JANUARY 2021 REVIEW  

•   What is a disciple?

o   A person who follows Jesus and shares the Gospel- Jesus Christ died for us and through His resurrection opened the gates of heaven for all of us. 

•   Are we being disciples of Jesus? 

o   Reflect on how we are acting as Jesus to those in our families and our community.

•   How do spread His message?

o   Reflect on sharing the Good News that Jesus has saved us through our words and actions.

Activity 1: All Grades

Read the readings for Sunday, February 14, 2021, the Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time. Light a candle and read aloud as a family.  

Discussion

What is going on in this week’s readings?  Why is a sick man shunned in the first reading?  Why does Jesus heal the leper in the Gospel but forbid him from telling everyone that Jesus healed him? The ancient Hebrews didn’t have the same understanding of germs and viruses as we do now.  They thought that if someone was outwardly sick; it must have been caused by sin.  We know more about science now. However, our souls become sick when we sin, and Jesus as the greatest healer can make us well again through the sacrament of Reconciliation.  We can find an answer in the Responsorial Psalm- “I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.” 
 

Activity 2: Younger Grades

Watch this Bedbug Bible Gang video- all at once or in segments throughout the month or watch the whole thing again each week – you will learn the songs that way.  There are three stories in this video the first one is the Sower.
Bedbug Bible Gang video
 

Activity 2: Older Grades

Watch this short video about the Sower on catholicbrain.com
The Sower

All Grades can color this “Sower of the Seed” coloring page while thinking about what kind of soil is in our hearts?  Does the Word of God fall on our hard hearts? Does it get choked out by weeds of selfishness in our hearts? Or can the Word grow in our soft hearts where we nourish it with good deeds?

Sower of the Seed coloring page
“Sower of the Seed”

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY! 
BONUS: St. Valentine’s Day activity for all grades  

Complete the online word search about the man we celebrate with hearts and candy.
St. Valentine Word Search
 

Print and color these St. Valentine Day cards. Give them to those you love- remember to pray for your loved ones.  

Jesus Valentines

Activity 1: All grades

Read the readings for Ash Wednesday, February 17, 2021. Light a candle and read aloud as a family.  
 

Activity 2: All grades

Watch these videos about Ash Wednesday and Lent.
 
Ash Wednesday
               and
What is Lent?

Although Ash Wednesday is not a Holy Day of Obligation, many families attend a Mass or a service to receive Ashes. Have you received Ashes before?  Are you planning to receive ashes this year?  Create a plan for what you will do this Lent.  Are you willing to give something up as an offering of sacrifice?  Are you planning to add something special as a way to increase your readiness for Easter?  Examples: Giving up chocolate or saying an extra rosary each week.  Not sure of what you need to do for Lent? Check out the guidelines here. 

Color this Ash Wednesday Coloring Sheet
Ash Wednesday 
Send an email to Feedback@stgabrielchurch.org with what you are committing to do this Lent.

Activity 1: All Grades

Read the readings for Sunday, February 21, 2021, the First Sunday of Lent. Light a candle and read aloud as a family.  

Discussion

You may think of the story of Noah and his ark, you may remember a child’s toy or story book with beautiful drawings of animals- two by two.  Reading it again, you see that it was not the idyllic scene we may remembered.  God was so disappointed with the human race that He was going to wipe humanity off the globe- just hit reboot.  It was the prayers of the good man, Noah, which stayed God’s wrath. The covenant that God made with Noah to never give up on humans foreshadows the covenants made with Moses, David, and finally is made perfect in Jesus- the new covenant. What is something good you can do for the world? For your neighbor? For the planet?
 

Activity 2: Younger grades 

Watch this Bedbug Bible Gang video- all at once or in segments throughout the month or watch the whole thing again each week – you will learn the songs that way.  There are three stories in this video. The second one is about a lost sheep.

Bedbug Bible Gang video
 

Activity 2: Older grades

Watch this video about the Lost Sheep.
The Little Lost Sheep

All Grades can color this “Lost Sheep” coloring page while thinking about how the lost sheep feels when he is found.  Why does the shepherd go after the one lost sheep? Whom does the shepherd represent? 

 “The Lost Sheep” coloring page

Activity 1: All grades

Read the readings for Sunday, February 28, 2021. Second Sunday of Lent. Light a candle and read aloud as a family.  

