Ann youth ministry Weekly Newsletter May 17th, 2020 Sixth Sunday of Easter Vol I, Issue XV

Cover Page pg. 1 Youth Ministries pg. 3 Saint Ann Weekly Newsletter Youth Ministry Newsletter Schedule Youth Ministry Podcast Sunday Readings pg. 2 Youth Articles pg. 3 Acts 8:5-8 The Epistle to Diognetus Psalm 66:1-7, 15, 20 Articles pg. 4 1 Peter 3:15-18 The Duties of Parents (Part X of XI) John 14:15-21 Saint Rita of Cascia pg. 5 Faith Formation pg. 3 Newsletter pg. 6 Online Faith Formation Content Contribution Discernment Interviews Contributor

Saint Ann Weekly Newsletter

Until Mass and Faith Formation are made regularly available again, the Saint Ann Youth Ministry Weekly Newsletter may be found online at w.stanninburleson.com/saooym or you may subscribe to it by e-mailing the Youth Coordinator at [email protected].

Confirmation Discernment Interviews

It is time for Confirmation Discernment interviews. If your child is seeking to receive the of Confirmation and wishes to discern their readiness, you can go to the Saint Ann Webpage at www.stanninburleson.com/ycon and click on the SignUpGenius link.

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Sunday Mass Readings 1 Peter 3:15-18 Acts 8:5-8, 14-17 Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Thus Philip went down to the city of Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them. who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do With one accord, the crowds paid attention to it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your what was said by Philip when they heard it and conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, saw the signs he was doing. For unclean spirits, those who defame your good conduct in Christ crying out in a loud voice, came out of many may themselves be put to shame. For it is better possessed people, and many paralyzed and to suffer for doing good, if that be the will of God, crippled people were cured. There was great joy than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered for in that city. sins once, the righteous for the sake of the Now when the apostles in Jerusalem unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, to death in the flesh, he was brought to life int eh they sent them Peter and John, who went down spirit. and prayed for them, that they might receive the holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of John 14:15-21 them,; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them and “If you love me, you will keep my they received the holy Spirit. commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you Psalm 66:1-7, 16, 20 always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But Shout joyfully to God, all the earth; you know it, because it remains with you, and will Sing of his glorious name; be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will Give him glorious praise. come to you. In a little while the world will not Say to God: “How awesome your deeds! longer see me, but you will see me, because I live Before your great strength your enemies cringe. and you will live. On that day you will realize All the earth falls in worship before you; that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in They sing of you, sing of your name!” you. Whoever has my commandments and Come and see the works of God, observes them in the one who loves me. And Awesome in deeds before the children of . whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, He changed the sea to dry land; and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” Through the river they passed on foot. There we rejoiced in him, Who rules by his might forever. Come and hear, all you who fear God, While I recount what has been done for me. Blessed be God, who did not reject my And refuse his mercy.

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Faith Formation Youth Ministry Podcast

The Saint Ann Office of Youth Ministries is now Online Faith Formation offering a weekly podcast. The episodes can be heard and downloaded on the website at Saint Ann Middle and High School Faith www.stanninburleson.com/saooym-podcast. Formation is currently available online at These episodes will cover numerous topics which www.mycatholicfaithdelivered.com. If you need may be of interest to parents, and which they can login information for your child or have difficulty share with their youth. If there is a particular logging in, please contact the youth coordinator topic you or your child would like to be addressed at [email protected]. on the podcast, please send your requests to [email protected] Discernment Interviews

