Katherine will receive a copy of Catholic Connections Handbook for Middle Schoolers, an $18.95 value.

The Catholic Connections Handbook for Middle Schoolers
by Janet Claussen, Pat Finan, Diana Macalintal, Jerry Shepherd, Susan Stark, Chris Wardwell

Whether middle schoolers encounter this book as part of the Catholic Connections program in faith formation or pick it up out of curiosity, The Catholic Connections Handbook for Middle Schoolers offers great guidance and aims to help young teens learn about all the central aspects of the Catholic faith, including God, revelation, faith, Jesus the Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Church, liturgy and sacraments, Christian morality and justice, and prayer.

Catholic Connections Handbook for Middle Schoolers
ISBN: 978-0-88489-994-5, paper, 552 pages

In December of last year, a New Yorker cover caught my eye. The drawing was of a huge angel dressed all in white, sitting in a subway train. Her right wing covered half the door and her skirt ballooned into the aisle. She had a voluminous head of blonde hair and a very kindly face, accented with a pair of rimless glasses. She was reading not a newspaper like other riders, but a small stone tablet. Next to her was the tallest trumpet I have ever seen. Like other musicians, she carried it in a case (white) with a handle, so you could see just the shape of it. Its round horn sat on the floor, and the tip reached almost to the ceiling. This was a big Christmas angel ("rilly, rilly big," as Ed Sullivan used to say) ready to share big news!

This drawing ("Subway Angel," by Carter Goodrich) is close to being theologically correct, as I learned from Father Barron’s video series Catholicism. According to Father Barron, angels are big, warrior-like, and kind of scary. This is why they always say, "Do not be afraid," because fear is the natural human reaction to their presence. This is also why, when at Christmas we hear the words "multitude of heavenly hosts," we should be thinking less of a choir and more of an army. This helpless little baby in the manger is also a king and, ultimately, Someone who will conquer with love.

As religious educators, this is our season to be angels! This is our season to use the trumpet we have been given and to share good news! What is our trumpet? Our trumpet is our ministerial situation. It may be a religious education group that meets weekly or biweekly. It may be a classroom where students meet every day. It may be a whole school for which one particular "angel" (you?) has been appointed as campus minister. It may even be, as it is for me and for my colleagues here at Saint Mary’s Press, a publishing company. (Pretty big trumpet, I would say!)

So, this Advent and Christmas, let’s be angels. Let’s sign up to march in the light of God with the heavenly hosts. Let’s get those trumpets out and get our students’ attention with the good news that Jesus has come not only for everyone in general but for each one of them in particular. He has come with love and hope and joy and strength. He has come as both divine and human, sharing with us the divine and human wisdom we need to live the gift of God that is ordinary life. Let’s recognize this Baby as our own, that one day he may recognize us as his own.

Because it mentions angels, I would like to share this antiphon from the Christmas liturgy of the Eastern Churches (both Catholic and Orthodox):

Today the Virgin gives birth to the Transcendent One

And the earth offers a cave to the Unapproachable One!

Angels with shepherds glorify Him!

The wise men journey with a star!

Since for our sake the Eternal God was born as a Little Child!

(from http://orthodoxwiki.org/Nativity#Hymns)

Blessings on your ministry!

Peace and joy,
Joanna Dailey

Note for the Year of Faith: The Saint Mary’s Press newly revised Web site has links to the Year of Faith resources at the Web sites of both the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the Vatican. Just go to www.smp.org and click on the big red sailing ship (barque of Peter) logo for the Year of Faith in the rotating banner. On the Vatican Web site, this logo is featured in many different languages, and several videos are offered on the Web site of the USCCB.

From from Hands-On Ideas for Ministry with Young Teens

The season of Advent lends itself to prayer. While visions of Christmas gifts dance in our heads (gifts we want to give and gifts we hope to receive), Advent is a good time to give thanks for the gifts we have already been given. This pillow project will serve that purpose in a hands-on way. You might want to choose fabric in Advent purple or in the Christmas colors of red and green.

