Holy Nourishes and Strengthens Our Relationship with Jesus

UNIT 7, LESSON 5

Learning Goals Connection to the ӹӹ Receiving Holy Communion strengthens our union with Christ. Catechism of the ӹӹ Just as the food we eat becomes a part Catholic Church of us to nourish us and give us life and ӹӹ CCC 1378-1379 health, so too does the Eucharist make us ӹӹ CCC 1391-1393 a part of Christ and give us spiritual life. ӹӹ CCC 1396 ӹӹ The Eucharist unites us more closely to the Church and makes us more fully members of the one . Vocabulary ӹӹ We are able to worship Christ our Lord ӹӹ outside of the in Eucharistic ӹӹ Monstrance Adoration.

BIBLICAL TOUCHSTONES

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though remains in me and I in him. Just as the living many, are one body, for we all partake of the one Father sent me and I have life because of the loaf. Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have 1 CORINTHIANS 10:17 life because of me.

JOHN 6:56-57

721 Lesson Plan

ӹӹ Spiritual Exercises ӹӹ Crayons, markers, and/ Materials ӹӹ Adoration or colored pencils ӹӹ Appendix A: My First ӹӹ Scissors Communion Journal ӹӹ A large piece of butcher paper ӹӹ Teacher Resource: ӹӹ Paper plates Monstrance Circle ӹӹ Drawing or construction paper ӹӹ Teacher Resource: One Body

Prayer Soul of Christ, sanctify me. Do not permit me to be parted from you. Body of Christ, save me. From the evil foe protect me. , inebriate me. At the hour of my death call me. Water from the side of Christ, wash me. And bid me come to you, Passion of Christ, strengthen me. to praise you with all your saints O good Jesus, hear me. forever and ever. Within your wounds conceal me. Amen.

DAY ONE Warm-Up A. Begin by leading your students in the prayer for this lesson, the Anima Christi. B. Ask your students if they have ever heard of the saying “You are what you eat.” Then ask what they think the saying means. Accept reasoned answers. Help your students understand that the food we eat becomes a part of us. Our bodies digest and break down the food we eat into different parts that give us energy and nourish us. The food we eat literally becomes part of us. C. Then ask your students to name different kinds of junk food. Keep a list on the board. After creating a sufficient list of junk foods, ask your students how they would feel if they ate only food from this list. Accept reasoned answers, such as that they would feel sick, or their bodies wouldn’t feel well. They might gain weight and be tired all the time, and so forth. D. Next, ask your students to name different kinds of healthful foods. Keep a list on the board. After creating a sufficient list of healthful foods, ask your students how they would feel if they ate food from this list. Accept reasoned answers, which should be the opposite of their answers to the junk-food question. Students should answer that they would be healthy; they would feel well; they would have lots of energy; and so forth. E. Then ask your students why it is important for us to think about the different kinds of foods that we eat. In other words, why is it important for us to eat a good, balanced diet? Accept reasoned answers, which should include the fact that eating a balanced diet will help us to stay healthy and to grow.

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F. Read aloud to your students John 6:56-57: Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. G. Ask your students the following questions: ӹӹ What did Jesus say we do in order for Him to remain in us, or to be a part of us? We must eat His flesh and drink His blood. ӹӹ What will happen if we eat His Body and drink His Blood? We will have life. ӹӹ How is what Jesus said similar to what we know about eating good food? Accept reasoned answers. Just as the food we eat becomes a part of us to nourish us and give us life and health, so too when we eat the Body of Christ will we have life — spiritual life! H. Explain to your students that just as it is important for us to eat a good, healthful, balanced diet so that our bodies can be healthy and grow to be strong, it is even more important for our souls to be healthy and strong! And just as there is food for our bodies, there is also food for our souls — the Eucharist. It is no mistake that Jesus taught us about the Eucharist by performing miracles with bread, fish, water, and wine. It is no mistake that Jesus taught us that He is the Bread of Life and that we must eat His Body and drink His Blood. Just as eating good food is important for bodily health, eating spiritual food is important for spiritual health!

