Palm Sunday Home Celebration

We are entering into the holiest week of the year, and throughout this week we will be giving resources for living the liturgy at home. Parish Holy Week information can be found here. Families can pick up blessed palms in the church Monday-Wednesday, 9am to 5pm. They will be spread out over several tables right as you enter the glass doors. Please observe social distancing. One person from each household can take a palm branch for each member of the household These are only for OLMC parishioners, as there is only enough for each parishioner.

Elementary Information:

Holy Week Tracker

How to Make a Palm Cross out of Paper

Hosanna Prayer Card for Prayer Card

Palm Coloring Page

Paper Palm Leaves (3-6 year olds)

Paper Palm Leaves (2nd-3rd)

Palm Paper Leaves (4th-5th)

Middle and High School:

Some parishes across the country practice the veiling of the statues and crucifixes within the parish. Each home can practice this through Holy Week by using purple cloth to gently cover the religious articles until Easter Sunday. By covering the images, we are called to the attention of this time of the liturgical year, and when we remove the coverings on Easter Sunday, we see in fullness what Christ has won for us on the Cross.

We are entered into Christ’s Passion on Palm Sunday, reminded that we too have a role to play in his death, but in his great love for us, Christ gives us a role to play in Salvation History. Below is a good video to help reveal what elements in our life need healing. An Examination of Conscience can help bring to light which sins we need to bring before the Lord before entering his glory at Easter. Consider going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation either this weekend (2-4 pm) or on Wednesday (2-4pm).

Celebrating St. Patrick's Day

Happy Feast of St. Patrick’s Day!

We are here to celebrate with you. St. Patrick came from a rich family in England, but was kidnapped by pirates and taken to Ireland where he was forced to work for many years…

To find out more on his life story, here are a few activities for your family to enjoy.

Elementary School Activities:

Saint Patrick Coloring Page

St. Patrick Breastplate Craft

St. Patrick Puppet

Trinity Shamrock

Middle and High School Activities:

For children in middle or high school, check out the St. Patrick’s Day Saint Reflection. You can learn a bit about St. Patrick and reflect on his life and influence within the faith.

Below is the Irish Prayer that you can pray as a family:

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preaching of apostles,
In the faith of confessors,
In the innocence of holy virgins,
In the deeds of righteous men.

I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rock.

I arise today, through
God’s strength to pilot me,
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.

I summon today
All these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel and merciless power
that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul;
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

Amen.

Creating a Lenten Prayer Space

For some great information on creating a prayer space in the home check out this article: “Preparing a Prayer Space at Home”

Much like how in Church, we have different decor to help indicate which liturgical season we are celebrating (a wreathe and purple cloth for Advent, green for Ordinary time, and white and lilies for Easter), you too can model this within the home. 

At home, if you do not already have a prayer space, you can make one pretty easily with household objects. 

Set aside some space in the room, and put either a table or some sort of shelf. 

For Lent, you can put a purple cloth over the table. If you have some succulents or cacti, this can help remind us of the time that Jesus spent in the desert. Other items that would be helpful for this prayer space would be a crucifix, a Bible, sacred images and/or some candles. It does not need to be super elaborate, but having the space can help center your family during the prayer time.

When praying together as a family, circle around the prayer space, much like we face the altar and crucifix at Mass. If you have older kids, you can have them light the candles or dim the lights.