| Year Levels Focus: | Christians make choices that are informed by the loving example of Jesus. (TCREK023) |
| Aims: |
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| Content Statement: |
Students will recognise the gifts given to them and to others through the love of God: the gifts of life, body, spirit and the gifts of freedom and will. They will consider how they value these gifts and use them to care for themselves and others. They will learn to discern the voice of conscience and life-giving choices in relation to self, others, the world, and they will engage with the examen as a supportive practice. Students will consider how Christian values provide a basis for life-giving choices and actions. They will explore examples of Jesus showing love in action and will examine how followers of Jesus make loving choices that are guided by the Decalogue and his Great Commandment. |
The entire Christian spiritual, ethical and moral “system” is Christian insofar as it begins with God loving us in and through Christ, and ends in our becoming one with that Love, which is nothing less than God’s own self, given to us and known by us as the Holy Spirit. How we address all the spiritual, ethical and moral questions in life as Christians is what happens in between. Or, as St Augustine put it: “Love, and then do what you will”.
Real love is about moving out of oneself towards another in self-gift, while at the same time opening oneself up to another’s gift of themselves to oneself. Christian spirituality and Christian ethics/morality are both grounded in real love really lived.
Real love is about vulnerability, which takes an enormous amount of courage, strength and commitment (or “fortitude”). Real love begins in a kind of wonder before the awe-inspiring, indeed terrifying, mystery of another who loves us. It grows and takes possession of one’s whole being with a profound sense of respect, indeed reverence, for the Other who loves us. And this awe and this reverence are what give rise to the courage, the “fortitude”, to risk everything in committed giving of oneself to that Other in love—which is precisely what is meant by Christian spirituality and ethics/morality, or “the Christian life”.
Real love is about desiring the good of those we love, wanting and working towards the very best for them, desiring that they may flourish according to their nature as the image of God.
In GNFL this understanding of Christian life is developed with emphasis on these theological and anthropological principles:
- Christian ethics/morality is one with Christian spirituality; and both are grounded in the God who loves us, and who therefore enables us to grow in love.
- Real love—God’s love—costs. Real love isn’t cheap. Real love costs, but it is God whom it costs. And God “pays the price”, as it were, in person: Jesus, giving himself even unto death for love of us.
- At its deepest core, the Christian life (spirituality and ethics/morality) is about God and the Spirit.
- Our ethics/morality flows from our spirituality, our encounter with God in Christ; it flows from who we are as Christians, from our life in Christ, from who we are as creatures alive through and with and in the Holy Spirit, the very Self and Life of God loving us.
- To speak of Christian life in a meaningful way, to do Christian moral and mystical theology properly, or to work out a genuinely Christian ethics, we must always begin where we mean to end: in God loving us.
- To do anything less than that—to start with principles, ideals, the law, virtue, values (even “gospel values”), etc.—is to focus on ourselves as though we were anything less than loved-by-God, anything less than destined for communion with God, and with one another in God. To start with any of these things is to reduce our ethics to ideology, our morality to legalism, our spirituality to selfishness, and therefore our theology to idolatry, by reducing ourselves to our egos, and our lives to a meaningless existence between the cradle and the grave.
URL link to Theological Conversation chapter (PDF).
- Through God’s love, every person has the gifts of life, body, mind, spirit, and free will.
- We respond to God’s love through our choices about caring for self, others, and for all of life.
- We have the capacity and responsibility to choose between right and wrong.
- The Decalogue and its fulfilment, Jesus’ New Commandment, guide our choices and actions.
- Jesus’ teaching and our consciences guide us in making good choices and acting with love.
- Followers of Jesus choose to live with love for God, self, others and for all of life.
Christians make choices that are informed by the loving example of Jesus. (TCREK023)
Students will recognise the gifts given to them and to others through the love of God: the gifts of life, body, spirit and the gifts of freedom and will. They will consider how they value these gifts and use them to care for themselves and others. They will learn to discern the voice of conscience and life-giving choices in relation to self, others, the world, and they will engage with the examen as a supportive practice. Students will consider how Christian values provide a basis for life-giving choices and actions. They will explore examples of Jesus showing love in action and will examine how followers of Jesus make loving choices that are guided by the Decalogue and his Great Commandment.
TCREI007
Developing questions for investigating religious ideas, events and rituals (TCREI007)
- developing and posing questions about the Trinity as a community of loving Persons
- generating questions about the Mass and why Catholics say “it is what God does for us”
- asking “why are there different forms of writing in the Bible and why is it not all narrative?”
