Liturgical Seasons

Easy Pleasy Advent Activity:

Advent Chains

I'm a huge fan of easy activities that have a big impact. After prepping my kids for advent I cut out strips of pink and purple paper (you can even plan it to have pink on the week following Guadete Sunday if you want to get specific) and then I have each student write an idea they have for an all class activity we can do together on one of the strips. I then fold the strips and make them into a chain.

Each day of advent we take off a link of the chain and do whatever it says together. Students were really pleased with this because they were in charge of what we did for the first five minutes of each class. They were also really pleased with their ideas, as was I. So far we have sang a song to Jesus in the chapel, prayed a few decades of the Rosary, read the Nativity from the Bible in the courtyard, and committed to multiple good deeds each day. It's been an awesome way to change up class for a short amount of time to enter into the advent prepping spirit.

I'll be posting more soon about how I first prepare my students for what advent is and how we prepare for it.

Grace was here!

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Advent: Coming Home

Advent can be a hard thing to prepare for sometimes in school because everyone is so focused on Christmas and we almost don't have time for Advent with break, Christmas programs, parties, and all sorts of gift giving. I'm definitely not complaining about all of that, instead, I want to offer some of the ways that I have helped keep my students and myself focused on Advent BEFORE Christmas takes over.

First, I have them watch this video by Busted Halo and we discuss their impressions.

Second, I use this worksheet below. (I'm not a huge fan of worksheets so I use it more as a journal and discussion piece. Use it however you wish).

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WHAT IS ADVENT?

BY MARK HART

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Hide-an-seek was my favorite game growing up. The strategy of securing the perfect hiding place, the frantic scurry to hide, the thrill of the count, holding my breath as I heard the seeker getting closer … it was almost too much pressure for my little heart to take.

The lessons learned in hide-and-seek are lessons we can carry with us throughout life: the ability to think under pressure, the integrity to not look while counting, the self-control in remaining silent for long periods of time as well as the pure joy of playing a game with friends, just to name a few.

Too often, however, I treat my relationship with God like a game of hide-and-seek. I run and try to hide from Him (as if He cannot see me!). At times I even hold my breath and don't talk to Him. I figure that if He can't find me, He can't ask me to change.

There's just one problem with that thought process: We can't hide from God.

To God everything is exposed: all of our faults, imperfections, personal secrets but also all of our talents, traits, successes and achievements … that's the good news. The even better news is that God is always seeking you and me.

'For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost' (Luke 19:10).

That is one of reasons why the Church gives us the season of Advent. Over the four weeks preceding Christmas, we prepare not just for Jesus' coming as a baby in a manger but also for His Second Coming. The word Advent means 'to come,' and the Church, with great wisdom, nudges us with a 'wake-up call' to ensure that we are honest with our God and in right relationship with Him before He comes again.

God is seeking you. Are you hiding from Him? If not, good. If so, stop. You have no reason to hide yourself from Him.

He loves us even more than we love ourselves, so let Him. He's coming back at some point. The fact is only scary if we're not where we need to be in our relationship to God. A relationship with Jesus is all fun without any of the games.

Advent is a beautiful gift, so seek God and make the season one of depth and of honesty. Expose your soul before God and allow Him to love you for who you truly are: a sinner in need of His mercy, a work in progress.

As hide-and-seek reminds us, 'Ready or not, here He comes.'

'Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?'Psalm 139:7

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1.    What are ways you prepare for Christmas during Advent?

2.    Is there anything new you can do this year to be sure that you are preparing for Jesus’s birth in a personal way?

3.    When you think of Jesus’s second coming what you do you feel?

4.    What are ways this advent you can prepare for Jesus to come again?

5.    Do you ever hide from God? Why?

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Third, we discuss the second coming using some of the questions from the above worksheet. Most of the time kids will be honest about how the concept of the second coming scares them. A lot of time that fear comes from the unknown. Both the unknown of what the end of the world will be like and also the unknown of meeting Jesus. They forget that Jesus is the one they will encounter in that moment. The same Jesus that is with us at Mass, in confession, in prayer, and in our hearts. Here's where things start to hit home. To help them to imagine and get comfortable with the idea of a second coming and being brought home I show them images they have seen before using this video, and this video. Both are videos of soldiers coming home unexpectedly and surprising their children. In both videos the children are overwhelmed with joy. After watching the two videos we discuss a couple of things.

