Jesus: friend, companion, spouse

“Who do you say that I am?” (Mark 8:29)

Who do I say Jesus is for me?

A friend, a companion, my spouse.  That last one may surprise you, but you see I am a woman religious, Sister Carol Ann.  When I was received into my religious community of the School Sisters of St. Francis, I was told that now I was a bride of Christ.  At the time, it didn't have a very deep meaning.  However, as the years went by, 48 of them in religious life, it has taken on a very real and significant understanding of Jesus for me.

It especially came home to me several years ago when I was driving in a snowstorm.  I was getting very frightened and thought to myself, "I sure wish I had a husband riding with me to calm me down."  I came to the realization, I do have a companion, an encourager, a supporter and yes even a challenger to help me grow in my love of God and others.  That is precisely what the primary purpose of marriage is: the good of the couple that is, the santification ofe ach other.

Fortunately, for me I didn't have to worry about the sanctification of my spouse.  He certainly has been helping me to grow closer to God and others.

Thank you all for being the presence of Jesus in my life.

Sister Carol Ann, SSSF

Love and Logic

Have you ever wondered why the techniques that your parents used for child rearing don't work so well for you?  do you wonder how to be a more effective parent?  Would you like to gain some new insights and tools to help you parent?
The Love and Logic method might be the answer. 
For more information, check out this PDF or call Sue in the office: 251-0897.

Living Beyond the "End of the World"

A Spirituality of Hope

With Environmentalist and

Author Margaret Swedish

Sunday, September 27, 11:45 am

St. James Parish Hall

Daily we are overrun with news and debates on energy, food, water, climate and economics - interrelated forces that could undermine the fabric of life as we know it. How will we contend with issues like water shortages, the end of “cheap oil”, and the global food crises? What is the potential impact on the poor and powerless in the U.S. and around the world? How can we as people of faith and compassion change our actions to help humankind face these challenges? With Margaret we will explore the spiritual meaning of the ecological crisis that now faces our precious Earth, where the changes required are particularly profound.

Please join us for Margaret’s presentation on Sunday, September 27 at 11:45 am following mass and the Knights of Columbus Pancake Breakfast. Please invite your friends and neighbors to hear this wonderful speaker. All are welcome!

Household Activity: Car Conversation

Have a car conversation this week about faith.  Here's a good question to get you started: Who have you encountered this week that has reminded you of Jesus?

Tuesday catechist needs

We had a number of people respond to our plea for catechists and childcare for the October GIFT session. At this time we are all set in both areas for the Sunday Session as a number of people had responded. We are still in need of someone to teach Gr. 4, Gr. 5/6, and Gr. 9/10 as well as someone from the Tuesday GIFT program to do childcare for our Sunday families. Please email if you can help in any of these areas. Thanks to all of those who have already come forward.

We need some ceramics for October.

In October, our theme is Jesus: human and divine.  We want to look at Jesus and His times -- customs, dishes, tools, food, and places he went, prayed, and taught.

Two of the grades will view the types of dishes Jesus may have used.  Does anyone know someone who teaches ceramics and would be willing to loan us some greenware of 2 pitchers, 2 flat dishes, 2 pieces that look like glasss or something to drink from and maybe something to drink from and maybe something that could hold oil in a love lamp?  We have woven baskets.  Please email or phone either Sue or S. Carol Ann if you can help.  Thank you.

How are you growing in your faith?

Our wheat seeds are growing by leaps and bounds!  The catechists and the core team will get an in person preview at their meeting coming up.  But for the rest of us, check out the picture of the wheat:

GIFT Calendar 2009-2010

Here is the 2009-2010 GIFT calendar:

 Gift Calendar 2009

View more documents from St. James GIFT.

You can also download it if you want.

Thursday's Thoughts

Welcome to our GIFT Blog!
We are happy to have you here sharing ideas and thoughts about the GIFT Program at St. James. This site will be updated weekly and we hope that you will take the time to read it and add your thoughts to it.

