To start 8th grade Religion class off today, I invited the students to close their eyes and to speak to God and the Holy Spirit - to offer up any concerns, anxieties, excitement, and thoughts that they may be having, especially in light of their Confirmation. And I gave them a few moments in silence to do so. Afterwards, I shared with them just how much they are on the minds and hearts of so many people:
- This past weekend I was blessed to be on retreat with over 60 young adults from my parish (as mentioned in my previous post). While there, we had a prayer intentions board. On that, I wrote "for my 8th grade students who are receiving Confirmation this week," and I know people read that and prayed for them.
- A friend from Notre Dame (in the seminary) sent me a beautiful text message on Saturday night with a candle lit at the Grotto. Below it, he wrote that, while he wasn't sure exactly when Confirmation is, he is praying for my students in a special way.
- Each classroom at our school has 1-2 doves decorated with the names, Confirmation Saints, and pictures of the 8th graders; thus, the classes have been holding the 8th graders in prayer this past month.
After relaying these sentiments to my students, they seemed to be in awe. They were silent (which is highly unusual). The wheels seemed to be turning - they are about to fully enter into the Church, which is so much bigger than themselves. It's a body (the Body) in which there are so many others around the world and in the local community who are united together in their faith in God, their prayers for the community, and their love for one another.
This is what it means to be one - we have one God, and we, near or far, are one community, one body in Christ, lifting each other up in prayer and following in the footsteps of Jesus, which will lead us to heaven.
We're praying too :)
ReplyDeleteThis is beautiful! You can also count in my prayers from deep in the heart of Texas. :)
ReplyDeleteI read a Christian book last year (I think) called "Bound Together." It was about unity, focusing on both the positive and negative aspects. The negative aspects of being "bound together" is that original sin exists, and there is a social dimension to our sins. The positive aspects are that our prayers benefit others (and other people's prayers benefit us), and we are wrapped up into the salvation Christ won for us. It's like being tied to everyone by a rope: they can drag you down with it, but they can pull you up, too.