As a child, one of my favorite images was a painting by Carl Bloch of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane being comforted by an angel. It hung on my bedroom wall and always made me feel better when I was sad or worried. I thought it was awesome that Jesus had his own angel as a friend. It was understandable since he was the son of God after all, but I never considered that Jesus needed the comfort of an angel because he was also human – like me.
It was a happy lesson when I learned that everyone has their own guardian angel and memorized the lovely little prayer my religion teacher taught us:
"Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God's love commits me here. Ever this day be at my side, to light, to guard, to rule, to guide. Amen."
It's a prayer I still pray as an adult.
The Agony in the Garden is one of four events in the life of Jesus that is remembered on Holy Thursday. During this night preceding his death, his closest friends, a few of the Apostles, fell asleep while Jesus prayed. Only the angel was present to him.
What does the Church teach? The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that "from infancy to death human life is surrounded by their [angels'] watchful care and intercession. Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life." (CCC, n. 336).
Take advantage of the Easter season to teach or reinforce your teaching students about the role of angels, especially guardian angels. Include the story of Jesus, who was strengthened by an angel, as he faced suffering and death.
Talk to your students about angels from two perspectives – when they help us in ways we want and when we don't feel they are helping us. Sometimes they protect us from being hurt, and other times they do not. It's important for children to understand that angels' most important role is to strengthen our relationship with God, pray for us, and help us rely on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Adopt a guardian angel prayer for your classroom and pray it with your young students: "Angel sent by God to guide me, be my light and walk beside me; be my guardian and protect me; on the paths of life direct me. Amen."
For older students and teachers, consider the Prayer to the Angel of Gethsemane when praying for those who are suffering or those who are taking care of them:
"O Angel of Gethsemane, chosen by the Father
to bring strength and consolation to Jesus during His agony,
I ask you to be with me now as I keep watch over my loved one who is sick and suffering.
Help me to offer my best care, love and protection to this child of God.
May my words and my touch be filled with gentleness, my presence bring comfort, and my prayers bring rest and healing sleep.
Do what I cannot do, O loving Angel, to bring healing and strength to soul and body, according to the Father's will. Amen."
To read more about angels in the Catholic tradition, go to the blog article - Honoring the Angels | RCL Benziger.
For an additional prayer resource, consider, Our Family Prays. This collection of rituals, blessings, prayers, and traditions meant to encourage and inspire makes a great gift for parents or families as a help to keep prayer at the heart of the home. It's also an excellent resource for teachers, organized by the seasons of the liturgical year and including religious traditions and celebrations worldwide.
Editorial credit: Nancy Bauer/Shutterstock.com for the stained glass image
Editorial credit: Carl Heinrich Bloch/public domain work of art (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carl_Heinrich_Bloch_-_Gethsemane.jpg)
About the Author
Mary Regina Morrell, mother of six and grandmother to nine, is a Catholic journalist, author, and syndicated columnist who has served the dioceses of Metuchen and Trenton, New Jersey, and RENEW International in the areas of catechesis and communication.
This activity celebrates the family and friends who support and care for us, imagined as a Tree of Life. It would be a fun activity during springtime, Eastertide or part of your Earth Day celebrations. Our families and friends make up our environment in which we can grow and thrive, like trees in a forest. As in those bountiful forests, God provides our families with all that they need to be strong. This activity can appeal to children of all ages.
Instructions: Each student receives a picture of a tree without any leaves, a number of paper leaves about 3 inches wide (triangles will work), and a form or paper on which to write their answers to the following questions:
Gather the students for a gratitude prayer. During the prayer, invite students to share ONE item from their leaves with the group.
Close the activity with a prayer of thanksgiving: “We thank you, God Our Creator, for all of the people and gifts you have given us to help us grow, and for the beauty of nature that we recall when we see these Trees of Life. Amen.”
