We're very close to the end of the 'school year'. I'm going to miss the little monsters. :)
Anyway, we were discussing, again, the Crucifixion, and we were talking about Judas, a little, and what happened to him.
I didn't sugar coat it, and told them that he did kill himself, though there's some question as to how. And I left it at that.
But one of the kids had a good point:
Judas had realized that he had done wrong, that he had sinned against Christ, and God. Obviously he felt guilt, because if he hadn't, he wouldn't have tried to give the money back. He wouldn't have killed himself.
If he'd spent all that time with Jesus, listening and learning, why didn't he realize that he could ask for forgiveness?
Any thoughts?
Showing posts with label kinder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kinder. Show all posts
Monday, April 26, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
My Cat Loki, Paschal Triduum and a Few Other Things
This is something of a 'catch-up' post, but first I'm going to get my sad news out of the way.
On March 17th, we had to put my cat, Loki, to sleep.
She was 14 years old, and this is the second time she's died.
We found her in a trash can when she was a kitten. She'd climbed in there trying to find food, and we brought her home. She was so tiny she fit in the palm of your hand, and her tail was so long it could wrap around her. She was all tail, this little ball of fluff. She sort of started a 'cat-valanche' in our house, and before we knew it we had six cats. :)
Loki was definitely *my* cat. We got her during the years before they diagnosed my thyroid problem, and I was sick a lot. We bonded curled up in bed, sleeping. Her favorite spot was on top of my head. :) Her favorite 'game' was to lay on her back, tummy exposed, inviting you to pet her soft, fluffy fur. And when you fell for it, gullible human that you were, she would attack! All four paws and her teeth, going for your arm. Never breaking skin, just letting you know she could have ripped you limb from limb, should she choose. And then deigning to allow you to pet her.
About six years ago, she developed these things called subdermal hematomas (the lining of her ear and the outer layer of skin on the inside of the ear separated and filled with blood) in her ears. The first one, we didn't know what was going on. Her ear was just suddenly *huge* and swollen. We took her to the emergency vet and they opened it up, drained it, and then sewed the two layers back together. Of course they bandaged it up, and her ear healed crooked over like that. The second time, we knew what it was (it happened on her other ear) and took her to our vet. She had a bad reaction to the anesthesia, and died on the table. My vet revived her. Which is...unusual for animals. Typically, when they die, that's it.
We waited for a week to see is she would recover. When we brought her home she couldn't walk, she was mostly blind, and I had to feed her baby food through a syringe. We were waiting to see if there was permanent damage, and what it was. She recovered completely, and was her old self again after a few weeks.
So. I had her for six more years.
*sigh* And now for less depressing things:
As of the end of March I have lost 30 lbs. Only 12 million more to go. On the other hand, I can lift more weight than a lot of the men at my gym, and I can do an hour of cardio (bike & treadmill) without keeling over and having to be carried to the locker room anymore. :)
As of the end of March by books read total is up to 60. :)
I made it to all three services of Paschal Triduum.
On Thursday we have the Mass of the Lord's Supper. It commemorates, of course, the Last Supper - the institution of the Eucharist and the institution of the priesthood. We have a Mass, and during it the two priests commemorate the washing of the disciples' feet by washing the feet of twelve congregants. Two priests con-celebrate this Mass. This year it was our Parochial Vicar Fr. Anthonio and the...roving priest Fr. Pray (yes, that is his name. No, I don't know if it's his first or last name. He's an adorable old grandpa kind of man.) I wore dark brown. Brown knit top, brown linen skirt with light brown stitching, sensible brown shoes, and a light brown/gold scarf. Thinking back, I realized that I wore brown last year for Holy Thursday. Apparently it's a brown kind of day. After the Mass, they have a procession around the church with the Eucharist, ending in the chapel, where it is placed on the smaller altar there, for Eucharistic Adoration.
Good Friday is the Celebration of the Passion and the Veneration of the Cross. What happens is that we have the Liturgy of the Word (the first 'half' of the Mass), but no Liturgy of the Eucharist. It's a very solemn, sorrowful occasion, of course. We read the Passion (if you've never been to a Good Friday service or a Palm/Passion Sunday service at a Catholic church, instead of the Gospel reading being a simple reading performed by the priest or a deacon, the Passion is broken out into parts, with the deacon reading for some, a lectionary reading for others, the priest reading Christ's parts, and the parts marked 'crowd' being read together by the congregation.) and the priest gives a brief homily. We had Father Pray this year, and he did keep it brief. After all, as he said, if we have been paying attention to what we've just read, what more is there that he can say? Now, as I said, there is no Liturgy of the Eucharist on Good Friday. Instead, we have the Veneration of the Cross. What happens is that the priest has a large, blessed crucifix, and the congregation lines up to venerate it. What's that mean? Most people kiss the body of Jesus on the crucifix. (For the record, the priest has sanitizing wipes and the corpus is wiped between each person.) Some people genuflect, bow, there's a certain level of variation from person to person. But we're all there to pay honor to Christ and His sacrifice for us. After the Veneration of the Cross, we receive Communion. How, since we had no Liturgy of the Eucharist? Eucharist from Holy Thursday's Mass is reserved for Communion on Good Friday. The Catholic church believe and teaches that once the bread and wine have been transformed into the Body and Blood, they remain so. The one thing I missed this year that we had last year was the Litany. We had Fr. Anthonio last year, and he's a bit 'old school'. :) For instance, when they process in at the beginning (for the Good Friday service), the priests and deacons are supposed to prostrate themselves. Fr. Anthonio goes whole hog, flat out on the floor (and the deacons have to follow suit.) Fr. Pray (& Fr. Pat) don't do that, they prostrate, kneeling, faces and hands on the floor (Fr. Pray, bless him, needs to use a cushion! Our floors are hard!). Anyway. Last year, Fr. Anthonio had a litany (and I can't recall which one), and that involved a lot of 'Let us stand.' 'Let us kneel.' After each petition. Wonderful, but hard on the knees. :) As appropriate to the somber occasion, I wore a gray top, plain black skirt, nice black flats (in anticipation of the litany) and a black scarf (which had colors woven into it - somber, but hopeful).
Holy Saturday we have the Easter Vigil Mass. It begins at 8 pm, because the church calendar is based on the Jewish calendar, so a day is from sunset to sunset. Therefore, technically, the Easter Vigil Mass 'counts' for your Sunday obligation. Sadly, it means we don't have a Holy Saturday Mass... The Vigil starts out with the entire church dark. All the lights are off. And then, the priests, deacons, altar servers, and the catechumens (those being received into the church - we had nine this year) process in. The service actually starts outside, with the presiding priest (Fr. Pat) lighting the new Easter candle (which lasts the whole year, from Vigil to Vigil) and bringing the light back into the church. It's a long service, about two hours, with something like eight readings, as opposed to the normal three, plus we have the baptisms, and the confirmations of the catechumens. Also, there's chanting. Normally the deacons read everything, but the very beginning of the Vigil service is chanted. :) I went with black and red for the Vigil service. Long black skirt with red flowers, a red top with a small black jacket, black shoes, black tiechel, and a red and black shawl (last year I got cold at Vigil. This year, I was sweltering. Can't win.) My sister said I looked like a cherry, but I disagree. :p
I went to Easter Mass as well. It's a 'regular' Mass, especially at 7:30 in the morning, when I go. (I do that on purpose to avoid the throngs of people that go to the later Masses. It's a mad house, I tell you!) But it's a very celebratory Mass, of course. The whole church is brighter. :) White skirt with small flowers and leaves, very spring-y. Pink tank top with a light weight green sweater and a white scarf with green trim. Very Easter. :)
And...that's about it, I think. The kinder have Easter weekend off, so nothing to report there.
On March 17th, we had to put my cat, Loki, to sleep.
She was 14 years old, and this is the second time she's died.
We found her in a trash can when she was a kitten. She'd climbed in there trying to find food, and we brought her home. She was so tiny she fit in the palm of your hand, and her tail was so long it could wrap around her. She was all tail, this little ball of fluff. She sort of started a 'cat-valanche' in our house, and before we knew it we had six cats. :)
Loki was definitely *my* cat. We got her during the years before they diagnosed my thyroid problem, and I was sick a lot. We bonded curled up in bed, sleeping. Her favorite spot was on top of my head. :) Her favorite 'game' was to lay on her back, tummy exposed, inviting you to pet her soft, fluffy fur. And when you fell for it, gullible human that you were, she would attack! All four paws and her teeth, going for your arm. Never breaking skin, just letting you know she could have ripped you limb from limb, should she choose. And then deigning to allow you to pet her.
About six years ago, she developed these things called subdermal hematomas (the lining of her ear and the outer layer of skin on the inside of the ear separated and filled with blood) in her ears. The first one, we didn't know what was going on. Her ear was just suddenly *huge* and swollen. We took her to the emergency vet and they opened it up, drained it, and then sewed the two layers back together. Of course they bandaged it up, and her ear healed crooked over like that. The second time, we knew what it was (it happened on her other ear) and took her to our vet. She had a bad reaction to the anesthesia, and died on the table. My vet revived her. Which is...unusual for animals. Typically, when they die, that's it.
