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The following
outline highlights
how the themes of Lent are presented in each of the year levels
of the Canadian
catechetical resources. This will show
the deepening of understanding with
each age level. Catechists are
encouraged to engage themselves in meaningful preparation so that the
children
can experience more fully the richness and the essence of the Lenten
season.
To prepare for the
catechetical lessons, catechists are encouraged to:
- Read the
entire Units of the Born of the Spirit resource to gather the
particular focus of the Lenten themes. Carefully
check out the aim(s) and how the content supports the aims.
- Highlight
the Scripture passages for each theme in the Units.
Discover how the Scripture passage supports and
heightens the understanding of lent.
- Discover the
symbols, rituals and prayer forms that are suggested.
Discover their important connections to the Scripture
passage, the content of the message and the suggested prayers.
- Reflect on
what you will need to do to be better informed about the Lenten themes
so that the children you teach can experience the themes with depth.
- Prepare a
list of materials, e.g. visuals, symbols, that will support the Lenten
themes.
- Identify
what Lenten celebrations and activities your parish will offer. Encourage your catechetical group to attend
parish Lenten celebrations and activities.
The liturgical
color of Lent is
purple. The colour represents
preparation and repentance. The forty
days of Lent are a time of preparation for the fifty days of Easter. Lent is a time of preparation for Baptism
(for those seeking Baptism – the catechumens), and a time of
preparation for
the renewal of baptismal promises (for those already baptized). Part of this preparation invites our
acknowledgement of sinfulness, conversion and the presence and
celebration of a
merciful God.
As we emphasize
the importance of
celebrating and living the Lenten themes, we will remember that Lent
leads us
to Easter. The entire liturgical year
is rooted in Christianity’s principal feast – Easter, which celebrates
the
passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. Just
as God could not leave Jesus dead, God will not leave
us dead. We will not allow those things in
our lives
that resemble death and sin to dominate. The
Lenten season will lift us to new life through prayer,
fasting and
almsgiving.
The following
overview of the
Lenten themes can be an ideal resource for:
·
The new catechist.
·
Experienced catechists seeking a stronger focus.
·
Pastors/pastoral ministers who are
unfamiliar with the
Canadian catechetical program, Born of the Spirit.
·
The RCIA catechist who is centred on the
catechetical
process and the rites of initiation.
·
All persons wishing to know more about the Canadian
catechetical resources.
(Material for
the following outlines has been adapted from the Catechist Manuals):
IN GOD’S IMAGE – EARLY
CHILDHOOD/KINDERGARTEN
Theme 17
‘In God’s
Image’ offers
modules of learning to assist the young child to experience God.
The liturgical
seasons of the
Church year are outlined in the module called ‘Church Times’. The catechist will refer to and employ the
material from the module ‘Church Times’ to the appropriate liturgical
time, and
involve the child in the festive celebration of the Christian story as
it
unfolds throughout each season.
WE BELONG TO GOD
– Year One
Unit 6, Themes 18, 19, 20, 21,
22
The
children enter into the
celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus by way of the
symbols of
Lent and Easter. The prayer space is a
table, covered with a purple cloth. The
Lenten symbols are gathered on this table. Each
week during Lent, and as each catechetical theme is
experienced by
the group, one of the initiation symbols is placed in the Lenten basket
–
water, candle, oil, cross, palm.
The symbol
of table:
Remembering the
image in the
Bible, of God preparing a banquet table to which all nations are
invited (Is.
25:9), the table also becomes a symbol of this desire of God.
Theme 18
is experienced
during the first week of Lent, and the table is prepared with a purple
cloth. The Scriptures will highlight
Isaiah’s vision where a wonderful story is told about God:
“God wants to create a feast for all
people…..and people from all over the world will be invited”. The story of the feeding of the five
thousand (John 6:1-13) is offered. In
this story Jesus gives new meaning to Isaiah’s vision of a great feast
for all
people by making the feast happen, and establishing that God wants to
gather
everybody together at a meal where no one is excluded.
Theme 19 highlights
people
showing by their actions what God wants for all people.
In this way, God’s will is done. The
children are to discover new ways to
model God’s will and to respond to Jesus’ invitation to love as he
loved. The compassion of God will be felt
if human
beings feed, clothe, welcome and visit others.
The children
will recall past
stories of how Jesus shows His love for others.
