PRACTICAL TAKEAWAY FOR ADULTS Identify and choose one concrete “frog” this week and bring it to Confession before Christmas. Name the thing you’ve been avoiding. Make the appointment – go to Confession! Let grace do the rest. PRACTICAL TAKEAWAY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE Pick one small thing you’ve been avoiding— prayer, kindness, forgiveness, reducing screens—and do it today. Take the challenge: Identify and then Eat that frog.

PRACTICAL TAKEAWAY FOR ADULTS Jesus Christ cannot be King of your life if something else rules your schedule, your habits, or your moral choices. 1. Establish one non-negotiable prayer time – for everyday - this week. • 15 minutes minimum – set this before the day is done! • Same time every day. • No phone in hand. Establish a “First 15 Rule” (Christ first, not the phone) • Before touching your phone in the morning: 1 minute – make the Sign of the Cross 5 minutes – Scripture (bold italics format: “Lord, speak, your servant is listening.” 5 minutes – gratitude list (3 things) 4 minutes – intercession for someone • This dethrones the phone as the first voice of the day and enthrones Christ. PRACTICAL TAKEAWAY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE Let Christ Be King in How You Use Your Time For young people, the modern “king” is the screen. Screen time shapes affections, decisions, identity. Steps to “Jump Off the Log”: 1. Set a daily “King’s Hour.” One hour with: • No phone • No gaming • No social media Instead: • Pray • Do homework • Talk to your family • Read something meaningful 3. Before every major choice, pray this 5-second prayer: “Jesus, be King of this moment.” Christ is King of the universe. Today we ask Him to be King of my life! Not just by decision. But by action. Not just frogs who decide to jump… but disciples who actually leap into a life ruled by Jesus Christ who is the King of kings and Lord of lords.

We are not called to be a comfortable church. We are called to be a consecrated Church—a people through whom God’s grace moves outward. TAKEAWAYS For Adults “Ask this week: Where will God’s grace flow through me?” One concrete act outside the church walls—one person blessed, encouraged, invited, forgiven, or helped. For Young People “Don’t be a bottle—be a river.” Let one friend see your faith. One kind word. One act of courage. One person you lift up. May this altar make us worshippers, but may the doors make us missionaries.

Here’s a simple takeaway for this week: • Choose one way to live as a temple of the God. o Maybe it’s going to confession and letting Christ cleanse your temple: CONFESSION. o Maybe it’s serving in a ministry or helping someone in need: SERVING Takeaway for Young People: This week, choose one small way to make your heart more like this church — a place where God is welcome. • If you’re online: before you post or text, ask, “Would I say this if Jesus were beside me?” • If you’re feeling lost or stressed: remember this – stop for a minute, and invite Jesus in. So today remember that Buildings without people are empty. People without God are incomplete. But when God dwells in His people, then the Church becomes a beacon of hope for the world. And to mark this holy day, we light the candles around the walls—just as was done when our church was first consecrated. This custom reaches deep into Scripture: When Moses built the Tabernacle, God commanded that a lamp burn continually—a sign that His presence and Word were alive among His people. Centuries later, Judas Maccabeus purified and rededicated the Temple after it had been defiled. For eight days, the people celebrated and lit the lamps again, showing that God’s light and covenant had been restored. All of this points to Christ, the Light of the World. Through Him, God no longer dwells only in a building made by human hands, but in the hearts of His people—the living temple of the Holy Spirit. So, as these candles shine today, they remind us that this church—and each one of us—is a visible sign of God’s dwelling among His people. Let us rededicate not just these walls, but our lives—that the light of Christ may shine in and through us.

Here are two simple practices for this week: 1. Pause Daily to Look Upward o Before you touch your phone in the morning, pause and pray: “Lord, open my eyes to You and to others today.” o One sentence. It shifts your gaze upward before the day pulls you inward. 2. Notice One Lazarus in your life o Each day ask: “Who is at my gate?” o It might be a co-worker who feels invisible, a classmate no one sits with, a neighbor who’s isolated, a family member who’s carrying a silent burden. These are not heroic acts. They are daily habits. Habits that train the heart to resist the pull to go inwards by looking upward to Jesus who will then have us look outward to those around us. If our whole parish really tried to live this way: We would be a community where no one is invisible, where love is more than words, where everyone has the opportunity to be accompanied Resist the pull inwards by looking upward to then look outward!

Reflection: Your pain—whatever it is does not have to have the last word. It does not have to define you! Lift your eyes. Lift them higher – all the way to the cross of Jesus Christ! The way through suffering is not inward. But upward—to the Cross – where Jesus reigns as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords! For from the Cross flows life. From the Cross flows hope. From the Cross flows triumph.

Takeaways For Adults This week – resolve to resist the screen(s) – begin making it a eulogy virtue! ----perhaps when you come home from work to look at your spouse. Look at your children. Give them your undivided attention. That is humility. That is love. For Students When you are with friends—put away the phone. Listen. Pay attention When you are on the screens and you are called by your parents for a task, chore and dinner go the 1st time – the very first time! It will make you the kind of person … everyone wants to be with. Aim for eulogy virtues!