I have an article appearing in the current issue of Today’s Catholic Teacher magazine! It is directed to religion teachers in Catholic schools however I’m sure that catechists in parish RE programs can benefit as well. Enjoy! (click on the link below)

http://www.catholicteacher.com/archive/articles_view.php?article_id=2174

Here’s a site with some very good background information on the Triduum.

Alas, we have reached #40 in our quest to post 40 ideas/activities in 40 days for the Lenten season! Recall that we began this process on Feb. 23, the Monday before Ash Wednesday, which explains why we have already reached 40 even though the 40 days of Lent are not yet over!

Along the way, a number of catechists weighed in with contributions of their own and this final day is no exception. I’m pleased to share the following activity with you from a catechist named Greg in my home state of Illinois! Thanks, Greg!

A Holy Week Gift Box

Hi Joe,

I teach my last class before Easter this week on Palm Sunday afternoon (to my 7th graders).

I would love to leave each of my students with something as both a “gift” and a daily devotional idea for each day of Holy Week since we won’t be seeing each other.

My idea is to take a gift box (cube shape….they are cheap enough at the craft stores) and put an idea on each face of the box for each day (Monday through Saturday) of Holy Week. They will have a message also on the box not to open the box until Easter Sunday. The inside of the box will likely have a simple votive candle and I think I am going to put in a personalized card (that I can cut and paste off the internet) with the religious (or Saint) meaning behind the name of each of my students as well as a plastic egg with something each student can do to carry on the spirit of Lent (got the plastic egg idea from you).

For the 6 faces of the box, Thursday, Friday and Saturday are obvious. Do you have any suggestions for Holy Week that I can put for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday? Any other suggestions to enhance this idea would be greatly appreciated. <I suggested to Greg that he look to the Scripture readings for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of Holy Week to draw symbols from. -joe>

Today’s Lenten activity - #39 - comes from an 8th grade catechist in Ohio who just loves her kids and wanted to share something she does with them during Holy Week. She calls them “Resurrection Eggs” but they could easily be referred to as “Holy Week Eggs” or “Passion Eggs” since they help children to recognize various elements of the Passion reading.

Resurrection Eggs

I found some “Resurrection Eggs” in Walmart (surprise).  They are plastic eggs that have a symbol of the Passion, Death and Resurrection inside of them.  I made some additional ones so that each person in my room could “find” an egg after I hid them.  They have to open their egg, discover what is inside, and then tell what meaning it has for  Holy Week.  Items are a nail, a piece of palm,  a miniature chalice, a thorn, a rooster, a donkey, etc.  etc. They love it!

Here’s another version of this activity online: Resurrection Eggs

You can also create your own instead of purchasing the ready-made ones at Walmart. Thanks, Ohio, for sharing this idea and for sharing your love of teaching!

Lenten activity #38 is an opportunity for catechists to connect Holy Week and the end of Lent to the celebration of Easter.

Holy Week Basket

• We are all familiar with Easter Baskets. This activity takes the Easter Basket and transforms it into a Holy Week Basket in preparation for the celebration of Easter.
• Place a traditional Easter Basket (filled with that fake green grass!) in the center of the room.
• In the basket, place a number of plastic eggs that you have filled with slips of paper that have suggestions for how to make Holy Week more holy. Suggestions:
  • each day of Holy Week, read the Gospel for the day
  • spend 15 minutes in silence each day
  • pray the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary
  • Get to church early for each of the Holy Week services and spend some quiet time in prayer
  • rent an inspirational film such as Jesus of Nazareth, King of Kings, The Greatest Story Ever Told, etc.
  • listen to some inspirational music
  • fast from one meal each day
  • fast from watching TV
  • fast from surfing the Internet, spending time on Facebook, etc.
  • fast fromyour Ipod
  • gather up loose change and donate it to a charity
  • volunteer to work at a soup kitchen or shelter
  • volunteer to help at a parish activity
  • volunteer to participate in a special role at one of the Holy Week services
  • go through your closet and drawers and gather up some clothes to donate to charity
  • begin some spring cleaning in and around the house, starting with your own room
  • make Easter cards for your family and godparents and for anyone you know who is ill
  • visit someone who is sick or lonely
  • plant some flowers
  • help your parents do the Easter food shopping and preparation of Easter meals
  • keep a quiet atmostphere on Good Friday: no TV, radio, or computer for a few hours in the afternoon.
  • pray the Stations of the Cross
  • other ideas? PLEASE SHARE THEM!
• Have each young person take one of the eggs and open it to get their Holy Week suggestion.
• Go around the group and ask them to read aloud the Holy Week suggestion they received.
• Announce the times of Holy Week services at your parish and encourage the young people to attend and participate.
• Play some quiet instrumental music and invite the young people to come forward one at a time to place their egg back in the basket in preparation for the celebration of Easter.
• Remind them that the egg is a symbol of the tomb of Jesus from which he arose.

