| Year Levels Focus: | The liturgy of the Church expresses and celebrates in ritual our loving relationship with God and helps Christians to live like Jesus. (TCREK022) |
| Aims: |
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| Content Statement: |
Students will be invited to deepen their relationship with God and with others through prayer, both personal and communal. As individuals and in community they will have opportunities to explore different kinds of prayer and to be involved in different prayer experiences. They will investigate the liturgical cycle of the seasons of the Church year, a pattern linked to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. They will explore the basic elements of liturgy and will be introduced to the Eucharist as the celebration at the heart of Christian prayer and life. They will explore how we honour Mary through prayers, the Hail Mary in particular, and through the celebration of feast days within the liturgical calendar. |
Prayer is to Christianity what water is to the ocean, what breath is to life, what love is to life’s meaning. Prayer simply is our relationship with God become conscious, deliberate and concrete. It is more a way of being than something we do.
That is why prayer needs to permeate the entire Catholic curriculum; and function in the RE curriculum the way RE functions in the Catholic curriculum overall. Why? Because unless there is a lived experience of encounter with God on God’s terms—and that is what Christian prayer is—then it is simply impossible to talk meaningfully about God in a Catholic educational context.
Prayer is vital. That is why God wants us to pray: because God desires to draw us into a fuller relationship; and praying is simply how that is done consciously, deliberately and concretely in and for us.
At its most basic and essential, the word pray means “to ask”. Learning to ask for what we truly need, when we are ready to receive it, is the key to life and true happiness. Because everything that is, is a free and beautiful gift, grace, learning to ask and receive is the most important lesson we have to learn.
Asking and receiving the gift that is life, being and meaning is the heart of our relationship with God, because grace—God’s gift of himself to us—is the purpose and meaning of life. Prayer therefore points to the deepest truth about human nature itself: we are made for the gift of union with God.
In GNFL this understanding of prayer is developed with emphasis on these theological principles:
- Prayer is about desire—ultimate desire: the desire to become one with God. In prayer we enter into a relationship with the One who intensifies our desire for being. In prayer we find ourselves loved into being in a way that invites us to participate in our own coming-into-being by liberating our desire from all fear, rivalry, selfishness, violence and malice—and therefore, from the power of death itself. Prayer must always be honest if it is to be true prayer, because by praying honestly we discover ever more deeply the ultimate nature of our desire, the desire for God.
- Prayer is our way of participating in God’s work of uniting us with himself. The ultimate expression of that work is the liturgy, “the work of God”, the public act of the Church’s communal prayer as thanks and praise, “the source and summit of the Church’s actions”.
- The central prayer of the Church is the Eucharist. At the most profound level, the Eucharist has to do with Christ alone, who prays for us: he puts his prayer on our lips, for only he can say, “This is my Body … This is my Blood”.
URL link to Theological Conversation chapter (PDF).
Luke 1:48 All Generations Will Call Mary Blessed
Godly Play - Blessing of Bread and Wine
- We pray in personal prayer and we gather for liturgical prayer.
- When we pray together we celebrate God’s presence.
- The Mass, which celebrates the Eucharist, is at the centre of the Catholic community.
- In celebrating the liturgy we use words, actions & signs to express our loving relationship with God.
- There are two great parts of the Mass: the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
- The Church’s liturgical calendar helps us throughout the year to focus on the person of Jesus and on the Paschal mystery (his life, death and resurrection).
- Mary is honoured through prayers and through feasts within the cycle of the liturgical year.
The liturgy of the Church expresses and celebrates in ritual our loving relationship with God and helps Christians to live like Jesus. (TCREK022)
Students will be invited to deepen their relationship with God and with others through prayer, both personal and communal. As individuals and in community they will have opportunities to explore different kinds of prayer and to be involved in different prayer experiences. They will investigate the liturgical cycle of the seasons of the Church year, a pattern linked to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. They will explore the basic elements of liturgy and will be introduced to the Eucharist as the celebration at the heart of Christian prayer and life. They will explore how we honour Mary through prayers, the Hail Mary in particular, and through the celebration of feast days within the liturgical calendar.
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
Use a graphic organiser (Y chart or 'Who, What, When, Where, Why, How?') to determine what students - working individually, with a partner or in groups - already know about prayer and/or liturgy, celebrations and seasons of the Church.
Learning Hook
(a) View The Crossroad Kids Club short videos on What is Prayer?, Why do we Pray?, How do We Pray?, and What is Communion?, Why do We Do Communion?, and How do We Do Communion? [YouTube].
(b) Investigate Big Book: We Celebrate the Eucharist by Margaret Smith.
Surface
(Giving language, facts, and basic concepts structure to lead into deeper learning)
Key Vocabulary: liturgy, Paschal mystery, ritual elements, lectionary, altar, chalice, paten, tabernacle, vestments
When, why and how do we pray alone?
Use some picture starters to focus attention and encourage responses. Share picture talks about who students think are in the images, What are they doing? What might they be talking about? Where might they be? Why are they in that place? What do you think can you tell about the pair of children in each picture?
Share examples of times when we are alone or with only one friend, the places we might be, the things we might do, the kind of communications we might have. How are these times important? When, where, and how do we spend time with and talk with a special friend?