Final Confirmation Discernment Youth Articles Interviews will begin to be scheduled in the next few weeks. All those present for discernment The Epistle to Diognetus interviews will need to be wearing a face mask or other appropriate covering and proper social By Miguel Giovannitti distancing and sanitation will be employed. The Epistle to Diognetus is a book that shows the unique lifestyle of Christians. The book focuses on the hate Christians receive and how they act on it. Chapters 5 and 6 precisely represent the Youth Ministries relationship of good and evil and why Christians are despised throughout the world. Youth Ministry Newsletter Chapters 5 and 6 displays that Christians are able to deal with loathing and not react in a Saint Ann Youth Ministries are still negative way. They are seen as peaceful people looking for youth who are interested in writing because they are taught to love others. This act it one article a month for the Youth Ministry similar to Jesus’ death during his Crucifixion. He was mocked and teased by the people he was going Newsletter. If your child is interested, please to save. Jesus didn’t fight back or make a contact the youth coordinator at to save himself. Instead, he sacrificed himself to [email protected]. save others. Even though Christians love all, they get the most hate from everyone. This is because the holiness of Christians makes other people feel guilty. For example, two friends walk in a store and find a wallet on the ground. One of them presents the idea of taking money from the wallet to the other. The other says that it’s a bad idea because that would be stealing. Therefore, the friend who wanted to steal feels guilty because he knows that he wouldn’t be doing the right thing. The friend

Saint working for his publication wanted the other to agree with his idea so he Rycerz Niepokalanej (Knight of the Immaculata). wouldn’t feel guilty for his actions. Similarly to when Jesus was in the desert with Satan. Satan knew he was evil, and didn’t want to be alone, so he tried to make Jesus betray God. The Epistle to Diognetus shows how good always dominates evil. Christians are hated because they are holy and follow God. However, Christians don’t battle hate with hate, they love all.

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Contraception may be responsible, when

Articles one child enters the religious life, and none remain to bear grandchildren for us. By The Duties of Parents (Part XI of XI) contracepting, we directly opposed God’s plan for us, and by pressuring our children out of the A commentary on CCC: 2231 religious life, we directly oppose God’s plan for us and for our children again, doing so both in the Matrimony is the way in which we youth of our children, and in their adulthood. manifest how we have been made “in the image Contrarily, one may wish to see their child enter of God,” specifically in the marital embrace the religious life, when they either seek or are which, when properly employed, is one of the called to have a family. One could conceivably highest forms of worship. Still, not all of our be guilted into entering the religious life for the children may choose to become married, and may sake of the pride of their parents, when if they had give up the natural goods of matrimony to in not contracepted, they could have raised up exchange for other rightly oriented goods. children who would have been called to such a This can be chosen by the sibling, who vocation. Their child then would either be gives up the good of matrimony to provide for the attending to a vocation to which they were not care and welfare of their own siblings or parents. called, or postpone the vocation to which they are It can be given up in the pursuit of carrying out called through matrimony. This latter case could their vocation of God through a secular career, as likely cause them to fail to raise up children the medical doctor Saint Giuseppe Moscati did, which God had intended, having the same effect when he sacrificed his chance to marry in order that contraception would have had in this case, to continue his ministry of doctoring to the poor causing the parents again to have opposed God and destitute. Then there are the countless both in their youth, and in their adulthood. who sacrificed the goods of marriage for a Jesus, the model of the Father, submitted vocation of service to God, as lay ministers, himself entirely to the will of the Father. Yet, still monks and priests. submitting himself entirely to the Father, he still We must remember that to serve or not to exerted authority over those in his charge, the serve in any of these capacities are not decision whole of mankind. We should exert the same which we choose to pursue, but rather a calling authority over our children, in the same manner from God himself, which we choose to answer. as Christ, by submitting ourselves entirely to the This holds true for Holy Orders, lay ministry, and Father. In this way, more than any other, we will even to Matrimony, although Matrimony is the guarantee the sanctification and holiness of our means which we are most commonly called. We children, and ensure they answer the vocation to must still remember at all times, that we should which God has called them, rather than to follow not attempt to pressure our children either into, or the path that we desire. out of any one of these callings. It is God who does the calling, not us. God may deprive us of grandchildren for his greater plan, and he may deprive us of a priest or a nun in the family for his greater plan. Otherwise, it may be that we have denied ourselves of either of these goods when we shirked or violated our responsibilities and right behavior before God. The most common culprit in our modern times, would be the sin of contraception.