This craft activity challenges the young people to think about and better understand the Reign of God. It also invites them to consider what is really valuable in their life. The pillow becomes a tangible reminder of how they should live each day as if the Reign of God were already fulfilled on earth.

Suggested Time
10 to 20 minutes

Group Size

This strategy can be done with any size group as long as ample supervision is available and you have access to enough sewing machines.

Special Considerations
The success of this strategy depends to a great extent on your access to and knowledge of a sewing machine. Ideally this strategy should be done in a location with ready access to machines.

Materials Needed
a candle and matches
a Bible

Procedure
newsprint and markers
pieces of corduroy fabric, about 14 inches square, one for each person
pieces of white cotton fabric, about 14 inches square, one for each person
fabric paints or colorful permanent markers
pencils
small pieces of paper, several for each person
cotton batting or other pillow-filling materials

Preparation
Begin making the pillows by putting a piece of cotton and a piece of corduroy together (be sure the outside surface of the corduroy faces in) and sewing together three sides. Then turn the pillow inside out so the outside surface of the corduroy faces out.

You may want to complete one pillow as a sample.

1. Light a candle in your meeting space. Recruit two people to each read aloud one of the following Scripture passages:

·Matt. 13:44–46

·Matt. 6:19–21

After the readings allow silence to linger while the teens reflect on what they have heard. Then invite them to take turns completing the following phrase aloud:

For me, the Reign of God is . . .

Whenever someone completes the statement, repeat the sentence-starter so that someone else can complete it

After all who want to add their thought have had a chance to do so, close the prayer time and review what people said the Reign of God is for them. If many people responded, list their ideas on newsprint.

2. Give each person a semi-completed pillow. Make markers or fabric paints available for the whole group. Tell the teens to write the phrase "The Reign of God is . . ." on the white part of the pillow and to fill in the rest of the white material with words and phrases to express their answers.

3. Give each person a pencil and several small slips of paper and ask them to consider the treasures in their life. Remind them to focus on nonmaterial treasures. Ask questions like the following:

What do you really value?
What is really important in your life?
Who or what could you not imagine life without?

If they are having trouble coming up with ideas, give examples, such as their health, their parents, freedom, the dog, the ability to sing, and so forth. Encourage the teens to be as honest as possible and to write as many treasures as they can think of. Assure them that no one will see these treasures.

4. Make the pillow-stuffing material available and tell the young people to mix their treasures with pillow stuffing materials and stuff their pillow. If possible, have a sewing machine ready to close up the open end of the pillows.

5. Encourage the young people to take their pillow home to rest on when they pray. Tell them to use the pillow as a reminder to thank God in prayer for their treasures and to continue to live as if the Reign of God were the way of the world.

Conclude the activity by reading aloud Matt. 11:28–30.

·If you do not have access to a sewing machine, ask for volunteers from the parish to bring their portable machines and help out for the evening.

·Ask the members of the parish quilting club to prepare the pillows by sewing three sides by hand. They may even be willing to come to your session and complete the process by hand. This would make a valuable connection between the teens and other members of the parish.

Use the same process, but focus the activity on thanksgiving. The pillows then would contain prayers of things the teens are grateful for.

Preparing for the Coming of the Lord
Second Sunday of Advent, December 9, 2012
Luke 3:1-6

Opening Prayer
God, we pray that through hearing your word, our hearts will be ready this Christmas to again welcome the Christ child. May our acts of charity throughout the year condition each of us to be willing to surrender even more of our heart to you until our whole heart is open to and inhabited by your love. Amen.

