EXPLORE
Explore Creation Is the Work of the Trinity All that exists is the work of the Trinity: God as
Ask volunteers to explain the meaning of a mission. Explain that a mission can be a special job or goal. Ask: Who are some people who have a special job or mission? (Possible answers: priests, scientists, police officers)
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There is only one God, yet there are Three distinct Persons in God. This is known as the mystery of the Trinity. Each Person of the Trinity has a special mission. ▶
The Father created the world. He made us and everything in the universe.
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God’s Son, Jesus, become man in order to save us.
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The Holy Spirit gives us grace to believe. The Spirit helps us understand that God is our loving Father and Creator, and that Jesus is the Son of God and our brother.
Prayers Honoring the Trinity
Holy Trinity, Anonymous.
One way we show our belief in the Trinity is by praying the Sign of the Cross. Another way is to pray the Glory Be to the Father. This prayer gives praise to the Three Persons of the Trinity. A prayer of praise to the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—is called a doxology. At mass, the Eucharistic Prayer ends with a doxology of praise and adoration of the Trinity.
Link to Liturgy At Mass our sung expression of praise of the Trinity is the Gloria. With it we proclaim our belief in the Three Persons of the Trinity.
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SESSION 1 • God Creates Us
If Time Allows
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Service: Caring for the Parish PDF Signoff:Grounds Production _______
In advance, work with your catechetical leader to set up a cleanup day. Collect garden tools, garbage bags, gloves, and recycling containers. Walk with children around the parish grounds and list jobs that need to be done: weeding, picking up trash, sweeping walkways. Together make a work schedule and begin to complete the tasks. God’s Creation
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Have the group read the first section silently. Then invite volunteers to describe in their own words the mission of each Person in the Trinity. Explain that creation is the work of the Trinity and that, although God reveals himself as the Trinity, he still remains a mystery beyond words. Have volunteers read aloud the last section. Invite the group to pray the Sign of the Cross and the Glory Be to the Father. Explain that both prayers express our belief in the Trinity. Say: The Sign of the Cross reminds us of our Baptism, when our foreheads and all our senses were marked by the cross to show that we belong to Christ. Point out that we use the Sign of the Cross to begin and end most prayers and at several points during the Mass.
Link to Liturgy 7/21/11 12:22 PM
Saint Augustine and the Trinity Design _______ Editorial _______ Saint Augustine contributed to the Church’s understanding of the mystery of the Trinity. He described the Trinity within the context of relationship, combining the identity of the Trinity as “one” with the distinction of the three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He also explained the whole of Christian life as a communion with each of the divine Persons.
Read aloud this feature. Review the Gloria with children.
3 Close Display Art Print 1: The Flower Seller. Use the Art Print 1 instruction to teach this section. Art Print teaching instruction can also be found on page 225.
The Flower Seller
Art Print 1
Unit 1 • Session 1
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