1. How did the children react?

2. Did any of them say, "Wait a minute!? Come back in a month when I get my room cleaned or my math grade up?" Here is where we discuss and drive home the point that when Jesus comes both at Christmas and at the second coming we want to throw ourselves on His love and mercy, not shy away from Him. This comes from building up a relationship with Him that will build up trust and confidence. I do not use this as a guilt trip for students to think that it's just because those kids already were perfect when their parents came back, because we know they probably were not. I also like to focus on the boy who was in ROTC and how he was hoping to follow in his dad's footsteps as an analogy for us following in Christ's footsteps too. I use all of this more as an image of where we want to be in our relationship with Christ. A lot of times this brings kids to tears imagining this and viewing the love between the children and their fathers or mothers. It definitely plants a seed in their hearts of desire for a relationship like that with Christ.

3. Finally, I ask how their view of advent has changed. Usually this brings up a lot of awesome reflection and new desire for what they want to do to be ready for Christ. They usually seem to "get it" a little bit better and the pressure to have a good advent has now been converted to a desire to have a good relationship with Christ.

Finally, we make advent chains to carry this lesson throughout the rest of advent up to Christmas break. You can view my post on advent chains here.

Sometimes I add the Jesse tree lessons, or advent calendar lessons but I don't want to overwhelm them or leave no time for our other lessons.

Grace was here!

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Lenten Confessions - Christ's Reclaiming of Your Royalty

CONFESSION DURING LENT

 Side note: This was is a reflection packet given to my students during Holy Week that they could use during a long penance service. I will provide links to the different resources I mention later.

As you prepare your hearts during this Holy Week, you are being given a great opportunity to approach God’s “Tribunal of Mercy” in Confession. This is your time to experience His mercy and love both in Confession and with Him in the Eucharist while reflecting on all that He has done to save you from sin and the worst kind of unhappiness.

Read through these sections and write down your answers to the questions or your reactions and thoughts to each reflection. Allow the Holy Spirit to move in you as you read and write.

1st THINGS FIRST
It is so important to remember that in our faith we are loved by God. Once we really know this we show that we know it by our response: loving Him in return. We don’t naturally or easily love something just because we are told to love. It’s hard to love a brother just because our mom or dad says, “you have to love him, he IS your brother.” Instead, we usually experience love from someone and love them back. For example: If your older brother travels far to see you and spends a lot of time with you it might be easier to want to love your brother, and you certainly won’t have to be told to love him either.

Therefore, it makes sense that when we try to love God without first experiencing or knowing His love it can be hard, in fact, frustrating may be the better word. We should try to reverse our order and let God do the loving first and then we can receive it and give it back. The truth is any love we can give comes from God first. For “God is Love.” (1JN 4:16)  and  “We love because he first loved us.” (1JN 4:19) While we may not always “feel” the love of God it is always present. Sometimes we have to love when it doesn’t make sense. Take some time and effort to seek to understand how much God loves you. Read on.

DOES GOD REALLY LOVE ME?
If you have ever wondered, “Does God really love me?” right now is your time to consider the facts. Open your missalettes to April 1st and reread the Gospel which is the Passion Story. While you read consider your question of “Does God really love me?” and remember that every abandonment you read about (Apostles not being able to stay awake, shouts against Him, etc.) and every physical pain He underwent (Scourging with broken glass, nails, splintered wood, and whips; crowning with a helmet of thorns crushing into His skull, forehead and neck, etc.) was all done for you. He is not angry with you for this suffering, but instead embraced His suffering because you needed it. You were enough for Him to suffer through it all.

Reflection 1: Imagine His eyes blurry, burning, and clouded with blood and sweat. They are gazing at you from above where His tattered and torn body is hanging upon a Cross. It’s strange because these eyes aren’t angry with you even though you were among the crowds yelling, “Crucify Him!” by your sins, and doubts. Instead, His eyes gaze at you with love, affection and the message of how cherished and precious you actually are at this very moment.

HOW DO I LOVE HIM BACK?
“We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.” (1JN 4:16)

Reflection 1: Jesus knew His death was coming. He knew the horrible things He would suffer. It would have been one thing if everyone around Him was helping Him, encouraging Him, and cheering Him on, but instead He could not even get His apostles to care enough to stay awake with Him while He was in so much sorrow and agony that He sweat blood. Do you keep watch with Jesus or do you find it hard to stay with Him? Do you become weary and tired and give up rather than continue to do the right thing? Do you abandon others in their sorrow?

Reflection 2: Even our First Pope could be a dope.

In the reading of the Passion in your missalettes find the part where Peter tells Jesus that He would never deny Him. Then read about how Peter does deny Jesus. What is your initial reactions to this? How does His cowardice make you feel?

Peter is passionate about the fact that he would follow Jesus, His closest friend, even to death. However not much later He can’t even admit knowing Jesus. How have you been like Peter in your own life? Do you want to do good things and then fail in the moment? Do you consider yourself holy but then look at your actions and realize how much you fail in the heat of the moment like Peter?

But...even after Peter’s failure there is mercy. Read this passage from John 21:

Jesus and Peter.* 15When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,* “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”* He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16He then said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” [Jesus] said to him, “Feed my sheep.i 18* Amen, amen, I say to you,j when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” 19He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”k

Remember that Peter had said he would follow Jesus even to death? Remember how he messed that up? Remember how he didn’t only mess up once but three times? How many times did Jesus ask Him if He loved Him in this passage? Could it be that Jesus is showing Peter His mercy? Giving Him a second chance to get it right this time? Could He be Helping to set Him straight in His mission to go on from his initial cowardice into heroic courage? He said he would follow Jesus even to death. Peter did die for Jesus on an X shaped Cross. His sins did not define him and he turned from them and towards real love that doesn’t just “talk the talk” but actually “walks the walk.”

(Nerd note: Fires are not often mentioned in the New Testament...It is interesting that in both stories Peter is next to a fire: At his denial: “They lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat around it, and Peter sat down with them.”  When He is asked by Jesus after His resurrection if He loves Him: “When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread.” Some people wonder if this was a way to help Peter understand that this questioning was a second chance to get it right this time.)

CONFESSION IS OUR ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS AND HIS LOVE

After reflecting on God’s love for us and our love for him, and all that we have done or failed to do, we go to meet Jesus. Do you feel like an apostle who didn’t care that their best friend and Messiah was sweating blood? Or do you feel like Peter who wants to love Jesus but fails miserably? Either way Jesus understands. While He was on earth He experienced these moments of rejection by people and He has experienced yours too. But, that takes absolutely NOTHING away from how much He loves you. He’d do it all again for you.

So, here is your moment to trust. When we go to Confession we take all of our sorrow and guilt and we hand it over to the man we have hurt most. And always, without fail, no matter how terrible you think you are He will offer you forgiveness. Not the kind with strings attached, but real forgiveness. Jesus even spelled it out for us when He would appear to St. Faustina, a young Polish nun in the 1930s. He told her to tell all of mankind about His mercy especially in confession.

Read Message for All Catholics: “Jesus is in the Confessional” in your packet. What parts bring you the most comfort? What parts help you not to be afraid to confess your sins? What parts surprised you?

Remember, when going to Confession, you can ask Father questions, you can say what you need and you can leave knowing that it was always Jesus with you listening and responding to you.

EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE BASED ON LOVE

First, if we truly love God and give Him our trust we will follow all of His laws out of love. Jesus never taught anything unless it would make us deeply happy, we can trust that all of God’s laws are for us and not against us.  Read and reflect on the sheet that begins with Prayer Before Examining Your Conscience.

Second, read Examination of Conscience: The Law of Love in your packet.

AMEND MY LIFE. AMEN.

In confession in our Act of Contrition we make a promise to amend our lives. What does this mean? Consider the difference between Peter and Judas. Peter proclaims that He would never deny Jesus yet he doesn’t only deny Jesus he does it 3 times! Judas sells Jesus to the chief priests and helps Jesus get handed over to be killed. Both committed some pretty nasty sins. One is our first Pope and a great Saint, the other is not.

Their difference lies not in the degree of their sins, or who was worse, instead it all comes down to how they responded. Peter broke down and cried but went running back to Jesus. Judas, afraid of his sins and without trust in his heart, killed himself and did not believe that God could bring hope and peace to him after his sins.

Your commitment to avoid sin and try to live a better life does matter. Sure you will mess up, God knows that too, but if you can imitate Peter and keep trying even if it takes you a long time God can promise hope, happiness and heaven. How will you avoid sin and try to do better now that you have received God’s mercy?