level 6: grades 9 & 10 Nourishing Christian Life: Eucharist

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1 Background Notes for Teacher Reflection and Preparation ELEMENTS SACRAMENTS: Effective signs of Christ s saving presence, Communal celebrations of Christian Identity. AIMS Biblical and religious inquiry and literacy Participating in the liturgical and sacramental life of the faith community Being a person of mission CONTENT STATEMENT Through a study of the signs, symbols, rituals and words of the Eucharist, students will reflect on how the Eucharist nourishes Christian life. STANDARD See Good News For Living Refresh Document 2014 Strand Core Doctrinal Concepts Catechism Reference Jesus Christ 4. Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit is the source of the Church s unity 813, 820 Sacraments The Eucharist is both the source and summit of Christian life for the individual and community. The Eucharist celebrates reconciliation, healing and unity. We are called to service and justice through the Eucharist. The Church uses signs, symbols, rituals and words to help us express our experience of God s spirit in the midst of life. 5. The Eucharist celebrates the Paschal Mystery , Scripture 3. The Scriptures are central to the life, teaching and worship of the Church. 103,104,131,133 Christian Prayer 4. The Scriptures are a rich source of nourishment for personal meditation and liturgical prayer LINKING WITH OTHER RESOURCE BANKS Level 5 Level 6 Level 7 A Sacramental Community Vocation: Choosing a Way of Life 06

2 2 STUDENT CONTEXT Against the background of general intellectual growth, the different groups to which adolescents belong influence the ways they make sense of their experiences and find more comprehensive meaning in their lives. Many Level 6 students have limited experience of Catholic traditions, symbols and sacraments such as Eucharist. They have a developing social conscience which may lead to outreach activity. They may relate closely to a study of the connection between Eucharist and the call to action in every day life. THEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND FOR TEACHERS Sacrament : a sign that is itself what it signifies. A sacrament is not a mere representation, but is itself the very thing it represents (just as a hug not only signifies affection, it is affection). Sacraments not only show God s love, they are that love. Every sacrament has four parts to it: 1. it is an ordinary, earthly reality 2. that points beyond itself 3. making that to which it points truly and revealingly present in itself, 4. thereby transforming us who receive it. Christ is the Sacrament of God : a fully human being, who points to God, making God truly and immediately present in himself, transforming us who receive his gift of himself into what he is: one-with-god. The Church has seven sacraments: Baptism Confirmation Eucharist Reconciliation Anointing of the sick Holy Matrimony Holy Orders Each of these sacraments points to the true nature of the Church as the Body of Christ, the One who is the very presence of God-with-us. The Seven Sacraments of the Church are celebrated liturgically; and every liturgy has its own specific ritual form. It is important to understand the connection between the sacrament, the liturgy and the ritual without confusing them or separating them into totally independent realities. Sacrament, liturgy and ritual are deeply inter-related, but not the same. The following schema might help to illustrated the relationship and the distinction: Every year those who love you celebrate your birth. We call it your Birthday. And we celebrate it with a ritual called a Birthday Party. What we are actually celebrating is your life indeed, you. Now, sacrament is to liturgy what you and your life are to your Birthday; and ritual is to liturgy what a Birthday Party is to your Birthday. Let me illustrate this graphically: Sacrament Liturgy Ritual Your life Birthday Birthday party Sacrament is the life we live in God concretely, as material, human reality pointing to the invisible reality of our living and being in Christ. The life I now live physically I live by faith in the Son of God (Galatians 2:20) Your life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3) It is the whole of our life. Liturgy is the actual celebration of the sacrament (as a birthday is a celebration of a life, a person). And ritual is simply the specific way in which we celebrate the sacrament liturgically (as a birthday party is a celebration with cake, presents, balloons, or whatever the local customs happen to be).

