8 YOUTH PAGE
THE CATHOLIC FREE PRESS APRIL 23, 2021
Generation Next
Material for CFP's Generation Next page is provided monthly by Catholic schools or parishes or sometimes diocesan offices. Schools or parishes wishing to participate in the production of a page with news, photos and students' work may call Tanya Connor at The Catholic Free Press, 508-929-4305, to schedule a month.
BY RACHELLE CARMONY
GRADE 4 TEACHER
The fourth-grade class at St. Anna Elementary School in Leominster commemorated the March 19th so- lemnity of St. Joseph in special ways for this Year of St. Joseph, weaving it into their studies and lives. During the preceding nine days they prayed the St. Joseph Novena. They had been learning about the theological and cardinal virtues and those under their jurisdiction, the seven deadly sins and corresponding sins and vices, and how St. Joseph is a model of virtue. The unit coincided with the study of Latin American cultural influences in the American Southwest. The origi- nal pinata, from Mexico, had seven points representing the seven deadly sins, symbolically bashed out by peo- ple hitting the pinata with a stick. On March 19, Father Carlos Ruiz, pastor of St. Anna Parish, read "The Story of St. Joseph" with the class, and the students celebrated the feast with a party, complete with pinata bashing and the treats that flowed from it. This replaced the St. Joseph's Table of treats, cancelled because of pandemic concerns. Because this tradition is popular in Italy, the Ital- ian teacher taught them about it in Italian class, and some students with an Italian heritage recalled family tra- ditions. The fourth-graders did keep part of the tradition - donating food to those in need - by participating in school-wide Lenten almsgiving. St. Joseph's feast falls during Lent. When Father Ruiz talked about St. Jo- seph as a guide for Lenten practices, the class , which had been learning about virtues, decided to explore ways they could grow in virtue, us- ing St. Joseph as a model. They read about him in Scripture, the ancient Litany of St. Joseph, papal encyclicals and saints' writings. Here are excerpts from essays they composed in honor of the solemnity. (The prospect of being featured in The Catholic Free Press served as a special motivation for the students to practice the virtues!)
St. Joseph's feast day celebrated in grand style
The Church says in the Litany of St. Joseph that he is: Joseph, Most Just, Most Obedient, and a Mirror of Patience. Some ways that I can show the virtue of justice are if someone is being treated unfairly I can come to their defence. I can also pray for them and pray for all of those suffering injustice in the world. I can also make sure that I treat others fairly One of the ways I can obey God is listening to what he reveals to us in the Bible and through the Church. One of the things the Ten Commandments from the Bible tells us is to honor our parents. Some ways that I can honor and obey my parents are to listen to them when they tell me what to do and obey them without hesitation. - Natalie Ciccone I can practice justice if there is something at the store but someone else wants it by letting them have it and hoping that I get it another day. Another way for me to show justice is if I don't do a prayer one day I can make it up by doing prayers every night and morning. A way I can show justice again is if someone isn't fair to me I will call upon the Holy Spirit and be fair to them. I can also practice obedience by performing help- fulness around the country such as cleaning up litter and donat- ing to the poor. - Grace Houle I can practice patience ... If you make your sufferings into a prayer and call the Holy Spirit, you will have you, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. A team like that can make your cross into a stick or a little log. Trust me it works!... If I owed a bank millions of dollars and then I ran away, that would not be justice, that would just be stealing at that point. ...If you have turned to the devil and like to kill people then the just thing to do is to devote your life to God and do the best you can to be forgiven. (Or you will go to hell, double toothpicks.) If I have to choose to either do my homework, or play games and get in huge trouble (and probably get the game taken away), the prudent thing to do would be to do my homework and wait to play games. ... An obedient thing to do would be to SHARE and be KIND. For example, if you have one-hundred cookies (don't ask how you get them) and another kid wants half, the obedient thing to do would be to give him/her fifty cook- ies (unless it's Covid 19). You can be like Joseph by practicing all of these virtues and you might even get a vision of God. - Colin White St. Joseph is the