Hello Faith Formation Families!
Last week, we learned about St. Damien of Molokai, the priest who dedicated his life to the people with leprosy on the Hawaiian island of Molokai. Inspired by St. Damien's promise that the people of Molokai would never feel forgotten or alone, our service project for the month was to remind someone we love that they are not forgotten or alone by sending them a video of ourselves reading our favorite picture book!
This week, we'll finish up our month on the Corporal Work of Mercy "Visit the Prisoner" by learning about some other ways in which people can feel imprisoned, like addiction and sin, a bit about the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and a little Corporal Works of Mercy puzzle game.
All of the materials you'll need for this month's lessons will be printable or accessible online, so there's no need to pick up a packet in the Parish Center.
"Visit the Prisoner "
Family Lesson #19
Let's begin our lesson as we begin all things, with the Sign of the Cross.
"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen."
Then pray the Guardian Angel Prayer:
"Angel of God, My Guardian Dear,
To whom God's love commits me here,
Ever this day be at my side,
To light and guard, to rule and guide.
Amen."
Here's a printable version of this prayer along with the opening prayers from October-December. Consider putting them all together in a prayer book!
Activities:
A Fun Reminder and a Fun Review
A FUN REMINDER
In the lesson video above, we talked about some ways in which people can be imprisoned in their minds and hearts, like through addiction or sin. But God made everything good and wants us to be free from those things! Here's a little reminder to print and color that you can hang in your room or give to a friend or family member who might need a little encouragement.
A FUN REVIEW
Jesus tells us over and over in the Bible how we should care for each other. Do you remember the passages from the Gospel of Matthew that we read together back in the fall? In Chapter 22, Jesus gives us the Greatest Commandments. He says we should love God above all, and love our neighbor as ourselves. In Chapter 25, Jesus says that whenever we care for the least of our brothers and sisters, we care for him. This passage is where we get the Corporal Works of Mercy we've been talking about this year.
Now that we're halfway through our year of virtual learning together, it's time for a little game to help us remember these important passages. Welcome to the Corporal Works of Mercy Scripture Tetris!
First, moms and dads, it's time to reminisce about the "good old days" of video game consoles. If your child hasn't had the joy of playing Tetris, you can explain how it works.
Here's my mom playing Tetris on our original Nintendo back in 1992!
Then, print one of the pdf documents here. Follow the directions in the document for how to set up the pieces, then put together the Tetris Corporal Works of Mercy Scripture puzzle! There are three different versions for different puzzle skill levels. The hard and medium versions use the scripture passage from Matthew 25, and the easy version uses the shorter scripture passage from Matthew 22. Have fun reviewing one of these passages together!
Special Bible Verse
As a family, read this Bible verse a few times slowly. Take a quiet moment to think about what Jesus is telling us.
"God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good."
If you wish, you could also write out this Bible verse in fancy letters, or even try to memorize all or part of it!
God Sightings
I love a beautiful blue sky day. Sometimes it seems like you can see right up to heaven, doesn't it? This past Saturday was a day like that!
Remember to share your own God Sightings in the "Share your faith work" section below!
Share Your "Faith Work"
PS, Guess what! High School Outreach is serving up a takeaway pasta dinner on February 13! I know what I'm having for dinner that night!
