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Seven Ways to Observe Advent with Children

Photo by Stefan Schweihofer (2018) via Pixabay, CCO Creative Commons

Perhaps you too have had the experience of preparing for Christmas, only to realize that amongst the candy-making, the letter-writing, the present-purchasing, the tree-trimming, and more, you never got around to spiritual preparation, even though you really meant to this year.

If you would like to add a more reflective or penitential note to your family’s Advent observance, check out the seven ideas below to get you started. Choose one (or two), gather what you will need, and start a new family tradition!

Jesse tree

The idea:

Recall salvation history. Use ornaments decorated with symbols to represent the events and stories leading up to the birth of Jesus and hang them on a tree of some kind (the tree is so named after Jesse, father of King David–see Isaiah 11:1).

What you will need:

You can order a kit. Check out Etsy for some beautiful ones.
You can do it yourself…you need something to be the tree, something to make ornaments, and a Bible or knowledge of Bible stories. I use a book that has reproducible ornaments. Each year I photocopy one set of ornaments for each child. I cut out a large Christmas tree shape from wrapping paper and tape it on the wall. Each day (when all goes well), the kids color their ornaments while I read to them the passage from the Bible corresponding to the symbol they are coloring. They then cut out their ornaments and tape them on the tree.
The tree can also be a bare branch set into a mason jar full of stones or sand, and the ornaments can be hung on it with loops of ribbon.

Advent stockings: good works

The idea:

The family does a spiritual or corporal work of mercy (or other charitable act) each day of advent. For example, we might give away a piece of clothing; pray for an end to abortion; pray for our priests; call someone who might be lonely, etc.

You need:

Slips of paper listing the good works you will do (see the end of this post for ideas).
Something to put them in. I have mini stockings with numbers on them, which we hang up. Every evening I put a slip of paper in the next day’s stocking, choosing the activity based on what can fit into our family calendar. But you could easily do the same with numbered envelopes or, if you are really adventurous, just put them all in a mason jar and see what you pull out!

Making soft Baby Jesus’ Bed

The idea:

Family members make sacrifices and do good acts throughout Advent. For each one, they lay a piece of straw or hay in an empty manger, trying to get the bed as soft as possible before Baby Jesus will be born on Christmas morning.

You need:

Raffia, hay, straw, grass, or strips of yellow construction paper.
Some sort of manger.
Baby Jesus statue.

Advent wreath

The idea:

Four candles represent the four Sundays of Advent. Three are purple to represent penance; the fourth is pink for Gaudete Sunday (the 3rd Sunday of Advent. Gaudete means “joy,” and the priest will wear rose-colored vestments). On the first Sunday of Advent, light the purple candle that is diagonal from the pink one. Say a prayer of longing for Our Savior. Every evening light this candle, accompanied by a prayer, and each successive Sunday light an additional candle.

You need:

An advent wreath/candle holder
Candles

Salvation history candle

The idea:

Similar to a Jesse tree but for the artistic. You will draw on a large candle (about 2 feet tall) the scenes from salvation history, starting with Adam and Eve at the top and Baby Jesus at the bottom. You will burn the candle throughout Advent.

You need:

A church-style large candle, 51% beeswax, about 2’ tall. Can be found at stjudeshop.com
Drawing implements

Planned read-alouds

The idea:

Read advent and nativity books during Advent: either one story per day in a book of collected Advent stories or separate books.

You need:

A book with a collection of 22-28 Advent stories (here is the one we have); or
22-28 picture books that are Advent-related, about saints whose feast day falls in Advent, or about salvation history. If you choose this option, you might want to wrap them in wrapping paper and number them, opening up one on each day.

Piece-by-piece nativity set

The idea:

Rather than give a little piece of candy in an Advent calendar, each day brings another object or person to add to the nativity scene, starting with the stable/cave and ending with Baby Jesus.

You need:

You can buy a set online that has the requisite number of pieces; or
You can make one yourself out of felt, bringing out one piece each day; or
Your children make their own paper nativity set, coloring a piece every day using free printables online.

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Resources:

Here is a list of good works you might use for your family’s Advent stockings.

Do something nice for someone in secret today.
Look around your room. Is there anything you can give away to the poor?
Do an extra chore today.
Try hard to be cheerful in everything you do today.
Draw a picture of the nativity.
Read about a saint today.
Pray for your priest today. Could you offer up a sacrifice for the Church today?
Pray for an end to abortion today and give away something to moms in need.
Pray for the deceased today. Could you make a sacrifice for the souls in purgatory?
Pray for persecuted Christians today and learn about a country where they do not have freedom of religion.
Pray for people who do not know Jesus. Is there something you could do extra as an offering for them?
Pray for your family today. What can you do to help your family be more like the Holy Family?
Pray a Rosary today.
Pray the Chaplet of Divine mercy.
Do an examination of conscience tonight, and if possible, schedule Confession sometime soon.
Take a meal to someone in need.
Make a card to send to someone who lives far away.
Call or invite someone over who might be lonely.
Read the Nativity story from the Bible.
Make ornaments to send to the nursing home.
Do something for someone else that you normally don’t want to do (such as offer to play a game you know he likes).
Eat all of your food with a good attitude (even if you don’t like it) and be grateful you have it.
Sing a song to baby Jesus or make up a poem for Him.
Act out the nativity or part of the salvation story or do a puppet show.
Give money to the poor. You may do an extra chore and give away any money you earn.
Bake something and give away half.
Write or draw a thank-you card for someone.
Make a gift for your priest or staff at your parish church.
Give away food to the food pantry.
Give away a piece of warm clothing.
Work on memorizing a Bible verse.
Go to morning Mass.
Give up something you like to do or eat today and offer it up as a prayer for someone in need.
Wrap up something you have and give it to someone.

