In Unit 3 the participants will learn that God communicates a divine love for them through the Scriptures. They will pray the Eucharistic Prayer and understand that in the celebration of the Eucharist, the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ.
		God's Word Feeds Us 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 • review that Scripture is the written Word of God found in the Bible. • learn that the Church's Tradition includes the Church's official teachings, rituals, and customs that have been handed down from the Apostles. • appreciate the life of Saint Jerome. Background The Christian Bible contains the Old Testament and the New Testament. Bible scholars translate the Greek word diatheke, which means "covenant," into the Latin word testament. Thus, the Old Testament is about the covenants God made with the people of God before Jesus was born. The New Testament is about the new covenant sealed in Jesus' death and Resurrection. At the Last Supper, Jesus said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you" (Luke 22:20). The New Testament canon contains 27 books, or writings. In the New Testament, God speaks to us through God's beloved Son, Jesus. In the actions, teachings, suffering, death, and Resurrection of Jesus, we learn of God's great love for us. The Old Testament In the Old Testament, God speaks through the works of creation and the prophets of Israel. Both Jews and Christians believe that God speaks to them in the Old Testament. God speaks through the mighty deeds of creation and the Exodus. God speaks through prophets such as Isaiah and Jeremiah. God speaks through wind and fire, thunder and rain. The Jewish canon of the Bible contains 24 books, which are divided among the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings. This was Jesus' Bible. He read it; he knew it; he lived it. The Roman Catholic canon of the Old Testament contains 46 books. (Many Christians do not accept 7 of these books and call them apocryphal.) When Christians read the Old Testament, they see how God's mighty acts revealed and led up to the great act of the Incarnation, when God's Son, Jesus came in the form of a human person.
		The Eucharist 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 • review that the Eucharist is the sacrament of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. • learn about the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. • understand that we worship Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament at Eucharistic adoration. Background In this session read and discuss Eucharistic Prayer I with your child. In this prayer, as in the other eucharistic prayers, we praise and give thanks for God's work of redemption in the world. Joined as an assembly of believers, we celebrate Christ's Paschal mystery. We celebrate that God became flesh in Jesus, who lived, died, and rose to new life for us. We celebrate that Jesus Christ continues to live, die, and rise in us through the Holy Spirit. Together the People of God remember Jesus' life, death, and Resurrection, and in the remembering, Christ is made present within us. Through the power of the Spirit, Christ is incarnated in our lives and experiences, our words and our deeds. He is the Incarnated Word, who speaks in our lives. The Work of the Trinity In the eucharistic prayers we express our belief in a Trinitarian God. We praise and thank God the Father. We celebrate our union in Christ Jesus. His Body and Blood form us into a sacrament of renewal for our world and ourselves. We call on the Holy Spirit to be with us as we celebrate and as we take our celebration out into the world. Since the Church's beginning, the People of God have gathered to praise and thank God, to receive Christ's Body and Blood, and to pray that the Spirit will bring forth the fruits of the kingdom within and among us.
		The Communion of Saints (Living God's Word) 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 • realize that every Christian is called to be a saint. • learn about the Communion of Saints. • appreciate the lives of Saint John Bosco and Saint Thér�se. Background As Catholics, we believe that God is with us at all times and in all the experiences of our lives. We believe that God wants us to make good decisions for ourselves and for the good of the universe. We also believe that God has given us help in making choices. The Church teaches that we find this help in God's word, which is given to us in Scripture. We also find help in the Incarnate Word, Jesus Christ. His example shows us how to live. The Church teaches that the gifts of the Holy Spirit, prayer, and the teachings of the Church provide us with additional help. Encountering God's Word The Church also teaches that we meet God's word in one another. Because God is present among us, we can meet God's word in other people, nature, events, and so on. God speaks to us in many ways. It is up to each of us to open our hearts so that we may hear God's voice. Each day we make moral choices, choices that affect ourselves, other people, and our world. The Church wants us to know that help is all around us. We have only to go into the deep center of our selves, where God dwells, to find God's word. We have only to search out those people whose lives proclaim the Incarnate Word. Everywhere–from the kitchens of our neighbors, to the boardrooms of CEOs, to the pews in our parish church–we can encounter the Word of God.
		We Pray the Lord's Prayer 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 that Jesus gave us the Lord's Prayer. • realize that Jesus invites us to call God "Father." • understand that praying to God the Father helps us to grow in our love for him and in our faith in him. Background Jesus gave the Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father, to his followers because they asked him to teach them to pray. What was revolutionary about the prayer was that Jesus used the word Abba when addressing God. This Aramaic word means "daddy" or "papa." In using this word, Jesus addressed God in an informal and intimate way. Jesus taught his followers that God is a loving parent. God is generous and merciful. God closes the door on no one. God is always present to us as we go through life. The Power of Prayer When we pray the Lord's Prayer, we are praying to our loving Father in heaven. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we pray that God's kingdom will become a reality. We trust that God will provide for our needs, forgive our sins, and protect us from harm. When we pray the Lord's Prayer, we let go and trust that God knows what is best for us. In the book Granddad's Prayers of the Earth (Candlewick Press, 1999), a loving grandfather explains prayer to his grandson. The grandfather says that we pray not to change the world, but to change ourselves. However, when we change ourselves, we do indeed change the world.