Grade 1 Lesson 8 Key Points Saints are heroes of the Church who loved God, did his work on Earth, and are now with Him in Heaven. Being holy means being good and pure. We are connected to the saints. They watch over and pray for us in heaven. Materials Make a Halo (p. 169E) Dictionary of Patron Saints St. Kateri Tekakwitha (Active Learning Primary 2) Catechist Prayer before the lesson: God, the Father of life, help me to set a good example for my students. Help me to keep my actions and my words consistent with one another and with the teachings of the Church. I ask these things in Jesus name. Amen. Before the lesson: Hand out Make a Halo. 1
[5 min] Invite Friends of God (p. 319 and 169) Remind the children that each one of us has a guardian angel that watches over us. Pray the Guardian Angel prayer (p. 319). Read the prayer and Scripture passage on page 169. [15 min] Discover Holy People (p. 170-171) Explain: Being holy means being good and pure. Saints are people who lived holy lives on earth and now live in heaven with God and the angels. The saints and angels watch over us and pray for us. We can ask them to pray for us for any problems we have. Paintings of saints show a halo around their head (show the halos from the opening activity, or St. Anthony on page 171). The halo is a symbol of a person s holiness and God s grace acting in their soul. Read the text on page 170 about the saints. Have the children close their eyes while you read about Mary and Martha (just like they did at the last FLAME 1 session in January). Ask: Who do you act like more: Mary or Martha? Why? [15 min] All Kinds of Saints (p. 172-173) Mary is the Mother of Jesus and the first and greatest of all the saints. We call her the Queen of Heaven. Read about the 3 saints: St. Louis, St. Juan Diego, St. Kateri Tekakwitha. Have the children match the descriptions in the Connect Your Faith box. Ask: How do saints show their love? How can you be a holy person? Each saint can help us for a specific situation. For example, we can pray to St. Francis for protecting our animals, or St. Anthony to help us find something that we lost. Many people are named after a saint. Look up each child s name in the Dictionary of Patron Saints book to learn about their patron saint. Read each child s patron saint to the class. [10 min] St. Kateri Tekakwitha Have the children color, cut out, and fold the tepee sheet. Read the story about St. Kateri while the students work. [10 min] Live - Our Catholic Life (p. 174-175) Discuss ways in which we can become saints using the checklist on page 174. Read about St. Dominic. o Explain: Mary appeared to St. Dominic from heaven and taught him how to pray the Rosary. Since then, the Rosary has been an important part of the Catholic tradition. Color the Live Your Faith box on page 175 2
[5 min] Jesus the Servant (p.184) Serving others is necessary to follow Jesus and to grow in holiness. Read the story of Jesus washing the disciples feet on page 184 and discuss. o Why were the disciples surprised? o How would you feel if your teacher cleaned the mud off your shoes when you got to school? [5 min] Prayer Before Meals (p. 318) Teach the children a new prayer. If you bring in a snack for your class, this would be a good time to have the class recite this prayer: Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts Which we are about to receive From thy bounty, Through Christ our Lord. Amen. [1 min] Prayer Challenge This year in FLAME, we learned 5 prayers: o Our Father o Hail Mary o Glory Be o Guardian Angel o Prayer before meals Starting next week and until the last class in April, Thaddeus and Joanna will come to our classroom and to give prizes if you can say one of these prayers from memory by yourself. You can get up to 5 prizes if you memorize each prayer. [10 min] Sending Litany of the Saints (p. 176) Ask the children if they have anything they would like to pray for. Pray the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be. Recite the prayer on page 176. Sing Oh, When the Saints (track 8) Remind the children to read through the Family+Faith page with their parents. 3
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