In light of our current restrictive status, we still wanted to bring our parishioners opportunities to grow in their faith during this time. In addition to what Fr. Kevin is offering, St. Mark’s parents will receive weekly emails with ideas of things to do at home. Any other parishioners interested in materials, please contact Brenda Strayer at [email protected].
LITURGICAL CALENDAR—Feast and Holy Days being celebrated this week. Take some time to learn more about these important people and happenings.
- April 2—Saint Francis of Paola
- April 4—Saint Isidore
- April 5—Palm Sunday
YOUTH
Coaching Children to Pray – Encourage children to pray daily. A great way to teach them the rote prayers of the Church, and possibly (re)learn them yourself, is with the prayer booklets that can be found here: St. Mark Homeschool Curriculum
Virtual Youth Ministry Gathering– Join us Sunday evenings (7:00-8:00 pm) for the Largest Youth Nights Ever! Log in to ProjectYM.com. Katie Prejean McGrady (from NCYC 2019) will be joining us!
ADULTS
Blessed Palms – Walk around your home collecting palms blessed next year. Remind yourself of the purpose of the palms, and call to mind all the positive events that have happened to you this past year and take some time to thank God for those opportunities. In a reverent way. Gather them together so you can bring them back to the church.
FAMILY
Commitment Buddies/Family Effort – Engage your family members, young and younger, in a discussion about how you can support each others’ Lenten commitments. Begin by writing a list of what you each could use help with and ways you can help each other. Designate each person a partner and have partners agree to check in with each other at least once each day, to see how their day and Lenten commitments are going. Encourage everyone to be honest in their reports and invite them to support one another with notes of encouragement through this time.
EVERYONE
Spiritual Communion – While we cannot gather or receive the Eucharist, we encourage you to make an act of spiritual communion like the one recommended by Archbishop Gomez: “I wish, my Lord, to receive you with the purity, humility, and devotion with which your most holy Mother received you, with the spirit and fervor of the saints.”
PRAYER OPPORTUNITIES – Spend some newfound “freetime” enhancing your prayer life. Watch our Faith Formation Facebook page (StMark Iowa-Falls) for links to the following:
- Daily Mass – Celebrated by Fr. Kevin Earleywine, Fr. Tony Kruse, Archbishop Jackels (Sunday), and many others
- Pray the Rosary – Join Archbishop Jackels daily at 2:00 pm.
- Divine Mercy Chaplet – Led in song by Steve Angrisano at 2:00 pm daily.
