VBS @ St. Apollinaris Parish

HOMILIES - VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
JUNE 18 - 22, 2017

DAY #1



DAY #2



DAY #3



DAY #4



DAY #5

VBS Day #5 @ St. Apollinaris Church

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL - DAY #5
JUNE 23, 2017
9:00 AM - 12:00 NOON
SACRED MYSTERIES (YOUTH ROOM)
THE LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST (PART 4 OF THE MASS)



And now we come to the shortest section of the Mass, the Closing Rites.

Don't blink, or you'll miss it!

The priest says: "The Lord be with you," and you know the answer: "And with your spirit."

The priest then gives a blessing, and the priest or deacon gives a dismissal.

That's it.

We spent two days on the Liturgy of the Eucharist, and two minutes on the Closing Rites.

Here is a link to the 11 x 17 cards in PDF format.

And now, to solidify it ... let's have a test! Or better yet, let's play Jeopardy!




TRANSLATE, PLEASE

100 Credo.
What is “I believe.”
200 Kyrie Eleison.
What is “Lord have mercy.” 
300 Alleluia.
What is “Praise God.”
400 Christi Eleison.
What is “Christ have mercy.” 
500 Yin fu, ji zi, ji shengshen zhi min.
What is the Sign of the Cross. 

SECTIONS OF THE MASS

100 The shortest section of the Mass.
What are the Concluding Rites. 
200 The section of the Mass with Bible readings.
What is the Liturgy of the Word. 
300 The first section of the Mass.
What are the Introductory Rites. 
400 The longest section of the Mass.
What is the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
500 The sub-section of the Mass where you receive the Body of Christ.
What is the Communion Rite. 

BIBLE NUMBERS

100 46.
What is the number of books in the Old Testament. 
200 7.
What is the number of petitions in the Our Father. 
300 1 time in John’s Gospel, 27 times in the Book of Revelation.
What is the title “Lamb of God.” 
400 150.
What is the number of Psalms.
500 73.
What is the number of books in the Bible. 

ORDER! ORDER!

100 The order of readings in the Liturgy of the Word.
What is Old Testament, New Testament, Gospel. 
200 Three things that happen after the Sign of the Cross in the Intro. Rites.
What is “I confess,” “Gloria,” “Collect.”
300 The Closing Rites.
What is Greeting, Blessing, Dismissal. 
400 The three Divine Persons of the Trinity.
Who are Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 
500 The four sections of the Mass
What is Intro. Rites, Lit. Word, Lit. Euch., Conc. Rites.

ANSWER ME THIS

100 The Blood of Christ.
What is “Amen.” 
200 The Lord be with you.
What is “And with your Spirit.” 
300 Go in peace.
What is “Thanks be to God.” 
400 Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
What is “It is right and just.” 
500 Lift up your hearts.
What is “We lift them up to the Lord.” 

LONGEST PRAYERS

100 The longest prayer recited by the people.
What is the Nicene Creed. 
200 Third longest prayer, or an admission to the police.
What is “I confess.” 
300 The second longest prayer, sometimes on Christmas cards.
What is “Glory to God in the highest.” 
400 The fourth longest prayer, and the response to “Pray brethren.”
What is “May the Lord accept.” 
500 This prayer has 12 statements of belief.
What is the Apostle’s Creed. 

VBS Day #4 @ St. Apollinaris Church

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL - DAY #4
JUNE 22, 2017
9:00 AM - 12:00 NOON
SACRED MYSTERIES (YOUTH ROOM)
THE LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST (PART 3.5 OF THE MASS)



We're halfway through the Liturgy of the Eucharist, where we've just finished the Eucharistic Prayer. You've been kneeling the whole time, the priest just prayed "Through Him, with Him, and in Him ..." and you've answered "Amen," in the Great Amen.

Now, everyone stands, and the priest introduces the Lord's Prayer – the Our Father – with "... we dare to say." If we dare to call God "Our Father," then we need to live a life in His grace. Otherwise, we're not being good children of "Our Father." So, we "dare" to call God "Our Father."

There are 7 petitions in the Our Father:

1. Hallowed be thy name,
2. Thy Kingdom come,
3. Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven,
4. Give us this day our daily bread,
5. Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us,
6. Lead us not into temptation,
7. Deliver us from evil.

The priest prays a short prayer and the people answer "For the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory are Yours, now and forever."

The priest then prays for peace. We pray over and over at this point for peace. This is leading up to the Sign of Peace. The Sign of Peace is not a "7th Inning Stretch," or a time to be silly. The prayers are all repeating the desire for peace, and so in the Sign of Peace, we take charge of this and put it into practice in our own immediate circumstances. We need to take this desire for peace into how we behave, how we answer to authority, how we think – in every aspect of how we live our lives.