3 3 This is true for all sacraments. We are always in God in through Christ. The sacrament is a celebration of that truth; and like all celebrations, it is a particularly intense and transforming realization of that which it celebrates. Let me illustrate by adapting the above schema, this time with reference to all the sacraments: Sacrament Liturgy Ritual Baptism Christening Immersion in water, etc Confirmation Chrismation Anointing with chrism Reconciliation Confession Absolution Anointing of the Sick Healing service Matrimony Wedding Vows Anointing with oils Orders Ordination Laying on of hands, etc Eucharist Mass Novus ordo All the sacraments point to our union with God and one another. All of them make that communion to which they point somehow present in our very celebration, thereby transforming us into our own true nature as God had always intended us to be: at-one-with-god. Sacraments of Initiation Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist are called Sacraments of Initiation. They initiate us (lead us into) the mystery of God as the communion of love we call Trinity which is revealed by the life, death and resurrection of Christ. They also lead us into the mystery of the Church, the community of all those who believe in Christ and know themselves as loved by God. It is through these sacraments that the Church becomes Christ s earthly presence, his own sacrament. The sacraments of the church, starting with Baptism and culminating in Eucharist, make the life and mission of the church visible and real. Between Baptism and Eucharist all the other sacraments of the church, as it were, live and move and have their being. Their sacred number of seven is neither merely numerical nor magical. It is, in fact, deeply, symbolic: seven is a number of completion (as in the seven days of creation), of perfection and fullness, indicating that all life, all material created reality, is a channel of divine grace and our sanctification, our being made whole and holy. Baptism Baptism means immersion. It is fundamentally about our immersion into God and into the relationships that form us as Church. Water is the basic symbol used in the celebration of this sacrament. Water is an ancient symbol of life and death; and baptism is about being immersed into God through the life and death of Christ raising us to new life in him as his Body, the Church. Baptism is not just something that is done to us as babies (or neophytes to the church) never to be done again. This is not to say that Baptism is repeatable. It would be more accurate to say that the sacrament, the mystery of immersion is something that never ceases happening. Baptism is the whole of life as it is immersed into God; which is why it doesn t matter when it is first administered ritually. Ultimately, it does not matter whether we are conscious of it or not: Baptism is not something we do, but what God does. And in a very real and humbling sense, we are never fully aware of what it means to be immersed into the infinite and eternal God. Nor is this a piece of magic or some kind of divine imposition irrespective of our will. On the contrary, our will is respected to the extent that we are capable of conscious and rational thought and decision. The extent to which we are capable of decision and understanding, we need to be aware of what is happening to us in Baptism. But even a fully conscious and rational adult will never be fully aware and cognisant of what is happening to her in Baptism; and even the newborn babe is worthy of the gift that surpasses all we could ever hope for or imagine: God s gift of God s very self, the immersion of our being into God. Through Baptism we are constantly being immersed into the mystery of life and death toward God in Christ. That is the sacrament of Baptism: God forever plunging us ever more deeply into life by drawing us ever more fully into our own True Self, who is nothing less than Christ. And here is the paradox this is achieved by way of the cross: by way of loving us so completely that death itself is transformed by love and taken up into God. Baptism is about life. And it is about death. It is an immersion into God, and an incorporation into the Body of Christ. It is a sacrament of the church it points to and makes present the Body of Christ as a community of faith.

