Message from the Director

Jessie Adrians, Director of Religious Education

“Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God, For he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting in punishment.”  Joel 2:13 

February 14th has long been an important day in the history of the Adrians family. Valentine’s Day, 2001, was the day my boyfriend, Josh Adrians, and I went engagement ring shopping and it was the Monday following Valentine’s Day that Josh and I were presented with a blue basket of baby items by Andrew’s birth mom. Unbeknownst to us at the time, February 14th, 2016 was the day she selected us as Andrew’s parents.   

Given the importance Valentine’s Day holds in our family history, you would probably not be surprised by the fact that preparation for Valentine’s Day begins February 1st as Andrew and I spend time creating Valentine’s gifts and cards for those we love. As a mom, I truly value the time Andrew and I spend creating cards because it gives us a chance to discuss things we may not in other circumstances. In fact, it was during one of our “card making sessions” that Andrew and I started discussing gifts, and what some of our favorite valentine gifts have been in past years.  

What was your favorite Valentine’s Day gift Mama? Andrew asked me. I thought for a moment, “One year Aunt Mary helped you make a tissue paper heart for me. I think the best gifts are the ones you make because they come from the heart.  

Without missing a beat Andrew corrected me, “Mama, the best gift is Jesus.” Taken by surprise by this out of the blue and unprompted response I replied, “Did you know that Valentine’s Day is on Ash Wednesday this year?” Andrew nodded, “That makes sense because God loves us more than anyone.” he said very matter of factly before turning back to the clothes pin ladybug craft he was completing. 

After putting Andrew to bed for the evening, my mind returned to my conversation with Andrew and how once again, God revealed Himself to me in the simple, yet powerful faith of my son. During the season of Lent we so often focus on giving something up, that we forget that the most important gift we can give our loving Father is the gift of our hearts. This was the gift that Jesus gave to the Father and to all of us by sacrificing his very life on the cross. Jesus held nothing back from the Father, and it was that love that overcame sin, destroyed death, and opened the gates of heaven. God’s love for us is the greatest love story ever told.   

Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday, is a perfect time to conform our hearts to the heart of Jesus. Here are three ideas for how to grow in the faith and love of Jesus a family during Lent:

• Spontaneous Prayer:  Jesus longs for us to communicate with him from our hearts. As Catholics we are often more comfortable with route or memorized prayers, which have their place and are valuable, but God desires us to address him as a friend in our own words. This is called spontaneous prayer. If you are not sure how to start, try the J-O-Y method: J- Thank and praise Jesus for something good, O- Pray for others, Y-Pray for yourself. For more ideas on how to pray spontaneously as a family click here.

• Serve: Jesus was very clear in the Gospel that in order to get into heaven we are called to serve the “least of these” through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. (Mt 25:31-46) Lent is a great time to serve others in the name of Jesus. There are lots of opportunities within our parish community to serve. Some of them are short term (Fish Fry) while others require a greater commitment. Click here to view the different ways individuals and families can serve together. 

• Fast: During Lent we are asked to fast from the things that take us away from God. Most of us think of fasting as abstaining from food, but there are many other ways to fast that are more meaningful than giving up chocolate for 40 days. God wants to be first in our hearts, and when we make God first, we have room for EVERYTHING ELSE. As a family, honestly evaluate your priorities and decide what is keeping you from giving your hearts to God. Are you overly busy and “don’t have time” to pray or go to Mass, maybe it is time to step back from something else (sports, work commitments, hobbies) to make room for God in our lives.  

Whatever you do this month to grow as a family faith, please know Josh, Andrew and I are praying for you.  Please pray for us! 

Jessie Adrians 

Director of Religious Education  

So much love in this month of February!

