Grade 4 – Chapter 5

STEP 1 - WELCOME

STEP 2 - INVITE

STEP 3 - DISCOVER

STEP 4 - LIVE

STEP 5 - CLOSING

God created people for one

another, and all must work

for the common good. Such

love of neighbor reflects the

love of the Holy Trinity. No

one can believe alone, just as

no one can live alone.

Share with Your Students “What’s Up”

-Leading a group means guiding them step by step through the

time together, so let them know what’s next

-Be specific when guiding them to what else they can expect

from the lesson. It allows students to feel comfortable knowing

what else they may experience throughout the class

-Being specific helps our brains to envision directions

-Put directions in the positive – “Keep your glass up” – helps us

get it right

-When we put them in the negative – “Don’t spill that!” – we

envision spilling the glass and often do just that!

STEP 1 - WELCOME

Community Activity – word search or coloring page

STEP 2 – INVITE

Let us Pray

Pray the Memorare

Chapter Poem: “The Chain of Life”

• Use this poem after the opening prayer, before explaining that God is one

in three Divine Persons

The Chain of Life

The human race is kind of a chain

That binds the world as one.

We share the Earth below our feet

And live beneath the sun.

Bodies, faces, voices, hands—

We each are given these.

All humans share the gift of life

And share a hope for peace.

• Ask: Who are three links in your chain of life?

• Invite the children to share some ways that all humans are connected.

Remind them to refer to the poem to help them. When finished, transition

back to the lesson instruction.

STEP 3 – DISCOVER

Created to Love

• Read through the 1st paragraph and ask the children their definition of the

Holy Trinity. Read the last 2 paragraphs and direct the children to

underline the mission of the Holy Trinity.

• Focus on the Holy Trinity and spend time discussing this. Can we truly

understand it? Just have to accept this as true. Ask “If you had to try to

explain this to a 1st grader, how would you do that?” Give the children a

few minutes to come up with an idea and then share them with the class.

Right and Responsibility

• Read through the passage and allow for reflection time on the Scripture

passage

Living as Catholics

• Read through the section and discuss some of the terms listed

• Activity: Encourage the kids to come up with how they would define

“love”

o Have them share and possibly write down their responses

o Once they have shared, share St. Thomas Aquinas’ definition of

love: “Love means to consistently will and choose the good of the

other”

o Get feedback from the kids on how this compares to what they

come up with

Activity Master 5: Board Game

• This is an optional activity the kids can do with their family.

STEP 4 – LIVE

Our Catholic Life

• Encourage the kids to complete the “Living in Community” activity and

then go over as a group

Live Your Faith

• Allow for Time to go through this section and have them put down

concrete ideas they can accomplish

Saint Activity – Share about St. Dominic

There are 5 saints with pictures and information about them on the back

• Have them pick one and read about them. Make sure you have someone

reading about each of the saints. Have the kids who read about each

saint give some bullet points about their saint so everyone learns about

them.

Take Homes:

• Family and Faith

• Chapter Review

STEP 5 – CLOSING

Our Father and Glory Be

Saint Martha

One of the most precious things in life is to have a home where you can go at any time

and find people who accept, love, and understand you. Jesus found such a home in

Bethany, at the house of a woman named Martha. She welcomed him and served him,

and they developed a special bond of friendship.

Martha lived with her sister Mary. Like many other pairs of sisters, these two women

were different in personality. Martha was energetic and outspoken, while Mary was

quiet and reflective. Jesus loved both of them and appreciated the gifts that each one

had.

The Gospel of Luke records that once, when Jesus was visiting, Martha prepared the

meal while Mary sat talking to their visitor. Martha complained that Jesus should tell

Mary to help her. Jesus said that because Martha was worrying so much about the

work, she did not have time to enjoy being with him and listening to his words.