Discussion

The story of the binding of Isaac can strike us as odd today- especially since Abraham is a great Old Testament faith hero. Why would God ask Abraham to sacrifice his son?  Doesn’t God love him? Why would God demand such a gift? Of course, it was a test. Did Abraham trust God would keep His promise to give Abraham “descendants as many as the stars”?  Isaac was Abraham’s only son and was still a boy- a long way from possibly fathering children yet.  Yet Abraham had so much faith in God’s promise, that he knew that somehow, even if Isaac was killed, God's promise would be fulfilled. Hebrews (11Heb 8-11) states “He [Abraham] considered that God was able to raise men even from the dead.” As we know, God stopped Abraham and instead offered His own son Jesus as a gift of love many years later.

In the Gospel, we read about the Transfiguration where Jesus goes on a mountaintop and meets two great figures from the Old Testament: Moses and Elijah.  Remember Moses?  He was one of the great heroes of the Old Testament. He helped God establish a covenant that united God to the people of Israel. He led the Jews out of slavery in Egypt and to the outskirts of the Promised Land. Elijah, a prophet,  was also a hero of the Old Testament who lived much later, when Israel had kings.  The disciples of Jesus knew these important figures and understood something important was happening. They were being given a look at Jesus’ divinity. Divinity means God-ness. They already knew Jesus as a human, but at the transfiguration, they were given a glimpse into the fact that Jesus was also God. This was confirmed as the voice of God the Father spoke from heaven and said “Jesus is my son, with whom I am pleased.” 
 

Activity 2: Younger grades

Watch this Bedbug Bible Gang video- all at once or in segments throughout the month or watch the whole thing again each week – you will learn the songs that way.  The third story is about the Good Samaritan.

Bedbug Bible Gang video

Activity 2: Older grades

Watch this video about the Good Samaritan.
The Good Samaritan
  
All Grades can color this “The Good Samaritan” coloring page while discussing why Jesus told this story.  The Samaritans were not friendly with the Jewish people back in the time of Jesus. They didn’t get along.  If you saw someone who played on your rival sports team hurt and in trouble, would you want to stop and help?   God loves every one of us- not just our friends. How can we be more like this good, kind Samaritan?

 “The Good Samaritan” coloring page

Activity 1: All Grades

Read the readings for Sunday, March 7, 2021, the Third Sunday of Lent. Light a candle and read aloud as a family.   

Discussion

How rich are the readings this week!  The Ten Commandments, the kerygma Jn 3:16 (kerygma means a short proclamation of the basic Gospel message), Jesus’s displeasure with the moneychangers in the temple, and more.  Any one of these could be hours of discussion.
Let’s take some highlights:

• During Lent we are called to examine our sinfulness, not to bash ourselves, but so that we can grow and be closer to God.  We may not be worshiping golden ram statues. But do we place a video game, our favorite youTuber, or a TV show higher on our priority list than our prayer life?  Maybe our idol is our phone. Look at the Ten Commandments with new eyes.  Not as a list of things not to do- they simply protect God as our highest priority. Each commandment identifies something we like to put in place of God in our lives and encourages us to avoid doing that.  Try to express each one in a positive sentence.  Example:  I will make God my highest priority in life. 
• “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.” John 3:16.  This is the essence of our faith or in Greek “kerygma.” Each of us is called to not just know this but to believe this foundation of Christianity.  Remember the previous week where God spared Abraham the pain of sacrificing his son, Isaac.  God offered His own Son Jesus for us- and through His passion, death and resurrection we are invited into a new life with God.  Wow.  Very powerful.
• Why is Jesus angry in this Gospel passage? Jesus has righteous anger because of the unfair practices happening that gave the wealthy an advantage over the poor in the Temple. Those in power were using their authority to make more money- placing an obstacle in the way of people worshipping God. Do we see the gifts we have as a way to give praise to God? Are we generous with our gifts?

Activity 2: All Grades 

Everyone can watch this CatholicIcing.com video and learn the song with the hand gestures, too. 

The Lent Song

Activity 2: All Grades

We are about half way through our Lenten journey.  This is a good time to reflect on how we are doing.  Is it hard to abstain (not have meat on Fridays)? Have we been able to add extra prayers into our daily/weekly routine?  Was there something we decided to give up?  How’s it going?  As Dr. David has shared, sometimes we intend to do something for Lent and at some point- maybe like now halfway through, we slip up.  Oops! I gave up chocolate. But at a friend’s house, I had a chocolate chip cookie without even thinking about it. 
"Oh no! I RUINED LENT!" Nope, you didn’t.  None of us are perfect.  Just start again and pray for God’s help.   After all, it’s about being closer to God.