The
prayer basket created in Theme
17 becomes the holder of the children’s prayer cards on which they
have
written or drawn a prayer showing their care for others.
Gathered around
the Lenten table,
experiencing the stories of the importance of water in our lives, the
children
hear how Jesus used water to give drink to the thirsty woman at the
well. The water given to the woman by
Jesus would
take away all thirst. It would give her
new life. The children are asked if
they would like to drink from the water of Jesus. One
of the children is then invited to reverently place a bottle
of water in the Lenten basket on the table as a sign and commitment of
their
desire to follow Jesus. A thank you
prayer for water is offered with an invitation to love others as Jesus
loves
us.
Theme 20 – Through
experiencing the story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10), the children hear
the
invitation to change our hearts, to love even when it is difficult. Zacchaeus had to change his ways so that his
life would reflect his friendship with Jesus. The
children have the opportunity to discover how Jesus
showed His
kindness to Zacchaeus, how Zacchaeus responded to change his heart, and
how his
actions were a witness. The children
are gathered around the Lenten table and, following a moment of silent
prayer,
each child identifies a person who needs their love.
They add the names of the persons to the Lenten basket.
The catechist
and children recall
the story of the blind man (Mark 8:22-26) as they discuss the
importance of light. The blind man thanked
Jesus and praised
God. To show the importance of light,
each child places a candle in the basket, followed by a spontaneous
Lenten
prayer, thanking and praising God for light.
Theme 21: This
theme focuses on the gift of forgiveness. The
children discover that to forgive is to
become more loving. In the Our Father, we ask God to forgive us, we
promise to
forgive others and to welcome them into our circle of friends. Following the children’s recall of what the
Our Father says about forgiveness, they receive the story of the woman
seeking
forgiveness from Jesus (Luke 7:3-50, adapted version).
The children think about what happened to
the woman who had shown so much love and need for forgiveness. The children discover that when we forgive,
we are children of God.
The children
are gathered around
the Lenten table where they talk about the uses of oil, and how oil was
important in Jesus’ time for the same reasons. To
show the importance of oil, a child will place a small
jar of oil
into the Lenten basket. The experience
will close with a thank you prayer to God for oil for the anointing at
their
Baptism and for His forgiveness.
Theme 22 provides an
opportunity to enter into the events of Holy Week.
The Easter story is not shared with the children until
after
Easter. The children begin by recalling
the event of Palm Sunday. They are
gathered around the Lenten table where they joyfully recall Jesus’
triumphant
entry into Jerusalem. Around this
table, they will hear the Lord’s Supper narrative (Luke 22:19-20), and
will
discover that the friends of Jesus began to do exactly what Jesus had
asked
them to do during the meal. Friends of
Jesus today want to continue what Jesus had done, and so gather on
Sundays to
celebrate the Eucharist, a sacred thanksgiving meal.
A cross made
from palm branches
or wood becomes a focus of discussion and ritual. Children
are invited to attend the Good Friday liturgy when
people will kneel down and remember that Jesus died on a cross, giving
His life
for us in love. A way in which
Christians remember the death of Jesus is by signing themselves with
the sign
of the cross, remembering Jesus’ great love for us.
The children are invited to pray the sign of the cross,
remembering why we sign ourselves. A
child reverently places the cross into the Lenten basket followed by
the
children thanking God for the great love of Jesus.
A Lenten
celebration and ritual
that will help children celebrate their belonging to God is offered.
WE
BELONG TO THE LORD JESUS –
Year Two
The Year Two
resource is a
catechesis on the Eucharist. Throughout
the year, the focus is on the four main parts of the Eucharistic
celebration –
the Gathering Rite, Liturgy of the Word, Liturgy of the Eucharist, and
Sending
Forth.
In Unit 7, we
enter into the
celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus by way of the
Eucharistic
Prayer. Unit 7 explores the action of blessing. It reflects on the activity and meaning of
blessing and praising God.
Theme 16: The
children recall what God has done
through creation, the people who love, and through the gift of Baptism. Together, they recall prayers, songs and
times during the Sunday liturgy when we hear words of praise and
blessing. A litany of praise, and an
introduction of
the Eucharistic Prayer, beginning with the preface prayer is
experienced.
