Welcome to the New RE Year

Greetings!

I'm Paul Rubio, the catechist-teacher for the grades 7/8 Religious Education class on Tuesday evenings at Ascension.  This year is my 14th year as a catechist in the program.

I was born on the North Side of Chicago.  I have lived in Oak Park for over 30 years, growing up on teh far south side almost directly south of Ascension Church.  I attended local public schools: I am Irving Elementary School Class of 2002, Julian Middle School Class of 2005, and OPRFHS Class of 2009.

After being part of the St. Giles Family Mass Community for many years, my family switched to Ascension.  I attended Religious Education here on Tuesday evenings in grades 7 and 8.

I serve at Mass as a lector and Eucharistic minister, and I've been trained as a thurifer with incense.  I  have been part of the Knights of Columbus Council at Ascension since it formed 8 years.

I have a MLIS degree from Dominican University.  I currently work behind the scenes as a cataloger at the Addison Public Library.

My librarian work aligns closely with my role as a catechist, in that I have the enjoyable opportunity to provide information to others that is meaningful.

I look forward to all that we will experience together this year as we encounter God's presence in class and beyond.

On this blog website, I will post links to resources I share in class that supplement the curriculum.

Please feel free to contact me with questions, comments, other feedback, etc.  My e-mail is the best way to reach me, and I have provided it to all the parents.  I make a point of responding to any email from a person by the end of the next calendar day.

I am grateful for the opportunity I have to accompany your daughters and sons in RE class this year.

God's blessings,

Paul

A fun fact about me is that I immensely enjoy train travel.  So far this year, I've done 5 trips via Amtrak, with one more later this month to St. Louis for the Beatification Mass of Fulton Sheen.

Here I am posing next to a cut-out figure of St. Carlo Acutis at the National Shrine of Pope St. John Paul II in Washington, D.C. I was photographed by a fellow visitor.

Here I am inside the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.,  photographed by a fellow visitor.  It's my favorite place to visit outside Chicagoland.  I highly recommend a visit to both shrines, which are within less than a mile of each other.