Another time recorded in John's Gospel, the sisters sent a message to Jesus that their

brother, Lazarus, was ill. They knew Jesus would come and cure him; they trusted in

his loving care for them. When Jesus finally came, Lazarus had already been dead for

four days. As soon as she heard that Jesus was nearby, Martha, a woman of action, went

out to meet him, while Mary stayed in the house. In her grief, Martha told Jesus

honestly what she had expected from him. Jesus asked her to believe that he was the

resurrection and that he had power to give eternal life to all who believe in him.

Without really understanding this mystery, Martha trusted Jesus totally and said, "I

believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who was to come into this

world" (John 11:27). That day Jesus raised her brother Lazarus from the dead, showing

that he has power over life and death and power to give eternal life.

The home Jesus found in Bethany was not only in the house but in the faithful heart of a

woman named Martha.

Saint Blaise

According to tradition, Blaise had been a doctor before he was ordained a priest. He

became the bishop of Sebaste (now in central Turkey). During a period of persecution,

he fled to a cave where he lived as a hermit. It is said that he cured and tamed the wild

animals there. One day hunters discovered him and took him to the governor, who

sentenced him to be tortured and killed.

About four hundred years after his death, many stories began to be told about Blaise,

and he became a popular saint, especially in France and Germany. One legend says that

while Blaise was in prison, a mother brought him her small boy, who was choking on a

fishbone stuck in his throat. Blaise prayed over the child, and he was healed. Every year

on St. Blaise's feast, two candles tied with ribbon in the shape of an X are used to bless

throats. In the prayer the Church prays that those blessed may be delivered from

diseases of the throat and from every other illness. Candles are used because of another

story: It is said that while Blaise was kept in a dark prison, a woman secretly brought

him some candles and food.

Saint Catherine of Siena

Catherine wanted to serve God through quiet prayer. But Catherine's world was full of

problems. God called her to make a difference.

Catherine lived long ago in Siena, Italy. She was very wise and used words well.

Although unusual for a woman of her time, Catherine· made public speeches and

taught priests. She also cared for the sick and those in prison.

Catherine spoke out against injustice. She helped leaders in the Church make peace

with one another. For a time, she lived in Rome and served as an adviser to the Pope.

Christians learn from Catherine that every member of the Church can make a

difference.

Catherine's students called her "Mother'' and "Teacher." She has been named a Doctor of

the Church, which is an honor that means she is one of the great teachers in our Church.

Even though she had no formal education, her writings and teaching have been very

influential in the Church.

Catherine of Siena is also a canonized Saint of the Catholic Church. This means that the

Church has officially declared that she led a holy life and is enjoying eternal life with

God in Heaven.

Saint Patrick

How do you teach a classroom that's as big as a whole country? How do you teach a

whole country about God?

St. Patrick's classroom was the whole country of Ireland and his lesson was the good

news of Jesus Christ. How in the world did he do it? Well, it was only possible because

he depended totally on God.

Patrick was made the bishop of Ireland. He then traveled across the sea to teach Ireland

about Jesus Christ.

It wasn't easy. The people of Ireland practiced pagan religions. They worshiped nature,

and they practiced magic. They feared the spirits they believed lived in the woods. The

Irish people believed they could bring evil spirits down on those they wanted to harm.

Patrick had a big job ahead of him. He had to show a country full of students that there

was no point in worshiping nature. Trees can't forgive your sins or teach you how to

love. The sun, as powerful as it is, could not have created the world. Patrick explained

things using simple examples that people could easily understand. For example, he

used the three-leaf clover to show people how there could be three persons in one God.

Patrick preached to huge crowds and small villages. He preached to kings and princes.

He preached in the open air, and he preached in huts. Patrick never stopped preaching,

and he never stopped teaching. He couldn't stop--the whole country of Ireland was his

classroom, and he couldn't afford to miss even one student!

Soon, Patrick had help. Men became priests and monks. Women became nuns.

Wherever they lived, those monks and nuns settled in monasteries and set up schools.

More students were being reached every day.

But, of course, the greatest help Patrick had was from God.

