Pop-Up Catechesis: An Advent Jesse Tree

With the season of Advent soon upon us, I want to share about a great Advent tradition that you can do as a family: the making of a Jesse tree. The Jesse tree, named after the father of King David, helps us to connect the custom of decorating Christmas trees to the events in our salvation history that lead to Jesus’ birth. It is, in essence, Jesus’ family tree. We adorn a Jesse tree with […]

The Jesse Tree—Free PowerPoint Presentation

One popular Advent tradition is making a Jesse tree, which helps us to connect the custom of decorating Christmas trees to the events leading to Jesus’ birth. We adorn a Jesse tree with illustrated ornaments that represent people, prophesies, and events that recall God’s promise and its fulfillment. With a focus on Old Testament figures, the Jesse tree is a particularly good activity for sixth graders studying salvation history. It’s also great for any junior […]

Jesse Trees Aren’t Just for Advent

The theme for a recent session was “Jesus fulfills the Revelation of God found in the history of the Chosen People.” I realized I could make the connection this week by adapting an activity typically reserved for Advent—the Jesse tree. As the young people entered the room, I invited them to work on a worksheet on “Grand Genes,” which was a Bible look-up activity that asked students to look up promises in the Old Testament […]

Welcome Advent!

This Sunday, we celebrate the beginning of a new liturgical year with the First Sunday of Advent. This is one of my favorite seasons of the year because it calls us to renew our hope. Christian hope is not some random wishful thinking. It is the anticipation of something that we KNOW is coming and that something (someone) is Jesus Christ who comes to us in history, in mystery, and in majesty. Here are links to […]

Ample Advent Resources!

With the wonderful season of Advent upon us, I thought it would be good to share some links to some great Advent resources. If you have some great Advent resources you’d like to pass along, pass ’em along! Advent Activities (Classroom, Family, Parish) Jesse Tree Adent Calendar for Adults Advent Calendar for Children Prayers for Advent An Advent Retreat An Online Advent Calendar Calendario Adviento para Niños USCCB Advent Resources Jesse Tree Ornaments Jesse Tree […]