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Summer Ideas for Faith and Connection

This is a reprint from Catholicmom.com.

Jane Korvemaker offers five ideas to include in your summer plans to help foster faith and connection for your family.

As summer rolls out, our familiar routines with school tend to be thrown out the window. As a child, I remember the absolute thrill of having no obligations on my plate, or at least I thought there were no obligations, much to the chagrin of my parents.

When summer activities/camps crop up, vacations with travel, and for many families, parents continually working throughout the months, it can be difficult to help build up family relationships and faith life. Here are five ideas that can be incorporated singly or more numerously into summer plans to help foster faith and connection for your family.

Morning Offering Together

This works if there are young kids and/or early risers; sometime around breakfast offer the day to the Holy Spirit together. It can be as simple as, “Holy Spirit, thank you for this day. We ask that you be with us and guide our actions today for your glory and our true happiness. Amen.”

There are many other formulations that can work for your family’s needs!

Podcasts for the Family

There are a lot of podcasts for kids out there, but which ones won’t grate on the adults also tuning in? Which promote a healthy outlook on life? There are several we’ve discovered and have enjoyed in the van and at home:

Saints Alive present dramatizations of saints’ lives. Since the lives are acted out, they are lengthier than other saint stories we’ve encountered, which gives more depth to know the saints. Though the music can sometimes overpower the dialogue (or increase too much between dialogue), the content is so great that we can handle managing the volume dial more often.

Saint Stories for Kids by Shining Light Dolls is a shorter podcast that gives a great overview of a wide variety of saints. They have more than 140 episodes; there are many saints to choose from!

While not quite a podcast, nor freely available, Cat.Chat’s Audio dramatizations are fantastic! My kids adored the stories and songs that punctuated them. They are filled with great storytelling of faith, hope, and love. They have been well worth our investment.

Wow In the World is a very entertaining podcast about science, technology, and innovation. Mindy and Guy explore and discover the world around them in outlandish stories and with their hilarious personalities.

Short and Curly is a great ethics podcast coming out of Australia. With great humor, the hosts tackle questions kids have, such as: should you kill insects?; the ethics of smartphones; and is it fair to punish the whole class? They offer great scenarios and consider the different ethical positions involved in a large number of different topics. They also provide pause points within the podcast to discuss the questions with your kids.

Music

We’ve had the occasional dance party with our kids to just let loose for a few! The kids love it, and it’s usually an aerobic workout for my husband and me (where did our energy go?!). While we are cautious about what may turn into a little torture every time we parents have to listen in, my husband and I have found these groups and artists to pass our “adults can also enjoy” test.

Check out Cat. Chat (Spotify & YouTube) or Rain for Roots (Spotify & YouTube) for some fun Catholic songs to dance to!

These fun (though non-Christian) artists are a hit in our house: Perry Gripp (Spotify & YouTube), some Weird Al (Spotify), the BNL (Spotify & a few on YouTube), or They Might Be Giants’ kids albums (YouTube; the videos are pretty great).

The Angelus

This prayer is traditionally recited at nine, noon, and six, but can be said on its own when convenient. It is a simple invitatory and response prayer based upon the Hail Mary. Its simplicity does not negate its power. The easy rhythm is quick to pick up for young and older alike.

Summer Movie (or Show) Club

This could be a great way to include their friends! Come up with dates to watch a series of movies and plan for popcorn! Start with a short prayer and press play! There are a great number to choose from, here are a few on my list: The Prince of Egypt, Thérèse, Clare & Francis (subtitled & dubbed), The Way, The Chronicles of Narnia series.

Kendra Tierney has a great list of other movies to watch as a family if you’re looking for more inspiration. As always, be sure to check the movie ratings yourself to find if it is appropriate for your family.

(Editor’s Note: Follow the blog at our sister ministry, Family Theater Productions, for information on family-friendly entertainment. Family Theater Productions also created the YouTube show, Catholic Central, to help older kids and adults learn about the faith in a fun and enlightening format.]

How does your family connect and foster prayer and faith over the summer?

Fun & Useful Catholic Gifts

By Deanna Bartalini

School is winding down and the celebrations are beginning. There are First Communions, teachers and catechists to thank, moms and dads to honor, and maybe graduation. There can be lots going so I’d like to help you with your shopping. I’ve put together some gift ideas that reflect our Catholic faith and make faith a part of everyday life.

