1st Grade Week 6: Chapter 7 - Jesus the Healer + Magi Gifts
Catechist Preparation:
Unit: Jesus Christ
Alive in Christ- Chapter 7: pp. 115A-124
Faith Words:
Bible Verses: Psalm 4:4 Matthew 9:35
Luke 8:40-56
Faith
Objectives Recognize that Jesus’ healings showed God the Father’s power and love.
 Understand faith as the gift of believing & trusting in God so much that we do what He asks us to do.
 Identify Blessed Mother Teresa as an example of how we are to share God’s love by caring for the sick.
Lesson Plan:
Welcome
Jesus heals the daughter of Jarius coloring page
Invite
Prayer
space
Discover
Opening prayer: Hail Mary
Let us Pray p. 115 God’s Word + What do you wonder?
Review: The Big Event, The Lord’s Prayer
When Jesus walked this earth, there was a lot of disease and suffering. There were no antibiotics, no
highly skilled surgeons, no wonder drugs, no X-rays. People died young and suffered greatly and they
believed that these things were punishment for their sins. Jesus showed compassion, mercy and love
and asks us to do the same in his name.
Luke 8:40-56 - Jesus heals the daughter of Jarius- Read the story, act out the story- have students tell
you what characters are needed. Then have the students retell the story they just acted out.
Video: Jesus for Kids #4- Jesus the Healer (10min)
Page 1: Mother Teresa is an example of someone who imitated Jesus by caring for the sick
Page 2: Anointing of the Sick
Page 3: Gathering Activity - coloring page of Jesus healing the daughter of Jarius
Page 4: Make an Encouragement Card
Live
Song of Praise:
Alive in Christ
Song #7
Heal Us Lord


Act it out – time permitting
Introduce & explain the Prayer Shawl Ministry - shawl available. Hold the shawl open
and allow each child to step into it and fold your arms to enclose them in this hug of
prayers.
Make an encouragement card for someone who is sick or needs cheering up, with handout,
construction paper and stickers.
Work on Magi ornaments (see catechist instructions)
Explain about the Magi Trees in the Narthex.
We can be like Jesus by helping others in need. Your job today is to decorate the ornaments. We are
doing this in Jesus’ name, so …
Do your very best work on each ornament.
Make Priest appreciation cards (one big card from the class for each priest and deacon—see
instructions)
People of Faith
St Louise de Marillac p. 121
Sending Forth
Closing Prayer: Prayer for Healing p 122 or The Lord’s Prayer
Materials: Green = Provided by CRE / Blue= on website/ Purple = optional, catechists provide
Background on Mother Teresa
1910: Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu born August 27 in Skopje, in what is now Macedonia, the
youngest of three children of an Albanian builder.
50 years ago, Mother Teresa found a woman "half eaten by maggots and rats" lying in front of
a Calcutta hospital. She sat with the woman until she died. Soon after, Mother Teresa began a
campaign for a shelter for people to die with dignity. She made a mission of caring for the
human castoffs the world wanted to forget.
When Pope Paul VI gave her a white Lincoln Continental, she auctioned the car, using the
money to establish a leper colony in West Bengal.
The beatification of Mother Teresa was conducted Oct. 19, 2003 by Pope John Paul II.
She became a saint in September 2016.
The History of the Magi Program at St. Ann
Over the years St. Ann has developed a tradition of providing gifts during the Christmas Season for those who, were it
not for YOUR efforts, would not receive a gift.
This tradition has grown and this year we will provide gifts to over 3,000 children, seniors, the ill and families who need
assistance.
Who Do We Help?
Our Partner Agencies
St. Ann works with Catholic Charities to identify the individuals and families for whom we can best provide gifts, those
who may otherwise not have anything for Christmas.
Last year we provided gifts to children, individuals and families from the following organizations:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Brady Center – Family and Senior Center for low-income families in downtown Dallas (500 people, 46 families)
Cross Family Center - Family and Senior Center for low-income families in South Oak Cliff (500 people including
seniors, 71 families)
Good Shepherd Site – Serving low income families in Garland (100 people, 4 families)
Hillcrest House – AIDS Services of Dallas Site for the homeless (65 people)
Homeless Prevention and Rapid Rehousing – Helps people from being evicted (117 people)
Marillac Family Center - Family and Senior Center for low-income families in West Dallas (690 people including
seniors, 77 families)
Refugee Resettlement Services – Helping families create a new home (200 people, 30 families)
Together We Learn – Preschool readiness at San Juan Diego Catholic Church (200 children)
Saner Childcare Center - Preschool program in SW Dallas (200 children)
Blessed Sacrament – Children in our adopted sister parish (300 children)
St. Ann Parish – Children in our own parish
Some of the Lives We Touch
To give you a better sense of the individual lives we touch through the Magi program, following is a glimpse into
the lives of three people that will be helped through our Magi program the past year.
Brady Center - A young widow, who lost her husband shortly before Christmas, asked for Christmas assistance. Her husband had
always worked hard in construction to provide for his family. He was too busy working to tend to his health until his problems became
so serious that he had to be admitted to a local hospital. He died of an undiagnosed
ailment before he could be released from the hospital. The lives of his family members were changed forever.
His wife's request for Christmas assistance this year is the first time she has asked an agency for help.
Marillac - Rosa is a mother of 12 children. Three of them are out of the house, the other nine live with her in
the house. She has a disabled 14 year old daughter who requires Rosa's full attention, so she is unable to work outside of her home.
She keeps busy caring for her disabled daughter, cooking, cleaning, laundering and being a mother to her family. She receives food
stamps to cover the family's food costs but struggles to pay the rent and utilities. Rosa is depending on the MAGI program to provide
Christmas for her children this year. She is very humble and thankful for the help she will be receiving.
Cross Family Center - The center recently registered a family with seven children. They recently moved from
Ohio to Texas with the hope that the father would be able to find a stable job so that he could support his family.
They were registered to receive holiday assistance. The mother of seven expressed her gratitude and said that she
believed her prayers had been answered through the Magi program.
ATTENTION CATECHISTS:
Once again we are decorating ornaments for our Magi Trees at St. Ann!
A few things to cover before your students decorate these ornaments:

