6-8
We are going to play a game that uses a symbol of the Holy Spirit (Wind). First, divide your group into teams of about 5 and give each group a bible. The game and lesson is divided into four main sections. (Students will have nothing but their group bible and a straw each.)
As you cover the main sections, you can ask discussion questions or have the kids race to look up a bible verse. Award points to teams who answer questions, participate in a meaningful way or who look up their verse first. You can also take away points for talking out of turn or if members of a team are not helping. After each section is covered, the students get to play “Help the Christian” on a special table with the lights out. The team with THE highest point total gets the gifts of the Holy Spirit (more on that later).
Note: If you have more than two teams then the two teams with the highest scores so far should play.
Help the Christian:
Please begin by explaining that the Holy Spirit is often symbolized by wind and that we are using that symbol today. (Fire/Light could also be explained as a symbol of the Holy Spirit) Each class has a table, some ping pong balls and straws. Some will also have a black light. Those without a black light will have a glowing table.
The ping pong balls are Christians. The Wind is the Holy Spirit and the goals are heaven (or hell depending on the team). ie: One team’s heaven is the other’s hell.
The game works by having two teams on different sides of the table. The ping pong balls are put in the center and the kids use the straws to blow them into the correct goal. (the teams have opposite goals) Kids cannot touch the balls. If a ball goes through a goal and off the table, the team gets one point. If a ball goes off on the side of the table, it is place back in the center after the other balls have either scored a point or also gone off the side. The team with the most points in this game gets an additional two points for their team overall.
Gifts of the Holy Spirit: The team that has the gifts of the “Holy Spirit” can stop the balls one time and put them back in the center of the table.
If you have a black light, please have one volunteer (adult) hold it at one end of the table. (And be sure to turn out the lights when you play.)
This should be a fun game, but it is also a shameless attempt to promote black light volleyball on January 23rd. Speaking of which, flyers will be available to hand out after class. (We could also use chaperones!)
Sections:
1. Holy Trinity: God is three and God is one.
2. Confirmation is the sacrament of Christian “maturity.” It makes our entrance into God’s family complete.
3. Confirmation gives us special graces including:
a. Strengthens the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit (Please cover these)
b. Unites us more firmly to God and the Church
c. Leaves a permanent spiritual mark on our soul (Seal of the Holy Spirit)
4. Confirmation requires anointing with Sacred Chrism (oil) and Laying on of Hands.
a. Laying on of hands: Normally done by a bishop; sign of authority
b. Sacred Chrism: King, Prophet, Priest, Athlete, Light
1. Holy Trinity
Our Catholic faith includes many mysteries. A mystery of faith is something we believe, but do not fully understand. There are many mysteries of faith and we trust that they are true because God has taught them to us and God never lies.
Possible Discussion Questions:
Is there a mystery any of you often think about? Is it hard to believe?
Why is it hard to believe what we don’t understand?
What/Who can help us to believe? How?
(God/Fellow Catholics ; Prayer, Sacraments, Reading Scripture)
The Holy Trinity is a great mystery of our faith. We believe in one God, but God has taught us that He is also three persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Each person is unique, but they all make up one God.
All three persons of the Holy Trinity work together. They do not act alone as if one could do something without the other two. This is why we can say “God died on the cross” instead of “only Jesus died on the cross”. Even though this is true, each person in the Trinity is associated with different acts of God.
Generally….
God the Father is thought of as creator and law maker.
God the Son is thought of as Savior/Redeemer
God the Holy Spirit is thought of as Guide and Helper (Symbol: Wind, Fire, Dove)
Possible Activity: Have the teams race to look up the following verses and tell you which Person in the Holy Trinity it sounds like. (Mix up the verses or add some if you wish)
God the Father
“And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay and you are the potter. We are all formed by your hand.” Isaiah 64:8
“Hear, O children, a father's instruction, [listen], that you may gain understanding! …excellent advice I give you; my teaching do not forsake.” Proverbs 4:1-2
God the Son
“We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; But the LORD laid upon him the guilt of us all. Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his mouth; Like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth.” Isaiah 53: 6-7
“Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” John 6:35
God the Holy Spirit
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness” Romans 8:26
“In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters.
Genesis 1:1-2
“…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23
2: Spiritual Maturity
1 Corinthians 3:1-2
“Brothers, I have been talking to you as though you were still just babies in the Christian life, who are not following the Lord, but your own desires…I have had to feed you with milk and not with solid food, because you couldn’t digest anything stronger.”
