Hello Families,
When infants are baptized, parents, with the help of the godparents, assume responsibility for raising the child as a follower of Jesus. The process of maturation in the faith is much like the example found in the story of the man born blind. The man is cured of his blindness, a symbol of his sin. Each time he meets someone after the healing, the man comes to a deeper awareness of who Jesus is. In a similar way, we who are baptized continue to mature in faith as our relationship with and knowledge about Jesus grows.
Invite each member of your family to draw a timeline of his or her life. On the timelines, ask family members to
identify significant moments in their lives, especially their life of faith. Invite each person to reflect upon who Jesus
was to him or her at each significant moment. How has each person’s relationship with Jesus changed or matured?
Then read together today’s Gospel, John 9:1-41. Note how the relationship between Jesus and the man born blind
changes and grows throughout the Gospel. Pray together that your relationship with Jesus will continue to grow and
develop, becoming ever deeper. Conclude by praying together the Lord’s Prayer.
Family Prayer-The Angelus – The Angelus is a way for lay people to sanctify the hours of the day. Historically, the
practice has been associated with ringing a bell at 6 a.m., 12 p.m., and 6 p.m., where whole villages and towns would
stop to pray. Laborers in the fields, workers in shops, and families at home set aside what they were doing and
prayed the Angelus together. Today, many churches ring the Angelus bell at these same times, inviting the faithful to
pause what they are doing and pray. Today, pray the Angelus at the noon or 6 p.m. hour.
The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary: And she conceived of the Holy Spirit. (Say 1 Hail Mary) Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word. Hail Mary …
And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us. Hail Mary …
Pray for us, 0 Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray: Pour forth, we beseech Thee, 0 Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Partners in Faith,
Phyllis Chudzinski