5 Ways to Wait with Purpose

By Jeannie Ewing

Advent is a perfect liturgical season to apply what we have learned and understand about the spirituality of waiting – its purpose and gift for us from God. Because taking a lofty spiritual concept can be difficult to break down in terms of practical application to everyday living, it’s important to understand particular steps that can assist us in using our seasons of waiting with intention.

This Advent, try to be sincere in your effort to wait with purpose. Turn to God with these five ways of entering into dialogue with him as only a guideline to understand more deeply what he is asking of you or telling you in your time of waiting.

A brief preface of these five steps is this: You may enter into the first few cyclically for months or even years before you reach the prepare phase. This is because preparation often requires a very refined and fine-tuned faith in which God will chisel and prune you in order to move you closer to a specific call or mission.

Listen

We can never expect to glean clarity in our uncertainty or holy tension if we don’t regularly enter into the sanctuary of our own hearts, nestled in silence. Solitude is absolutely imperative for us to hear God speak to our hearts.

Though it’s difficult to do in my current state as a wife and mother to three young daughters, I create a sacred space every day to enter into the heart of God through silence. This is how I begin my daily prayers and devotions. I gather my prayer journal, daily inspirational flip calendar, liturgical companion Magnificat, and seasonal devotions, if applicable. Then I breathe and gaze at an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus mounted above our holy water font in the living room.

Listening means we turn our ears toward another. We must eliminate every distraction possible if we are to effectively hear that “still, small voice” within.

Ponder

Sometimes God is silent when we seek him in solitude, but there are occasions when he will give you a bold message. Prepare yourself for all sorts of surprises led by the Holy Spirit! When you read Scripture, and a particular word or phrase or passage really jolts or sears your heart, pay attention. Write it down and mull it over for a few moments.

Ask some questions about it. For example, while I was writing Waiting with Purpose, the words “wait” or “be still” or “trust in the Lord” came to me frequently during the listening and pondering stages of prayer. I kept asking God what he wanted to teach me and wrote down the thoughts that inspired the book.

Pray

After you formulate some questions, bring them directly to the Lord in conversation. Pour your heart out to him – your fears and doubts, your anxiety or concerns, your excitement or restlessness. Give him everything that flows forth as you delve more deeply into your own heart in search of his.

You are conversing with the Divine, so there’s no need for format or formulae here. It’s just your heart language speaking to God’s heart.

This stage will likely lead you back to listening, pondering, asking more questions, and praying again. You will likely engage in this process for quite some time before advancing to the last two.

Prepare

Over time, you might discern that God is asking something specific of you. Everyone’s mission will look different, of course. But the point is that you receive a divine assignment, based on the pattern of listening to and speaking with God.

If and when this happens, you will need to find a good spiritual director if you haven’t already. This person needs to be objective in matters of guiding you more deeply into accepting your holy assignment and discovering what that means. Think of St. Teresa of Calcutta whom Jesus asked to found an order serving the “poorest of the poor.” Or St. Teresa of Avila who heard the Lord tell her to reform the Carmelite order.

God asks some people today to become overseas missionaries, write books, enter into a specific vocation, found a non-profit, lead a parish ministry, and so on. Regardless of the assignment, know that he has something specific in mind for you. Be attentive and vigilant like the wise virgins who kept their oil ready for the Bridegroom’s arrival.

Act

Again, you will need a spiritual director to guide you before you actually go forth to begin your mission or ministry. The point is to be ready for whatever God asks of you. It seems as if waiting lingers forever, but once God acts in your life, he moves quickly. This isn’t always the case, but you will find that timing is such an important piece to your waiting experience.

This post is an abridged version of Chapter 6 in my book, Waiting with Purpose: Persevering When God Says “Not Yet.”

Letting Go of Our Nets: A Journey with Peter

By Maureen Smith

The Call

Yesterday morning I took the walk of shame down the side aisle of the Chapel, 5 minutes late and we were already at the Gospel. Frustrated and feeling confirmation that I was definitely a failure at absolutely everything if I couldn’t even make it to Mass on time, I then listened to the Gospel and underneath my gritted teeth felt a sense of relief and the first sign of a smile since yesterday. Having experienced a personal failure a week ago (joining the ranks of the unemployed), I felt comforted by the life and example of Peter.

In the Call of Peter in Mark’s Gospel, which we read yesterday, Jesus clarifies Peter’s vocation and asks him to leave behind what he thought defined him for a life of intimacy and trust in the Lord rather than in the success of the work of his hands.

Similarly, in Luke’s account of the Call of Peter, Jesus uses a moment of failure (on the part of Peter to provide fish after working all night) to reveal His identity as the Son of God while also challenging Peter to discover his own identity, not as a fisherman but as Jesus calls him in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, a “fisher of men.” John’s Gospel recounts a somewhat different, but not inconsistent, first encounter. Here Jesus also reveals to Peter (then Simon) his identity by renaming him Cephas (Peter).

