Unit 1 - Jesus Christ is With Us Always
Chapter 8 – We Learn About God's Love
Faith Statements of Chapter 8:
The Bible is the book of God's word.
The Old Testament is the first part of the Bible.
The New Testament is the second part of the Bible.
Jesus wants us to listen to His teachings.
Chapter 8 Key Words:
Bible: the book in which God's word is written.
Old Testament: the first part of the Bible.
New Testament: the second part of the Bible.
Gospels: four of the books in the New Testament that are about Jesus' teachings
and His life on earth.
As we prepare for the celebration of the sacrament of First Holy Communion, we expect the children
to participate in the Mass. It is essential for a child who is preparing to receive this most Blessed
Sacrament. We are learning about what Father is wearing, what we see in the church and the
structure of the Mass. This is a lot of information to digest and the children will not remember
everything, obviously. The prayers of the Mass should be familiar to the children and they will need
to learn them by heart. They can and should be following along in the book. However, they should
not flip aimlessly through the pages the entire time. It is our responsibility to see that they begin to
behave and participate during the Mass to a much fuller extent than you may have previously
expected.
Your child may bring home his/her religion text whenever they desire. Just remind them to pack it
before coming home and remember to send it back the next day for our work in class.
Visit the Prayers section to view the prayers we are learning here in school.
We say almost all prayers listed there on a daily basis and will explore
meanings of the prayers as the year progresses and students begin to memorize
them.
At the end of each chapter, there is a family section. Please examine
this section when it is sent home. You can read this section together with your child
or your entire family. The main function is to involve you in the faith formation of your child and
keep you informed of what we are learning in class. This serves as a great review for
the Chapter tests.
Our A.N.G.E.L. Way virtue for the first grading period is work.
We will be discussing the Ten Commandments.
The students will begin to form a greater understanding of the Ten
Commandments. Please see the explanations of the commandments
that I will use with the students.
First Commandment:
"I am the Lord your God. You shall not have strange gods before me."
Explain that we try to put God first in our life.
Second Commandment:
"You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain."
Emphasize that God's name is holy and we must respect it and not use
it thoughtlessly.
Third Commandment:
"Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day."
Teach that Catholics have the duty of participating in Mass on Sundays
and holy days of obligation.
Fourth Commandment:
"Honor your father and mother."
Explain that children must obey their parents or guardians.
Fifth Commandment:
"You shall not kill."
Stress that as Catholics, we are called to be peacemakers in our
homes and schools.
Sixth Commandment:
"You shall not commit adultery."
Help the children to understand that the sacrament of marriage makes
holy the promise of a man and woman to love each other as husband
and wife.
Seventh Commandment:
"You shall not steal."
Teach that stealing is taking the property of another person without
permission.
Eighth Commandment:
"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."
Emphasize that lying deliberately is saying what is untrue.
Ninth Commandment:
"You shall not covet your neighbor's wife."
Guide the students to see that we must be faithful to those we love.
Tenth Commandment:
"You shall not covet your neighbor's goods."
Help people to have what they need to live.
We are also learning the sacraments. The children should
Know and be able to tell you that the sacraments are special ways that
We meet Jesus at times in our life. The students are learning what each
Sacrament means, who receives it and when, and in what ways we
Meet Jesus in that sacrament. Discuss the sacraments with your child
and what each sacrament means to you.
The seven sacraments are:
Baptism
Confirmation
Eucharist
Penance
Anointing of the Sick
Holy Orders
Matrimony
This year, your child will be preparing for the celebrations of First
Reconciliation and First Eucharist. These are very special sacraments. The
most important way to prepare your child to celebrate the sacraments is to bring
your child to church every weekend. I do ask the children if they have been to
church over the weekend. Quite often we will discuss the readings or the Gospel for
the week.
It is important that the children go to Mass to learn the parts of the Mass and
most importantly, how to behave during the special celebration. We do go to
church as a school once a month, but as the students will learn, this does not
fulfill their Sunday Mass obligation, nor teach them that the Lord's Supper is a
special time each week to be with God.