Look for free downloadable and printable resources are available for Earth Day in Catholic Resources:
We begin with the knowledge that the Easter Season is the most important liturgical time in the Church, including the Easter Vigil, which St. Augustine referred to as “the Mother of all Vigils,” and Easter Sunday, the greatest Sunday of the Church year. But there is much more, and it’s something we often overlook. The Easter Season lasts 50 days, seven weeks plus Pentecost, and is meant to continue the rejoicing of the Resurrection after the long 40 days of Lent. By consciously celebrating the joy and new life of Easter for 50 days, we are also nurturing that joy as a part of our daily lives in spite of challenges and adversity, to truly become Easter people, active witnesses to a faith that transforms even death. Since lesson plans are generally filled to the brim, now is the time to plan ahead to help students engage in the seven weeks of Easter. Here are some simple suggestions: Keep Easter liturgical colors – Keep the cloths and accessories on your prayer tables white, with accents of gold, for the seven weeks of the Easter season. Add flowers around holy pictures and statues. Students see these throughout the day, not just during religion class. It’s a reminder that our Catholic faith is always with us, no matter what we are doing. Display the Primary Easter Symbol – The Christ Candle (Easter or Paschal Candle), represents the light of Christ dispelling the darkness of sin and death. Keep a Christ Candle on your prayer table, either purchased or made. A white pillar candle is perfect, wax or flameless. A red cross may be added to the candle. Use it for discussions about the importance of light in our lives. Feasting not Fasting –Jesus taught, “As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.” The Season of Easter is a time to enjoy the blessing of food in contrast to the fasting of Lent. If possible, set aside a window of time one day a week where children can enjoy a special Easter food, like hot cross buns or large pretzels (little arms crossed in prayer). Solicit suggestions from parents. Embrace Easter Attitudes – Easter is a time of rebirth, transformation, renewal, hope and joy. These are attitudes that grow when they are nurtured. No lessons needed, just encouragement to be joyful and hopeful, and a nudge to see opportunities for growth, renewal and change. Or pick a different Easter attitude for a weekly classroom theme. Ask children for suggestions on how to bring the themes alive. Proclaim Alleluia! – With the Easter Vigil the Alleluia is once again sung or prayed during Mass. Give your students an opportunity to “Praise God,” which is what Alleluia means, by adding this brief prayer at the beginning or end of the school day: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it.” R. Alleluia, alleluia. To further enrich your Easter lessons, visit RCL Benziger’s Easter Resources for free downloadable prayers, activities, and suggestions to help you keep the Easter celebration going.
Mary Regina Morrell, mother of six and grandmother to nine, is a Catholic journalist, author, and syndicated columnist who has served the dioceses of Metuchen and Trenton, New Jersey, and RENEW International in the areas of catechesis and communication.
Lent is our greatest season of hope because it awaits the great mystery of Jesus resurrection on Easter morning. In the Catholic school classroom, we have an opportunity to bring extra focus to these benefits for our students. During Lent, we can introduce or do again practices that will enrich the spiritual lives of the students while passing on our tradition of expectant and fruitful waiting for the triumph of Life over Death. Each of these ideas is accompanied by a related Scripture quotation. Encourage them to learn one quote by heart. Christians are Easter people, people who have hope that life will conquer death, despite all evidence to the contrary. In your role as a Catholic school teacher, you cannot know exactly what the future will bring, but you can trust God to be with you in it. More free resources for a fruitful Lent at school and in the home:RCL Benziger Catholic Resources
Dr. Lauri Przybysz specializes in equipping families to live their vocation to be domestic churches and signs of God’s love. Lauri received the Doctor of Ministry from the Catholic University of America, and she has been both a Catholic middle school religion teacher and a faith formation coordinator at the archdiocesan and parish levels. She is the mother of six children and grandmother of 21.
Children who suffer from overabundance often take things for granted instead of developing the virtue of gratitude, a virtue that must be cultivated throughout life. Celebrating and nurturing gratitude is something commonly done in the classroom as Thanksgiving approaches. But we often forget that gratitude is a principal trait of the Christian believer and meant to be lived year-round … even during Lent, or perhaps, especially during Lent. We are familiar with the various disciplines of Lent—prayer, fasting and almsgiving—but perhaps not so familiar with the idea that, as Father Henri Nouwen explains, gratitude can be lived as a discipline. He writes, “Gratitude as a discipline involves a conscious choice. I can choose to be grateful even when my emotions and feelings are still steeped in hurt and resentment. It is amazing how many occasions present themselves in which I can choose gratitude instead of a complaint. … The choice for gratitude rarely comes without some real effort. But each time I make it, the next choice is a little easier, a little freer, a little less self-conscious.” The past two years have been difficult for children, so enabling them to move beyond difficulties by choosing gratitude, helps them become happier and more hopeful. Steps for cultivating gratitude in the classroom: Prayer—Prayers asking for God to help them have thankful hearts can be written by students and teachers together and prayed during Lent. Scripture also offers many teachings on gratitude, including Colossians 4:2, “Persevere in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving …” This is an excellent chalk board or white board quote which includes steps for cultivating gratitude. Noticing—Children are perceptive but sometimes need to be reminded to observe the world around them. Who or what do they see in the course of the day that should give rise to gratitude? Did they notice the principal in the hall, the maintenance staff cleaning up a spill, the cafeteria staff making sure they received their meal? What about the bus driver, the coaches, or their parents who get them home safely every day? Reflecting—Give students time to reflect on the people or blessings they notice each day and ask them to think about why they should be grateful for them. Older students may be encouraged to reflect on what elements of their faith they might be grateful for: Jesus’ life and death on the Cross; the Holy Family, the Mass, Easter Sunday. Responding—How may children (and teachers who are models) express their gratitude? Children may come up with some very creative ideas of their own, but suggestions may include spiritual bouquets, thank you notes, artwork, and good deeds. A prayer a day thanking God for one person or blessing they notice will nurture their sense of gratitude. Participating in Mass and lighting a candle for someone. Praying a decade of the Rosary in Thanksgiving for all of God’s blessings and for the intentions of those who have less. For young learners, RCL Benziger’s “Catholic Prayers and Practices for Young Disciples” includes a visit to church with descriptions and illustrations, Order of the Mass, the Rosary and Stations of the Cross, and a liturgical calendar to color, and much more.