4 4 Confirmation The sacrament of Confirmation celebrated as Chrismation with its seven gifts of the Holy Spirit is, as it were, the sign of that dynamic unity of the seven sacraments, of their interplay and all-pervading power, permeating all life, all space, time and matter as potentially sacramental. It is called, together with Baptism and Eucharist, a sacrament of initiation. This initiation is to be understood in its fullest and richest sense. It is not merely about being initiated into a club. The sacraments of initiation are about being for ever brought into the inexhaustible Mystery of God in the mystery of life, through the mystery of death which love alone opens and reveals. It is in this sense that Baptism a dying to death into life and Eucharist a thanksgiving for the gift of coming into communion as eternal life are sacraments of initiation, with the former standing, as it were, at the font, the source, and the latter at the summit of life s journey, with Confirmation as the spirit of both, uniting them in a trinity of initiatory mysteries. The sacrament of Confirmation confirms the gift of Baptism, the gift of the Holy Spirit, by an outpouring of the Spirit s gifts. As Baptism is about immersion into God, so the sacrament of Confirmation con-firms, seals and animates, the communion of Creator and creature. As Eucharist is about Christ giving thanks for the gift of communion, of which his own body and blood his very self and life are the signs, so the sacrament of Confirmation is the anointing (chrismation) of that body and the flow of that blood animating us with the very gifts that are the hallmarks of his Spirit, the Giver of life: wisdom and understanding, discernment, courage, knowledge, reverence and awe. Confirmation is the sacramental completing of what Baptism is the beginning and Eucharist is the end : union with God. We must, of course, understand these words completing, beginning and end analogically. Likewise the words seal, anoint, chrismate and confirm are metaphors. Nothing is sealed that is not simultaneously unsealed: the Spirit seals by an outpouring, an opening up and out. The anointing of the body is chrismation / christification of the whole person. The Greek word chrism is the root of the word Christ, the anointed. It is into the Body of Christ that we are chrismated, anointed, christified. It is as Christ s Body that we are con-firmed, strengthened, animated, raised up. Sacraments of Healing Being thus initiated into God, we are meant to remain free and faithful in Christ. The sacraments of healing Reconciliation and Anointing are about showing us how to remain baptised, confirmed, united. The sacraments of healing, both from evil done (Reconciliation) and from evil suffered (Anointing), are the everyday ongoing mystery of Baptism s power to set us free and enable us to grow in freedom from the power of evil. Evil done is healed by God s unambiguous love experienced as mercy, since for God sin is basically that which can be forgiven, rather than that which separates us from God, for nothing can actually do that (even though it can certainly feel like it has!). Evil suffered, such as sickness of mind and body, is likewise healed by being transformed, even when it is not cured. How? It is transformed by love, from something we fear unto death, into something we endure and, with compassion, transcend. With the help of the sacraments of healing, we learn to celebrate the baptismal mystery of divine immersion into life and death that is, into the whole of life, including pain and death. With their help we are strengthened to enter more fully and actively into the mystery of God in Christ whom we can know to the extent that we are able by the abiding and consoling presence of his Spirit, the sacrament of our communion with the God who is a triune communion of love. Sacraments of Commitment The sacraments of commitment in the service of communion (Matrimony and Orders) focus on the positive, creative reality of human experience, the possibility of relationship in love. They are there to remind us that our freedom is not just from the power of evil, but more importantly for love. Freedom in Christ is always freedom to grow in love by opening our hearts and minds and bodies to the wonder of being loved and of being enabled to love, of being love-able in the dual sense of the term. It is never the bogus kind of freedom, then, that merely enslaves us to our own self-centred desire, the so-called freedom to do whatever I want. On the contrary, it is a liberation of our desire as the undistorting of our self-centredness: it sets me free to love you and let you love me because that is God s own desire in us drawing us into communion with God. Communion. That is the operative word: sacraments of commitment in the service of communion. Let s take a closer look at them.

