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In the Beatitudes, Jesus gives us his roadmap to happiness—and to our ultimate destination: Heaven. When Jesus teaches the Beatitudes in Matthew’s Gospel, he says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). It’s Matthew’s version that we hear at Mass this Sunday. In Luke’s version of the Beatitudes, he takes out the phrase in spirit. Throughout his Gospel, Luke calls attention to those who live in material poverty—the ones without enough food, clothes, or shelter.
The Thanksgiving and Christmas collections for the poor are past, but the needs of agencies that serve the poor continue throughout the year. As the beginning of Lent (2/22) approaches, you might consider planning a collection to benefit the materially poor. Homeless shelters often need socks and personal care products. Food banks need nonperishable food items. Pregnancy help centers may need maternity clothes and baby items. As we work to help meet the physical needs of these agencies’ clients, we can also add our commitment to pray for them. Their spiritual needs are just as important as their physical needs.
And helping others can help us to experience what Matthew may have meant by poor in spirit. We may be moved to gratitude for our many blessings, acknowledge that all we have is gift from God, and trust in him for our needs much like children depend on their parents.
LET US PRAY: Loving God, thank you for the many blessings we enjoy every day. Help us to not take them for granted. Help us to see those who are poor with God’s eyes and share our blessings with them. Give us the wisdom to seek and value the treasures of your kingdom over the treasures of this world. Soften our hearts and break down our prejudices toward those who have less. Help us to depend on you and trust in your care. Amen.
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.
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
Seeds
Lesson Theme: Jesus is our teacher.
For this lesson you will need scissors, glue or tape, crayons, a puppet, drawing paper, two lunch bags, four index cards, a Church Year calendar, and copies of the story coloring page (one per child).
Sunday’s Gospel of the Beatitudes can be challenging for even adults to understand. Yet the Beatitudes are a very important teaching of Jesus—right up there with his expansion on the meaning of the Ten Commandments, his Law of Love, and the Great Commandment. Seeds children should understand that Jesus wants us to have happiness that lasts.For the activity-story “Loving or Unloving?”, you need to mark four index cards or sheets of paper with the numbers 1–4. Also, you need to label one lunch bag “Loving Choice” and the other lunch bag “Unloving Choice.” Make sure the numbers and letters are big enough for the children to see from a distance. To differentiate them, you can add a red heart to the “Loving Choice” bag.
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
Promise
Lesson Theme: Jesus wants us to be happy.
Sunday’s Gospel of the Beatitudes can be challenging for even adults to understand. Yet the Beatitudes are a very important teaching of Jesus—right up there with his expansion on the meaning of the Ten Commandments, his Law of Love, and the Great Commandment. The important takeaway for children of Promise age is that Jesus wants us to be happy. They will learn the term Beatitudes as Jesus’ list of attitudes and actions that will help his followers find real happiness. Emphasize that Jesus wants us to be happy in this life and in Heaven with him forever after we die. By using the What the Church Believes and Teaches handbook, page 8, you will help the children recognize that choosing to do and say what is loving and kind will make them happy. Disobeying God (sinning) will make them unhappy.
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 be happy.
In addition to your regular supplies, you will need drawing paper for this lesson. You may wish to enlist the help of an aide or aides to assist with folding the Beatitudes Flip Square. Find directions for making the flip square and playing the game here. We suggest that you separate pages 1–2 and 3–4 in advance.
Sunday’s Gospel of the Beatitudes can be challenging for even adults to understand. Yet the Beatitudes are a very important teaching of Jesus—right up there with his expansion on the meaning of the Ten Commandments, his Law of Love, and the Great Commandment. One important takeaway for Good News children is that Jesus wants us to be happy.
Make sure to explore what each of the eight Beatitudes means. You’ll find some possible explanations in the What the Church Believes and Teaches box on page TG3-15. Help the children move beyond what, on the surface, can sound like contradictory statements. They are still concrete thinkers, so don’t expect them to fully grasp these concepts.
Teaching Guide
Parent Teaching Pages
Parent/Grandparent Assistance for Home Study
The Gospel at Home
Weekly Review Template
Online Assessment
Seasonal Resources
Venture
Lesson Theme: Jesus teaches about happiness.
This Sunday’s Gospel message may be confusing to some. The Beatitudes appear to be filled with contradictory promises. How indeed would we ever consider the poor—the sorrowful, the downtrodden, the hungry—to be blessed or happy? The Beatitudes are God’s hopeful promises for an eternity with him. They are also a reminder that God does not abandon us, especially at our lowest points. Remember to have enough Bibles available so that the children can pair up and work together on the Our Catholic Faith activity on page 5 in the lesson. They will need scissors and tape to complete the “Organize Matthew’s Gospel!” activity on pages 7–8.
Teaching Guide
Parent Teaching Pages
Parent/Grandparent Assistance for Home Study
The Gospel at Home
Weekly Review Template
Online Assessment
Seasonal Resources
Videos
What Are the Parts of the Mass?
Saint John Bosco
The Beatitudes
Who Wrote the Gospel of Matthew?
Visions
Lesson Theme: Jesus teaches about happiness.
This Sunday’s Gospel message may be confusing to some. The Beatitudes appear to be full of contradictory promises. How indeed would we ever consider the poor—the sorrowful, the downtrodden, the hungry—to be blessed or happy? The Beatitudes are God’s hopeful promises for an eternity with him. They are also a reminder that God does not abandon us, especially at our lowest points. Remember to have enough Bibles available so that the young people can pair up and work together on the Our Catholic Faith activity on page 5 in the lesson. Bring newspapers or allow the young people to use their cell phones to research examples for the Beatitudes activity on page 6–7.
Teaching Guide
Parent Teaching Pages
Parent/Grandparent Assistance for Home Study
The Gospel at Home
Weekly Review Template
Online Assessment
Seasonal Resources
Videos
The Beatitudes
Who Wrote the Gospel of Matthew?
Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation
Image credit: Анастасия Стягайло/stock.adobe.com