- questioning and reflecting on how Pope Francis is pope, just as St Peter was the first pope
- formulating questions about, and writing examples of, ways that the Spirit of Jesus lives in others and the church community
TCREI008
Being familiar with some of the most significant stories of the Old and New Testaments and discussing characters and meanings (TCREI008)
- learning words from glossaries of significant words from the Old Testament and the sacraments, e.g., covenant, initiation, sin, reconciliation
- using a range of methods including digital technologies to plan and conduct an information search about the different genres in the Bible, including parables, proverbs, narratives, psalms, miracle stories, etc.
- defining and explaining the different genres of writing found in the Bible
TCREI009
Representing and communicating religious or spiritual ideas and information using diagrams, models and simple reports (TCREI009)
- researching biblical lands and creating three-dimensional maps of geographical areas that relate to important Old Testament stories
- gathering Scripture quotations around a series of themes and making a class mural, story maps or a class big book
- writing student-derived examples of Scripture genres based on biblical texts (e.g., writing a letter to a friend who is far away, encouraging her or him to stay strong and keep going even though she or he is alone)
- retelling Scripture passages illustrating different genres and making shadow puppet plays
TCRED007
With guidance, identifying questions about religious ideas, events or rituals and recording ideas, thoughts and feelings (TCRED007)
- developing searching questions about how the mystery of God helps us grow in wisdom and understanding
- reflecting individually or collectively using imaginative prayer and meditation, journalling, reflective writing
- inviting a guest speaker (e.g., the parish priest) to class to ask him questions, using a Q and A style format, about the Mass, God, the Church, or his vocation
- designing simple surveys to find out what students understand about questions such as “How is the Church animated by the Spirit?”
- using a range of methods including digital technologies to plan and conduct an information search about the teachings of Pope Francis and what he says about the Church today
TCRED008
Weighing up values and ideas to make connections. Sharing thoughts and suggestions with others. Reflecting, contributing to group dialogue, generating questions and drawing conclusions regarding principles for living responsibly, personally and in society (TCRED008)
- examining individually and collectively the idea of covenant
- listening to the stories of the Old Testament prophets
- examining our own actions and decisions in the light of their example
- weighing up choices
- sharing thoughts and suggestions about how families can live more like a loving community
TCRED009
Responding at the personal level or, with others, designing, sharing and, where possible enacting, a simple action plan towards improving specific situations at school or beyond (TCRED009)
- organising and leading an assembly prayer using Scripture, calling us to trust in God to find peace
- constructing visual representations or mosaics highlighting how the sacraments are celebrations of the presence of God in our lives
- journalling during Lent or Advent to invite Jesus into our choices, and living love by practising gratitude and acts of kindness
- creating a class or school prayer calendar using appropriate Scripture passages
By the end of Year 4, students can acknowledge that they and all human persons are created in the image of God, and that Jesus (God-with-us) reveals for us that God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—calls each one of us into a loving relationship with him and each other. They can recognise that Jesus’ loving example, as witnessed in the Gospels, informs the choices and guides the actions of those who follow him. They can recognise that, in the community of the Church, followers of Jesus celebrate God’s loving presence through the liturgy, and are nourished by the sacraments and by his Word in Scripture to live like Jesus. They can identify the Eucharist and describe its ritual elements as the celebration at the heart of Christian prayer and life. They can recognise that Jesus through his sharing of his Holy Spirit is present in the Church and its sacraments, and they can describe how the Spirit enlivens and guides us to be healing, forgiving and reconciling people. They can identify the way we celebrate God’s healing and forgiveness, and describe their ritual elements through the sacraments of Penance and of the Anointing of the Sick.
Students can explore, pose questions about and respond in a variety of ways to religious experiences, texts and stories. They can reflect on living responsibly and can develop, share and enact a response at the personal level and/or a simple plan of action at the school or local level.
Pre-unit assessment
Ask students to answer the question: How does God want us to show love and care?
Learning Hook
Use an image of each student to create a display. Add examples of gifts to the display and note how these gifts are cared for, the choices being made in selecting these particular gifts and the reasons for these decisions.
Surface
(Giving language, facts, and basic concepts structure to lead into deeper learning)
Key Vocabulary: conscience, morals, values
What gifts has God given me as a human person?
Identify the gifts God has given me as a human person. Invite students to name and discuss examples of God’s gifts to them.