Context Connection
Luke takes great care to seat the beginning of John's ministry in contemporary history. The Evangelist introduces several individuals who are mentioned later in his Gospel: Pontius Pilate; Herod Antipas, one of the sons of Herod the Great; Annas; and Caiaphas. When we look in other historical resources for the names Luke includes in his Gospel, here is what we learn:

Historians usually date Tiberius Caesar's imperial rule from AD 14, which puts the time of John the Baptist's ministry at about AD 28-29 because Luke wrote, "In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius . . ." (3:1). Pilate was in charge ofJudeafrom AD 26 to AD 36. After Herod the Great died, his kingdom was divided among his sons: Herod Antipas in Galilee, Philip inIturaeaand Trachonitis, andAbilenein Lysanias. A fourth son, Archelaus, was king ofJudeabut did such a horrendous job that the Roman emperor, Augustus, replaced him with a Roman procurator, who at this time in history was Pontius Pilate. Herod Antipas ruled theGalileearea until AD 39. Only one high priest at a time held office. From historical accounts we know that Annas was high priest from AD 6 to AD 15 and that Caiaphas, the son-in-law of Annas, was high priest from AD 18 to AD 36.

Sunday's Gospel is about God calling John, the son of Zechariah, in the pattern of the Old Testament prophets (see Jeremiah 1:4): "The word of God came to John" (3:2). John is the last of the old prophets and the bridge to the new prophet Jesus. Luke quotes Isaiah (40:3), "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight'" (3:4). John preaches a message of repentance and forgiveness of sins, "a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins" (3:3). His message is a call to conversion. For John, baptism marks this conversion. A variety of other groups at this time also used baptism as an outward action to indicate an internal conversion. John's prophetic role is to teach about morals that call individuals to righteous deeds and conversion of heart. God seizes John with an intense fire to proclaim his prophetic message of conversion of heart and acting with justice towards one's neighbor.

Tradition Connection
Just as God called John to be a prophet to prepare the way of Jesus, he calls each of us. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that "the vocation of humanity is to show forth the image of God and to be transformed into the image of the Father's only Son" (paragraph 1877). We find an ideal relationship of unity in love in our Triune God--the perfect example of how humans living in a society are invited to create similar relationships of love. The Catechism also tells us that "love of neighbor is inseparable from love of God" (paragraph 1878). We are called to have a discerning spirit so that we can recognize how we are able to live out the beatitudes in our society. People who experience a conversion of heart are raised to be concerned about the well being of others. After recognizing the conditions in society that cause unjust situations, they seek appropriate remedies to advance justice rather than hinder it. God's grace assists us in this social consciousness. The Catechism succinctly describes the benefits of grace:

Without the help of grace, men would not know how 'to discern the often narrow path between cowardice which gives in to evil, and the violence which under the illusion of fighting evil only makes it worse'¹ This is the path of charity, that is, of the love of God and of neighbor. Charity is the greatest social commandment. It respects others and their rights. It requires the practice of justice, and it alone makes us capable of it. Charity inspires a life of self-giving (paragraph 1889).

The conversion of the heart, which was at the center of John's message, calls individuals to attune their whole selves to God. Matthew, chapter 5, gives us the beatitudes. One of these is "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God" (5:8). The Catechism tells us that "'pure in heart' refers to those who have attuned their intellects and wills to the demands of God's holiness" (paragraph 2518).

December 6 is the feast day of Saint Nicholas. People in some cultures celebrate Saint Nicholas Day by anonymously giving presents to people who are poor--a tradition of charity established by Saint Nicholas.

Wisdom Connection
The last line of Sunday's Gospel is significant: "And all flesh shall see the salvation of God" (3:6). All four Gospel writers used the quote from Isaiah, chapter 40, when they wrote about the mission of John the Baptist. However, only Luke included the message that God's salvation is for all people. Luke wrote his Gospel for a largely Gentile (non-Jewish) audience, and he wanted them to hear and to know that Jesus came to bring salvation not only for the Jews but also for everyone. As we read the Gospel of Luke throughout this year, we will notice that he emphasized this point many times.

John's message was one of repentance but also of hope because he was sharing the good news that the Messiah, the one who would forgive all sins and bring salvation to everyone, was about to appear, thus ending their wait. John's message has two sides: prepare and seek forgiveness, and rejoice for the Messiah will be among us soon.

