Welcome St John the Baptist Family!

Our Catholic Faith

Grades 3, 4, 5

October 22, 2025

Parents,

We thank you as you continue to encourage and participate as a family during this significant time as a family activity in coordination with St. John the Baptist Faith Formation classes. The At Home Family Lessons are a short lesson for parents and their children to learn together. One week they will study the lesson presented by the Diocese. The next online class will be an introduction to one of the many facets of our Catholic traditions, faith, or prayers. They are a great way to share your faith together for a better understanding.

October - the Month of the Catholic Rosary

Catholics have been praying the rosary for more than 800 years. Church tradition holds that the beautiful meditation was given to St. Dominic by Our Lady circa 1212 to combat heresy. Throughout the centuries, popes, saints, clergy, and Our Lady have emphasized the spiritual gifts and power of the rosary.

In 1571, Pope St. Pius V established the feast, then-known as Our Lady of Victory, to celebrate the Battle of Lepanto, a decisive naval conquest that saw the Holy League’s fleet destroy the Ottoman Empire’s navy. Lepanto marked the last major engagement in the Western world to be fought almost entirely between rowing vessels. Pope St. Pius V attributed the Holy League’s victory to the Virgin Mary’s intercession, facilitated by the pope’s call for Europeans to pray the rosary. The power of praying the rosary, in his summation, tracked with St. Dominic’s reception of the rosary from the Blessed Virgin a few hundred years prior.

Two years later in 1573, Pope Pius V’s successor, Pope Gregory XIII, changed the name to the Feast of the Holy Rosary.

Mary has communicated the need to pray the rosary for world peace and the salvation of souls during numerous apparitions, including Our Lady of Lourdes (1858), Our Lady of Fátima (1917), and Our Lady of Akita (1973). Through the repetition of prayer and meditation on Christ’s life, Catholics can grow closer to God while walking alongside His mother.

The prayers of the rosary are accompanied by meditations on the lives of Jesus and Mary called mysteries. These mysteries include the Joyful Mysteries, Sorrowful Mysteries, and Glorious Mysteries. In 2002, St. John Paul II instituted the Luminous Mysteries, offering the faithful a way to meditate on Jesus’ ministry, which paralleled the sacraments.

Prayers that are repeated over a period of days have special names. A Tridium is three days of prayer. An Octave is eight days of prayer. A Novena is nine days of prayer.

Activity

Pray the Rosary with your family or a friend.

Here is a sample of what prayers you say with the beads. Following are the prayers.

Sign of the Cross

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; He descended into hell; on the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

Our Father

Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of death. Amen.

Glory Be

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen

Fatima Prayer

Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell; Lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy. Amen.

Hail! Holy Queen

Hail! Holy Queen, Mother of mercy; our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn, then, O most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us. And after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen

Saint or Feast Day of the Month

Francis was the son of a wealthy cloth merchant in Italy. After being captured in a war, he took to heart Jesus' words: "Sell all you have, give to the poor, and follow me" (cf. Mt 19:21). One day, Francis heard a voice say, "Repair my house." At first, he thought this meant the church building, but then he realized it meant the people of God. Francis went about begging and preaching. People joined him, and he formed religious communities that came to be known as Franciscans. Francis loved all creatures. He called them his brothers and sisters. In his poem "Canticle of the Sun", Francis tells created things to praise God. He was the first to make a Christmas manger scene with live animals. His feast day is October 4. St. John the Baptist Catholic Church just held a blessing of animals on this day.

See you next week!

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