February 8, 2022; class #18 (Luke 5:1-11)
Textbook lesson # 19: What helps us to pray? (page 169)
CLICK for audio recording of this lesson

Let’s begin with the Sign of the Cross:

Remember that we are in Ordinary Time now.
So what color was the priest's chasuble on Sunday? Green!


GOSPEL: At Mass this weekend, the Gospel reading was from the Gospel of Luke. We'll read the story that the priest read from the Gospel on Sunday. It is in the children’s bulletin. There are a few little puzzles. But, first, do you know what a fisherman is?
(CLICK HERE to see the children's bulletin.)

ASK: What do you think about what happened?

ART: The Gospel reading we just read is from the Gospel of Luke. The same story is in the Gospel of Mark. Here are three paintings that show the story about Jesus turning fishermen into fishers of men. [Show images on computer. Give kids chop sticks to point.]

# 1 Duccio

# 2 Ghirlandaio

# 3 Armitage

The 1st painting was made more than 700 years ago. It shows Jesus standing on the land, talking to Simon-Peter and his brother Andrew, who are in a boat, holding a net with some fish. The painting is part of a huge piece of art called "Maestà." The art was made to be put on an altar at a church in Italy. The piece of art had two sides, and it had different paintings on each side. (Side 1.) (Side 2.) The art piece was in that church for about 450 years. Then, the huge piece of art was cut into pieces, leaving many individual paintings, and the individual paintings are now in many places around the world. This painting is called "The Calling of the Apostles Peter and Andrew." It is now in the National Gallery of Art, in Washington, D.C., and you could ride the subway from Bethesda down to the art gallery and see this painting.

The 2nd painting was made about 550 years ago. The man who was the pope at that time asked the painter to make the painting. The pope was asking many artists to paint many paintings to decorate a new, gigantic church building, called the Sistine Chapel. The painting is a fresco, painted right on the wall, inside the church. The painting is unusual because it has different parts of a story in the same painting. At the front, you see Jesus, in a blue robe, with a halo. Two men are kneeling in front of him -- Simon-Peter and Andrew, who became two of Jesus' 12 apostles. That's the main part of the painting that you see. But Jesus is in the painting in two other places: On the left side, behind that front scene, there's another picture of Jesus with the same two fisherman. That part of the painting shows Jesus talking to Simon-Peter and Andrew, when they are in their boat, before they kneeled in front of him (at the front of the picture). And, on the right side, behind that front scene, that is a 3rd picture of Jesus. There, Jesus is standing on the shore, standing with Simon-Peter and Andrew, and Jesus is calling to James and John, who also became Jesus' apostles.

The 3rd painting was made about 150 years ago. It shows Jesus standing on the land, talking to the brothers James and John. They are in a boat with other people. Standing on the land with Jesus are Simon-Peter and Andrew, who already had decided to become Jesus' apostles.

SNACK: Remember our prayer before meals? Join in if you can.
Bless us, O Lord, and these gifts that we are about to receive from Thy bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
[cheese, berries, & juice]

Brother Francis video (# 6): What Is the Bible?

[7-minute video by "Adventure Catechism."]

TEXTBOOK: This week we’ll do Lesson # 19. It begins on page 169. The lesson is called, "What helps us to pray?" So, let's turn to page 169. [Read all. Do activities on pages 172, 175, 176. Activity on page 172 deals with the Hail Mary prayer.]

SAINTS FEATURED IN CHAPTER: Your textbook has a little paragraph about Saints Gregory and Nonna at the bottom of page 175. Saint Gregory and Saint Nonna were husband and wife, and BOTH of them became saints. And they had three children, and all three of their children became saints!

Saint Nonna was born about 300 years after Jesus was born -- about one-thousand, seven-hundred years ago. She was born in a place now known as the country of Turkey. She was the daughter of Christians, and she was raised as a Christian. She was a Christian when she married Gregory, but he was not a Christian. She prayed to God day and night for her husband to become a Christian. Finally, her husband had a vision while he slept, and he converted to being a Christian. Then, Gregory devoted himself entirely to the Church. He became the Bishop of Nazianzus, and he also is known as "Saint Gregory of Nazianzus the Elder."

There is a coloring page for St. Nonna included in the stack of saints pages that you got for Christmas:

Coloring sheet:

[Sheets will be "contact-papered" so children can use them over and over as they memorize the Hail Mary.].

CLOSING PRAYERS: Time to say good bye. :-) [Distribute Our Father pages.] We'll begin with the Our Father. You know the words. And you can read them as we all say them. And we'll be adding the Hail Mary to our closing prayers, to help you memorize it:

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