This week’s goal : Establish the Bible as a book different from every other book. Only the Bible has God as the Author.

Sunday, Oc t 11 th, 2015 Begin wi th p rayer and th is teach ing:

Do you realize how much God loves you? Believe it or not, he loves us more than we could ever imagine. And – think about it – when you love somebody, don’t you

want them to love you back? That’s why God gave us the Bible! It’s the secret to knowing God, and knowing him is the secret to loving him.

THE BIBLE IS TRUE The Bible is the inspired Word of God. That means that it’s absolutely 100% TRUE! When we read the words of Scripture, we hear God’s voice. And God is worthy of our trust. After all, he’s perfect, he created us, and he loves us.

The Bible is the only book God wrote. It’s about real people and real families who lived and worked and cared about each other, just like we do. It also describes the many trials and hard times they faced and survived because of their trust in God. The message is the same today as it was then – trust, have faith, and use your faith to love others. The Bible may have been written a long time ago, but it’s just as important for us today as it was for the people who first read it.

THE BIBLE IS DIFFER ENT No other book like the Bible has ever existed. It’s different because it is a guide from God that shows us how to know him. In the Bible we learn how much God loves us, and that his love is forever. We can never do anything that would make him stop loving us. That’s what he wants us to know.

And because he loves us so much, he deeply desires that we know him. He wants us to love him back! If we ever have any question about this, we have his Word, the Bible. We have a guide from God for us to know him, love him and, ultimately, to be with him ALWAYS! No other book can do that.

“If You want it Jesus, so do I.” The entire Badono family was a shining

example of respect, warmth, and unity. Chiara Luce, born in 1971 in Italy, continually impressed all who knew her with a generous, extroverted, and lively personality. Speaking about the Bible, Chiara said: “Just as its easy for me to learn the alphabet so must it also be to live the Gospel.” Her life was full of little acts of love. Though often misunderstood because of her deep faith, Chiara was zealous

to bring Jesus to others, “by the way I listen to them, by the way I dress and, above all, by the way I love them.” On her deathbed, dying of cancer at age 19, her friends said, “Her life was like a magnet drawing us towards her.”

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Act ivi t ies to Enr ich Your Fai th : (Choose at least one or two to use directly following your Sunday teaching, but try to complete all the activities sometime throughout this week)

1. Bible Bookmark Make a bookmark for your Bible that shows some of the gifts from God; maybe include some things that remind you of Bible stories:

rainbow (Genesis 9:13) cross (1 John 3:16) dove (Mark 1:10)

manger (Luke 2:7) star (Matthew 2:9) …

2. The Stories of Creation Read the Creation Story, the beginning of the Old Testament (Genesis 1-3) – and the Nativity Story, the beginning of the New Testament (Matthew 1:18-2:12 and Luke 2:1-20).

3. Enthroning the Bible in the Family Using the “Enthroning the Bible in the Family” print-out, set aside a special place of honor and veneration for the Bible in your home. (It doesn’t have to be elaborate, just a simple, visible reminder) Be sure to include a crucifix, a Bible, maybe a candle, or a statue, or a photo of your family...

Quest ions to ask throughout the Week: (Ask these questions at the end of your Sunday teaching session, then again sometime later in the middle of the week to reinforce the lesson)

1. Whose words are in the Bible? 2. How many books did God write? Did he need to write more? 3. The Bible is very, very, very old. Should we still read it? Why? 4. (Read the Saint of the Month excerpt on the front of this page) Did you know that there are future saints alive today?

(Blessed Chiara died when she was 19, but she would only be in her 40s right now!) What do you think about that?

Church Teach ing : YOUCAT: 3-4, 7, 9-10, 12-14

Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC): 27-35, 51-53, 65-67 74-95, 101-106

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Enthroning the Bible in the Family

To show that God is at the center of their lives, many families enthrone the Bible, the Word of God, in a visible place in their homes. By placing the Sacred Scriptures in a prominent place decorated with flowers and art, and by gathering at this spot for daily prayer, families show that God is present and active through his Word.

Enthroning the Bible in your home is easy. Simply pick a place where the Bible can be honored. The Bible should be placed where it will be seen regularly, but the location should be apart from the noise and confusion of the family entertainment. Place the Bible, opened to a favorite passage or the readings of the day (these can be found at www.usccb.org/nab), on a table or shelf. Decorate the area around the Bible with a cloth, flowers, and/or a candle—whatever makes sense to you. Use the following ritual prayer when you gather as a family to enthrone the Bible.

Things to Prepare

• Bible ���• A shelf or table where the Bible will be placed (the shelf may be adorned with a cloth and candles)

Ritual

When possible, the ritual may start outside the main door to the house or outside the main entrance to the room. One member of the family holds the Bible, raised slightly. The father, mother, or other leader begins the celebration with the opening litany:

Leader: Our Lord Jesus Christ, you are the Word of the Father. Response: Come, Lord Jesus, come.