Please decorate all ornaments in your bag(s)!

Be sure to decorate ONLY ONE SIDE of the ornament. If the ornament has a drawing, decorate
that side – adding small stickers, coloring the drawing, etc. Leave the blank side blank.

Please use ONLY glue sticks… DO NOT USE ELMER’S GLUE! In the past nearly 10%
(approximately 200) of the ornaments have not been useable because they had stuck together
due to the liquid glue. Please, use only glue sticks! Also, please do not use glitter!

Please ensure that all of the decorations are of a religious theme. Anything that is not
religious cannot be used!

Children can use stickers and old Christmas cards to decorate. You are also welcome to use
markers & crayons (in the classroom supply cabinets) to color and draw religious themes, but do
not just color the entire side of the ornament.

Do not write on the ornament. Do not sign names on the ornament.

Please make sure the students stay within the borders of the ornament while they decorate. If
the cards or stickers go over the size of the ornament, trim the size down. An idea is for them
to cut each picture individually, like the star, and glue it on, then cut out the manger and glue
it on separately.

Return the ornaments (completed ones as well as any incomplete ornaments) to the Children’s
Religious Education Office. Please throw away any trash or cards/blank sticker pages that
cannot be reused.
If we follow these instructions, this year’s Magi Trees should
once again be a wonderful success.
Thank you for helping St. Ann with this enormous project!
God bless and Merry Christmas!
Priest Appreciation
October 30, 2016, is Priesthood Sunday, when we have an opportunity to honor our priests
and deacons.
Please have your class make one big card for each of our priests, Father Henry, Father Kevin,
and Father Francisco; and our deacons, Deacon Kory, Deacon Pete, Deacon Ed, and Deacon
Fidel. Then have all of the children sign them. We will provide paper and some decorative
materials.
Please turn them into the CRE office at the end of class. Thank you!