March 17, 2020

Dear St. Jude Families,
 
In these uncertain times I hope you can take comfort in knowing that God is with us.  He cares for each and every one of us.  Prayer can bring peace out of chaos. 
 
In addition to keeping your family safe and utilizing all of the precautions you are seeing daily, embracing Our Lord can ease your anxiety.  God is with us in this desert.  He will not abandon us.  During times of uncertainty and confusion, I believe it is extremely important to pray.  Even if you are not accustomed to praying, I suggest you use one of the ideas I have listed below.  I know from personal experience that prayer will bring you peace.  Philippians 4:7 promises that “the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
 
Ideas to help us grow while we fight the coronavirus:
 

• There are many ways you can pray and there are many sites you can utilize.  The rosary is my go-to prayer.  The PREP children, catechists, and I pray one decade of the rosary every time we have PREP.  You can find rosary apps in your phone’s app store. I use Laudate, an Apple app that has many prayers and traditions, such as the daily readings, Rosary, Stations of the Cross, examinations of conscience, the Bible, links to EWTN, and many other amazing options.

• For those of you with young children at home, these can be very trying times. “Look to Him and Be Radiant” (https://www.looktohimandberadiant.com/) is a website full of awesome ideas of activities to do with children, as well as links to videos and music. In my humble opinion, if you can keep your children away from the news, I believe they will feel much more secure and less filled with anxiety during this time.

• FORMED.ORG, the online website that is sometimes referred to as Netflix for Catholics, is full of wonderful movies and stories for all ages.  To access simply go to our website, stjudechalftont.org, and scroll down to the FORMED button on the front page.  It is free to everyone, and paid for by the parish.  I love “Brother Francis” videos for children, and the Forgiven series is exceptional.  The movies about the saints are fabulous and are for middle schooler to adult. 

• Catholicphilly.com has many great articles and ideas from our local priests, bishops, and laity.

• Bishop Robert Barron has just begun sharing a daily video of himself saying Mass from his chapel in Los Angeles.  He is a terrific homilist. I am sure you would enjoy these Masses. They are found at Word on Fire (https://www.wordonfire.org/daily-mass/).

• PrayMoreNovenas.com is a wonderful online resource for prayer and novenas, and you can receive email reminders.  They are beginning a novena to end this pandemic on Friday. You can read the novena at https://www.praymorenovenas.com/pandemic-novena  or sign up to receive them in your email each day by contacting johnpaul@praymorenovenas.com. 

 
Peace and blessings to you during this very difficult time.
 
Mrs. Lori Rawski
Director of Parish Faith Formation