Announcing:
Saint Mary's Press winner for the week of March 12, 2012

Congratulations to Susie Ritz!

Susie will receive a copy of The Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth, Second Edition, a $19.95 value..

The Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth, Second Edition is an understandable and down-to-earth guide to all things Catholic. This book is an eye-opener and a page-turner, whether you are brushing up on specific Catholic terms and concepts or learning them for the first time.

The Ad Hoc Committee to Oversee the Use of the Catechism, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, has found this catechetical text, copyright 2008, to be in conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Now Available! Online correlation to the U.S. Bishops' High School curriculum framework Click here!

The Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth, Second Edition
ISBN: 978-0-88489-987-7, paper, 480 pages

"Lessons From Saint Patrick"

I thought it would be appropriate to share with you again the Focus on Faith, Make It Happen, and Saint Spotlight articles from this week last year. I pray you have a blessed Saint Patrick’s Day.

Later this week we will celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day. Beyond the “kiss me, I’m Irish” T-shirts, the wearing of shamrock pins, and the pinching of anyone who is not wearing green, there are lessons that we as ministers to young people can learn from both the facts and the fables about Saint Patrick.

In case you didn’t know, Saint Patrick was not Irish. He was born into a noble family in the fourth century in what would later be known as Britain. At a young age, he was kidnapped and taken to Ireland as a slave. As a slave, he worked as a shepherd, and it was in this solitary life that Patrick discovered God among the splendor of God’s creation. After several years in captivity, he returned home and later became a priest. God called him back to Ireland to preach and share the Gospel. At the time, Ireland was considered an extremely barbaric land where few had traveled to share the Good News. Patrick bravely returned to the place of his enslavement and worked to preach and bring the Gospel to both the few Christians in Ireland and those that had yet to encounter Christ. Patrick was later appointed Bishop of Ireland. One of the legends about Saint Patrick is that he used the shamrock, a symbol familiar to the people of Ireland, to explain the Trinity.

So what can we learn from the model of Saint Patrick for our ministries? First, we can look at his example of going outside his comfort zone to respond to God’s call. When Patrick returned home after his enslavement, he could have chosen to return to the comfortable life of a nobleman. Instead, he responded to God’s call to devote his life to sharing the Gospel as a priest. Do we listen to and accept God’s invitation to sometimes choose the less comfortable road in life in order to do his work?

Second, Patrick was willing to go and preach the Good News in a place where others feared to or refused to go. In our ministries we have the opportunity to reach out to young people in a variety of settings. Following the model of Saint Patrick, we can look not only to our churches and schools as the venue for sharing God’s love with youth, but also to sporting events, malls, and any other places where we encounter our youth. Additionally, we can seek out young people in the most dire circumstances, such as juvenile detention centers.

Last, do we take advantage of what young people know in order to share the Good News? Just as legend has it that Patrick used the shamrock to teach about the Trinity because it was something familiar to the people of Ireland, we can look for opportunities to use technology, contemporary pop culture, and current events to help today’s young people encounter God.
           
Saint Patrick is an amazing example for those of us involved in ministry. This year we can take advantage of his feast day to do more than simply wear green. We can use Saint Patrick’s Day as an opportunity to grow in our ministries and discover new and exciting ways to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with young people. The other day I encountered an Irish blessing that I had never heard before, which I would like to use to wrap up this Focus on Faith: “May the smile of God light you to glory”—and as always, I pray that God will continue to bless you and your ministry.

Peace,
Steven McGlaun

    
Click Here for More Information

“More Symbols of the Trinity”
From God, Revelation, and Faith Catechist Guide

Materials Needed
Gather the following items, one for each small group of four or five:
- sets of markers
- sheets of newsprint

Gather the following additional item:
- a one-dollar bill

1. Explain that the shamrock is just one way of symbolizing the Trinity. There have been other ways too.

2. Take out a dollar bill. Pass it around and tell the young people to find the pyramid on the back. At the top of the pyramid is a triangle with an eye in it. Above it is written "Annuit Coeptis," which means "He approves our undertakings." Ask the participants why the triangle would be an appropriate symbol for God. [The three sides represent the three Persons: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.]

3. Divide the large group into small groups of four or five. Give each group a set of markers and a sheet of newsprint. Direct each small group to draw its own symbol of the Trinity. Tell the young people that they do not have to focus on geometrical shapes or numbers. You may want to suggest a few ideas to stimulate their thinking (animals, mountains, clouds, rivers, man-made objects, or fictional characters).