Theme 17: Reflection
and activity continue around the
Eucharistic Prayer. The children hear
how Jesus and his friends shared memories and stories at a special
meal, and
discover more about how the Christian community remembers Jesus. The remembering of God’s intervention in the
lives of His people in these stories invites the children to pray
prayers of
thanksgiving to God. The children
reflect on how things change and on the activity of the Spirit on the
bread and
wine. They learn how the Holy Spirit
comes upon the bread and wine, transforming these gifts into Jesus
Christ. They recognize that the gathered
community
is fed with the food that is Jesus Christ every Sunday.
The children
are invited to sing
the acclamations for the Eucharistic Prayer. At
the Eucharist, we ask that the Holy Spirit come, not
only on the
gifts of bread and wine, but also upon us, to transform us, to make us
become
on in the family of God.
The children
are invited into a
‘dance for joy’, using streamers and ribbons as an expression of their
joy in
the Spirit. ‘Spirit’ songs are sung as
prayer of joy.
Unit 8 explores the
action
of breaking. It reflects on the
activity and meaning of the bread being broken for us, and the cup
being poured
out for us.
Theme 18 invites the
children to experience the prayer ‘the Our Father’ as the assembly’
prayer:
- for daily bvread
- for forgiveness.
The
‘Our Father’ prayer is sealed
with the sign of peace. The Our Father
and the sign of peace are intended to prepare us
to partake of the gift of the Lord’s Body and Blood. The children will
be led
to recognize the need for forgiveness and the desire to ask God for
what is
needed most in their lives. Several
shared stories assist children to see receiving and offering
forgiveness as an
expression of their love for one another. The
children celebrate God’s gift of peace in a circle
ritual around the
table, praying the Our Father with gestures, singing the Lamb of God
and
sharing a sign of peace.
Theme 19 offers the
narration of the Passion story. The
children enter into the powerful story of the suffering and death of
Jesus. They are invited to understand
the ritual action of the breaking of the bread and the drinking of the
cup as a
symbolic way of making present the death of Jesus.
The children experience the Passion story from Luke’s
Gospel in
segments: Jesus in the Garden, Peter
Denies Jesus, the Trial of Jesus, the Death of Jesus, the Burial of
Jesus and
the Empty Tomb. After each segment, the
children are invited to pause, to share their feelings, to ask
questions and to
pray. A mime on the Passion story is
offered as a way for them to experience Jesus breaking Himself out of
love for
others. The children are encouraged to
listen again to the story at the Palm Sunday liturgy.
Theme 20 offers the
image
of Jesus as one who serves (Luke 22:25-27). Jesus
broke bread to give of Himself to others. The
children are invited to discuss, reflect
and to grow in awareness of what it means to serve others.
The story of Jesus washing the disciples
feet (John 13:1-15) is shared. A ritual
of service from the Manual is suggested so that the children can
experience
personally, the washing of the feet around the table.
They begin to understand that as they feast around the
table of
the Lord, they are invited to service.
IN THE SPIRIT
WE BELONG –
Year
Three
Units 7, 8 – Themes 15, 16,
17, 18, 19 & 20
Theme 15 invites the
children to enter into the season of Lent. Lent
is a time for all of God’s people to prepare for
Easter, and to
experience the main symbols of the Church’s memory of the Easter event
– people
of God, water, candle, oil, blessed palm. The
children enter into the vivid images of God’s creation
in Psalm 104
to deepen their appreciation of creation and that God’s Spirit
continues in all
of creation. They savour gifts of God’s
creation and once again discover the Holy Spirit as the Lord and giver
of life. Through activity, prayer and
ritual, the
children are invited to bless the Lord.
Theme 16 emphasizes the
role of human beings in creation. Gathered
around the symbol of the ‘tent’, the children
reflect on the
gifts of God and on the grandeur of God’s creations by experiencing
Psalm 8. They discover the important place
of people
in God’s creation, and that God invites them to partner with Him
continuing the
work of God’s creation here on earth. The
children engage in the activity ‘salt dough creations’
(their
handprints or footprints and items of nature imprinted into dough). Gathering around the purple cloth and the
basket of plenty, they are bringing the “people of God” to the basket
as images
of God who created humankind.
Theme 17 encourages the
children to experience that they are “images of God” in creation, and
to
identify how they can make a difference by what they do.
The children explore ways to care for the
earth and for each other. They have an
opportunity to engage in an “earthy” activity and to prepare a
celebration
honouring creation. As part of a Lenten
reflection, they reflect on the importance of water in their lives and
how
Jesus used water in some of the Scripture stories.
