The Feast of St. Emily
Confirmation Program News
Eucharist Program News
Youth Ministry Activities
Children's Choir
More on the Beatitudes
St. Emily and St. Thomas Becket Parishes
September 18, 2018
Dear Families,

Thank you so much for all you did to make our first night of RE for the year smooth and uneventful.  I was also glad to see that everyone seemed full of good humor. It is always nice to regroup and get back into the routine.

Please remember that we will be implementing our standard 'pull through' parking in the north lot for drop off and pick up tomorrow.  Please follow the directions for a smooth and safe process. ('Pull through' means that you never put your vehicle into reverse; you only move forward.)

Tomorrow is the actual Feast of St. Emily - September 19.  We'll gather with the kids for a prayer service in church at the beginning of our class period.  Please bring them to the gym to meet their class, as usual. 

You are more than welcome to join us in church for the prayer service, which will be about 20 minutes long, beginning about 6:20 or 6:25 PM.

(We don't get to mark the actual feast day of St. Thomas Becket during our class sessions, as his feast is December 29.)

On Thursday, October 4, we'll have another feast to celebrate, the Feast of St. Francis.  Fr. Presta will bless any pets at 4:30 PM.  Gather at the St. Emily statue in front of the church.

For both new and returning families, take a look at the online Family Handbook.  It might answer many questions, or provide a quick refresher for you.
euchFirst Eucharist Program
Parent Orientation September 27 and 29

 

All families of children preparing to celebrate confession and communion in 2019 should have received an email about the Parent Session.  (Another email will be coming home this week.)

 

There is one session on Thursday, September 27 at 7 PM and another on Saturday, September 29 at 9:30 AM.  Both sessions take place in Hajdu Hall at St. Emily.

 

Choose one to attend. If your child received communion here in 2016, 2017 or 2018, you need not attend this meeting.

 

All the info about the First Penance / First Eucharist program can be found here.
conf
Confirmation Program News

For candidates for Confirmation in 2019:
Mark the date - October 20 at 5:00 PM - for the Enrollment mass here at St. Emily, followed by a supper.  An RSVP form is coming home this week by email.

For candidates for Confirmation in 2020:
Your preparation will begin soon.  There are orientation meetings on Thursday, October 11 at 7:00 PM and Saturday, October 13 at 9:30 AM.  A parent must attend with the candidate. A reminder email is coming home this week with the RSVP form.

All the info about the Confirmation program can be found here.
choirChildren's Choir Resumes
Beginning on Wednesday, October 3

 

Your children are invited to join the St. Emily Children's Choir.

 

The choir will rehearse on Wednesdays at 5:15 PM in the school, beginning on October 3.  This is a convenient time, right before our RE classes begin.

 

The sign up form and schedule for the year are here.

 

They sing at Sunday masses periodically through the year and also at Christmas.  It is a wonderful opportunity for your child to learn music, be part of the parish music ministry and have fun, too!

 

Speak with your children about this, as you will have an opportunity to sign up the first night of classes.

 

For more information, contact Mary Caldrone, our parish Music Director.

 
youthYouth Ministry
Plan to be there for the fall
  • Saturday, September 29 at 2:00 PM - Feed My Starving Children.  Sign up here.
  • Sunday, September 30 - 6th / 7th Grade Social Meeting.
    7 to     8:30 PM in Hajdu Hall.
  • Sunday, October 7 -  8th / 9th Grade Social Meeting.
    7 to     8:30 PM in Hajdu Hall
Youth Handbell Choir Starting Soon!

St. Emily's is starting a Youth Handbell Choir on August 30. Practices will be Thursdays from 5 to 6 PM in the church. All students in fourth through tenth grade are invited! No prior musical experience is needed.

For info on any of these events, contact David Mika.

beatitudesLiving the Beatitudes
The 'Middle Class' of Holiness

Over the next weeks, I'll include a few thoughts from Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation, Gaudete et Exsultate.

On this feast of the patron of St. Emily parish, we're focused on one saint.  The Pope encourages us to broaden our field of vision.

Nor need we think only of those already beatified and canonized. The Holy Spirit bestows holiness in abundance among God's holy and faithful people, for "it has pleased God to make men and women holy and to save them, not as individuals without any bond between them, but rather as a people who might acknowledge him in truth and serve him in holiness". In salvation history, the Lord saved one people. We are never completely ourselves unless we belong to a people. That is why no one is saved alone, as an isolated individual. Rather, God draws us to himself, taking into account the complex fabric of interpersonal relationships present in a human community. God wanted to enter into the life and history of a people.

I like to contemplate the holiness present in the patience of God's people: in those parents who raise their children with immense love, in those men and women who work hard to support their families, in the sick, in elderly religious who never lose their smile. In their daily perseverance I see the holiness of the Church militant. Very often it is a holiness found in our next-door neighbours, those who, living in our midst, reflect God's presence. We might call them "the middle class of holiness". (# 6 and 7)

Dates to Save
  • September 27 and 29 - Parent Orientation Sessions for First Eucharist.  Details here.
  • October 4 at 4:30 PM - Pet Blessing for the Feast of St. Francis.  Fr. Presta will bless your pets.  Gather at the St. Emily statue in the front of the church.
  • October 11 and 13 - Confirmation Orientation Sessions for seventh graders and their parents.  Details here.
  • October 20 at 5:00 PM - Enrollment mass for candidates for confirmation in 2019, followed by a supper in Hajdu Hall.
  • October 31 - No Class.  As I said to the catechists, "We're not crazy."
  • November 6 at 8:00 AM - Confirmation Pilgrimage for all students in the Confirmation 2019 group.
Quick Links
St. Emily Parish
Catherine Crino, DRE
847-299-5865
St. Thomas Becket Parish
Renata Sosin, CRE
847-296-9051
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