Thanks to all of you who participated in our GIFT Retreat, "Who do you say that I am?" It was amazing to see 250 individuals come together to focus on Jesus and faith. As we continue Growing In Faith Together this year with our study of Jesus, we look forward to continued reflections on Jesus’ life. Be sure to put your prayer cloth in a place of meaning in your home and keep that space for prayer. You might want to put your Bible on your cloth or maybe have a candle there that you always light for prayer. Make it work for your domestic church! If you were not able to get to the Retreat you can check out some of the other things we did on this blog site, and you can pick up other important information you missed at the Christian Formation Office. Please feel free to call the staff at 262-251-0897.

Help is needed!!!
We still need a few adults to lead our children’s groups on Sunday and Tuesday. You are asked to commit to the first 3 GIFT sessions (Sundays, Oct 11, Nov. 8, Dec. 13th or Tuesdays, Oct. 13, Nov. 10, & Dec 15th).There will be a Catechist Planning session for these Catechists on Thursday, September 24th at 6:30 in the Great Room. If you can help, please e-mail or call, Sue or Diana as soon as possible. The following grades still need a leader.

Sunday
7th Graders
8th Graders

Tuesday
4K-1st
4th Grade
5/6th Grades
9/10th Grades

-Sue

Household Activity

Here's a good activity for your household.  As Catholic Christians, we believe that the Bible is the Word of God.  We always treat the Bible with respect.  Help your family, no matter how young, recognize that the Bible is not just another book.  Consider enthroning the Bible in your home.  The USCCB website has a prayer service for enthroning the Bible at the link.

Jesus, Compassionate Savior

As we launch the GIFT blog, we start a mini-series of short reflections that answers the question that Jesus Christ posed to Peter and to us: “Who do you say that I am?” (Mark 8:29).
---
Jesus, you are our Compassionate Savior.

Compassionate because you, the Eternal Word, didn’t regard equality with God something to be grasped. Instead, you let go, you humbled yourself, you emptied yourself taking the form of a servant and came to us like us in all things except sin. You could have come in a scary way, through a talking animal, a powerful giant, or a flying angel. Instead, you were found human in appearance. You wanted to be like us. You lived life as one of us and you know of our pain, our suffering. Jesus, you yourself suffered and were obedient to death, even death on a cross.

But Jesus, your compassion is not limited to your birth and death. Your life speaks of compassion. We see you healing the blind, curing the lame, dining with sinners and the least among us. You speak with women and men, with children and adults, the words of everlasting life. You look upon crowds both now and then and are moved with pity and provide nourishment, with bread that sustains our body, mind, and spirit. You want to be with us, want to meet us most especially in those places we consider unworthy, unsatisfactory, imperfect. Your special love for the poor extends into the poor areas of our life.

Jesus, your desire to heal extends beyond our time and our space; you are our savior.

You saved us through your suffering, death, and resurrection and save us now when we call out to you. When we face a difficult situation, when we are in pain and need healing, when we are stuck between a rock and a hard place, we turn to you. Salvation is life-giving and you are the source of life.

Jesus, you are our Compassionate Savior. Desiring our good, loving us until the end, and always calling us towards yourself, may we live eternally in your loving embrace.

Isaac Garcia

El Greco: The Miracle of Christ Healing the Blind

GIFT Videos - September 13th

Here are the GIFT videos from this past weekend, Fr. Art's presentation and the expectations and responsibilities:

Fr. Art:

GIFT - September 13, 2009 from St. James Parish on Vimeo.

Responsibilities and Expectations:

GIFT - September 13, 2009 - Expectations & Responsibilities from St. James Parish on Vimeo.

Images of Jesus

Here are the images that we used during the opening prayer for Sunday's GIFT session (with music):

St. James GIFT - Jesus Images

You can also pause it and flip back and forth between different slides.