An important aspect of our Family Faith Program includes opportunities for sharing and meeting together. Our April Family Faith Meetings are scheduled for the week of April 24. During that week, we will offer In-Person Family Faith Sessions for families to join a combination of outdoor/indoor activities. Weather permitting, it will take place at Sacred Heart Church grounds, both along the sidewalk leading to the church and the Hall. Sessions will be approximately 60 minutes.

On Sunday, April 24, a week after Easter Sunday and the first day of our April Family Faith Monthly Meeting, we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. This is a day that Catholics reflect on the gift of mercy and love given through Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. During our April Family Faith In-Person Session, we will share family activities related to the joy of the Easter Season, Divine Mercy Sunday, and a new Holy Family Church family garden project.

Please mark your calendar to join our In-Person Family Faith Session the week of April 24! More details will be explained in upcoming week's Family Faith Newsletter. We can't wait to (finally!) meet you and your children through our faith activities!

This week's Gospel message is the story of the adulterous woman talking to Jesus. This lesson shows how willing Christ is to forgive every sin, even the ones that the laws at that time considered unforgivable.

To explain this Gospel to children, it is helpful to explain that adultery is when a person does not keep their marriage promises, pretending that someone else is their husband/wife who is not. During Jesus' time, this was punishable by death. Jesus bent down and began writing with his finger in the dirt. The men kept questioning Jesus trying to get him to say something. Finally, Jesus stood and said to them, "Whoever is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her," then he bent down and continued writing in the dirt. The men who had accused the woman looked at one another and walked away.

In this story, we hear how Jesus not only turns the crowds away from hurting the woman, but also provides them a reflection on their own actions through teaching forgiveness.

In this weekend's Gospel, the crowds planned to use stones to punish the woman. Instead, Jesus helps them to recognize their own sins, and to forgive others. In this activity, children use stones, or drawings of stones, to share messages of forgiveness.

Materials

• Smooth stone or draw a picture of a stone
• Markers (Sharpie markers work best on stones) or paint
• Decorating supplies

Procedure

1. Find a stone large enough to write on. Or draw a picture of a stone.
2. Using markers or paints, decorate each stone with this week's Gospel message and pictures. For example, use words or phrases from the Gospel as shown below:

FORGIVE

HOPE

PRAYER

LOVE

PEACE

"He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her."

-John 8:1-11

Thank you to all who have given so generously to the 2022 Bishop’s Annual Appeal. If you have not made a pledge, there is still time to participate. Mail your gift to: Diocese of Metuchen, Bishop’s Annual Appeal, PO Box 4000, Metuchen, NJ 08840-4000 or give online at https://diometuchen.org/BAA.

What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?

“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide you’re not going to stay where you are.”

We welcome pictures of your children's projects and family engagement in Family Faith! Completion of the craft activities do count towards participation, so please feel free to email us a photo of the crafts that your children create! We will feature their work in our next Family Faith Newsletter!

• Send photos to catherinek@holyfamilyforall.org. Once I receive your email, I will always send a reply email confirming I received it.
• Include your child's first and last name (as you would want it to appear in the newsletter) and session your child is registered in Family Faith.
• If you prefer we DO NOT include the photo in the next Family Faith Newsletter, please note that in your email.