On those days when I drive to work on the crowded Chicago expressways, I can’t help but notice the wide variety of bumper stickers on the cars in front of me. Some of the bumper stickers announce the car owner’s allegiance to a particular sports team, his or her political leanings, hobbies, religious persuasion (or lack thereof), pet peeves, a favorite radio station, or the driver’s idea of humor or wisdom, just to name a few. […]
According to St. Ignatius Loyola, a healthy spirituality begins and ends with gratitude. On this Thanksgiving Day, we catechists have so much to be grateful for! Below is a catechist’s litany of thanks, which I invite you to add to. As a catechist, what are you most thankful for? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Happy Thanksgiving! To each of the following, we pray, “Thank you, Lord!” For my vocation as a catechist… […]
My school celebrates Thanksgiving with a huge food drive for a local food pantry. Classrooms of older students are paired up with classrooms of younger students. This food drive really ignites our school as the pairs of classrooms compete to bring in the most food and win a pizza lunch. My classroom celebrates Thanksgiving by sharing stories. I have the children write a poem called “A Story of Thanks,” that gives thanks using each of […]
Set the atmosphere for a faith-filled Thanksgiving by sending children home with a Thanksgiving prayer placemat. Fun for kids of all ages (even adults!), the center of the placemat includes a child’s prayer of gratitude next to a cornucopia to color. Surrounding the prayer are several activities for children to do in the classroom during a discussion on the holiday or while waiting for the family to sit down to dinner: a question to prompt […]
As Thanksgiving is fast approaching, I’d like to share a few thoughts about gratitude. Today, more than ever, we are hearing the term discipleship used in Catholic circles, as we seek to breathe new life into the Church and advance the New Evangelization. It occurs to me that a prerequisite for discipleship is an attitude of gratitude—a virtue that leads us away from cynicism, pessimism, and indifference and toward hope, faith, and love (charity). I’m sure […]
It’s so easy to be annoyed by the little things. How hard can it be, then, to allow ourselves to be thankful for the little things? The other day, I was on the verge of being completely annoyed by the traffic that made me miss my usual train. Instead, realizing that I was now “early” for the next train, I strolled at a leisurely pace from my parking spot to the train station. I took […]
The first week of Advent begins on the Sunday following Thanksgiving. While that is usual, it forces me to make a choice in how to introduce Advent: Do I talk about the season early, before Thanksgiving? Or do I wait until after the holiday break, when the season has already started? I’ve alternated my approach through the years, but I usually like to at least introduce Advent before the holiday, inviting the young people to […]
With Thanksgiving upon us, I thought it would be a good time for us catechists to pause and give thanks for so many blessings that we have. Here are 10 things that I think catechists can be thankful for, and I invite you to add to the list. For those we are privileged to teach. For our fellow catechists and catechetical leaders. For quality print and online resources from our Catholic publishers. For the guidance […]
A few years ago, I developed a lesson plan on the theme of thanksgiving titled “It Is Right and Just.” It is packed with ideas, so you will probably have to pick and choose how much of it you actually hope to/think you can accomplish in the time you have during your sessions between now and Thanksgiving. This lesson is most appropriate for intermediate and junior high kids but can easily be adapted for younger […]
On this U.S. Thanksgiving Day, we pause with family and friends to share gratitude for all good gifts from God. This video is by my colleague Vinita Hampton Wright and includes her poem, “What Everyone Ought to Know about Being Grateful.” Find a PDF of the poem here and more from Vinita at the dotMagis blog.
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