Let It Go!

As we see in our scriptural pilgrimage, it takes Peter a while to really let go of what he thinks constitutes his identity, as well as his ideas of the Messiah and how His glory should be manifested. We see this when he fails to walk on water, when he rebukes Jesus for predicting his crucifixion, and when he denies Jesus three times.

He may have left behind his fisherman’s nets but there are still many figurative nets holding him back from receiving the truth of his identity as well as what it means to be an Apostle, probably because he is unable to believe the totality of Jesus’s identity which He holds unfolds (albeit sometimes cryptically) to Peter and the others.

Nets

So often we, too, link our accomplishments and the outcomes of our efforts to our identity so that, if and when they fail to measure up to our standards or those of others, we judge ourselves to be inadequate and are quickly overtaken by tidal waves of unworthiness. We assess ourselves by how productive work was, the number on the scale, the number of miles we ran, positive feedback, approval of others, or any other combination of worldly measures of success. It is not wrong that we have aspirations, but it is not true that these standards have any bearing on our identity and worthiness of God’s love and mercy. What are the “nets” we cling to for a sense of acceptance and worthiness that, although they may be part of our calling, are not essential to our identity? Do we need to put them down as Jesus instructs Peter in the Gospels of Mark and Matthew? Or do we need to trust in Jesus’s intercession and instruction as we see in Luke?

Do we struggle to put down these nets because we have a hard time believing in Jesus as truly God, as truly more powerful than our little mistakes or failures to “make something of ourselves?” Yes we can know the truth intellectually, but do we really believe in Jesus, in His power and authority over sin and death, and in the truth that our identity comes from Him rather than our accomplishments or lackthereof?

When Our Nothingness Encounters God’s Mercy

When we experience failure before the Lord we can become afraid and the shame we feel can be a barrier to further intimacy with him. But these encounters with our weaknesses are often the point of entry for the Lord, just as they were teaching moments and opportunities for Peter.

I think often of how ashamed Peter must have felt in Luke’s account of the Call of Peter. He would have felt a similar sense of failure throughout his journey with Jesus, however, Jesus uses these opportunities to fill the emptiness in Peter’s heart with His light and truth, which Peter will more fully embrace at Pentecost.

Saint Therese’s thoughts on this passage, recorded in Divine Intimacy by Father Gabriel of Saint Mary Magdalene, give us a refreshing outlook on what Jesus can do with our failures. She writes, “Had the Apostle caught some small fish, perhaps our divine Master would not have, worked a miracle; but he had caught nothing, and so through the power and goodness of God his nets were soon filled with great fishes. Such is Our Lord’s way. He gives as God, with divine generosity, but He insists on humility of heart.”

In her italics, Therese shows us the keys (no pun intended) to how Peter learned to follow the Lord. We will often find ourselves in the “nothing” stage. This is where the Lord’s grace is most efficacious. However, she warns that He “insists on humility of heart.” This means that we must, like Peter, let go of our fear of failure and put our whole trust in the Jesus and let him be Who He says He is, God!

Now imagine how Jesus looked at Peter in his moments of failure, for example, after a full night of reeling in net after net of nothing. Or when Jesus, after His Resurrection asks Peter if he loves Him. His gaze must have been quite the opposite of Peter’s inward gaze of self-judgment, which actually distorts his perception of how Jesus sees him.

As was the case with Peter, Jesus looks upon our failures with mercy, not with shame, impatience, disgust, etc. He may not immediately reveal His glory in our failures, that usually takes time. We may not reel in a miraculous abundance of tangible goods. Most of our failures will probably require at least a bit of waiting and trusting that eventually Jesus will use this emptiness or failure for His glory and His plan for our welfare…not woe.

Spoiler Alert! (We Will Live Happily Ever After)

Peter, whose blunders are so frequent in the Gospels, shows us that we too can achieve greatness. His ministry most likely did not feel or look successful. It looked much like that of Christ whose life and ministry was looked upon as a failure up until the Resurrection. So also our lives may appear to be lacking in value, but if we remain under the gaze of Jesus and strive to live in the truth of our identity as Children of God, we will achieve the greatest success, sainthood.

Someday, in Heaven, we will hopefully be able chat with Peter, praise God, and laugh about our failures which were transformed into our greatest moments of sanctity. We might feel like we are currently getting a poor return for our efforts, but trust in the example of Peter, it’s worth the struggle!

The Father’s Love

By Maureen Smith

This Lent I have found that my prayer has led me to strengthen my relationship with God the Father. The Liturgy and the various traditions of this Holy Season draw me into solitude and I have become mindful of my dependence on Him, who cares for His little daughter.

I do not think it is a coincidence that my (earthly) father’s birthday is today, Friday of the First Week of Lent. As I reflect on the gift that my father is to me, I am reminded of how the Lord is at work in my life during Lent – particularly how God the Father is pursuing a more intimate relationship with me, His daughter. These are just a few ways that I see parallels in the relationships with my two Fathers, with a special Lenten focus.

1. My Father loves to look at me.

There are few things more precious than watching a new parent hold his or her child. It is easy to think that after we grow up our parents stop looking at us this way, since we have exhausted their capacity to look tenderly upon us. But I know for a fact that my Dad still likes to see me. I know that between the hours of 4 pm and 8 pm each Sunday I will receive a voice mail from my him, asking when I will be able to visit again. And ever time I do visit, his last words are, “…So when are you coming back?”

