Recollection Module for Grade V



Recollection Module for Grade V

“Advent:

A Time of Giving and Forgiving

Introduction

Advent is the beginning of the Church Year for most churches in the Western tradition. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day, which is the Sunday nearest November 30, and ends on Christmas Eve (Dec 24).

The word Advent means "coming" or "arrival." It is celebrating a truth about God, the revelation of God in Christ whereby all of creation might be reconciled to God. That is a process in which we now participate, and the consummation of which we anticipate.

In this double focus on past and future, Advent also symbolizes the spiritual journey of individuals and a congregation, as they affirm that Christ has come, that He is present in the world today, and that He will come again in power. That acknowledgment provides a basis for Kingdom ethics, for holy living arising from a profound sense that we live "between the times" and are called to be faithful stewards of what is entrusted to us as God’s people. So, as the church celebrates God’s in breaking into history in the Incarnation, and anticipates a future consummation to that history for which "all creation is groaning awaiting its redemption," it also confesses its own responsibility as a people commissioned to "love the Lord your God with all your heart" and to "love your neighbor as yourself."

The outward actions of these responsibilities can be practically expressed especially during the season of advent as a preparation for Christmas. Teaching kids the value of giving to and helping others is important, especially during Christmas. It shows them how to care about others and that this special holiday is about more than just receiving. At the same time, this season teaches us God's lead as the person who extends forgiveness (and forgetfulness) to others for their offending actions. Have you ever noticed that right in the middle of the word forgiveness is the word GIVE? Luke 6:38 says that whatever we give will be given back to us. Paul said in Galatians 6:7 that whatever we sowed, which is also a form of giving would be what we harvested. Jesus said that unless we forgive others, God wouldn't forgive us (Matthew 6:15). Thus, we can use our time wisely while waiting for someone.

I. NEEDS AND CONCERNS OF GRADE V STUDENTS

a. Generosity

b. Forgiveness

c. Understanding the Advent Season

d. Appreciating God’s Gifts

e. Human Freedom

II. Theme: “Advent: A Time of Giving and Forgiving”

III. OBJECTIVES:

At the end of the recollection, the participants will be able to:

1. recognize that we are called to prepare the way of the coming of the Lord

2. internalize the wisdom behind giving and forgiving as God’s instrument of love

3. appreciate the value of giving and forgiving

4. respond diligently to God’s call to live out His love and solidarity in this season of Adven

IV: SCHEDULE

8:00 Settling Down

8:30 Opening Prayer

9:00 Orientation and Expectation Check

Energizer

9:30 Session I: Activity/Discussion

10:30 Break

10:45 Energizer

11:00 Input/Christian Message and further Discussion

12:00 Lunch Break

1:00 Energizer

1:15 Session II: Activity/Discussion

2:00 Input/Christian Message and Further Discussion

3:30 Break

3:45 Synthesis

4:00 Closing Activity

4:30 Home Sweet Home

SESSION I: “Gifts and Gift-Giving”

A. Activity – Discussion

Allow the students to listen to the music Panalangin Sa Pagiging Bukas-Palad, Music by: Jandi Arboleda and Manoling Francisco, SJ, Lyrics by: Tim Ofrasio, SJ, Arrangement: Reynard Romen , Paulo K Tirol.

Panginoon, turuan Mo akong maging bukas-palad

Turuan Mo akong maglingkod sa Iyo

Na magbigay nang ayon sa nararapat

Na walang hinihintay mula sa 'Yo

Na makibakang 'di inaalintana mga hirap na dinaranas

Sa tuwina'y magsumikap na hindi humahanap ng kapalit na kaginhawaan

Na 'di naghihintay kundi ang aking mabatid

Na ang loob Mo'y siyang sinusundan

Panginoon, turuan Mo akong maging bukas-palad

Turuan Mo akong maglingkod sa Iyo

Na magbigay nang ayon sa nararapat

Na walang hinihintay mulsa sa 'Yo

After the activity, ask the following questions:

1. What words or line of words that struck you?

2. What do you think is the message of the song?

B. Input/Further Discussion

Do you remember your parents telling you never to be selfish? I think this is a fairly common thread among most everyone. Most parents drill into a child to always share, to always do a favor for another person and to put others before yourself. According to Mitch Album, “The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.”