- Share a story or a clip, for example, What a Wonderful World (see links in Resources) on YouTube (cf. Understanding Faith [UF], Unit 57, Part 1, p. 9, “The Signature of God”, or p. 11: “Creation Calls”).
- Name the range of gifts in the cosmos, in nature on earth, in human life. Identify favourite plants, animals.
- Describe the variety of their colours, shapes.
- Talk about interesting or amazing facts.
- Create a picture gallery of students’ own baby photos, or, through a visit by a parent with a little baby, focus on the excitement and joy connected with the gift of life itself.
- Share thoughts about and from those older in age.
- Focus on how precious each little child, every human being, is.
- Compose prayers of thanks, and sing in thanks for the gift of life. Join together in a celebration of life.
- Engage in quiet/reflective prayer experiences that focus on the wonder of human life.
- Present practices that show care for body, mind and spirit.
- Share amazing facts about the wonderful human body.
- Consider the stages of life. (Love You Forever, by Robert Munsch, gently takes students through life’s stages and shows the value of life in all its stages; cf. UF, Unit 20, Part 3, p. 5, “Stages of Life” chart.)
- Talk together about looking after pets, plants—and about looking after ourselves and every other person throughout life.
Deep
(Learning experiences that lead on from beginning experiences to questioning more deeply and exploring ideas in different ways to lead to making connections between faith and life)
What did Jesus teach about making loving choices for God, self and others?
Invite students to name and discuss examples of how the gifts from God help people to make loving choices.
- Consider with students how their parents care for them in body, mind and spirit.
- Investigate and discuss how parents and school also act as guides for making choices to help them use wisely the gift of freedom.
- Explore scenarios about wise choices for care of body, mind, spirit. Share thoughts about which gifts are in focus; discuss the gifts being cared for, the choices made and the reasons for the decisions.
- Explain the considerations made in the decision-making process.
Identify what Jesus taught about making loving choices for God, self and others. - Discuss God’s commandments as guides for our choices and actions (cf. on YouTube: Ten Simple Rules by Hayden Eilerman).
- Present the text of the Ten Commandments (Decalogue). Work out how the commandments can be clustered under two headings: “Love God”, “Love Others”. PursueGOD Kids clip on YouTube: The Ten Commandments may be useful.
- Discuss connections between the scenarios considered and the commandments.
- Demonstrate ways we can make good choices and do loving actions. Love is a choice ... and Jesus is the exemplar ... Consider Jesus’ new commandment: “Love one another as I have loved you”. Jesus and Justice from the Wonderings series may help explore these concepts.
- Engage with Gospel stories to explore how Jesus loved.
- Share an experience of guided Scripture meditation with the story of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet.
- Focus on love as an action, not a feeling (cf. UF, Unit 33, Part 3, p. 4; pp. 5–6: printable describing qualities of love, with examples of love, and examples of the opposite).
Transfer
(Learning experiences that help students engage with deeper understandings that can be applied in their own lives)
How can I make good choices and do loving actions?
Discuss examples of student actions and how they can show love and care for self and others.
- Consider with students actions of love and care for self—body, mind, spirit (cf. UF, Unit 41, Part 5, p. 5: nutrition, hygiene, learning, exercise/relaxation, relationship with God in prayer).
- Explore ways of showing love and care for others in body, mind, spirit. Explore ways of showing love and care for nature.
- Explore the importance of these actions for individuals and for the world God has given us.
- Discern personal response plans that relate to at least one area of gift.
Resources
“Creation Calls”. In Understanding Faith. Unit 57, Part 1, p. 11. Online Subscription.
Edwards, Luke. Jesus and Justice. Wonderings Series.
Eilerman, Hayden. Ten Simple Rules. YouTube.
Munsch, Robert. Love You Forever.
Munsch, Robert. Love You Forever. YouTube.
PursueGOD Kids. The Ten Commandments. YouTube.
Understanding Faith. Unit 33, Part 3, pp. 4,5–6. Online Subscription.
“The Signature of God”. In Understanding Faith. Unit 57, Part 1, p. 9. Online Subscription.
“Stages of Life”. Chart. In Understanding Faith. Unit 20, Part 3, p. 5. Online Subscription.
Understanding Faith. Unit 41, Part 5, p. 5. Online Subscription.
What a Wonderful World. Louis Armstrong. YouTube.
What a Wonderful World. Playing for Change. YouTube.
* Unless otherwise noted, items listed under “Resources” are books.