4. Ask each small group to present its symbol to the large group.

Fourth Sunday of Lent
March 18, 2012
John 3:14-21

Opening Prayer
Ever mindful of the presence of God in every aspect of our lives, we give special recognition to our God, who is already present here among us. God, we thank you for the abundant gift of your love, a love without bounds. In your word today, we hear of your love; you so loved the world that you gave us your only Son. You gave us your Son so that we may believe, and in believing, that we may have eternal life. Amen.

Context Connection
In the opening verse of this Sunday's Gospel, we read that Jesus will be lifted up much like the serpent was lifted up in Moses's day. The original story of the bronze serpent is told in Numbers 21:4-9. During Israel's desert wanderings, many people suffered from seraph serpent bites. After many died, the people asked Moses for help. Moses prayed to God, and God instructed Moses to create a bronze seraph serpent and raise it on a pole. God told Moses to tell the people that anyone bitten by a snake would be healed if they looked at the bronze serpent. When those bitten by seraph snakes looked upon the bronze serpent, they were healed.

In John 3:14, Jesus and the seraph serpent are equated as agents of God's saving power. This verse hints at the future event when Jesus will save God's people by being raised up and crucified on the cross. Those who raise their eyes to Jesus on the cross and who believe in him will be saved, just as the snake-bitten Israelites who looked upon the bronze serpent were saved.

Today we know it is true that Jesus on the cross brings about the salvation of all God's people. In John 3:16, we read a frequently quoted passage, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life." This belief is at the core of Christian faith: God's love, expressed through Jesus, is the dynamic principle in the salvation of the world. Our God has gifted the world with the Son, not to condemn the world but to bring about our salvation. This speaks of the immensity of God's love.

How should we respond to this great love? In John 1:12, it is written that everyone who accepts Jesus is given the power to become a child of God. So, we believe and we are saved.

Tradition Connection
God's love has been revealed to us through the Old Testament and in the person of Jesus Christ. The prophet Jeremiah spoke of God's love as an everlasting love, which speaks of the faithfulness of God. In the Gospel of John we hear more profoundly that God is love, God's very being is love, and this mystery is fully revealed through the teachings and actions of Jesus, God's only begotten Son.

God's love for Israel is compared to a father's love for his son. His love for his people is stronger than a mother's for her children. God loves his people more than a bridegroom his beloved; his love will be victorious over even the worst infidelities and will extend to his most precious gift: "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son."1 (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 219)

In the Nicene Creed we profess, "For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified. . . ." This plan, the Incarnation, meaning God becoming a human being in the person of Jesus, was the plan by which God brought about the salvation of the whole human race. And it was necessary for Jesus to die on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. In this way, the sanctification of everyone was won.

By giving up his own Son for our sins, God manifests that his plan for us is one of benevolent love, prior to any merit on our part: "In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins."2 God "shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us."3 (Catechsim, paragraph 604)

Wisdom Connection
This Sunday's Gospel conveys the message that God's love is the dynamic principle for the salvation of the world. Jesus's purpose was to share the Good News--the immensity of God's love for us. God gave to us his Son, Jesus, as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. Having done this, why would God not give us whatever else it takes for us to believe?

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. John 3:16; cf. Hosea 11:1; Isaiah 49:14-15; 62:4-5; Ezekiel 16; Hosea 11.
2. 1 John 4:10; 4:19.
3. Romans 5:8.

Copyright © 2009 by Saint Mary's Press, 702 Terrace Heights, Winona, MN 55987-1318, www.smp.org. All rights reserved. No part of this newsletter may be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher. Thank you.

Saint Brigid of Ireland

Since the Focus on Faith article is about Saint Patrick, whose memorial is March 17, I thought it would be appropriate to present another patron saint of Ireland in the Saint Spotlight. February 1 is the memorial for Saint Brigid of Ireland. As a child, Brigid heard Saint Patrick preach, and one legend has it that Saint Patrick later heard her final vows. Saint Brigid of Ireland was responsible for the founding of several convents throughout Ireland and is credited with inventing the double monastery, a monastery for both monks and nuns.

For more information about Saint Brigid of Ireland, go to http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-brigid-of-ireland/.