Archdiocese   of   Kansas   City   in   Kansas—Marriage   &   Family   Life   O ffi ce
Deacon   Tony   Zimmerman      913/721 ‐ 1570   ext.
145        famlife@archkck.org
Brad   &   Libby   DuPont     913 ‐ 721 ‐ 1570   ext.
123     bdupont@archkck.org
Mary   Anne   Kierl      913/721 ‐ 1570   ext.
149        fl ifesec@archkck.org
“As you have no doubt discovered, teens can be parent-deaf. To break through, take a tip from the media and try talking in sound bytes. Decide ahead of time the core message, reduce it to a short sentence, look your teen in the eye, say it, and stop.” Susan Vogt
“Children close their ears to advice but open their eyes to example.” Unknown
“The scary part of parenting is that you never know when you’re making an indelible impression on your kids, nor what lesson your child is taking from it.” Tom McGrath
“Perhaps experiencing the love of a parent for a child comes as close as humans can to knowing how God loves us.” Kathy Coffey
“Blessed is the influence of one true, loving human soul on another.”
George Eliot
Feast of Corpus Christi
June 7
Volume 9 Issue 3
May/June 2015
Bits and Pieces from
Here and There
Pentecost is the feast of the can’t do anything by ouruniversal Church which selves. The Holy Spirit helps commemorates the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the your children to do good.
Help your children to say a
Apostles in the form of wind need the Holy Spirit in our lives. We prayer to the Holy Spirit that and tongues of fire. Penteof the Blessed Trinity, draws them closer to God the Father and Jesus. We all
He will keep them close to cost occurs fifty days after
Easter.
God all their lives.
Teach your children that
A Prayer to the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit of peace, joy and the Holy Spirit comes to us in Baptism and lives in us whenever our souls are in a state of grace (when helps them to do what is right and serve
God using all the gifts He gave them. love, please take these prayers we offer above, give us your power to stay in God’s grace; help us see God we don’t have any serious sins). Tell in everyone’s face. Fill our hearts with them that the Holy Spirit comes to your strength and your might to live as them whenever they receive a SacraGod’s special children of light. Come ment, especially Confirmation. He and bless every day of this week, and make us holy, humble, and meek. Thank you for the gift of this new day and for
The Holy Spirit, who is the third Person the blessings you send our way. Amen.
Pray to the Holy Spirit every day to help you to offer everything to God.
Recommended Reading: Handbook for Catholic Moms, Nurturing Your
Heart, Mind, Body and Soul by Lisa M. Hendey
This helpful “how-to” book emphasizes lifelong learning in the vocation to motherhood…
Drawing from the deep tradition of the Catholic faith, Lisa Hendey coaches Catholic moms how to care for themselves so that they can better love and care for their families, neighborhoods, and their church. She covers matters of heart, mind, body and soul in chapters on relationships, creativity, fitness and prayer, all infused with a uniquely Catholic outlook that emphasizes the importance of such things as frequent reception of the sacraments, befriending the saints, and getting the most out of worship during Mass. Catholic moms will welcome this informative, upbeat guide as a resource that nicely blends the sacred with the secular .