We waited for a week to see is she would recover. When we brought her home she couldn't walk, she was mostly blind, and I had to feed her baby food through a syringe. We were waiting to see if there was permanent damage, and what it was. She recovered completely, and was her old self again after a few weeks.
So. I had her for six more years.
*sigh* And now for less depressing things:
As of the end of March I have lost 30 lbs. Only 12 million more to go. On the other hand, I can lift more weight than a lot of the men at my gym, and I can do an hour of cardio (bike & treadmill) without keeling over and having to be carried to the locker room anymore. :)
As of the end of March by books read total is up to 60. :)
I made it to all three services of Paschal Triduum.
On Thursday we have the Mass of the Lord's Supper. It commemorates, of course, the Last Supper - the institution of the Eucharist and the institution of the priesthood. We have a Mass, and during it the two priests commemorate the washing of the disciples' feet by washing the feet of twelve congregants. Two priests con-celebrate this Mass. This year it was our Parochial Vicar Fr. Anthonio and the...roving priest Fr. Pray (yes, that is his name. No, I don't know if it's his first or last name. He's an adorable old grandpa kind of man.) I wore dark brown. Brown knit top, brown linen skirt with light brown stitching, sensible brown shoes, and a light brown/gold scarf. Thinking back, I realized that I wore brown last year for Holy Thursday. Apparently it's a brown kind of day. After the Mass, they have a procession around the church with the Eucharist, ending in the chapel, where it is placed on the smaller altar there, for Eucharistic Adoration.
Good Friday is the Celebration of the Passion and the Veneration of the Cross. What happens is that we have the Liturgy of the Word (the first 'half' of the Mass), but no Liturgy of the Eucharist. It's a very solemn, sorrowful occasion, of course. We read the Passion (if you've never been to a Good Friday service or a Palm/Passion Sunday service at a Catholic church, instead of the Gospel reading being a simple reading performed by the priest or a deacon, the Passion is broken out into parts, with the deacon reading for some, a lectionary reading for others, the priest reading Christ's parts, and the parts marked 'crowd' being read together by the congregation.) and the priest gives a brief homily. We had Father Pray this year, and he did keep it brief. After all, as he said, if we have been paying attention to what we've just read, what more is there that he can say? Now, as I said, there is no Liturgy of the Eucharist on Good Friday. Instead, we have the Veneration of the Cross. What happens is that the priest has a large, blessed crucifix, and the congregation lines up to venerate it. What's that mean? Most people kiss the body of Jesus on the crucifix. (For the record, the priest has sanitizing wipes and the corpus is wiped between each person.) Some people genuflect, bow, there's a certain level of variation from person to person. But we're all there to pay honor to Christ and His sacrifice for us. After the Veneration of the Cross, we receive Communion. How, since we had no Liturgy of the Eucharist? Eucharist from Holy Thursday's Mass is reserved for Communion on Good Friday. The Catholic church believe and teaches that once the bread and wine have been transformed into the Body and Blood, they remain so. The one thing I missed this year that we had last year was the Litany. We had Fr. Anthonio last year, and he's a bit 'old school'. :) For instance, when they process in at the beginning (for the Good Friday service), the priests and deacons are supposed to prostrate themselves. Fr. Anthonio goes whole hog, flat out on the floor (and the deacons have to follow suit.) Fr. Pray (& Fr. Pat) don't do that, they prostrate, kneeling, faces and hands on the floor (Fr. Pray, bless him, needs to use a cushion! Our floors are hard!). Anyway. Last year, Fr. Anthonio had a litany (and I can't recall which one), and that involved a lot of 'Let us stand.' 'Let us kneel.' After each petition. Wonderful, but hard on the knees. :) As appropriate to the somber occasion, I wore a gray top, plain black skirt, nice black flats (in anticipation of the litany) and a black scarf (which had colors woven into it - somber, but hopeful).
Holy Saturday we have the Easter Vigil Mass. It begins at 8 pm, because the church calendar is based on the Jewish calendar, so a day is from sunset to sunset. Therefore, technically, the Easter Vigil Mass 'counts' for your Sunday obligation. Sadly, it means we don't have a Holy Saturday Mass... The Vigil starts out with the entire church dark. All the lights are off. And then, the priests, deacons, altar servers, and the catechumens (those being received into the church - we had nine this year) process in. The service actually starts outside, with the presiding priest (Fr. Pat) lighting the new Easter candle (which lasts the whole year, from Vigil to Vigil) and bringing the light back into the church. It's a long service, about two hours, with something like eight readings, as opposed to the normal three, plus we have the baptisms, and the confirmations of the catechumens. Also, there's chanting. Normally the deacons read everything, but the very beginning of the Vigil service is chanted. :) I went with black and red for the Vigil service. Long black skirt with red flowers, a red top with a small black jacket, black shoes, black tiechel, and a red and black shawl (last year I got cold at Vigil. This year, I was sweltering. Can't win.) My sister said I looked like a cherry, but I disagree. :p
I went to Easter Mass as well. It's a 'regular' Mass, especially at 7:30 in the morning, when I go. (I do that on purpose to avoid the throngs of people that go to the later Masses. It's a mad house, I tell you!) But it's a very celebratory Mass, of course. The whole church is brighter. :) White skirt with small flowers and leaves, very spring-y. Pink tank top with a light weight green sweater and a white scarf with green trim. Very Easter. :)
And...that's about it, I think. The kinder have Easter weekend off, so nothing to report there.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Kinder - Catchup Post
I'm still teaching, I just sort of forgot to tell ya'll about it.
So:
1/31 Class - They were *horrible*. We had a full class, plus one (one of the girls brought a friend) and they just would not listen or be still or quiet or behave! It was so bad that, while Debbie had half the class out to the bathrooms and I was trying to move on with what we were doing, I had to have them all put their heads on their tables and be silent. I waited a few minutes and asked them if they thought they could all behave so we could do something, and two of the boys said 'no'. So we continued to sit with out heads down. The next time I asked, those same two boys said 'no', but the rest of the class jumped in and said 'yes'. So I said that everyone who thought they could behave could sit up and participate, and those two boys could keep their heads down. Suddenly, shock of shocks, those two decided they *could* be quiet and participate.
2/7 Class - This week, we only had about half of the class. They were back to normal, a little rambunctious, but so much better. Must have been the full moon or something last week. *rolls eyes* We had them cut out hearts and on one side write 'Jesus Love Me...' and fill in why they think Jesus loves them (something good about themselves) and on the other side write 'I Love Jesus...' and fill in why they love Jesus (most of the answers started with, 'He created...' and inserted whatever the kid likes best) and we hung them up on our cabinet.
Our Gospel reading was...Luke 5: 1-11 (I believe). It was the story of Jesus calling Simon (Peter) and the Thunder Brothers (James and John) (Okay, I just like calling them that, alright?). One of the kids was confused as to how they were going to 'fish for men'. He wanted to know if they were going to start throwing nets on people.... :) I explained that no, Jesus was just talking to them in terms they would understand. Because they'd been fishermen all their lives, He used 'fishy' words to get them to understand what He was asking them to do. Then, one of the boys wanted to know what the difference was between Jews, Catholics, and Christians. First, I explained that Catholics *are* Christians - followers of Christ. Then, I (briefly) explained who the Jews were. And I told them, 'Jesus was a Jew' *dead silence* 'He was?' 'Yes'
We somehow got on to sin, and I was explaining about how people can't go to Heaven with sin still on them, which is why Christ came to us and gave us the Church and the Sacraments, and one of the boys (It's always the boys, have you noticed?) asked, 'what about the people who get stuck on earth as ghosts?' *insert evil laughter here* *cough* So. The last ten minutes of class were all about ghosts. :)
I explained, basically, that we don't know, really, what causes ghosts. Another of the boys explained that 'yes we do, it's when people die and then years later somebody builds a house over their grave and they get disturbed...' and I said, yes, some people think that, but really, pretty much everywhere we walk or build there's likely to be peoples bodies, so that can't be it. I got back to the whole, 'we don't know' and a kid brought up orbs. Well, as I explained, 99% of the time, orbs are dust or bugs that get caught in the camera flare. And the same kid said, 'but this one had a smiley face in it!' So...try to explain matrixing and the minds ability to pick out human features where there are none (in nature). *Anyway*...one of the kids said, 'but it's paranormal!' I said, 'yes, but all paranormal means is that it's 'above normal' it just means that we don't *know* what causes it yet.' and then I told them about how the ancient people thought that when there was an eclipse it was caused by a giant monster in the sky trying to eat the sun. *insert gasps of shock and laughter* I explained, they didn't know better, and they had no way of knowing that the earth was revolving around the sun and the moon was revolving around the earth, and that every so often, they intersected just right, and the sun 'disappeared' temporarily. 'Ooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh' So, just like that, we may, eventually, one day have the ability to understand what causes what we call 'ghosts'. And I explained that sometimes, people just jump to the wrong conclusion, without looking for regular, boring reasons for things happening.
