SPIRITUAL READING IS A WAY TO LEARN ABOUT GOD - PART TWO

 

Spiritual reading is a way to learn about God

Hello boys and girls!

Today, I want to talk to you about something really special: spiritual reading. Think about something you like to read. Maybe you enjoy reading exciting journeys, or stories about animals. Reading helps us go on adventures, learn new things and find out about heroes without ever leaving our room.

But did you know something even more amazing?

Reading is one of the ways we can learn about God.

When we open the Bible or our catechism books, we are not just reading an ordinary story. We are reading God’s story. Even more than that, we are learning about Who God is, what He wants for us and how much He loves us.

The Bible is like a letter from God to you. Imagine getting a letter from someone who loves you more than anyone else in the world. That is what the Bible is.

When you read about how God made the world
When you read about Moses parting the sea
When you read about Jesus healing people and teaching love - 

You are getting to know God better.

Every time you learn more about God, you grow stronger in your faith. Your heart becomes more like Jesus’ loving Heart. You start to see the world through God’s eyes: with love, kindness and hope.

Why is reading about God so important?

Spiritual reading helps you know God's Voice: when you read God's Word, you begin to understand how He speaks. God speaks through love, peace and truth

Spiritual reading helps your faith to grow: just as water helps flowers to grow, reading about God helps your faith to grow strong and beautiful

Spiritual reading shows you how to live:  God gives us wisdom in the Bible so that we can know what is right and how to treat others. God also shows us how to stay close to Him.

So what can you do?

• Try to read a little bit of the Bible every day: even one verse
• Ask your parents or catechism teacher to help you find stories about Jesus
• Talk about what you read. Tell someone your favourite Bible story and what it teaches you about God.

Remember that every time you open a book about God, you are opening a window into His heart. He is always excited to teach you more about His love.

Let us end with a short prayer:

"Dear Jesus, thank You for giving us books and stories that help us learn about You. Help us to love reading, especially the Bible, so that we may grow closer to You every day.

Amen."

HERE IS YOUR VERY OWN 

CATECHISM BOOK TWO

DOWNLOAD AT THE FOLLOWING LINK

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ocON-_TbHOUeOzVPbHMWudwCew8VdRIT/view?usp=sharing

CATECHISM COLOURING BOOK TWO

MAY BE DOWNLOADED AT THE FOLLOWING LINK

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1q278JsC-pR9tTWJjXhZo3Sm1xCqeCMKK/view?usp=sharing

Image inspiration Chatgpt and CN Whittle

CHRISTIAN MEDITATION IS A SPECIAL WAY OF BEING QUIET WITH GOD: PART TWO

 

Talking quietly with God: the power of meditation

Hi everyone! Today, let us talk about something very special called meditation. Now, that might sound like a big word, but it is actually something simple and beautiful. Meditation is a quiet way we can spend time with God.

What Is Meditation?

Meditation is when we quiet our hearts and minds and think deeply about God. We think about God's  Love and His words. We ponder all the good things God has done. It is not just thinking hard. Meditation is listening with your heart.

Why is meditation holy?
When we meditate on God, we are doing something holy because:

• We give God our full attention
• We open our hearts to hear God speak
• We show God that we love Him and want to know Him better.

How do we meditate on God?
Here are three easy steps:

• We find a quiet place: this could be your room, a church, or a quiet place in nature
• We think about something holy: such as a Bible verse, something Jesus said, or a story from the Gospels
• We spend time in stillness with God: talk to God in your heart, and listen for His love in return.

Examples of meditation topics:

• Imagine that you are sitting with Jesus and He says, “Let the children come to me.” (Matthew 9:14) What would you feel? What would you say?
• Think about a moment Jesus helped someone. How does that show His love?

What happens when we meditate?

• We feel peace
• We learn to trust God
• We grow in holiness, because we are spending time with the Holy One.

Meditation is a beautiful gift:

Meditation is not hard. Mediation is just being with God quietly and lovingly. When we meditate and spend time with God, we grow closer to Him. Meditation is a beautiful gift that helps us become more like Jesus every day.

