Background Notes for Parents/Carers

About the theme – Eucharist

In the Spring term the Sacrament of the Eucharist is explored. This is the Sacrament of communion with Christ and the Church.

There are several different names given to the Sacrament of the Eucharist. It is called:

· Eucharist: (Thanksgiving) because it is an action of thanksgiving to God. It reminds us of the thanks that Jesus made to his Father at the Last Supper.

· The Lord’s Supper: because of its connection with the supper which the Lord took with his disciples on the eve of his Passion.

· The Breaking of Bread: because Jesus used this rite, part of a Jewish meal, when as master of the table he blessed and distributed the bread, above all at the Last Supper. It is by this action that his disciples will recognise him after his Resurrection.

· The memorial of the Lord’s Passion and Resurrection.

· The Holy Sacrifice: because it makes present the one sacrifice of Christ the Saviour and includes the Church’s offering.

· Holy Communion: because by this sacrament we unite ourselves to Christ who makes us sharers in his Body and Blood and to one another to form a single body.

· Holy Mass, (Missa) because the liturgy concludes with the sending forth (missio) of the faithful, so that they may fulfil God’s will in their daily lives.

Children are introduced to a different aspect of the Eucharist, the Mass, in each year group.

Structure of the Mass

The Basic Structure of the Mass has four parts: two main parts (the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist) and two framing rites (Opening Rite and Concluding Rite):

Introductory or Opening Rites: WE GATHER

We lead those gathered into an awareness of God’s presence who has assembled a community of faith.

Procession and song

Sign of the Cross

Greeting

Penitential Rite (when we say sorry to God)

(Gloria) – a song of praise used on Sundays and feast days

Opening Prayer or Collect

Liturgy of the Word: WE LISTEN

We listen and respond to the Readings and the Homily.

First Reading (from the Old or New Testament)

Responsorial Psalm (a Psalm from the Old Testament)

(Second Reading) (from the New Testament)

Gospel Acclamation ( to prepare to greet the Gospel)

The Gospel (from Matthew, Mark, Luke or John)

Homily (a short address by the bishop, priest or deacon)

(Creed) – a profession of faith

Prayer of the Faithful (bringing our prayers for different needs before God)

Liturgy of the Eucharist: WE GIVE THANKS

We offer bread and wine and all that we have.

Preparation of the altar and the gifts (the bread and wine)

Eucharist Prayer (including the words of Jesus and prayer of consecration)

Communion Rite:

Lord’s Prayer (the Our Father)

Sign of Peace (offering a gesture of peace to others)

Breaking of the Bread

Communion (distribution of the Body and Blood of Christ)

Concluding Rite: WE GO OUT

Blessing

Dismissal (sending out)

Overview

Key Vocabulary

YEAR 6

Unity

EUCHARIST THEME

For Christians, communion has a significant meaning. To receive communion means being in union with Jesus Christ and with one another. It means breaking and sharing the consecrated Bread which Catholics believe is the Body of Christ. To celebrate Eucharist means community. It challenges believers to ask, ‘Can I share this Eucharist if I do nothing to help my brother or sister who is hungry?’ ‘Can I partake of this communion if I refuse to forgive a wrong?’

Children will know and understand:

• What nourishes and what spoils friendship and unity

• The Eucharist challenges and enables the Christian family to live and grow in communion every day

See Background Notes for Parents and Carers

Week 1: Using famous songs, children will explore friendship- what it means, why it is important and will consider how to be a good friend. They will understand that when people work together, they work in unity and become one. Create a Code of Conduct showing what makes a good friend.

Children will learn about what communion means in terms of being in communion with Jesus. They will also learn about the image of each of us being part of ‘The one body of Christ’ from St Paul’s letter to the Romans. Children will design a stained-glass window and write a commentary on their design.

Week 2: Children will explore the Eucharistic Prayer for Children III and design a poster to illustrate the unity message of the Prayer.

Children will learn about the uniting power of the ‘Our Father’ prayer. The children will learn about the messages within the prayer and how it gives us guidance as to how Jesus wants us to live. Children will write out the Our Father and explain how to apply the prayer to daily life.

Week 3: Children will read through the prayer for peace before Communion. Using the lyrics of Make me a channel of your peace they will make links between the lyrics and scripture and discuss how to live out the actions described. Children will learn three prayers from the Communion rite and look at their sources in scripture.

Week 4: Look back at all the work done and the key vocabulary to help remember what your child has learned in the topic. Try to watch an online Mass.

