Hello Families!
Don’t forget to sign up for Vacation Bible School and to take Flat Jesus with you on your travels this summer! Send your Flat Jesus pictures to kchamberland@stgenevieve.org or pchudzinski@stgenevieve.org. We are in need of catechists for the 2023-2024 school year, please contact Faith Formation if you have an interest.
Meet Our Extended Family – St. Manuel Morales (Feast Day August 15) 1898-1926. Manuel Morales grew up in Mexico. As a teenager, he entered the seminary but left to help support his family. Manuel became a baker and was married with three children. The Mexican president at that time held many anti-religious views, yet Manuel continued to share his faith publicly. He was part of many local organizations, serving as the secretary of the Catholic Workers Union and the president of the National League for the Defense of Religious Liberty (LNDNR). Manuel and other leaders of LNDNR – David Roldan and Salvador Lara – were arrested while coordinating how to legally get a priest friend, Fr. Luis Batiz Sainz, released from prison. The gentlemen were beaten and tortured. They were told they could be released if they renounced their faith, but they would not. Manuel and Fr. Sa inz were taken in front of a firing squad. The priest asked that Manuel be spared since he had a family. Manuel responded, “I am dying for God and God will take care of my children.” His final words were, “Long live Christ the King and Our Lady of Guadalupe!” He is considered a martyr of the Cristero War and was canonized in 2000 by Pope John Paul II.
Take Time to Chat – Why do you think Jesus is moved with pity for the crowds? What does Jesus mean when he says, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few”? Jesus appoints the apostles to help the crowds and lead others to Christ. In what way do ordained clergy (bishops, priests, deacons) help and lead people to Christ today? What inspires you about the life of St. Manuel Morales?
Family Prayer – Today, say a prayer of blessing and thanksgiving on all who show fatherly love, your husband, father, godfather, uncle, grandfather, brother or male teacher/coach.
Liturgy Link – Search your church building to see if any works of art depict any of the twelve apostles. You may want to bring a list of their names to help your search!
Fun Fact – Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington is credited with starting Father’s Day after hearing a sermon on Mother’s Day while attending church with her father. Dodd wanted to honor her father, William Jackson Smart, a Civil War veteran, who raised six children after his wife died during childbirth.
Partners in Faith,
Phyllis Chudzinski