Liturgical Year

by Patricia MathsonExample of Loving Others Feast Day: November 16 for a Saint Page about St. Margaret of Scotland that your learners can take...

The word Christmas often brings to mind the word presents. Of course, Christmas IS a time when we give and receive presents. Christmas presents are one of the symbols of the season, which celebrates a very special presence—Jesus in our midst! Here are some other words we associate with the Advent and Christmas Seasons. Using a green highlighter or crayon, mark each word or words in this grid. When you finish, you will have created a familiar symbol of Christmas. Then add final touches to the symbol, especially one at the top!

Do you know these facts about Advent and Christmas? Read each statement and circle the letter next to the word or phrase that makes the statement a fact. Before you begin, fold the bottom of the page up to the dotted line. That way, you cannot see the Answers until you’re ready to check your facts. Have fun and learn!

by Jeanne Heiberg Serenity, peace, security, relaxation, comfort, loving parents, siblings, love, joy: These are some of the words people responded with when I...

by Patricia MathsonPerson of Courage Feast Day: October 5 for a Saint Page about St. Anna Schäffer that your learners can take home to...

by Jeanne Heiberg A blessing is when I’m aware that God favors me. It’s something very good. Good health…good finances…good friends. Something they say when you sneeze. A...

by Patricia Mathson Feast Day: September 17    for a Saint Page about St. Robert Bellarmine that your learners can take home to share...

Rita was born in 1381. She was the only child of older parents, and she grew up in a small town near Cascia, Italy. Rita’s parents taught her to live in peace. She became a wife, a mother, a widow, and a nun. Despite many difficulties in her life, Rita always was faithful to God.

Although the Triduum takes place over three days—counting from sundown to sundown, according to Jewish tradition, from Holy Thursday night to Easter Sunday evening—help your students begin to grasp that the Triduum is one three-day, continuous celebration. Unless we see these days as an organic whole, we miss their interconnectedness.

In today's high-tech world, our students stay connected with their classmates and peers using umpteen gizmos and gadgets: cell phones, smart phones, social networking options, and online applications. Any effort to introduce religious education with this medium has the potential of exciting students and keeping them engaged. In the fifth-grade religious education class of Queen of Peace in Queens, New York, we have successfully used the technology and would like to share this so that any instructor could use this time-tested and successful model.