Monday Motivation: Weekly Resources

Over the past two weeks, we’ve received a number of requests from people looking for resources to assist them in different ways as they meet the challenges presented by the COVID-19 outbreak. In response, we’ve begun curating online resources in this weekly series, including links in each of the following categories: Prayer for the Home, Educational Opportunities, Resources (for ministers, educators, parents, etc.), and Flourishing and Fun. 

Here’s what caught our attention for this week:

Prayer for the Home: 

Resources for Holy Week
Hard as it is to believe, Holy Week begins this coming Sunday. Liturgical Press has assembled a remarkable array of resources for those who wish to observe this week thoughtfully and prayerfully, most notably Holy Week at Home: Adaptations of the Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil, and Easter Sunday Rituals for Family and Household Prayer. Holy Week at Home is also going to be published in Spanish sometime either today (March 30) or tomorrow (March 31), so be sure to check their website this week for those and other resources.

The Rosary and Divine Mercy chaplet
Many parishes throughout the country are offering opportunities to stream the celebration of the Mass, and last week’s resource list featured a way to pray the Liturgy of the Hours online. This week, we turn to devotional prayer, courtesy of the Dominican friars of St. Vincent Ferrer in New York. You can join the friars as they pray the Rosary and the Divine Mercy chaplet every day at noon and 3:00pm Eastern respectively. 

El Rosario
Te invitamos a orar el Rosario en español con videos de Oración Católica Oficial en la página de YouTube. Aquí están los misterios dolorosos, y los otros misterios también estarán disponibles en este canal de YouTube.

Educational Opportunities: 

The Pillars of the Faith—free online course
The McGrath Institute for Church Life has just released a free online course entitled The Pillars of the Faith, wherein noted theology professors from the University of Notre Dame unpack the four pillars of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. John Cavadini, Director of the McGrath Institute for Church Life, teaches the first pillar, which centers around the Creed. Each video clocks in at around 30 minutes, allowing you to use this time of social distancing to sink your roots deeper into the life of faith and the life of the Church. 

Resources:

Easy Ideas for Parishes: Establishing a Buddy System
Many people often express a feeling of helplessness in the face of challenges. And yet, there are often simple yet effective things one can do to respond. For example, perhaps you can help your parish start a buddy system, where people check in on one another through phone calls or text messages. This article draws from insights offered by the McGrath Institute’s own Lenny DeLorenzo, and offers simple, concrete steps to make sure you can stay connected with your parish family, especially with older members of your community.

Adapting to Distance Learning
This site from the Archdiocese of San Diego offers a veritable treasure trove of links and ideas for teachers who are in the process of adapting their classroom material for an online platform. While the educational requirements are specific to the originating diocese, there are plenty of opportunities for adaptation for those working and teaching in other dioceses.

Virtual Gatherings for Ministerial and Spiritual Formation
Liturgy Training Publications is offering several opportunities for ministerial and spiritual formation over the next two weeks. Ministry-specific conversations include sessions on liturgical and musical ministry in light of COVID-19, and opportunities of interest to the faithful in general include a session on the praying the Psalms, and a virtual Holy Week Retreat. Space is limited, so register soon.

Flourishing and Fun: 

“Family Life in a Pandemic,” Josh and Stacey Noem
After getting over the sudden shock of social distancing, if you find that your family life is floundering rather than flourishing, Josh and Stacey Noem provide some truly excellent ideas in this article (written for their USCCB series For Your Marriage) that might help boost morale, stabilize a routine, and create space for fun and conversation.

And just for fun:

For the past two weeks, the Metropolitan Opera has been offering a different production each evening to stream for free from their Live in HD archives. Opera may not always be “fun” like “ha-ha,” but it’s definitely “fun” in terms of providing beauty and personal edification. Tonight, the Met is making Francis Poulenc’s Dialogue of the Carmelites available to stream, beginning at 7:30pm Eastern (the link remains accessible for 23 hours). One of the great works of Catholic drama and music, Dialogue of the Carmelites is based on a work by Georges Bernanos, which in turn was based on Gertrud von le Fort’s novella Song at the Scaffold. The opera chronicles the true story of a group of Carmelite nuns who faced martyrdom during the French Revolution, and its conclusion is simply stunning.

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