Mary Regina Morrell, mother of six and grandmother to nine, is a Catholic journalist, author, and syndicated columnist who has served the dioceses of Metuchen and Trenton, New Jersey, and RENEW International in the areas of catechesis and communication.
Every once in a while, a conversation with your children stays in your mind as fresh as when it took place. Many years ago, my oldest son (now closing in on 50 with four children of his own) was sitting next to me in the car as I drove him to his friend’s house.
Out of the clear blue sky he turns to me and says, “Mom, you know all those videos that you won’t let us watch at home?”
I chuckled, and he continued, “Well, you know I’ve seen them all, when I go to visit my friends.”
“Really,” I said seriously, thinking there must be a video planned for that night and his conscience was nagging him.
He continued, “I just want you to know that even though I watched them, I was remembering the whole time that you didn’t think I should be watching them, and I saw them differently than my friends did. I saw the reasons why you didn’t think they were good for me to watch.”
As a parent, this was a memorable moment for me. Most of us realize that we cannot completely protect our children when they go out into the world on their own. But if we know they have understood the reasons why we taught them the things we did, there is a greater feeling of confidence that the lessons would take hold.
Knowing the reasons why is also an essential lesson for students who are learning about their faith. And the seasons of the Church’s liturgical year hold a wealth of opportunities to create learning experiences that will take hold.
Take Lent, for example, which begins Ash Wednesday, March 2, and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday, April 14. As a 40-day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, Lent is that meaningful period of preparation to celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection at Easter.
It begins with purple, ashes and alms and leads to Easter with “Alleluia!” sung in a church filled with incense and white Easter lilies. The seasons, while deeply connected, are completely unique. Both have an intrinsic beauty that can be seen best when there is an understanding of the reasons why different symbols, colors and rituals are used.
By bringing as many of the symbols and colors of the Church’s liturgical seasons into the learning environment, classroom conversations may become, for some students, the kind of conversations that become memorable.
A wonderful addition to textbook lessons on the seasons and symbols of the Church, is RCL Benziger’s Praying the Scriptures, a downloadable, lectionary-based resource to help children learn and reflect on the Sunday Scriptures in the classroom or at home.
Among the strengths of this resource are the Gospel reflections and Questions of the Week which encourage discussions so necessary for learning that lasts.
Classroom Sessions provide background on the Sunday readings and classroom session plans for primary, intermediate and junior high students, while a Liturgical Year Calendar provides a handy reference to the calendar dates for the Sundays and solemnities of the Church year.
Praying with Scriptures, Year C, is now available! This downloadable, lectionary-based resource is designed to support catechists, religion teachers, and parents who lead others in learning and reflecting on the Sunday Scriptures in the classroom and in the home.
Learn More Here
Mary Regina Morrell, mother of six and grandmother to nine, is a Catholic journalist, author, and syndicated columnist who has served the dioceses of Metuchen and Trenton, New Jersey, and RENEW International in the areas of catechesis and communication.
This year was the year. As the evening wore on past their bedtime, they were very excited with their plans to stay up until midnight. But as the clock strained toward 9 p.m. the youngest started to wane and asked, “How many more minutes to midnight?” In the background we could hear the oldest granddaughter continually counting down the minutes on a favorite Christmas gift, an analog watch with a cat on the face. The entire evening became about time—counting the minutes and hours, changing the days, changing the year, and marking those changes with a celebration. It was a lot for them to take in, but when the ball dropped and it was a new day and new year, they were happy to hear, “bedtime!” With so much emphasis on time and calendars, the new year is a good opportunity to reinforce lessons about the Church’s liturgical year. Students are familiar with time as it relates to them—going to bed, catching the bus, rehearsals, sports practice and games, birthdays and holidays—but, depending on their age, they are usually not familiar with time as it relates to their Catholic faith. Children understand the calendars of their lives because they live them. The school year provides a perfect example. Depending on where they live, children are most likely in school from September to June. This calendar may hang on the family refrigerator, but children absorb it because they experience it. While every Catholic classroom should have a liturgical calendar visible for lessons about the Church’s seasons, the most valuable lessons will be those that students are immersed in—setting out an Advent wreath in the classroom; being involved in decorating the classroom with the changing colors of the Church seasons; honoring the feast days of saints; praying a decade of the Rosary daily during the month of October, engaging in seasonal traditions, like a classroom or parish Jesse Tree; sharing both the penitential and celebratory seasons of the Church year together. Most important is creating opportunities to take children into church. If this is limited to First Friday Mass, then some additional visits for quiet time in prayer might be added. If they have this opportunity regularly, students will notice the changing colors of the altar cloths or the priests’ vestments, parish Advent wreaths, statues draped in purple during Lent, the white lilies during Easter and the red poinsettias for Christmas, all of which have significance for the Catholic faith. Many children no longer attend Mass with their families on a regular basis, so visits to church with their school family are important experiences for their spiritual lives. To increase my own knowledge of the liturgical year, I routinely download the current liturgical calendar from the USCCB website. It can be an invaluable aid for teachers, catechists and parents. In addition, “Praying the Scriptures” is an RCL Benziger downloadable, lectionary-based resource designed to support catechists, religion teachers, and parents who lead others in learning and reflecting on the Sunday Scriptures in the classroom and in the home.
Mary Regina Morrell, mother of six and grandmother to nine, is a Catholic journalist, author, and syndicated columnist who has served the dioceses of Metuchen and Trenton, New Jersey, and RENEW International in the areas of catechesis and communication.
During my years as an editor, I have spent hours looking through photos to find the best image to accompany a particular story.
I often found it most difficult to choose a photo for a story about a Mass because the congregants, in most photos, brought to mind a quote from Saint Teresa of Avila: “From … sour-faced saints, good Lord, deliver us!”
Not a smile to be seen. How could a church full of so many people who love Jesus carry such a heavy air of seriousness? I thought. Where is the joy?
Joy, after all, is the hallmark of the most important of all Christian holy days—Easter; the time of Christ’s Resurrection, and realization of the promise of eternal life.
But it seems we shortchange ourselves on the joy, and the opportunity to celebrate the most glorious of God’s promises. Like Thanksgiving dinner, which takes hours of preparation and is gobbled down in just minutes, Easter seems to be over and done with at the end of a day of egg hunts, a special meal, and way too much candy.
But the Church marks Easter as a season. Not just one day but 50, celebrated through the Feast of Pentecost. Not only that, but the first eight days of that season is considered the Octave of Easter, which means that every one of those days is considered a Solemnity on the liturgical calendar. No other feast may be celebrated on those eight days.
It makes sense, really, when we consider just how significant Easter is for our Christian faith. Saint John Paul II taught that “The whole Octave of Easter is like a single day,” providing us with an opportunity to express “thanksgiving for the goodness God has shown man in the whole Easter mystery.”
If I am, to be honest, I never really made much of the Easter season when my sons were growing up. The only remnants of Easter during those 50 days were dyed Easter eggs in the fridge and Palm Crosses stuck out from behind religious icons.
But now, as an adult with a bit more wisdom, I am sorry I didn’t do more for my family. Navigating the world is hard and it might have helped my sons on their journey if we devoted more time to the joy of our faith, rather than just the expectations; joy that Brother David Steindl-Rast describes as “the kind of happiness that doesn’t depend on what happens.”
That kind of joy requires peace of mind and spirit. That’s where faith comes in.
So for the rest of these 50 days, I’ve decided to invest myself more in the Easter season, especially reflecting on the words of the prayers and hymns at Mass. Jesus Christ is risen today! Alleluia! What does this truly mean to me as a Christian?
