LEARNING ABOUT THE LITURGICAL SEASONS Catechesis for Children and Their Families Dorothy Kosinski Carola Paper, $24.95 80 pages, 8½" × 11" ISBN 0-89390-495-3 View Table of Contents View Excerpt Quantity:

This resource introduces 9- to 12-year-olds to the liturgical seasons in a way that captures their imaginations and involves their families. Each of the seven sessions includes a leader’s guide, a session plan and photocopiable handouts in an attractive illustrated newsletter format for families. Catechists can organize the seven sessions into a complete course or pick and choose to supplement other curricula. Sessions work in school religion classes, parish religious education settings or as formational training for children’s choirs.

Reviews

“Learning about the Liturgical Seasons will serve as a valuable addition to an existing curriculum in most catechetical programs, either as an independent course or as a support to other courses. This book is an essential tool for making the liturgical year a reality in all parishes.”
— The Most Rev. Donald W. Trautman, STD, SSL, Bishop of Erie

“Learning about the Liturgical Seasons is a helpful resource for understanding anew the Christian sense of time. With its focus on the liturgical seasons themselves as texts, this catechetical guide will be a great help to young people and their teachers in entering more fully into the paschal mystery year by year, week by week, day by day, moment by moment. I recommend this fine book without hesitation.”
— Michael Downey, professor of systematic theology and spirituality, St. John’s Seminary, Camarillo, Calif.

“Here we have a harmonious integration of catechetics and liturgy. Learning becomes preparation for the liturgy that is now made inviting, engaging and truly participatory. The learning component in turn becomes enriched by the reflections on the liturgical experience. ... The vision of the Vatican II documents has here been translated into a gentle guide that will whet the appetite for learning and stimulate the spirit for celebrating liturgy.”
— Msgr. William J. Koplik, pastor, St. Anthony’s Church, Northvale, N.J.

About the Author

Dorothy Kosinski Carola has held various positions in liturgy and catechesis, often simultaneously, for almost 20 years. Before getting into parish work, she taught religion and chaired the religion department at a Catholic high school. Currently, she is coordinator for liturgy and music director at Holy Trinity Parish in Hackensack, N.J. She graduated from Fordham University with degrees in religious studies and psychology and went on to receive an advanced degree in religious education from the same school. She has also written Learning about Liturgical Seasons (Resource Publications, Inc.)

Table of Contents

Introduction: How to Use This Book

The Intended Audience for Learning about the Liturgical Seasons

Possible Ways to Use Learning about the Liturgical Seasons

How to Schedule the Lessons

Tips for the Parish Catechetical Leader

Tips for All Catechists

Tips for Parent-Catechists

Part 1: Master Copies of Lesson Handouts

Lesson 1: The Liturgical Calendar
Lesson 2: Advent
Lesson 3: Christmas
Lesson 4: Lent
Lesson 5: Triduum
Lesson 6: Easter
Lesson 7: Ordinary Time

Part 2: Lesson Plans

Lesson Plan 1: The Liturgical Calendar
Lesson Plan 2: Advent
Lesson Plan 3: Christmas
Lesson Plan 4: Lent
Lesson Plan 5: Triduum
Lesson Plan 6: Easter
Lesson Plan 7: Ordinary Time

Appendix: Season Review Worksheet

Following is an excerpt from Learning About the Liturgical Seasons. All rights reserved. Copyright © 1999, Resource Publications, Inc.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”
— Eccl 3:1

Lesson 1 Handout

The Liturgical Calendar

Our Lives

Did you ever notice how much people talk about the weather? Even though the seasons change every year, we still seem surprised on the first hot day of summer or the first really cold day of winter. No matter how many times we’ve seen it happen, we are always dazzled when the leaves turn beautiful colors in autumn. We still wonder in amazement when the trees begin to bud in spring and the first crocuses bloom. We look forward to the first snowfall, and as winter wears on, we look forward to seeing the last of the snow. And how much we enjoy the warm, relaxing days of summer. It seems we never get tired of the changing seasons!

Our Liturgy

Our church observes seasons too. These are called the liturgical seasons. The most important thing about the liturgical seasons is not the way the weather changes, but the way the story of God’s salvation is told and the way it is celebrated in ritual. Through the seasons of the liturgical year, we look at God’s work in the life of Jesus and in our own lives in many different ways. Season by season, year by year, we continue to marvel at what God has done for us. We continue to be dazzled and amazed at how God has brought redemption to our lives.

Something to Know

• Advent—four weeks before Christmas. Advent is the beginning of the church year.
• Christmas—from Christmas Eve until the feast of the Baptism of Jesus, usually three to four weeks.
• Ordinary Time—There may be five or more weeks of Ordinary Time between the Christmas season and Lent. There are about six months of Ordinary Time after the Easter season and before Advent. “Ordinary” doesn’t mean “regular.” It comes from “ordinal,” which means “counted.” The Sundays of Ordinary Time are named with a number: Fourteenth Sunday, Fifteenth Sunday, and so on.
• Lent—forty days before Easter, from Ash Wednesday to Holy Thursday afternoon.
• Triduum—the great Three Days. The Triduum begins on the evening of Holy Thursday and continues until the evening of Easter Sunday.
• Easter—fifty days from Easter Sunday until Pentecost.

