At least one other person
• Hand soap

Process:

1. Have everyone participating in the experiment rub baby oil on their hands.
2. One person sprinkle glitter onto their hands. This shimmery glitter represents the kindness that you can share with others as part of the Christian lifestyle.
3. Shake hands with everyone else. What happens to the kindness? Every time you share kindness with someone else, it rubs off and can make an impact on the world!
4. Don't worry! You aren't stuck with glitter hands; it will come off with soap and water! Think about how you can pass on kindness this week to others and live as Jesus taught us!

During the Communion Rite at Mass, the priest quietly says this prayer:

“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, who, by the will of the Father and the work of the Holy Spirit, through your Death gave life to the world, free me by this, your most holy Body and Blood, from all my sins and from every evil; keep me always faithful to your commandments, and never let me be parted from you.”

What a testament this quiet prayer is to living a Christian lifestyle! May you add to your prayer time this month, a prayer that signifies your desire to remain in communion with Christ. Our commitment to work, each day, on living as God expects of us helps us remain free from sin and opens us up to loving God and our neighbor in deeper ways!

Play a question and answer game at your next extended family dinner. It's a great way to get to know each other better and learn more about how each generation practices the faith! Use the questions below or ask your own!

Humans are programmed to live in community and help others! Recent research shows that students that perform 5 acts of kindness a day increase their level of happiness. Mental Health America lists 10 tools that help one feel stronger and more hope-filled. It is interesting to see how practicing a Christian lifestyle covers many of these 10 tools. Click on the link to learn more!

EVANGELIZATION: The proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus through word and witness. When we lead a Christian life, our life is a witness and it evangelizes others about the power faith can have to transform our lives!

Take the time to affirm your child when they are thinking through the Christian lens. For example, if they come home from school concerned about the way one child was treating another, bring God's expectations for our behavior into the conversation. Over time, this gives real-life examples to the Commandments, the Beatitudes, the Virtues and Gospel living!

These questions help us to have meaningful conversations rooted in faith. What other questions arise in your mind after reading this edition of The Family Zone?

• Does God know when I have sinned?
• How can my actions change the world for better or worse?
• Do I get a second chance if I embrace a vice instead of a virtue in my behavior?
• How can I find out about what God expects from me?

Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester

Debtor in Possession

Email: oec@dor.org
Website: oec.dor.org
Location: Diocese of Rochester, Buffalo Road, Rochester, NY, USA
Phone: 585-328-3210

See them all here!