When he was young, Patrick had forgotten God, but that would never happen again.

He knew that God supported him in every step he took. God gave Patrick the courage

to speak, even when Patrick was in danger of being hurt by pagan priests who didn't

want to lose their power over the people.

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha

Kateri Tekakwitha is called the Lily of the Mohawks. Her name Tekakwitha means

"putting things in order." She put her life in order in a short time.

Kateri was a Mohawk Indian born in what is now Auriesville, New York, ten years after

Isaac Jogues and his companions were martyred there. Her mother was a Christian

Algonquin Indian, and her father was a Mohawk chief. Her parents and a brother died

of smallpox when she was only four. Kateri recovered from the disease, but it left her

eyes weak and her face scarred.

Anastasia, a friend of Kateri's mother, took care of her and told her stories about the

Christian God. When Anastasia left for Canada to join other Christians there, Kateri's

uncle, a Mohawk chief, took Kateri as his daughter.

When Kateri's uncle and aunts wanted her to marry, she refused. She felt that the Great

Spirit was the only one she could love. This angered her uncle.

Kateri learned more about God from a missionary and asked to be baptized. She was

baptized on Easter Sunday. It was hard for Kateri to live as a Christian. Her people

expected her to work in the fields on Sunday, the Lord's Day. Sometimes they didn't

feed her. Children made fun of her and threw stones at her. Kateri endured this for two

years.

Finally, a priest advised Kateri to go to Canada where she would be with other

Christians. One day when her uncle was not home, she left for Canada with a Christian

named Hot Ashes. When Kateri's uncle found out she was missing, he followed her but

did not catch her.

Kateri brought with her a note from the missionary priest to a Canadian priest that said,

"I send you a treasure, Katherine Tekakwitha. Guard her well." Kateri lived an

outstanding Christian life. She went to Mass daily, made frequent visits to the Blessed

Sacrament, and prayed the rosary often. She cared for the sick and the old and taught

the children. She did much penance.

Kateri suffered from bad headaches. She was not strong and could eat very little. When

she died at the age of twenty-four, the scars on her face disappeared and she was

beautiful.

Kateri's last words were, "Jesus, I love you."

Saint Nicholas

Hundreds of years ago, Nicholas lived in a seaside town named Myra, which is in the

country we now call Turkey. Ever since he was a small child, Nicholas loved God more

than anything. He studied hard, prayed often, and followed Jesus by helping the poor.

Nicholas was loved for one reason. He loved. He loved God and God's people so much

that he would do anything for them.

Here is a story about Nicholas that has been passed down through many generations.

There was a man living in Myra who was very poor. This man had no wife, but he had

three grown daughters who lived with him

In those days, when a young woman got married, she had to bring money or property

with her into the marriage. This is called a dowry. If a woman didn't have a dowry, she

would never marry.

This man was so poor that he had no money for his daughters' dowries. And he didn't

have enough money to support them either. He had, he believed, only one choice: to sell

his daughters into slavery. Nicholas heard about this terrible situation. Late one night,

Nicholas crept to the man's home and threw something through the window. It was a

bag of gold-enough to pay the dowry for his oldest daughter.

The man was overjoyed, and his daughter was too. She married, but her father was still

left with a problem. Two, to be exact. What about the two younger daughters? Sadly, he

prepared to send them away.

Nicholas returned one night and again threw a bag of gold through the window. The

father rejoiced. But he wondered who was helping him and why.

Of course, Nicholas didn't want the man to know. He knew that it's best to help others

without letting them know we're helping them. If we help others in this way, we help

because we truly want to and not because people will praise us for it.

But the father was determined. He had one daughter left and no money for a dowry. He

certainly hoped he would be helped again, especially because he wanted to find out

who was doing it. So he locked the windows and watched out the door.

Nicholas still wanted to help, but he didn't want to be seen. So, in the back of the house,

far from the father's sight, he dropped the bag of gold for the third daughter right down

the chimney.