We started the first week with our new prayer of the month: Act of Love. This prayer certainly reminds us to love, but also the importance of forgiveness. Our initial week provided a marvelous opportunity to share God’s great love with our military veterans in King, WI. And did your kiddos share the love!! A box of over 300 valentines sent… so full I could barely get it taped shut!  What a messy, but rewarding and fun project. Thank you to those of you who sent in the extra to “jazz” them up! Just take a look...beautiful kids, beautiful valentines. ♥ These last weeks will continue to offer us love, God’s gift of Jesus and His willingness to die on the cross for us, WOW! Now that is love!

Just like our kiddos wait for us to respond with love to them, so does Jesus. May your Lenten journey bring you and your family closer to Jesus. Pray together, Fast together, and Give together...then you will grow together.

Praise the Lord!...Now and forever!!

As we begin our Lenten journey, we take a moment to pause and reflect with the Lord, seeing where He is present in our lives, as well as where we could make more room for Him. The Beautiful thing about Lent, and God’s infinite mercy, is that it’s never too late to dive in! The 3 pillars of Lent: Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving, are given to us as a way to aid us on our spiritual pilgrimage. Throughout history, the Church has been a beacon meant to help guide us on our way, and be a light for those living in darkness. Bishop Robert Barron recently gave a beautiful homily connected to Lent, on how the Church is called to pray, serve and evangelize, and we as members of the Church are called to participate in these great works: wordonfire.org/pray-serve-evangelize 

For those looking for new ways to participate in Lent, or grow in their faith as individuals and families, we have created a new resource list. This list seeks to provide tools and resources to help anyone find something that fits their needs and interests in their spiritual journey: Growing Closer to God resource List. Check it out and find 1 new thing to incorporate into your faith journey!

One thing we participated in together at our Parent/Child middle school class this month was creating our own personal family litany’s to pray together throughout Lent. This was a beautiful family activity and it was such a blessing to see the unique ways each family entered into this activity! If interested in creating your own Family Litany, check out this resource guide we used in class: .holyfamilyparish.org/Creating-your-own-Litany.pdf. 

God Bless!

Save the Date!



• Love Begins Here: Saint Raphael will be bringing a group of middle school students (currently in 5-8th grade) on mission June 10-13, 2024. This year’s location will be in Appleton, spots will be reserved on a first come first serve basis. Reserve your spot and check out last year’s video here:  St Raphael youth events-LBH 

Upcoming Events and Retreats

• Sunday March 10 - Second Sunday Holy Hour (SSHH!) Our monthly time for prayer and worship, held the 2nd Sunday of every month, at 4pm, followed by Sunday Mass at 5pm. This is a great opportunity to come pray for our youth/parish and spend time on the Sabbath growing in your own relationship with God.

• Catholic Youth Expeditions (CYE): Retreats for middle, high school and families! Located in beautiful Door County WI, CYE offers retreats that combine nature, community, prayer and fun for all ages. Visit https://www.cyexpeditions.org/ to find out more.

• TEC Retreat, Green Bay (16+ years) -A great retreat that helps youth and young adults to engage in their faith in a fun and deep way. Visit https://anchorofhopetec.org/events/ for more information.

Follow us on instagram (aftershock_ym_straph) for updates, inspirations and to stay connected.

Blessed Carlo Acutis…Pray for us!

Michael Wilms (michael.wilms@raphael.org)

Youth Minister/Faith Formation

Grades 6-12

The Temptation of Jesus in the Desert | Drawing Closer to God: Lent | Episode 2

Formed

In this episode, Ms. Kim draws Jesus praying and fasting in the desert. She introduces Lent as 40 days when we more intentionally pray, fast, and give alms. She also teaches children about how Jesus resisted temptation from the Evil One and encourages kids to follow our Lord’s example.

Lent | Catholic Central

Youtube

What is Lent all about? Do you have to give up everything good and/or fun? Why do Catholics do Lent? Kai and Libby take you through the history of Lent and how to get the most out of it this year.

Living Lent as a Family

Formed

"Have you ever wanted to live more liturgically but not known how? We want to help all families by providing these discussions on liturgical living during Lent to be a resource for the Domestic Church—the home.