angels

Advent Angel - image courtesy of Cindy Coleman
Advent

Fidelis, the Advent Angel

Cindy Coleman

Celebrating Advent with my second graders is a combination of traditional elements—such as praying around an Advent wreath—along with visits from Fidelis, our Advent Angel, and performing Advent acts of kindness. We start sessions with a short prayer service around the Advent wreath on our prayer table. The prayer service includes a Scripture reading, intercessions, and singing, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” Since we can’t use lit candles, we tape a paper cutout of a […]

Annunciation by Joos van Cleve
Primary Grades

Teaching Children about Angels

Cindy Coleman

Teaching about angels is something that I weave throughout the catechetical year. There are so many ways that angels pop up in different contexts. My overall learning goals in teaching about angels are for the children to know: (1) Angels are unique and special beings created by God; (2) angels serve as God’s messengers and servants; and (3) everyone has a guardian angel. I want my students to recognize angels as special beings created by […]

No Picture
Joys and Frustrations

Well-Intentioned Memes – Bad Theology/Catechesis

Joe Paprocki

If you inhabit Facebook, you know that memes are all the rage – these images with phrases or captions, often humorous, sarcastic, or inspirational, that spread like wildfire through social media. They can be great fun and they can also be a powerful tool for communication. There was a proliferation of these during the papal conclave, most of them very funny. Here’s one of my favorites: Occasionally, however, I come across some Catholic memes that, while well-intentioned, […]