Immaculate Conception Religious Education

Yesterday was the Parish Block Party!!!!!

There were so many people and everyone had a wonderful time!!! There was lots of food, games and activities!!!

Our Religious Education Program sponsored Mini Golf!!!! It was AWESOME!!!! Thank you so much to everyone who joined us!!!!

Candlemas!!!

FEBRUARY 2 + Today we celebrate The Presentation of the Lord also known as the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Candlemas Day ✝️

The Church celebrates the feast of The Presentation of the Lord which occurs forty days after the birth of Jesus and is also known as Candlemas day, since the blessing and procession of candles is included in today's liturgy. According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is referred to as the Purification of Mary. This is known as a Christmas feast since it points back to the Solemnity of Christmas.

The feast was first observed in the Eastern Church as The Encounter. In the sixth century, it began to be observed in the West: in Rome with a more penitential character and in Gaul (France) with solemn blessings and processions of candles, popularly known as Candlemas. The Presentation of the Lord concludes the celebration of the Nativity and with the offerings of the Virgin Mother and the prophecy of Simeon, the events now point toward Easter.

In obedience to the Old Law, the Lord Jesus was presented in the Temple by His Blessed Mother and His foster father, Joseph. This is another epiphany celebration insofar as the Christ Child is revealed as the Messiah through the canticle and words of Simeon and the testimony of Anna the prophetess. Christ is the light of the nations, hence the blessing and procession of candles on this day. In the Middle Ages, this feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or Candlemas, was of great importance.

St. Brigid, pray for us!

St. Brigid was known for her extraordinary spirituality, even converting a tribal chieftain to the Catholic faith (in some accounts, this man is her father). While St. Brigid attended at his deathbed, she picked up strands of rushes off the floor and fashioned them into the shape of a cross. ​ ​Her father, upon seeing the cross, was moved to accept Christ. Ever since, St. Brigid's cross has been a symbol of Christian faith and a hallmark of Irish Catholic heritage. In memory of this grace of conversion through St. Brigid's intercession and the sign of the cross, it is a popular Irish custom on her feast day (February 1st) to make St. Brigid's cross out of tall grasses, rushes, or pipe cleaners, sprinkle it with holy water, and recite the following prayer: May the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost be on this Cross and on the place where it hangs and on everyone who looks on it. ​ ​Then, display your cross in a prominent place in honor of her feast! St. Brigid, pray for us! Click here to see her collection: https://bit.ly/36n3XYF

We are blessed! Yesterday Fr. Jason gave all of our students and catechists "A Walk Through the Mass!" It was wonderful! We all learned so much! Thank you Fr. Jason!!!! It really was awesome!!!