Use pictures to help students to identify how these points discussed might apply also to personal prayer. Provide opportunities for students’ prayer experiences in partner time, alone/quiet time, or personal prayer time. Invite students to illustrate the different experiences.
When, why, and how do we pray together?
Share examples of times when we gather with a whole group of people. What brings us together? What kinds of things do we do? What patterns have we designed for these times?
View on YouTube: Australian Celebrations or relevant videos from ABC Education Collection : Celebrations. Identify what we see, hear and do for all kinds of celebrations (cf. Understanding Faith, Unit 21, Part 1, p. 2).
Discuss a range of gatherings/celebrations. (Group work could enable the development of comparisons between several different kinds of gathering.) World Book's celebrations and rituals around the world may help.
Consider the structure/parts of celebrations (cf. UF, Unit 21, Part 1, p. 3, interactive task, “Parts of a Celebration”: preparation, gathering, welcome, meal, special people/person, place). All people celebrate in their own ways and for reasons special to them. As God’s people, we have a way of celebrating in public worship called “liturgy”.
How do we celebrate God’s presence in the liturgy? (The action of public worship)
Identify the different occasions on which we gather for liturgy: Baptisms, Mass, weddings, ordination of a priest, funerals, ritual prayer services.
Draw parallels to clarify “sacrament”, “liturgy”, “ritual”, “ritual element”.
| Liturgy | Ritual |
What we see: Signs of the Celebration |
What we hear: Words used in the Celebration |
| Your Birthday | Birthday Party | Invitations, cakes, balloons, gifts, family, friends | Songs, speeches, stories of memories: events, milestones |
| Christening | Baptism (recall from Years 1,2 unit of work) | ... | ... |
| Mass | Novus Ordo Missae: New Order of the Mass | ... | ... |
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)
Use a story of a special celebration or commemoration, for example, an awards or Anzac Day ceremony. Discuss the preparations, the gathering, and identify the parts/structure of the ceremony. Identify people, actions, words, sounds, signs. YouTube: What Do Kids Think of Anzac Day?
Identify the reasons given for joining in: to thank, to honour, to remember, to express love etc. These reasons are also part of why we gather for Mass/Eucharist. The word “Eucharist” means “thanksgiving”—“giving thanks”.
We remember Jesus’ command, “Do this in memory of me” (cf. To Know, Worship and Love [TKWL], Book 4, chap. 11: “Do This in Memory of Me”). We thank God, honour him, and express our love for him.
How do God’s people celebrate Jesus in liturgy? (What do we see, use, do, say when we celebrate together?)
Consider when we gather for Mass: the people, actions, words, sounds, signs/symbols (cf. UF, Unit 37, Part 5, p. 2, “Signs of Celebrating”: Picture Display: candles; vestments; vessels—with bread, water, wine; hymns, bells, sign of peace; Slideshow; Interactive Task: identify signs used).
Also: UF, Unit 37, Part 5, pp. 3–4: actions, movements; UF, Unit 37, Part 5, p. 5: prayers of the priest, prayers of the people; Interactive: UF, Unit 37, Part 5, p. 7: signs, actions, words, prayers.
Why is the Mass the most important liturgy/ at the centre of liturgy ?
Recall the format of life’s celebrations as a lead-in to identifying the four main parts of the Mass: Introductory Rites, Liturgy of the Word, Liturgy of the Eucharist, Concluding Rites.
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Note: As the Liturgy of the Word is the focus in the Planning for Learning, Years 3–4, Scripture unit, the material below explores the Liturgy of the Eucharist. |
Reflect on and illustrate Jesus’ presence in our lives:
- At Mass, through …
- With friends, when …
- In my family, when …
Transfer
(Learning experiences that help students engage with deeper understandings that can be applied in their own lives)
Are we there yet? When does the Mass end? Ita missa est (This could tie in well in the Years 3–4 Church unit.)
Consider the final Explore UF, Unit 21, Part 4. My Family, Kindness; Parish; interactive task, “Ways to Serve God”, p. 12.
Teachers could work with students on a way to share with others the key learning gained during this unit of work.
Choosing your own way of sharing, develop for Year 4 students a presentation that:
- Helps them be clear about what liturgy is
- Introduces them to some of the ritual actions and signs/symbols used in the liturgy
- Helps them grow in understanding the link between Mass and how they live, love and serve.
Resources
ABC Education Collection : Celebrations
Australian Celebrations. YouTube.
The Crossroad Kids Club, What is Prayer?, Why do We Pray?, How do We Pray?, What is Communion?, Why do We Do Communion?, How do We Do Communion? YouTube.
“Do This in Memory of Me”. In To Know, Worship and Love, Book 4, chap. 11.
“Parts of a Celebration”. Understanding Faith. Unit 21, Part 1, pp. 2-3. Online Subscription.
“Signs of Celebrating”. Understanding Faith. Unit 37, Part 5, pp. 2–5, 7. Online Subscription.
Smith, Margaret. We Celebrate the Eucharist.
“Ways to Serve God”. Interactive Task. Understanding Faith. Unit 21, Part 4, p. 12. Online Subscription.
What Do Kids Think of Anzac Day? YouTube.
World Book's celebrations and rituals around the world. World Book.
* Unless otherwise noted, items listed under “Resources” are books.