THE FAMILY ZONE

Today is the Solemnity of All Saints, a day that the Catholic Church celebrates and honors the saints we know, along with the holy men and women known only to God. Below is a video to help you understand the Communion of Saints and why this is such a special day in our church! Do you know that you and your family are part of the Communion of Saints? Learn more about how we are one family: the Body of Christ.

This weekend at Mass, you will hear the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12), the Gospel proclaimed each year on the Solemnity of All Saints. The Beatitudes are Jesus' teaching about what brings about true happiness. When we consider our moral code, as Catholic disciples, the Beatitudes provide us with a framework for discipleship. It's important to note that disciples in the eyes of Jesus are blessed for being poor, humble, persecuted, or in mourning, among other things. How does that reality help us to look at our Christian lives and set priorities? The article below helps us to consider each beatitude and how we are called to live it out in today's world.

Do you ever catch yourself making an unkind comment about another in front of your child? We've all had a judgmental thought at some point in time, but we all know our kids pick up on everything we model, even if we tell them to act differently. Teach your kids that having a judgmental thought doesn't make us bad people, what matters is what we do with that thought! Teach them the following techniques:

• Is what I am about to say true, helpful, or kind? If not, don't say it! Let that unkind thought disappear!
• Instead of judging, be curious! Ask yourself or another what might be going on in that person's life to make him or her look or act that way?
• Walk in their shoes..ask yourself, how would I feel if I were this person or someone said something hurtful to me?
• Teach them that actions don't define a person. Sometimes good people make poor choices. Try to see past behaviors before making decisions about a person's character.

He is the patron saint of catechists and seminarians! Observe this special day by sending a note of appreciation to your child's catechist or catechetical leader at your parish. Catechists are typically dedicated volunteers who share their time freely to help the children of our faith communities learn the faith and have a strong foundation on the path of discipleship! St. Charles is also the patron of seminarians. You can see our diocesan seminarians at the link below. Please pray for them, and as Bishop Bonnici has asked, pray a Hail Mary each day for vocations in our diocese. St. Charles Borromeo, pray for us!

If your kids are still excited about Halloween fun but they don't need the sugar from what they may have collected, here are some fun "minute to win it" games you can play with leftovers and Halloween buckets!

1. Keep one shared family calendar. Whether it’s on the fridge or a shared app, every practice, appointment, and deadline belongs in one place both parents (and older kids) can see. Multiple calendars mean someone eventually misses something.

2. Build a weekly rhythm, not just a daily one. Assign a loose theme to recurring days: “Sunday is meal-prep and backpack-check day,” “Wednesday is the no-activities night.” Predictability lowers the mental load of deciding everything fresh each day.

3. Do a 10-minute Sunday reset. Glance at the week ahead as a family: who needs to be where, what needs signing, what’s for dinner. Catching a conflict on Sunday is easy; catching it Wednesday morning is a scramble.

4. Keep a running list, not a running memory. Permission slips, birthday gifts, size changes, appointments to book; write it down the moment it comes up. Trying to hold it all in your head is where things slip through.

We'd love to hear from you! Send us Catholic or family topic ideas you'd like to explore! leslie.barkin@dor.org

Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester

Editor: Leslie Barkin leslie.barkin@dor.org

Email: oec@dor.org
Website: oec.dor.org
Location: Diocese of Rochester, Buffalo Road, Rochester, NY, USA
Phone: 585-328-3210

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