As Christians, model our life to Jesus who teaches us the value of generosity. By the grace of God, He softens our heart to have the sincerity of extending our arms especially to those who are in need. Jesus himself is the greatest model of generosity when he offered His life for the salvation of the humanity. Thus, we are invited too, to do all the good we can, by all the means we can, in all the ways we can, in all the places we can, at all the times we can, to all the people we can, as long as ever we can.

Let us reflect on the following reading:

Christian Message: Genesis 4:1-7

Adam and eve had two sons. They were Cain and Abel. Cain became a framer while Abel became a shepherd. One day Cain and Abel made offerings to the Lord as a sacrifice. Cain brought crops from his farm. He put them on the altar and left at once. Abel brought the best lamb he had. He placed the lamb on the altar and prayed over it. “Lord,” he said, “I gladly offer to You the best of what I have.’

God knew that Abel’s offering was sincere and given in a good spirit. So he accepted it. God was pleased with Abel’s gift because He saw that Abel’s heart was full of goodness. God also knew that Cain’s offering was not sincere. He knew that Cain did not really want to offer Him a gift. So he did not accept Cain’s offering. Cain was angry. God said to Cain, “Why are you angry? If you do well and give gladly, your offering will be accepted. But if your thoughts are full of evil, then evil will rule you.”

Our gifts are more pleasing to our heavenly Father when they are prepared well and given sincerely, no matter how small they may be. At Holy, as during the Offertory, we bring gifts of bread and wine to the altar. The bread and win e are signs of the goodness of Creation. Thus, when we offer bread and wine at the Offertory of the Mass, we are giving thanks to the Creator for His gifts. At the Offertory, we also bring other gifts. These other gifts symbolize our willingness to share with those in need. The gifts we offer show that we love and trust God.

This seasons of advent and Christmas, are also the seasons of giving. Christmas is, obviously, a common time for thinking about others and acting a little bit more charitably than usual. When you give selflessly to help people who are in need, it is your generosity that creates the miracle of Christmas!

The gifts offered by the Magi were gifts given to Kings during that time. The Magi offered these gifts as a sign that they loved Jesus and accepted Him as their King. Jesus, Himself, is a gift to us. He is God’s greatest gift to us. God gave Him to us as a sign of His great love for us. Jesus – God’s gift to us is a reminder that giving love is the real meaning of Christmas. We remember that we are celebrating the birthday of Jesus. So, we also give Jesus a gift. We give our love to Jesus. We do this by loving, caring and forgiving.

The story, The Offerings of Cain and Abel, reminds us that to be pleasing to God, our gift must be given sincerely. A gift is given sincerely when:

1. It is the best that we have

Long ago, farmers brought their best farm products as an offering to God. They brought their fattest calves and lambs and their best harvest because they believe that God deserves the best. After all, all good things and blessings come from Him. The offering was their way of saying “Thank you” to God.

At Holy Mass, do we also offer the best flowers and fruit that we can find? Do we bring to Holy Mass our best selves? When we give to someone, do we choose something which we know will please him or her?

2. We avoid showing off.

Some people give gifts because they want to be praised. When we give a large gift of money, do we want other people to see and know how much we have given to the charitable institutions or to the Church? When we give an expensive gift to someone, do we tell others about it to impress them?

3. We do not expect anything in return.

We give gift to make the receiver of the gift happy. Our gifts should not be a means to get something valuable in return.

4. It is given heartily and gladly.

When we give a gift, is it because we feel forced to do so? Do we grumble and complain about having to give a gift? If our answer to these questions is yes, we are not giving our gifts sincerely.

Indeed, we can show our love through gifts. Like Jesus, we must not ask what race or creed someone belongs. Jesus does not ask whether we are rich or poor. The sick, the sad and the lonely, the abandoned and the suffering – all are given comfort, hope, and strength by the presence of Jesus, for Jesus is the source of life and joy. Let us also bear in mind that it is not necessary that our gifts must be in form of a material form. Giving our time for them can also be a form of a gift to them. When we give our time, we give our love. And the best gift we could give is love. Thus, caring about others is a way of recognizing that they, too, are loved by God. Jesus teaches us that our neighbour is anyone who needs our help. He teaches us to think, not only of ourselves but also of others – including those who are not good to us. He asks us to remember that (1) every person is created in God’s image, (2) every person is a child of God (3) every person is our brother or sister. So every person deserves all the help that we can give. Jesus asks us to give special attention to the poor, the needy, and the suffering so that they can live with dignity.