5 5 Let s start with a closer look at what the Catechism has to say: Through these sacraments [i.e. Matrimony and Orders] those already consecrated by Baptism and Confirmation for the common priesthood of all the faithful can receive particular consecrations. Those who receive the sacrament of Holy Orders are consecrated in Christ s name to feed the Church by the word and grace of God. On their part, Christian spouses are fortified and, as it were, consecrated for the duties and dignity of their state by a special sacrament. (Catechism 1535) Matrimony and Orders are both consecrations which means intensification of, or fortifying, the sacredness of the common priesthood of all believers, which is ours by virtue of our Baptism confirmed by our chrismation (i.e. the sacrament of Confirmation). What this means in somewhat plainer English is this: when we marry or are ordained, the priestliness that all Christians share in together by the fact that we are Christians, is intensified, made more explicit and specific in both Matrimony and Orders. In other words, it is through their link with Baptism, the sacrament of our common priestliness, that married people no less than the ordained clergy are priests of a new covenant, a new way of being in the world and before God. Exactly what then is meant by baptismal priestliness here? Simply this: in the sacrament of Baptism, as a life-long process, we are dying to self, to ego, and are receiving Christ, becoming his Body. We become a new creation since Christ is our true nature, and not the selfish, self-centred ego that I/We think we are. As this new creation we are, for each other and for the rest of creation, a priestly people. Now, a priest is simply one who brings together the human and the divine; who stands, as it were, between heaven and earth; who reconciles God and humanity; unites the transcendent and the immanent, the eternal and the temporal, the sacred and the profane and not as two separate things forced together, but in communion, which is to say, without dualism, without opposition; but also without con-fusion, without reducing the one to the other into some undifferentiated blob. That is what Christ does in himself: he unites in perfectly pacific communion. He is the priest in whose priestliness we share as a community of faith and practice by our immersion (Baptism) into him who unites life and death and raises them up to God. And let me stress: we do so not as individuals in a community, but precisely as community: it is a communal and relational priesthood; it is never exclusively ours or mine. That is what makes it catholic. This baptismal priesthood is then sacramentally expressed and lived in Holy Matrimony and Holy Orders, as the Catechism makes clear. Eucharist Finally, Eucharist, the great sacrament of our becoming: The word eucharist comes from the Greek word for giving-thanks ; and this thanks giving is first and foremost Christ s own act of thanking God: it is the action within the Triune God, the self-giving act of the Son thanking the Father. That action is the Holy Spirit. In the liturgy of the Mass (a word that means sent ), we celebrate Christ s Eucharist, his thanks giving; and we join our own to his: we enter into deepest communion with him by doing the very thing that defines his own person: we give thanks. In doing so, we become that action. It is in that action which is always Christ s own we become one with him by sharing in his Spirit, the Holy Spirit who is God precisely because the Holy Spirit is the love between the Father and the Son expressed in the Son s giving thanks to the Father by giving himself completely. As the eucharistic prayer says: we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks and praise. In the strictest sense, Eucharist is always happening as indeed are all the sacraments: we are always being immersed into God through life and death; we are always being confirmed and filled by the Spirit; we are always being healed by the compassion and mercy of God; we are always growing in communion through our love and service of one another. And we are always and everywhere giving thanks. And the reason for that is quite simple: Christ is always and everywhere, in all times and circumstances, the Sacrament of God present in us as his Body, in the Church as his sacrament. In order that we might experience this truth ever more fully, consciously and actively, the Christian community celebrates its sacraments through the liturgy, and most especially the Liturgy of the Mass. Most other sacraments are celebrated once (baptism, confirmation, matrimony, orders), and some are celebrated when need arises (reconciliation and anointing), but the sacrament of eucharist is celebrated weekly and even daily. Why? Well, actually for the same reason: because of need. We need to constantly to be celebrating this source and summit of our life as Christians, namely our communion with Christ, our becoming what he is: one-with-god.