I told the kids that my house has a ghost, but we basically ignore it. I told them that my bedroom door swings shut on its own every so often. And I told them, at first, my family thought it was the ghost. Then, I told them, I figured out that, even though it looks perfectly flat and level, my room is actually just very slightly titled! And it's *just* enough that, if the door isn't pushed back far enough, it starts to slowly swing shut, builds up a little speed, and *bam* slams shut. Nothing paranormal at all. Just gravity. :)
Also, at one point, I had taken two of the kids to the bathroom, and realized that my scarf was slipping. So I whipped it off to fix it there in the hall. The boy came out, glanced at me, bent to drink out of the fountain, and did a double take. 'You *do* have hair!' *lol* 'Yes, I do.' :)
~~~
So, this weekend we're off, and the next weekend I'm going to tell them that I'm out of town, which is (mostly) true. So I'm going to have two weeks 'off'. I plan to go to Holy Trinity this weekend, but I'm not sure about the weekend after that. That'll be Lent, and I don't know if maybe they have 'heavier' services...plus, it's Greek Fest. So...yeah.
So:
1/31 Class - They were *horrible*. We had a full class, plus one (one of the girls brought a friend) and they just would not listen or be still or quiet or behave! It was so bad that, while Debbie had half the class out to the bathrooms and I was trying to move on with what we were doing, I had to have them all put their heads on their tables and be silent. I waited a few minutes and asked them if they thought they could all behave so we could do something, and two of the boys said 'no'. So we continued to sit with out heads down. The next time I asked, those same two boys said 'no', but the rest of the class jumped in and said 'yes'. So I said that everyone who thought they could behave could sit up and participate, and those two boys could keep their heads down. Suddenly, shock of shocks, those two decided they *could* be quiet and participate.
2/7 Class - This week, we only had about half of the class. They were back to normal, a little rambunctious, but so much better. Must have been the full moon or something last week. *rolls eyes* We had them cut out hearts and on one side write 'Jesus Love Me...' and fill in why they think Jesus loves them (something good about themselves) and on the other side write 'I Love Jesus...' and fill in why they love Jesus (most of the answers started with, 'He created...' and inserted whatever the kid likes best) and we hung them up on our cabinet.
Our Gospel reading was...Luke 5: 1-11 (I believe). It was the story of Jesus calling Simon (Peter) and the Thunder Brothers (James and John) (Okay, I just like calling them that, alright?). One of the kids was confused as to how they were going to 'fish for men'. He wanted to know if they were going to start throwing nets on people.... :) I explained that no, Jesus was just talking to them in terms they would understand. Because they'd been fishermen all their lives, He used 'fishy' words to get them to understand what He was asking them to do. Then, one of the boys wanted to know what the difference was between Jews, Catholics, and Christians. First, I explained that Catholics *are* Christians - followers of Christ. Then, I (briefly) explained who the Jews were. And I told them, 'Jesus was a Jew' *dead silence* 'He was?' 'Yes'
We somehow got on to sin, and I was explaining about how people can't go to Heaven with sin still on them, which is why Christ came to us and gave us the Church and the Sacraments, and one of the boys (It's always the boys, have you noticed?) asked, 'what about the people who get stuck on earth as ghosts?' *insert evil laughter here* *cough* So. The last ten minutes of class were all about ghosts. :)
I explained, basically, that we don't know, really, what causes ghosts. Another of the boys explained that 'yes we do, it's when people die and then years later somebody builds a house over their grave and they get disturbed...' and I said, yes, some people think that, but really, pretty much everywhere we walk or build there's likely to be peoples bodies, so that can't be it. I got back to the whole, 'we don't know' and a kid brought up orbs. Well, as I explained, 99% of the time, orbs are dust or bugs that get caught in the camera flare. And the same kid said, 'but this one had a smiley face in it!' So...try to explain matrixing and the minds ability to pick out human features where there are none (in nature). *Anyway*...one of the kids said, 'but it's paranormal!' I said, 'yes, but all paranormal means is that it's 'above normal' it just means that we don't *know* what causes it yet.' and then I told them about how the ancient people thought that when there was an eclipse it was caused by a giant monster in the sky trying to eat the sun. *insert gasps of shock and laughter* I explained, they didn't know better, and they had no way of knowing that the earth was revolving around the sun and the moon was revolving around the earth, and that every so often, they intersected just right, and the sun 'disappeared' temporarily. 'Ooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh' So, just like that, we may, eventually, one day have the ability to understand what causes what we call 'ghosts'. And I explained that sometimes, people just jump to the wrong conclusion, without looking for regular, boring reasons for things happening.
I told the kids that my house has a ghost, but we basically ignore it. I told them that my bedroom door swings shut on its own every so often. And I told them, at first, my family thought it was the ghost. Then, I told them, I figured out that, even though it looks perfectly flat and level, my room is actually just very slightly titled! And it's *just* enough that, if the door isn't pushed back far enough, it starts to slowly swing shut, builds up a little speed, and *bam* slams shut. Nothing paranormal at all. Just gravity. :)
Also, at one point, I had taken two of the kids to the bathroom, and realized that my scarf was slipping. So I whipped it off to fix it there in the hall. The boy came out, glanced at me, bent to drink out of the fountain, and did a double take. 'You *do* have hair!' *lol* 'Yes, I do.' :)
~~~
So, this weekend we're off, and the next weekend I'm going to tell them that I'm out of town, which is (mostly) true. So I'm going to have two weeks 'off'. I plan to go to Holy Trinity this weekend, but I'm not sure about the weekend after that. That'll be Lent, and I don't know if maybe they have 'heavier' services...plus, it's Greek Fest. So...yeah.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Kinder & Various Other Things
Kids: We had a small class yesterday, 8 kids. It worked out well - we did the Gospel, which was the Baptism of Jesus from Luke. Debbie had also found a worksheet for them to do with the Beatitudes, so we did those, which the kids like. Funny thing, the New Testament books that we usually use for the class (bigger print and 'smaller' words), were a different translation than the worksheet, so the kids were having trouble figuring the questions out. So I pulled out the full Bible's we have in the class, and they were the same translation, so we used those. The kids were funny, asking who 'Genius' was...they meant Genesis, but couldn't say it quite right. They've heard us say it, but I don't think they'd ever seen it written out before. We did four or five 'words' and that was about it. Busy busy.
Mini Me (Deb's daughter, who shares my name) had a scarf on because of the cold. Of course, she sees me with a scarf on my head all the time, and when we were in the class, before classes start and she had to go to hers, wrapped hers around her head and tied it under the chin. I laughed and told her she looked like a little babushka now. Then I showed her how I do mine for the cold, without tying it, which is just to wrap it around and throw the ends over each other. So, at the end of the day (10:30 am...), when we were leaving, she and her family were going across the property to church, and I was leaving, and she had me help her wrap her scarf so her ears would stay warm. :)
Speaking of cold...our pipes froze last night. Or, well, the water froze. We're on well water, and we covered the well, and kept water running during the night, but it just got too cold. I've had *ice* on my car and in the pond. My abaya makes a great housecoat, and I've been wearing it as an extra layer outside to keep warm. You should see me walking the dogs. I've got regular clothes on, so, pants or skirt & top, socks, abaya, shayla scarf (very early in the morning, the past two mornings, I've worn it niqab style, to boot), winter jacket, and gloves. I may look funny, but I'm *warm*! Oh! And we're having a 'snow day' at the schools down here. FPL is doing load control, and so they've shut down the schools in our county because they won't be able to run the heat.
Hmmm...My first weigh in (well, second, but the first doesn't really count since it was just a 'let's see what we've got to work with kind of thing) is tonight. I'm praying I lost at least the two pounds. I'm just afraid I'll go there, and have done all this stuff, and been eating right, and not have lost any weight!
Next Sunday we're 'off' school, so I'm going to the Greek Orthodox church: Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church.
And...that's about it. The Holmes movie has made me break out my copies of The Canon so I'm reading those at the moment. So much love.
Mini Me (Deb's daughter, who shares my name) had a scarf on because of the cold. Of course, she sees me with a scarf on my head all the time, and when we were in the class, before classes start and she had to go to hers, wrapped hers around her head and tied it under the chin. I laughed and told her she looked like a little babushka now. Then I showed her how I do mine for the cold, without tying it, which is just to wrap it around and throw the ends over each other. So, at the end of the day (10:30 am...), when we were leaving, she and her family were going across the property to church, and I was leaving, and she had me help her wrap her scarf so her ears would stay warm. :)
Speaking of cold...our pipes froze last night. Or, well, the water froze. We're on well water, and we covered the well, and kept water running during the night, but it just got too cold. I've had *ice* on my car and in the pond. My abaya makes a great housecoat, and I've been wearing it as an extra layer outside to keep warm. You should see me walking the dogs. I've got regular clothes on, so, pants or skirt & top, socks, abaya, shayla scarf (very early in the morning, the past two mornings, I've worn it niqab style, to boot), winter jacket, and gloves. I may look funny, but I'm *warm*! Oh! And we're having a 'snow day' at the schools down here. FPL is doing load control, and so they've shut down the schools in our county because they won't be able to run the heat.