Let us end with a prayer:

"When we are still and quiet inside,

we let God's Love in our hearts abide.

We think of Jesus, gentle and true,

and learn what He wants us to do.

Meditation helps us see His way,

it makes us stronger every day.

Meditation plants God's Peace deep in hearts,

a gift only God's Love imparts.

When we sit with God so near,

His gentle Voice we start to hear.

God fills our hearts with love and light,

He helps us choose His way so right."

HERE IS YOUR VERY OWN 

CATECHISM BOOK TWO

DOWNLOAD AT THE FOLLOWING LINK

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ocON-_TbHOUeOzVPbHMWudwCew8VdRIT/view?usp=sharing

CATECHISM COLOURING BOOK TWO

MAY BE DOWNLOADED AT THE FOLLOWING LINK

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1q278JsC-pR9tTWJjXhZo3Sm1xCqeCMKK/view?usp=sharing

Image designed by Chatgpt

LISTENING WITH YOUR HEART IN CONTEMPLATION

 

                Listening with your heart: how contemplation

                                brings us close to God

What is contemplation?

Dear children, have you ever just sat outside and watched the clouds or listened to the birds and felt really peaceful? That’s a little bit like what contemplation is! It is peacefully being with God.

Contemplation is when we quiet our hearts to listen to God—not just with our ears, but with our hearts.

It’s more than just saying prayers with words. It’s being still with  God. It’s loving Him silently. It’s letting Him love us back.

Why is contemplation important?

Imagine your best friend is talking to you, but you're always talking too. If you never stop to listen, you’ll miss something important, won't you? In the same way, contemplation is when we stop talking and start listening to God. We don't always need words. We just need to be with God.

This makes our friendship with God grow really deep, just like when you sit next to someone you love and you don’t need to say anything at all to feel happy.

What does contemplation look like?

Contemplation can look like this:

• sitting quietly in front of the Blessed Sacrament (the Blessed Sacrament is the tabernacle in the church where the consecrated Bread with the real Presence of Jesus is). So when you sit in front of the tabernacle, you are sitting with beautiful Jesus, the Son of God
• looking at a crucifix or a picture of Jesus and thinking about His love
• reading a Bible verse slowly, then sitting quietly with it
• closing your eyes and whispering in your heart: “Jesus, I’m here. I love You.”

Ask yourself:

Can I be still for a while and think only about Jesus?

What happens when we contemplate?

When we sit still with God, something special happens:

• our hearts get peaceful
• God speaks to us in a gentle way
• we start to feel His love more and more
• we become more like Jesus.

It’s like sitting in the sunlight. You don’t have to do anything. The sun just warms you up. Contemplation is sitting in God’s light and letting His love warm your heart.

Saints who loved contemplation

Saint Teresa of Avila would sit and think about Jesus just loving her—and she became a great saint!

A holy priest named Saint John Vianney once saw a man sitting in church quietly. When asked what he was doing, the man said, ‘I look at Him, and He looks at me.’ That’s contemplation!”

You can practice contemplation too

You don’t have to be a grown-up to do this. You can be a contemplative child!

Here’s how:

1. find a quiet place
2. say, “Jesus, I want to be close to You”
3. be still. Breathe. Imagine Jesus is with you. Because He is.
4. stay with Him for a while!

Challenge:

Can you give some time each day just to be with Jesus?

Closing prayer (short contemplative prayer)

“Jesus, You are here with me. I love You.
I want to listen to You with my heart.
Help me be still, so I can hear You.
Help me love You more each day. Amen.”

HERE IS YOUR VERY OWN 

CATECHISM BOOK TWO

DOWNLOAD AT THE FOLLOWING LINK

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ocON-_TbHOUeOzVPbHMWudwCew8VdRIT/view?usp=sharing

CATECHISM COLOURING BOOK TWO

MAY BE DOWNLOADED AT THE FOLLOWING LINK

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1q278JsC-pR9tTWJjXhZo3Sm1xCqeCMKK/view?usp=sharing

Image inspiration ChatGPT and CN Whittle

PRAYER IS TALKING TO GOD: THE SECRET TO BECOMING HOLY

 

Talking to God: The Secret to Becoming Holy

What is prayer?