In the same way, as I enter the silence of Lent, I see that my Heavenly Father is overjoyed that I have committed to increase my time of prayer, not so that I can “do” anything for Him, but so that He can just look at me and be with me.

2. My Father watches out for me, even when I’ve done something wrong.

Often times when I fail to meet expectations or am struggling in life, I hesitate to tell my dad. It took me a long time to realize that he doesn’t judge me as I judge myself, and that he cares for me even when I come to him with my failures and brokenness. When I spoke to him recently about my struggles with depression and my eating disorder, and my plans to help others in recovery, I was incredibly nervous. Up until then I would usually pretend I had it all together. After I finally revealed my life the way it truly was, rather than putting up a happy-go-lucky facade, I saw my dad’s face prouder than I’ve ever seen. Even though I was admitting my brokenness, without the illusion of self-sufficiency and autonomy, I felt more than ever that I belonged to my father, and that he would always care for me and support me.

This reminds me of the story of the Prodigal Son, who was embraced by his father upon his return, who was waiting for him. He did not punish him for squandering his inheritance, rather, the father meets him with a heart full of mercy and forgiveness, in his poverty and humility – and draws him into the intimate bond of sonship. This reminds me of the words of the Attende Domine, a hymn sung during Lent, “Draw near, O Lord our God, graciously hear us, keep us from sinning before you…”

We who are sons and daughters of God can be confident in the fidelity of the Father’s love. He is always ready to forgive us and capture us in his loving arms despite our fear of disapproval. Lent reminds us of this truth, that we can turn back to Him and that we belong to Him regardless of our past.

3. My Father loves to give me presents.

I remember as a kid, being so excited when my dad would return from his business trips. Aside from the fact that I missed him, he usually used to bring home presents for me and each of my siblings. Even when I entered religious life for two years he would send me gifts, and to this day he still has a great desire to give me things. Last year he gave me his extra car (!) so that I can visit more often. It is not the gift itself but the love that is expressed in the act of giving that I treasure so much.

My Heavenly Father does the same for me. Lent is a time when we “give up” consolations, but the stripping away of those earthly comforts reveals those spiritual gifts we so often neglect to see. Each day He nourishes me with the gift of His Son in the Word and in the Eucharist. In Confession He strengthens, heals, and forgives me. Many of His presents are not so tangible, but with the eyes of faith I can see how His grace surrounds me. Each day brings with it so many little miracles that remind me of God’s love and affection. Many of these go unnoticed, for example, the smile of a stranger, the Scripture verse that struck my heart, the flower that blooms in the middle of winter. These are all reminders of what the love of my dad points to – the eternal, never-failing, inexhaustible, and unquenchable love of Our Father in Heaven.

I realize that there are many who are not blessed with a father like mine, and so this inspires gratitude in my heart to God for this great “present.” It also reminds me that no matter who we are, no matter what our relationship is like with our father, we all have a God in Heaven that we can call Father. I pray that each of us this Lent will be strengthened in the relationships with our father and father figures, and most importantly with Our Heavenly Father, Who looks upon us with great love, Who protects and forgives us, and Who gave us the best gift of all – salvation by the Death and Resurrection of His Son which we commemorate during this Holy Season.

Weary Souls Rejoice!

By Elizabeth Tichvon

Wherever we turn these days, Christmas music plays, and for some of us this year, the words to the traditional carols we’ve come to know by heart have suddenly taken on new meaning. Old, familiar jingles about Christ’s birth now seem to resound with significance, bursting with the presence of His Gospel!

The popular hymn, O Holy Night, is full of such moving words; it speaks of the world lying long in sin, “’til He appeared and the soul felt its worth.” Such were the great crowds of the lame, blind, deformed and mute in today’s Gospel.

Imagine them – the sick and weary, the hungry, approaching Jesus up on the mountain, filled with “a thrill of hope.” Envision them “falling on their knees” as our compassionate Savior placed them at His feet and cured them! Jesus took pity on that crowd of four thousand and fed them with only seven loaves and a few fish. Imagine the “weary souls rejoicing!”

Jesus holds no less compassion for our weariness and hunger as He continues to heal us with His Word and feed us through the Eucharist. We give thanks for these gifts which we receive in faith, and rejoice along with the souls on that mountain, “Sweet hymns of joy! In grateful chorus raise we! Let all within us praise His holy Name!”

Make Babies

By Christian LeBlanc

6th-grade catechism class naturally covers a lot of Catholic themes during its year-long trip through the Bible. One of them is marriage and children. I don’t ever stand in front of the kids and say, “marriage and babies are good, and divorce and abortion are bad,” I let them figure it out as we go, helped along with personal testimony from me. I don’t intend to form consciences; but I do intend to create the opportunity for the kids to form their own consciences themselves.

Here’s a list of Bible bits that kids learn about and discuss, my intent being to help them develop a Catholic worldview without being didactic about it. (I could give you chapter and verse, but it’s better to do that yourself):

1. Creation. God’s last and greatest creation is a man and a woman together, creating babies. But not just any man and woman, a husband and wife, a marriage: one man, one rib, one woman, one flesh.