Hmmm...My first weigh in (well, second, but the first doesn't really count since it was just a 'let's see what we've got to work with kind of thing) is tonight. I'm praying I lost at least the two pounds. I'm just afraid I'll go there, and have done all this stuff, and been eating right, and not have lost any weight!
Next Sunday we're 'off' school, so I'm going to the Greek Orthodox church: Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church.
And...that's about it. The Holmes movie has made me break out my copies of The Canon so I'm reading those at the moment. So much love.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
There Comes a Time...
when one must face reality.
The DRE just sent out an email talking about next years classes, etc. and one of the things she wanted to know was whether or not we (the entire group of teachers was emailed) wanted to continue in this ministry next year.
And I emailed her back and said 'no'.
It's not that I don't love teaching the kids. Much as they occasionally make me want to pull my hair out, they're great.
The fact of the matter is that I can't teach the class while I'm in 'limbo' between Catholicism and Orthodoxy. It's not fair to the kids, and it's not honest for me to teach them why the Pope is capable of infallible teaching, or the sole head of the church, when I don't really believe that he is. It's not honest for me to teach them the Nicene Creed (in the form the Catholic church uses) when I can't justify the filioque (and, confession time, have been dropping it myself for maybe a month now...).
(And just for the record, these are not the only things I'm having issues with, just the only ones that I've had to teach to the kids.)
It's not fair to any of us, and I can't do it anymore. I'm going to finish assisting this year, but after that, I'm done.
The DRE just sent out an email talking about next years classes, etc. and one of the things she wanted to know was whether or not we (the entire group of teachers was emailed) wanted to continue in this ministry next year.
And I emailed her back and said 'no'.
It's not that I don't love teaching the kids. Much as they occasionally make me want to pull my hair out, they're great.
The fact of the matter is that I can't teach the class while I'm in 'limbo' between Catholicism and Orthodoxy. It's not fair to the kids, and it's not honest for me to teach them why the Pope is capable of infallible teaching, or the sole head of the church, when I don't really believe that he is. It's not honest for me to teach them the Nicene Creed (in the form the Catholic church uses) when I can't justify the filioque (and, confession time, have been dropping it myself for maybe a month now...).
(And just for the record, these are not the only things I'm having issues with, just the only ones that I've had to teach to the kids.)
It's not fair to any of us, and I can't do it anymore. I'm going to finish assisting this year, but after that, I'm done.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
The Kinder Report Day 14
CHRISTMAS PARTY!
That is all. :)
We had fun, cake, cookies, crafts, utter chaos.
We're off next weekend, and I intend to go to the Greek Orthodox church next Sunday.
For now, I'm off to go see Avatar andprobably squeak embarrassingly at the screen.
Also, next week, HOLMES! *convulses in joy*
That is all. :)
We had fun, cake, cookies, crafts, utter chaos.
We're off next weekend, and I intend to go to the Greek Orthodox church next Sunday.
For now, I'm off to go see Avatar and
Also, next week, HOLMES! *convulses in joy*
Sunday, December 13, 2009
The Kinder Report Day 13
Next week is our Christmas party. :)
This week, we read the Annunciation (Luke 1: 26-38), and then one of the girls wanted to read the Magnificat (Luke 1: 46-56) so we did that as well. For those unfamiliar with it:
46 And Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
47 my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
48 For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.
49 The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
50 His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him.
51 He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart.
52 He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly.
53 The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty.
54 He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy,
55 according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."
56 Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
Our word of the day was 'pope'. *eye twitches* I had to spell it on the board because the kids kept insisting that I was saying 'pulp'. *headdesk* Anyway, I explained that he was the Bishop of Rome, and a little about the progression from deacon to priest to bishop. I left out the technical stuff because, well, they're six. It can be confusing. *sigh* I let Debbie teach the whole, 'the church was founded on St. Peter' bit. It was a cop-out, and I know it. But I'm not going to teach something I'm not convinced of, however, it is a Catholic class, and it needed to be said. So. There you go.
Most of the day was spent making Christmas cards for the St. Vincent de Paul society. They're going to deliver the cards with meals to the people that they serve. We thought it was great, and the kids had lots of fun. :)
This week, we read the Annunciation (Luke 1: 26-38), and then one of the girls wanted to read the Magnificat (Luke 1: 46-56) so we did that as well. For those unfamiliar with it:
46 And Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
47 my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
48 For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.
49 The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
50 His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him.
51 He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart.
52 He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly.
53 The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty.
54 He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy,
55 according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."
56 Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
Our word of the day was 'pope'. *eye twitches* I had to spell it on the board because the kids kept insisting that I was saying 'pulp'. *headdesk* Anyway, I explained that he was the Bishop of Rome, and a little about the progression from deacon to priest to bishop. I left out the technical stuff because, well, they're six. It can be confusing. *sigh* I let Debbie teach the whole, 'the church was founded on St. Peter' bit. It was a cop-out, and I know it. But I'm not going to teach something I'm not convinced of, however, it is a Catholic class, and it needed to be said. So. There you go.
Most of the day was spent making Christmas cards for the St. Vincent de Paul society. They're going to deliver the cards with meals to the people that they serve. We thought it was great, and the kids had lots of fun. :)
Sunday, December 6, 2009
The Kinder Report Day 12
Ah, back to the grind stone.
We had an 'easy' day today, because last week they were off, and we're off the weekend after Christmas too, so...
Anyway. We had them all look up their 'birthday verses' in the Gospels. So, you take the month you were born for the chapter, and the day for the verse, and that's your 'birthday verse'. *shrug* I don't know, it was an activity Deb came up with. So we had them look them all up, and write them out. Then, they chose their favorite, and they made cut out fish and wrote that verse on one side of the fish, their name on the other, and decorated. :)
That took up most of the class.
Our word was 'Sacraments', so we briefly went over all of them.
Then, we read the Gospel, which is Luke 3: 1-6 -
'In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,
when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,
and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee,
and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region
of Ituraea and Trachonitis,
and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,
during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,
the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert.
John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan,
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
Every valley shall be filled
and every mountain and hill shall be made low.
The winding roads shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth,
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”'
And now, I'm going to go watch Ninja Assassin. Because sometimes, you just need to watch people kicking each other in the head.
We had an 'easy' day today, because last week they were off, and we're off the weekend after Christmas too, so...
Anyway. We had them all look up their 'birthday verses' in the Gospels. So, you take the month you were born for the chapter, and the day for the verse, and that's your 'birthday verse'. *shrug* I don't know, it was an activity Deb came up with. So we had them look them all up, and write them out. Then, they chose their favorite, and they made cut out fish and wrote that verse on one side of the fish, their name on the other, and decorated. :)
That took up most of the class.
Our word was 'Sacraments', so we briefly went over all of them.
Then, we read the Gospel, which is Luke 3: 1-6 -
'In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,
when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,
and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee,
and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region
of Ituraea and Trachonitis,
and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,
during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,
the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert.
John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan,
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
Every valley shall be filled
and every mountain and hill shall be made low.
The winding roads shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth,
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”'
And now, I'm going to go watch Ninja Assassin. Because sometimes, you just need to watch people kicking each other in the head.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
The Kinder Report Day 11: Sick Day Edition
There is no Kinder Report today. I've called in sick from school.
Nor am I actually up & typing this. Delayed posting for the win.
Here's what my weekend has encompassed:
Sunday, November 15, 2009
The Kinder Report Day 10 & 'The Box'
Hmmm...we had a Communion Meeting today, so a lot of the kids (the older ones) weren't in class. So we did a movie day and watched some old cartooney things on the life of Jesus.
Unsurprisingly, when it came to the Temple, the video showed 'sacrifices'. No blood, nothing graphic, but it was clear the sheep was dead, and getting burnt up.
This displeased the children! like I cannot even describe. And then Deb said, while we were trying to explain, that 'they *thought* that's what God had told them to do' - whether I was right or wrong in saying it, I had to step in and correct her. God *did* tell the Jewish people to make animal sacrifices. It's not like they'd gone off on their own on this or anything. Of course, we explained that because of Christ, and His Perfect Sacrifice, we are no longer bound by the Old Testament Laws, and so we don't need to sacrifice animals. Which made the kids happy, and one, A, declared that she was going to be a vegetarian from now on. That's because she was mad they were being 'mean' to the animals, and we had the whole, 'where do you think we get burgers from' discussion.
Our Gospel was Mark 13: 24-32 - so we got to discuss (*briefly*) the idea of the Apocalypse and the End of the World. Have you ever tried to have a discussion like that with a room of six/seven year olds? And *not* give them nightmares? Yeah.
