My Light Christmas Illustration Extravaganza!

Calling all Illustrators! 


My Light is looking for Christmas illustrations.

• One Nativity scene illustration will be posted on the home page, and other submitted ones will be posted throughout the website.

• If we get enough submissions, we would like to host a My Light Christmas Illustration Extravaganza.

• This is a great way to get your illustrations noticed.

• The only requirement is that it must fit in with the theme of the first Christmas. 

• Children's illustrations welcomed as well. Be sure to include parent's permission. Please see our Children's Submissions page for important information. 

There are several Christmas scenes in the story of the first Christmas. Be creative and be part of this initiative. Here are some great links to get you started with some ideas:

Matthew 1:18- 2:12

Luke Chapter 1

Luke Chapter 2 

For submission information, please see Illustration Guidelines. For this project only, send all work to jengladen@gmail.com

Saint John Paul II and St. John XXIII

Today, April 27, 2014 (also Divine Mercy Sunday) marks the canonization of two great saints: St. John Paul II and St. John XXIII. God has blessed us with these two saints and intercessors we have. Below are the official Vatican prayers of our newest saints!  Saint John Paul II, Pray for us! St. John XXIII, Pray for us! 

 Vatican prayer:  Saint John Paul II

Oh, St. John Paul, from the window of heaven, grant us your blessing! Bless the church that you loved and served and guided, courageously leading it along the paths of the world in order to bring Jesus to everyone and everyone to Jesus. Bless the young, who were your great passion. Help them dream again, help them look up high again to find the light that illuminates the paths of life here on earth.

May you bless families, bless each family! You warned of Satan’s assault against this precious and indispensable divine spark that God lit on earth. St. John Paul, with your prayer, may you protect the family and every life that blossoms from the family.

Pray for the whole world, which is still marked by tensions, wars and injustice. You tackled war by invoking dialogue and planting the seeds of love: pray for us so that we may be tireless sowers of peace.

Oh St. John Paul, from heaven’s window, where we see you next to Mary, send God’s blessing down upon us all.

Amen.

Vatican prayer:  Saint John XXIII

Dear Pope John,

Your simplicity and meekness carried the scent of God and sparked in people’s hearts the desire for goodness. You spoke often of the beauty of the family gathered around the table to share bread and faith: pray for us that once again true families would live in our homes.

With outstretched hands you sowed hope, and you taught us to listen for God’s footsteps as he prepares a new humanity: help us have a healthy optimism of defeating evil with good.

You loved the world with its light and darkness, and you believed that peace is possible: help us be instruments of peace at home and in our communities.

With paternal gentleness you gave all children a caress: you moved the world and reminded us that hands have been given to us not for striking, but for embracing and drying tears.

Pray for us so that we do not limit ourselves to cursing the darkness but that we bring the light, bringing Jesus everywhere and always praying to Mary. Amen.

Easter 2014

Christ has risen! We at My Light Magazine hope everyone is having a great start to the Easter Season.
"But Easter is over, " you might say. Is it?  No! It is just beginning! When Jesus rose from the dead on Easter Sunday, He spent fifty days appearing to His disciples and teaching even more.

As Catholics, these days are the entire season of Easter. It concludes on the feast of the Ascension when Jesus goes up to Heaven to be with the Father. The day of His suffering on the cross is over and what followed was even more powerful than death: The Resurrection! Through His resurrection, He conquered death and saved the world from sin.

In this issue we have new content. In the Puzzle section we have an Easter

Can you find all the words? We also have a poem, two stories and a few new Bible stories. Be sure to see the story of

where My Light's talented illustrator Jack Foster created a wonderful illustration.


Enjoy this issue! And Happy Easter!


Jennifer Gladen
Editor-in-Chief

Catholic School's Week 2014

Welcome to Catholic School's Week. We are right in the middle of a week filled with prayer, service, thanksgiving and celebrations all in honor of our Catholic Schools. Many schools celebrate with a theme for each day as a way to honor the students, faculty and parents for all their hard work during the year. We often see Teacher Appreciation Day, Student Appreciation Day, Parent Appreciation Day, an open house , and of course a closing liturgy. Each celebration is important because each person or thing they celebrate is crucial to the success of Catholic Schools:

Teachers: They work hard and give everything they have to teaching our children , often at a lower salary than other teachers.They not only pass on knowledge to us, but they pass on the faith. Faith and morals complete us as people, and they complete our education.

Parents: Many, many parents sacrifice everyday to send us to Catholic schools. Tuition costs rise and it gets hard for families to continue to go.However, it's all worth it when Parents, check around for tuition assistance programs in your area to help!

Students: Students work hard every day on their studies, faith and community service. They have the opportunity to serve their school and church through choir, sports, altar serving and Catholic Youth Organization (C.Y.O. ) activities. I've seen children become well rounded individuals, who have prepared for the world ahead.

For more information on Catholic School's Week, visit the National Catholic Education Association.

What are some ways your school or parish celebrated Catholic School's Week? Share them with us in the comments below.

Christmas Blessings

Thank you for your patience as we are acquiring new content. 

I pray your Christmas was a blessed one filled awe and joy. I attended both the Christmas Vigil Mass and the Christmas Day one. Both were beautiful and as miraculous as always. Which is your favorite? 


Today is the Baptism of our Lord. This marks the end of the Christmas season and the beginning of Jesus' mininstry. Our newest posts this time are Christmas and advent poems. Both Patricia Moore and Donna Clark Goodrich did a fantastic job capturing the essence of Christmastime. 

We are now preparing for those familiar Bibles stories and Parables that Jesus teaches us in the coming weeks. We also will approach Lent and Easter shortly. 

If you would like to send something to My Light Magazine, be sure to submit your work to Assistant Editor Lisa at myligihtsubs@gmail.com   The old email addresses aren't being monitored as often and your submission is likely to be missed. 

Please be sure to send a professional submission, including the cover letter, bio, and links you want us to share. PLEASE BE SURE you have checked the guidelines. To improve the quality of the site, we are being more selective.

God bless and enjoy these few weeks of Ordinary Time - which we know there is never just "ordinary" when it comes to Jesus.