First Monday of Advent 2015

~Today is the Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle. A link has been added about this saint.~

Jesse Tree Story: ABEL
Jesse Tree Symbol: A LAMB

Scripture: "Yahweh asked Cain, 'Where is your brother Abel?'
'I do not k now,' he replied. 'Am I my brother's guardian?'
'What have you done?' Yahweh asked. 'Listen!
Your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground.
Now be cursed and banned from the ground that has
opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood at your hands.'"

Genesis 4:9-11

Commentary: God chose certain persons to foreshadow something related to Christ or to His Kingdom. Just as the blood of Abel cried out to God, so Christ's blood calls for forgiveness and grace.

Readings for the Day:

Romans 10:8-18
Psalm  19:8-11
Matthew 4:18-22

First Sunday of Advent 2015

Jesse Tree Story: ADAM & EVE
Jesse Tree Symbol: THE APPLE

Scripture: "I shall put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers;
it will bruise your head and you will strike its heel."
Genesis 3:15

Commentary: The first promise of the coming of the Redeemer, Christ, was made to Adam and Eve in Paradise after they disobeyed God.

Readings for the Day:
Jeremiah 33: 14-16
Psalm 25
1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2
Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

Advent 2015

Welcome back to the OLQHS RELIGIOUS INTERACTIVE SITE.

Every Advent, Christmas, Lent & Easter, we come together to walk the journey of the seasons as a school community. We invite you and your family to join us on our journey as we discover a deeper meaning of the Liturgical Seasons.

During Advent, we will be building a JESSE TREE. Every day, this site will post a Jesse Tree Symbol that goes with a story from Scripture. There will also be a short commentary about the symbol and scripture. The Liturgical Readings for the Day will also be notated, along with any special Feast Days or traditions. Feel free to use the links at the right of the page to navigate to sites, where you can access the Readings for the Day and other information.

We hope that you and your family have a FAITH-FILLED Advent Season

WHAT IS A JESSE TREE?

The Jesse Tree

"O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign for all people, standing before the silence of kings, to whom the gentiles offer their prayers.  Come and deliver us."

The Jesse Tree helps us to remember that Advent is a time of waiting for the coming of the Savior.  It is a symbol of life and growth and is expressed through the ancestry of an individual.  The image is not unusual to us since we also speak about our family tree or our roots.

Jesse, whom the tree is named after, was the father of King David.  The tree reminds us of all the people who waited for the coming of the Savior.  We decorate the tree with symbols that remind us of some of the people who waited for the coming of the Savior--the patriarchs and matriarchs (our fathers and mothers in faith), the prophets, and the parents of the Lord.

If you would like to have your own Jesse Tree for your family in your home, please refer to links posted on the sidebar for assistance.

Opportunities to Give: OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD & THANKSGIVING BASKETS 2015

Hello everyone!

We hope that you and your family have had a wonderful and blessed Spring, Summer and Fall since we last posted at Easter. We are preparing this month to start up our daily posts during the Advent & Christmas Seasons so please check back with us starting on November 29.

Until then, I would like to tell you and your family about some wonderful OPPORTUNITIES TO GIVE in which our OLQHS community is participating.

First, in an effort to help the needy of our parish, we will put together our traditional Thanksgiving Baskets.  We would appreciate all the support and help you can give in order to enrich the holiday season for these needy people.  Remember the call of the Gospel which reminds us to share freely with the poor what we have been freely given. Collection week for Thanksgiving Baskets will be November 9-13 and all donations may be brought to the school.  Thank you for your on-going generosity! Examples of items to bring for the food drive are: potted meat, peanut butter, dried beans, rice, pasta products, instant potatoes, Vienna sausages, sugar, flour, canned tuna, canned soup, mac & cheese, pork & beans, grits, oatmeal, canned or powdered milk, kool-aid, canned vegetables, tomato products, canned fruit and baby food.


Second, as a SCHOOL-WIDE and PARISH-WIDE project, OLQHS will participate in a program that stretches across the world and reaches many people in need.
Since 1993, OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD has been sending packed Christmas shoeboxes to children all over the world. For the past 8 years, the OLQH students & scouts have participated in OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD. Five years ago, we extended an invitation to the students and school community to participate in this amazing program. Over the years, the OLQH School Community has donated over 3000 packed shoeboxes!!! THAT IS WONDERFUL!!!!  Each box is 1 child that knows he or she is loved…each box is 1 child that knows someone is praying for them…each box is 1 child that will experience God’s Love through your generosity.

This year, we hope to see the program grow even more… to make this the LARGEST COLLECTION WEEK of our OLQHS~OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD history!!! EACH STUDENT will receive a SPECIAL OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD Shoebox to fill. In each shoebox will be a brochure explaining the program, a prayer card bookmark and an ALL ABOUT ME page. Parishioners, and those who what to do multiple boxes, can use whatever shoebox they would like. If you need more information you can click on the link for OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD in the LINKS listed to the right...or on the school's RELIGIOUS INTERACTIVE page. You can view videos about how these simple gifts make amazing differences in the lives of these children. Please remember to include the $7 shipping fee with each shoebox. You CAN pack additional shoeboxes and you can use regular shoeboxes or plastic containers. Plastic snap containers that are about the same size as a shoebox are an EXCELLENT additional gift. The family that receives it can use the plastic boxes to keep grains safe or to collect water. You can even have a PACKING PARTY where a group gets together and packs MULTIPLE boxes.

Tracking Your Boxes or Letter of Thanks
On the Operation Christmas Child website, you can print out special labels that allow you to TRACK-YOU-BOX. The company will send you an email shortly after your box is delivered telling you in what country a special child received your gift. In years past, boxes from OLQHS have gone to Benin, Kenya, Tunisia, Madagascar, Ghana, China, India, Belize and Russia! Sometimes, people receive very moving THANK YOU letters from the children that received their shoeboxes. This is such a special treat! If you receive a thank you letter or if you track your box, could you please let Mrs. Tanner know? She is keeping a scrapbook that plots how many countries we reach over time. She is including in this scrapbook copies of thank you letters received. 
 Collection Week for the shoeboxes is NOVEMBER 16-20, but you can start packing and bringing them in now. Students that pack shoeboxes will receive either a sticker or a balloon when they turn in their packed shoebox.

Pentecost Sunday 2015

~Today is Pentecost Sunday. A link has been added about this special day.~

Collect:
Almighty ever-living God, who willed the Paschal Mystery to be encompassed as a sign in fifty days, grant that from out of the scattered nations the confusion of many tongues may be gathered by heavenly grace into one great confession of your name. 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. Amen.

Readings of the Day:
Acts 2:1-11
Psalm 104
1 Corinthians 12:3B-7, 12-13
John 20:19-23

Thank you for joining us as we journeyed through Lent to the Resurrection of Easter and the Reception of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

Check back with us during the Season of Ordinary Time for special installments of the OLQHS RELIGIOUS INTERACTIVE.

Our daily posts will begin again on the First Sunday of Advent.

Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter 2015

Collect:
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that we, who have celebrated the paschal festivities, may by your gift hold fast to them in the way that we live our lives. 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. Amen.

Readings of the Day:
Acts 28:16-20, 30-31
Psalm 11
John 21:20-25

Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter 2015

Collect:
Almighty and eternal God, who made the Priest Saint Christopher Magallanes and his companions faithful to Christ the King even to the point of martyrdom, grant us, through their intercession, that, persevering in confession of the true faith, we may always hold fast to the commandments of your love. 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. Amen.

Readings of the Day:
Acts 25:13B-21
Psalm 103
John 21:15-19