Our word was 'Act of Contrition', so I read the one from the back of the missalette Istole borrowed from the church. (Look, the DRE and Deacon G both told me it was okay, and I'm using it for church purposes...) And then we discussed, a little, about what Confession and Penance are like.
~~~
Okay, so, we went to see the movie 'The Box' this afternoon. Interesting. Not scary, but sort of old school scifi/suspense kind of thing. Here's the premise:
A man shows up at your house with a box. In this box, there's this device with a big red button on it. He explains, if you press the button, two things will happen: 1) Someone, somewhere in the world, whom you do not know, will die. 2) You get a million dollars.
So, what do you do?
Unsurprisingly, when it came to the Temple, the video showed 'sacrifices'. No blood, nothing graphic, but it was clear the sheep was dead, and getting burnt up.
This displeased the children! like I cannot even describe. And then Deb said, while we were trying to explain, that 'they *thought* that's what God had told them to do' - whether I was right or wrong in saying it, I had to step in and correct her. God *did* tell the Jewish people to make animal sacrifices. It's not like they'd gone off on their own on this or anything. Of course, we explained that because of Christ, and His Perfect Sacrifice, we are no longer bound by the Old Testament Laws, and so we don't need to sacrifice animals. Which made the kids happy, and one, A, declared that she was going to be a vegetarian from now on. That's because she was mad they were being 'mean' to the animals, and we had the whole, 'where do you think we get burgers from' discussion.
Our Gospel was Mark 13: 24-32 - so we got to discuss (*briefly*) the idea of the Apocalypse and the End of the World. Have you ever tried to have a discussion like that with a room of six/seven year olds? And *not* give them nightmares? Yeah.
Our word was 'Act of Contrition', so I read the one from the back of the missalette I
~~~
Okay, so, we went to see the movie 'The Box' this afternoon. Interesting. Not scary, but sort of old school scifi/suspense kind of thing. Here's the premise:
A man shows up at your house with a box. In this box, there's this device with a big red button on it. He explains, if you press the button, two things will happen: 1) Someone, somewhere in the world, whom you do not know, will die. 2) You get a million dollars.
So, what do you do?
Sunday, November 8, 2009
The Kinder Report Day 9
Adam and Eve took up most of the day, because, well, you have to go over the creation, and the kids had a *list* of animals they wanted to know if God created.
I got tired of it, and said, 'God created *all* the animals, even the platypus.' Which led to another discussion, because some of the kids didn't realize the platypus was a real animal. :)
Deb found a little coloring book of the story online that we made copies of and had the kids color and read the story from that.
Our Gospel was Mark 12: 38-44. I think the kids understood that it's not just when we have an excess or it's convenient for us that we need to give to God (and I'm certainly not talking about just money here, but time, attention, etc.), because it's *easy* then, but God's not asking us to only do easy things, but to obey Him at all times, even when it's tough.
Our word was 'Reconciliation', and that's what Deb suggested they write in their letters today. What they thought about the word, about the Sacrament, whether they were nervous about it, whether they were looking forward to it, just anything. Of course the kids don't *have* to write about what we suggest, but it does help them sometimes if we give them ideas.
Our random conversation involved whether it was better to use a hand grenade or a grenade launcher. This, of course, was a 'boy' conversation. :)
I got tired of it, and said, 'God created *all* the animals, even the platypus.' Which led to another discussion, because some of the kids didn't realize the platypus was a real animal. :)
Deb found a little coloring book of the story online that we made copies of and had the kids color and read the story from that.
Our Gospel was Mark 12: 38-44. I think the kids understood that it's not just when we have an excess or it's convenient for us that we need to give to God (and I'm certainly not talking about just money here, but time, attention, etc.), because it's *easy* then, but God's not asking us to only do easy things, but to obey Him at all times, even when it's tough.
Our word was 'Reconciliation', and that's what Deb suggested they write in their letters today. What they thought about the word, about the Sacrament, whether they were nervous about it, whether they were looking forward to it, just anything. Of course the kids don't *have* to write about what we suggest, but it does help them sometimes if we give them ideas.
Our random conversation involved whether it was better to use a hand grenade or a grenade launcher. This, of course, was a 'boy' conversation. :)
Sunday, November 1, 2009
The Kinder Report Day 8
The Gospel was Matthew 5: 1-12 (the Beatitudes). Funny enough, our 'words' were Gospel and Jesus, so they were both sort of gimmies. :)
Deb came up with this activity from a book of her daughters, where the kids would make their own 'Prayer Books' and 'Mass Books' by cutting out these pages, and we photocopied them, yadda. It didn't turn out as well as hoped, because the copies had lost the page numbers at the bottom, so the kids couldn't figure out which pages were meant to go in what order...we sorted it out, but it took *much* longer than it should have...
The 'random running conversation' of the day was shock and dismay over the fact that I'm 27 and don't have a boyfriend or a husband. *head desk* I'm not even joking. We were working on the books, and M, one of the girls, asked me if I had a boyfriend (I have no idea where this question was meant to go, cause we never got there...), I said no, and then she sort of did that, 'no wait, I meant husband', and I told her no, I wasn't married either. *shock* as the room suddenly falls silent. '*How* old are you Miss Amber?' '27' 'And you don't have a boyfriend? Why not? Have you tried? How about blind dates? Speed dating? (okay, they totally didn't know the term speed dating, but they described it.) *Why* don't you have a boyfriend?' The conclusion they came to is that it's a tragedy, I'm pretty so I need a boyfriend and they can't understand why I haven't got one. You and me both, kids. You and me both.
Another discovery is that we're going to have to go over Genesis, at least briefly. At least one of the boys had *no idea* who Adam and Eve are. Seriously. These kids are 6/7, on up to 12. How do you get to that age, raised in a nominally Christian household, and not have heard those names? I am boggled.
See, here's the thing I really don't get. They boy, J, was asking about angels, and if they really had names. I said yes, they did, but we don't know all of them, because there're so many, and he was talking about a show he'd watched that was talking about angels and their names and the hierarchy, and M asked about the devil, so we were talking about that, and I mentioned Adam and Eve, and J was...'who's Adam?' Soo....his parents let him watch History Channel stuff about Kabbalah and angels, but they don't bother to tell him Genesis? What?
Deb came up with this activity from a book of her daughters, where the kids would make their own 'Prayer Books' and 'Mass Books' by cutting out these pages, and we photocopied them, yadda. It didn't turn out as well as hoped, because the copies had lost the page numbers at the bottom, so the kids couldn't figure out which pages were meant to go in what order...we sorted it out, but it took *much* longer than it should have...
The 'random running conversation' of the day was shock and dismay over the fact that I'm 27 and don't have a boyfriend or a husband. *head desk* I'm not even joking. We were working on the books, and M, one of the girls, asked me if I had a boyfriend (I have no idea where this question was meant to go, cause we never got there...), I said no, and then she sort of did that, 'no wait, I meant husband', and I told her no, I wasn't married either. *shock* as the room suddenly falls silent. '*How* old are you Miss Amber?' '27' 'And you don't have a boyfriend? Why not? Have you tried? How about blind dates? Speed dating? (okay, they totally didn't know the term speed dating, but they described it.) *Why* don't you have a boyfriend?' The conclusion they came to is that it's a tragedy, I'm pretty so I need a boyfriend and they can't understand why I haven't got one. You and me both, kids. You and me both.
Another discovery is that we're going to have to go over Genesis, at least briefly. At least one of the boys had *no idea* who Adam and Eve are. Seriously. These kids are 6/7, on up to 12. How do you get to that age, raised in a nominally Christian household, and not have heard those names? I am boggled.
See, here's the thing I really don't get. They boy, J, was asking about angels, and if they really had names. I said yes, they did, but we don't know all of them, because there're so many, and he was talking about a show he'd watched that was talking about angels and their names and the hierarchy, and M asked about the devil, so we were talking about that, and I mentioned Adam and Eve, and J was...'who's Adam?' Soo....his parents let him watch History Channel stuff about Kabbalah and angels, but they don't bother to tell him Genesis? What?
Sunday, October 25, 2009
The Kinder Report Day 7
Fun was had by all. One of the girls brought in popcorn, so we had that for snacks.
Deb found a handout that we gave the kids, about forgiveness, it's meant to start them on the ideas of Reconciliation and Penance. The Bible verse in the handout was Luke 15: 4-6 (the lost sheep). And our Gospel was Mark 10: 46-52.
The kids ask *lots* of questions: is there anything God won't forgive? what if you forget you did something wrong? can a priest tell somebody what you confess? why do some people eat monkey brains?
Our 'word' was Commandments, so we went over the Ten Commandments again.
We're focusing on respect and *quiet* while other people are talking, reading, etc. They're six, so they have trouble with this. But we're working on it. :)
And here's our wall of colored pictures:
ps, LK, I got the game, thanks! I gave it to the DRE so she can 'approve' it, but I anticipate being able to use it next class. :)
Sunday, October 18, 2009
The Kinder Report Day 6
*sigh* Okay, just a quickie because I'm on my way out the door to see a movie with a friend. I feel bad updating and not responding to comments or other peoples new posts first, but I want to do it before I forget and I promise to respond to everybody later.