The children remember the use of water at their Baptism
and the
new life they have received. They
reverently place a small bottle of water in the basket of plenty. The children experience the celebration from
the Manual – praising and blessing God for creation.
Theme 18 explores the
activity of the Holy Spirit as the power that makes possible
reconciliation and
forgiveness in our world. The children
look at the experience of reconciliation in the work of Jesus, who
shows us how
God was a force seeking to bring healing to broken relationships,
returning
people to the community, and offering reconciliation to those who have
alienated
themselves from others.
Within
the story of Zacchaeus and
the call of Matthew (Matthew 9:9-13) and other shared stories, children
explore
the experience and reality of sin. They
see how Jesus forgives and calls people to repentance.
By naming their own personal experiences of
unfairness, children are invited to look at how they can be part of
changing
unfair actions. They grow in
understanding their own need for forgiveness. Recalling
the light of Christ they received at Baptism,
they gather in
prayer around the tent and place a candle into the basket of plenty.
Theme 19 invites the
children to reflect on the experience of forgiveness as Jesus
understood
it. They will:
·
explore the kinds of choices they
make and the
consequences of their actions;
·
listen to, and share questions and
insights around the
theme of forgiveness, focusing on the parable of the prodigal son (Luke
15:11-24);
·
experience a penitential service
(from the Manual)
where the children listen to God’s Word calling us to change our hearts;
·
reflect on their readiness to
celebrate the sacrament
of Reconciliation.
(This theme is
an excellent companion to the Child’s Book – ‘WE DISCOVER GOD’S
PATHS’ – a
resource for parents
and children to assist in initiating the child to the Sacrament of
Reconciliation.)
In the
penitential service, the
children listen to God’s Word calling His people to change their
hearts, and
the power of the Holy Spirit to enable them to forgive.
The symbol of
oil speaks of
change of heart, of transformation. The
repentant woman anoints Jesus’ feet with precious oil.
The children are invited to place a small
jar of oil into the basket of plenty.
Theme 20 continues the
themes of forgiveness and reconciliation. The
children are invited to understand forgiveness and
reconciliation as
a symbolic way of making present the death of Jesus.
They hear and enter the themes by way of discussion, brief
reflections and prayers of acclamation, the powerful story of the
suffering and
death of Jesus through the narration of the Passion story.
As they are
gathered around the
table with a plate and cup, the children are reminded that when we
gather on
Sundays, we always remember and celebrate this story.
On Passion Sunday we listen to the whole Passion story. The children will add a palm or a cross made
of palms into the basket of plenty. After
experiencing the entire Passion story, the children
create
impressions of it by engaging in a mime (found in the Manual), and by
drawing. They are sent forth to discuss
the Passion
Story with their families.
COME AND
SEE - Year 4
Units 7, 8 –
themes 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20
The gathering
symbol of COME AND
SEE is the tree stump. As a symbol of
Jesus Christ, the true stump evokes many meanings.
With a purple cloth around the base of the stump, Lent is
introduced as a prayerful time for Christians to prepare for Easter. From the earliest times of the Church, Lent
has been marked by three practices: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. As they begin their Lenten journey, the
children will explore these practices.
The themes in
Unit 7 present to
the children the image of Jesus derived from the Gospel of John:
·
the story of Jesus’ conversation with
Nicodemus “about
being born anew”.
·
the story of the Samaritan woman and
the meaning of
“waiting”.
·
that Jesus is the one who shows us
the Father.
Theme 15 introduces
the
children to the gathering space of the year 4 symbol ‘the stump’; the
purple
cloth is placed around the stump by the children, and they pray
together the
Lenten prayer.
The children
explore the mystery
of the wind. Finding the images of
wind, they begin to gather a better understanding of how the Holy
Spirit works
in our lives. As the children
experience the story of Nicodemus and Jesus (John 3:1-12), they too are
challenged with Jesus’ words, “Don’t be surprised, Nicodemus when I say
you
must be born anew. The wind blows where
it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it
comes from
or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit”. The children are invited to acknowledge
their own trust in how they seek Jesus, and how they are challenged to
make
decisions based on the ‘way of Jesus’ (like Nicodemus).
The children explore with the catechist how
we are born again of water and the Holy Spirit by focusing on the Holy
Spirit
filling their hearts with God’s love and life at Baptism.
