ConfirmationUpdate–October 2017

The Bible and God’s Plan for our Salvation

  • Fr. Jude Eli Presentations on the first part of the Gospel of Matthew - Wed, 10/9-10/12. Each night from 7-8:30pm at St. Joseph’s Church.**
  • Youth Bake Sale after all Masses - Sat, 10/14 & Sun, 10/15
  • Middle/High School Youth Group - Sun, 10/15/17 -Time TBD, Social Hall
  • Fr. Jude Eli Presentations on the Biblical Perspective on the Sacraments - Wed, 10/16-10/19. Each night from 7-8:30pm at Sacred Heart. **
  • FMHS WildCATholics Lunch Group – 1st, 3rd and 5th Wednesday of the month (10/18, 11/1, 11/15, 11/29, 12/6, 12/20). Join us for free food/drinks, great discussion and fun games during lunch (11:05-11:50am), Mrs. Stanco’s room (Rm 123).***
  • PHS Newman Club Lunch Group – Every other Thursday (10/19, 11/2, 11/16, 11/30). Join us for free pizza/drinks and great discussion during lunch in Mr. Sargent’s room.***
  • Fr. Jude Eli Presentations on the second part of the Gospel of Matthew - Wed, 10/23-10/26. Each night from 7-8:30pm at Immaculate Heart of Mary. **
  • High School Youth Group - Sun, 10/22/17, 5-7pm, Social Hall
  • Southwest Catholic Youth Conference - Sat, 10/28 - Sun, 10/29 – Join us for an AMAZING conference in Farmington, NM. We’ll (probably) leave Saturday at 5am and return Sunday around 2pm. Cost is $50/person plus money for food on Sun. Contact Colleen to sign up.*
  • High School Youth Group - Sun, 11/5/17 - 5-7pm, Social Hall
  • Youth Mass –Sat, 11/12/17 at 4:30pm. We’ll have dinner after Mass for all Confirmation candidates.
  • Next Confirmation Class -Sun, 11/12, 6-8:00pm. Come early (5:40pm) if you want dinner!

*Starred items qualify for the Confirmation retreat requirement or a Catholic Youth Event.

**Double Starred items – attend three of these talks to qualify for the Catholic Youth Event requirement.

***Attending 4 Lunches or 3 Youth Group nights fulfills the requirement for a Catholic Youth Event.

Attendance is required at highlighted events.

Service Hour Opportunities

  • K-5 Religious Education – Help one of the teachers at Religious Ed on Sunday mornings between Masses. Contact Nicole MacDonald at 201-0810.
  • Youth Bake Sale after all Masses on 10/14 and 10/15. Help by baking items to sell and/or by helping at the sale after any Mass. Place items to sell on tables in the entryway.

The Bible and God’s Plan for our Salvation

10/8/17

Challenge

Spend 5-10 minutes every morning reading that day’s Gospel (find it at Really read it, reflect on it and write down one thing that stuck out to you (in a prayer journal). How can you live that one thing TODAY?

Scripture and Quotes to lead you in prayer

  • John 1:1-5 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through Him, and without Him nothing came to be. What came to be through Him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
  • Jeremiah 29:11 - “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope.”
  • St. Joseph Cafasso - “I have been made for heaven, and heaven for me.”

Reflection

“The Bible is filled with characters, both saintly and ‘unsaintly,’ all embroiled in the same battle against sin as you and I are, every day. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that ‘character’ means fictional, however, as you too are a character in God’s story of salvation (1Peter 1:9). You are not an unnamed person in the story of creation. You are not an ‘extra.’ You are a primary character. God knows your name (Isaiah 49:16). God created you (Psalms 129:14-16, Jeremiah 1:4-8) and knows everything about you (Matthew 10:30, Isaiah 55:8-9). You can find a little of yourself in every person in Scripture, man or woman.

You’ll also read of epic battles, sin-filled failures, heroic lives and miraculous encounters. These are real. They are true. They are not designed to ‘wow’ you into loving God, but to remind you that He is God and that you are not.

The Word of God will challenge you. The Word of God will inspire you. The Word of God will give you hope. The Word of God will bring you joy.”

(From 100 Things, Mark Hart and Todd Lemieux, pages 97-98)

A Future Not My Own

(by Matt Maher, Jason Ingram, Paul Moak)

This song was inspired by a prayer from Archbishop Oscar Romero. The spirit of the prayer suggests it’s good to take a step back and consider the long view and remember that you are not God and you can’t see the end result of things. The last line of the prayer is what really struck me. Romero said, ‘We are prophets of a future not our own.’ And I thought, that’s what I need. I need a future that doesn’t belong to me. I decided to write a song based on what would happen if somebody read that prayer. What would their response be? The song became a response to the prayer, ‘God, I need a future not my own. I need a future that’s not of my design.’ This was one of the first songs written for the record that describes the cry of the human heart that doesn’t have a clear sense of where things are going and is looking for a sense of direction.

God slow me down

I'm like a river running

Pressed to the ground

I feel it overcoming

I'm on my knees

I'm incomplete

This is a great unknown

Love is a long and narrow road

Come chase this heart of stone

I need a future not my own

Your spirit groans

Where all my words are ceasing

Can't do this alone

Lord help my unbelieving

My poverty

I'm incomplete

We see the start, but You see the end

We see in part, but Your love sees everything

We plant the seeds, but You make them grow

We're building a house. You're building a home

This is the great unknown

Love is a long and narrow road

Come chase this heart of stone

I need a future not my own

This world is not my home

I still have miles and miles to go

Come break this heart of stone

I need a future not my own

© 2015 Sony/ATV Tree Publishing / I Am A Pilgrim Songs (BMI) / Sony/ATV Timber Publishing / Open Hands Music (SESAC) / Paul Moak Publishing / Universal Music - Brentwood Benson Publ. (ASCAP) (Adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com)