FOURTH YEAR

Theme: As the new People of God, we are bonded together by divine love. This relationship of love calls forth from us a personal response of fidelity to Him and a heightened responsibility for each other. The parameters for this response are the commandments, the teachings of Jesus, and the Church with her sacraments.

Doctrine.

Recognize God as the benevolent Lord and giver of all Life.
Possess an implicit awareness of his/her identity as a child of the Covenant and (through Christ) as an adopted son or daughter of our heavenly Father, growing in knowledge and love of the Lord.
Recognize our obligation to respond to God's love by living a life worthy of our dignity and kinship with Christ.
Relate in his/her words the story of Moses and the Decalogue.
Recite the Ten Commandments.
Give examples of how certain commandments touch our life and experience.
State Jesus' two-fold Law of Love.
Give examples from experience on how to carry out Jesus' Commandment of Love.
Recognize and be able to explain in his/her own words the Beatitudes.
Recognize the law of the Church to participate in the Sunday Eucharist.
Give particular examples of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.

Scripture.

The Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17).
The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12).
Jesus' Great Commandment (Luke 10:25-37; Matthew 22:34-40; Mark 12:28-34).
The Rich Man (Mark 10:17-31).
The Gift of the Spirit (John 14:15-31).
Love of God and Love of Neighbor (Mark 12:28-34; 1 John 4:7-21; 1 Peter 4:8-10).
Jesus Living Out the Rule of Love (Luke 7:1-17, 36-50; 14:1-6).

Prayer.

Sign of the Cross, Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, Prayers Before and After Meals, a Morning Offering, an Act of Contrition, the Apostles' Creed, an Act of Faith, and the Angelus.
Recite and/or sing selected communal prayers and responses of the Mass: Responses to the Readings, Gospel Acclamation and Response, Sanctus, Lamb of God, Eucharistic Acclamation, and Great Amen.
Be at ease with praying aloud together as a group or class.
Express sorrow for his/her sins through prayer.
Express brief silent meditation.
Experience such devotions as the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross, prayer to his/her patron saint or important saints on their feast days.
Experience spontaneous prayer, including prayer of petition in the "prayer of the faithful" format.

Worship and Sacraments.

Plan and execute class liturgies or paraliturgies.
Participate with adults in the prayers and hymns of the Sunday Eucharist.
Experience communal celebration of Penance with individual Confessions.
Be familiar and comfortable with the procedure for the individual reception of the sacrament of Reconciliation according to his/her abilities and moral development.
Describe in his/her own words something of the significance of the different liturgical seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter.

Moral Development.

Realize that the Lord wants us to make the right choices and to act responsibly.
Show respect for life-- one's own life, that of others, and in the natural order.
Recognize the need for obedience to lawful authority and to evidence this in behavior.
Give examples of unloving and selfish behavior for which people often ask pardon.
Acknowledge personal failings in regard to Jesus' Law of Love, the Beatitudes, and the Ten Commandments.
Give examples of how reconciliation may take place.
Exemplify an appreciation for honesty and an understanding of fairness.

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Last Updated October 25, 1997 by Fr. Joseph Jenkins