Here’s another Holy Week activity - Lenten activity #37 - that gives catechists the opportunity to introduce children to the popular custom of palm weaving & braiding.

Palm Weaving & Braiding

• Palms are sacramentals - “sacred signs instituted by the Church” (CCC 1667). They represent our homage and loyalty to Christ the King, who was hailed as king as he entered Jerusalem to the waving of palm branches.
• Catholics have long displayed palms in their homes after Palm Sunday as a sign that Christ is the King of our homes. One of the ways that Catholics of many cultures (especially Italian, Polish, and Philippino) have shown reverence for palms is by weaving and braiding them.
• On his Web site - Italiansrus.com - Anthony Parente shares his family’s customs of braiding and weaving palms. Not only does he provide background on the tradition of palm weaving, but then he also provides palm weaving tutorials for creating some wonderful designs such as braids, cones, crosses, crowns of thorns, and rose buds!
• Depending on the degree of difficulty (which Anthony indicates for each), you may be able to help your students complete some of these creations!
• Thanks, Anthony, for sharing this wonderful tradition!

On to Lenten activity #36 - Scenes from Holy Week - an opportunity for catechists to help their young people to focus on some of the dramatic events in the life of Jesus that take place during Holy Week. (This was supposed to post on 3/30 but didn’t quite make it!)

Scenes from Holy Week

• This activity is actually a Blackline Master from the Finding God program, gr. 5.
• Invite the young people to imagine that they have been invited to draw the cover for the parish bulletin for Holy Week, depicting scenes from Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday/Easter morning.
• Provide copies of the Blackline Master: Scenes from Holy Week and invite the young people to draw prayerfully.
• Consider playing some instrumental music quietly in the background.
• When they are done, invite volunteers to share their work with the group.

This is a follow-up to my March 19 post - For the Love of God - in which I shared a handout comprised of numerous examples of actions that either violate the first three commandments or represent virtuous acts done in the spirit of these commandments.

Here is the student worksheet that I am using tonight which covers the 4th, 5th, and 6th commandments. Likewise, here is the answer key.

One example that I feel particularly strong about is the issue of bullying. This is such a big problem in schools and it would seem to make great sense to consider it under the 5th Commandment because it is a form of violence and disrespect for human life. I think that if the Ten Commandments are going to have an impact on the kids, they have to speak to real life issues for them.

If you have any thoughts about the issue of bullying and the Ten Commandments, I’d love to hear from you!

Sorry, this was scheduled to post on 3/29 but didn’t quite make it.

Since Palm Sunday is only a week away, I thought it would be appropriate for Lenten activity #35 to be another palm activity.

For this one, we go to a Web site called http://www.kingofpeace.org/palmcrosses/and learn how to make palm crosses.

Palm Crosses

This activity comes to us from King of Peace Episcopal Church in Kingsland, Georgia. This is something that can be done with children and families right after Palm Sunday Masses or at religious education classes held during Holy Week.

For this activity, click here.

You may also want to share what Lisa Hendey at CatholicMom.com says about Palm Sunday/palm crosses:

Every year on Palm Sunday in our Catholic churches, we receive palm fronds which have been ritually blessed as a wonderful part of our Palm Sunday liturgy.  You can create a special family tradition of your own by incorporating these blessed palms into an art activity to be cherished by your family for years to come.  Taking time with your children to discuss the true meaning of Palm Sunday and to prayerfully fashion your palms into a piece of art will be a memory they will treasure and look forward to each Lenten season.