Guide questions for reflection:

1. To whom do you give your gift?

2. What gift would you give to – someone who is sick, an elderly person, a new-born baby, someone your age, your parents?

3. Why do you give gift?

4. What do you feel after giving someone a gift sincerely?

5. Jesus loves the poor and the suffering. At Christmas, do we remember to give gifts to the poor and the suffering/

6. Jesus cares for the lonely. At Christmas, do we remember to give the lonely the gift of our presence?

SESSION II: “Following the Forgiving Heart of Jesus”

A. Activity – Blooper Game

Direction:

1. Divide the participants by groups.

2. Let them choose a representative that will draw their answers on the board.

3. The rest of the members will turn their back from the board so as not to see the corresponding answers.

4. The facilitator would ask the group “How many of this do you have?” indicating different parts of the body. The representative on the board would draw, depending on the group’s answer, the Blooper face of the group.

5. After completing the face, the group would then look at it and will be asked the following questions:

How did you feel about your Blooper Face?

Why do you think this is called a blooper game?

It is funny to see how the representatives keeps making blunders because they are not aware, they cannot see and they do not know what we are talking about, what body part is being pointed out. This makes their answers funny. Meanwhile, it is a source of anxiety because we are conscious of the big possibility of making mistakes yet seemingly our awareness of reality is very limited. It also makes one ashamed because s/he seems to be a laughingstock. Finally, the drawings are really a blooper; something to laugh about but one can also take it seriously and be considerate about the situation.

After the activity, ask the following questions:

1. What “bloopers” have you encountered in your life by which you feel separated from others? From God? What are the “bloopers” in our society?

2. How does this feeling of alienation affect you?

3. How do you come to terms with the feeling, the experiences of alienation and realization?

4. How do you show repentance or reconciliation after you realize your mistakes in order to restore the intimacy of the relationship that you have with others and with God?

B. Let us reflect on this story:

Christian Message: Luke 7:36-50

Once there was a woman whom many did not like because she was sinful. But in her heart, this woman was very sorry that she had grievously sinned. She learned about Jesus and knew that it was only Jesus who could give her peace of mind. One day, she heard that Jesus was invited for dinner by Simon, a very rich and important man in town. She decided to go to Simon’s place to see Jesus. Going in, she knelt before Him at His feet. As she wept, her tears fell upon His feet. She wiped them off with her hair and kissed His feet and poured perfume on them. She was truly sorry about all the wrong she had done in her life. When Simon saw what was happening, he said to himself, “This proves that Jesus is no prophet, for if God had really sent Him, He would know what a sinful woman she is.” Jesus said to Simon, “I tell you, Simon, this woman’s sins are forgiven because she loves and trusts Me.” Then, He turned to the woman and said to her, “Your sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

C. Input/Further Discussion

God paid a very dear cost for us to receive the Gift of eternal life through Jesus.  He gave His one and only Son so that we could have life. Most of us understand eternal life as being something that we will receive after we die. But that isn't the full meaning. You see ETERNAL means endless, never-ending, everlasting, and timeless.  The moment we accept the offer of Jesus' sacrifice of LIFE, we begin our eternal, never ending walk with God. What that means is that God's life, His love, His peace, His joy, His compassion, is NOW part of who we are and as we submit ourselves to Him, the Holy Spirit empowers us to be more and more like Jesus.

One of the things that the Holy Spirit empowers us to do is FORGIVE. To some that sounds like an impossible task that even God would not ask us to do. After all, some of the people we don't want to forgive really did hurt us. But forgiveness is the MAIN thing that Jesus was born to give to us. We are all sinners who fall short of God's glory and without the shed blood of Jesus, we are doomed not just to hell, but to live a life of misery, because separated from God our lives are hopeless. But Jesus offers us forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God. Now that is LIFE ETERNAL!