Hello everyone. Do you know what prayer really is? Prayer is simply talking to God. Just like you talk to your mom, dad, guardian or best friend, God wants you to talk to Him too. The best part is that God always listens.

Why do we pray?

We pray because we love God and want to be close to Him. Just as talking with someone brings you closer, prayer brings your heart closer to God.

Did you know the saints became holy by praying every day?

Prayer helps us:

• Say thank you to God for what God has given and done.  This is the prayer of thanksgiving
• Say sorry when we make a mistake and when we need to ask God for forgiveness. This is the prayer of contrition or repentance
• Ask for help when we need it, This is the prayer of petition, request or supplication
• Ask for what others need on their behalf. This is the prayer of intercession
• Bless and adore God for being so wonderful. This is the prayer of praise
• Just tell God what is on your mind. This is  prayer which is the act of speaking to God privately and deeply. The prayer of talking to God is communication with God, much like a conversation between friends. This form of prayer can include sharing thoughts, feelings and needs, or simply expressing gratitude and praise. Prayer is spending time with our very best Friend, God.

How prayer makes us holy

Have you ever seen a plant grow with water and sunshine? That is like our soul. Prayer is the sunshine and water for your soul. Without prayer, we dry up and stay small. With prayer, we grow into saints.

Every time you pray, you become more like Jesus. The more you become like Jesus, the holier you become. God sent Jesus His Son to earth, so that we could learn how to behave beautifully like wonderful Jesus. Read about Jesus' Life in the four gospels. If we model ourselves on Jesus (that is, try to behave the way He does), we will become saints and able to spend our lives in Heaven with God after our time here on earth has come to an end.

Ways to pray every day

• Morning prayer: “Good morning, Jesus! Please help me today”
• Prayer before meals: Thank God for your food. One such prayer is the grace before meals: "Bless us O Lord, and these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty, through Christ our Lord, Amen." 
• The grace (or prayer) after meals is, "We give Thee thanks, O Almighty God, for all Thy benefits, which we have received through Christ our Lord, Amen."
• Prayer at bedtime: tell God what made you happy and what you need help with. Pray for your family and friends, and for everyone in the world, especially for those most in need of Jesus' help
• The holy rosary: Pray even just one decade. If possible, pray the rosary with your family 
• Silent prayer: sit quietly for a while and say, “Jesus, I love You.”

STORIES OF PRAYER

Example of a saint:

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux was just a little girl like some of you. She talked to God with so much love, even in little things. And guess what? This helped St Thérèse to become a saint.

You can become a saint too:

You do not have to do big miracles or be very famous. You just need to love Jesus with your whole heart and talk to Him every day.

Do you want to be holy like the saints? Read about the saints, and learn to follow Jesus with great love in your heart, as they did.

 

What will you say to Jesus when you get home today? That is prayer.

Closing prayer:

Let us pray together:

“Dear Jesus, thank You for loving me. Help me to talk to You every day. I want to be holy and close to You, just like the saints. Amen.”

HERE IS YOUR VERY OWN 

CATECHISM BOOK TWO

DOWNLOAD AT THE FOLLOWING LINK

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ocON-_TbHOUeOzVPbHMWudwCew8VdRIT/view?usp=sharing

CATECHISM COLOURING BOOK TWO

MAY BE DOWNLOADED AT THE FOLLOWING LINK

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1q278JsC-pR9tTWJjXhZo3Sm1xCqeCMKK/view?usp=sharing

Image designed by Chatgpt

CHRISTIAN MEDITATION IS A SPECIAL WAY OF BEING QUIET WITH GOD: PART ONE

 

Image designed by Chatgpt

Thinking about God in meditation

Hello, boys and girls.  Today I want to talk to you about something very special we can do with our hearts and minds. It is called meditation. That might sound like a big word, but it is really simple. Meditation is just thinking deeply about God. We think about Who God is, what He has done, and how much God loves us.