This is how we are shaped and formed into God’s people. It’s sort of like what happens when a potter turns clay on a pottery wheel. As the wheel turns, the clay on the wheel doesn’t stay the same. It is constantly being transformed, shaped, and molded. That’s how it is with us when we participate in the liturgical life of the church. The liturgical seasons turn and turn. Each time the seasons come around, we are different than we were the last time. We may hear something new in God’s story that we had not noticed before. Some part of the story might have a new meaning for us because of who we have become. The church’s seasons don’t just repeat and repeat. They reshape and reform us until we are more and more like Jesus.

Something to Do

Use the circle on the next page to draw a pie chart of the liturgical seasons. Label each section.

In Our Parish

If possible, visit the sacristy or other place where the vestments are kept. Have someone show you the colors of the vestments for each season.

“You know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep.
For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first became believers.”
— Rom 13:11

Lesson 2 Handout

Advent

Our Lives

What is it like to be stuck? When we are stuck with a situation, it feels as if we can’t get out of it. Maybe you have felt stuck with a lot of homework. Or you might have made a bad choice, and then you were stuck with the consequences. Whenever we feel stuck, we wish for happier times. We hope someone will be able to solve the problem so we can be un-stuck. But sometimes, all we can do is wait.

Our Liturgy

From the beginning, God’s people have always known they were stuck. They were stuck with the consequences of the sin of Adam and Eve. The people of Israel were sometimes stuck with foreign rulers. They were often stuck with injustice that came about when the people did not follow God’s ways.

Sometimes, we are stuck too. We are stuck with habits that bring anger instead of peace. We can be stuck in sin. We are stuck when we feel we can’t live the way we know we should.

Things got so bad for the Israelites, that all they could do was wait. They waited for God to free them from foreign rulers. They waited for God to send his Messiah, who would solve all the problems that were keeping them stuck in sin, and stuck in injustice.

In the Scriptures of Advent, we hear about God’s people feeling stuck, but we also hear about their great faith that God would save them. We hear what the kingdom of God will be like at the end of time. We hear Scriptures that tell of the coming of the Messiah.

Like the Israelites of old, Advent is a time to remember that we are waiting. We are waiting for the two comings of Jesus. At the beginning of Advent, the readings focus on the second coming of Jesus at the end of time. We look forward to the final coming of God’s kingdom, when the perfect love of God will rule everywhere and forever.

Toward the end of Advent, the readings focus on the first coming of Jesus in history. We hear the stories of how John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus, and how Mary was chosen to be the mother of the Son of God. We celebrate this first coming of Jesus as the time when God came to us as a person The name “Emmanuel” means “God with us.”

Just as we get tired of waiting, the Scriptures of Advent tell us to hurry up. We have to hurry up and live right, because our salvation is near at hand.

What Does Advent Look Like?

We see deep purple vestments. We see an Advent wreath with purple candles. The purple reminds us of the darkness before the coming of Jesus, like the night sky. It also reminds us of the colors of the sky at dawn, when the light first begins to break. Each Sunday of Advent, as we light one more candle, we know we are getting closer and closer to the birth of the Light of the World, and to the time when God’s light will shine forever in the eternal kingdom. As each candle is lit, we know our time of waiting is almost over.

What Does Advent Sound Like?

Some of the songs of Advent sound mournful and sad. They are the sounds of a people who know they are stuck, and who know they can’t save themselves. They know they need God to come and save them. We sing songs that beg God to be with us.

Other Advent songs are more joyous. It is the joy of those who know their God is coming. It is the joy we have when we know our hope will be fulfilled. We know that because of Jesus, we are not stuck anymore! We don’t have to live in sin. We can follow the way of God. God will bring all our hopes to fulfillment at the end of time. Now that’s something to sing about!

Living Our Liturgy

Now that we know that Jesus the Messiah has come, some of the waiting is over. We don’t have to wait for God to do something. We can hurry up and do what is right because Jesus has shown us how. And when we feel stuck, we know that God has already sent us his Son to help us get un-stuck. The justice and peace of God’s reign are meant to begin now.

Something to Do

Use this space to write your own description of what God’s perfect kingdom would be like.

Examine the words to the traditional Advent hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” What feelings and beliefs does it express?

When you pray, talk to God about how eager you are to live the kingdom way. Ask God to help you get un-stuck from any habits that keep you from living the kingdom way.

In Our Parish

• Is there an Advent wreath in our church? Where is it located? How is it lit each week?
• Does our parish do anything differently at liturgy during Advent?
• Are there any special programs, events, or prayer services during Advent? Which ones could you attend?
• How would you describe the color of the priest’s vestments during Advent?