In addition, I hope to remind myself of the reason for this season by smiling more when I’m in church. Joy should be the hallmark of a Christian, as well, and you never know when there might be a photographer around.
When I was relatively new to my work as a journalist, our Bishop shared his thought that “Easter is the greatest love story ever told.”
This description of Easter, the most important holy day in the life of the Church, has stayed with me for nearly 30 years and I’ve found no other description that suits it better. I understand it, because, like most of us, I’ve experienced the expansive, sacrificial giving of true love.
I’ve seen new life, transformations, and hope erupt in someone’s life because of another’s loving outreach. I’ve seen joy take root in a dark heart because someone took the time to plant the seeds of kindness. I’ve seen resurrections from myriad situations of despair because of another’s presence. These are Easter experiences.
Experiencing something is the surest way to understanding. As adults, we have many years and educational opportunities as we simply navigate life. Even then we are often still challenged when it comes to understanding our faith and religion. Imagine what it’s like for a child.
Trappist monk Thomas Merton wrote about the “good ground of the soul,” saying that “we must prepare that ground so that a new life can grow up from it within us…” The image, of course, reminded me of what happens in a garden, where the soil must be prepared so the seed, hidden in the darkness, can take root and grow to a new life.
It seemed to be a wonderful opportunity to help my children understand Easter. I could explain it with words, or I could put them to work digging and fertilizing and dropping the seeds or bulbs into holes and tending to the plants until they broke through the ground to the light. Certainly, the doing would be more effective than the hearing.
In the process, there were opportunities to make mistakes and roll them into talks about sin and forgiveness. There were times of running out in pouring rain to save tender plants from a storm and talks about what it means to care for something or someone. Perhaps most important, there was the fundamental lesson which the Apostle Paul shares in Scripture: "What you sow is not brought to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel of wheat, perhaps, or of some other kind …”
And on Easter mornings, in the years that followed, when Tiger and Calla Lilies graced the altar with beauty and fragrance, my children remember their times planting bulbs and know that we are meant to be co-creators with God in bringing grace into the world.
The experiences of discovering Easter in a garden have stayed with my children through adulthood, and they now teach their children about resurrection, new life, hope, and sacrifice by tending a garden.
Today, they understand what it means to be an Easter people and once again sing, Alleluia.
Mary Regina Morrell is a Catholic journalist, author, and syndicated columnist who has served the dioceses of Metuchen and Trenton, New Jersey, and RENEW International in the areas of catechesis and communication.
While looking for new and unusual ways to decorate Easter eggs, I came across an article about NASA hiding Easter eggs on the Mars Perseverance rover.
How interesting, I thought, considering the rover is unmanned.
Just how far I have drifted away from the world of technology quickly became evident as I discovered the term Easter egg also refers to an intentional secret message or feature in a video, movie, computer program, or it seems, spacecraft.
In the case of the article I was reading, engineers, using binary code, hid the phrase “Dare Mighty Things'' on the parachute of Perseverance. The code was visible in a striking red and white pattern when the parachute opened. All that was needed was for some brilliant mind to decode it.
But why “Easter Egg?”
When I thought of the elaborately decorated Easter egg music box on my desk, and the angel hidden inside until the egg is opened, it made sense. My little porcelain egg has always reminded me of the intricately jeweled Fabergé eggs commissioned by Tsar Alexander III as annual gifts to his wife Empress Maria Feodorovna. Each ornate egg contained a hidden surprise.
The much-loved Christian tradition of dying or painting Easter eggs, and sharing them with family and friends, may not be one of hidden messages but it is one filled with symbolism.
The eggs themselves are symbolic of new life, particularly at Easter, the new life of Christians made possible through the Resurrection of Jesus.
When I was young I would watch my Syrian grandmother dye eggs with red onion skins to symbolize the color of Jesus’ blood, shed for us on the cross. At that time, we were not allowed to eat eggs during Lent so the dyed eggs were placed on the Easter table as a reminder of why we celebrated with an Easter feast.
We played games to see who could crack the other’s egg first, hitting one egg against another. I am certain, as children, we didn’t realize the symbolism of the eggshell as the tomb and breaking open the egg as Christ breaking open the tomb (though the tombstone was really rolled away).
I believe it says a lot about our capacity for God when we find in the ordinary things of life a sign of the extraordinary and allow it to move us into a deeper relationship with God.
As we approach Easter, may our celebrations be filled with the richness of our traditions, and may our hearts be filled with the promise of new life.