April Class Update

Greetings everyone!

We rejoice that Christ, Who was once dead, rose again to New Life and is alive forever.

He lives in us who believe in Him by faith.

At the start of our time together, I played this song, "Alive", which looks at the Resurrection from the perspective of St. Mary Magdalene.

Then we did an activity of creating collages with the words of the Exultet, a hymn chanted at the start of the Holy Saturday Easter Vigil Mass that recounts God's work of salvation throughout the centuries, culminating in the Resurrection of Christ.

Here's a link to the text, which is on the right side of the webpage.

Here's a link to a video of the Exultet, which is about 10-11 minutes long.

Toward the end of class, I played this song, "Glory Bound".  Colossians 3, from which is taken a passage for the 2nd reading at Easter Sunday Mass, says that we look to Heaven now, and this song sings about how we're glory bound.

Christ has ascended in glory, the event for which Ascension Church is named.  After ascending, He sent the gift of the Holy Spirit to all of us, that we may be brought alive as His Church.

Bishop Barron shares a remarkable story about Cardinal George's reflection on the place of the Church in this world at the 2005 conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI.

We are part of something great because Christ is alive in us as One Church, connected by the Holy Spirit:

All my relations.

God's blessings,

Paul

March Class Update

Greetings everyone!

When humans sinned and broke our relationship with God, He looked at us, and saw that we were worth fixing.  And so He sent to us a Savior, Jesus Christ, to restore us from the sin that broke us by bestowing on us His grace and mercy.

It's like the line in the movie Cars. "We are town worth fixing."

Christ looks at us and says we are worth fixing.

And that is why the Paschal Triduum is such an important part of the liturgical calendar, when we commemorate the Institution of the Eucharist, the Crucifixion of Christ, and the Resurrection.

In class, I explained the elements of Maundy Thursday of Holy Week, namely the bread and the wine.  Several years ago, I created this video that illustrates what I did in class.

The students also had the chance to venerate the Cross, like we do on God's Friday of Holy Week.

This music video is based on the cherished Christian hymn "Amazing Grace", performed by Chris Tomlin and incorporating scenes from the 2007 movie Amazing Grace about Williams Wilberforce's campaign to end the British slave trade.

Also in class, I showed this video about John Fitzgerald, who was friends with George Washington. This video is part of a series of videos that Catholics for Catholics has released to celebrate accomplished Catholics in US history as we near the 250th Anniversary of US independence.  You can see more on their YouTube channel.

Let us praise our God for the wondrous Love He has shown us in Christ our Savior.

We remain connected as One Church, professing faith in God the Father Who sent the Son as our Savior:

All my relations.

God's blessings,

Paul

February Class Update

Greetings everyone!

During our classtime in February, we considered what Lent is about.

Lent has its origins in a 40-day time period of final, intensified preparation for those preparing to enter the Church.  For us who are already baptized and part of the church, it is an opportunity for us to renew our relationship with God.

I shared a little bit about Pope Francis's 2016 Apostolic Journey to Mexico.

You can see the archive on the trip at this website.

The song "Mexico Se Pinta de Luz" was performed at the ceremony for his arrival.

I then shared my own faith journey story.

Toward the end of class, I gave a short overview of the Theology of the Body, a compilation of teachings by Pope St. John Paul II that describes what it means to be human from God's perspective.

God is love because He gives Himself as a gift.  We are created in God's image, to reflect something about God in our bodies.  We are called to be gift and give of ourselves.

At the end of class, we listened to the song "I’m Not Lucky, I’m Blessed".

See you at Church.

God's blessings,

Paul

Chapel for La Virgen de Guadalupe in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.

Januarytime Update

Greetings everyone!

In times past, the celebration of Christmas lasted from December 25 until February 2.

So during our class time in January, both the special Tuesday session and the regular monthly January session, we spent time on the meaning of Christmas.

The big idea about Christmas is that God came to us in Jesus Christ, born as a human baby of the Blessed Mother Mary, to reveal God to us and bring us salvation.  The higher theology of Christmas is described in John 1:1-18.  I also shared a commentary that describes the coming of Jesus to Earth from a Bible I got as a gift in 7th grade.

Here are some of the songs from our class time in January

"Joy to the World" performed by the One Voice Children's Choir

"Joy to the World" trilingual version performed in Jerusalem

"O Come All Ye Faithful" performed by the One Voice Children's Choir

"Christmas Angels" by Michael W. Smith

"Feliz Navidad" performed by the One Voice Children's Choir

"Be Born in Me" performed by Francesca Battistelli

The Christmas Season has many important Feasts celebrate how God revealed Himself in the world through Christ: the Nativity of the Lord (when Jesus was born), the Holy Family (for Jesus lived in a family), Epiphany (when the Magi from outside Israel visited Christ), and the Baptism of the Lord (when the Father and the Spirit appeared).