Activity A. Explain to your students that the Eucharist helps makes our relationship with Jesus stronger, just as eating good, healthful food makes our bodies stronger. When we receive the Body and Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist, our relationship with Him grows stronger and stronger because He becomes a part of us, and we become more like Him. When we become more like Jesus, we act

more like Him in our lives, we love others more like al eses

Him, and we love ourselves more like Him. In other eons 5. GivingRead the gently list below used andclothing decide to whethera homeless each shelterthing (els or shelps your. relationship with Jesus or hurts it. Then, if it is something that hurts your relationship with Jesus, words, when we are more like Jesus, we are more ______rewrite11. Receiving the statement the soEucharist that it is somethingels or s that helps. ___ your relationship with Jesus. ______6. Playing with your toys at home instead of visiting a sick like the persons God made us to be! 1. Going to Mass on Sunday (els or s. relative1. Lying in the to hospital a teacher (els about or why s your. homework isn’t fi nished ______els or s. ______B. Have your students turn to Spiritual Exercises . Receiving the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation 7. Making fun of a classmate ( or . els or s. els s 13. Reading the Bible every day (els or s. (page 388) and read the list. Then have them ______8. Praying a together with a friend ( or . 3. Praying before you go to bed (els or s. els s decide whether each action strengthens their 1. Saying race before eating els or s. ______relationship with Jesus or hurts it. If it is something 9. Disobeying your parents or . . Sleeping in on Sunday and skipping Massels ( els s or s . 15. Donating part of your allowance to the poor (els or s. ______that hurts their relationship with Jesus, have them ______1. Swearing or using other bad language (els or s

rewrite the statement so that it is something that ______helps their relationship with Jesus.

C. When your students have finished, review and

discuss the answers.

Unit 7, lesson 5 723 LESSON PLAN

Formative Assessment Have your students turn to Real Presence (page 490) of their My Journal. Have them use the space provided to write a letter to Jesus, telling Him that they believe in His Real Presence in the Eucharist. Have them tell Him in the letter how much they are looking forward to receiving Him in the Eucharist for the first time (and why) and thank Him for His great gift of Himself.

DAY TWO Warm-Up A. Begin by leading your students in the prayer for this lesson, the Anima Christi. B. Show your students the video of the song “We Are One Body” found at SophiaOnline.org/ OneBody. C. Then teach your students the lyrics to the chorus: We are one body, one body in Christ; And we do not stand alone. We are one body, one body in Christ; And He came that we might have life. D. Play the video of the song again and encourage your students to sing along with the chorus. E. Explain that one of the most important benefits of the Eucharist is that when we receive it, we are made more fully members of the Catholic Church. The Eucharist unites all of the members of the Church as one body, the Body of Christ. Think about how, when we receive the Eucharist, we are united with Jesus — He becomes a part of us, and we a part of Him. Now, think about how, when we receive the Eucharist, all of the members of the Church become a part of Jesus, and He a part of them. We are all then united together as one Church, one people of God, one Body of Christ!

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F. Read aloud to your students 1 Corinthians 10:16-17: The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf. G. Ask your students the following questions: ӹӹ What does St. Paul say happens when we receive the cup of blessing? We participate in the blood of Christ. ӹӹ What does He say about the bread that we break at Mass? We participate in the Body of Christ. ӹӹ Why are we all one body? Because the loaf of bread, the Body of Christ, is one. We are all united and made one body by our participation in the one bread that is Christ’s Body.