Celebrate with a simple Act of Worship (see below).

Eucharist,

communion

community

unity

friendship

nourish

Year 6

In Year 6, the children learn that the Eucharist challenges Christians to live in communion and that in Holy Communion we become one with Christ and one another.

If possible try to watch an online Mass e.g. St Mary’s Cathedral live streamed every week day at 12.05pm or you can watch a previous day’s recording: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC12EvW0Eqg-cFTh5i2y_EQw

A printed Mass sheet will help children to follow the service (for weekday Masses the Gloria and the Creed are omitted): http://www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Missal/Text/MCFL.pdf

Week 1:

Lesson 1: Listen to a song about friendship e.g. You’ve Got a Friend, Anytime You Need A Friend, etc. Talk about the lyrics and their meaning.

Explain how friendships may be between two or more people, but when a friendship excludes others all the time, it will be difficult for it flourish and grow. It may be that a group of people come together, for a common purpose e.g. to play a sports game, to get a task done, to prepare for a celebration, to be part of a band etc. Often when people come together it is to complete a task that would be difficult alone e.g. putting up a tent. When people come together with a common purpose, there is unity between them. They become as one.

Talk about what unity may mean. Discuss what beliefs and values are demonstrated in the songs and how they influence the pattern of friendship and unity.

· Why do you think friendships are important?

· What do you think is the most important value in friendship?

· How do you think your beliefs influence your friendships?

· What helps a friendship to flourish?

· What kinds of behaviour will break a friendship?

· Who is affected when a friendship is broken?

· What do you think is the best way to mend broken friendships?

Task: Using what you believe and value, create a Code of Conduct showing what makes a good friend. Give reasons for your choice of statements. See below for some examples

Lesson 2: Consider the word ‘communion’, (not meaning Holy Communion at this point). What does it mean? What is another word for this? e.g. relationship, empathy, unity, union, one with etc. What do you think being ‘in communion with Jesus’ means?

Paul was one of the friends of Jesus who went from city to city telling people about the Good News of Jesus. He often wrote to the people he had left to remind them of the message of Jesus, to say ‘well done’ or to give them advice. In his letter to the Christians in Rome, Paul explains how although we are all different, we may all be one with Jesus Christ through the gifts we have been given.

Read the text below and highlight the gifts mentioned:

And because of God’s gracious gift to me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you should. Instead, be modest in your thinking, and judge yourself according to the amount of faith that God has given you.

We have many parts in the one body, and all these parts have different functions. In the same way, though we are many, we are one body in union with Christ, and we are all joined to each other as different parts of one body.

So, we are to use our different gifts in accordance with the grace that God has given us. If our gift is to speak God’s message, we should do it according to the faith that we have; if it is to serve, we should serve; if it is to teach, we should teach; if it is to encourage others, we should do so.

Whoever shares with others, should do it generously; whoever has authority should work hard; whoever shows kindness to others should do it cheerfully. Love must be completely sincere. Hate what is evil, hold on to what is good. Love one another warmly as Christians and be eager to show respect for one another.

Romans 12: 3-10

· Which of the different gifts that Paul mentions do you think you have?

· Which one would you most like to have and why?

· What is Paul telling the Christians in Rome about communion (friendship)?

· How do you think the use of these gifts can bring union with Christ?

Task: Design a stained-glass window (template below) which expresses in either pictures or symbols, that ‘though we are many, we are one body’, or ‘all joined to each other as different parts of one body’ and are one with Jesus. Write a commentary on your design giving reasons for your choices.

Week 2:

Lesson 1: ‘Communion’ means ‘being at one with’. The celebration of the Eucharist is a sign of being at one with God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as well as being at one with one another. It is about God making the world holy and of people offering worship to God.

This is part of a Eucharistic Prayer written especially for Children

Priest: Jesus now lives with you in glory, but he is also here on earth, among us. We thank you and say:

All: Glory to God in the highest.

Priest: One day he will come in glory, and in his kingdom, there will be no more suffering, no more tears, no more sadness. We thank you and say:

All: Glory to God in the highest.

Priest: Father in heaven, you have called us to receive the Body and Blood of Christ at this table and to be filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit. Through this sacred meal give us strength to please you more and more. Lord, our God, remember Francis, our Pope, Robert our bishop, and all other bishops. Help all who follow Jesus to work for peace and to bring happiness to others. Bring us all at last together with Mary, the Mother of God, and all the saints, to live with you and to be one with Christ in heaven.

