Education

Formation of Christian Chastity lessons- Grade 5

Lesson Plan 1

Theme: God Made Us To Know The Truth
Objectives:
  • Students will know that Jesus wants us to know Him and follow the truth.
  • Students will have a greater understanding of how we can live out the truth through the virtue of chastity.
  • Students will demonstrate an appreciation for how our bodies are an expression of the truth of our dignity as adopted sons and daughters of God.
Our Lady of Guadalupe:

In 1531, on a hillside in central Mexico, Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and our mother, appeared to an Aztec man named Juan Diego five times. She appeared to him as a pregnant Aztec princess. After one of the apparitions, as Juan was hurrying to be with his uncle who was very sick and thought to be near death, she told Juan not to worry and that his uncle would be healed. When he arrived at his uncle's home, his uncle was completely better. She also told Juan, who had recently converted to the Catholic Faith, to tell the local bishop, Bishop Zumaragga that she wanted a church built there, ate the sight of the apparition. When Juan told this to Bishop Zumaragga, he demanded a sign. Mary, who identified herself to Juan as the Ever-Virgin, Mother of the True God, told him to pick some roses from the hillside and deliver them to the bishop. Juan did find and pick such roses, which was a miracle in itself since the roses were not in season at that time. When he opened his tilma (cloak) to show the bishop the roses, not only did the beautiful roses fall from the tilma, but miraculously painted on the tilma was a beautiful image of Mary as she had appeared to Juan Diego. The bishop had a church built at the site of the apparitions and this site is one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in the world today with several million people visiting it each year. The tilma contains the same image that our Blessed Mother left on it almost 500 years ago. After the apparitions millions of people living in Mexico and elsewhere in the Americas converted to Catholicism. One of the effects of this was that human sacrifice, which was commonly practiced by some of the peoples up to that time, ceased. Thus, the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe were instrumental in the saving of, and respect for, human life. It is for this reason that Mary is invoked under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe as Patroness of the Unborn. She is also invoked under this title as Patroness of the Americas. Juan Diego was recently canonized a saint.

Prayer:

Our Lady of Guadalupe, please obtain God's grace, protection and spiritual health for my family and for all families. Make our homes safe and pure, a home which recognizes the kingship of Jesus~a sanctuary of peace, joy, and love. Help us to image in our family, the Holy Family of Nazareth - Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Help us to know and live out the truth of Christ's love for us and for all people, and to realize that the more we live chaste, pure lives, the better we will know and live out the truth.

Bring us God's grace to always respect and defend human life, which is so precious a gift from the Father. Intercede for us with Jesus, that we may be granted the grace of living holy lives and of going to heaven one day to live eternally in happiness with the Holy Trinity, with you, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and with all the blessed. Amen.

St. Joseph, Pray for Us! Saint Juan Diego, Pray for us!

Quotation from Sacred Scripture:

Behold, the Virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall call him Emmanuel, which means 'God is with us (Matthew 1:23).

Quotation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

In Jesus Christ, the whole of God's truth has been made manifest. 'Full of grace and truth,' He came as the 'Light of the world,' He is the Truth. Whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.' The disciple of Jesus continues in His word so as to know 'the truth (that) will make you free' and that sanctifies. — Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 2466).

Key Concepts Reading:

How we come to know and live out the truth.

Jesus is the Truth. He wants us to know Him and follow the Truth so that we can choose what is good and live joyful lives.

God reveals His truth through Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the teaching office of the Church, i.e., the Pope and the Bishops in union with Him (Magisterium). We can also know the truth about what is good and right through reason (our ability to think, understand, and judge). Going to Mass, receiving the Holy Eucharist, going to Confession, and daily prayer, are essential to us in knowing and living out the truth.

Each person has dignity imprinted in him or her by God. Every baptized person is an adopted son or daughter of God the Father. Because of the dignity that God gave us, we are to respect others and ourselves in thought, word, and deed.

Discussion Questions:

1. What do we know about Jesus from the Bible? (Answers might include: that He is God, Son of God, Son of Mary and Foster-Son of St. Joseph, Savior, miracle worker, God in the flesh, our friend, etc.)

2. How can we show our family and friends that we know the truth? Answers might include: by acting as Christ would, by sharing the Gospel with them, by following the teachings of Christ and His Church.

Suggested Activities:
  • Ask each student to write a paragraph in which he or she explains Who Jesus is to someone who
    has never heard of Him.
  • Invite the students draw posters that illustrate how God reveals His truth through Scripture.
Homework:

Write a list, which explains three ways in which we can respect others in thought, three ways we can show respect for others in word, and three ways we can show respect for others in deed. Write in complete sentences.

Summary:

If we want to know the truth, we need to do all we can to learn about Jesus. By reading the Bible, learning the teachings of the Church, and obeying the teachings of the Pope and the bishops in union with him, we will come to know Jesus and the truth. The Church teaches that each person is a unique creation and should be treated with dignity and respect.

Closing Prayer:

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Have mercy on us! Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pray for us! Saint Juan Diego, Pray for us!