Class #16 Feb 12, 2020 Confirmation

Last week, we tackled the Sacrament of Confirmation. We started by talking about the Holy Spirit and Pentecost. We emphasized that the Holy Spirit is God and that aspect or person of God that stays with us daily. We told the story of Pentecost and then showed a short video to reinforce the concept.

We transitioned into a discussion of the role of the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Confirmation. We discussed the idea of confirming their basic beliefs as Catholic. We broke them into pairs and asked them to list some of their core Catholic beliefs. We gave them some hints, like “Think of the Apostle’s Creed.” It went OK.

We discussed the role of Confirmation as a major milestone on their growth as Catholics. Most of them weren’t asked if they wanted to be baptized, but when they approach young adulthood, they do get the chance to decide and confirm their faith. We compared it to other young adult ceremonies in other religions, like evangelical protestants’ “born again” or the Jewish Bar Mitzvah.

We returned to the text and asked them to read a page silently and look for the answers to a few questions.

Why does the Confirmation sponsor place his or her hand on the shoulder of the candidate?

How does the bishop anoint the candidate?

Why does the newly confirmed offer peace to the bishop?

We spent some time talking about the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and completed a match-game exercise.

We finished up with a game of Hangman. Unfortunately, despite going through nearly the entire alphabet, they weren’t able to solve “Pentecost.” Too bad.

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Class 15, Feb. 5, 2020 Mass

We started the class a little differently this week. We have had a small problem lately with classroom behavior. It hasn’t been terrible, but some of the antics have been distracting, both to the rest of the class and to me. We usually go through this about this time every year.  Mrs. Hanzel has not been able to help out since the Christmas break, so I have been on my own. I realize that the CCD class comes at the end of a long day for them. Their regular school is their “job.” Our class is like overtime.

So I asked the class for their cooperation. I don’t expect or want them to just sit there with their hands folded. We want a lively class with a lot of exchange, but we need some better focus. I try to present lessons that, while not necessarily entertaining, are interesting. We engage in activities like role playing that break up the routine. That doesn’t work when several students are trying to make themselves the center of attention. I asked them to work with me, pay attention and avoid activities that disrupt or distract. For the most part, it worked. I did have to call out two young ladies, who ironically, were late for class and didn’t hear the message. When I was making a point, one who was sitting in the front row, stood up, turned around to her friends and used both hands to point to herself. I addressed her and told her about my talk before she got to class. I told her and the class that was exactly the kind of attention-seeking, distracting activity I was talking about.

For the lesson, we finished our discussion of the Eucharist by focusing on the Mass. Most of the class agreed that they really didn’t understand what was going on. To start off, we compared the structure of the Mass to visiting some friends with their family. In this case, we are visiting in God’s house.

— We start a visit by going to the door and being welcomed by our hosts. This is like the introductory rites.

— Typically, we visit and chat with our friends. This like the opening prayers and the readings. We talk to God and God talks to us.

— And since we never show up for dinner without bringing something, we do the same at Mass. This is the offertory and presentation of the gifts.

— Eventually, we and the host prepare the meal and we sit down and eat. This, of course, is the consecration, Eucharistic prayer and communion.

— And finally, we say good bye and go home. The same at Mass.

We passed out a one-sheet outline of the Mass. It included a column indicating when we sit, stand and kneel. Typically, we stand when we are praying, sit when we are listening and kneel during the most sacred part of the Mass.

We played a video that covered a lot of the same information, but it reinforced the lesson. These Catholic Central videos are energetic and interesting. They may be slightly advanced for 5^th graders, but not by much. The class seems to enjoy them. You can watch the one from this week here.

We finished up by passing out the missals/hynmals we use in the church, and showed the class how to use the missal to follow along with the Mass.

Next week, we will begin a two-week lesson on Confirmation.

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Class 14, Jan. 29, 2010 Eucharist 1

This is a way-late update for last week’s class. Being partially retired with two small (23 mos and 8 mos) grandchildren is busier than working full time.

We began our coverage of the Eucharist. We talked about the Passover and how the first Eucharist, at the Last Supper, was a Seder meal. The class was quite surprised to learn that Jesus and his followers were all Jewish.

If the class got anything out of the lesson it would be the concept of “real presence,” our belief that Jesus is truly present in the host and wine.

We had the class team up with a partner and read a passage from the text that explained the Eucharist as being a memorial, a sacrifice and a meal.

This week, we will finish up on the Eucharist by looking at the structure of the Mass and explaining how to use a  missal (hymnal) to follow along.

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