6 6 SCRIPTURE Teacher and Student References (NRSV) Ex 12:1-28 The First Passover Instituted The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the LORD. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses, for whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day shall be cut off from Israel. On the first day you shall hold a solemn assembly, and on the seventh day a solemn assembly; no work shall be done on those days; only what everyone must eat, that alone may be prepared by you. You shall observe the festival of unleavened bread, for on this very day I brought your companies out of the land of Egypt: you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a perpetual ordinance. In the first month, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day, you shall eat unleavened bread. For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses; for whoever eats what is leavened shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether an alien or a native of the land. You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your settlements you shall eat unleavened bread. Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, Go, select lambs for your families, and slaughter the passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood in the basin. None of you shall go outside the door of your house until morning. For the LORD will pass through to strike down the Egyptians; when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over that door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you down. You shall observe this rite as a perpetual ordinance for you and your children When you come to the land that the LORD will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this observance. And when your children ask you, What do you mean by this observance? you shall say, It is the passover sacrifice to the LORD, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt, when he struck down the Egyptians but spared our houses. And the people bowed down and worshiped. The Israelites went and did just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron. Lk 24:13-35 The Walk to Emmaus Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, What are you discussing with each other while you walk along? They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days? He asked them, What things? They replied, The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him. Then he said to them, Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory? Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

7 7 As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over. So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us? That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon! Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread. Lk 9:12-17 Feeding the Five Thousand The day was drawing to a close, and the twelve came to him and said, Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a deserted place. But he said to them, You give them something to eat. They said, We have no more than five loaves and two fish -- unless we are to go and buy food for all these people. For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each. They did so and made them all sit down. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And all ate and were filled. What was left over was gathered up, twelve baskets of broken pieces. Lk 22:14-20 The Institution of the Lord s Supper When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. He said to them, I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes. Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. 1Cor 11: The Institution of the Lord s Supper For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord s death until he comes. Jn 13:4-20 Jesus Washes the Disciples Feet Jesus got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, Lord, are you going to wash my feet? Jesus answered, You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand. Peter said to him, You will never wash my feet. Jesus answered, Unless I wash you, you have no share with me. Simon Peter said to him, Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head! Jesus said to him, One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you. For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, Not all of you are clean. After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord -- and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Acts 2:42-47 Life Among the Believers The early Christians devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people.

8 8 PLANNING A LEARNING S EQUENCE Level Focus The Eucharist occupies a unique place as Sacrament of Sacraments: all the other Sacraments are ordered to it as their end. (St Thomas Aquinas) Overarching Goal Example: That students will begin to understand that Sacraments are an invitation to engage in the Christian quest for meaning and purpose. Essential Question Example: How do I live out the Eucharist in my life? Enduring Understandings The Church is a celebration of paradox. Eucharist celebrates the paradox of giving and receiving (sacrifice). Matrimony celebrates the freedom and commitment. Holy Orders celebrates the paradox of service and leadership. Evidence of Learning Demonstrated when students: Show how paradox (as distinct from irony and 1. contradiction) functions within Eucharist, Matrimony or Holy Orders. Discuss how the shape of the liturgy gives shape to 2. the Christian life. Read icons as sacramental and liturgical 3. expressions of our Catholic imagination. Identify Mary as the feminine iconic expression of 4. humanity s cooperation with God. Suggested Assessment Tasks Small groups to choose 5 of the categories mentioned on page 156 (To Know, Worship and Love year 10, 2nd edition) and present their group s reflection to build up a class display, The Eucharist is about Life. In small groups, present a report (poster/ information) on an aspect of the question, What is the Mass? Your audience is a Year 7 student coming to Secondary College who has no background in Catholic rituals and beliefs. Present this report to a year 7 class and create a display for their classroom. Examples of sub-groups Introductory rites and Concluding rites Liturgy of the Word Liturgy of the Eucharist Scripture references origins Passover (use Scripture references listed) Symbols Rites and actions The environment What makes a good celebration of the Eucharist? Prepare and participate in a class/parish mass. Complete a Triple Play (into the DEEP pp39-41) using Feeding the Five Thousand (Luke 9:12-17 or Matthew 14:13-21). Develop a pictorial representation of the connection between the Eucharist (in particular, the symbols of the bread and wine) and the everyday action of believers who are called to reconcile, renew and serve. You will need to include a rationale and explanation of your representation in terms of the focus of the task. Participate in a class project that demonstrates living the Eucharist in the community. Suggested Learning Experiences Conduct a media search on the ways people meet together, share food, give gifts, make peace with each other and celebrate with each other. Present a timeline with information and symbols outlining the significant changes to the celebration of the Eucharist through time and culture. Explore the deep meanings of the Eucharist that have come from the Hebrew Tradition eg the significance of the Exodus and the Passover meal, the concept of anamnesis. Explore the concept of meal in the Gospel of Luke. Discuss: what was the significance of sharing a meal for Jesus? The Eucharist is about Life To Know, Worship and Love, page 156 year 10, 2nd edition use the table presented as a personal reflection. Read Matthew 26:17-30, the Last Supper. Students rewrite this Scripture passage from the point of view of one of the disciples who was present, highlighting key elements of the story. Read the text again, complete a Y chart, from Jesus perspective, what would he have heard, seen and felt? Link the ritual actions (page 158) with the structure of the celebration of the Eucharist (pp ) To Know, Worship and Love, year 10, 2nd Edition Research for a series of posters that will make up the class presentation for year 7s (see assessment task above) that explains the symbols used in the celebration of the Eucharist.