Class went well, we read the Gospel which was Mark 10: 35-45. Our word was 'faith'. :)
I did not screw up anything, thank God. I had the kids pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary without their sheets (mostly). We need to work on silence and respect and the proper way to behave when someone else is praying out loud. Crossing ourselves also needs to be addressed. The kids rush through it. We did our letters, and went around the room for 'best things of the week'. It was a little more chaotic than normal because (I think) having a temporary teacher distracted some of them.
At snack time I handed out the coloring sheets I'd found, it was Jesus stopping the storm, and that took us to the end of class. I am tired and achy, but the ache is from over doing it in the yard yesterday, and so's the tired, cause I kept twinging my back in my sleep and I don't take pain killers soooo....
Anyway, typing it out it seems like not much, but really, we fill an hour and a half with learning!
Off to see Paranormal Activity. The reviews tell me that it will make me pee my pants and be afraid to sleep and shower alone. If it does not deliver, I shall be miffed. (Less so on the peeing of pants thing...)
Class went well, we read the Gospel which was Mark 10: 35-45. Our word was 'faith'. :)
I did not screw up anything, thank God. I had the kids pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary without their sheets (mostly). We need to work on silence and respect and the proper way to behave when someone else is praying out loud. Crossing ourselves also needs to be addressed. The kids rush through it. We did our letters, and went around the room for 'best things of the week'. It was a little more chaotic than normal because (I think) having a temporary teacher distracted some of them.
At snack time I handed out the coloring sheets I'd found, it was Jesus stopping the storm, and that took us to the end of class. I am tired and achy, but the ache is from over doing it in the yard yesterday, and so's the tired, cause I kept twinging my back in my sleep and I don't take pain killers soooo....
Anyway, typing it out it seems like not much, but really, we fill an hour and a half with learning!
Off to see Paranormal Activity. The reviews tell me that it will make me pee my pants and be afraid to sleep and shower alone. If it does not deliver, I shall be miffed. (Less so on the peeing of pants thing...)
Friday, October 16, 2009
Hijab, Cars, and Class - What Do These Things Have In Common?
So, I was thinking. Shush. Don't act so shocked.
I have a passing familiarity with this thing you people call a 'speed limit'. It's not that I'm a bad driver, certainly, I was taught to drive by my grandfather, who was a cop and worked with the FBI. I'm a *good* driver. I've been in one accident, and they hit me while I was sitting still. However, I do tend to drive at, what has been called, 'ludicrous speed' as opposed to 'light speed' ($20 of imaginary money if you get the movie reference).
When I moved, I had to start taking a different way to work, and this involved a windy road. I slowed down. I was scared, a little. I could feel the car shifting under me, and was convinced that I was going to flip if I went even a little over the limit. That was...two years ago? I speed on it now. (Note: I'm not encouraging speeding. I know I shouldn't, and I try to not go as fast as I used to, but it's *hard*.) I'm not scared anymore. It was new, I had to adjust. And I did.
Same thing with hijab. I was nervous, I was twitchy, I talked myself out of it a couple times. A little less than a month later, I'm not nervous.
I'm actually sitting at work, in my hijab.
I'm still not full time. I wear it when I feel the need, and cover in other ways other times.
People've been *friendlier*, which is weird. And work people just joke. They all agree it looks lovely. (Of course, my one friend insists that I need to walk ten paces behind him now, but he's kidding, really.)
Now, this Sunday is my first day teaching the class without Deb. I usually let her lead since she has much more experience with kids, but she has to attend a meeting for her kids who are in pre-Confirmation classes. So it's me and a 'temp' who works in the front office. I'm nervous. I'm afraid she's going to think I don't know what I'm doing.
Soo....that's where I'm at.
Sitting at work in hijab, worrying about teaching class. *sigh*
I have a passing familiarity with this thing you people call a 'speed limit'. It's not that I'm a bad driver, certainly, I was taught to drive by my grandfather, who was a cop and worked with the FBI. I'm a *good* driver. I've been in one accident, and they hit me while I was sitting still. However, I do tend to drive at, what has been called, 'ludicrous speed' as opposed to 'light speed' ($20 of imaginary money if you get the movie reference).
When I moved, I had to start taking a different way to work, and this involved a windy road. I slowed down. I was scared, a little. I could feel the car shifting under me, and was convinced that I was going to flip if I went even a little over the limit. That was...two years ago? I speed on it now. (Note: I'm not encouraging speeding. I know I shouldn't, and I try to not go as fast as I used to, but it's *hard*.) I'm not scared anymore. It was new, I had to adjust. And I did.
Same thing with hijab. I was nervous, I was twitchy, I talked myself out of it a couple times. A little less than a month later, I'm not nervous.
I'm actually sitting at work, in my hijab.
I'm still not full time. I wear it when I feel the need, and cover in other ways other times.
People've been *friendlier*, which is weird. And work people just joke. They all agree it looks lovely. (Of course, my one friend insists that I need to walk ten paces behind him now, but he's kidding, really.)
Now, this Sunday is my first day teaching the class without Deb. I usually let her lead since she has much more experience with kids, but she has to attend a meeting for her kids who are in pre-Confirmation classes. So it's me and a 'temp' who works in the front office. I'm nervous. I'm afraid she's going to think I don't know what I'm doing.
Soo....that's where I'm at.
Sitting at work in hijab, worrying about teaching class. *sigh*
Sunday, October 11, 2009
The Kinder Report Day 5
*sigh* I is *tired*. :)
We had all the kids but one today. 13 kids in all, mostly boys. Do you think it's a bad idea that from now on I pray that God grants me daughters? Yeah, I think that's mostly going to come back and bite me in the behind.
I can *honestly* say that I have no idea how an hour and a half goes so fast. I think back on what we covered, and it doesn't seem like that much, but it takes up all our time.
We pulled two words, 'amen' and....*wah* I can't remember what the second one was!
One of the boys lost a tooth, spontaneously.
We read the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 29-37) and then spent time discussing that. For their 'letters' section, Debbie asked them to write about what they could do to be a 'good samaritan' in their lives, and then they shared those if they wanted to. We also went around and asked them about things that they *didn't* do in the past week that they could have to be good to their 'neighbors'.
We read the Gospel (Mark 10: 17-30). What we tried to get across to the kids is that the things of the world, money, toys, etc. aren't really important. When we die, none of it comes with us. What matters is that we focus on God, and the world to come. As the author of Wisdom said, prudence and wisdom are more valuable than all the gold and silver.
We had all the kids but one today. 13 kids in all, mostly boys. Do you think it's a bad idea that from now on I pray that God grants me daughters? Yeah, I think that's mostly going to come back and bite me in the behind.
I can *honestly* say that I have no idea how an hour and a half goes so fast. I think back on what we covered, and it doesn't seem like that much, but it takes up all our time.
We pulled two words, 'amen' and....*wah* I can't remember what the second one was!
One of the boys lost a tooth, spontaneously.
We read the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 29-37) and then spent time discussing that. For their 'letters' section, Debbie asked them to write about what they could do to be a 'good samaritan' in their lives, and then they shared those if they wanted to. We also went around and asked them about things that they *didn't* do in the past week that they could have to be good to their 'neighbors'.
We read the Gospel (Mark 10: 17-30). What we tried to get across to the kids is that the things of the world, money, toys, etc. aren't really important. When we die, none of it comes with us. What matters is that we focus on God, and the world to come. As the author of Wisdom said, prudence and wisdom are more valuable than all the gold and silver.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Tomorrow's OT and Gospel Readings
Another 'quiz'. What's the common message?
I, of course, will let y'all know tomorrow what we taught the kids.
Reading 1
Wis 7:7-11
I prayed, and prudence was given me;
I pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.
I preferred her to scepter and throne,
and deemed riches nothing in comparison with her,
nor did I liken any priceless gem to her;
because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand,
and before her, silver is to be accounted mire.
Beyond health and comeliness I loved her,
and I chose to have her rather than the light,
because the splendor of her never yields to sleep.
Yet all good things together came to me in her company,
and countless riches at her hands.
Gospel
Mk 10:17-30
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up,
knelt down before him, and asked him,
"Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good?
No one is good but God alone.
You know the commandments: You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
you shall not defraud;
honor your father and your mother."
He replied and said to him,
"Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth."
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him,
"You are lacking in one thing.
Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor
and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."
At that statement his face fell,
and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples,
"How hard it is for those who have wealth
to enter the kingdom of God!"
The disciples were amazed at his words.
So Jesus again said to them in reply,
"Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves,
"Then who can be saved?"
Jesus looked at them and said,
"For human beings it is impossible, but not for God.
All things are possible for God."
Peter began to say to him,
"We have given up everything and followed you."
Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come."