(The priest takes the chalice and the paten with the host and lifting them up, he sings or says:)

Through him, with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all glory and honour is yours, Almighty Father, for ever and ever.

All: Amen.

· Which are your favourite words or phrases and why?

· Was there a word or phrase which made you think more deeply? Why?

· How do you think being in communion with Jesus Christ and his Church might make a difference to your life?

Task: Design a poster to illustrate some of the words used in the Eucharistic Prayer for Children III, giving reasons for the actions and symbols used.

Lesson 2: The Communion Rite focuses on peace, unity and forgiveness. The Christian family comes to the Lord’s table united in love of Jesus and of one another. They pray the ‘Our Father’ between the Eucharistic prayer and the giving of Holy Communion. It sums up everyone’s prayers and hopes. It is addressed to ‘Our Father’, not ‘my Father’, so uniting the family of God into the love of the Father. It was the prayer that Jesus himself gave us. It is sometimes called our family prayer.

The disciples asked Jesus for help to pray and he gave them this prayer. It is the prayer which unities all Christians, whatever their denomination.

“Pray then in this way:Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts,as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.Matthew 6:9-15

This version of the prayer is different from the one used at Mass. (The two versions are below.) Go through the words highlighting those which are more unusual and discuss their meaning. Notice the structure of the prayer:The first part is addressed to God: honouring and longing for the coming of God.The second part asks for our needs: food, forgiveness, avoidance of difficulty.The last part applies to our daily lives: forgiving others.

· Why do you think the Christian family says this prayer before receiving Jesus in Holy Communion?

· What challenges you most in the prayer and why?

· What is Jesus teaching his followers: to give to God and to one another?

· The prayer is often referred to as ‘the perfect prayer’. Why do you think that is?

Task: Write the Our Father out in sections and by each section, explain how you would apply the prayer to daily life, particularly emphasising unity.Compare the prayer we use today with the Gospel translation. What is the same and what is different?Design and illustrate a bookmark with some or all of the words of the Our Father.

Week 3

Lesson 1: After the Our Father, and before the Christian family receives Jesus in communion, everyone prays for peace and unity:

Priest: Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil, Graciously grant peace in our days,That by the help of your mercy,We may be free from sinAnd safe from all distress, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of Our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

All: For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and forever.

Priest: Lord Jesus Christ,Who said to your Apostles:Peace I leave you, my peace I give you, Look not on our sins,But on the faith of your Church,And graciously grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will.Who live and reign for ever and ever.

All: Amen.

The first part of the prayer is asking that God’s peace might help us to be free from anything which may cause worry or distress. The second part reminds us that Jesus gave us peace and asks Jesus not to consider our sins but the goodness and faith of everyone, the Church.

Then the priest says, “Peace be with you”. Before COVID restrictions the people used to share a Sign of Peace with each other before receiving Holy Communion. Although the parish family are no longer able to shake hands with each other they do pray for peace at this point. They are sharing with one another the gift of peace and unity which Jesus gave to his followers. They are using the words with which Jesus greeted his friends after the Resurrection, ‘Peace be with you’.

· How do you think this prayer might reassure Christians?

· Why do you think the prayer for peace and the Sign of Peace come before Communion?

Task: Look at the lyrics of Make me a channel of Your peace (see below).Make links between the words of the hymn and any scripture you know. Give reasons for the words, actions and symbolism within the hymn. How can you live out the words of this hymn (traditionally known as the prayer of St Francis)?

Lesson 2: Watch an online Mass if possible (from a local parish parish or St Mary’s Cathedral), using a downloaded Mass sheet to help you follow it. Focus on the Communion Rite – from Our Father onwards. After the prayer for peace everyone says or sings the prayer:

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

The priest prepares to receive Jesus in Holy Communion with a prayer. He then takes the host and, holding it up, says,

“Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world.Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.”

The people reply, praying,

“Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”

The priest receives the Body and Blood of Christ and then the people process to the altar. The priest or the Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion raises the host to show to each person saying, “The Body of Christ.” (The same would be done with the chalice saying, “The Blood of Christ.” but the chalice is not being shared at present due to COVID restrictions). Each person responds, “Amen.” Amen means agreement, ‘Yes I agree’.This is a most solemn moment. Christ is really present in the form of bread and wine, in the same way he gave himself to the disciples at the Last Supper, saying, ‘This is my body, this is my blood’. Anyone who is not a Catholic or has not yet made their First Holy Communion, may come up for a blessing and receive Christ in their heart.

