Holy Week
Holy Week begins Palm Sunday (Sunday, April 5th) and goes through Easter. Suggested Reading: How to Make the Most of Holy Week at Home
Palm Sunday
Background on Palm Sunday: Read a little background from Loyola Press here, and select your child’s age range to find age-appropriate ideas and language to use when talking to them about Palm Sunday. (Use the Family tab for tips for children younger than 1st Grade.)
Set the Tone: Make a green wreath or cross with greenery from your yard, paper, or old clothing. Hang it on your front door, use it as a centerpiece for meals or display it in a prominent place in your home. You can make one as a family, or each member can make their own. Free Palm Printable Here
Celebrate the Liturgy: Livestream Mass or go through the readings as a family.
Create a Memory: Wear red (the liturgical color signifying Jesus’ passion), make a handprint craft (if you don’t have paint you can trace your hands and feet), have some fun with your food! (Examples: “Palm Sundae”- add green food coloring to your ice cream or favorite treat and/or “Victorious Veggies”- arrange green vegetables in shape of a palm or use any color of vegetables to create the shape of a cross when you serve them. Remind your kids that we share in Jesus’ victory over sin/death/fear/the cross/whatever challenge they are facing.)
Holy Thursday
Background on Holy Thursday: Learn about Holy Thursday here. The article covers the Hebrew Passover, Jesus’ institution of the Eucharist and the Priesthood, as well as history on how Holy Thursday has been celebrated in the past and how we celebrate today.
Act of Love: During the Holy Thursday liturgy, we have a foot washing, and we remember Jesus’ act of humility and love in washing His disciples’ feet. Traditionally at Resurrection, everyone in the congregation takes turns washing each other’s feet, not just 12 members. Recreate this as a family at home, or do another act of love for each member. This could be writing a kind note, helping with a chore, etc.
Celebrate the Liturgy: Livestream Mass or go through the readings as a family.
Spend some time with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane: Have your children help you to cover a table or flat surface with a white cloth. White is the color we use for feast days, it also reminds us that Jesus is the Lamb of God, who washes away our sins. Add some greenery or flowers. Light a candle, and spend some time in prayer as a family. This could be thanking Jesus for the blessings you have, some silent reflection, or praying one or more decades of the Rosary, reflecting on the Sorrowful Mysteries.
Good Friday
Background on Good Friday: For a quick read on Good Friday’s background, what happened and how we celebrate it, read 9 Things You Need to Know About Good Friday.
Celebrate the Liturgy: Pray the Stations of the Cross, livestream Mass at 7pm or go through the readings as a family.
Father, Forgive Them: As Jesus hung on the cross, He asked God the Father to forgive those who had tortured Him, humiliated Him, and who would kill Him. Jesus shows us the forgiveness we receive from Him, as well as the forgiveness we are to give to others. Talk about forgiveness with your children. Ask them to consider how Jesus models forgiveness, why it is important, and how we are set free when we are able to forgive others as well as ourselves. Pray the Our Father together as a family, asking your children to focus on “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” and ask them to consider who they might need to forgive. Spend some time in prayer thanking God for forgiving us, and asking Him to help us forgive others.
Holy Saturday
Background on Holy Saturday: Read up on Holy Saturday here.
Pray Together: On Holy Saturday, Jesus’ body still lay in the tomb. His disciples were still grieving and in fear. They did not know He would rise the next day. As a family, pray for those who are sad, scared, alone, sick, dying or grieving. Remind your children that we do not need to be afraid, because we know that Jesus did rise from the dead, and that He is with us even in our darkest moments.
Celebrate the Liturgy: On Holy Saturday, we recall the whole of our salvation history, and God’s love, care and plan for us from the beginning. Livestream Mass at 7pm or go through the readings as a family.
Rejoice: Easter is the most important day and biggest celebration of the Christian calendar. In the evening, give your children a taste of the celebration to come. This could be a special dessert, an extra story before tucking them in, or playing a game together as a family.
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COVID- 19 (Coronavirus) Update
All parish activities, including Life Kids, EDGE and LIFE TEEN, have been suspended until further notice. In the meantime, we are still working as a staff to be able to serve you as much as we can. We will be updating our website regularly, so please check back often.
Please know that we are praying for you and we are here for you. All of our staff is available by email- don’t hesitate to reach out if there is anything we can do. Be safe, take care of yourselves, and may God bless you!
Livestream Mass with Fr. Bill
Visit our Facebook page to watch Mass online with Fr. Bill, Sundays at 11:00 am. See more livestream options throughout the Archdiocese here.
Family Faith Sharing
Domestic Churches in Quarantine– Archdiocesan resources on family life, marriage, keeping Sunday holy, prayer ideas and more.
FORMED– Catholic movies, books, podcasts and other resources. FORMED is normally available through a monthly subscription, but is offering its services FREE for 40 days. App available for iOS and Android.
Sunday Gospel Activities- Each week in Life Kids, we dig deeper into the weekly Gospel using Loyola Press’ Sunday Connection. You can find these same materials here. We recommend using the “Family” tab to find inspiration for activities to do all together each week, but feel free to explore! Select the current week, then click the appropriate tab.
Blessed First Communion Prep (2nd Grade Only)
Sign up for emails from Blessed by Dynamic Catholic to continue preparing your First Communicants from home.
Life Kids General Information
Life Kids is our Children’s Faith Formation Ministry for children ages preschool (age 3 and up) through 5th grade. Our goal is to bring kids closer to Jesus Christ and pass on our Catholic faith in relational, small faith sharing communities within each age group. Join us at any time throughout the school year. We meet on Sundays from 9:45 am to 10:45 am in the Moisant Center. Register here!
First Reconciliation & First Communion
Life Kids also includes preparation for First Reconciliation and First Communion in 2nd grade. First Reconciliation takes place in December and First Communion takes place in May. If your child is older than 2nd grade but would like to receive these sacraments, we are happy to make alternate arrangements for you. Similarly, if your child has not been baptized yet, we would love to help you do so.
Contact Sarah Hoffman, Children’s Faith Formation Coordinator at (503) 638-1579 or shoffman@rcparish.org.
Adult Volunteer Opportunities: Join Our Team!
When adult leaders are committed to developing personal connections with the children in their classes, children build a relationship of trust with these adults that facilitates a rich environment for learning and for faith discussion. This creates a sense of community within each class, which is so valuable to all of our faith journeys. This “mini community” is unique from all other groups such as sports teams, schoolmates, etc., because these kids will grow in their faith together and establish a sense of stability in a parish they can always call their home. Our goal for Life Kids is to build core teams of 3-4 adults for each class allowing us to accomplish the following:
- More flexibility for catechists who can’t come every session.
- Children building relationships of trust with catechists and peers
- More parents sharing the faith with their kids
- Adults learning each child’s name and face and personally acknowledging them.
- Team members growing in relationship as a team and as a small faith group
- Ability to share ideas and share responsibilities
- Larger pool of subs, making sure classes are “covered” each session
We would love some extra help in and out of the classroom. Please contact Sarah to see if there are any current needs and for volunteer requirements. Thank you!