I, of course, will let y'all know tomorrow what we taught the kids.
Reading 1
Wis 7:7-11
I prayed, and prudence was given me;
I pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.
I preferred her to scepter and throne,
and deemed riches nothing in comparison with her,
nor did I liken any priceless gem to her;
because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand,
and before her, silver is to be accounted mire.
Beyond health and comeliness I loved her,
and I chose to have her rather than the light,
because the splendor of her never yields to sleep.
Yet all good things together came to me in her company,
and countless riches at her hands.
Gospel
Mk 10:17-30
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up,
knelt down before him, and asked him,
"Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good?
No one is good but God alone.
You know the commandments: You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
you shall not defraud;
honor your father and your mother."
He replied and said to him,
"Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth."
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him,
"You are lacking in one thing.
Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor
and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."
At that statement his face fell,
and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples,
"How hard it is for those who have wealth
to enter the kingdom of God!"
The disciples were amazed at his words.
So Jesus again said to them in reply,
"Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves,
"Then who can be saved?"
Jesus looked at them and said,
"For human beings it is impossible, but not for God.
All things are possible for God."
Peter began to say to him,
"We have given up everything and followed you."
Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come."
Sunday, October 4, 2009
The Kinder Report - Day 4
We got two new boys today, brothers who were just Baptised last week. Very cute and clever. We spread the boys out through the classroom and the *insane level of mind splitting energy* died down a good bit. :)
The Gospel today was Mark 10: 2-16:
2 Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" 3 "What did Moses command you?" he replied. 4 They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away." 5 "It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law," Jesus replied. 6 "But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.' 7 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." 10 When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. 11 He answered, "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. 12 And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery." 13 People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." 16 And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.
Deb didn't want to read the Gospel to the kids today because it's about divorce/adultery and some of the kids may have divorced parents. I don't think that shielding the kids from what the Bible says about things is doing them any favors. We did read the Gospel, and I explained that divorce is a *last resort* - it's necessary in some cases, but it's not a desired outcome to a marriage. Marriage is supposed to be forever. The kids, I think, understood.
The nice thing about verses 13-16 was that before we read the Gospel we had been discussing the blessing that the priests give kids who haven't received their first communion yet and this tied in nicely, showing that they were carrying on a tradition that Jesus had begun.
Our words of the day were 'homily' and 'heaven'. When we were discussing heaven we went around the room and asked each kid what they thought it was like. There were a lot of 'fluffy clouds' and angels involved, as you might guess. :) One of the girls, E, asked what happened to dinosaur's souls. :) I'm not kidding, I swear. I said that because they weren't people, we don't know what happens to animals souls when they die. It's not the same thing as what happens to us, but it's something that we haven't been told. From there we diverged into alligators and crocodiles and what to do if one was chasing you on land.
We spent *a lot* of time on the 'Why Go to Mass?' booklet, so we didn't get to read from the other books.
Oh! To help teach the kids how to use their Bibles, I wrote the Gospel on the whiteboard thusly: Mark 10: 2-16 and we had them find it, so they can learn what that means when they see a reference like it. :)
The Gospel today was Mark 10: 2-16:
2 Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" 3 "What did Moses command you?" he replied. 4 They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away." 5 "It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law," Jesus replied. 6 "But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.' 7 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." 10 When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. 11 He answered, "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. 12 And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery." 13 People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." 16 And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.
Deb didn't want to read the Gospel to the kids today because it's about divorce/adultery and some of the kids may have divorced parents. I don't think that shielding the kids from what the Bible says about things is doing them any favors. We did read the Gospel, and I explained that divorce is a *last resort* - it's necessary in some cases, but it's not a desired outcome to a marriage. Marriage is supposed to be forever. The kids, I think, understood.
The nice thing about verses 13-16 was that before we read the Gospel we had been discussing the blessing that the priests give kids who haven't received their first communion yet and this tied in nicely, showing that they were carrying on a tradition that Jesus had begun.
Our words of the day were 'homily' and 'heaven'. When we were discussing heaven we went around the room and asked each kid what they thought it was like. There were a lot of 'fluffy clouds' and angels involved, as you might guess. :) One of the girls, E, asked what happened to dinosaur's souls. :) I'm not kidding, I swear. I said that because they weren't people, we don't know what happens to animals souls when they die. It's not the same thing as what happens to us, but it's something that we haven't been told. From there we diverged into alligators and crocodiles and what to do if one was chasing you on land.
We spent *a lot* of time on the 'Why Go to Mass?' booklet, so we didn't get to read from the other books.
Oh! To help teach the kids how to use their Bibles, I wrote the Gospel on the whiteboard thusly: Mark 10: 2-16 and we had them find it, so they can learn what that means when they see a reference like it. :)
Sunday, September 27, 2009
The Kinder Report - Day 3
Okay, I don't want this to get redundant, because this is going to go on for awhile, and some of what we do in class is repetition. Getting the kids to memorize the prayers, for instance, requires that they get said at least once each class. So, I'm just going to try and highlight the unique occurrences for each class. Emphasis on *try*. :)
Today was the first day that we went over the Gospel reading (which is something we will do every Sunday). We read it from the missalette and had the kids find it in their New Testaments (they don't have a complete Bible, just a children's New Testament) and follow along. Of course, theirs is a kids version, so the wording wasn't *exactly* the same, but after we read it, we went around the room and had them each read a verse, round robin style. (And L asked what it meant when there was a 'j' after a verse, which led to the explanation of footnotes). Today's reading was Mark 9: 38 - 48:
At that time, John said to Jesus,
"Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name,
and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us."
Jesus replied, "Do not prevent him.
There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name
who can at the same time speak ill of me.
For whoever is not against us is for us.
Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink
because you belong to Christ,
amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.
"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,
it would be better for him if a great millstone
were put around his neck
and he were thrown into the sea.
If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.
It is better for you to enter into life maimed
than with two hands to go into Gehenna,
into the unquenchable fire.
And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off.
It is better for you to enter into life crippled
than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna.
And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.
Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye
than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna,
where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'"
Today was the first day that we went over the Gospel reading (which is something we will do every Sunday). We read it from the missalette and had the kids find it in their New Testaments (they don't have a complete Bible, just a children's New Testament) and follow along. Of course, theirs is a kids version, so the wording wasn't *exactly* the same, but after we read it, we went around the room and had them each read a verse, round robin style. (And L asked what it meant when there was a 'j' after a verse, which led to the explanation of footnotes). Today's reading was Mark 9: 38 - 48:
At that time, John said to Jesus,
"Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name,
and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us."
Jesus replied, "Do not prevent him.
There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name
who can at the same time speak ill of me.
For whoever is not against us is for us.
Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink
because you belong to Christ,
amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.
"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,
it would be better for him if a great millstone
were put around his neck
and he were thrown into the sea.
If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.
It is better for you to enter into life maimed
than with two hands to go into Gehenna,
into the unquenchable fire.
And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off.
It is better for you to enter into life crippled
than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna.
And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.
Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye
than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna,
where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'"
And then we let the kids ask questions. M wanted to know what Gehenna was, and I explained (for simplicities sake) that it was another way of referring to Hell. And, of course, that took us off on the (short) tangent over when it's appropriate to say the word Hell. :) One of the girls, A, said that she didn't like the word at all, and wouldn't *ever* use it. Which I said was okay, and she just refers to Heaven as the 'good place' and Hell as the 'bad place'. Of course, she's six, so I imagine this will wear off eventually. And one of the boys, R, asked if they were *really* supposed to chop off their hands and feet. Deb explained that no, since *they* have control of their hands and feet, they can keep them from causing sin by controlling themselves. She explained that it really meant that, for example, that if you have a friend or know someone who is causing you to sin (she used the example of someone who encouraged you to steal milk from the school cafeteria) then it's better to stop being friends with them so that you *don't* sin, rather than keep being friends. It's speaking more of outside influences that you can't control, yourself - that it's better to remove yourself from them so that they can't tempt you to sin anymore.
