In Unit 1 the participants will learn about God’s goodness. Out of this goodness, God created the earth and all creatures. We honor God by following God’s commandments and praying the Lord’s Prayer, a prayer that Jesus taught us.
		God's Goodness Prior to presenting each chapter, refer to the TAKE HOME FAMILY TIME pages in your child's book, or print out these pages from TAKE HOME FAMILY TIME. Learning Focus This chapter will help the children • learn a Scripture story of creation. • understand that God reveals himself through the Trinity. • describe how we respect and care for God's creation. Background In a strict sense, to create means "to make something out of nothing." Even though the first creation story (Genesis 1:1-31) does not provide a literal or scientific account of how God created things, it does teach an important truth–a good and loving God created the entire universe. Creation itself reveals God's ingenuity, greatness, and sense of humor. Our God surrounds creation with continuous love. Goodness and Christian Morality This year of religious education focuses on Christian morality. Living the Gospel of Jesus depends on the belief that God is good. We believe we are created in God's own image and likeness. We are essentially good. God made us to know, love, and serve God and to grow continually more and more like God. As creatures we respond to God's infinite generosity by taking good care of all creation. We grow in moral goodness through right relationships with God and the environment–caring for all plants, animals, and people.
		Praise and Thanksgiving Prior to presenting each chapter, refer to the TAKE HOME FAMILY TIME pages in your child's book, or print out these pages from TAKE HOME FAMILY TIME. Learning Focus This chapter will help the children • name special gifts that God has given. • understand that at Mass we give thanks and praise to God, especially for the gifts of Jesus. • discover that Pope Pius X made it possible for children as young as seven years old to receive the Eucharist Background Everything good comes from God. Our greatest gift is Jesus, God's own Son, the Second Person of the Trinity. We also believe Jesus loved us so much that he willingly died on the cross to save us from sin and death. Therefore we respond in grateful praise, thanking God for the many gifts received through personal prayer and the Sunday Eucharist. When we come together at Mass, Christ is with us. The Eucharistic Liturgy At Mass we listen to God's word when the Scripture is proclaimed. We call this first part of Mass the Liturgy of the Word. The second part of Mass is the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The word Eucharist means "thanksgiving." The Eucharistic Prayer is the Church's great prayer of thanksgiving to the Holy Trinity, especially for Christ's living presence among us. Together with the priest we offer prayers of thanksgiving and praise in the name of the Father. During this time the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. We believe Christ is truly present in the blessed bread and wine. In prayer we thank and praise God, our loving Father and Creator.
		The Commandments and God's Covenant (God's Covenant) Prior to presenting each chapter, refer to the TAKE HOME FAMILY TIME pages in your child's book, or print out these pages from TAKE HOME FAMILY TIME. Learning Focus This chapter will help the children • learn the Ten Commandments. • recognize that our relationship with God is based on the first three commandments. • explore responses to the presence of God in our lives. Background A covenant is a sacred agreement between two or more people that binds them together in a special relationship. When God saved the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, God made a covenant with them. God blessed them and gave them their own land. They, in turn, agreed to obey God's laws and acknowledge only one God. God's covenant with the Israelites was a loving relationship. This relationship was "spelled out" in the Ten Commandments God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. Jesus expects us to follow these same commandments as his disciples today. The First Three Commandments The first three commandments deal specifically with the ways we are to relate to God under the covenant. While we are to show respect for sacred images and saints, we are to worship only God. We are to show genuine reverence for the name of God. We are to honor God by celebrating Mass each Sunday and holy day. When we obey the commandments, we live as people of the covenant. We grow in goodness and holiness. When we disobey the commandments, we turn away from God. But even then our heavenly Father continues to love us. God invites us to repent and return, accepting the Father's love.
		The Commandments and the Lord's Prayer (Our Father in Heaven) Prior to presenting each chapter, refer to the TAKE HOME FAMILY TIME pages in your child's book, or print out these pages from TAKE HOME FAMILY TIME. Learning Focus This chapter will help the children • learn how Jesus taught us to pray. • discover how the Ten Commandments and prayer lead us toward God's kingdom. • pray the Lord's Prayer using sign language. Background One of the earliest prayers you probably learned as a child was the Lord's Prayer. How many times have you said the words of this prayer without thinking of its meaning? Jesus taught us that the heart is the place from which true prayer springs. When we pray to God, we express our covenant relationship with the Trinity. This relationship is ongoing and dynamic, like the trusting relationship between a parent and child. The Present and the Future The Lord's Prayer, found in Matthew 6:9-13, celebrates both the present relationship we have with God and the future we hope to have with God. Our God is Abba, "daddy." God is our loving Father. We are God's children, the brothers and sisters of Jesus. When we pray the Lord's Prayer, we honor God and give praise for God's goodness. We bless God's holy name and give thanks for receiving everything we need to follow Jesus. We also express our belief in and hope for the coming of the kingdom of God at the end of time. We state our confidence that good will ultimately triumph over evil, and that peace and joy will conquer division and sadness. For these reasons, the catechism tells us that the Lord's Prayer is the "quintessential prayer" of the Church (#1776).