Their task and ours is to keep our hearts
open to the winds of the Holy Spirit. Gathered
around the Lenten prayer space, the group prays
for the gift of
the Holy Spirit and for strength to be open to that gift.
Theme 16 introduces
the
children to another of nature’s great gifts: water. They explore some
of the
ways water functions in our world through a guided imaginary journey of
water.
The children
are invited to enter
into the larger Christian story through John 4:4-42 and to see their
life
experiences of watering in the light of the Gospel story.
The symbol of this narrative of Jesus and
the Samaritan woman is living water or “watering”.
Like the Samaritan woman, the children are invited to find
Jesus
as their source of living water. By
accepting the way and life of Jesus, they can understand themselves as
sources
of water – “watering each other back to life”. As
he did for the Samaritan woman, Jesus reveals the
goodness of each
child, helping him/her to know themselves.
The children
reflect on ways they
can share the love of Jesus being “living water” with others.
If a parish
member(s) is/are
preparing for Christian initiation into the church, the children can
prepare
with the catechist a list of questions they might ask them about their
Lenten
journey as well as their insights on the story of Jesus and the
Samaritan
woman. The children will take the Scripture story home to their
families.
Theme 17 introduces
a life
story to the children about seeing “with new eyes”.
Sometimes beautiful things are truths are very simple and
close
to us – but we don’t see them. Who will help us see them?
The children
are invited to
listen with Philip as he asks similar questions of Jesus.
Philip asks: “Lord, show us the Father, and
we shall be satisfied”. (John 14:8)
Philip wanted
to see God, yet God
was there all the time in the person of Jesus. Philip
had the answer to his longing in his friendship
with Jesus. If he learned how to see Jesus
with new
eyes, he would see the Father.
After the
children have explored
the story of Philip, they are invited to remember and reflect again on
who
Jesus is for them. They remember on
what they have “seen and heard”. They
recall stories that show Jesus’ work of healing, forgiving and caring. Each child chooses one of these stories and
prepares an illustration of it. They
present their picture and story to the group. The
pictures are assembled and are displayed on the
branches of the
Lenten Jesus tree. The Jesus tree is
placed in the Lenten space near the tree stump.
The children
reflect in prayer on
who Jesus is for them and that God and Jesus are one.
The guided prayer is offered from the Manual.
The themes in Unit
8 help
the children journey through the most sacred time of the church year –
the time
when the church celebrates the passion and death of Jesus and his
victory on
the cross. Throughout his ministry
Jesus had critics as well as followers. Jesus
himself saw his life as a service to God and to the
little
ones. It was in obedience to this that
he went to Jerusalem.
Theme 18 begins
by
inviting the children to explore experiences where people who are
trying to do
good, run into opposition. The children
learn about the opposition that Jesus encountered during his ministry,
about
the various situations in which he was attacked for his words and
actions. Yet the evangelist Luke (9:51)
speaks of
Jesus “setting his face to Jerusalem”, with a full awareness of what
awaited
him there. The children explore the
whys of Jesus’ determination to go to Jerusalem. As
they read from Mark 11:1-11, they learn that Jesus went to
Jerusalem for the Passover to be :
·
faithful to his Jewish faith
·
faithful to his Father’s will
·
faithful to those he came to serve.
The children
prepare for and
enact the drama of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.
Having entered
into the
experience of Jesus’ trip to Jerusalem, the children are offered a true
story
of courage that is similar to the story of Jesus’ journey into
Jerusalem.
A litany of
trust in God becomes
the prayer, as they remember that Jesus reminded his friends at the
Last Supper
to trust in God’s faithfulness.
Theme 19 invites
the
gathered children and the catechist to re-enact the washing of the feet
of the
disciples at the Last Supper. The
ritual of foot washing becomes the gathering ritual as it is a
powerful,
symbolic experience of Jesus’ time; that whenever guests came to a
Jewish home,
a servant or slave would welcome them and wash their feet.
The catechist washes the feet of the
children and imitates Jesus as a person of service.
The children are encouraged to attend the Holy Thursday
liturgy
when this ritual is celebrated.
The catechist
brings together the
meaning of the washing of the feet and the Eucharist so that the
children may
better understand the gift of himself that Jesus left behind for us. As the Scripture passages from Matthew
26:26-29 and John 13:1-13 are proclaimed, the children will recognize
the two
special things Jesus enacted at the Last Supper:
·
the washing of the feet of the
disciples by Jesus is a
call to be one with him by serving others as he had served
·
the giving of the sacrament of the
Eucharist so that we
are one with him by sharing his body and blood.