The kids *really* seem to like the 'Word Box', for some unfathomable reason. We pulled two words today, 'Saint' and 'Holy Trinity'. I explained that a 'Saint' was simply a person who had loved God so well on earth, in life, that they had led holy lives, dedicated to God and loving other people and putting others before themselves, so that when they died, God took their souls straight up to Heaven. Which, of course, led someone to ask what happened to the rest of us, which led to a brief foray into Purgatory, which one of the boys, C, decided was like the worlds *worst* waiting room, and therefore all of the kids are determined to bypass the 'waiting room' and go straight to Heaven. :) For the record, we'll get more into Purgatory a little later in the year, but I tried to explain it, simply as I could - that most of us will die with some sin on our soul, and because we weren't *perfectly* reconciled to God at the moment of death, we needed to go someplace to become pure, and that place was Purgatory. Someone, I think it was R again, asked about 'what if you murder someone ?' which I opined was likely to get you sent to Hell. I know, I know, even killers can be forgiven, however, I said 'likely'. Also, I used a Monopoly reference (the Saints go straight to Heaven, do not pass Go, do not collect $200) and Deb thought the kids wouldn't get it, but they all laughed (nicely) at her and said they *loved* Monopoly. ;-p
We'd been over the Holy Trinity last class, so that was more a review than anything else, and all the kids remembered that the Holy Trinity was God - the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
Now, when Deb had all the boys out of the class for a water/potty break (we take them out in shifts), J who is L's sister, told everyone why L was having a bad day. And, it had been obvious from the start of class that L was miserable. This led to the (brief) discussion about telling people about something about your sister or friend without asking them if they *wanted* you to tell other people about it, and how it wasn't very nice, because maybe L hadn't wanted everyone to know yet. (All the kids have been through Safe Environment and understand about telling an adult if there's abuse going on.) L said she was going to tell everyone when we did the Best/Worst of the week, and she did, and I'm pleased to say that be the end of the class she was looking happy. :)
Funny thing: we go over the Ten Commandments every class, and right after (today) we had snacks. And one of the boys dropped his cookie and said 'oh God!' and then immediately did that exaggerated smacking a hand over your mouth reaction thing. :) And all the other kids were suggesting what he *could* have said, instead - oh gosh, darn, etc.
We did discover that we're *definitely* going to have to separate the boys. If they all sit together, they sort of feed on each other and get a bit rowdy.
Right, so. Now for the Ten Commandments for Kids poster.
Just in case you can't read it, here's what it says:
1. Show God your love by loving others.
2. Be thoughtful and kind in what you say and do.
3. Thank God for each new day.
4. Help family members without being asked.
5. Take care of all living things: people, animals and plants.
6. Be true to what is really important.
7. Treat other people's things as if they were your own.
8. Always tell the truth and be honest.
9. Be happy for your friends when good things happen to them.
10. Share your things cheerfully.
Which are all very well and good, and things the kids should do, but they're not the Ten Commandments, not even the Ten Commandments in kid language.
Oh! While I was waiting for Deb to get there, I doodled on the white board. Now, I want to get a tattoo, when I've become the muscly, fit me. :) I've been waffling on what design I want, and no rush, cause this isn't going to happen any time soon, but I came up with one last night right before I fell asleep and I doodled it this morning and took a picture, so I don't forget.
Now, please, I can't draw, okay? I know it. This is just...a bad sketch. Okay?
It's the sword (us) in the fire (God's Grace) metaphor! (The black squiggles around the sword would be fire, but I couldn't draw fire...) And the sword would be glowing, like it was being heated...but I didn't have colored white board markers, just black. So *imagine*.
Monday, September 21, 2009
The Kinder Report - Day Two
Okay, so, yesterday was 'Catechetical Sunday' which meant I *had* to attend the 10:45 Mass. I *hate* the 10:45 Mass. It's the 'Charismatic' Mass, of which I don't approve! :p My Mass doesn't need drum stings and guitars and...frelling 'kumbayah'. *shudder*
But I had to go, because that's when they were 'commissioning' us. Never mind that by that time we'd already taught two classes...
Hmph. So, knowing my personal distaste for this Mass, I still went to the 7:30 Mass, which I quite enjoy. It's smaller, quieter, we seem to get the, I don't know exactly the word I want here, but 'itinerant' priests. Not Fr. Pat or Fr. Anthonio, who are our parish priests, but rotating priests. Which is nice, because I get a different kind of homily every time. There's no music, so everything is either chanted or spoken, and the priest actually speaks the Eucharistic prayers loud enough for us to hear, which they don't do at the later Masses.
Then, class.
The kids had a 'Safe Environment' class that day, if their parents signed them up for it, so we knew ahead of time that this was going to be something of a wash day, because we wouldn't have all of the kids. The kids who didn't sign up stayed in class (and some of the ones that didn't show last week were there), so we sort of went over some of the same things, had the kids who hadn't been there make their name tags, etc.
Oh! And prior to class starting, while we were waiting for everyone to get there, the girls and I got into a discussion of the different ways I could wear my scarf! :)
We went through the Our Father, and the Ten Commandments again - one of the other classes put up a 'Ten Commandments for Kids' poster, which I loathe. It's not right! It doesn't even explain the Ten Commandments in kid friendly terms correctly! I'll try and take a picture of it next week so you can see it, and tell me if I'm over reacting or something. :)
We read from the Reconciliation book (they have little two page stories that introduce the concepts - like Catholic, sacraments, etc.) and discussed it.
We pulled words from the word box - we got Bible and creed. We ask the kids what they think the words mean, and then explain a little more, depending on the answers. Bible is fairly obvious, and we pulled out the kids New Testaments so they could see that part, and start to learn how to use it.
One of the 'new' kids, M, was flipping through, as we went over what the Gospel's were, and asked about Acts, Romans, etc. So I explained a little about St. Paul and the Epistles (I didn't actually use the word epistle, now that I think about it, but I explained that they were letters he had written to different churches/people.) It was cute, she found Philippians and told me she had a friend who was from there, from the Philippines. :) I explained they were actually two different places, but she still thought it was neat that the names were so close.
Then, when we were discussing a little about how the Gospels were the story of Jesus' life, M asked if God the Father was different from Jesus, so we got to explain the Trinity. I used the whole, you Father is father to you, son to his parents, and a friend to his friends, but he's still only one person. I can't decide if I'm happy about it or not. It's not my personal favorite metaphor, but it's the one that sprang to mind, and given the age group, how it makes sense to me isn't the best way to explain it. They got it though, so we're good!
(Also, funny, one of the boys, D, when he's reading, every time he has to say 'God', he pronounces it 'good'. It's cute!)
And, at the end, while we were waiting for the parents to come pick up kids, they told us our class was fun!
Then I had to go to the Mass of Doom, which gave me a headache (stupid drums/woman with too much perfume/lack of food), and stand up in front of the church (which just makes me uncomfortable! How close is too close to the altar?) So, I got to receive twice, but other than that, fie on the 10:45 Mass.
But I had to go, because that's when they were 'commissioning' us. Never mind that by that time we'd already taught two classes...
Hmph. So, knowing my personal distaste for this Mass, I still went to the 7:30 Mass, which I quite enjoy. It's smaller, quieter, we seem to get the, I don't know exactly the word I want here, but 'itinerant' priests. Not Fr. Pat or Fr. Anthonio, who are our parish priests, but rotating priests. Which is nice, because I get a different kind of homily every time. There's no music, so everything is either chanted or spoken, and the priest actually speaks the Eucharistic prayers loud enough for us to hear, which they don't do at the later Masses.
Then, class.
The kids had a 'Safe Environment' class that day, if their parents signed them up for it, so we knew ahead of time that this was going to be something of a wash day, because we wouldn't have all of the kids. The kids who didn't sign up stayed in class (and some of the ones that didn't show last week were there), so we sort of went over some of the same things, had the kids who hadn't been there make their name tags, etc.
Oh! And prior to class starting, while we were waiting for everyone to get there, the girls and I got into a discussion of the different ways I could wear my scarf! :)
We went through the Our Father, and the Ten Commandments again - one of the other classes put up a 'Ten Commandments for Kids' poster, which I loathe. It's not right! It doesn't even explain the Ten Commandments in kid friendly terms correctly! I'll try and take a picture of it next week so you can see it, and tell me if I'm over reacting or something. :)
We read from the Reconciliation book (they have little two page stories that introduce the concepts - like Catholic, sacraments, etc.) and discussed it.
We pulled words from the word box - we got Bible and creed. We ask the kids what they think the words mean, and then explain a little more, depending on the answers. Bible is fairly obvious, and we pulled out the kids New Testaments so they could see that part, and start to learn how to use it.
One of the 'new' kids, M, was flipping through, as we went over what the Gospel's were, and asked about Acts, Romans, etc. So I explained a little about St. Paul and the Epistles (I didn't actually use the word epistle, now that I think about it, but I explained that they were letters he had written to different churches/people.) It was cute, she found Philippians and told me she had a friend who was from there, from the Philippines. :) I explained they were actually two different places, but she still thought it was neat that the names were so close.
Then, when we were discussing a little about how the Gospels were the story of Jesus' life, M asked if God the Father was different from Jesus, so we got to explain the Trinity. I used the whole, you Father is father to you, son to his parents, and a friend to his friends, but he's still only one person. I can't decide if I'm happy about it or not. It's not my personal favorite metaphor, but it's the one that sprang to mind, and given the age group, how it makes sense to me isn't the best way to explain it. They got it though, so we're good!
(Also, funny, one of the boys, D, when he's reading, every time he has to say 'God', he pronounces it 'good'. It's cute!)
And, at the end, while we were waiting for the parents to come pick up kids, they told us our class was fun!
Then I had to go to the Mass of Doom, which gave me a headache (stupid drums/woman with too much perfume/lack of food), and stand up in front of the church (which just makes me uncomfortable! How close is too close to the altar?) So, I got to receive twice, but other than that, fie on the 10:45 Mass.
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