40 Ideas for 40 Days—Lenten Activities: Looking for Clues

Joe Paprocki Lenten Activities

boy with magnifying glass

This Lenten activity is called Looking for Clues and is an opportunity for catechists to help children become more familiar with the Passion story.

Looking for Clues

  • Gather pictures of the following items from the Passion according to Mark (14:1—15:47).
    • a jar (bottle of perfume) (14:3)
    • water jar (14:13)
    • a dish(14:20)
    • bread (14:22)
    • cup (14:23)
    • olive tree (14:26)
    • swords and clubs (14:43)
    • sword (14:47)
    • a fire (14:54)
    • blindfold (14:65)
    • rooster (14:68)
    • rope (they bound him) (15:1)
    • whip (scourging) (15:15)
    • purple robe (15:17)
    • crown of thorns (15:17)
    • a reed (15:19)
    • cross (15:21)
    • bottle of wine (15:23)
    • nails (15:24)
    • dice (15:24)
    • sign reading INRI (Latin, acronym for Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews) (15:26)
    • sponge (15:36)
    • curtain (15:38)
    • linen shroud (15:46)
    • tomb (15:46)
    • stone (15:46)
  • Place (hide) these pictures all over the classroom and tell the young people that their mission is to search for clues about the Passion of Jesus.
  • Have the young people search and gather the pictures.
  • Invite each of them to describe their picture(s) and to see if they have some idea of how it fits into the Passion story.
  • Next, invite volunteers to read aloud the Passion according to Mark 14:1—15:47.
  • Tell the young people to call out “Stop!” whenever one of their clues is mentioned in the Passion story.
  • As each clue is revealed, have them come forward and attach it to a poster or bulletin board.

40 Ideas for 40 Days
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About Joe Paprocki 2742 Articles
Joe Paprocki, DMin, is National Consultant for Faith Formation at Loyola Press, where, in addition to his traveling/speaking responsibilities, he works on the development team for faith formation curriculum resources including Finding God: Our Response to God’s Gifts and God’s Gift: Reconciliation and Eucharist. Joe has more than 35 years of experience in ministry and has presented keynotes, presentations, and workshops in more than 100 dioceses in North America. Joe is a frequent presenter at national conferences including the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, the Mid-Atlantic Congress, and the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership. He is the author of numerous books, including the best seller The Catechist’s Toolbox, A Church on the Move, Under the Influence of Jesus, and Called to Be Catholic—a bilingual, foundational supplemental program that helps young people know their faith and grow in their relationship with God. Joe is also the series editor for the Effective Catechetical Leader and blogs about his experiences in faith formation at www.catechistsjourney.com.

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1 Comment

  1. I can’t wait to do this with my 7th graders again. I had found this a couple years ago and did it with them. For one thing, it got them up and moving. For another thing, they really had to look at some of these things and try and figure out what they were. I did help by pausing after reading a clue, so they knew they had to look for it.

    Thank you for all the great ideas.

    Reply

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