John was a voice in the wilderness, a wilderness of hatred and injustice. He was a herald of the dawning of a new age of justice and peace. John's life was an example of what it takes to make way for a new order in the world. He prepared a way for Jesus by tirelessly removing obstacles, straightening the path, filling the valleys, and lowering the mountains. Because of John's faithfulness to his call from God, even though for a brief time, the world was ready to receive the Messiah.

Acknowledgements
The scriptural quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition. Copyright © 1993 and 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

The Lord's Prayer and the quotations labeled Catechism are from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America. Copyright © 1994 by the United States Catholic Conference, Inc.--Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.

Endnotes cited in quotations from the Catechism of the Catholic Church
1. Centisimus Annus 25.

What Should We Do?
Third Sunday of Advent, December 16
Luke 3:10-18

Opening Prayer
Jesus, as we draw near to the celebration of your birth, we are filled with hope because we know you fulfill your promises. Continue to send us your grace as we strive to be faithful to our baptismal promises, to be people of justice, and to be your light in the world today. Amen.

Context Connection
In Sunday's Gospel we discover the crowd seeking John the Baptist's advice on how they should live. John tells them to be just, the same message the prophets had always delivered to the Israelites; John tells them to share with those who have nothing. "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise" (3:11).

In John's culture, people who had excess were considered greedy; their excess meant others went without. People usually shared their good fortune with their families, and generosity did not need to extend beyond the family. John broadened the parameters of charity to include anyone, thereby expanding the consciousness of those who heard his preaching and who wanted to live out his teachings.

Luke's Gospel reports that through his teachings Jesus continued the principle of sharing with anyone in need. Jewish tradition dictated that your neighbor was a member of the community (see Deuteronomy 15:2). Luke broadens the definition of neighbor in the story of the Good Samaritan (see 10:29-37).

In Sunday's Gospel Luke singles out two kinds of people--tax collectors and soldiers--who ask for John's baptism. Jews looked down on both these "kinds" of people because they either supported or directly benefited from the Roman occupation of Palestine. Jews thought them to be the most unlikely people to seek forgiveness for their sins. When the tax collectors and the soldiers ask John, "What should we do?" (3:12,14), John does not tell them to abandon their professions. Instead he tells them to be just and fair in exercising the responsibilities of their offices within the Roman power structure.

The second part of the passage deals with the messianic hope of the Jews. Many people thought John the Baptist might be the Messiah because of his teachings, his charitable works, and his call for people to act justly. John quickly clarifies that he is not the Messiah when he says, "One who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals" (3:16). John makes a powerful analogy: only the lowest of the slaves, only a non-Jew, would ever be required to loosen his master's sandal thong. John suggests that in relation to the Messiah, he is even lower than the lowliest slave.

John further contrasts his baptism of water to the Messiah's baptism of the "Holy Spirit and fire" (3:16). Baptism with the Holy Spirit is about bringing to the world God's salvation as well as God's judgment (fire). Luke's images of the winnowing fork and the threshing floor dramatize this baptism of fire.

The winnowing process was labor intensive. Winnowers separated the good grain from the useless chaff by scooping up both the grain and the chaff (the seed coverings and other debris) and throwing them into the air, where the wind blew away the chaff before the heavier grain fell to the threshing floor. They then collected the grain and stored it for later use and burned the chaff. The dry chaff created an intense flame.

Tradition Connection
"What then should we do?" (3:10). "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise" (3:11). John the Baptist's response is drawn from the noble tradition of the prophets, who spoke of justice among all people. His words also direct the Catholic understanding of justice as it is expressed through the works of mercy. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his [or her] spiritual and bodily necessities"¹ (paragraph 2447).

The spiritual works of mercy are the following:

· Share knowledge.
· Give advice to those who need it.
· Comfort those who suffer.
· Be patient with others.
· Forgive those who hurt you.
· Give correction to those who need it.
· Pray for the living and the dead.