2. After all, the first commandment is to “be fruitful and multiply,” more pithily expressed in class as “make babies.”

3. The Flood. As soon as Noah steps out of the Ark, God reminds him and his family of the first commandment: “Be fruitful and multiply.”

4. Abraham and Sarah become the parents of a nation.

5. To accomplish #4, Abraham and Sarah have a miraculous pregnancy. They’re so happy that their love has at last made a baby that they name him Laughter.

6. Pagan peoples living around Abraham kill their own firstborn children and offer them to strange gods, but God doesn’t require that of Abraham right off. But when God does ask for Isaac’s sacrifice, Abraham must feel as though he’s been asked to kill all the laughter and joy in his life.

7. Isaac and Rebecca have a miraculous pregnancy, and Rebecca bears Esau and Jacob.

8. Jacob and Rachel have a miraculous pregnancy, and Rachel bears Joseph.

9. Manoah and his wife have a miraculous pregnancy, and she bears Samson.

10. Elkhanah and Hannah have a miraculous pregnancy, and Hannah bears Samuel.

11. Psalm 78 says God “appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children; 6 that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God.” So even kids not yet born or even conceived still matter to God.

12. In Psalm 128, David reflects on the joy of family: “Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.”

13. Israel falls on hard times, and some parents kill their babies to appease Molech: “Are you not children of transgression, the offspring of deceit, you who burn with lust among the oaks, under every green tree; who slay your children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?”

14. But God still loves his children in both fatherly and motherly ways: “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have graven you on the palms of my hands.”

15. God knew Jeremiah, and had a job for him before his mom was even pregnant: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

16. Baby-killing continues in Jeremiah’s day: “Stand in the gate of the LORD’s house, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all you men of Judah who enter these gates to worship the LORD. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel,”I will let you dwell in this place if you truly execute justice one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt. The people have forsaken me, and have profaned this place by burning incense in it to other gods; and because they have filled this place with the blood of innocents, and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal.” The kids figure out on their own how such passages relate to abortion.

17. Zechariah and Elizabeth have a miraculous pregnancy, and Elizabeth bears John.

18. Mary has the most miraculous pregnancy, and bears Jesus.

This is not an exhaustive list, just the things we have time for in catechism class. By the time we get to Mary, the children can place her at the end of a line of mothers that stretches all the way back to Eve; and have acquired a holistic Scriptural basis for a pro-life conscience.

Arkeology

By Christian LeBlanc

Every year in our journey through the Bible and the Mass, the kids learn about All the Arks. Like everything else in our Salvation History curriculum, I cover them as they come up in the Bible. But the theme of Arks teaches a useful Catholic lesson that can be covered in a single class period like this:

Prelude: the Garden of Eden.

Per Genesis 2 and 3, Eden isn’t the whole of the Earth, but a distinct, separate place:

“And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers.”

[I draw a quick picture of God, Adam, Eve, the Tree, and the Snake; and show them contained within the Garden.]

God dwelled in Eden in some physical way with Adam and Eve:

“And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.”

So even though Eden is not an ark, it prefigures arks:

a. God is present in Eden in a way that he is not present outside of Eden. In more general terms, what’s inside of Eden is better than what’s outside of Eden.
b. Eden is relatively small, and holds precious things inside: God’s Stuff. That is, the Tree of Life; and Adam and Eve before they sinned.
c. It’s protective.

1. Noah’s Ark

“God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh; for the earth is filled with violence through them; behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch.”

[I draw the Ark with people and animals sticking their heads out.]

Right off I ask the kids what an ark is. Someone will say a boat, which is the starting point for looking at what an ark is, because it’s not always a boat. In the case of Noah’s ark and Moses’ ark, the Hebrew word is tebah. Tebahis only used in these two cases, but no-one is sure of its meaning. To keep it simple in class, I say tebah means container. And if the container floats, then it must be a boat. Then we discuss the Ark’s ‘arkiness’. It contains God’s Stuff, precious things, i.e., Noah’s family and the animals; things are better inside the Ark than outside; it protects; and it separates the relatively good inside from the sinful outside.

2. Moses’ Ark

Exodus 2 says “1 Now a man from the house of Levi went and took to wife a daughter of Levi. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. 3 And when she could hide him no longer she took for him an ark (Hebrew- tebah) made of bulrushes, and daubed it with bitumen and pitch; and she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds at the river’s brink. 4 And his sister stood at a distance, to know what would be done to him. 5 Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, and her maidens walked beside the river; she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to fetch it. 6 When she opened it she saw the child; and lo, the babe was crying.”

The kids will jump all over this Ark because they already know about Noah’s Ark: baby Moses is precious; he’s God’s Stuff; he’s better than what’s outside of the Ark; he’s protected. The Ark floats so it must be…a boat, yes, but in general an ark is just a container.

3. The Ark of the Covenant

Before getting to this Ark, the kids have to know about Moses and the Israelites’ exiting Egypt, and becoming nomads for 40 years. Being nomads, they live in tents. So if God is going to dwell among his people again, he needs a tent, too; what in Latin is called a tabernaculum, a little house:

“And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. 9 According to all that I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.”

[I draw the outline of a big tent, just walls and roof. Then as I continue to read, inside the tent I draw the ark; the rings and poles; the seat; and the cherubim and their wings.]