The children
will better
understand the link between Jesus’ gift of his body and blood and the
obligation for those who share this gift to serve as Jesus served.
The catechist
and the children
discuss and experience the Eucharist Prayer, and by looking at a few
samples of
the Eucharistic Prayer.
The children
consider how they
can give of themselves to others as a “sacrifice of praise” to God. They sing an acclamation of praise as they
are sent forth.
Theme 20 engages
the
children in reading the Passion narrative and to act it out using the
traditional way of the Stations of the Cross. As
they experience the way of Jesus to the cross, they
reflect on the
Scripture passage from Luke’s account (Luke 23:26-49).
Following the Stations of the Cross, the
children are invited to use a ball of clay and to mould an image or a
scene
from the journey of Jesus to his passion and death that is strongest in
their
hearts.
experiencing
the
theme, a Holy Week ritual provided in the manual is highly
recommended
for the children. The families of the
children are invited to this ritual so that together with their
children they
may deepen their understanding of the meaning of Jesus’ death and his
freeing
act of forgiveness. The ritual
celebration is filled with symbols that speak of the actions of Jesus
and the
connections of the tree of the cross and the tree of life.
MAY WE BE ONE - Year 5
Units 7,8,
Themes 15, 16, 17,
18, 19. 20
The
focus and
content of May We Be One is the
Church as
sacrament in the world. The Church is
the community of God’s people where the Lord Jesus is visible, active
and
present in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Lent, a word
that means “change”
or “spring” is a time when Christians examine their lives to see if
they have
lived up to their Baptism in God’s Spirit. Lent
is a time to prepare for Easter, to examine our
Christian roots, a
time of conversion, and a time when the Church offers intense
preparation for
new members to be initiated.
Unit 7 presents
the Church as an
agent of God’s reconciliation in a broken world. The
Church celebrates Jesus’ reconciliation in Baptism, Eucharist
and Reconciliation.
In Theme
15, the children
gather around the Bible, a rock (symbol of year 5) and a basket of hope
where
they recall their memory of the season of Lent. The
green cloth of the prayer space is replaced with a purple
cloth.
The
creation
theme will be a
focus through Unit 7. The purposes of
the creation theme are:
·
to assist children to be better
prepared for the
readings of the upcoming Easter Vigil readings
·
to see creation as God’s covenant
·
to understand disorder in the world
as a breach of the
covenant
·
to see everything around us –
including us – as a gift
of God. Everything is a sign of God’s
covenant with the earth and with people, and the beginning of our story
of
Jesus.
The children
receive and reflect
on the creation story from Genesis 1-2:4
Activity pages
from the manual
explain the meaning of Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and
Holy
Saturday, and help the children to better understand the meaning of
Lent. These activities are to be a family
activity
in the home.
Theme 16 begins
with a
reaffirmation of God’s covenant and that God cares deeply about people
and this
earth. The children explore the second
account of creation in Genesis 2:5 The
catechist probes the question of good and evil with the children. Experiencing the Scripture passage from
Genesis 3:1-24, and how evil came into the world, the children discover
the
following:
·
that evil comes into the world and
our life through
temptation and pride
·
that evil comes from within the heart
·
that evil comes from wanting to be
like gods.
There is
discussion of what God
does in the face of evil. The children
identify effects of evil on society today. They
discuss how sin is hurting or breaking our
relationship with God,
with life, with one another. They look
at the face of temptation, discussing temptation situations from the
Jesus
stories, and from their own experiences. The
Scripture story from Matthew 4:1-11 shows Jesus’
example of being
tempted and his resolve to conquer these temptations.
The children
will see how our
faith tradition seeks to understand the mystery of God in the face of
evil. It is imperative that children
experience many ways to show and articulate their trust in God. They experience Psalms 95, 18, 31, and add
their own writings of psalms of trust. They
deepen their understanding of God’s covenant by
reading together
Genesis 9:8-17 and God’s promise to destroy sin rather than people, and
to remain
with them at all times, even when they are evil. God’s
love is everlasting.
Theme 17 will
invite the
children to reflect on Jesus as:
·
the living water
·
the giver of light
·
anointing us with the Spirit
·
as the crucified risen one
·
as bread of life and cup of the new
covenant.
