“Ensuring that special attention be given to the family, the cradle of life

and love where one first learns how to become human”

Strenna 2006

RETREAT

REFLECTION

PRAYER DAY

FOR

Confirmation (Grade 6 students)

based on the Strenna for this year

“Family the Cradle of life and Love”

Rationale

Confirmation is a Sacrament of initiation which inserts us right into the heart of what it means to be

“Active and effective Christians” In all aspects of our lives

I believe that the 4 aspects of the Strenna 2006

Natural Family

Christian Family

Human Family

Salesian FamilyLends itself to exploring ways to connect the concepts of the Sacrament of Confirmation with real Life and make it more relevant and practical for the young, through the reflections and activities they are involved in.

Here is one way (very simple indeed) I incorporate the Strenna in my

Confirmation Program for this year . The ideas can be adapted to suit any age group

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES:

For students for reflect on the Scripture passage related to the topic

For students to see that each of us has a part to play as we contribute to building up our Family,Christian and World communities.

For students to realise that we are called to be “Living stones” in the ordinary situations of our lives, thus making our Family, Christian and World communities better places.

For students to see the connection between our everyday living and the Sacrament of Confirmation.

For students to reflect on their responsibility to be ‘living and active’ Christians/Individuals and to benefit from the many ‘helps’ (eg. Sacrament, especially the Eucharist, Parents, Teachers, traditions etc) that are available to us.

For students to realise that the Gifts of the Spirit help us to be “Living Stones” on our journey through life by the way we Live and Work, and the values we espouse.

The point of departure for the program is the

reading of the simple yet beautiful story

“The song of the temple stones”Written by Robert A. King

Illustrated by Gene Vandervoot © 1999 Daughters of St. Paul

Which I have adapted to make it relevant to the students

through the beautiful visual imagery of the book itself.

The reflections which I have derived from the story are:

•We all have a part to play in the grand scheme of things

•Every stone in the building is important and unique and contributes to the good of the whole.

•The Head builder (God) has a special plan for each of us, which becomes clearer as we journey in life and in the events that shape it.

•Even though at times we feel useless and ‘left out’ we still need to believe and have faith and trust in the ‘blue print’(God’s plan) which God has mapped out for us.

Like stones/bricks in a building WE are all ‘important’ and must do our bit to contribute

to building up the temple of our

Homes - (natural Family) –

Parish - (Christian family)

World - (human family)

By the way we live and work.

By the values that guide our lives

By the use of our gifts for good rather than evil.

It is hoped that the students come to realise that the “temple” we refer to is not a physical building, but is a symbol of our hearts and our interaction with

others we live and work with.

After the initial input on the above story the students are involved in activities that

reinforce these concepts.

Students are led into a quiet prayerful environment and given the opportunity to personally reflect on the Scripture passage

(1 Cor. 3 16 –17)

Don’t you know that you are “God’s Living Temple” and that the Spirit lives in you ? God’s temple is

holy and you are that temple. Here the Students are made aware and reminded once again that we

are not talking about a physical temple or building but the temple

of our hearts and lives and our relationship with God and Jesus.

The students are then invited to reflect more deeply on the fact that:

“Each of us is a living stone in God’s temple’ by the way we behave and live our lives at home, school, with friends, and in our Christian or Parish Church Community”

Students are then invited to write down their thoughts to the following questions:

In what ways can you be a LIVING STONE

In Your Natural Family -

In Your Christian/Church/School family

In God’s human family (the world)Here the students are reminded to think of their every day life and Write down practical and small ways and something they can do at any given moment

The students are then further led into another aspect of the Sacrament of Confirmation : Their relationship with Jesus

‘Confirmation is a commitment to ‘follow Jesus’ more closely

Jesus then should be our “Foundation stone” and an example of how we should live our lives….

We are invited to develop our ‘spiritual life’ by allowing Jesus to be part of our lives and deepening our relationship with Him.

Related to the above reflections on Confirmation then

Students are again invited to reflect on this verse of Scripture relating to Jesus (Ephesians 2: 20)

“You are like a building..Christ Jesus himself is the most important stone in that building. And if that building is joined

together in Christ, He makes it grow and become a holy temple”

Listen with your heart - MeditationIn conclusion to this session the students are led in ‘A heart journey’ (meditation)

BEFORE THE QUIET TIME:

Invite each student to pick up a stone from the sacred space. As the students enter into the silence of the moment.

Relate the qualities/characteristics/texture of the stone to our lives

The stone in your hand is unique

It has its own characteristics

It can be used for good or harm.

It the stone is thrown at someone in anger it can do harm

It can also be use to embellish your fish-tank, your driveway or decorated as art pieces.

We too are invited to be Living Stones in the temple of our Home/Parish/School and World by using our gifts and being our best selves. Those gifts that the Spirit confirms in us at our Confirmation.

In order to be active and effective Christians, we must stay connected with

JESUS THE FOUNDATION STONE.

Confirmation helps us to grow and develop our relationship with Jesus…

We must always listen with our hearts if we want to follow Jesus in the way he lived and acted.

There will be times of confusion, sadness and difficult choices, but if we listen with our hearts,that is, stay in touch with the Jesus we follow then we know we will be on the right track…

Conclude this session with a reflective song such as

“Listen with your heart” by Casey Donovan or something similar

ACTIVITY 2. Art work

Students are invited

to be part of the murals which can

be prepared before hand as part

of their learnings on the

4 aspects of the strenna

Some ideas follow from here.

Each student paints

a leaf on the “Family tree”

with their family name inscribed in the leaf

(Biological family)

Each student is invited to paint a ‘brick’

as part of our calling in building

Christian

Church

Faith community

(Christian family)

Each student is invited to paint a face/person to represent them as being part of God’s Family.. And our contribution to make the world a better place

(Human family)

The day or program concludes with a brief presentation on the Salesian Family (It all began with a dream or two) and its founders with special emphasis on Mama Margaret who played a huge part in its growth & whom we celebrate this year

The students are then presented with a visual Presentation on the two Salesian teenagers Dominic Savio and Laura Vicuna who were “Living Stones” in their own simple ways and lived their Christian commitment to the full.

Mama Margaret – the Mother of the Salesian family and Mother of St. John Bosco

Don Bosco and Maria Mazzarello founders of the Salesian Family.

The day ends with a presentation of Dominic Savio and Laura Vicuna who by their simple lives contributed to making their home,school, parish and world, better places and now are champions within the Salesian Family, thanks to Mama Margaret and her son Don Bosco

All our efforts to be “living stones’ in our normal everyday life, becomes a lot easier if we keep in mind the message of Don

Bosco that re-echoes across the Salesian world

“Serve God in gladness”

The day ends with an enthusiastic & joyful singing of

“Let us serve our God in Joy”

These are some thoughts and very simple

ideas which you might or might not find useful…

The drawings are part of the murals on the walls that currently brighten up the Recreation room and have been done to

incorporate the strenna.

The students have enjoyed being part of this activity so far and their interactions and comments with each other, as they engage

in this fun yet meaningful activity are indeed very interesting

Presented by Sr. Rochelle Lamb as part

of PAT resources on the Strenna © 2006