THE FAMILY ZONE

While you may know about the university that bears his name, in our diocese, it is likely that you don't know who St. John Fisher was. Fr. Kevin Mannara, Director of Campus Ministry at St. John Fisher, shares a biography of his life and how he became the Patron Saint of our diocese and the academic insitution, in the video below!

St. John Fisher was a great academic and a lover of learning. Connect to this saint by learning something new with your kids this summer! Try this activity:

Invite each person in your family to take 5 slips of paper. Encourage each person to write 5 things they would like to learn more about. Perhaps it is a country or something in nature or a particular invention!

Put all the slips of paper into a jar or a bag. On a summer day when the kids are bored, pick a slip from your jar and head to the local library or the computer to learn more. It can be a fun way of learning with your kids! Invite your kids to create some sort of activity or project based on what they have learned to take the experience even further!

This summer, share a bit of Bible study with your family. Each week, we'll provide you with a small bit of Bible literacy, a scripture passage to share with your kids, and an activity. This can be a way to winddown at the end of a day with your family, or can even be used as summer learning to keep their brains engaged a bit while away from daily schoolwork. You can fill a backpack with a simple Children's Bible, some Bible storybooks and the handouts we provide! Let's get started, backpacking through the Bible!

A Bible typically has an alphabetical list of all its books along with abbreviations used in looking up Bible passages. Family and Youth Bibles also often provide some color-coding. You can greatly cut down on the time it takes to find a desired passage by using the Table of Contents to find the page where the Bible book begins!

This passage from the Historical Books of the Bible is a great one to engage your child's imagination. Read the passage together at: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1kings/19

This passage reminds us of the beauty of silence; something that isn't always easy to find in our busy lives!

Ask your kids:

What did you see in your mind while you were listening to the story of Elijah? Where did your imagination take you?

Have you ever heard God speaking to YOU in a whisper?

Take a walk together in a park or your backyard and practice silence or spend some time each day practicing silence as a family by getting rid of all devices and distractions. How does that change the moods of all the participants? Ask one another where your thoughts took you in those silent moments.

Play the quiet game together. Everyone stays still and silent. The winner is the person who can stay silent the longest!

Story Time Suggestions:

Listening for God: Silence Practice for Little Ones written by Katie Warner and illustrated by Amy Rodriguez

Shhh, God is in the Silence written by Fiona Basile and illustrated by Alice Mount

The Sound of Silence written by Katrina Goldsaito and illustrated by Julia Kuo

This summer, our goal is to help your family find new ways to pray together, so we will be sharing some traditional AND some more creative ways to bring prayer into your family's day!

Give your child a prayer journal to guide his or her daily thoughts to God! Click on the template below, to get your family started:

This edition's summer pilgrimage takes us on the Camino de Santiago!

The Camino de Santiago, the Way of the apostle, St. James is a walking path that covers hundreds of kilometers within the countries of France, Portugal and Spain. James was the son of Zebedee and the brother of the apostle, John. They were the brothers who followed Jesus to become "fishers of men." James was also one of the three apostles (along with Peter and John) who were present with Jesus at the Transfiguration. After the crucifixion of Jesus, James became a missionary and journeyed to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. St. James is the Patron Saint of Spain, and his remains are said to be buried at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, in Spain, which is the final destination of the Camino. The "Way of St. James" is a pilgrimage that takes many weeks to complete (although it is often shortened with various routes). During the journey, hikers are encouraged to reflect, pray, and find community with other pilgrims. When travelers arrive at the Cathedral, they attend Mass as the culmination of their pilgrimage. The Cathedral is famous for its giant Botafumeiro that extends across the congregation filling the space with incense.

Early travelers on the Camino used a scallop shell to identify themselves. Shells are still gathered today by those making the journey. If your family had a symbol to identify you, what would it be? Create one together!

Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester

Editor: Leslie Barkin leslie.barkin@dor.org

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!