We are blessed because God is with us.

We rejoice because Jesus Christ is the Light of the World.

A sun dog occurs when sunlight reflects off ice crystals in the atmosphere and creates a halo.  I saw this sun dog on the morning of December 24, 2022 in the parking lot of the North Riverside Costco.

Glory to God in the Highest and on Earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.

God's blessings,

Paul

Decembertime Update

Greetings everyone!

In December, we celebrate Advent for many days in anticipation of the Birth of Christ on December 25.

It is also a time for us to look ahead to preparing for Christ's 2nd coming.

The song "Even So, Come" uses the imagery of a bride and groom to show how we, as the Church, long for Christ.

This Busted Halo video explains Advent in 2 minutes.

Advent Wreath inside the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

In anticipation of the celebration of Christ's Birth on Christmas Day, we watched the scene from A Charlie Brown Christmas--2025 marks its 60th anniversary--when Linus proclaims the true meaning of Christmas.

Also during this class, I shared a little of the story of St. Mother Katharine Drexel, who used a large inheritance to support church-based institutions to aid African-Americans and Native Americans.  She became a religious sister after a personal audience with Pope Leo XIII.

In mid-November, Pope Leo XIV participated in a live Q&A session with the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis.  We watched a segment with a question from Elise, an Iowa teen.  (You can click that link to go directly to that segment, and you can scroll back to the start to watch the entire program, which is about an hour long.)

I also shared this video of a close-up I had of Pope Francis, from about 20 feet away, at World Youth Day 2019 in Panama City, Panama.

Glory to Jesus Christ in the Church!

God's blessings,

Paul

Below are scenes from my trip to Washington, D.C., in December 2024, right before Nativity/Christmas Day. I featured these images on the Christmas cards for your families.

The front of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

The Chapel for La Virgen de Guadalupe inside the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

The altar of the Great Upper Church of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

Nativity Scene in the Ellipse Park south of the White House

Novembertime Update

Greetings everyone!

So far, we've focused on God the Father and God the Son in class.

We can encounter God in so many ways, like in the wonders of the world around us.

We encounter God in the most significant way in the Eucharist.

We also acknowledge God's Presence in the Church, the Body of Christ.

We did an activity on the Nicene Creed.  Everyone did a great job putting together the Nicene Creed from strips of paper with parts of it.

The Trinity Dome of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

I played this video of Baba Yetu, the Lord's Prayer in Swahili.

We listened to part of Jonathan Roumie's speech at the National Eucharistic Congress.  This link starts at the moment where we came in, when he offers a dramatic reading of a portion of the Bread of Life discourse in John 6.  Please feel free to scroll back to listen to the entire presentation.

Eucharistic Adoration inside Lucas Oil Stadium during the National Eucharistic Congress, on July 20, 2024

The Eucharist was also a focus during the November special Tuesday session that I hosted.

We watched a video with Eucharistic Prayer 2 to focus on the words in it.

We watched a video about a mysterious metal sound from the Eucharistic Encounters series produced by Relevant Radio.

Catholic themes surface in the Thanksgiving proclamations of both President Washington and President Lincoln, because as Catholics, we are called to acknowledge God's blessings and seek His mercy, which we do at Mass.

So let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

God's blessings,

Paul

Introduction

Greetings 7th and 8th Graders and Families!

I am Paul Rubio, the catechist for the 7th/8th grade class for Tuesday evening Religious Education at Ascension.  This is my 13th year of teaching RE.

I was born on the North Side of Chicago, and I have lived in Oak Park for over 30 years.  I attended local public schools. I am Irving Elementary School Class of 2002, Julian Middle School Class of 2005, and OPRFHS Class of 2009.

After being part of the St. Giles Family Mass Community for many years, my family switched to Ascension.  I attended Religious Education here on Tuesday evenings in grades 7 and 8.

I have a MLIS degree from Dominican University.  I currently work behind the scenes as a cataloger at the Addison Public Library.

My librarian work aligns closely with my role as a catechist, in that I have the enjoyable opportunity to provide information to others that is meaningful.

I look forward to all that we will experience together this year as we encounter God's presence in class and beyond.

On this blog website, I will post links to resources I share in class that supplement the book.

Please feel free to contact me with questions, comments, other feedback, etc.  My e-mail is the best way to reach me and I have provided it to all the parents.  I make a point of responding to any email from a person by the end of the next calendar day.

I am grateful for the opportunity I have to accompany your daughters and sons in RE class this year.

God's blessings,

Paul

Here I am outside Holy Name Cathedral two summers ago when the Marian Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage was in Chicago, photographed by some there at the Cathedral.