For Children

This Novena coloring book for First Communion is unique. I’ve never seen this before and think it would be an engaging and different way to pray with and for a child who is receiving First Communion this year.

If you are looking for a way to engage your children in praying the Rosary, these books are sure to help. One for each mystery of the Rosary, with colorful pictures and sturdy pages, the Bead by Bead, Picture Prayer Book will help little ones focus and join in praying.

How about a game of Concentration with the Saints? Holy Heros Matching Game comes in a tin container, so it’s something you can easily take with you.

Our family has always enjoyed Tomie dePaola. His latest book is no exception; Christopher, The Holy Giant tells the story of the journey of a young man who came to know, love, and follow Jesus through service.

For Adults

These stainless steel Holy Water Bottles make me smile. You can clip them to your purse, keys, or backpack. Great idea for teachers and catechists to have on hand for class.

Take a look at Sock Religious for a variety of saint socks, tee shirts, and mugs.

Summer is often a good time to slow and enter into prayer more deeply. Two books I highly recommend are: Habits of Freedom, 5 Ignatian Tools for Clearing Your Mind and Resting Daily in the Lord by Christopher S. Collins, SJ, and Imagine You Walked with Jesus, A Guide to Ignatian Contemplative Prayer by Jerry Windley-Daoust.

If you have other ideas or things your family has loved, drop a comment and let us know.

Crafting with Arma Dei

By Deanna Bartalini

I am a big believer in occupying the hands of little ones as we instruct them. They enjoy doing things themselves and having a finished product to show parents and this way when asked “what did you do today?” they can show something. Of course, the hope is that parents look at it and then discuss it too!

Monica McConkey of Arma Dei: Equipping Catholic Families emailed me a kit that I choose for review, the “Journey with Jesus” scrapbook which includes the seven sacraments; explanations of sin, the domestic Church, and the Mas as well as definitions from the catechism and prayers. She breaks down the topics very well, asking questions with space for answers and helps lead the children to understanding by making the faith personal and relevant to their lives. The line drawings were done by Monica’s daughter, are well done and appealing. Plus, they are big enough to color if you want.

The logistics of the kit are fairly simple. You order on line at the Arma Dei website and the have the PDF download immediately. Be sure to print on only one side your paper. (my advice, so you can learn from my mistakes) Other supplies needed are scissors and glue, crayons if you’ll be coloring the pictures. If you want to make a cover, you’ll need card stock or construction paper. Instructions are included to make an accordion fold book or you can cut each page, glue it onto construction paper and make a larger book.

What I like about the craft is the flexibility, both of the content and finished product. Depending on your needs, each sacrament could be made separately, the prayer pages to make a prayer book, the Mass pages to make a Mass book or whatever suits you best. If I were to do it with a class, I’d probably make a scrapbook with construction paper, rather than an accordion book.

I am passing this on to the second grade catechist and will have the other catechists take a look on the website and see what they would like for their classes this year. I think this is an excellent product, practical yet engaging and most of all, very accurate in presenting the truths of our faith.

There are many other kits, games and resources on the website, both free and for a fee. Monica is also about to release a new series on Super Saints. Here is a video to learn more. You are sure to find something you can use for you family or class.

Does the Catechism Have Any Wisdom for My Summer Vacation?

By Pat Gohn

Here we are, well into July, and some of us are deep into vacation mode. Meanwhile, some of us are, at this moment, still pining for it. Given my own summer-like mood, I thought, why not write about the joy of summer? Surely, said I, the-catechist-who-loves-finding- cool-stuff-in-the-catechism, surely the Catechism must have some words of wisdom on the subject?! (But I couldn’t recall any, other than “keeping holy” the Sabbath.)

I decided to have a little fun with the search engine I use for the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

First search: “Vacation.” Result: No documents match the query.

Next search: “Summer.” Result: Nothing.

“Fun”? Nada.

“Recreation”? Zip.

“Relaxation”? Jackpot!

CCC 901 gives us this gem that I will paraphrase: Relaxation of the mind and body, if accomplished in the Spirit, can be offered up to God!

Got that? We can have some great “time off” and “down time” and still love God and serve Him! This is because all our works and activities can be done for the glory of God.