What is meditation on God?

Meditation means we take quiet time to think about God and talk to Him in our hearts. Meditation is different from just saying prayers quickly. Meditation is like sitting quietly with God, just as you would sit with your best friend. You can really listen and share with God.

• Have you ever thought about how great God’s Love is? God's Love is bigger than the sky
• Have you pondered how Jesus gave His Life for us on the cross?
• Have you ever thought about how the Holy Spirit helps you to be brave and kind?

When we take time to think about these things, we are meditating. Meditation is a holy practice. 

Why is meditation important?

• Meditation helps us to feel close to God in our hearts
• Meditation helps us to listen to what God is saying to us
• Meditation helps us grow in love, peace, and faith.

The Bible tells us about meditation

In Psalm 1 verse 2, the Bible tells us: “Blessed is the one who delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on it day and night.”

This means that people who think about God’s Word are happy and blessed.

How can we meditate on God?

• Find a quiet place: this could be your room, the church or a peaceful spot in nature
• Choose something to think about: such as a Bible verse, a story about Jesus, or something you learned in the last week
• Close your eyes and be still: let your heart talk to God
• Ask Jesus to be with you: just be with Him quietly
• End with a prayer: thank God for being close to you.

Meditation:

Let us try it now! Close your eyes… and think about Jesus calming the storm on the sea. (Matthew 8:23-27) Imagine being in that boat. The wind is strong. You are scared. Then Jesus says, “Peace, be still!” and everything is calm. How do you feel? That is meditation.

Meditation is thinking about God:

So remember: meditation is thinking deeply about God. Meditation is not hard. Meditation is a holy practice. The more we meditate, the more our hearts grow in love for God. Just as you spend time with your best friend, spend time with Jesus through meditation.

Take time to meditate:

Each day this week, take 10 minutes to sit quietly and think in meditation. You may want to think about something Jesus said or did, a Bible story, or something you are thankful for. Then say, “Jesus, I love You.” 

Eventually you may want to meditate for a longer time. Some people meditate regularly for 30 minutes.

HERE IS YOUR VERY OWN 

CATECHISM BOOK TWO

DOWNLOAD AT THE FOLLOWING LINK

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ocON-_TbHOUeOzVPbHMWudwCew8VdRIT/view?usp=sharing

CATECHISM COLOURING BOOK TWO

MAY BE DOWNLOADED AT THE FOLLOWING LINK

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1q278JsC-pR9tTWJjXhZo3Sm1xCqeCMKK/view?usp=sharing

Image designed by Chatgpt

SPIRITUAL READING IS A WAY TO LEARN ABOUT GOD : PART ONE

 

Getting to Know God Through Spiritual Reading

Greetings, children. I want to talk to you about something really special: how we can get to know God better. Just as we get to know our friends by talking to them and spending time with them, we can get to know God too. One good way to do that is through something called spiritual reading.

What Is Spiritual Reading?
Spiritual reading is when we read books that help us grow closer to God. These can be:

• The Bible: God’s Word, full of stories, lessons, and love letters from God to us
• Books about saints: people who lived holy lives and loved God with all their hearts
• Books that teach us about our faith: such as catechism books or devotionals.

Why is spiritual reading important?
Imagine you had a best friend but never learned anything about them. Would you really know them well? Probably not.  It is the same with God. 

Spiritual reading helps us learn:

• Who God is: His Love, His Mercy, and His Power
• What God has done: God the Father sent Jesus to save us
• How we can live for God: by being kind, praying, forgiving others, and trusting Him.

How does spiritual reading help us?
Spiritual reading helps us:

• Grow in faith: we learn to trust God more
• Make better choices: we learn right from wrong
• Feel close to God: we realise that God is walking with us in our lives, every day.

