RELIGIOUS CURRICULUM MAPPING: Grade 7

• Have a Bible in your house, and have your child become familiar with it.
• Read the Bible as a family and allow each member to share in spirit of prayer what the Lord is telling them.
• Read the Gospel together before you go to Mass.
• Comment after Mass about the homily and the readings.
• Watch as a family movies about stories from the Bible (i.e. Moses, David)

• Use videos and music to re-enforce the Gospel messages.  Become familiar with contemporary Christian artists and play them in your car.  Keep videos and music in your home that exemplify the Gospel messages.

• Talk about the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Ask your child to explain them to you. Compare and contrast the Synoptic Gospels with the Gospel of John.  Discuss the value in both.

• Be mindful that we recognize Scripture as oral tradition.  Just as you would recollect different facts from your past Christmas with your child so did the different Gospel writers.

• Buy a map of the Holy Land—ancient and modern.  Spend time studying all the places Jesus visited by walking with his apostles.  View a video of the Holy Land.

• Impress upon your child that the Bible is the Word of God—and Jesus is the living Word.  To learn about Jesus and to be able to use His Word to help us in this world, we need to know him.  We get to know him by spending time with him in prayer and by reading his messages to us in his Word—the Bible.

• Have your child describe who they are with various adjectives or a self-portrait.  Do the same for Jesus and base the descriptions on His parables and miracles as found in the Gospels.

Know the basic elements of the Gospel message:

1. The Father’s love is manifested in the good of creation.
2. We have been separated from God's plan for us because of sin.
3. Jesus is the bridge back to the Father.
4. Following in the way of Jesus and participating in the sacraments he made available in the Church will lead us to Salvation.

• Take a walk or drive with your child and talk about God’s creation. What makes it unique?  How does it show His love for us—His children?
• Discuss mercy and forgiveness in relationships at home, school, among friends.  What divides us from each other?  What unites and heals us?
• Discuss the importance of bridges in our lives.  Why do we need them?  What purpose do they serve?  Build bridges as craft projects or take a ride and look at different bridges in the area.  What do they all have in common?  Why is Jesus our bridge to the Father?
• Refer to the Bible for passages on Baptism, Marriage, Forgiveness, Ordination, Healing, Pentecost, Eucharist and talk about how they show a special connection to God’s Kingdom and how we are touched by His grace in these sacraments.

• Review with your child what he/she learned in his/her religion class.
• Have a Catechism of the Catholic Church in the House.  Make sure you are educated about the Faith so you can answer questions for your child.  Have your child see you reading the Bible, the Catechism or some other spiritual work.
• Encourage your child to grow in relationship with each one of the persons of the blessed Trinity.
• Display an image of Mary in your home and pray to her.
• Recite the Creed as a family.

• Participate in the Living Stations if they are available in your parish and participate fully in the Triduum.

Know the four reasons for the Incarnation:

1. So that Jesus could save us by reconciling us to God the Father.
2. So that we could know God's love for us.
3. To be a model for holiness.
4. To make us partakers of the Divine nature.

• Reflect with the family about the reasons of the Incarnation.
• Reflect on what happens in Baptism.
• Point out the scripture reference that says: you cannot know the Father unless you know me.
• Have your child make a poster or mobile of what holiness means to your child.  Discuss this with the family and display it in a special place to remind everyone that we are all called to holiness.
• What is Jesus’ nature?  Discuss his ability to love, forgive, heal, and obey His Father’s will.  Praise your child when he/she uses His model in his/her life.  Take time to talk to them about how loving they were, or how difficult it was to forgive a hurt.  Remind your child that he/she is doing what Jesus would do in the same situation.

• Mark Trinity Sunday on your calendar.

• Celebrate as a family: participate with your child at a youth service project at your parish.

• Talk about the transformation of the apostles from their behavior in the Garden of Gethsemane (frightened, cowardly) and their boldness after Pentecost.  How were they changed by the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives?

• “On you Peter I shall build my Church.”  Discuss this Scripture passage with your child, particularly during Holy Week. 
  

• Show your child that you are connected to your own personal faith, growth and sign up for a Scripture study program in your parish.

• Discuss death and Eternal Life with your child.

• Encourage discussion with children and adults of other denominations.  Bring any concerns or questions to your religion class or parish priest.