In the book of Revelation, Jesus is often referred to as a Lamb. In Jesus’ day a lamb was always sacrificed in the Temple at the Feast of the Passover. The phrase, ‘the supper of the Lamb’ refers to Heaven and is found in Revelation 19.

The phrase, ‘Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof’, is a reference to the story of the Centurion’s servant in Luke 7:6. ‘Entering under my roof’ means ‘entering my house’.

Task: Look at the scripture references below. What links can you make to the prayers used in this part of the Mass?

Week 4:

Look back at all you have done and the key vocabulary to help remember what you have learned in the topic. Try to watch an online Mass. Celebrate with a simple Act of Worship

Resources

Week 1 Lesson 1

An example of a Code of Conduct:

Week 1 Lesson 2

Week 2 Lesson 2

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be Thy name;

Thy kingdom come;

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread;

and forgive us our trespasses

as we forgive those who trespass against us;

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil. Amen

Week 3 Lesson 1 Make me a channel of Your peace

Make me a channel of Your peaceWhere there is hatred, let me bring Your loveWhere there is injury, Your pardon LordAnd where there's doubt, true faith in You

Make me a channel of Your peaceWhere there's despair in life, let me bring hopeWhere there is darkness, only lightAnd where there's sadness, ever joy

Oh Master, grant that I may never seekSo much to be consoled as to consoleTo be understood as to understandTo be loved as to love with all my soul

Make me a channel of Your peaceIt is pardoning that we are pardonedIn giving to all men that we receiveAnd in dying that we're born to eternal life

Oh Master, grant that I may never seekSo much to be consoled as to consoleTo be understood as to understandTo be loved as to love with all my soul

Make me a channel of Your peaceWhere there's despair in life, let me bring hopeWhere there is darkness, only lightAnd where there's sadness, ever joy

Week 3 Lesson 2

Scripture

Prayer in the Mass

What does this mean?

And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.”

Revelation 19:9

John (the Baptist) answered them, “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.”

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 

John 1:26-30

A centurion there had a slave whom he valued highly, and who was ill and close to death. When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave. And Jesus went with them, but when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.

Luke 7:2-6

Week 4

Act of Worship

‘UNITY’

Year 6

‘The Eucharist challenges and enables the Christian family to grow in communion every day’

Gathering Together

You might like to set up a Focal table with some of the following:

Candle, Crucifix, Bible (if possible), some of your child’s work on Unity.

We gather together In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The prayer that Jesus taught us is called the ‘Our Father’. It is addressed to ‘Our Father’ not ‘my Father’, so uniting the family of God. It is a prayer uniting all Christians, whatever their denominations. So let us begin our act of worship by praying the prayer that unites us all as brothers and sisters –

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be Thy name;

Thy kingdom come;

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread;

and forgive us our trespasses

as we forgive those who trespass against us;

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil. Amen

During the last few weeks we have been learning about what nourishes and what spoils unity and friendship.

Jesus often spoke to his disciples about the importance of unity among them. He gave them the model of the unity between himself and God the Father.

The Word

of God

In this passage from John’s Gospel, part of his prayer for his disciples just before his arrest, he makes it clear how they would be more effective witnesses of his love if there was unity among them.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel According to John

Glory to You, O Lord

We make the sign of the cross on our forehead, lips and heart, in preparation to hear the Good News of the Gospel. We make the sign of the cross on our foreheads to show we believe in God’s Word, on our lips to show we try to speak God’s Word to others, and on our hearts to show we love God’s Word and will try to live a good life.

Keep them safe by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one just as you and I are one. I pray not only for them, but also for those who believe in me because of their message. I pray that they may all be one. Father! May they be in us, just as you are in me and I am in you.

May they be one, so that the world will believe that you sent me. I gave them the same glory you gave me, so that they may be one, just as you and I are one I in them and you in me, so that they may be completely one, in order that the world may know that you sent me and that you love them as you love me.

The Gospel of the Lord

Praise to You Lord Jesus Christ

Communion and unity means ‘being at one with’. We know that celebrating the Eucharist is a sign of being at one with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit as well as being at one with one another. Let us just pause for a few moments of quiet and simply be ‘in silent communion’ with God and one another….. (Play quiet music and allow time for reflection).

Response to

The Word

After the reflection children could share some work they have done.

Going

Forth

Let us reflect for a moment on how we might live peacefully and in communion and unity with one another for the rest of this week…..?

Let us now share with one another the gift that Jesus gave his followers – the sign of peace.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen