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FROM OUR EDITORS—February 12, 2023 – 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

FROM OUR EDITORS—February 12, 2023 – 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Para la versión en español, haga clic aquí.

This Sunday, the First Reading talks about the importance of following God’s commandments. In the Gospel, Jesus explains the best way to do this. As catechists, it is our responsibility to make sure the children under our care understand the commandments and are able to find God’s unending love within them.

Every week in the GROW newsletter, you will find helpful tips for teaching your Gospel Weeklies lesson, a reflection on the Sunday Gospel, and links to online resources. … [READ MORE]

Videos of Sunday’s Gospel
Use these videos as you discuss today’s Gospel. Please preview all videos you plan to share with your class:
     Holy Heroes
     Gospel Reading and Reflection for Kids
     Sunday Gospel Cartoon Reading and Lesson
     What Are the Ten Commandments?

Seeds
Lesson Theme: Jesus’ rule is to love one another.
For this lesson you will need a hand puppet, a Bible, scissors, crayons, glue sticks, and a Church Year calendar.

Having rules is very important for preschool children. Rules teach them how to understand which behaviors are good. Rules also help them to have order in the activities in which they participate. In this Seeds lesson, we are going to build on the experience they already have of rules at home and in their daily lives. They will identify Jesus’ rule to love one another.

Teaching Guide
Parent Teaching Pages
Parent/Grandparent Assistance for Home Study
Extending Activities
The Gospel at Home
Weekly Review Template
Word of the Week
Seasonal Resources
Videos
     Bible Bag: Kid-Sized Lessons on the Sunday Gospel with Mrs. Cole
     Gospel Reflection and Saint of the Week with Miss Heidi
     Our Father/Lord’s Prayer

Promise
Lesson Theme: Jesus teaches his Law of Love.
For this lesson, you will need pencils, crayons, tape, a stapler, a Church Year calendar, and copies of the story coloring page (one per child). You may wish to engage the help of an aide or aides to assist with cutting, taping, and stapling. We also suggest that you separate pages 1–2 from pages 3–4 before your class session.

Young children may not yet appreciate the importance and value of rules, but they will be familiar with the many rules in their lives. They may be more aware of problems that occur when others don’t obey the rules but not yet as able to identify the problems that result when they are the ones who break a rule. Give them time to consider their responses to the cover activity and story. Challenge them to come up with as many real-life examples for the “When Mom Says . . .” activity. The more they connect these opening activities to their own lives, the better they will be able to apply the commandments and the laws and rules of God, Jesus, the Church, their families, and their classrooms in the remainder of the lesson to themselves. This Gospel challenges concrete thinkers (and all of us) to think beyond just the words of the Ten Commandments and look for the deeper and broader ways Jesus asks us to live his Law of Love.

Teaching Guide
Parent Teaching Pages
Parent/Grandparent Assistance for Home Study
The Gospel at Home
Weekly Review Template
Online Assessment
Word of the Week
Seasonal Resources
Videos
     Bible Bag: Kid-Sized Lessons on the Sunday Gospel with Mrs. Cole
     Gospel Reflection and Saint of the Week with Miss Heidi

Good News
Lesson Theme: Jesus wants us to keep God’s laws.
For this lesson, you will need pencils, crayons, a Church Year calendar, lined writing paper, scissors, tape, copies of the second story “A Weird Nickname” and Know questions (one per child). You may wish to have an aide or aides available to help with cutting and taping. Praying an Act of Contrition is suggested in the What the Church Believes and Teaches activities. Find an Act of Contrition on page 47 of the Catechism handbook.

Young children may not yet appreciate the importance and value of rules, but they will be familiar with the many rules in their lives. They may be more aware of problems that occur when others don’t obey the rules but not yet as able to identify the problems that result when they are the ones who break a rule. Give them time to consider responses to the questions about the two stories. Challenge them to come up with as many real-life examples for the “When Mom Says . . .” activity. The more they connect these opening activities to their own lives, the better they will be able to apply the commandments and the laws and rules of God, Jesus, the Church, their families, and their classrooms in the remainder of the lesson to themselves.

Teaching Guide
Parent Teaching Pages
Parent/Grandparent Assistance for Home Study
The Gospel at Home
Weekly Review Template
Online Assessment
Seasonal Resources
Video
     The Ten Commandments!

Venture
Lesson Theme: Jesus’ law calls us to love.
Venture-age children have sets of rules to follow wherever they go—at home, at school, on sports teams, at activities, and even in their friend groups. As part of the cover activity, challenge the children to identify the rules that are most important. What are Jesus’ most important laws? How are they different or the same as the Law of Moses (the Ten Commandments)? How does keeping the first three commandments keep us close to God? What happens when we break these rules? Make sure to give the children enough time to share their thoughts. You will need large sheets of white construction paper or tag board for this lesson. You may choose to share Valentine’s greetings with each other, whether messages of love or special treats (if your school or program permit them).

Teaching Guide
Parent Teaching Pages
Parent/Grandparent Assistance for Home Study
The Gospel at Home
Weekly Review Template
Online Assessment
Seasonal Resources
Videos
     Formation of Conscience
     Saint Valentine
     March for Life 2023 (preview for age-appropriateness)

Visions
Lesson Theme: Jesus’ law is love.
Young people may be pushing back (or at least expressing displeasure) against the rules they must follow at home and at school. Encourage them to share their thoughts about which rules are most important and what happens when we break rules. Ask: What is the difference between rules that prohibit behavior (you should not do X) and rules that compel them to act (you should do Y)? Encourage them to identify the real commandments on the cover before referring to their Catechism handbooks. Make sure to have enough Bibles for pairs of students to work together on the Old Law/New Law activity that begins on page 6.

Teaching Guide
Parent Teaching Pages
Parent/Grandparent Assistance for Home Study
The Gospel at Home
Weekly Review Template
Online Assessment
Seasonal Resources
Videos
     March for Life 2023 (preview for age-appropriateness)
     Anh’s Anger

Image credit: overbought/stock.adobe.com

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Our Editors


David Dziena
Publisher

David Dziena is the Publisher of Pflaum Publishing Group. He has also served as Executive Editor and […]

Joan McKamey
Project Editor

Joan McKamey, project editor, joined the Gospel Weeklies editorial team in September 2016. […]

Erika De Urquidi
Bilingual Editor

Erika De Urquidi, bilingual editor, joined Bayard, Inc. in July 2018. During her 15 years as a professional translator […]