The Family Zone
DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY/ISSUE 3/APRIL 19, 2020
"JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU"
special note to parents: with this issue, we add a new column just for your own inspiration and spiritual nurturing. Each week we will offer you an opportunity to clear your head, pray, take your wellness pulse and more. Find the new column below entitled: Supporting the Foundation
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
MAKING GOSPEL CONNECTIONS WITH YOUR FAMILY
Thomas is the featured disciple in this Sunday's Resurrection Gospel. The reading can be found at:http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/041920.cfm
A children's version can be found at: https://www.pflaum.com/bonus-resources-files/sunday-readings/CC_OnlineReadings_04-19-20%20Final.pdf
Thomas is unable to believe without proof; isn't that representative of a lot of us? It's hard to give up control and place our trust in God; especially in the unknown of today. The video below helps us to place this weekend's Gospel into what might be the context of your journey.
Discuss as a family:
Thomas was afraid. It seemed impossible that Jesus could be standing before him, and yet, he was.
What are you most afraid of?
Would you want proof, like Thomas?
What good things have happened to your family because you believed it could?
How has your faith helped to guide you through life's changes and challenges?
LET US PRAY
https://www.thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/pray-the-chaplet
CATHOLIC CONNECTIONS FROM THE CATECHISM
To help you learn the faith at home together
Supporting the Foundation
GET MOVING!
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
Divine Mercy Cake
Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups sifted flour
¼ teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
4 egg whites, stiffly beaten
your favorite buttercream frosting recipe
red sprinkles (or red raspberries)
blue sprinkles (or blueberries)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350˚. Cream butter and sugar thoroughly. Add egg yolks and vanilla, beating well. Sift together dry ingredients and add alternately with milk. Stir gently until blended. Fold in beaten egg whites. Pour batter into one square pan and one round pan (this will create the heart shaped cake). Bake for approximately 30 minutes.
When cool, frost with buttercream frosting and decorate with rays streaming from each side.
Colors matter with Divine Mercy Sunday
A Polish nun by the name of Maria Faustina (now St. Faustina) received a profound revelation of the Divine Mercy given to us by our crucified savior, Jesus. We are bestowed a mercy we do not deserve and could never merit ourselves. This mercy was made visible in the blood and the water that flowed from Jesus’s side on the cross. The red sprinkles or raspberries symbolize the red blood of Jesus that is our life. The blue sprinkles or blueberries signifies the water that justifies our souls. The visual image of the cake is a symbol of charity, forgiveness, and the unending love of God, referred to as the “Fountain of Mercy.”
Recipe courtesy of Mighty is Her Call- A Catholic Mothers’ Ministry
CREATE!
HAVE MERCY ON US AND ON THE WHOLE WORLD
For this week’s craft, create something that reminds you of a prayer for the whole world (like the line in the Divine Mercy Chaplet). Wednesday is Earth Day; connect the day with divine mercy by crafting! Create a visual prayer for the earth that you can put on the refrigerator or in your family's prayer space to remind you to pray for the Earth and the care of all creation. You may want to decorate your Divine Mercy Cake with an outline of the Earth, or make red and blue frosted cookies in the shape of our planet. If you have lots of magazines around the house, make a circle-shaped collage of the Earth and fill it with words and pictures that remind you of who and what you would like to pray for! If you have the supplies, you could even tie dye a shirt blue and red and then trace an outline of the Earth on it with black sharpie or a fabric marker!
Do you like to paint? Simply download the link below for a great at-home craft. You could even fill your family's prayer intentions in on the Earth outline.
LINKS FOR FURTHER ACTIVITIES AND LEARNING FOR ALL AGES
Resurrection Resolutions
Spread the Good News!
http://www.vibrantfaithathome.org/item/resurrection-resolutionColor a picture of your Domestic Church
Safe under the care of Jesus!
https://www.catechist.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Domestic_Church_Coloring.pdfMake this Painting Together While You Pray for the Earth!
Cut a big circle out of white paper or use a paper plate. Gather blue and green paint and offer your prayers for the world while adding your handprint to the circle. You will have a wonderful Earth painting to honor mercy for the Earth and Earth Day!
Office of Evangelization and Catechesis
Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester
Debtor in PossessionEmail: oec@dor.org
Website: oec.dor.org
Location: Diocese of Rochester, Buffalo Road, Rochester, NY, USA
Phone: 585-328-3210