Let’s read CCC 901 in its entirety:

…the laity, dedicated as they are to Christ and anointed by the Holy Spirit, are marvelously called and prepared so that even richer fruits of the Spirit maybe produced in them. For all their works, prayers, and apostolic undertakings, family and married life, daily work, relaxation of mind and body, if they are accomplished in the Spirit – indeed even the hardships of life if patiently born – all these become spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. In the celebration of the Eucharist these may most fittingly be offered to the Father along with the body of the Lord. And so, worshipping everywhere by their holy actions, the laity consecrate the world itself to God, everywhere offering worship by the holiness of their lives. [Emphasis mine.]

This understanding comes to us by way of our baptism. At baptism, Christians are incorporated into Christ and anointed as “priest, prophet, and king.” (See CCC 1241 and 1546.) And this priestly role of the laity sets us apart for worship. In other words, when we attend Mass, we join with the ordained priest to lift up our very lives as an offering to God in holy worship. We lift up everything in our lives… including our relaxation and rest!

But it doesn’t stop there…

Outside of Mass, when we live lives of holiness in our daily duties, in our comings and goings, indeed, we consecrate the world to God by our holy actions. Our daily life, in whatever we do, can be a form of worship to God.

This teaching is taken directly from the Documents of Vatican II, specifically, Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, paragraph 31:

What specifically characterizes the laity is their secular nature [meaning, they live and work in the world beyond the Church’s door]…

The laity, by their very vocation, seeks the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God. They live in the world, that is, in each and in all of the secular professions and occupations. They live in the ordinary circumstances of family and social life, from which the very web of their existence is woven. They are called there by God that by exercising their proper function and led by the spirit of the Gospel they may work for the sanctification of the world from within as a leaven. In this way they may make Christ known to others, especially by the testimony of a life resplendent in faith, hope and charity. Therefore, since they are tightly bound up in all types of temporal affairs it is their special task to order and to throw light upon these affairs in such a way that they may come into being and then continually increase according to Christ to the praise of the Creator and the Redeemer. [Emphasis mine.]

This means, that you and I are called – and led by the Spirit – to make God’s light and love shine in all the places and situations that life takes us… and that even includes your rest, your vacation, your time off. In fact, if you read the above closely, it is our “special task” to throw light on such affairs.

In this column, I’m suggesting that even our vacation time should bring light to the world. I’ll offer a few suggestions, but I’m sure you could name dozens of ways you and your families might shine your light of faith in less formal ways this summer, once you give it a little thought.

Here are a few easy suggestions…

Recreation in Creation: Delight in God’s creation! Get out into one our National Parks, or the myriad of state parks that are open to the public. Be a good steward and be sure to respect the environment whenever you go. Camp, picnic, ride bikes, or hike. Creation is God’s first gift to us… take time to marvel at its beauty and to share with someone how you “find God” in nature.
Get friendly. Show the world that Christians know how to have good, clean, fun – and lots of it! Christians should be experts at exemplifying a joie de vivre that is contagious! When my children were small, nothing said good clean fun outdoors like a laundry basket full of water balloons. Today, it’s a volleyball net in the side yard. With adults, try a progressive dinner, barbeque-style: Dips and chips at one house, hotdogs with crazy toppings at another, and good ole s’mores at a third. Lead everyone in a group grace and bless each home.
Laugh with the fam: Let your family time be a witness to the great joy of being alive! Play games, have a bonfire in the backyard and sing songs, tell stories, and put on silly skits. Mom and Dad, you go first! But remember to keep it light!
Pick and share something good: Even family outings can have a sense of generosity and service to others. For me, that means berry picking or apple picking at a local orchard and coming home to bake pies or muffins. Then we give away our pickings or baked goods to neighbors who would appreciate or benefit from them, especially our single and elderly friends. Better yet, invite them to come along if they are able!
Keep the Sunday Sabbath: Even when we are “off” on vacation and traveling far from home. Find a Catholic Church, chapel, or campus ministry wherever you are and attend Sunday Mass. See if there is a local shrine nearby, then consider your Sunday an opportunity to make a short pilgrimage there.

Let us praise and give glory to God for the goodness of summertime, and the chance to take a little time off. And let us be led by the Spirit – not by taking a vacation from God, but precisely by taking a vacation with God! May we relax and recreate through Him, with Him, and in Him! And offer our thanks and praise for such a gift.

“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.” 1 John 4:9.