9 9 Locate the readings of the day in the lectionary and take students through the process using Scripture readings in the mass. Teach about the readings for years ABC and John. Examine the patterns of the message for each year. What is the message the Church proclaims at each season? Prepare and take part in a celebration of the Eucharist, with different groups planning different parts of the Eucharist, reflecting the gifts and talents of the particular students. (class teacher to use resources, and REC for assistance if required, for example, Marist Retreats, liturgyhelpforschools. com). This celebration may be best placed at the end of the learning sequence. Research and compare the Exodus account of the first Passover, a New Testament account of the Last Supper and current celebrations of Passover, noting similarities and differences. In small working groups, design a chart showing the connection between the First Passover and the celebration of the Eucharist. Use words, symbols, illustrations and quotations from the Old and New Testament. Investigate the changes in the celebration of the Eucharist throughout the ages. Present your understandings in an interactive way such as dramatic tableaux, interviews with people of the time, etc. Pages , To Know, Worship and Love, year 10, contains the subheadings: The Eucharist in the Early Church, The Breaking of the Bread in the Early House Churches, The Eucharist and the Basilica, The Eucharist in the Middle Ages, The Eucharist and the Second Vatican Council. Read the Feeding of the Five Thousand Luke 9:12-17 or Matthew 14: Use some of the strategies from Drama Short Cuts (Into the DEEP, pp39-41) or use a particular method eg KITE to analyse the text. Discuss the Eucharistic actions found in this text. Journal writing, after some discussion reflect and explore: What is the significance of leftovers in this story? Where is the surplus in your life? What do you do with that? What is the significance of this miracle? Internet search modern/contemporary images of Last Supper. Choose two images that appeal to you personally. Identify and explain the symbols used. What understandings of Eucharist do they reflect? Explore a collection of holy cards or paintings of the Last Supper. Identify and explain the symbols used. What understandings of Eucharist do they reflect? Dramatize the Emmaus story in a modern context, using the concept of the journeys students are on. (Use Drama Short Cuts, Into the DEEP, pp39-41 to give structure) Invite a representative from your parish community to speak about outreach programs and how they make Eucharist live in their lives. Investigate and articulate ways in which you may be active in the community. Devise some strategies for class and individual action. Participate in a class project to support, eg, Caritas, St Vincent de Paul, Amnesty International, outreach programs in your parish. Research life stories of believers to determine the ways in which Eucharist is a call to action. Participate in a guided reflection using the text Lk 9:12-17.