“They shall make an ark of acacia wood; two cubits and a half shall be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. 11 And you shall overlay it with pure gold, within and without shall you overlay it, and you shall make upon it a molding of gold round about. 12 And you shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it. 13 You shall make poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. 14 And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark by them. 15 The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it. 16 And you shall put into the ark the testimony which I shall give you. 17 Then you shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth. 18 And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end; of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. 20 The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. 21 And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark; and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. 22 There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you of all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.”

Now we learn the contents of the Ark: a pot of Manna, Aaron’s staff, and the Commandments. The kids once again can explain the arkiness: only God’s Stuff goes inside; the Stuff is protected; it’s better than what’s outside the Ark; it’s separated from the sinful stuff outside. If your kids don’t know about the contents already, you’ll have to give them some background before you start on the scripture bits above. We learn a new Hebrew word arown, which means chest, and the word always used to denote the Ark of the Covenant. I point out it’s another word for container, kind of like tebah. (You can skip the Hebrew if you want to.)

Time permitting, I’ll draw how Solomon’s Temple placed the Ark in a cube-shaped Holy of Holies, a box-in-a-box concept of sorts.

4. The Ark of the New Covenant

[I draw Mary and Gabriel]

“In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Hail, full of grace, * the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. …And Mary said to the angel, “How shall this be, since I have no husband?” 35 And the angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.”

[I add a dot to Mary’s tummy.]

Through guided discussion/ Q&A the kids sort out:

The dot is Jesus. Jesus is contained in Mary’s tummy. He will dwell in Mary for 9 months. [I show Jesus growing bigger inside Mary.] Jesus is way precious, more valuable than just God’s Stuff- Jesus is God Himself. If Mary is containing Jesus then we might refer to her as an Ark, the Ark of the New Covenant. Because Jesus has no sin, and lives in Mary, connects to her through his belly-button, Mary has no sin either. She and Jesus are separate from the rest of the world in that way.

5. The Tabernacle

[I draw the east end of a church interior, basically an altar, some candles, and a big crucifix.]

I get the kids to quickly tell me Jesus’ story in stages: Jesus was born, became an adult, founded his church, died for our sins, resurrected, and went to heaven. But Mary’s not the last Ark, nowadays we have one in every church. If the kids can’t guess what it is, I re-read this bit of Exodus: “And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. According to all that I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.” They then can connect the tabernacle, the little house in that Exodus passage, to the tabernacle in the Church. [I add the tabernacle to the picture, and always show it as a little house with a gable-roof.] We see how they are related, and also how like Mary, the tabernacle isn’t just a container for God’s stuff, but a little house for Jesus to dwell in. It’s close to how God and Adam and Eve dwelled in Eden together, but Jesus doesn’t talk or walk around in the afternoon like God did in Eden. If a child asks why we don’t call the Tabernacle an Ark, I remind them a house is a container that people live in. So Jesus’ container is called a tabernaculum, Latin for little house, or tent, like the one God dwelled in among the nomadic Israelites.

6. The New Jerusalem

But remember as we say at Mass, the Church is a pilgrim church, which means it’s on a journey. At the Second Coming, we will have reached our destination, and we won’t have the Church anymore. In the Book of Revelation, St. John says: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband; 3 and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them.”

So what sort of place will this be, where a few billion of us (one hopes) will dwell with God? Let’s see: “And in the Spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal…The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its breadth; and he measured the city with his rod, twelve thousand stadia; its length and breadth and height are equal. 17 He also measured its wall, a hundred and forty-four cubits by a man’s measure, that is, an angels. 18 The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, clear as glass.”

Kids don’t know what a stadion is. Now I draw and talk, “Let’s see how big this New Jerusalem is…a stadion is is about 1/10 of a mile long, so it’s about one thousand two hundred miles long…and this dot is a person…and “its length and breadth and height are equal” like so…and the kids figure out as I draw that the New Jerusalem is a huge cube. Why, it’s just a big container, a huge…Ark! So at the end of our long journey from Eden, we’ll live with God in a big Ark, where all of us can fit. We won’t be separated from God ever again.

Then we do a quick review of all the Arks. If the board is big enough I don’t have to erase, so I can point to all of them. And I remind the children to always think of all the Arks whenever they think of one of them.

8-minute audio here.

In Each of Us, Christ: “Christ in you, the hope of Glory (Col. 1:27)”

By Pat Gohn

The truth about you, my dear Christian friend, is that by virtue of your baptism a remarkable thing occurred. The Lord of Life, the King of Heaven, the Almighty God has taken up residence where you might least expect. In you.

St. Paul identifies it over and over again in his letters, but he states it most distinctly when he writes that the mystery God has hidden for the ages has now been made manifest to his saints…“which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Col 1:27.)

Indeed Christ came to earth for our redemption, but at the same time, Christ came to restore to us the hope of glory. That is, one day we will live with him, in the glory of the Trinity forever.

Remarkably, that reality started for you on earth the day you were baptized. You became “a new creation” in Christ (2 Cor 5:17).

Baptism is both your identity and your destiny. It tells you who you are, where you came from, and where you are going. It defines where “home” is and where you belong. It sets the course for the rest of your life – and eternity – if you embrace it.

But you don’t have to take my word for it. I make that claim standing on 2000 years of Christian Tradition found in the Catholic Church, and spelled out in no uncertain terms in the Scriptures and in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC).

