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The Joy of Advent: Week 1

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The Joy of Advent: Week 1 The Joy of Advent: Week 1 Learning Goals ӹ Advent is a time for waiting and for preparing for the coming of Jesus Christ, Connection to the not only as a baby at Christmas, but also Catechism of the at the end of time in His promised Second Catholic Church Coming. ӹ CCC 522-525 ӹ God prepared His people from the very beginning for Christ’s coming and for salvation. Vocabulary ӹ The Advent wreath and candles, the Jesse ӹ Advent Tree, and Advent calendars are symbols of ӹ Advent Wreath the Advent season. ӹ Advent Calendar ӹ Jesse Tree ӹ Messiah BIBLICAL TOUCHSTONES A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped from his roots a bud shall blossom. him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in ISAIAH 11:1 the inn. LUKE 2:7 5 Lesson Plan Materials ӹ Handout A: Joy of the Gospel: ӹ Handout C: Advent: The First Week of Advent Coming of Our Savior ӹ Handout B: Advent: The (Lower Elementary) Coming of Our Savior ӹ Handout D: Waiting (Upper Elementary) ӹ Handout E: Advent Poem ӹ Handout F: Symbols of Advent ӹ Handout G: Ornament Template Prayer Dear God, we praise you and adore you. Thank you for preparing us, your people, for the coming of your Son. Thank you for sending Jesus to us, to show us your love and to save us from sin. Help us to prepare our hearts to welcome your Son at Christmas. Help us to know the joy that He brings to the world. Amen. DAY ONE HANDOUT A Joy of the Gospel: First Week of Advent Warm Up A Reading from the Gospel of Mark 13:33-37: A. Begin by leading your students in the prayer for Need for Watchfulness Jesus said to his disciples: “Be watchful! therefore; you do not know when the Lord of Be alert! You do not know when the time the house is coming, whether in the evening, this lesson. will come. It is like a man traveling abroad. or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the He leaves home and places his servants in morning. May he not come suddenly and find charge, each with his own work, and orders you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: the gatekeeper to be on the watch. Watch, ‘Watch!’” B. Distribute to your students the Handout A: Joy Focus Questions of the Gospel: First Week of Advent worksheet. 1. What did Jesus warn His disciples to do? Why? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Have students read the Gospel passage (or read 2. In the parable that Jesus tells, what do the servants and gatekeeper need to do? Why? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ it together) and answer the focus questions. 3. The Latin root of the word Advent means “coming.” Why do you think this is a good Gospel reading for the first week of Advent? C. When finished, review the correct answers to ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. What are some ways that you prepare for Christmas? What traditions do you and your the focus questions. family have? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ D. Activity extension: If you have set up an Advent wreath and candles in your class (see the formative assessment for day 2 of this lesson), have a “lighting” ceremony of the first candle © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS 11 before reading the Gospel for this week. 6 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS LESSON PLAN Activity A. Explain to your students that this Sunday marks the first Sunday of Advent and the beginning of the first week of the Advent season. Advent is a liturgical season in the life of the Church. We celebrate Advent in the four weeks that lead up to Christmas Day. Advent is a time for waiting and for preparing for the coming of Jesus Christ, not only as a baby at Christmas, but also at the end of time in His promised Second Coming. B. Continue to explain that, over the next few weeks, your students will learn more about Advent and the signs and symbols of the season and will do some activities to help them enter more deeply into this time of waiting and preparation. C. Distribute to your students the worksheets HANDOUT B Handouts B and C: Advent: The Coming of Advent: The Coming of Our Savior as they awaited the first coming of the Savior, all else, and loving our neighbor as ourselves, Directions: Readwe awaitthe essay His Secondabout Advent Coming and at thenthe end answer of the focuswe will questions. be welcomed into the eternal life He Our Savior. (If you teach upper-elementary time. Then, all things will be made new. Then, has promised and offered us from the very if we have lived holy lives by loving God above beginning. od prepared His people for the coming of us the greatness of the Father’s love for us. Gthe Messiah for many centuries. In fact, And then He gave His life for us on the Cross. it can be said thatFocus God began Questions to prepare for He suffered and died to make up for our sins. the Savior’s coming from the very beginning. Then He rose from the dead. Our God died students, distribute Handout B; if you teach HANDOUT C God created our first1. Why parents, did God Adam promise and Eve, to send for the us Messiah? and defeated death, opening the gate of to live in perfect harmony ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ with Him in the Heaven to us. Our salvation had come! Advent: The ComingGarden of Eden. of They Our were made Savior to know and Today, and over the centuries, the Catholic love God as Father, and to be loved by Him. lower-elementary students, distribute Handout 2. Why did God’s promised salvationChurch not has happen celebrated right away? the coming of our But, because of the temptation of the serpent, Directions: Read the essay about Advent and then answer the Savior at Christmas. And like all those who Adam and Eve sinned. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ They turned away from Whenfocus questions. the time was right, God sent His only, waited and prepared for the coming of our God’s love and brought sin and death into the Savior for the thousands of years before He belovedare Son sick,world. to suffering, earth. Even though The or3. GodsecondWhomin need.allowed did PersonGod AdventAdam send and toof issave the a us?time What to are three things He did? came on the first Christmas, the Church C.) Eve to experience the ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ consequences of their make room in our hearts and lives for Christtoday to takes a moment to wait and to prepare. God’s peopleHoly waited Trinity for assumedsin, many He immediately years a human forpromised the nature them thatand they became We call this time Advent. Advent is a season come andwould be be savedwith fromus. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________their sin one day. God Messiah toman come. in the The Person Messiah3. Whatof Jesusis twothe thingsoneChrist. who do He we was wait bornfor duringin the lifeAdvent? of the Church What in which we prepare promised a Savior! would saveon us Christmas from sin. DayGod inareprepared a two stable things ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ His in wea people small do during town Advent? calledour hearts to receive Christ and the salvation During God’sAdvent, promised we salvation also look did not forward happen to Jesus’He offers us. It is a time to draw close to God, D. Have your students read the background essay for the MessiahBethlehem. Secondfrom the Hisright Coming. very motheraway, ____________________________________________________________________________________________ beginning. however. Jesus was4. What In the fact,promised is V sinAdvent?irgin had so Mary.What that badly are He His two wouldto things reflect we on do all during that Advent?He has done for us, and earthly fosterwounded father the was human St. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________race Joseph. that God Jesus had to taughtto be thankful for all the blessings He has God created Adamcome and againprepare Eve at ____________________________________________________________________________________________usto tothelive receive end with our of Him salvation.time. in theThen, And so, all thingsgiven us. will It is a time to pray to God, to talk us how to be holy. He showed ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ us how much the Garden of Eden.be They made gradually,were new. made by If wordwe to andhave know deed, lived Godand workedholy love lives in byto lovingHim, and to allow Him to speak to us. It about Advent and answer the focus questions. human history ____________________________________________________________________________________________ to move us ever closer to the is a time to follow the example of Christ in Father loves us. Then He gave ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ His life for us on the God as Father andGod to and befullness lovingloved of relationship byour Him. neighbor, withBut Him Adam we that willHe so be welcomeda special way and to serve others, especially Cross and rosedesired. from ____________________________________________________________________________________________
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