June - July - August
Living a Summer of Mercy
Summer Faith & Fun Activities
Summer is a great time to share time and talent.
With family or friends, consider the following:
With family or friends, consider the following:
- Collect pop cans, cash them in and buy socks for a homeless shelter
- Help clean a neighbor’s yard
- Take a trash bag when walking and pick up trash
- Do a Random Act of Kindness to a family member
- Babysit for a parent so they can go to the store without children
- Volunteer for Altoona Kid’s Café
- Share your garden vegetables with a food pantry
- Collect food items for Caring Hands (make a list with alphabetized food items: a applesauce; b beans; c Cheerios; etc.
10 Ways to Pray Online
Here are ten excellent online resources to help you pray.
- 3-Minute Retreat—From Loyola Press, the 3-Minute Retreats invite you to take a short prayer break right at your computer. Spend some quiet time reflecting on a Scripture passage. Knowing that not everyone prays at the same pace, you have control over the pace of the retreat.
- Give Us This Day—From Liturgical Press, this daily prayer presents God’s words (prayers and readings for daily Mass), reflection on the Scriptures for each day, and various forms of prayer (including Morning and Evening prayer).
- Universalis—This site enables you to join Christians all over the world in praying the Liturgy of the Hours (as given in the Roman Breviary). It provides prayers, psalms, and meditation for every hour of every day.
- Sacred Space—Sacred Space is a joint apostolate of the Irish Province of the Society of Jesus and Loyola Press. It is inspired by the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola and offers a daily session of prayer, culminating in reflection on a Scripture passage chosen specially for the day.
- Light a Candle—Throughout the world, lighting candles is a sacred ritual. On this site, you will be guided step-by-step to engage in prayer and light a virtual candle that will stay “lit” for 48 hours.
- Come, Pray the Rosary—An online experience that allows Catholics worldwide to join together in praying the Rosary. Subtitles and a video engage you in your prayer. A live diagram indicates which bead you are praying.
- Pray as You Go—A daily audio prayer session lasting between 10 and 13 minutes, combining music, Scripture, and some questions for reflection.
- The Daily Examen Prayer—From Discerning Hearts, this video guides you through a five-minute review of your day following the steps outlined by St. Ignatius of Loyola.
- Discerning Hearts—The “prayer room” offers dozens of podcasts of Catholic prayers, litanies, chaplets, and novenas.
- An Online Retreat—From Creighton University Online Ministries, this online retreat experience is designed for people too busy to make a traditional 30-day Ignatian retreat. A simple guide each week places themes, reflections, questions, and desires into the background of our busy lives. Can be done alone or with a group.
Celebrate Our Faith
- Make a May Altar.
- Go on the Holy Door Pilgrimage.
- Do you know the difference between a cathedral and a basilica?
Visit St. John, Des Moines - Did you know the largest grotto in the world is in Iowa?
- June 25: Ss. John & Paul's Family Fun Fest, 3:00-9:00 pm includes games, inflatable, MASS IN THE GRASS, food and Bingo.
- Learn more about the Feast of the Assumption of Mary on August 15