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Christians are called by Christ to live their faith by being faithful to their most significant human relationships. For most, this means that the first place they live their faith is in some form of family life. Given the stresses of modern life, this is not always easy. Here are several tips for nourishing faith in families.
 Make family a priority. Many parents today have a heightened sensitivity to the importance of spending time together as a family. Family members are called to love one another not just in words but in actions— to make time for one another. Some families deal with this need by setting aside one evening a week as Family Night. Family members keep their calendars clear of other commitments. They use that evening for a more leisurely family dinner, followed by an activity the family enjoys together. They talk with one another and deal with any problems that may have come up. They share a few minutes of informal family prayer. What the family does together is not as important as that the family does it together.
 Safeguard the family meal. Perhaps the most important place to nourish family intimacy and family faith is around the family table. Sure, the family meal sometimes can be a time of conflict and chaos. But family conflict has its positive side: It’s a sign that you care for one another. The family meal is central to Christian family life —- yet it frequently gets lost in a family’s hectic set of schedules. Have a family meeting to take a second look at priorities. Don’t let the quality of your family life suffer because of outside activities.
 Keep family prayer natural and relaxed. Spend regular time together, appreciate the ways you serve one another and reach out to others with needs. Inseparable from such commitments is a desire for family prayer. Catholic families need prayer and ritual as ways to nurture faith, hope and love. To meet the real needs of your family, family prayer must be rooted in the realities of family life. One of the most important places for prayer is around the family table because the family is never more of a family than when they sit down to a meal together. Family prayer can be as simple as a lighted candle in the center of the table, and shared formal or informal expressions of thanks.
Try to make time daily to nourish a healthy family life.
Adapted from Catholic Update
 Invite Mom to share her favorite time that she had with her
Mom.
 Crown Mom “Queen for the Day” - help cook the meals today, and don’t forget to clean up afterwards.
 Have everyone in the family write a thank-you note to Mom and include a pledge that will last the year round.
Page 2 Catholic Parenting Newsletter

1. Give yourselves a pat on the back each day. You are doing much better at being a parent, being married, being a single parent than you give yourself credit for much of the time. Resist the inclination to be “down on yourself” because you think you don’t measure up to some otherworldly or unrealistic ideal. Ordinary family life was where the Son of God spent most of his earthly life in, and it is good for us too.
2. Make the most of family meal prayer. Light a candle, not just on special days but every day.. Maybe sing a line from a song: “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound…”
In ordinary language, thank God for one another and for the meal you are about to enjoy together.
3. Share the good news of another’s good example with your family —for example, when you hear about some person or family coping courageously. “There’s a man who washes windows every day and cleans office buildings until late every night. Do you know what he’s doing? No, not just washing and cleaning. He’s putting three children through school.”
4. Remember that never, ever are you alone. God loves you and wants to help you more than you know. Be consciously open to God’s loving presence in your family life and struggles. Remember Psalm 127: “Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it.” Unless the Lord builds up and nourishes your family, you labor in vain…
5. Build up bonds of mutual support with other families and friends. Get together
with families who are at about the same place in their family history as yours is.
Organize a monthly discussion and prayer gathering for parents to discuss and pray
about their family relationships.
Adapted from Catholic Update
Be sure to wish your dad and grandfather a Happy Father’s Day.
We also remember fathers, grandfathers and great grandfathers who are no longer with us, but who live forever in our memory and nourish us with their love. Say Happy Father’s Day to your priest too. Our spiritual fathers reflect the love of God to us on a daily basis as well.
Volume 9 Issue 3 Page 3

Archdiocese   of   Kansas   City   in   Kansas
Family   Life   O ffi ce
Catholic   Parent   Newsle er
12615   Parallel   Parkway
Kansas   City,   Kansas    66109
Phone:   913 ‐ 721 ‐ 1570   ext.
149
Fax:   913 ‐ 721 ‐ 1577
Email:   famlife@archkck.org
Place   your   parish   logo,   and/or   contact   person    informa on   here!
Lord God, we thank you for the gift of family. We acknowledge that our image and name as family come from you.
We believe that within our family lies a homemade holiness.
We affirm that it is in this household of faith that we experience
Your presence, Your forgiveness and Your love.
We are family. We give thanks to You, for the many joys and blessings that have come to us through our family.
As family, we sometimes feel pain. And so we offer to You our disappointments, frustrations and hurts. Help us to forgive those members of our family, including ourselves, who have caused pain.
We pray for the strength to be a light within our family. May we open our hearts, our eyes and ears and carry our light to those in need.
God, Creator of the earth and all its people, help us to be mindful that, as members of one global family, we are equal in your eyes.
Help us to continue to appreciate the diversity of persons in our homes and in our world. As members equal in human dignity, may we build a better world and proclaim our willingness to be the holy people You call us to be.
Amen.