Jesus is always ready to forgive us no matter what we have done. All we need to do is humbly acknowledge our mistake and ask for His forgiveness. Jesus also helps us to forgive others in the same way He forgives us.

How can we thank God for His loving mercy?

Here are some ways:

1. Ask forgiveness from those we have hurt.

We hurt others when we are selfish and think only of ourselves. After our selfish act we may feel uneasy and restless. Often, we realize that we acknowledge our fault and say I’m sorry to the one we have hurt. At the same time, we also say I’m sorry to God.

2. Do penance for the wrong thing we have done.

When we do penance, we show that we are sorry for our sin and we want to do better. Penance helps us to make up for our sin.

3. Forgive those who have hurt us.

God forgives us our sins no matter how great they may be. We, too, should forgive others. Let us remember that quarrels and misunderstandings lead to hurt feelings. But we must remember, too, that people do not mean to hurt those they love. So, when someone expresses sorrow and repentance for a wrong done to us, we must accept the apology, forgive, then forget. Love grows in this kind of relationship where one is forgiving and the other is forgiven.

4. Pray for those who hurt us and those we have hurt.

We pray that they may have more patience with us. We also pray that we may have the grace to be more patient and understanding.

5. Celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Before Jesus ascended to heaven, HE gave us a special gift. He told His Apostles, “Whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven.” The gift Jesus gave is the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

If we cultivate the habit of forgiving and asking forgiveness, we become closer to our brothers and sisters in God’s family. We also become closer to God. Thus, asking and giving forgiveness is a step towards peace. People can be drawn together if they respect one another. They can be split apart if they do not respect one another.

As we come to the end of the year, so often we look back with regret on things we did not accomplish, or resolutions long forgotten. But sin is one thing we should never need to look back on with feelings of failure. If we have confessed our sins and asked God's forgiveness we simply need to keep a forward focus toward the goal of pleasing Christ.

Your gift of forgiveness will go a long way for God to work in their hearts, and in yours. Ask the Holy Spirit to stir up a heart of compassion in you and release LOVE, JOY, and PEACE in your heart. Be obedient to the still small voice of God and forgive those who have hurt and disappointed you in the past. Your Christmas will be brighter and their life will be better for it too.

Guide Questions for Reflection:

1. Jesus is forgiving. At Christmas, do we remember to forgive people who hurt us? Do we remember to ask forgiveness from people we have hurt?

2. Is it easy to ask forgiveness?

3. Is it easy to give forgiveness?

4. How do we feel after you have asked forgiveness from someone you have hurt?... after you have forgiven someone who has hurt you?

V. SYNTHESIS/EVALUATION

1. What part of the recollection was most helpful to you? Least helpful?

2. What can you say about the venue, time allotment and facilitation?

3. Comments and suggestions.

V. CLOSING ACTIVITY

Closing Prayer

- Call to silence – using any local sound maker

- Recitation of Psalm 51 (to be recited alternately)

Let us pray together, one with St. Augustine:

“I have gone astray,

And I have remembered You.

I heard your voice behind me

Calling me to return.

And now I return with

Excitement and desire to Your fountain.

Allow my heart to grow,

By being generous and helpful to others

In Your Name. Amen.

-Confessions: 12, 10

Now that we have been forgiven, let us offer each other our forgiveness, and show our loving heart of giving by presenting one candle of gratitude/repentance/reconciliation to each other.

Closing Song: Christmas in Our Heart, by Jose Marie Chan

Whenever I see girls and boys

Selling lanterns in the streets

I remember the Child

In the manger as He sleeps

Whenever there are people

Giving gifts exchanging cards

I believe that Christmas

Is truly in their hearts

Let's light our christmas trees

For a bright tomorrow

Where nations are at peace

And all are one in God.

CHORUS:

Let's sing 'Merry Christmas

And a happy holiday'

This season, may we never forget

The love we have for Jesus

Let Him be the One to guide us

As another new year stars

And may the spirit of christmas

Be always in our hearts

In every prayer and every song

The community unites

Celebrating the birth

Of our Saviour Jesus Christ

Let love, like that starlight

On that first Christmas morn

Lead us back to the manger

Where Christ the Child was born

So come let us rejoice

Come and sing the Christmas carol

With one big joyful voice

Proclaim the name of the Lord.

.

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