The children
prepare to learn
about reconciliation, about God’s reconciliation of people through the
following Scripture stories:
·
John 4:3-42 (the Samaritan woman at
the well)
·
Mark 1:15 (Jesus announced that God’s
kingdom is near)
·
Mark 2:13-22 (the call of Levi)
·
Luke 7:36-50 (the penitent woman)
Jesus is living
water. To remind us of Baptism and Easter,
the
children place a small bottle of blessed
water in their basket of hope in the Lenten prayer
space. The basket is covered.
The children
learn more about the
sacrament of Reconciliation and prepare for a Penitential Service to
which
family members are invited. They are
encouraged to celebrate the sacrament of Reconciliation during this
season. The Penitential Service will serve
as a
helpful preparation for receiving the sacrament.
Unit 8 presents
the
mystery of God’s love active in the Church.
Theme 18 invites
the
children to engage in the wonder and excitement of God’s spirit at work
among
people, by exploring Jesus’ parables:
·
The good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)
·
The prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32)
·
The vineyard workers (Matthew 20:1-6)
The children
see that God’s love
is greater than just caring, concern and fairness.
The love of God is above and beyond human boundaries. It is superabundant. God
calls us to love as God loves. The washing
of the feet that Jesus modeled
shocks us into seeing how much God loves us.
The children
examine three
miracles of Jesus:
·
healing the lone woman on the Sabbath
(Luke 13:10-17)
·
feeding the multitude (Matthew
15:32-39)
·
cure of the centurion’s servant (Luke
7:1-10)
These miracles
are not only signs
of God’s constant care, but speak of the excess of God’s love.
Gathered around
the Lenten prayer
space, the children discuss how Jesus is light in these stories because
he
“illuminates for his listeners God’s love and compassion.
They place a candle in the basket of hope to
remind us of Jesus, the light, and Easter.
The children
discover again how
the Holy Spirit is acting in and among people today, to transform them
into
people of love; by learning a true story, and other stories of love. They carry these stories of God’s
superabundant love to their homes.
Theme 19 focuses
the
children on the meaning and significance of ‘anointing’ in our faith
tradition,
particularly in the context of the Chrism Mass. The
children examine oil, which is a gift of nature from God as a
sign of joy and fullness.
The children
learn about the uses
of oil in various contexts throughout the Scriptures:
·
1 Samuel 9:26- 10:1a (the anointing
of Saul as king
signified that a king received the power of God and that Kings had to
do for
people what God would do).
·
Acts 10:38 (Peter proclaims that God
anointed Jesus
with the Holy Spirit)
·
Luke 4:16-21 (the beginning of Jesus’
preaching
ministry, and the declaration that Jesus is anointed by the Spirit).
The children
remember that they
are anointed with God’s Spirit in Baptism and in Confirmation (if
already
confirmed). They discover why Bishops
and priests are anointed in the sacrament of Holy Orders by reading and
discussing Bishop Eugene Cooney’s letter. They
place a small bottle of oil into the basket of hope.
A visit to the
parish church by
the children is encouraged with the pastor who will speak to them about
the
origins and uses of the oils and the rituals associated with them. Family members are invited to participate in
this visit to the church and to the Chrism Mass in their diocese.
Theme 20 invites
the
children to prepare to dramatize the Passion of the Lord Jesus
according to the
narrative account of John 18:1-19: 42. In
all four gospels, the passion narratives recount the
Last Supper, the
sufferings and trial of Jesus and his condemnation, crucifixion, death
and
burial.
After the
drama; the children
focus on the liturgy of Good Friday, especially the bringing of our
petitions
to God. They discover who the whole
community prays for: the Church, the pope, clergy and laity, those
preparing
for Baptism, the unity of all Christians, the Jewish people, person of
other religious
beliefs, those who do not believe in God, all in public office, and for
those
in special need. As the children focus
on the petition for those in special need; they reflect on the special
needs of
themselves, their community, their families that they want to bring to
God. Their reflection continues on
while they each construct a wooden cross.
The children
bring their crosses
into the gathering space and there the catechist proclaim 1John 4:9-10. They are centred on the verse: “so that we
could have life through him”. In
preparation for the Good Friday liturgy, the children and invited
family
members participate in the veneration of the cross ritual provided in
the
Manual. Each child brings forward
his/her cross to which has been attached the special need the family or
child
has chosen.