Protector of the Holy Church. During Mass we feel he is present with Jesus and Mary, as he watches over us and loves us. St. Joseph was called to practice patience a lot. I can be patient with myself, when I am called on in class don't remember the answer. One time I had to be re- ally patient and wait like a week for these really nice shoes I got. Justice is one of the most challeng- ing virtues to practice, because as human beings, we always want it our own way; but by practicing justice, we can turn towards God and make the right choice. Prayerfulness is a virtue related to justice, of giving to God his just due. By God's grace, using St. Joseph as a guide and through his prayers, I can prac- tice this virtue by participating in Mass, paying attention, focusing on Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament; making a habit of turning to God throughout the day, prac- ticing silence and resting in His presence. I can read the Bible intently, meditating on His Word. ... I can practice reverence by ac- knowledging Him as the creator of everything If I am on a hike with my friends, I can stop and take a minute to look around me, and thank God for the beautiful nature that he has created. I can be grateful to God for giving me all of my wonderful family and friends and for ev- erything else he has given me. - Fiona Stacey How we can practice piety is to stay faithful and pray. We should focus less on objects like phones or ipads, things that distract us from the Lord. God comes first. We should practice gratitude to God; not asking for more but being grate- ful for what we have. No God is greater than our Lord. We should ask God to help us love him more and more, and that we may one day see the wonders of Heaven. We should stay true to God and not be afraid to share his love. We can be like St. Joseph He could have said "no," but he changed the world with a simple "yes." - Alivia Litalien This is how I can practice pa- tience in my life. If I need help on my homework at the same time my sister needs help on it, I can be patient and wait. Also, if my parents are busy and I want a snack I can be patient and wait. If I go to the store and I want to go home because I am bored, I can be pa- tient and wait until we get home. - Hailey Melodino I can be more trustworthy by being more reliable and doing more things for people; also, knowing when to be more silent and not gossiping about other people. ... I can be prayerful by being God's friend during anything. I can be reverent by helping priests, pastors, deacons, bishops, and popes build the Church. I can also respect the Holy Bible by handling it correctly. - Sarah Rosales I can have patience with my family, because a lot of times I get mad at my brother, but my family and l have so much fun together. Also I can have patience when I pray because sometimes it takes me a little time to think what I want to say to God but really I like to tell God everything that happened that day. - Alivia Carlin St. joseph is called "Mirror of Patience" and I can practice patience by, when I suffer, I will pray to the Holy Spirit, God, and our Savior Jesus Christ and they will help me and turn my suffering into prayers, and Jesus will save souls through my prayers and the souls will go to heaven. Jesus will thank me. - Bryce Holt St. Madeleine Sophie Barat wrote, "Let us love Jesus above all, let us love Mary as our mother; but then, how could we keep from loving Joseph, who was so intimately united to both Jesus and Mary? And how can we honor him better than by imitating his virtues? Now, what else did he do in all his life but contemplate, study, and adore Jesus, even in the midst of his daily labors? Behold, therefore, our model." - Lydia Luzzetti How I can practice justice like St. Joseph is by: praying every day, every night, before I eat dinner, be- fore I go to school and that is how I will grow in virtue and pray to him whenever I'm stuck on something and I know he'll be there for me! - Darwin Mercado St. Joseph can help me with being a great role model of how I can practice these virtues in my life. We are born to love, we live to love, and we will die to love still more. I can help others like I'm the super hero of Kindness I can be really good or at least try. I can honor God's creations by being nice to nature, animals, my family and other people. - Ronnie Senz
Natalie Ciccone swings at the pinata (above) and Father Carlos Ruiz talks with students. Emily Kirousis and Elia Gallegos studied ancient icons of St. Joseph, and chose those emphasizing the Holy Family to inspire them as they wrote the "icons" pictured here. They incorporated wood because he was a carpenter.
St. Anna Elementary School, Leominster
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