Maybe I have found my calling as a religion teacher...
Just this week I found out from my principal that the relics of St. Padre Pio would be up at St. Ita's church, so I headed up there after volleyball practice. On the way, I tried to let some friends know about it too (some of whom already did). The Mass itself, while extremely crowded and incredibly hot (no air conditioning), was such a beautiful experience. I only wish I had known and been able to invite others sooner! When I got home, I found my roommates working on some things and enjoying some wine. I joined them, sharing about where I had been. I (unintentionally) threw out some Catholic vocab (e.g. relics), and in doing so I had a natural way to go into more detail about the richness of our faith surrounding the Saints. I loved it!
Then, at aftercare today, one of my seventh graders started asking me about the Saints, as we've been reading about them in the Ablaze book recently --> "Why are so many named Teresa?" This led to how many religious nuns and sisters would take names of the Saints that they wanted to emulate; in a sense, they died to their old selves and began a new way of life. (There are other explanations and reasons too...) This, in turn, led us (somehow!) to religious persecution and other (various) faith topics. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it made the hour we spent outside before gathering our belongings and returning to the classroom until pick-up go much more quickly than usual.
One more Catholic thing that made me extremely happy today was that we started 7 Riddles to Nowhere in 6th grade. Excited to see FXW (one of their sports team rivals) on the cover of the book (as it takes place in Chicago), they finally settled down to listen to the first chapter about Kameron Boyd, his selective mutism, and the possibility of his Catholic grade school closing in the near future. In a few weeks we'll get to take a field trip to the cathedral, and the students will be able to see firsthand some of the clues and descriptions from the book.
This weekend should be pretty amazing - I'm heading to the ND game with my sister tomorrow, and then on Sunday my goddaughter's sister is getting baptized, so I will attend that Mass to be with the family (and hopefully get in some visiting time). In terms of grad school, I just submitted my executive summary (due Sunday) as well as my action plan for another class (also due Sunday), so I think I'm in a good place. So, it seems the best thing I can do to prepare for the weekend is to hit the hay and get some rest...
Let's go Irish!
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