July 9, 2023

Our Great Journey

Welcome to our weekly summer blog, designed to share ideas for Living the Gospel at Home. This blog is meant to be interactive, so please share ideas, photos and resources that you have tried at home. Sometimes the simplest ideas are the most meaningful.

In today’s Gospel, Matthew 11:25-30, Jesus teaches us how we can know God.

Jesus teaches us that those who know Him will know the Father. As a faith filled family, we can come to know God and Jesus better through our encounters in faith together. Knowing God happens as we follow Jesus and learn more about what it means to be a disciple. Jesus invites us to follow Him saying, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” Summer is a great time to rest and recharge our family spiritual life so that we can better follow Jesus and know the Father.

Things to talk about:

What is God the Father like to you?
What are some ways your family likes to relax and recharge during the summer?
In the gospel, Jesus tells us to take His yoke upon ourselves. What kind of yoke is He talking about?

Things to do:

In today’s Gospel Jesus is calling us to discipleship. To know the Father is to follow Christ and encounter Him in prayer.

As a family design a Sacred Space in your backyard by converting a shed to a chapel or a space in your garden into a grotto. Use this space to rest in prayer and reflection. Search the internet for inspiration.

Family Chalenge: Make a time this week to relax and recharge together as a family. Take time to pray and play together so you can encounter Christ in one another.

Tuesday, July 11 is the Feast Day of St. Benedict. Make Eggs Benedict for breakfast (or brinner) to celebrate his Feast Day. (Eggs Benedict Recipe)

Feast Day July 11

Early in life, St. Benedict was drawn to live like a monk. At first, he became a hermit, but he soon realized that he could not live a hidden life in a small town, so he withdrew to a cave high in the mountains for three years. Some monks chose Benedict as their leader for a while but did not like his strict lifestyle. He had an idea of gathering various families of monks into one “Grand Monastery” to give them the benefit of unity, fraternity, and permanent worship in one house. Finally, he began to build what was to become one of the most famous monasteries in the world—Monte Cassino. Benedict developed a “Rule” that prescribed a life of liturgical prayer, study, manual labor, and living together in community. During the Middle Ages, all monasticism in the West was gradually brought under the Rule of St. Benedict.

Fun Fact: St. Benedict had a twin sister and she is a saint too! St. Scholastica’s Feast Day is on February 10.

The United States is in the midst of a three-year National Eucharistic Revival to remind us of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist and restore our understanding of, and devotion to, the Eucharist. Come as a family to the Chapel and pray before the Blessed Sacrament. Jesus is truly present. READ MORE…