March Family Faith Packet

Topic: Jesus Compassion in His Passion MEMORY VERSES: The Memory Verses are a means of reinforcing the topic of the month by memorizing a verse from the Bible that speaks to the topic of the month. Encourage your kids to return to the next Family Faith Session knowing their memory verses and they will receive a little treat (non-food) from their Catechist. The CD included in the first month has both the memory verses for the year and the Books of the Bible to help with memorization. Good Idea: Try posting the Memory Verses somewhere where the kids will see it often for example on the refrigerator

Hey Dad! Dont forget to read the Hey Dad section on the Opening Page (lower left margin) of each weeks topic, which calls out to Dad to play a special part each week!! Good Idea: Start each Family Faith Session off by lighting a candle and saying a family prayer. This helps everyone center themselves and quiet down.

Week 1: March 9th Topic: Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving Focus: Understanding how prayer, fasting, and almsgiving can help us grow closer to Jesus and prepare to celebrate His Resurrection! Please read the opening page, which explains prayer, fasting and almsgiving are ways to express our penance. Lent is time when we, as Catholics, try to especially practice these three in order ready ourselves to celebrate Jesus Resurrection. 1. Check your supply box. This week you will need: Catechism of the Catholic Church, small glass bowl, black beans, gold wrapped candy.

2. Prayer, Fasting, Almsgiving a. We (traditionally) perform acts of penance during Lent. i. Penance helps in our conversion = a turning away from something or someone and a turning toward another person or thing (JESUS!!) b. Prayer increases our love for God

c. Fasting helps us deny ourselves as Jesus did d. Almsgiving helps us focus on others more 3. PRAYER a. Stations of the Cross b. Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary c. Read the Gospel stories of Jesus Passion: Matt 26:14-27, 66; Mark 14:10-15, 47; John 18:1-19, 42. d. Daily Mass 4. FASTING a. Give up something pleasurable b. Abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all Fridays during Lent 5. ALMSGIVING a. Sharing what we have with others b. Doing charitable deeds ACTIVITY: Beans to Glory Fill a glass bowl (which represents our souls) with black beans (which represent our sin) during Lent, for each good deed we do, we remove a black bean (penance for our sin) on Easter dump out the remaining beans and fill the bowl with colorful or gold candy!