Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord!

As the Church and her members prepare for Advent (which starts this Sunday!), I thought you all might enjoy reading this excerpt from the article on Advent at Fish Eaters.

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving! See you next week. 

The focus of Advent is preparation for the coming of the Lord -- both in commemoration of His Nativity and His coming again at the end of time. Though most Protestants -- and far too many Catholics -- see this time of year as a part of the "Christmas Season," it isn't; the Christmas season does not begin until the first Mass at Christmas Eve, and doesn't end liturgically until the Octave of the Epiphany on January 14. It goes on in the spiritual sense until Candlemas on February 2, when all celebrations of Christ's Childhood give way to Septuagesima and Lent.

The mood of this season is one of somber spiritual preparation that increases in joy with each day, and the gaudy "Christmas" commercialism that surrounds it in the Western world should be overcome as much as possible. The singing of Christmas carols (which comes earlier and earlier each year), the talk of "Christmas" as a present reality, the decorated trees and the parties -- these things are "out of season" for Catholics; we should strive to keep the Seasons of Advent holy and penitential, always remembering, as they say, that "He is the reason for the Season."

To sum up the similarities and differences between Advent and Lent as penitential seasons, there's this, by Fr. Lawrence Smith:

Advent is the time to make ready for Christ to live with us. Lent is the time to make us ready to die with Christ. Advent makes Lent possible. Lent makes salvation possible. Advent is the time when eternity approaches earth. Lent is the time when time reaches consummation in Christ's eternal Sacrifice to the Father. Advent leads to Christ's life in time on earth. Lent leads to Christ's eternal Life in Heaven. The Cross -- through the Mass, penance, and mortification -- is the bridge connecting Advent and Lent, Christ and His Church, man and God.

Each of the Church's penitential seasons is a dying to the world with the goal of attaining new life in Christ.

Catholic apologist Jacob Michael wrote something very interesting about how secular America sees "Christmas" as beginning after Thanksgiving and ending on 25 December, and then makes "New Years Resolutions" at the beginning of the secular year:

...what Christians do (or should be doing!) during Advent and leading up to Christmas is a foreshadowing of what they will do during the days of their lives that lead up to the Second Coming; what non-Christians refuse to do during Advent, and put off until after Christmas, is precisely a foreshadowing of what they will experience at the Second Coming.

We Christians are to prepare for the Coming of Christ before He actually comes -- and that Coming is symbolized and recalled at Christmas. Non-Christians miss this season of preparation, and then scramble for six days after the 25th to make their resolutions. By then, however, it's too late -- Christmas has come and gone, Our Lord has already made His visitation to the earth, and He has found them unprepared. This is precisely what will take place at the Second Coming, when those who have put off for their entire lives the necessary preparations will suddenly be scrambling to put their affairs in order. Unfortunately, by then it will have been too late, and there will be no time for repentance. The Second Coming will be less forgiving than the Incarnation. There will be no four-week warning period before the Second Coming, like we get during Advent. There will be no six-day period of grace after the Second Coming during which to make resolutions and self-examination, like the secular world does from Dec. 26 until Jan. 1.

So please, restore Advent and don't think "Christmas is here" until it truly comes. One way to help focus on the theme of preparation is to read the parables of The Fig Tree, The Man Going on a Long Journey, The Faithful and Wicked Stewards, and The Ten Virgins in the 24th and 25th chapters of St. Matthew's Gospel. Another way to help you do this is to think of the Saint who embodies the spirit of this Season more than any other: the great St. John the Baptist. If you have an icon of him, venerate it especially now. Make special prayers to him and consider the message of this "voice of one crying in the desert": "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths." You will note that the readings of the second, third, and fourth Sundays of Advent focus on St. John, the earthly herald of Christ's coming whom St. Ephraem likened to the Star of Bethlehem, the Heavenly herald of His coming.

Art~Week 8

It's hard to believe the first half of our year is almost over! We only have 1 more week of co-op classes before our Winter break begins.

This week in art, we talked a little about Medieval tapestries.

Each student was given a piece of Muslin and to stitch their own picture. I had a variety of free patterns that I located off the Internet. I did mostly cross stitch patterns and a few embroidery patterns. I thought the cross stitch would be easier for the younger students to handle. The students were eager to learn the basics...how to thread a needle, tie a knot, and how to create the stitch. Many students choose a pattern to create to give to a loved one as a present.

Art~ Week 7

This week in art we talked about Bestiary. Bestiary was made popular during the middle ages in the manuscripts that were being produced at this time. The illustrations often depicted animals and birds that were paired with a moral story. A great website that discusses the different animals can be found here.

Source

The students really got the chance to use their imaginations this week. I encouraged them to draw an animal made up of at least different animals.

We were able to see a wide variety of animals being made!

Art~Week 6

This week for art we talked about Christian symbols in art work.

We talked about what symbols like the fish, the lamb, rainbow, dove, the rose, numbers, and colors represent.

After discussing the different symbols used in many pieces of art, we looked at a few paintings to find the "hidden" symbols.

The students followed up our lesson with creating their own master pieces.

This week we used colored pencils to expose the students to a different type of media.

Religion - Week 7 Chapt. 4/Talking to God

Franciscans talked about the Kyrie and Gloria and Collects.  What they mean in English and Greek/Latin.

Then we focused on one main point the conscience, what it is and how and why to examine it. Why we must examine it regularly in order to be ready to really say this part of the Mass and mean it.

How ignorance of our Faith is not an excuse to a sleeping or dead conscience. 

What is the inner voice of conscience. 

Important to this part of the Mass, because we are begging God's forgiveness in the prayer, Lord Have Mercy, Christ Have Mercy, Lord Have Mercy. 

We reviewed the four main types of prayer and which types we use in the Kyrie and Gloria.

We gave some examples of how a bad deed done for a good end is sinful.  This may need some review.

See pg. 90 handout for homework - read and do 4-5 exercises in scriptural examination of conscience.  May have some assistance from parents. 

Latin roots weekly schedule

JMJ

I should have gotten my schedule of root words typed up for you at the beginning of the year, but here it is, almost half way through the year.  Hopefully this will help those of you following along at home and making the cards ahead of time.


week 7: 4 roots, pgs. 33-36
week 8: 4 roots, pgs. 37-40
week 9: 4 roots, pgs. 41-44

week 10: 4 roots, pgs. 64-47, 49-50
week 11: 3 roots, pgs. 52-53, 64
week 12: 3 roots, pgs. 55, 57, 66
week 13: 4 roots, pgs. 60, 68, 70, 72
week 14: 4 roots, pgs. 74, 77, 82, 84
week 15: 3 roots, pgs. 78-80
week 16: 3 roots, pgs. 88, 90-91
week 17: 3 roots, pgs. 92-94
week 18: 4 roots, pgs. 96-98, 100

That's over 60 Latin roots!  If our kids learn all of these in just 18 weeks this year, I'd say they are well on their way to great English vocabulary as well as a solid foundation when learning Latin vocabulary.

Field Trip #2- Blandy Experimental Farm

The kids and I had a wonderful time learning about rocks during our visit to Blandy Experimental Farm. I joined the PreK-2nd grade group, and our teacher did a great job with the young bunch. We first got to look at all different types of rocks, and answer questions about them through our observations. 

Then the group headed outside to look for rocks around the property. It was a bit chilly today, but fall is a great time to visit a tree museum! :)

Lastly, we headed back inside for a simple but fun craft using playdough to discover how mountains are made.

The kids are really enjoying their hands-on learning opportunities this year!