• Talk about the qualities of Mary and how she is the Mother of the Church. Talk about Mary’s faith and obedience to the God’s will for her life.  What were the blessings and consequences of her obedience?  Read about other women of faith in the Bible—Hannah, Ruth, Esther.

• Talk about the Martyrs. Have an All Saints Day celebration with family and friends.  Dress up and portray a saint of interest.  Stay in character during the celebration and role play according to information on the Saints’ lives.

• Read the Fairfield County Catholic together and talk about the work and news about the Catholic Church.  Connect it to Jesus’ teachings and what it means to be His disciples or People of God. 

• Go with your child to Sunday Mass.
• Be an example of silence during the Mass, and teach your child to have good behavior because God is there.  Genuflect reverently.
• Explain to your child what we celebrate on the Holy Days.
• Do things as a family on Sunday “The Lord's Day”.
• Visit the Blessed Sacrament with your child frequently.
• Give your child opportunities to participate in liturgical celebrations by becoming altar servers, participating in the children’s choir, etc.
• Go to your parish for the liturgies during Holy Week.
• Participate as a family in the Stations of the Cross.
• Receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation periodically as a family. www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P46.HTM or www.newadvent.org/cathen/11618c.htm
• Celebrate the day of your Baptism with your child.
• Make a commitment during the season of Advent and Lent offering that to Jesus (i.e. do not eat chocolates, or drink soda).
• Create a prayer on Christmas Eve night and put the baby Jesus in the crib.
• Have your child help you with the preparations of Advent; make a nativity (a crib) with your child and add this to the Christmas decorations.
• Pray a novena in Advent to prepare for the Birth of Jesus. www.catholicculture.org/lit/prayers/view.cfm?id=53 or www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/novena/christmas.htm
• Teach your child Christmas songs.
• Before the Christmas and Easter meals, have your child tell the story.
• Celebrate in the Family - Easter. Decorate the house for the occasion and talk during dinner about some of the symbols associated with it (Paschal candle, lamb, Easter lily, etc.).

• Encourage forgiveness in the home, school, etc. by referring to Jesus’ message about forgiving the same offense seventy times seven times.  What are the costs and the benefits of following Jesus’ message?

• Consider becoming a lector as a role model for your child.

• On your way to Mass agree on one thing to give thanks for as a family.

• Model appropriate full and active participation at Mass. 

• Do not hesitate in taking your child to funerals and wakes of friends and relatives. 

• If possible, attend the ordination of a priest or deacon.

• Commit yourself to participate fully in the Eucharist and in Reconciliation. 

• Pray for the members of your family and friends who have died.  Ask that their hearts be open to receive God’s love. 

• Change the colors of your table cloths at home to reflect the appropriate liturgical season.  Have a “Happy New Year” toast at dinner

• Volunteer to do community service as a family.
• Invite your child to give to the poor at Christmas.
• Have each family member commit to a new way to participate in the life of your parish.
• Encourage your child to be generous with the poor and needy.
• Talk with your child about the different vocations in the Church and ask your child to pray for vocations to the consecrated life in the Church.
• Get involved in Church Youth Group activities and ministries.  Join your children in serving those in need.
• Discuss about the missions in the Church and how you can help the Church worldwide.
• Give example to your child sharing your time, treasure and talents with the Church.

• Share your view of Mary and how you can be like her.

• Talk about the Bishop’s role in the diocese.

Know the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy and identify how they are examples of putting faith into action.

• Review the Corporal Works of Mercy.  Choose one thing your family can do this week to put them into practice.
• Look up the Spiritual Works of Mercy.  Talk about the ways that the Works of Mercy help you to be generous and kind to others.  Choose something to do this week as a family to live the Works of Mercy.

• Visit the elderly or volunteer to help those in need during the holiday season or anytime throughout the year.

• Discuss the life of a saint who helped the poor or needy.

• Pray that each member of your family be open to God’s grace.  Ask for the ability to be a good Christian witness. 

Live responsibly as stewards of God’s creation, respecting life, themselves, and their environment by willingly sharing their time and God-given talents with the school, parish, and community.

• Look up one of the Church missionary organizations on the Internet.  Read about what they do.  How can you be a missionary right in your own place in life?
• Create a small garden in flower pots and have members of the family care for their own special garden.  Find ways to conserve water, electricity, fuel and practice conservation.

