A note from Fr. John Ozella – 3-26-20

Posted onAuthorMary Meissner

I barely get my second parish letter out and Governor Polis’ statewide order to stay at home is issued. Our office is complying with this. All of us have removed from the office what we need to work from our homes. We will still respond to you by voicemail or email. Voicemail messages are relayed to us via our emails; there’s a slight delay to this, but we do receive them and will respond. Mary will keep our Website and Facebook pages current; the rest of us will be providing pastoral resources, reflections and staying connected.

Lent calls us to greater prayer time, and this quarantine we now experience facilitates that. Stay in touch with our Lord, while we do our best to stay in touch with you.

— Fr. John O., Pastor

http://www.ctkpueblo.org/staff/

Religious Formation Update – March 26, 2020

Posted onAuthorMary Meissner

March 26, 2020

Hello Parents and Guardians –

I hope you are all settling into what is the new (but weird) normal.   I’m attaching a link to a new note from Fr. John regarding the stay-at-home order.  Scroll down a little to read the short letter:  http://www.ctkpueblo.org/

I know there is a whole lot of bad news out there, but there is so much good going on and some great opportunities as well.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that the family is the Domestic Church and parents receive the responsibility and privilege of evangelizing their children.  (CCC 2204, 2225).  This is the perfect opportunity to incorporate this even more in your family life.

There are a ton of online resources out there (it is a little overwhelming, actually).  What I will focus on each week is giving you resources to celebrate the Mass online every weekend and discuss the gospel reading.  In this season of Lent, the Gospels are such great stories about Jesus and I think they help us focus on the ultimate truths of the Paschal Mystery – the dying and rising of Christ.  What a great opportunity to really delve into that as a family!

Since we can’t attend Mass in person, this is a good opportunity to introduce kids to the idea of Spiritual Communion.  Spiritual communion is a practice and prayer asking Jesus to come into our hearts when we can’t physically receive communion.  Here is a good article on the How and Why of Spiritual Communion:  https://www.osvnews.com/2020/03/14/the-why-and-how-of-making-a-spiritual-communion/

In addition, I found this Spiritual Communion Prayer that is more kid-friendly:

My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament.

I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart.

I embrace You as if You have already come, and unite myself wholly to You.

Never permit me to be separated from You.

Amen.

Resources for Sunday, March 29 – Fifth Sunday of Lent:

Mass Online:

  • Bishop Robert Barron in California (He has great homilies, they are recorded so you can watch them whenever, and the sound and visuals are excellent):  https://www.wordonfire.org/daily-mass/
  • If you are on Facebook, our own Bishop Stephen Berg is saying Mass at the Cathedral on Sundays (I think it was at 11:30 a.m.)  Just look up “Diocese of Pueblo” and like their page – you will get more info there.

The Readings:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/032920.cfm

Discussion of the Gospel Reading:   Click here

First Communion:

I sent all families preparing a child for First Communion a separate email with homework.  Let me know if you did not receive it.

Middle School and High School Virtual Youth Group:

Middle School and High School:  We will be beginning a new online youth group format from the LifeTeen program we normally use in class.  It is called Global Life Night Experience and it is live online.

Beginning this Sunday, March 29th, we will be hosting a series of Global Life Night experiences on YouTube.  These 30 minute sessions will feature speakers, musicians, and a live host to engage with the online community. We will begin our first series looking at the theological virtues – beginning with hope. These weekly meetings will happen live at 5:00 PM ET (so 3:00 p.m. our time – MST) and will remain on LifeTeen’s YouTube channel for viewing later.  I will gather with middle school virtually afterwards (TBA) and Courtney will do the same with High School Students.  Courtney and I will send more info directly to the Middle School and High School groups with invitations and links later this week.

More Resources:

For those of you looking for more for you or your kids to do, there is a ton out there!  Here are some recommendations:

Keeping the Faith Amid Covid-19 Newsletter:  I found this really good newsletter from the Catholic publisher “Our Sunday Visitor” with positive stories and ways to find God in the midst of what we are going through.  It is a comfort and a way to keep from feeling anxious or panicked.  Yesterday’s was excellent:  “Quarantine Blues:  5 Ways to Help Your Family Cope.”  https://osvnews.com/2020/03/23/quarantine-blues-5-ways-to-help-your-family-cope-while-youre-all-cooped-up/?utm_campaign=KTF200325&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua  You will see an orange pop-up asking you to sign up for the newsletter.

Catholic Icing – This is a definite “go-to” for fun Catholic teaching, crafts, worksheets, and even recipes!  There are good resources here for the weekend readings as well.  https://www.catholicicing.com/blog/

Teaching Catholic Kids:  Sign Up for a Weekly Newsletter which has a lot of resources.

https://teachingcatholickids.com/stuck-at-home-here-are-some-resources-to-help/?utm_campaign=TCK%202020-03-23&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua

Living Faith Kids:  Here is a good resource for FREE online access http://www.livingfaith.com/?mc_cid=ab8fafa63c&mc_eid=b3ffa055df

CatholicBrain.com:  tons of materials.  Find the yellow banner that gives you a free 30 day subscription.

Loyola Press:  Catholic Family, Faith and Fun – it has activities, mealtime ideas, daily life and prayer, etc.  https://www.loyolapress.com/our-catholic-faith/family/family-faith-and-fun

Diocese of Pueblo:  https://pueblocatholic.org/  Click on “COVID-19 Response and Resources” and for some more ideas.

Laura Fisher Escalera
Pastoral Associate for Religious Formation
Christ the King Parish
(719) 542-9248 ext. 113

Mass Resources

Posted onAuthorMary Meissner

From Fr. John O.:

Now that we are all “Roamin’ Catholics” during this downtime for our parish, I want you to be aware of resources for watching Masses online in addition to the EWTN-TV channel.

Recognizing these changes likely leave us even more in need of God’s grace, The USCCB and other Catholic partners have generously made their resources available to support prayer during these difficult days.

Resources can be found at www.CatholicCurrent.org/covid19

Please use freely and share with others. A sense of community is of the upmost importance. We must encourage each other, take care of each other, pray for each other and stay connected to our faith during this time of social distancing.

The Benedictine monks of St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota are live-streaming Mass on a daily basis now. The link is https://saintjohnsabbey.org/live Sunday Masses are at 9:30 a.m. our time; weekday Masses are at 4 p.m.; and Saturdays at 10:30 a.m.(except Saturday, March 21st Mass will be at 10 a.m.).

There are many more options than these. For English live-streaming Masses from throughout the world, go to

https://mass-online.org/daily-holy-mass-live-online/

Enjoy the variety!