Liturgical Year

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.

Peter was born in 1007 and lived with his family in Italy. His parents died when he was a child, so he went to stay with an older brother who treated him badly. Another brother, a priest, found out and helped Peter get an education. Peter was a good student and eventually became a university teacher.

During Advent we prepare students to celebrate the birth of our Savior on Christmas. Use the following ideas to keep the spotlight on celebrating the coming of the Lord.

Master catechists answer questions from readers.

A downloadable Image Key of the liturgical calendar that appears in November/December 2013 CATECHIST.

The Gospel for the First Sunday of Lent (Luke 4:1-13) tells us that Jesus went into the desert for 40 days. While there, he paid less attention to his physical life and more to his spiritual life by fasting and praying. But it wasn't easy. All the while, the devil tempted him. Do similar things happen to you today? Let's see.

Thomas of Villanova is known as the Father of the Poor. He cared about people who were sick, homeless, and living in poverty. He said, “If you want God to hear your prayers, hear the voice of the poor.” He lived his life with love for others as Jesus teaches us.

Genoveva was a person of great faith and courage. She wanted to join the Carmelite Order but was not accepted due to her health. She was very disappointed, but she did not give up. She knew that God has a purpose for each of our lives.

One of the loveliest images of Joseph is of him leading a donkey that is carrying Mary who is pregnant with Jesus. They are traveling from their home in Nazareth to Bethlehem. The journey made by Joseph and Mary may hold more spiritual gold and meaning than the census that caused it.