Notes

“The Word
became flesh
and lived
among us.”
— Jn 1:14

Lesson 3 Handout

Christmas

Our Lives

For days and weeks, it seemed as though Danny could think of nothing else. He and his dad had been Green Bay Packers fans all their lives, but now Danny was actually going to meet their star quarterback. He would be making a visit to the local children’s hospital this weekend. Since his dad worked there, he was able to arrange for Danny to be part of the hospital’s “welcoming committee.” Danny would help show his hero around the hospital as he visited the sick children.

On the day of the visit, Danny gathered early with the rest of the welcoming committee. Everyone was on the lookout for the quarterback’s arrival. From his position at a window, Danny could see far down the hospital walkway to the parking lot. “There he is! He just got out of the car!” Danny announced. “I can’t believe it’s really him! Can you believe he’s here with us, in our town?” It seemed too good to be true, but Danny really did get to meet his hero that day. Everyone knew this was a story Danny would be telling to his grandchildren some day.

Our Liturgy

As exciting as it would be to meet a favorite sports player or music star, just imagine if the person coming to be with us was the Son of God. That is just what we celebrate at Christmas. Christmas is the feast of God’s incarnation. That means that in Jesus, God came to live with human beings. God became a person like us. That’s why we say that Jesus is truly human and truly divine. Jesus shows us in flesh who God is. That’s the good news of Christmas. We know that our salvation has begun. We are saved because God has given us his Son to live among us and show us the way. This is such good news that the church celebrates Christmas for several weeks.

Our Christmas season is different from the one most people celebrate. Outside the church, people begin celebrating Christmas right after Thanksgiving, just when the church is starting Advent. Christmas celebrations often end on Christmas Day, just when the church’s Christmas season is getting started.

For the church, the Christmas season begins on Christmas Eve. Following Christmas, we celebrate the feasts of the Holy Family; Mary, Mother of God; the Epiphany; and the Baptism of Jesus.

We hear the Gospel about the birth of Jesus at some of the Christmas Eve Masses, but in the Mass of Christmas Day, we hear the beginning of John’s Gospel. There are no shepherds and kings in this Gospel, but instead an interpretation of the meaning of Jesus’ birth. In different ways, the Scriptures for the rest of the season do the same.

In the Gospel of Holy Family Sunday, we hear stories of Jesus’ early life. The Gospel of Epiphany shows us the Wise Men, foreigners, coming to worship the newborn king. The Gospel for the Baptism of Jesus shows us God breaking through to tell us that this Jesus is his beloved Son. Through these and the other Scripture readings of the season, we come to understand that Jesus is being made known to the world. People of every land and nation are meant to know who Jesus is.

Still, Christmas is not the most important feast of the church year. The most important feast is Easter, and it is because of Easter that we bother to celebrate Christmas at all. Because we know that Jesus’ death and resurrection bring us salvation, we celebrate the day of Jesus’ birth as the day it all began.

What Does Christmas Sound Like?

Our Christmas songs are some of the most joyful we sing. They are full of words such as “triumphant,” “joyous,” “glory,” and “exultation.” These songs—many sung for hundreds of years—help us express the excitement we feel because God has come to us. A few Christmas songs have a softer sound though, like “Silent Night.” A song like that reminds us to stand in awe at what God has done for us. Our amazement at this great gift can lead to this kind of quiet reflection.

What Does Christmas Look Like?

Throughout the Christmas season, the priest at Mass will wear white vestments. White is the color we use to show joy and new life. It is the same color we use at Easter, because these two seasons are so closely linked.

Christmas decorations are very familiar to us, but you may not know that they have symbolic meaning too. The evergreen trees we bring into our homes speak to us of life that never dies: Jesus’ resurrected life. Maybe it seems surprising that one of our most important Christmas symbols really has an Easter meaning, but now we know that Christmas finds its meaning in Easter. The holly branches have sharp pointy leaves—like the crown of thorns—and bright red berries—like the blood Jesus shed for us. The lights we put on our trees and windows and houses all tell us that Jesus the Light has come into our darkness. And the red poinsettias we see are plants that grow everywhere in Israel, where Jesus was born.

Living Our Liturgy

Christmas is not just a time to remember what happened long ago. Our Christmas liturgies are not history lessons. Just as God came to live among us at the birth of Jesus, God continues to live among us—through the Spirit God has given us. Just as the Spirit came upon Jesus at his baptism in the Jordan, the Spirit has come to us in our own baptism too. Just as God made the Son known to all peoples, we are meant to do the same. When people see us and know us, they should be able to see and know Jesus. Then the Word will become incarnate in us!

Something to Do

Look at the words to your favorite Christmas carol. Use the space below to write about what this song tells us about the meaning of Jesus’ birth. What feelings do the sound and the words of the song express? What beliefs does it speak of?

In Our Parish

Every parish may decide how they will use each of the four sets of Scripture readings for Christmas Masses. Find out what your parish decided and why. How do the liturgies of the Christmas season differ from others? What does your parish do to make them more festive, more solemn, or more special?