THURSDAY,

MARCH 26

DAY 8 - THE PROPHETS

Today, we learn the story of the the prophets in the Old Testament. To place them in their proper context, we need to walk through the history of the Tribes of Israel and their eventual conquering and occupation by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks, and Romans. Israel appears to lose everything, but God is not absent in this dark time. He sends these people a message of redemption. All are awaiting these promises at Jesus' time, but we see he fulfills them in an unexpected way.

From Our Spiritual Director

Thursday Reflection

Readings

First Reading Exodus 32:7-14Psalm 106Gospel: John 5:31-47

In today’s Gospel Jesus refers to John the disciple as a “shining Lamp.” We see the continuation of the imagery of light in the midst of darkness. Each of us have our own moments of “light,” but also those moments of darkness in our lives. How do you seek out the “light” and continue to focus on the true light (Jesus Christ) during the duration of our Lenten Season? Find a quiet place today and spend some time in silence so that you can identify God working in your life. Take an opportunity to find God even in the darkest places of your life. When we seek out the opportunity to find God in the chaos of our daily lives, it becomes easier to find him in our daily lives.


Fr Mat Rawson

Elementary (Grades 1-4)

See Day 1 for a longer explanation of what to do in Pray & Learn

Pray

Find all the prayers here.

    • Mealtime Prayers & Night Time Prayers

    • 5 mins - Praying for Others

Learn

The Main Points to Teach Your Child:

  1. A basic understating of the Prophets - a person called by God to share God's message with all the people.

  2. Recap with your children the connection of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David. -Do they see how God's Covenant is growing? -Do they see God's mercy grow, allowing redepemption and forgiveness.

  3. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Prophets - the Old Testament stories of the prophets come true in the New Testament through Jesus! The story of the Transfiguration uses the Prophets to testify that Jesus is truly the Son of God.


A Note from Julie:

Dear Parents, (sorry for the length, I just got so excited and wanted to share wiht you! )

Did you know that we -- you, me, and all baptized in Christ -- are called to be Prophets too! Yep! I recall this lesson vividly from my youngest two children's baptism, more than 18 - 20 years ago. My pastor at the time, a very dear friend, gave an amazing lesson through each Timothy's and Cecilia's Baptism's. It was awesome how he pulled in and engaged our entire family and all our friends into this beautiful Sacrament. Everyone walked away either having learned something new about their faith or with memories stirring of lessons they had long forgotten.

So, YES! ...through the Sacrament of Baptism we are called to be Priest, Prophet and King, "As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet and King, so may you live always as a member of His Body, sharing everlasting life."

That's it! That should be our goal as Catholic parents; to have our children share in everlasting life. I recently read an article that was very timely, from the *Catholic Missionary Disciples regarding the challenge of raising our children to be Catholic and remaining Catholic. "Prayer is the first foundational part." And, "...there are no perfect ways of doing this, but having a built-in ongoing discussion about the fact that God has no grandchildren (but only children) really helps each member of the family know that none of us can rely on our parents's or family's faith to get us into heaven. Each has to believe in Jesus as Lord for our own salvation. This isn't optional once we reach an age where we can make decisions freely."

It's that simple--not really, it takes continuous, intentional effort to instill a love for Jesus in the hearts of our children, along with daily personal prayer time. This is best done by living examples. If we do so with a joyful heart, then our children will most likely follow us. Isn't this what being an authentic disciple of Christ is about? Being God's prophet!

-Julie Sheridan

*https://catholicmissionarydisciples.com/news/catholic-parenting


Additional Resources & Activities to do at Home

Video: God's Story - the Prophets (animated)

Coloring & Activity Sheets by grade levels


Middle School (Grades 5-8)

See Day 1 for a longer explanation of what to do in Pray & Learn

Pray

Find all the prayers here.

    • Basic Prayers

    • Ten Minutes of Silence

      • Intercessions

      • Thanksgiving

      • Reading the Bible

Learn

The Main Points that need to be learned or taught from this lesson

  1. Understand the story of the Kingdom of Israel splitting, begin conquered and God sending Prophets with messages of redemption.

  2. Have a basic knowledge of the major covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, & David

  3. Tell the story of the Transfiguration and how the Prophets are testifying to his legitimacy.

Steve's Video Pop In »

High School (Grades 9-12)

Pray

  • See Day 1 for a longer explanation of what to do in Pray & Learn



Find a list of all these prayers here.

Learn

Adults

Pray

  • See Day 1 for a longer explanation of what to do in Pray & Learn

  • Basic Prayers

    • A list of all these prayers are here.

For those new to prayer

  • First 10 mins - Talk to God


For those more experienced in prayer


Learn

Learn

Watch the faith formation resource video below to learn more about your faith.

"In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world."


- Hebrews 1:1-2