The catechist
encourages all
children to participate in the celebrations of Holy Thursday, Good
Friday and
the Easter Vigil.
YOU SHALL BE
MY WITNESSES –
Year Six
Unit 7, 8 –
Themes 16, 17, 18,
19, 20, 21
The
season of
Lent is presented
as a time when Christians examine their lives to see if they have lived
up to
their Baptism in God’s Spirit.
Unit 7
focuses on the
three main Lenten activities for Christians: prayer, fasting and
almsgiving.
Theme 16
will place
emphasis on prayer and opportunity will be given to the
children to be
contemplative by entering into the parable of the Prodigal Son.
The children
enter into the
spirit of the season of Lent by sharing important information about the
season
and by assisting the catechist with the preparation of the prayer space. The ‘lantern’ (symbol for year 6 catechesis)
is not lit at the prayer space, just as the Paschal candle is put away
in the church during this season.
Gathered around
the table with
the Word, the group recalls the story of St. Joseph, the patron saint
of
workers and the poor. They are invited
to look at the Italian Lenten custom when Italians welcome everyone,
especially
the poor to a meal. This is a perfect
Lenten custom, because it combines, prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Prayers and songs are sung in honour of
Joseph, meatless dishes are served, and a collection is taken for the
Poor.
The group may
assemble a cross to
assist in their reflection on Holy Week, the Triduum and the cross. As they reflect on these, the catechist
proclaims from 1John 4:9-10. Special
time is given to the words “so that we could have life through him”. The children discover that not only is the
cross the symbol of the death of Jesus, but it is the symbol of God’s
love. The tree of the cross is the tree
of life.
The children
take part in the
veneration of the cross; a ritual found in the year 6 Manual. The special needs identified previously and
found on each child’s cross is joined to the group cross where each
child prays
aloud for the need(s) discussed at home.
The children go
forth in a spirit
of prayer and reverence and they are encouraged to attend the
celebrations of
Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil.
BELIEVE IN
ME – Year 7 (We are
Strong Together)
Year 7
does not
offer a separate
theme for Lent. However Unit 8 offers
the young adolescent an opportunity to explore the suffering and death
of
Jesus, the meaning of Christ’s sacrifice, and the redeeming power of
God’s
eternal love even in the midst of death.
an
opportunity for the young people to lead a parish celebration of the
Stations
of the Cross. The core of this theme is
Jesus’ faithfulness and love. Jesus
presents a challenge to love and treat people with dignity, even if
this
involves suffering. The young people
will be invited to demonstrate the courage and determination needed to
take a
stand for truth and justice.
Theme 8.2 explores
the
meaning of sacrifice and then Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross as it
relates to
the Old Testament sacrifices and the sacrifice of the Mass. The young people identify sacrifices they
might make for others. They spend their
reflection time and prayer looking at how self-denial opens our hearts
to
others. They are invited into prayers
(psalms) of thanksgiving – a natural response to a sacrifice of love.
Theme 8.3
invites the
young people to explore the meaning of Jesus’ descent to the dead and
his offer
of love and forgiveness to all people, no matter what their
circumstances. They will name ways in
which people are
excluded; name the spiritual deadness that surrounds those who are
excluded and
those who exclude; and name ways they can bring life to these
situations.
The important
key concepts are:
·
Christ’s redemptive work is for all
people in all times
and places
·
Jesus’ descent to the dead signifies
that the message
of salvation is for all people.
Appendix 2 of
the resource
manual provides background on the celebration of the season of Lent.
Appendix 5 of the resource
Manual provides further background on the season of Lent focusing on:
·
prayer, fasting and almsgiving
·
stations of the cross
·
parish bulletin board ideas for Lent
and Holy Week
·
a Holy Week Service of Remembrance
·
a Passion Play (Matthew 26: 14-27)
Ideas from
appendix 5 can be
inserted to enrich the young people’s experience of the Unit 8 themes
as well
as to deepen their involvement in liturgy.
Years 8, 9,
10 in the
‘Born of the Spirit’ Series do not provide separate themes for Lent. It is suggested that the catechist continue
presenting the regular unit themes, but use ideas from the section
(appendix 5)
to celebrate this special time of the church year.
Prepared
by Mary Comeault
Year
8 – Appendix 5 –
pp. 393 –
403
Year
9 – Appendix
7 –
pp. 336 –
351
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