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Saint Rita of Cascia

Saint Rita was born Margharita Lotti would lose their souls, Rita tried to dissuade in 1381 in Roccaporena . Her parents, them, and failing to do so, prayed to God to Antonio and Amata Lotti were known to be take her sons before they could commit noble and charitable people. As was the mortal sin. About a year later the two fell ill common practice at the time, her parents with dysentery and died a natural death. arranged her marriage to Paolo Mancini and After the death of her husband and she was married to him at the age of 12 sons, she sought to enter monastery, but was despite her requests to be allowed to enter a turned away due to fear of being associated convent of religious sisters. Paolo was with scandal due to her husbands death. She known for his riches, short temper, and left and sought to reconcile her family with immorality who had many enemies in the that of her husbands murderers. After region of Cascia. praying the intercession of , For many years, Rita was insulted and and Nicholas of abused by her husband who was generally Tolentino, her brother in law Bernardo fell ill unfaithful to her. Still, through humility, with the bubonic plague which was ravaging kindness, and patience, Rita was able to Italy. He gave up his desire to feud with the convert, and encouraged him to become a Chiqui family. Rita sought entry into the better person, to the point where he monastery of Saint again renounced his families vendetta against the and was admitted at the age of thirty six. Chiqui family.. She lived in the monastery for the rest Rita and Paolo had two sons, of her life. At the age of sixty, while she was Giangiacomo and Paulo, and raised them in meditating a small wound appeared on her the Christian faith. Paulo had become a forehead which appeared as if it had been pleasant person to be around, and overcame pierced by the crown of thorns on Christ’s his temper, but the feud between the Mancini head. She bore this wound until her death in and Chiqui families became more intense, 1457. On her deathbed, a visiting cousin and Paolo was betrayed by his families allies asked if she desired anything from her home, and was stabbed to death by Guido Chiqui. to which she asked for a rose from the garden. A widow at the age of 30, Rita It was January but nonetheless her cousin publicly pardoned Paulo’s murderers at his found a single blooming rose and brought I funeral. Paulo’s brother Bernardo sought to back to Rita. continue the vendetta and sought to convince Saint Rita was Canonized in 1900 by Rita’s sons to seek revenge, convincing them Leo XIII and is the of Lost to leave their mother and live at the Mancini and Impossible Causes, Sickness, Marital villa. As they grew, they began to take on the Problems, Abuse and Mothers. Her feast day disposition of their uncle, and sought revenge is May 22nd. against their fathers murderers. Fearing they

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The Newsletter

Content Contribution

We are currently looking for content contributors who may want to write on various subjects pertaining to the Youth Formation, Youth Fellowship and Youth Ministry programs. All youth from grades 6-12 are also welcome to create content for the Newsletter for which they will receive service hours. Publishable submissions will range between 300 and 500 words.

Contributors

August Klein: August Klein is the Youth Coordinator at Saint Ann and currently writes the entirety of the Saint Ann Youth Ministry Weekly Newsletter. He published the first issue on February 4th, 2020 at the direction of the Director of Religious Education, Trisha Vasquez. August is a revert to Catholicism. After leaving the church around 2001, he returned to the Catholic Church with his family at the end of 2014 the last Sunday of Ordinary Time before the beginning of advent. In 2015 after Lent, he had his children Baptized and his wife Kelly joined the Church the following year through RCIA. During his children’s first year of faith formation, August began to fill in for teachers who could not make it on a given day and was subsequently asked to teach his own Children’s Faith Formation starting in 2016. In 2017 he was asked to help teach Youth Confirmation and with parent formation for Children’s Holy Communion. In 2019 when his children began attending Middle School Faith Formation, August was again asked to teach Middle School Formation, during which time he was hired as the Youth Coordinator for Saint Ann Catholic Church.

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