A few words about that identity are found in CCC 1265 and 1266:

Baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes the neophyte “a new creature,” an adopted son of God, who has become a “partaker of the divine nature,” [2 Cor 5:17; 2 Pet 1:4; cf. Gal 4:5-7], a member of Christ and co-heir with him,[Cf. 1 Cor 6:15; 12:27; Rom 8:17], and a temple of the Holy Spirit [Cf. 1 Cor 6:19].

The Most Holy Trinity gives the baptized sanctifying grace, the grace of justification:

– enabling them to believe in God, to hope in him, and to love him through the theological virtues;

– giving them the power to live and act under the prompting of the Holy Spirit through the gifts of the Holy Spirit;

– allowing them to grow in goodness through the moral virtues.  Thus the whole organism of the Christian’s supernatural life has its roots in Baptism.

Try to take this in: our sonship and daughtership in God is our truest identity – it means that we participate in the divine life of the Trinity, thanks to grace.

Many of us were baptized as infants. Naturally, in that case, we probably have no recollection of our baptism. Therefore some of the power of this truth may elude our consciousness. Not only that, in growing up, many of us missed out on strong faith formation. So for the sake of those who may not have fully embraced their own baptism, let’s pause and talk about what our baptism looks like from this perspective of Christ being “in” us.

It all began with God’s love for us (See Jn 3:16). Maybe you’ve heard that before, and while its still very true, perhaps it just sounds like a nice platitude you may have heard as a child. If so, listen up: it’s time to understand the depth of our baptism, and all it implies, as an adult.

God’s attachment to us in baptism is intentional, deep, and permanent, indeed, like a lover who brands his or her beloved’s name on their arm as a tattoo. So, too, our God has branded us. God placed his loving yet indelible mark on our souls, like a soul tattoo.

(You could also say that the scars on the Risen Lord’s hands, feet, and side, are the permanent, inerasable marks of his love for us. But I digress.)

CCC 1272 and 1274 continue:

Incorporated into Christ by Baptism, the person baptized is configured to Christ. Baptism seals the Christian with the indelible spiritual mark (character) of his belonging to Christ. No sin can erase this mark, even if sin prevents Baptism from bearing the fruits of salvation…

The Holy Spirit has marked us with the seal of the Lord (“Dominicus character”) “for the day of redemption.” [Eph 4:30; cf. 1:13-14; 2 Cor 1:21-22]. Baptism indeed is the seal of eternal life. The faithful Christian who has “kept the seal” until the end, remaining faithful to the demands of his Baptism, will be able to depart this life “marked with the sign of faith,”[see Roman Missal, Eucharistic Prayer I] with his baptismal faith, in expectation of the blessed vision of God – the consummation of faith – and in the hope of resurrection.

If you read those biblical references in the text above, you’d find St. Paul explaining that this seal of the Holy Spirit is the sign of our salvation… “the seal of eternal life.”

Baptism is the sacrament of faith. It is not something to be received passively since it brings changes with it. Its grace conforms us to Christ. That means there is an added dimension – a supernatural one! – to the soul and body and personality and DNA that makes us unique persons.

We have the potential to take the shape of Christ, or to imitate him more perfectly than if we did not have such a grace. Why? Because Christ’s very life is in us. The glory of God has taken up residence in us. Not only that, we strengthen and grow that living supernatural “Christ-in-us” whenever we receive the Eucharist: the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. When we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, he recognizes and greets the Christ in us!

Are you getting the big picture? We. Were. Made. For. This.

We were made to be in this intimate, loving, and profound relationship with a God who sees Himself in us.

It’s somewhat like the joy a parent feels when they see a son or daughter who resembles them in eye color or has their freckles, or shares their love of music, or their taste for cheesecake. While the parent see themselves in their child, the child remains their own unique person. It’s a love thing.

So, we in turn, must live for this love. The Christ-in-us is an invitation to glory, both now, and in the future. This is our hope and our destiny. But we must choose to live the glory of our baptism, our true identity.

It is possible to waste our life by ignoring who we really are in Christ.

We must become, in full adult measure and stature, our truest selves. Our baptism invites us to become a saint, in the sense that a saint is someone who truly resembles Christ while maintaining his or her unique personhood and distinctive qualities.

The living out of our baptism, or some could call it “the task” of conversion, becomes not just a one-time “coming to” Christ, but a life-long on-going transformation of “becoming” Christ. Baptism gave us the grace of a head start. It sets us on the path of sanctity – which is another way of saying – this is a journey of a lifetime. That is why we have the Church, and the life of grace that we find there in the sacraments and in the Christian community.

CCC 1992:

[Baptism] conforms us to the righteousness of God, who makes us inwardly just by the power of his mercy. Its purpose is the glory of God and of Christ, and the gift of eternal life.

So now we have come full circle. For via baptism, Jesus sees, and now I can see, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Col. 1:27.)

May we have the eyes to see in each of us: Christ.

Truth & Life Dramatized Audio Bible: Highly Recommended

By Dorian Speed

Through the generosity of the family-run bookstore Aquinas and More, I was able to obtain a review copy of the Truth & Life Dramatized Audio Bible – New Testament. I was so excited to receive it in the mail that I started listening to it right out of the package. An audio recording of the New Testament, voiced by a cast of professional actors, this 18-CD compilation is an engaging, professional audio version of the Bible perfect for listeners of any age. You can view video clips of the recording process and listening to sample tracks from the CD’s at the website for the Truth & Life Dramatized Audio Bible.