Examples of spiritual reading:

• When we read about prophet Daniel and the lions, we learn that God helps us be brave
• When we read about St. Francis of Assisi, we learn to care for people and animals
• When we read the Psalms, we learn how to talk to God in every kind of feeling. We can talk to God when we are happy, sad, scared, or thankful.

How do we start with spiritual reading?

• Read a little bit of the Bible each day, perhaps with your parents or someone who can help you with your reading
• Ask your teacher for a good saint story to read.
• Keep a catechism notebook to write down what you learn about God.

So remember, reading is not just for school. Reading can also help us grow closer to God. When we read about God, we come to love Him more. The more we love Him, the happier we are.

HERE IS YOUR VERY OWN 

CATECHISM BOOK TWO

DOWNLOAD AT THE FOLLOWING LINK

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ocON-_TbHOUeOzVPbHMWudwCew8VdRIT/view?usp=sharing

CATECHISM COLOURING BOOK TWO

MAY BE DOWNLOADED AT THE FOLLOWING LINK

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1q278JsC-pR9tTWJjXhZo3Sm1xCqeCMKK/view?usp=sharing

Image designed by Chatgpt

THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS: READING THE NEW TESTAMENT

 

Greetings, children. Have you ever received exciting news? You will know how happy you are when this happens. Now I have even more happiness for you - the New Testament is the best news the world has ever received - because it tells us about JESUS. 

What is the New Testament? 

The New Testament is the second part of the Bible. It tells us about the life of Jesus and His teachings. The New Testament also tells us about Christ’s death and resurrection. It details the beginning of the church. The New Testament has four main parts. These are the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the Letters (also known as Epistles) and the Book of Revelation.

• The Gospels: Stories about Jesus’ life (written by Saint Matthew, St Mark, St Luke and St John)
• Acts of the Apostles: Stories about what Jesus' friends did after He went to Heaven
• Letters (Epistles): These are letters written by apostles like St Paul to help Christians grow
• The book of Revelation: This is the story of St John’s vision of Heaven and Jesus' final victory.

Who is Jesus?

• Jesus is the Son of God, Who came to earth to save us from our sins and to open the way to Heaven. Jesus also came to show us how to love everyone, and how to be good people
• Jesus was born in Bethlehem
• Jesus performed wonderful miracles and taught us how to pray
• Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins. But we do not need to be sad: Jesus rose again, and He is alive in Heaven.  He also is here with us on earth, though we cannot always see Him
• We will also rise again at the Resurrection. We will live forever with God and Jesus in Heaven and be very happy. All we need to do is to follow the Word of God and try to be good people
• Jesus fights the devil, who is a very naughty fallen angel. Jesus wants us to follow God's way and only do good and holy things. Jesus does not want us to do bad things like the devil does.

Why is the New Testament so important?

The New Testament shows us how much God loves you. The New Testament teaches us how to forgive, live, pray, and be part of God's family. The New Testament teaches us about the seven sacraments which Jesus Christ instituted, to help us to reach heaven. The sacraments are baptism, confession, holy Communion, confirmation, sacrament of the sick, marriage and the priesthood. We are living out the New Testament when we receive the sacraments.

We can learn from the New Testament by:

• Reading the four gospels (start with a few verses a day)
• Learn memory verses (such as John 3:16 and Luke 10:27)
• Ask questions and pray with Scripture.

Jesus wants to talk to us through the New Testament. When we read, think of and pray about the New Testament, Jesus reaches out to us and helps us to understand how to become holy in our lives.

The New Testament leads us to Jesus:

• The New Testament tells the story of Jesus the Son of God
• The New Testament also teaches us how to follow Jesus
• Think of one thing you have learned or want to remember about Jesus. Remember this every day

Dear children, let us pray: 

“Thank you, Jesus, for coming to save us and for the gift of the New Testament. Help us to follow You and love others as You do. Amen.”

HERE IS YOUR VERY OWN

CATECHISM BOOK ONE

DOWNLOAD AT THE FOLLOWING LINK

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1w8Wbg_iqbWP8LMr9eOfqZE5QMFgzsp0M/view?usp=sharing

Image designed by Chatgpt