Congratulations!

Mr. Duman's 1st Grade class won this year's 2012 Penny War!

Mr. Duman and his class had the chance to celebrate afterwards with a little

Papa John's pizza.  Our grades 1-8 Religious Ed students helped raise

 $2000 this year to purchase Bible for all of or First Communicants and

donate to the Food For the Poor Program.  Job well Done!

Every day of the year, around the globe, in elegant and massive cathedrals and in small and humble chapels, we the Church gather to celebrate and be formed by the Eucharist.  Mass is “the heart and summit of the Church’s life” (Catechism of the Catholic Church. N.1407).  Attending Mass is the single most important act that we as Catholics engage in and its importance is magnified when setting an example for our youth.

One of our primary tasks as catechists at Saint Jude is to help our learners understand, celebrate, and fully participate in the liturgy and sacraments.  With this in mind, we have included a facet in our Elementary Religious Ed Program called the “Teaching Mass.”  These masses occur in conjunction with regular Sunday Mass, once a month.  It allows your child to FULLY PARTICIPATE in the Mass by filling roles of greeters, readers, gift bearers, etc.  These roles will be assigned in advance and notification sent home to parents along with printed materials detailing the area of Mass being highlighted that month.  We ask that you take the time to go over these printed materials with your child so they come prepared and better able to understand that Sunday’s focus. 

You only get out of something what you have put into it.  This is especially true in Religious Education.  We would like your child to get the most out of this program.  We would ask that you not only encourage them to get involved, but set an example of involvement for them to follow as well.  It is our belief that the HOME is the most influential force in the life of a child.  What we do as catechists in the Religious Ed program is the HELPMATE of the home.

Nothing is as powerful as the example of parents who sacrifice their interests (working overtime, Sunday papers, leisure activities) to make time to spend time with their loved ones – time to play and relax together; time to listen to one another; time to pray together.  To do this is to let Eucharist become the center of our lives and to make Christ present in today’s world; that is what celebrating Mass is all about!!