Lord, send out your spirit
april desserts
Save room for dessert! Let's have some fun with our meal... choose as many activities as you like to round out your household's faith adventure this month.
saint of the Month
Venerable Augustus Tolton
Date of Birth: April 1, 1854
Augustus Tolton was born April 1, 1854 in Missouri, a child of slaves. Because the family who owned them were Catholic, his family became Catholic. When Augustus was eight years old, his family escaped slavery, settling in Illinois, which was a free state.
Augustus went to work at the age of nine to help support his family, but he attended school when he could. Some priests and sisters noticed that he had a deep faith and was a good student. They helped him prepare for his First Communion and Confirmation as a teenager. Augustus soon realized that God was calling him to be a priest.
Sadly, not one school for priests (called seminaries) in the U.S. would admit a black man. He was determined to follow God’s call, and his teachers helped him. He was able to go to a seminary in Rome, and he was ordained a priest on April 24, 1886. He was assigned to a parish back home, becoming the first black priest in America.
Fr. Augustus felt called to serve everyone, no matter the color of their skin. But, there were many who rejected him and ridiculed him because of his color. Fr. Augustus persevered lovingly, never giving up and never being unkind to people in return. He ended up serving in a parish in Chicago, where he was very popular and recognized as a caring priest. He died of heat stroke at the young age of 43 on July 9, 1897. He is in the process of being declared a saint.
When I love others who are cruel to me, I am like Venerable Augustus Tolton.
To discover more about Fr. Tolton and his cause for sainthood, check out the links below. His cause for sainthood is being promoted through the Archdiocese of Chicago. His home diocese is the Diocese of Springfield.
Date of Birth: April 1, 1854
Augustus Tolton was born April 1, 1854 in Missouri, a child of slaves. Because the family who owned them were Catholic, his family became Catholic. When Augustus was eight years old, his family escaped slavery, settling in Illinois, which was a free state.
Augustus went to work at the age of nine to help support his family, but he attended school when he could. Some priests and sisters noticed that he had a deep faith and was a good student. They helped him prepare for his First Communion and Confirmation as a teenager. Augustus soon realized that God was calling him to be a priest.
Sadly, not one school for priests (called seminaries) in the U.S. would admit a black man. He was determined to follow God’s call, and his teachers helped him. He was able to go to a seminary in Rome, and he was ordained a priest on April 24, 1886. He was assigned to a parish back home, becoming the first black priest in America.
Fr. Augustus felt called to serve everyone, no matter the color of their skin. But, there were many who rejected him and ridiculed him because of his color. Fr. Augustus persevered lovingly, never giving up and never being unkind to people in return. He ended up serving in a parish in Chicago, where he was very popular and recognized as a caring priest. He died of heat stroke at the young age of 43 on July 9, 1897. He is in the process of being declared a saint.
When I love others who are cruel to me, I am like Venerable Augustus Tolton.
To discover more about Fr. Tolton and his cause for sainthood, check out the links below. His cause for sainthood is being promoted through the Archdiocese of Chicago. His home diocese is the Diocese of Springfield.
Liturgical Year -- Holy Week
Let's Play a Game!
Have you ever played Tic Tac Toe? Try this game of Tic Tac True to test your knowledge of Lent and Holy Week!
Let Us Pray
We hope that households will come in person to participate in the liturgies of Holy Week. Whether you attend or not, it is an important week of prayer and reflection on the great mysteries of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Here are some prayer resources to assist your household. (Bonus -- the author was one of our presenters for Faith Formation L!VE last year!)
Living Holy Week
Use these resources from the Diocese of Des Moines to celebrate Holy Week at home and with us in at the parish. Find a way each day of Holy Week to do something to celebrate the day.
Have you ever played Tic Tac Toe? Try this game of Tic Tac True to test your knowledge of Lent and Holy Week!
Let Us Pray
We hope that households will come in person to participate in the liturgies of Holy Week. Whether you attend or not, it is an important week of prayer and reflection on the great mysteries of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Here are some prayer resources to assist your household. (Bonus -- the author was one of our presenters for Faith Formation L!VE last year!)
Living Holy Week
Use these resources from the Diocese of Des Moines to celebrate Holy Week at home and with us in at the parish. Find a way each day of Holy Week to do something to celebrate the day.
Faith and fun
Recipe
Enjoy the new life around us this spring with this yummy recipe!
Asparagus Casserole
From: The Scott Family
Oven Temp: 350* Cook Time: 30—45 min Ingredients
White Sauce
4 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp flour
2 cup milk (may need a little more)
Casserole
4 cups asparagus, drained
4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
1 cup Velveeta cheese, cubed
White sauce Cracker Crumbs and a few dollops of butter on top of casserole
Instructions
1: White Sauce—Melt 4 Tbsp butter in a saucepan. Add 4 Tbsp flour. Cook until mixture bubbles.
2: Slowly add approximately 2 cups milk (maybe a little more) while whisking the sauce. Careful to get all the lumps out! Cook sauce until thick and bubbly.
3: Layer asparagus, eggs, Velveeta cheese and white sauce in round baking dish. Make sure you finish the top layer with white sauce.
Cover top with cracker crumbs and a few dollops of butter.
4: Bake at 350* for 30—45 minutes or until edges are bubbly and you see a golden crust around the edges! Notes My siblings and I always would always argue over who got to scrape the edges of the dish! Enjoy!
Enjoy the new life around us this spring with this yummy recipe!
Asparagus Casserole
From: The Scott Family
Oven Temp: 350* Cook Time: 30—45 min Ingredients
White Sauce
4 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp flour
2 cup milk (may need a little more)
Casserole
4 cups asparagus, drained
4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
1 cup Velveeta cheese, cubed
White sauce Cracker Crumbs and a few dollops of butter on top of casserole
Instructions
1: White Sauce—Melt 4 Tbsp butter in a saucepan. Add 4 Tbsp flour. Cook until mixture bubbles.
2: Slowly add approximately 2 cups milk (maybe a little more) while whisking the sauce. Careful to get all the lumps out! Cook sauce until thick and bubbly.
3: Layer asparagus, eggs, Velveeta cheese and white sauce in round baking dish. Make sure you finish the top layer with white sauce.
Cover top with cracker crumbs and a few dollops of butter.
4: Bake at 350* for 30—45 minutes or until edges are bubbly and you see a golden crust around the edges! Notes My siblings and I always would always argue over who got to scrape the edges of the dish! Enjoy!