Be sure to check Facebook for the link for the new newsletter format.
October is the month of the Rosary. The Rosary is a beautiful prayer with many promises attached to faithfully praying it. October is also a month when we pray for the protection of all life. As partners with parents, SHOJ teaches many aspects of the faith through our virtue program and Theology of the Body here at school. We hope that this supports parents as they teach the sensitive topics as students mature at home. We recently had the changing bodies meetings for the 5th graders and I was looking for resources to share with parents. As a mother of 4, I found that A Catholic Parent’s Toolbox by White was easy to use. The chapters are short and specific on topics that affect children growing up. I would also recommend starting short conversations early so that the trust is built and children know that they can talk to their parents about these topics. I also found this document, from the Roman Curia and the Pontifical Council for the Family, The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality: Guidelines for Education within the Family. Here is the link: https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/family/documents/rc_pc_family_doc_08121995_human-sexuality_en.html#
I wouldn’t say I read a lot of Vatican Documents, but this one was very interesting.
In any case, I would encourage you to pray the Rosary as family this month for the intention of life. It doesn’t need to be all at once, start with a decade a night or you could even print out a sheet a cross off a few at a time.
As an adult, being able to instantly go to praying the Rosary in times of stress, has been so comforting to me. About 7 years ago after my dad went into cardiac arrest, I think the Rosary helped me make it safely to Des Moines to meet my family. He was saved by a person who knew CPR and is still farming today after his quadruple bypass.
This reminds me to publicly thank nurse Mary for getting a CERT team set up at school. We also do other trainings, such as Jason Flatt suicide prevention and other mental health awareness trainings. We know that God created us in His image and we need to do all we can to protect and improve lives. There are many activities through the parish this month, so please check the bulletin for ones that work for you. The best teaching for our children is through modeling.