“God Never Tires of Forgiving You”
“Let us not forget: God never tires of forgiving us! He is the loving Father who always pardons, who has that heart of mercy for us all…God thinks like the father waiting for the son and goes to meet him: he spots him coming when he is still far off.”
“Pope Francis wants me to know that my Father in heaven will always forgive me.”
Source: Lessons from Pope Francis for Children page 12
For families to share together:
Pray the Rosary with your children. Use the Rosary crucifix to cross yourselves:
“Begin with the sign of the cross, then say an Our Father, ten Hail Mary’s and a Glory Be.” From Magnifikid! Vol. 14.Part 9. Section 4
This week please add the “Apostles’ Creed” and the first two of the Glorious Mysteries, “The Annunciation.”
“Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28) and “The Visitation.” (Luke, 1:39-45)
What’s Happening This Week
We celebrate Saint Matthew on September 21. “Follow me.”
From USCCB.org Matthew, Chapter 9
The Call of Matthew.*9 As Jesus passed on from there,d he saw a man named Matthew* sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.10While he was at table in his house,* many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples.e11The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher* eat with tax collectors and sinners?”12He heard this and said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.*13Go and learn the meaning of the words,f ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’* I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
We Learn Through Storytelling–Adam and Eve
No sooner had God created the world and all its beautiful life, then human beings had to misbehave. In fact, Adam and Eve were the first humans, and thus the first humans to sin. We call this sin the “original sin.”
Here is how the story goes:
Adam and Eve were happy in the Garden of Eden. It was Paradise–literally! God was happy with them and they were happy being with God and each other. All of their needs were met–They had delicious fruits and vegetables to eat; there were colorful flowers and butterflies everywhere; they had pure, cool water to drink; and animals to keep them company. They were naked and without shame or embarrassment in the Garden. There was only one rule: “Do not eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil that is in the center of the garden.” This rule came from God, but do you think they listened? Well, perhaps for a while. Then the tricky serpent had to appear on the scene to tempt Eve. “You can eat the fruit from the tree. God just told you not to so you wouldn’t be as smart as he is.” Eve was afraid of dying if she ate it, but the snake reassured her, “Take a bite.” Then Adam saw what Eve had in her hand and she offered him a bite. So then they had both broken God’s rule. Suddenly, God called to them, “Why are you hiding from me?” Both Adam and Even felt guilty and embarrassed about not having clothes on, so they hid behind a bush. God knew right away that they had eaten the forbidden fruit. They had to leave the Garden immediately. God told them he still loved them, but that they couldn’t be trusted to refrain from eating the fruit of the Tree of Life. As they left the Garden, God closed the gates. A cherubim stood guard with a flaming sword. God, and Adam and Eve, were all sad.
Parents’ Note: Please help your children with the highlighted words.
Conversation Tip: Who does the serpent represent? Why does he want to tempt Eve to break one of God’s rules? Who does God send much later, to open the gates of Heaven?
More on Original Sin
From: The New Saint Joseph First Communion Catechism
“Sin is disobedience to God’s laws.” page 18
“Original Sin means ‘first sin.'” page 20
“We are all born with original sin on our souls. While it is there we cannot love God as He loves us. Baptism washes off our souls.” page 20
“The Blessed Virgin Mary was free from original sin.” page 21
“God made Mary.
He kept her free from original sin. She came into the world without it.
She never had sin.” page 21
“Mary’s soul was always turned to God. Her heart was always full of love for God.She was full of grace. We call this Mary’s IMMACULATE CONCEPTION.” page 21
We Learn Through Reading
The three books below all have wonderful stories about Adam and Eve. The first, Stories from the Bible, is children’s literature. It has a beautiful version of Adam and Eve that is enchanting, and has beautiful illustrations. The Children’s Illustrated Bible provides archaeological and cultural information for many of the Bible stories. In “The Garden of Eden” there is a side panel that discusses the words, “serpent” and Cherubim.” The Catholic Children’s Bible is a complete collection of the Holy Bible written for Children. It contains a map of the Old Testament time and a map of the New Testament (The time of Christ) era. It is for older children and strong readers. Here is an excerpt from the material that includes “Adam and Eve Disobey God”:
“Live It!” From page 27, The Catholic Children’s Bible
“When God made the world, he also made angels. God gave you a guardian angel to help keep you from sin. Here is the guardian angel prayer. Pray it from time to time. Especially pray it when you are being tempted to do something you know God might not like.”
“Guardian Angel Prayer”
Angel of God, my guardian dear,
To who God’s love commits me here.
Ever this day be at my side
to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen
Excerpt from the Holy Bible–Genesis, chapter 3:1-13
Expulsion from Eden. Source: USCCB.org
“1Now the snake was the most cunning* of all the wild animals that the LORD God had made. He asked the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You shall not eat from any of the trees in the garden’?”2The woman answered the snake: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;3a it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, or else you will die.’”4 But the snake said to the woman: “You certainly will not die!b5 God knows well that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know* good and evil.”6 The woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and the tree was desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.c7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.8 When they heard the sound of the LORD God walking about in the garden at the breezy time of the day,* the man and his wife hid themselves from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.d9 The LORD God then called to the man and asked him: Where are you?10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid.”11 Then God asked: Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat?12 The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it.”13 The LORD God then asked the woman: What is this you have done? The woman answered, “The snake tricked me, so I ate it.”e”
We Learn Through Writing
We Learn Through Song
The Guardian Angel Prayer in Song
We Celebrate Through Art
Our Illustrated Adam and Eve Story
When you think about the symbols that often are connected to Adam and Eve, the apple, the snake and a lush garden usually come to mind. Enjoy making prints of the symbols to illustrate the “Adam and Eve” story. This project uses apples cut in halves and cut okra as “stamps.” Cut (fresh not frozen) okra to make beautiful flower shapes. Paint the cut part of the fruit or vegetable with the Dot Art daubers. Then press the apple or okra onto paper. Use a watercolor pencil to make the serpent’s tongue. Brush water onto the watercolor crayons (used for the vine in the “Garden” painting) and watercolor pencil to liquify the color. Consecutive okra or dauber circles make the snake.
Our Materials