Activity and Formative Assessment Note: In advance, make a copy of Teacher Resource: One Body (page 733 in this guide), enough to give one to each student. A. On a large piece of butcher paper, draw or trace the outline of a person. For the head, draw a picture of Jesus’ face or glue or tape a picture of Jesus’ face to the head (to make it clear that this outline is meant to be Jesus). Then, in the middle of the body, write, “We are one body.” B. Distribute to each student a copy of Teacher Resource: One Body and make crayons, markers, and/or colored pencils and scissors available. First, have your students decorate the person to be themselves. For now, tell them to leave the space inside the heart blank. Then, have them carefully cut out the outline of the person from the handout. C. After they have finished decorating the cutout, review with your students how the Eucharist unites us with Jesus. Then have your students draw a picture of Jesus in the heart on the cutout. D. Finally, have your students glue their cutouts onto the traced . Be sure that every cutout is inside of the outline of the body and not covering the words “We are one Body.” E. Consider displaying the project on a wall or a door to remind your students as they continue to prepare for their First Holy Communion that the Eucharist makes us one Body in Christ.

DAY THREE Warm-Up A. Begin by leading your students in the prayer for this lesson, the Anima Christi. B. Ask your students in what ways Jesus is present to us today. Jesus is present to us when we pray; He is present to us in other people; and He is present to us especially in the Eucharist we receive at Mass. Accept other reasoned answers.

Unit 7, lesson 5 725 LESSON PLAN

C. Then explain that, as we have been learning, Jesus is present to us in a special way in the Eucharist. In the Eucharist, Jesus is truly present, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, and we receive the Real Presence of Christ when we receive the Eucharist. But there is another way we can be with Jesus and worship Him — in Eucharistic Adoration. Adoration is worship, and God is the only one we should worship. And since Jesus is God, and He is present to us in the Eucharist, we can worship Him in the Eucharist. The Catholic Church, in her great wisdom, centuries ago thought of this way to worship Jesus in the Eucharist outside of Mass. D. Have your students turn to Adoration (page 391). Project an image of the monstrance. Then ask your students the following questions: oaon ӹӹ What stands out to you about the object in this image? Accept reasoned answers. ӹӹ Have you ever seen something like the object in the image? Where? Accept reasoned answers. ӹӹ What do you think the object in this image is? Accept reasoned answers. E. Explain to your students that the object in the image is called a monstrance. The words monstrance and demonstrate come from the same latin root: monstrare, which means “to show.” A monstrance is a special, beautiful, ornate vessel made to hold the Eucharist so that we may look at it and worship our Lord. When the Eucharist is shown in the monstrance and placed on the for the public to come and worship, it is called Eucharistic Adoration. Many people throughout the centuries, and even today, spend time with Jesus in Adoration. They sit with Him, look upon Him, pray to Him, and remain in His presence in the .

Activity Note: For today’s class, bring in enough paper plates to give one to each student. Also, make copies and cut out Teacher Resource: Monstrance Circle (page 734 in this guide), enough to give one circle to each student. A. Explain that in today’s lesson they are going to make their own monstrances. Distribute to each student a large piece of drawing paper or construction paper, a paper plate, and one circle from Teacher Resource: Monstrance Circle. Make crayons, makers, and/or colored pencils, and scissors available.

726 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS LESSON PLAN

B. First, have your students place the cut-out circle in the middle of the plate and trace around it with a pencil. Then have them color the paper plate yellow, orange, or gold, being sure to leave the inside of the circle white. C. Next, have them cut four to six thin pie-shaped wedges out of their paper plates. See the diagram at the right for an example. D. Then have your students glue their paper plate to their drawing or construction paper, at the top, with some of the paper plate extending above the paper. See the diagram at the right for an example. E. Next, have your students draw a triangle for the stand of the monstrance in the same color that they colored the paper plate, and then color it in. See the diagram at the right for an example. (Alternatively, you may give your students yellow, orange, or gold construction paper to cut a triangle out of and then glue it to the paper.) F. Then, have your students draw a picture of Jesus in the traced white circle in the middle of the paper plate. They may color and illustrate the picture however they like. G. Finally, have your students draw a cross in the center of the cut-out circle. Have them glue the cut-out circle to the paper plate (over the traced circle) only on the far left part of the cutout to create a flap that can open. See the diagram at the right for an example. When the flap is closed, it looks like the Eucharist in the center of a monstrance. When the flap is opened it reveals the presence of Jesus Christ. H. Consider displaying these crafts in your classroom or school to serve as a reminder of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and to help students to be more comfortable with Eucharistic Adoration.