The corporal works of mercy are the following:

· Feed the hungry.
· Give drink to the thirsty.
· Shelter the homeless.
· Clothe the naked.
· Care for the sick.
· Help the imprisoned.
· Bury the dead.

(See Catechism, paragraph 2447.)

As a Church we celebrate the third Sunday of Advent, a day that emphasizes we are near the end of our wait for the Messiah. We celebrate hope on this Sunday because the Messiah will soon be among us. In our secular lives, we are also counting down the days until Christmas, but with a different emphasis: "only eleven more shopping days until Christmas." Businesses in our consumerist society have pulled out all the stops in advertising the newest, the must-have, or the perfect gifts in hopes we will buy so that they will have a "profitable" Christmas season. In the Gospel we hear the "prophetable" message for the season: give away your excess belongings to anyone in need. What a sharp contrast. This is a good season for giving rather than accumulating. Good used clothes--items you have not worn in a while that are hanging in your closet or folded in your chest of drawers--might offer hope of a new start to someone with nothing. Many charitable organizations give your gifts of clothes and food to those who need hope.

Wisdom Connection
Luke conveys the heightened expectation of the Jewish people, who waited with great hope for the coming of the Messiah. During John the Baptist's time, expectations of the appearance of the Messiah had been high for decades. Several pseudo-messiahs had made their appearance, leaving people disappointed but with their anticipation heightened. In Sunday's Gospel John clarifies he is not the expected Messiah, that the Messiah who is coming will be greater than John.

The message for us today is that although we are waiting for the Second Coming of God, we are also celebrating his first coming. This means we are living at a time when he has already freed us from the doom of original sin. This Sunday's spirit of rejoicing that God is near is the joyful attitude with which we can respond to God's nearness all the time. God comes to us in love, whether or not we are ready to receive him. Like the crowds with John the Baptist, we wonder what to do in response to God's nearness. Do we avoid God because of fear or apathy due to lost hope? Or do we respond joyfully as John the Baptist suggests, being generous and honest, just and fair, and aware of our responsibilities as son or daughter, brother or sister, student or friend, employee or teammate? Our challenge is to bring the hope we have found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Good News of a God who is near, to everyone.

When I taught high school, I often showed the animated film Martin the Cobbler, a story based on Leo Tolstoy's Where Love Is. Martin was an old man who had lost hope after his wife and child died. But one night while he was sleeping, he dreamed he heard God say, "Martin, I will come to visit you tomorrow." Upon waking, Martin had great hope he would receive God into his home that day. Because of his heightened expectation, he became more aware of events outside his cobbler's shop, and he got involved in various situations and in the lives of people. At the end of the day, Martin was disappointed that God had not come. Then he heard the voice again; he understood that God had indeed visited him several times during the day; God had come to him through the people he had encountered in the events that had unfolded in front of his shop. Do you see God in the everyday? Do you participate in the taste of eternal life that God offers you now, in this lifetime?

Acknowledgments
The scriptural quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition. Copyright © 1993 and 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

The quotations labeled Catechism are from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America, second edition. Copyright © 1994 by the United States Catholic Conference, Inc.--Libreria Editrice Vaticana. English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Modifications from the Editio Typica copyright © 1997 by the United States Catholic Conference, Inc.--Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.

The Lord's Prayer is taken from Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers. Copyright © 1988 by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Inc., Washington, DC. All rights reserved. Endnotes Cited in Quotations from the Catechism of the Catholic Church

1. Cf. Isaiah 58:6-7; Hebrews 13:3.

For those of Scandinavian descent, Saint Lucy is a familiar Advent saint. Her name means "light," and on December 13, her feast day, girls in Sweden wear crowns of candles on their heads and serve their parents breakfast in bed—a wonderful treat for a cold winter morning! (Their brothers are "star boys" and carry stars on sticks.) Lucy was one of the early Christian martyrs.

Her name is mentioned in Eucharistic Prayer I, and you can find her story at http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saints/saint.aspx?id=1228.

A recipe for Saint Lucy’s buns can be found at http://www.fisheaters.com/customsadvent6a.html.