Family Corner: Lord's Day Recreation

October is a beloved month for many reasons: falling leaves, golden sunshine, emphasis on the great prayer of the rosary, football.    

Wait!  Football?! Yes!

Yes, our church lives in the real world, and our faith enters every aspect.  And, this year’s Reclaiming Sundays focus reminds this October to pray, rest, and recreate.  For many, that means football.  (We Vikings fans pray a lot, in fact!) We might also hike, bargain shop, paint, read novels, or visit parish festivals.  

No matter how we like to recreate, we can reclaim our Sundays by intentionally spending them restfully and joyfully. Watch the October video here and consider these suggestions from the archdiocese team:
 
SAMPLE ACTIVITIES FOR OCTOBER:

• Refrain from house projects and tasks centered around productivity.
• Choose activities focused on recreation, leisure, and rest (such as reading a book, listening to music, doing a crossword puzzle, going for a long walk, playing a game, or playing outdoors together).
• Build community by inviting another family over or by visiting a friend or relative.
• Kids love traditions and they are great for building family identity. Create a Sunday tradition such as brunch after Mass or flowers and candles with dinner. Or, on the flip side, adopt a quiet, simple dinner. In the month dedicated to the Holy Rosary, a Sunday family rosary could be in your living room, but also could be prayed on a walk, around a campfire, or in the car on the way back from visiting that relative.
• Recommended resource to assist in building habits of prayer is the Hallow App.

 
Here at Nativity, we can apply these suggestions many ways:

• RSVP and join the first Emmaus Night on Sunday, October 12 to pray, play and eat with other parish families! There might even be a touch football game.
• Meet new friends and join old ones for donuts on Sunday after morning mass.
• On Sunday evenings, pray together for the needs of our families and of the parish. On October 5, remember to pray for the success of the October 9-12 Men's Retreat.
• October is a month dedicated to Mary. Take a few minutes after Mass to look throughout the church for images of Mary. See how she is depicted in the stained glass windows, statues, and in tapestry. Say a Hail Mary or a Memorare together for a particular intention.  
• Encourage the women of the family to participate in the NCCW Fireside Chat on October 22, a conversation with the authors of The Nine Devines of Chippewa Falls.  Be inspired to sit with an older relative on an upcoming Sunday and listen to the stories that make up their lives.
• If you are traveling for MEA break, October 17-19, use the car ride or time at the airport gate to say a rosary, or even a decade, for your Nativity teachers and school staff. While visiting a new church on Sunday, ask the children to notice ways it is similar to and different from our home church.

However you pray, rest, and recreate on these upcoming Sundays, have fun. Saint Padre Pio, whose feast day we just marked, wrote that “"Joy, with peace, is the sister of charity. Serve the Lord with laughter.”