Assessment A. If possible, take your students to your school’s chapel or parish church and arrange with a priest or deacon to expose the Blessed Sacrament in Adoration and spend five or ten minutes with your students in silent Adoration of the Eucharist. If it is not possible to have Adoration, tell your students that, even though you are unable to have Jesus shown in the monstrance for Adoration, He is present in consecrated Communion hosts in the tabernacle in your church or chapel. Have your students spend five to ten minutes in silent prayer, focused on Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist in the tabernacle. B. Conclude by praying an Our Father with your students.

Unit 7, lesson 5 727 Answer Key 1. Helps 2. Helps al eses 3. Helps eons Read the list below and decide whether each thing 4. Hurts — Possible helps your relationship with Jesus or hurts it. Then, if rewrite: Waking it is something that hurts your relationship with Jesus, up early on rewrite the statement so that it is something that helps your relationship with Jesus. Sunday to go to Mass with your 1. Going to Mass on Sunday (els or s. family. ______

. Receiving the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation els or s.

______

3. Praying before you go to bed (els or s.

______

. Sleeping in on Sunday and skipping Mass (els or s.

______

728 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS Answer Key 5. Helps

6. Hurts — Possible 5. Giving gently used clothing to a homeless shelter (els or rewrite: Playing s. with your toys ______later so that you can go visit a sick relative in the 6. Playing with your toys at home instead of visiting a sick hospital. relative in the hospital (els or s.

7. Hurts — Possible ______rewrite: Being 7. Making fun of a classmate ( or . kind to your els s classmates. ______

8. Helps 8. Praying a Rosary together with a friend (els or s. 9. Hurts — Possible ______rewrite: Obeying your parents. 9. Disobeying your parents els or s. 10. Hurts — Possible ______rewrite: Not

swearing or 1. Swearing or using other bad language (els or s using other bad language. ______

Unit 7, lesson 5 729 Answer Key 11. Helps

12. Hurts — Possible 11. Receiving the Eucharist els or s. rewrite: Being ______honest with your teacher about why 1. Lying to a teacher about why your homework isn’t fi nished your homework els or s. isn’t finished. ______13. Helps 13. Reading the Bible every day (els or s. 14. Helps ______15. Helps

1. Saying race before eating els or s.

______

15. Donating part of your allowance to the poor (els or s.

______

730 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS Unit 7, lesson 5 731 oaon

732 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS One Body

TEACHER RESOURCE

Unit 7, lesson 5 733 Monstrance Circle

TEACHER RESOURCE

734 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS Spiritual Exercises

Directions: Read the list below and decide whether each thing helps your relationship with Jesus or hurts it. Then, if it is something that hurts your relationship with Jesus, rewrite the statement so that it is something that helps your relationship with Jesus.

1. Going to Mass on Sunday (Helps or Hurts).

______

2. Receiving the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation (Helps or Hurts).

______

3. Praying before you go to bed (Helps or Hurts).

______

4. Sleeping in on Sunday and skipping Mass (Helps or Hurts).

______

388 Unit 7, Lesson 5 5. Giving gently used clothing to a homeless shelter (Helps or Hurts).

______

6. Playing with your toys at home instead of visiting a sick relative in the hospital (Helps or Hurts).

______

7. Making fun of a classmate (Helps or Hurts).

______

8. Praying a Rosary together with a friend (Helps or Hurts).

______

9. Disobeying your parents (Helps or Hurts).

______

10. Swearing or using other bad language (Helps or Hurts).

______

Unit 7, Lesson 5 389 11. Receiving the Eucharist (Helps or Hurts).

______

12. Lying to a teacher about why your homework isn’t finished (Helps or Hurts).

______

13. Reading the Bible every day (Helps or Hurts).

______

14. Saying Grace before eating (Helps or Hurts).

______

15. Donating part of your allowance to the poor (Helps or Hurts).

______

390 Unit 7, Lesson 5 Adoration

Unit 7, Lesson 5 391