Leader: You became one with us to tell of the Father’s love. Response: Come, Lord Jesus, come.

Leader: You are the light that shines in the darkness. Response: Come, Lord Jesus, come.

Leader: You save us from fear and break the bonds of sin and death. Response: Come, Lord Jesus, come.

Leader: You come to guide our steps and lead us to God. Response: Come, Lord Jesus, come.

Leader: You are the Word of eternal life. Response: Come, Lord Jesus, come.

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Leader: You fill us with the Holy Spirit. Response: Come, Lord Jesus, come.

As everyone enters the house or room, they may sing a suitable song. Then one of the following Scripture passages is read from the Bible:

Matthew 4:17-23 Mark 4:1-20 Luke 4:14-21 John 1:10-14

Jesus calls and heals through the power of his Word. The Word is like the seed. ���Jesus proclaims the Word in Nazareth. ���Jesus is the Word of God and the light of the world.

After the reading, the leader places the Bible in the place prepared for it. All bow deeply before the enthroned Bible.

Leader:

We have heard your words, Jesus. ���They give us joy and bring light and truth into our lives. ���Your presence gives us peace in our troubled and divided world. ���Let your Word create in our hearts a deep desire for you. ���Be with us in our hearts and homes, in our community and country. Give us your Holy Spirit to help us to understand your Word. ���We enthrone now this Holy Bible in our midst. ���Make your Word the center of our lives. ���May your Word inspire all that we think and say and do. ���May your Word bind us together in unity with each other and with you, today and forever. ���Response: Amen.

All join in saying the Lord’s Prayer. All repeat after the leader:

We promise to respect the Word of God in our midst. We shall read and reflect on it as a family of God. May we draw from it inspiration for our decisions,

strength for our work,

and comfort in suffering. ���Jesus, help us to be faithful to our promise,

you who live forever and ever. Amen.

The celebration concludes with a sign of peace.

Adapted from Enthroning the Bible in the Family, by Pauline Publications Africa. Used with permission. Copyright © 2009, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to duplicate this work without adaptation for non-commercial use.

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This week’s goal : Establish the Bible as a personal resource for hearing the voice of God and finding direction in life.

Sunday, Oc t 18 th, 2015 Begin wi th p rayer and th is teach ing:

You’ve heard it a lot that God loves you, but did you know that God actually likes you? He is interested in you, personally. He created you, he has a plan for you, and he really likes you.

THE BIBLE IS FOR YOU The Bible is written for you! It’s to help you know him, and to learn to hear his voice. He wants to guide you and help you make good choices, the choices that will lead you to true happiness. In it he gives us rules to follow – rules that will keep us free from harm and lead us to true happiness. And he gives us stories in the Bible to help us understand.

THE BIBLE IS READ TO US AT MASS When we go to Mass, we hear these stories read to us. They constantly remind us how much God wants to be a part of our lives. The priest explains them to us in his homily.

THE BIBLE TEACHES US HOW TO LOVE At the end of the Bible, we learn the greatest secret of all: “God is love.” Jesus came to show us this, and he reminds us that the rules we learn about in the Bible are the rules of love. God wants us to be like him. He wants us to love. When Jesus talks about the Ten Commandments that God gave to Moses, he makes them very simple. He says that the first three commandments teach us how to love God with all our hearts, and that the last seven commandments teach us how to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:31). We have tough decisions to make every day, (whether to share or not, to forgive when someone hurts us, to listen to parents and teachers, etc.) and the Bible is a gift from God, reminding us that he is always with us, and guiding us so that all our decisions are always made with love.

“If You want it Jesus, so do I.”

The entire Badono family was a shining example of respect, warmth, and unity. Chiara Luce, born in 1971 in Italy, continually impressed all who knew her with a generous, extroverted, and lively personality. Speaking about the Bible, Chiara said: “Just as its easy for me to learn the alphabet so must it also be to live the Gospel.” Her life was full of little acts of love. Though often misunderstood because of her deep faith, Chiara was zealous

to bring Jesus to others, “by the way I listen to them, by the way I dress and, above all, by the way I love them.” On her deathbed, dying of cancer at age 19, her friends said, “Her life was like a magnet drawing us towards her.”

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Act ivi t ies to Enr ich Your Fai th : (Choose at least one or two to use directly following your Sunday teaching, but try to complete all the activities sometime throughout this week)

1. Moses on Mount Sinai Make a picture of Moses holding the 10 Commandments. Hang it by your prayer space, or next to your bed. Be sure that the 10 Commandments can be clearly read (see Exodus 20:1-17, CCC 2051).

