APRIL: We rejoice to arrive at the Easter season! We embrace the renewed life we’ve gained as a result of a season of penitence and reflection. Easter season presents an opportunity to refresh our acquaintance with Laudato si’, the encyclical on our stewardship of this living planet that sustains us. A happy secular parallel is that it’s National Garden Month as well as Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month.

You may wish to participate in the Novena of Grace through the intercession of Saint Francis Xavier (4-12). Or join in the World Day of Prayer for Vocations aligned with Good Shepherd Sunday (25) and celebrate Religious Brothers Day (May 1). Secular observances sharing our commitment to renewed life include World Health Day (7), International Workers Day (May 1), Earth Day (22), and Arbor Day (30). Our Jewish friends commemorate the Holocaust (7), while Muslims neighbors observe a month of Ramadan (beginning 12).

You may download TAKE FIVE FOR FAITH in the following file formats:

PLEASE NOTE: To offer parish bulletin editors and web editors more flexibility, TAKE FIVE FOR FAITH weekly inserts do not include artwork. If you are looking for artwork, we encourage you to search under Google Images online. (Hint: Select the tools link in Google Images to search for art labeled for reuse.)

• PDF: Paste into word-processing program as art or print as one-page handout. See details below for placing PDFs in WORD or PUBLISHER or converting PDFs to black and white. 
• RTF: Open in word-processing program and adapt/reformat as you wish.

To VIEW a file: 

1. Click the desired PDF or RTF file link. 
2. The file will automatically download into and be visible in your web browser OR you will be prompted to download the file.

To DOWNLOAD a file:

1. Right-click the desired PDF or RTF link (or simply click the link, depending on the browser you are using). 
2. Select "Save Target As..." or "Save Link Target As..."
3. Indicate where to save the file on your computer and file will download.
4. Open PDF file in Adobe Acrobat Reader or RTF file in a word-processing program.

Note if you are working in a program that doesn't allow for PDF files to be inserted as images (such as WORD or PUBLISHER):

1. Open the PDF in Acrobat.
2. Choose "File" and then "Export to."
3. Select "Image" and then "jpeg."
4. Name and save.
5. Go into your layout program (Publisher/Word), choose Insert/Pictures, and insert the jpeg of the Take Five.
6. To convert to black-and-white, go to the image control: color section and select the drop down menu that says automatic and change it to grayscale. Then hit ok.

To CONVERT a color PDF to BLACK-and-WHITE in INDESIGN:

Save the final file as a grayscale pdf. To do so:

1. Open the document and select Print to pdf format.
2. When the print menu appears, select output and change the color to composite gray. The pdf file saved will be in black and white rather than color. 

* Many other desktop publishing programs have similar steps as those mentioned above to convert color graphics to grayscale.