As our bodies grow, we mature. We grow stronger, bigger and can do much more than we could as babies.
Possible Discussion Questions:
Why do babies drink milk? Why can’t a baby eat solid food yet?
What special things do babies need that you don’t?
What are some things you look forward to as an adult?
What new responsibilities will you have as an adult?
…As a Parent, Priest or Sister?
What sacrament is our “birthday” as Christians?
(Hint: What sacrament is given to babies?)
Our “birth” into the Church is the sacrament of Baptism. We are given new life in Jesus and become part of God’s family. We don’t stop there, though. Infants need to eat to grow and they need medicine when they are sick. We have already talked about the Holy Eucharist, which feeds our soul and helps us to grow and be strong Catholics. We have also talked about Reconciliation, which is like medicine that heals the wounds of our sins. Today we are learning about the great sacrament of Confirmation, which is the “sacrament of Christian maturity.” This sacrament makes our entrance into God’s family complete. It does this by giving us all of the gifts we need to live a full, mature, Christian life.
3. Special Graces: The Gifts of the Holy Spirit
We receive Grace from the sacraments. Grace is God’s gift to us that helps us to do what is good and avoid evil. God’s grace also brings us closer to Him and to His Church. Confirmation gives us special graces to live as mature Catholics. It helps us to tell others about Jesus’ love and strengthens us in the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. These special gifts include:
Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge: These gifts help us to “see” God working in the world, to know how we ought to live and to understand the meaning of our lives and God’s work.
Discuss:
Why are these gifts useful for Catholics?
When might we use/need these gifts?
What might happen if we didn’t have these gifts?
Counsel: This gift helps us to know when God is speaking to us and what God is saying. In difficult situations, this gift helps us to know what we should do.
Discuss:
Why are these gifts useful for Catholics?
When might we use/need these gifts?
What might happen if we didn’t have these gifts?
Fortitude: Sometimes, when our friends or family do not believe as we do, we can feel alone or even afraid. This gift helps us to be brave and trust God even more. The great saints who were bullied, hurt or even killed because they loved God had this gift. No matter what happened, they loved and obeyed God.
Discuss:
Why are these gifts useful for Catholics?
When might we use/need these gifts?
What might happen if we didn’t have these gifts?
Piety and Fear of the Lord: These gifts help us to love God as a Father and to fear sin, not because of punishment, but because we do not wish to offend God, whom we love.
Discuss:
Why are these gifts useful for Catholics?
When might we use/need these gifts?
What might happen if we didn’t have these gifts?
Sealed with the Holy Spirit
The pictures above are Seals. A long time ago, when a king wanted to send official messages far away, he wrote a letter, folded it, and sealed it shut. The seal used was proof that the letter was really from the king. If a messenger gave you a letter with the king’s seal, you knew it was important. Seals were also put onto important laws to prove that the king really ordered and sent them.
At your baptism, a special mark was put on your soul that said you were God’s son or daughter. That mark also says that you are a Priest, Prophet and King with Jesus. That mark will be on your soul forever. Confirmation also puts a special mark, a seal, on your soul which is a lot like the one you received at baptism. It is the seal of the Holy Spirit. It says that you serve and are sent by the Holy Spirit. It is also a promise of God’s protection, grace and guidance. In heaven, everyone will be able to see the beautiful mark of baptism and the seal of the Holy Spirit on your soul.
4. Celebrating the Sacrament
Acts 8:14-17
“Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.”
Discuss:
Who was sent to the new Christians?
What did the Apostles, Peter and John; do for the new Christians before the Holy Spirit came (two things)?
The minister of Confirmation is normally the bishop. This is because the bishops are the modern day Apostles (we will learn more about this in March). In the early Church, the Apostles laid their hands on new Christians and anointed them with oil so that they would receive the Holy Spirit. As the Apostles got older and the Church grew, they entrusted this to the bishops.
Remember Sacred Chrism? It was that oil used during baptism that smells really nice. This is the oil that is put on our forehead by the bishop. It was used for new kings and priests and it reminds us that we are priests, prophets and kings with Jesus forever. Oil has many other purposes, though, that teach us about Confirmation.
Athletes:
Athletes use oil to get ready for a hard competition. Our live as Catholics is beautiful, but difficult, and Confirmation will help us to meet those challenges like oil helps athletes.
Light:
Oil can be used for lamps to create light. Confirmation helps us bring the light of the Holy Spirit into the world. We receive the courage to talk about Jesus and the Church even if others pick on us.