Grade 2 – Chapter 5

STEP 1 - WELCOME

STEP 2 - INVITE

STEP 3 - DISCOVER

STEP 4 - LIVE

STEP 5 - CLOSING

Jesus is the beloved Son

of God; born of Mary.

Jesus is the Savior of

the world who showed

us God the Father’s love.

Share with Your Students “What’s Up”

-Leading a group means guiding them step by step through the

time together, so let them know what’s next

-Be specific when guiding them to what else they can expect

from the lesson. It allows students to feel comfortable knowing

what else they may experience throughout the class

-Being specific helps our brains to envision directions

-Put directions in the positive – “Keep your glass up” – helps us

get it right

-When we put them in the negative – “Don’t spill that!” – we

envision spilling the glass and often do just that!

STEP 1 - WELCOME

Community Activity – coloring sheet or word search

STEP 2 – INVITE

Let us Pray

• Say prayer

• Pray the Our Father

• Use this story after the opening prayer, before you tell the children that God sent

his Son.

• Have the children list first names that they like.

• Point out how names can make us feel special and distinguish us from others.

• After connecting our names with the name of the Son of God, transition back to

the lesson instruction.

• Oh, what great names for girls there are!

Rebekah and Sarah are Old Testament names.

There’s Mary and Margaret, sisters they were.

Teresa and Monica, names for Saints!

• Oh what great names for boys there are!

Joseph and David are Old Testament names.

Peter and Matthew, Apostles they were.

Francis and Nicholas, names for Saints!

• Read God’s word and talk about What do you Wonder questions

STEP 3 – DISCOVER

• Review the Holy Trinity with the children and how they learned about God

the father last week. This week we are learning about another part of the

trinity – God the son.

A Savior is Born

• Read the 1st paragraph and ask the children what special name God gave

his son

• Read the 2nd paragraph

Review what the Annunciation is (scripture background) and then read God’s

word.

• Discuss the paragraphs

o Activity – Jesus Comes to Us!

The Holy Family

• Read about the Holy Family

• Read God’s word section

• Discuss what is happening in the picture

Jesus begins his work

• Read paragraph

• God’s Word section

STEP 4 – LIVE

Our Catholic Life

• Read paragraphs

• Complete the chart together.

Saints Lesson

Read “The Saints are like us”

Activity – Saint Cube (May have the children do this after the lesson with their

parents.)

Show the pictures and read about the saints.

Take Homes

• Encourage the children to share the Family and Faith section with their

parents.

• Chapter Review

STEP 5 – CLOSING

Closing Prayer

Our Father

• Say the Glory Be and make sure the children are doing the sign of the

cross correctly.

Saint Cube

St. Teresa of Avila

Teresa was the daughter of noble parents in Spain. When she was only 7

years old, she and her little brother liked to read stories from the lives of

the saints. One of their favorite games was playing “hermit” in their

father’s garden.

When Teresa was still quite young, she became crippled by disease and

was unable to walk. She prayed to St. Joseph who cured her. Teresa lost

her mother when she was 12. She begged the Mother of God to be her

mother. Five years after her mother’s death she joined the Carmelite

Order. She built many new convents.

By a life of constant prayer, Teresa brought many souls to Jesus. Her many

writings show her great love of God. She wrote these beautiful words: “Let

nothing trouble you; let nothing make you afraid. All things pass away.

God never changes. Patience obtains everything. God alone is enough.”

On Oct 4, 2582, Jesus appeared to Teresa with many saints. She begged

him to take her to himself. After her prayer, her soul was taken to heaven.

She is the patron saint of Spain, those with headaches, aviators, and writers

Saint Therese of Lisieux

She is also called St. Therese of the Child Jesus. When she was 8 years old

she was cured because a statue of the Blessed Virgin smiled upon her.

When Therese was still very young, she did kind little deeds for everyone.

She prepared for her First Holy Communion by making many little

sacrifices. She became a special friend of Jesus. She once said “From the

age of three, I never refused our good God anything. I have never given

Him anything but love.”

Therese entered the Carmelite convent at the age of 15. She wanted to save

souls, and to help priests save souls, by prayer, sacrifice, and suffering.

Her “Little Way” means love and trust in God.

She is called the Little Flower of Jesus because she loved the Infant Jesus

and, like a child, did little things to please God. When she was dying, St.

Therese pressed her crucifix to her heart and, looking up to heave, she said,

“I Love Him! My God, I Love You!” She died in 1897 when she was 24.

She is the patron saint of foreign missions, florists, and gardeners.

St. Maximilian Kolbe

St. Maximilian was born on Jan 7, 2894 in Poland and became a Franciscan

priest. He contracted tuberculosis and, though he recovered he remained

frail all his life.

The year before his ordination as a priest, he founded the Immaculate

Movement. After receiving a doctorate in theology, he spread the

Movement through a magazine and helped form a community of 800

Franciscan men, the largest in the world.

He went to Japan and built a comparable monastery and then to India

where he furthered the Movement. In 1936 he returned home because of

his poor health. After the Nazi invasion in 1939 he was imprisoned and

released for a time. However, he was arrested again in 1941 and sent to the

concentration camp at Auschwitz.

On July 31, 1941, in reprisal for one prisoner’s escape, ten men were chosen

to die. One was a young husband and father. Father Kolbe offered himself

in his place. He was the last to die, enduring 2 weeks of slow death

through starvation, thirst, and neglect.

He is the patron saint of families, prisoners, and journalists

Saint Nicholas

Nicholas was born at the end of the 3rd century. He was ordained a priest,

and appointed abbot of a monastery. He was very generous to the poor.

He showed himself the special protector of the innocent and the wronged.

Once he heard that a man who had become very poor was going to

abandon his three daughters to a life of sin. Nicholas went out by night,

flung a bag of gold into the window of the sleeping father and hurried

away. Later the father fell at his feet and said “Nicholas, you are my

helper. You have delivered my soul and my daughters from hell.”

St. Nicholas is regarded as the special patron of children. The word Santa

Claus comes from his name. He died at Myra in the year 342. He has

always been venerated in the Latin and Greek Churches but the Russian

Church seems to honor him more than any other saint. He is the patron

saint of Russia.

He is the patron saint of children, merchants, and travelers.

Saint Francis of Assisi

As a young man, Francis liked to have a good time. His father was rich.

Once, when he was sick, Francis heard our Lord calling to him to leave the

world and follow him. Francis began to visit hospitals and to serve the

sick. He used to say “When one serves the poor, he serves Christ himself.”

Francis put on the clothes of a poor shepherd and began to preach to the

people about peace with God, peace with one’s neighbor, and peace with

one’s self. He looked on all people and things as his brothers and sisters

because they were all created by the same God.

Francis took 12 young men to Rome with him and the Pope gave him

permission to start a new religious order, the Franciscans. He also helped

St. Clare to start the order known as the Poor Clares.

Francis had a vision in which he saw Jesus hanging on the Cross. The

marks of the 5 wounds of Jesus were left in his hands, his side, and his feet,

which remained with him all his life. He also loved animals and had a

very special way of talking to them.

He died on October 4, 1226.

He is the patron saint of animals and birds, ecologists and ecology and is

the founder of the Franciscan order.