I’ve enjoyed listening to the CD’s while going about my day – it’s uplifting to hear the Word of God during the mundane duties of everyday life, and it also allows me to experience the Gospels “as the action unfolds.” Hearing the recording on its own or while reading along is a terrific way to reflect upon the readings for the day or to study a book of the New Testament as a whole.

As a catechist, I cannot wait to use these recordings with my students. I plan to play snippets for them each week as we work our way through the New Testament, and I know this will be more effective than my reading aloud from the Bible to them. The packaging says that an Old Testament version is in the works, and I can assure you that I will be first in line to purchase it as well.

The recording carries an imprimatur and is a solidly Catholic endeavor. The text is that of the New Testament, Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition. I really feel that this compilation could easily be utilized by scholars and Bible enthusiasts from any tradition, however, and the producers’ commitment to creating a high-quality recording is a testament to the value of this resource for personal and group study.

I can’t recommend this collection highly enough. This would be a terrific gift for a Bible enthusiast or for a friend who is just beginning to learn about the life of Jesus. It’s a treat to hear the voices of some of my favorite actors – John Rhys-Davies, Neal McDonough, Sean Astin, Kristen Bell, and many more, and the quality of the recordings is top-notch. It’s a great value for the price, and it’s an addition to my library that I know I will rely on for personal and catechetical use for years to come.

I wrote this review of the Truth & Life Dramatized Audio Bible for Aquinas and More’s Tiber River Review Program, though which I can earn cool Catholic stuff by sharing my opinions of other cool Catholic stuff. I appreciate their responsive customer service and excellent selection, and I encourage you to check out their unique Christmas gift options – if you’re stumped for ideas, they have a great list of Most Popular Catholic Gifts in various categories.

Catechist Chat: Repetition is not Redundant

By Dorian Speed

As a classroom teacher, I used to feel like I needed to make every day a fantastic new learning experience. It was hard for me to acknowledge that my students didn’t always learn the information I’d present in snazzy, innovative ways. I’ve still got 1.5 feet in the snazzy-innovation camp, but I now see the value of repetition. I now see the value of repetition. (rim shot)

I now see the va…too much?

As I make my plan for the upcoming year in religious education, I am focusing on a few key concepts, images, and factoids that I’d really like my students to retain. I think we can assume that our students are going to retain about 10% of what we talk about in religious education classes, so it’s best to pick what that 10% will be and really make it count. I’ll talk more about this soon, but for now I just want to give an example.

I’m going to pick one prayer to really teach them as a class. Now, I know this may not be a revolutionary concept. Lots of times, with the diverse assortment of students in religious education classes, we can end up focusing on the basics (Lord’s Prayer, Act of Contrition, etc.) over and over. I’m going to branch out a bit this time and choose a prayer that I consider beautiful and very related to the class I’m teaching on Scripture. We’ll be studying and praying the Canticle of Zechariah.

Blessed be the Lord,
The God of Israel;
He has come to His people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour,
Born of the house of His servant David.

Through His holy prophets He promised of old
That He would save us from our enemies,
From the hands of all who hate us.

He promised to show mercy to our fathers
And to remember His holy Covenant.

This was the oath He swore to our father Abraham:
To set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship Him without fear,
Holy and righteous in His sight
All the days of our life.

You, My child shall be called
The prophet of the Most High,
For you will go before the Lord to prepare His way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation
By the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our Lord
The dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness
And the shadow of death,
And to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning.
is now, and will be forever.

Amen.
(Luke 1: 68-79)

Since we are going to be looking at an overview of salvation history, I think this prayer is a great way to reiterate and explore God’s faithfulness to His people over the generations.

Instead of just reading through the prayer once or twice in class and making comments to explain phrases in the text, we are going to say it together at the beginning of class each week. Repetition. For me, learning the words of these ancient prayers is a way to shift my brain into another space – the repetition of the words calms my crazy brain, while I recall the greater story surrounding the prayer itself and the events through which Zechariah leads us.

As an aside, another reason I’m looking forward to doing this is that I’m just not a good extemporaneous pray-yer. That’s not meant as a snide comment. It’s just not me. I feel terribly self-conscious trying to lead “the teens” in spontaneous prayer, and I think they can tell. It seems to end up with me making veiled comments about Appropriate Behavior During the Prayer.

Recommended Resource: Well, I haven’t yet read Memorize the Faith, but I did listen to an interview with the author, Kevin Vost, via the Catechetical Leader podcast. So I’ve ordered it, and anticipate its arrival in the next few days. The host of the podcast, Jonathan Sullivan, is running a poll on the subject of memorization’s place in catechesis. You should go! It’ll be fun!

Catechist Chat will be an ongoing series of posts for teachers in religious education programs. It is based on my personal experience and not on any statistical evidence of the effectiveness of my advice. Suscribe to my feed to follow along, and Caveat lector, which is Latin for “your mileage may vary.”

Click here to read other entries in the series, and be sure to follow Catechist Chat on Facebook! You can also sign up for my email list, and I’ll send you resources, including non-PDF versions of the activities I post (which means you can edit them in Microsoft Word to customize them for your own students).