2. Biblical Skit Choose a Bible story and act it out as a family: Adam, Eve, & the Serpent (Genesis 3) David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17) Jesus Calming the Sea (Mark 4:35-41 or Matthew 8:23-27) …

3. God Journal Start a “God Journal”. Make a cover that you can glue or tape to the front of it, and then draw and write in it from time to time, maybe at specific times during the day/week.

Quest ions to ask throughout the Week: (Ask these questions at the end of your Sunday teaching session, then again sometime later in the middle of the week to reinforce the lesson.)

1. Why did God give you the Bible? 2. How does God talk to you in the Bible? 3. Real people are in the Bible. How are they like us? 4. (Go online and read more about the life of Blessed Chiara together.) How did Blessed Chiara live as a child of God?

How did she help others to do the same?

Church Teach ing : YOUCAT: 14, 16, 469, 473-474, 491

Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC): 103-104, 109-119, 188, 2652-2653

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This week’s goal : Establish the power of quoting Scripture; God speaks to others through us when we share His Word.

Sunday, Oc t 25 th, 2015 Beg in wi th p rayer and th is teach ing:

We all need reminders. We write ourselves notes. We send emails. We text-message. We have lots of ways to remind ourselves about things. The Bible is God’s way of reminding us about the most important things in life. It’s not always easy to remember, so he’s always speaking to us, reminding us of his love.

GOD’S WORD IS POWERFUL But the words in Scripture aren’t the same as the ones we write on sticky notes. God’s words have real power. They don’t just remind us to pray, or to trust God, or to love our friends and family, these words – the Word of God – actually helps us to do those things. The Bible gives us the power to do good things.

MANY DIFFERENT VERSES The Bible is organized in a way that makes it easy to find certain passages. We call it “chapter and verse.” Each book of the Bible is organized into chapters, and each chapter is organized into verses. Learning these verses is very helpful. Having certain ones memorized allows us to hold God’s words in our hearts, as a constant reminder to pray, to trust him, and to love our friends and family.

WE ARE MADE TO SHARE GOD’S LOVE Following God’s Word shows people that we are children of God, and sharing his Word can help them to trust him, too – even when life is hard. And people don’t just hear what we say, they also watch what we do. If the Word of God is guiding our hearts, people see it in our actions. Our good example becomes another way to share God’s love and to experience the power of his Word.

Did you know you already have 5 verses of the Bible memorized? – the Our Father! You can find it in the Gospel of Mathew, Chapter 6, verses 9-13. Jesus taught us this when the Apostles asked him how to pray. Let’s pray it together right now! …

“If You want it Jesus, so do I.” The entire Badono family was a shining

example of respect, warmth, and unity. Chiara Luce, born in 1971 in Italy, continually impressed all who knew her with a generous, extroverted, and lively personality. Speaking about the Bible, Chiara said: “Just as its easy for me to learn the alphabet so must it also be to live the Gospel.” Her life was full of little acts of love. Though often misunderstood because of her deep faith, Chiara was zealous

to bring Jesus to others, “by the way I listen to them, by the way I dress and, above all, by the way I love them.” On her deathbed, dying of cancer at age 19, her friends said, “Her life was like a magnet drawing us towards her.”

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Act ivi t ies to Enr ich Your Fai th : (Choose at least one or two to use directly following your Sunday teaching, but try to complete all the activities sometime throughout this week)

1. What Does the ‘Our Father’ Mean? On a separate piece of paper, have your child write out the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13, CCC 2759) with plenty of space between each line. Then, go through the Our Father line by line, and explain what the words mean and have your child write something under each of the lines. (Use CCC 2777-2854 for guidance.)

2. Faith Poster Make a poster that shows that your family believes God is real, that you pray, and that you want peace. You might include important symbols like a cross, or a Jesus fish, etc.

3. God Journal Have your child open up his/her Bible and find a verse that speaks to him/her. Have your child write this verse in his/her journal, then write a few words about what the verse means and why he/she likes it.

Quest ions to ask throughout the Week: (Ask these questions at the end of your Sunday teaching session, then again sometime later in the middle of the week to reinforce the lesson)

1. Why should we memorize/remember verses from the Bible? 2. How can remembering verses from the Bible help you do the right thing when you have tough choices to make, or when

you are tempted to make bad choices? 3. Do you know any verses from the Bible already (besides the “Our father”)? 4. Who taught us the “Our Father”? 5. Who in your life might be happier if they heard God’s word? 6. Did you know that Blessed Chiara is alive with Jesus in heaven? Did you know that she prays for you? (Take a moment

now to say a prayer to Blessed Chiara and ask for her intercession in your life…)

Church Teach ing : YOUCAT: 14, 16, 469, 473-474, 491

Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC): 103-104, 109-119, 188, 2652-2653, 2759-2865