10 Resources NB: OP means Out of Print Recommended Resources Archdiocese of Adelaide. (2000). Making the most of the Mass. Adelaide Archdiocese of Melbourne (2003) To Know, Worship and Love 2nd Edition Year 10 chapter 8 the Eucharist in the Christian Community Nouwen, H Adam: God s Beloved (1997) Orbis Publications Archdiocese of Melbourne (2004) The Year of the Eucharist resource kit White, O Brien and Todd (2003) Into the Deep KD Publications (for liturgy preparation) 10 Community Resources Members from parish groups involved in various outreach programs, for example, St Vincent De Paul, Caritas Teacher Resources Andersen, F. (1998). Eucharist: Participating in the mystery. Mulgrave, Vic.: John Garratt Publishing. Archdiocese of Adelaide. (2000). Making the most of the Mass. Adelaide: Author. Archdiocese of Sydney. (1996). Eucharist. In Faithful to God: Faithful to people 5 (Years 9 10): Secondary Religious Education curriculum. (pp ). Sydney: Catholic Education Office. Catholic Adult Education Centre. Inform. Marsfield NSW: Author. Cooke, B. (1991). Sacraments and sacramentality. Mystic, CT: Twenty-Third Publications. Emminghaus, J. H. (1978). The Eucharist: Essence, form, celebration. Collegeville: The Liturgical Press. German Catechetical Association. (1983). Credo: A Catholic catechism. Translated by C. Davies. London: Geoffrey Chapman. Goosen, G. (1993). Bringing churches together: An introduction to ecumenism. Newtown, NSW: E.J. Dwyer. Hellwig, M.K. (1976). The Eucharist and the hunger of the world. New York, Paramus, N.J: The Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle. Kelly, T. (1993). A seventh circle of connections: The Eucharistic universe. In An expanding theology. Newtown: E.J. Dwyer. Martos, J. (1991). Doors to the sacred: A historical introduction to the sacraments of the Catholic Church. USA: Triumph Books & Liguori Publications: McGinty, M. P. (1992). The Sacrament of Christian life. Chicago, Ill.: The Thomas More Press. Understanding Faith Series. (1990). Meaning and significance of Eucharist. Auckland, N.Z.: Tablet Publications Co. Student Resources Archdiocese of Melbourne (2003) To Know, Worship and Love 2nd Edition Year 10 chapter 8 the Eucharist in the Christian Community Kain, A. (1993). Exploring the sacraments: Appreciating God s presence. Blackburn, Vic.: Collins Dove. Morrissey, J. & Mudge, P. (2000). Out of the desert. Book 4. South Melbourne: Longman, Pearson Education.

11 11 Literature Nouwen, H Adam (1997) Orbis Books, Maryknoll New York USA For both teacher and student use Music A new commandment [Music]. (1996). In Gather Australia. Ashburton, Vic.: NLMC Publications & GIA Publications. Bates, K. (Composer). (2000). Our supper invitation [Compact disc]. In As one voice (Vol. 1, Disc 9, No. 4). Brookvale, N.S.W.: Willow Connection. Bates, K. (Composer). (2000). Three round-table rounds [Compact disc]. In As one voice (Vol. 2, Disc 7, No. 13). Brookvale, N.S.W.: Willow Connection. Bates, K. (Composer). (1995). Take and eat [Music]. In Gather Australia. Ashburton, Vic.: NLMC Publications & GIA Publications. Haas, D. (Composer). (2000). Song of the body of Christ [Compact disc]. In As one voice (Vol. 1, Disc 2, No. 3). Brookvale, N.S.W.: Willow Connection. Haugen, M. (Composer). (2000). We remember [Compact disc]. In As one voice (Vol. 1, Disc 4, No. 14). Brookvale, N.S.W.: Willow Connection. Hurd, B. (Composer). (2000). Our blessing cup [Compact disc]. In As one voice (Vol. 1 Disc 1, No. 7). Brookvale, N.S.W.: Willow Connection. Inwood, P. (Composer). (1995). Take Christ into the world [Music]. In Gather Australia. Ashburton, Vic.: NLMC Publications & GIA Publications. Joncas, M. (Composer). (2000). Song of the Lord s supper [Music]. In Gather Australia. Ashburton, Vic.: NLMC Publications & GIA Publications. Schutte, D. (Composer). (2000). Table of plenty [Compact disc]. In As one voice (Vol. 2, Disc 1, No. 20). Brookvale, N.S.W.: Willow Connection. World Wide Web / Internet Catholic Liturgy on the Net NRSV Teenagers and Eucharist Vatican Documents and Catechism Vision website Liturgy Planning