2023-24 Grade 8 Religious Education

Greetings everyone! December 12 is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, she was our focus during this class session. As our opening prayer, I played a traditional song for this Feast, Las Apariciones de Guadalupana.  This video plays the song in Spanish with an English translation included. I shared some Mexican pan dulce as a treat. We viewed this St. Paul Center video that tells the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe. And we watched this Knight of Columbus mini-documentary that connects Our Lady of Guadalupe with the Eucharist. San Juan Diego was the first person to encounter her aparitions, and he proclaimed the message she shared. Another important herald of Christ was St. John the Baptist.  We looked at these passages from the Gospels: Matthew 3:1-12 Mark 1:1-8 Luke 3:1-20 John 1:15-28 For our class on December 19, we are going to have a special Advent/Christmas Prayer liturgy, and parents, you're welcome to join us.  All 8th grade families are asked to bring a pack of ju...

Advent Greetings! We began a new liturgical year with the start of Advent on Sunday, December 3. Advent Wreath lit for the First Sunday of Advent at the Guardian Angel Cathedral in Las Vegas, NV During this class, we focused more on what Advent is about: We wait for the celebration of Christ's first coming at His birth in Bethlehem, for His second coming at the End of Time, and to welcome Him into our hearts each day. We began class with the song " Even So, Come ". We did two activities during class to explore themes of Advent. There are four candles on the Advent wreath, one for each of the four Sundays before Christmas/Nativity Day.  One interpretation is that the first candle represents hope, the second candle represents peace, the third candle represents joy, and the fourth candle represents love. We spent time pondering how Christ can bring us hope, peace, joy, and love. Our second activity was focused on the Jesse Tree, which uses Bible passages and images that tel...

Greetings everyone! The end of November and the beginning of December bring so many important occasions. The final Sunday of November was the last Sunday of the liturgical year, when we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Christ the King Parish in Las Vegas, NV There is a rose window in the back of Ascension Church depicting Christ the King. While many assert earthly power, Christ possesses the true Kingly power because He came to Earth and is our Savior, Whose Kingdom will be fully established at the End of Time. The End of Time is an important theme of Advent, which begins on Sunday, December 3, 2023.  Here's a link to the Busted Halo video that summarized Advent in 2 minutes. The Eucharist comes from a Greek word that means Thanksgiving, and it was only appropriate just days after our Thanksgiving Day holiday to focus on the Eucharist in class. We watched this video narrated by Bishop Olmsted of the Diocese of Phoenix, AZ. Presidents Washingt...