Pentecost

Among all the liturgical celebrations, Pentecost is yet another that holds rich meaning for us. My son and I celebrated aspects of Pentecost throughout the entire year.


Please see the other Holy Spirit tagged posts on this blog:
Posts tagged Holy Spirit on Seeking the Plan of God
Posts tagged Pentecost on Seeking the Plan of God

Gifts of the Holy Spirit Free Files: 

Years ago, a group of us sat down with the local diocesan requirements, our priest's requirements, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Bible. We had some issues with confusion among sources, and consistency for the children. Biblical lists versus what was provided in CGS training, versus other source all varied. But were they really that different? NO! They just used different terms.

We laid the following terms and definitions for the Gifts of the Holy Spirit at level 3, utilizing each previous term they experienced in level 2 and level 1:

Wisdom	This gift helps us to understand the purpose and plan of God and to live  in a way that helps to bring about this plan.  It begins in awe and wonder at God’s greatness.
Understanding	This gift helps us make the right choices in life and in our relationships with God and with others.
Knowledge	This gift helps us to know what God asks of us and how we should respond.
Counsel (Right Judgment)	This gift helps us to make correct choices in life through reflection, discernment, consultation, and advisement.
Fortitude (Strength) (Courage)	This gift helps us to have the strength to choose to do the right thing even when that is difficult.
Delight in the Fear of the Lord (Piety) (Reverence)	This gift calls us to be faithful in our relationships both with God and with others. It helps us to love God and to behave responsibly and with generosity and affection toward others.
Fear of the Lord (Awe & Wonder)	This gift leads us to a sense of wonder and awe in the presence of God because we recognize his greatness.

Which levels we do what:
Level 1: Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, Right Judgment, Courage, Reverence, Awe & Wonder

Level 2: Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, Counsel, Strength, Piety, Fear of the Lord

Level 3: Change Piety/Reverence to Delight in the Fear of the Lord and Strength to Fortitude

Each level includes the terms used in previous levels so they see what connects and flows.


The documents at this link are free and includes the 3-part and 4-part cards (with definitions) as well as name labels for each level.

Gifts of the Holy Spirit Downloadable Files





The Shepherd and the Vine is offering these sets pre-printed and ready to use!

Pentecost 2013

This topic is a bit late in coming but is on my mind of late due to the date of Easter (hence Pentecost) this school year (upcoming in 2014).

This past school year, Easter/Pentecost 2013, we received a fantastic blessing in two of the atriums I had: TIME. We ended both the third full week of May, following Pentecost. Most parish atriums end the year in April or the 1st or 2nd week of May - almost always before Pentecost and some years (like 2014) more than a month before Pentecost.

SO - we used that time! THREE WEEKS OF IT!

I missed photographing anything in the second atrium and our work veered from the outline below because I wasn't the main catechist (we ended up overlapping and repeating a lot) - but I have wonderful memories of those moments together as well.



WEEK 1: Old Testament
First we introduced the Scripture for the gifts of the Holy Spirit - in prophet-fashion.

We set out a candle for each gift - did not light them this time. We labeled and discussed each gift - by definition and example. We then spent some time discussing these gifts, what they mean on different levels for a level 2 (ages 6-9) and a level 3 (ages 9-12) child (I also had some level 1 children in this group!). I sent them home for the week to contemplate these gifts and look at situations they are in, to ascertain which gifts are needed in particular situations.

For this group of children, we used the names of the Gifts as outlined by Isaiah in chapter 11 verses 2 and 3:

• Wisdom
• Understanding
• Counsel
• Strength
• Knowledge
• Fear of the Lord
• Delight in the Fear of the Lord (Awe and Wonder)

WEEK 2: New Testament

The following week, we read and meditated upon the New Testament Scripture passages from the Acts of the Apostles (the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles). During our discussion, we brought in other mentionings of the Holy Spirit throughout the Gospels - the ones the children honed in on:

• descent of the Holy Spirit upon Our Blessed Mother at the Annunciation/Incarnation
• the Holy Spirit appearing as a dove at the Baptism of Our Lord
• the Holy Spirit filling John the Baptist in his mother's womb - and Elizabeth's resulting Canticle

We considered each gift again - in light of our contemplation from the previous week at home and in light of the fact that we are each a child of God, called to live as Children of the Light. How shall we spread this light throughout the world? What gift do we need the most right now? 

And we each selected a gift to pray for in the coming week. 

After our group presentation, some of the children (a mix of level 2 and level 3) chose for their personal work to copy and illustrate the names of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit - 1 child wrote out the definitions as well - all of them illustrated their work.  

WEEK 3: The Celebration
Finally in our third week, we had a true Celebration - atrium-style. The children proclaimed the Scripture, proclaimed the Gifts, proclaimed the Church teaching. We set a beautiful prayer table designed by the children and we sang songs selected by the children.

The children selected their Gifts - some different than the previous week, some the same.

always tip the unlit candle into the lit one

Prayerfully considering

Selecting

Calling the children by name to place their candles onto the table
Liturgy of Light style

All of the candles returned according to the gift prayed for

Our beautiful Spirit-filled children! 

They were each invited to snuff a candle
(I forget now who snuffed the remaining ones, since we had 7 extra than the number of children)

With so much time spent on a presentation and celebration that is usually squeezed in and rushed, I gained so much from the meditation, the experience, the focus on these Gifts of the Holy Spirit, wanting to work through us today. I look forward to future years when we can do it like this again. For 2014, I am looking at the reality of presenting Pentecost rather early for the level 2 and 3 children - perhaps during winter Ordinary Time so we have some time for contemplation and prayer - all atriums will end this year well before Pentecost, because Easter is so late. We can then pick up the topic again at the start of the coming school year - the Gifts are always needed!