We then pray the "Lamb of God" three times – with the final petition being (not "have mercy on us," but) "grant us peace." Again, with the peace!

Jesus is only called "Lamb of God" once in all four Gospels. It's in the Gospel of John, when John the Baptist sees Jesus and calls out "Behold the Lamb of God!" The priest will say this in a little while.

Otherwise, "Lamb of God" occurs 27 times in the Book of Revelation, which shows us the worship of God in Heaven; as well as the spiritual battle between the devil and the angels.

After the Lamb of God, you kneel. At this point, the priest breaks the host at the altar (that is, the Body of Christ), and places a small particle into the chalice (that is, the Blood of Christ) saying a short prayer. This symbolizes not only Jesus's resurrection when His life-blood was re-united to His body. 

There was also an ancient custom where remote parishes would send a fragment of the consecrated host to the Bishop's Cathedral Church to be mingled in his chalice at his Mass.

These days, the Pope and the Bishop are a bit far away, so this action symbolizes that ancient practice and shows that we are united to the Pope and the Bishop.

The priest prays one of two prayers of preparation for Holy Communion, and then holds up the Body of Christ (and sometimes the Blood of Christ, too) and says what John the Baptist said when he saw Jesus:

Behold the Lamb of God. Behold Him who takes away the sins of the world.

The priest then adds a line from the Book of Revelation:

Blessed are those called to the Supper of the Lamb.

Then everyone repeats the words of the centurion from Matthew 8:8,

Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.

At this point, the Communion Song begins, and the people come forward to receive the Body (and Blood) of Christ. When the priest or minister says: "The Body of Christ," or "The Blood of Christ," the correct response is "Amen." Don't mumble it, and don't say anything else – make the proper, prayerful, response.

When you go back to your seat, pray and ask Jesus for His grace to live a good, virtuous, and holy life.

At the end of communion, the remaining hosts are placed in the tabernacle, and the vessels holding the Body and Blood of Christ are purified with water.

Then the final prayer is said, preceded by "Let us pray," and ending with "Amen."

That's the end of the Communion Rite, and the end of the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

Here is a link to the 11 x 17 cards in PDF format.

VBS Day #3 @ St. Apollinaris Church

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL - DAY #3
JUNE 21, 2017
9:00 AM - 12:00 NOON
SACRED MYSTERIES (YOUTH ROOM)
THE LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST (PART 3 OF THE MASS)

Today we move into the third, and the LONGEST part of the Mass, the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

Like the Introductory Rites, the Liturgy of the Eucharist begins with a song.

A lot of what we're going to cover today are things that are ALL happening at the same time. You might be sitting in your seat, holding an envelope, waiting for the usher, listening to the choir, or joining in the song. You might even be going to the back to bring up the gifts.

With so much going on already, you may miss the actions at the altar.

So, now the gifts are brought to the altar. They may come from the back of the church, or may just come from behind the sanctuary. But they eventually land at the altar.

The priest takes the bread and says a simple blessing prayer.

Then the wine is poured into chalice(s) and mixed with a little bit of water. In the Creed, we said that Jesus is "true God and true man." God is represented in the large quantity of wine; where the drop (or small amount) of water represents humanity. This is reflected in the prayer:

By the mystery of this water and wine,
may we come to share in the divinity of Christ,
who humbled himself to share  in our humanity.

Then the priest takes the chalice of wine and says another simple blessing prayer, similar to the one said over the bread.

Then the priest bows at the center of the altar and says a prayer silently ("With humble spirit ...") You may never hear this prayer – even if your at the altar. But it is said by the priest.

Next the priest washes his hands. There are three reasons:

1. Historical: People used to give livestock and produce, and the priest had to clean up.
2. Spiritual: The prayer ("... cleanse me from my sins ...") shows the spiritual meaning.
3. Practical: Handling money, incense, and sticky wine can leave residue on the priest's hands.

The priest turns to the people and says: "Pray, brethren, that my sacrifice and yours ..."; and the people respond: "May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands ..." This is an admonition for everyone to pray for the priest, who now all alone will re-enact in a non-bloody way, the Sacrifice of Christ, as Jesus asked His disciples to do at the Last Supper. And the people agree to pray for the priest, themselves, and the entire Church.

The priest prays the Prayer over the Offerings for the particular day, and the people respond: Amen.

Now we enter the Eucharistic Prayer. Before the priest prays this most important prayer, he greets the people and calls them to more fervent prayer:

The Lord be with you.
     And with your spirit.
Lift up your hearts.
     We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
     It is right and just.

Then the priest prays the Preface. The beginning and the end of most prefaces are the same or similar, and at the end the people respond with the Sanctus, which is the same in all Catholic liturgies in many languages and customs: Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Hosts ...

Then the priest prays the Eucharistic Prayer alone (sometimes helped by other priests at parts.)

There are four main prayers that are used:

1. The Roman Canon – from the 4th century
2. St. Hippolytus – adapted from a 2nd century Roman prayer
3. The Roman Anaphora – adapted from the Roman Canon in the 1960s
4. St. Basil – adapted from a 4th century Eastern Church prayer  

There are other prayers, written in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s that have been added for use at Masses for Reconciliation, Children, and Various Needs as well.

No matter how old or how long a Eucharistic Prayer is, it contains four elements:

1. Epiclesis: A prayer asking the Holy Spirit to come upon the gifts to make them the Body and Blood of Christ; as well as another prayer for the Holy Spirit to transform the People of God into the Mystical Body of Christ in the world.
2. Consecration: The words of Jesus "This is my Body," and "This is my Blood," spoken by the priest acting in persona Christi – in the person of Christ over the bread and wine, transubstantiating them into the Real Presence of Jesus: Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.
3. Prayers for the Church, the World, the Living, and the Dead.
4. Doxology: The closing words of all the prayers are identical.

The Doxology is the following words:

Through Him, and with Him, and in Him; O God, Almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is Yours, for ever and ever!

And the people respond, "Amen!" in what is called the "Great Amen."

We're now halfway through the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Tomorrow, we'll cover the last half, known as the Communion Rite.

Here is a link to the 11 x 17 cards in PDF format.

VBS Day #2 @ St. Apollinaris Church

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL - DAY #2
JUNE 20, 2017
9:00 AM - 12:00 NOON
SACRED MYSTERIES (YOUTH ROOM)
THE LITURGY OF THE WORD (PART 2 OF THE MASS)



Today we move on to part two of the Mass, the Liturgy of the Word. At the end of the Introductory Rites, you got to sit down.

The Word in Liturgy of the Word is the Word of God (not a spelling test or another book).

The Word of God means the Bible. There are 73 books in the Bible, which has two main parts: The Old Testament, and the New Testament. The Old Testament has 46 books, and the New Testament has 27 books.

At Sunday Mass, there are three readings. The first is from the Old Testament (which consists of histories, prophesies, songs, prayers, and wisdom). During Easter Season, the first reading may come from New Testament early Church history (in the Acts of the Apostles) or early Church prophesies (in the Book of Revelation.)

After the first reading is the responsorial Psalm. The book of Psalms has 150 psalms. Some are long, some are short. They all talk about God, telling us about God's plan, His mercy, His love, or His steadfastness. The Psalms are songs that can help us to pray. They cover all aspects of human feelings and desires and needs.

The second reading is from a New Testament letter. It's sort of like we're reading the mail. The largest part of the New Testament Letters are written by St. Paul. Also are letters by St. Peter, St. Jude, St. James, and St. John. These letters helped the early Church to work out difficulties, and since people are the same even 2,000 years later, these letters can help us to work through our problems.

Now, at Mass we stand, and the choir sings: ALLELUIA! Which means "PRAISE GOD" in Aramaic.

During the Season of Lent we sing one of eight different acclamations in place of the Alleluia, which we save for Easter.

1. The Seasons of the Church Year are: 
2. Advent (preparation for Christmas)
3. Christmas,
4. Ordinary Time
5. Lent (preparation for Easter, which ends with the Triduum)
6. Easter (which ends with Pentecost)

Next follows the reading from the Gospels. The four Gospel writers have symbols associated with them: St. Mark has a winged man (Mark speaks of Jesus's human origins), St. Matthew has a winged Lion (Matthew speaks of Jesus being the Son of David from the tribe of Judah, whose symbol is a lion,) St. Luke has a winged ox (Luke is "down to earth" and moves methodically and slowly through Jesus's ministry,) and St. John is an eagle (John's Gospel soars above the rest and covers high spiritual topics.)

And then there is the Homily. We get to sit down again. The Homily is given by a deacon, a priest, or a bishop; and it incorporates the Scripture we have heard, the Church Season, the events taking place in our lives and the world (and at Mass if it's a wedding or baptism or funeral), the experience of the preacher, and most especially the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, a homily can just be a lot of hot air!

Then we stand and it's time for the ... EYEBALL LEAF? What's an eyeball leaf?

OH! I believe!

That's right, the Creed. The longest prayer in the Mass that we say together is the Nicene Creed. It covers everything we believe as Christians. A more condensed version is called the Apostles' Creed. It has 12 points, just like there are 12 Apostles.

The Creeds cover three main things that we believe in: God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), the Church (which is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic), and the Promises of Christ (Forgiveness of Sins, Resurrection on the Last Day, and Eternal Life.)

The last part of the Liturgy of the Word is called the Universal Prayers or the Prayers of the Faithful. This is where the people respond "Lord hear our prayer." They should cover four main areas:

1. The Church and her needs
2. The world and its leaders
3. Those in any kind of special need
4. Ourselves and our community.

That's it. We're now halfway through the Mass! Time to sit down again.

Here is a link to the 11 x 17 cards in PDF format.

VBS Day #1 @ St. Apollinaris Church

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL - DAY #1
JUNE 19, 2017
9:00 AM - 12:00 NOON
SACRED MYSTERIES (YOUTH ROOM)
THE INTRODUCTORY RITES (PART 1 OF THE MASS)



God made us!

God has given us everything! Life, love, family, friends, food ... everything!

God has also given us a way to return to Him the gifts that we have received, through the Mass.

Just like sports, the Mass has rules, and periods. In fact, the Mass has 4 periods, called:

1. The Introductory Rites
2. The Liturgy of the Word
3. The Liturgy of the Eucharist
4. The Closing Rites

We'll step through this over the next few days so that instead of a long one-hour "thing," you'll be able to appreciate the Mass for what it is – God's gift to us, to give back to God the gifts He has given us.

During Mass, we come into the church, genuflect, and sit down to wait. Then we stand, sit, stand, sit, stand, sit, stand, kneel, stand, kneel, stand (to get in line), sit, stand, and leave. But Mass is much much more than an aerobic or cardio workout. It is a collection of prayers and songs that allow us to give glory to God.

The Mass begins with a song. It can be a song, or a hymn (and old song), or a chant (an ancient song.) But no matter what the song is, we sing it.

Once the priest and the ministers reach the altar, the very first prayer the priest speaks is the Sign of the Cross. No matter what language it is spoken in: Chinese, Latin, Greek, Spanish, Japanese, Arabic, English, or Aramaic ... or Russian, Ukranian, Slovak, Vietnamese, or Korean; it's the same prayer.

The Sign of the Cross is not only a prayer, it's also how we as Catholics begin our prayers. It's also a Profession of Faith in the Most Holy Trinity, and is how we are Baptized into Christ and His Church. The Sign of the Cross should remind us of our own Baptism – whether we remember it or were to small to remember it.

Let's learn the Sign of the Cross in Chinese. It sounds like this: "EEN FOO GEE ZZZ GEE SHUNG SHUN JRR MEEN. AMEN."

The next piece of the Mass is the Penitential Rite. When we do something wrong, or make a mistake – we naturally feel bad. In the Mass, we bring our weaknesses to God, and tell Him we're sorry. And we know that God is merciful and forgives us. So, we may be sad about what we have done, but we're happy about how generous God is in forgiving us when we admit our sins and ask for His forgiveness.

There are three ways this is done at Mass:

1. The "I confess" prayer (called "The Confiteor.")
2. A responsory (which is seldom used in my experience.)
3. Three verses leading into the invocations "Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord have mercy."

The Confiteor prayer is the third longest common prayer in the Mass. You might already have memorized it without realizing it!

Next the priest prays a short prayer of absolution, reminding us of God's mercy and forgiveness, and our ultimate goal of Heaven.

If either of the first two ways was used, the deacon or priest leads us in a simple "Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy." It can also be done in Greek. The words are "Kyrie, eleison; Christe, eleison; Kyrie, eleison."

It sounds like this: KEE-REE-AY AY-LAY-EE-SON ... KREE-STAY AY-LAY-EE-SON ... KEE-REE-AY AY-LAY-EE-SON.

Next we sing a song first heard at the Birth of Jesus on Christmas. The angels sang "Glory to God in the Highest," or in Latin "Gloria in excelsis Dei." You may see these words on Christmas cards or decorations. We sing this hymn every Sunday (except during Advent or Lent,) on Solemnities (like Holy Days of Obligation,) and on Feasts (special days for special saints or events.) This song allows us to remember how Jesus came into the world – not with the glory due the Son of God, but with humility as a poor baby born in a manger. The Gloria song is the second longest prayer in the Mass. You should work at trying to memorize it, too.

Finally, we get to ... LETTUCE? What's up with lettuce? Is it snack time? Or is it lunch time, yet?!

Oh, I know. Next, the priest says "Let us pray." That sort of sounds like "Lettuce pray," doesn't it?

At the end of the Introductory Rites is the Collect prayer (sometimes called the Opening Prayer.) The priest says, "Let us pray." And then pauses briefly, and recites the first prayer for the day in the Missal. At the end he says; "Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever." And the response is "Amen. There are alternate endings depending on the prayers, but they all end with "for ever and ever." 

We've been standing during this whole part of the Mass. After the Collect prayer, and the "Amen" is said, the people and the ministers sit down.

Here is a link to the 11 x 17 cards in PDF format.