• Volunteer for parish/town events.

• Make a commitment with your child about one virtue you are going to work on during the week or about a bad habit that causes you to struggle.
• Family movie time: talk about the movie; show the values and the anti-values that are present.
• Tell your child about the life of Jesus and how he taught us how to live.
• Talk about the qualities of Mary.
• Discuss the Sacrament of Reconciliation and how that can help you lead a good and moral life.
• Encourage your child to frequently examine his/her conscience.
• Review the Ten Commandments.  Why did God give us these rules of life?  What would happen if everyone followed them?
  (go to N 434)

• View videos such as “Jesus of Nazareth” and/or read Scriptures that depict Jesus’ human qualities. Discuss emotions He displayed such as love, compassion, pain, betrayal, disappointment, laughter…

• List three things that Jesus did that spoke to you.  Commit yourself to 3 things that you will do to emulate those qualities.
•  Look at pictures of the Temple in Jerusalem and discuss God’s presence in the Ark of the Covenant in Old Testament times.  Discuss Pentecost and the infilling of the Holy Spirit as God’s presence within us and how we are filled with that presence at Baptism.
• Try to realize what it truly means to have Christ in us and to recognize Him in other Christians.  This realization should change the way we view ourselves and others and the way we respect ourselves and others.

• Role-play situations that involve reference to the Ten Commandments, Beatitudes, and teachings of the Church.  Watch television together and make note of Godly decisions versus secular decisions.

• Have each family member choose a virtue and talk about it and why it is important in life.  Point out these virtues in people you know.  Do you exemplify these virtues?
  (go to N. 377)

Understand that Christ's invitation to "…take up your cross and follow Me." (Mt. 16:24) demands rejecting destructive secular values and acting in truth and integrity.

• Share a time when you had a "cross to bear" and how you used your faith to help you get through it.  Discuss the meaning of the cross but also the glory of Resurrection and the hope that we have in Christ when we accept our cross in this life.

• Learn about a Pope or a bishop.  Share their story. www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/index.htm or www.bridgeportdiocese.com/bishopbiography.shtml

• Participate in Advent and Lenten Penance services. 

• Focus on the Jesus as a model of prayer.  In the desert He prayed and fasted in order to overcome temptation.  Discuss the concept of the Word as a two-edge sword that cuts on both sides and is our weapon against temptation. 

• Begin developing the sacred concept of Christ as the bridegroom and his Church as his beloved bride.  Discuss the deep love that Christ has for his Church and that he sacrificed his life for his bride.
• Emphasize that marriage is about giving of the self in loving sacrifice versus self-gratification and self-centered pleasure. Be honest about the purpose of sex in marriage and how a husband and wife are co-creators with God in the Sacrament of Marriage. 

• As a family, pray before meals.
  
• Pray with your child the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be when you enter a new Church or before traveling.
  
• At bedtime, say a prayer giving thanks to God for his love and gifts, asking forgiveness for the bad things that we have done and asking to bless our friends, family, and needs in the world.
• Encourage your child to read about the saints and tell him/her some stories. Celebrate your child’s Saint Feast day.
• Buy your child religious objects.Pray the Rosary as a family.

• Examine examples of how Jesus acted in different circumstances in his life.

• Say the Lord’s Prayer as a family.  Pray Prayers of Petition. 
  (N 578-598 )  

• Write petitions with your child.

• Create an Advent wreath and prayer service for lighting the candle in the home at every meal during the Advent season.

• Privately choose names of family members from a hat and pray for that person during Lent.  At the end of Lent, let the family member know that you were praying for him/her and what form that prayer took.

• Post the Beatitudes in your home as a reminder of what brings us happiness in our lives.

• Buy your children Christian music and listen to it with them.

• Celebrate the May crowing and make an effort to pray the rosary as a family during October and May. 
  

• Tell your children the words Jesus said to his apostles in the Garden of Gethsemane when he asked the apostles if they could not stay awake and pray with him.  Visit the Blessed Sacrament during Lent as part of family Lenten prayer.

• Remind the children of Jesus’ words at the Last Supper when he asked his disciples to remember him by eating His Body and drinking His Blood.  Refer to him as the Bread of Life and develop the concept of the importance of spiritual food in our lives.