Pope Francis FAITH Award

Pope Francis FAITH AwardGathering Point 4 UNDERSTANDING“Dear young people, do not bury your talents, the gifts that God has given you! Do not

be afraid to dream of great things!” 26th April 2013

MENU: Gathering Point 4 Understanding

Gathering PointUnderstanding

We are learning...

Learnabout the Gift

of Understanding.

Reflectto reflect on

what Understanding

means.

Actto be

Understanding.

Let us begin our time together

In the name of the Fatherand of the Sonand of the Holy Spirit

Amen

Gathering Point :UNDERSTANDING

We are learning...

Gathering PointUNDERSTANDING

We are learning...

Gathering Point

UnderstandingWe are

learning...

Scripture Time

Learnabout the Gift of Understanding

UNDERSTANDING: a Gift of the Holy Spirit

Listen carefully as your teacher reads the words of Scripture

A Reading from the Prophet Isaiah (55:1,3, 10,11)

The Lord says, “Come, everyone who is thirsty- here is water! Listen now, my people, and come to me; come to me and you will have life!My word is like the snow and the rain that come down from the sky to water the earth. They make crops grow and provide seed for sowing food to eat.”

Your teacher will read the words of Scripture again.

Listen for the key words and messages from this passage.

Quick Question Time

Your teacher will read the words of Scripture again.

What is the difference between knowledge and understanding?

How do instructions help us to understand?What ‘instructions’ does God give us to help us on our faith journey?

In what way is God’s Word like water?

At the beginning of the reading we heard these words:

“My word is like the snow and rain that come down from the sky to the earth”

Listen to those words again. “My word is like the snow and rain that come down from the

sky to the earth”

Close your eyes.

Imagine the rain falling on a hot, dry, desert.

Why are snow and rain important for the world?Why do farmers need them?Why do we need themHow is God’s word like snow and rain?

SHARE

SCRIPTURE IN MY LIFE

Your teacher may ask you to share some of your thoughts on the Scripture passage now.

The questions below may help you to share your thoughts:

•Why is understanding important?•What can happen if two people don’t understand each other?•How can we understand what God wants for us?•How do you use the gift of Understanding?

Some Deeper Thinking...

Understanding is about discipleship. With Understanding being a disciple of Jesus is always refreshing and life giving to ourselves and

others.

•Choose one way that you share your faith and write about how this helps others on their faith• journey.

Reflection TimeYour teacher will give you a worksheet to help you reflect more upon the meaning of Understanding

“ Understanding helps us to have an insight into what God is asking us to do and how we should live our lives.”

Reflectto reflect on what

Understanding means

Examination of Conscience

When we come together we will think about all the times that we have made good decisions, loved God and others and done the right thing.We will also think about the times when we made bad choices that we are not proud of. We will think about how not to do that again in the future.

This is called ‘examining your conscience’.

By examining your conscience regularly you can be sure that when you LEARN something and REFLECT upon it you will know how to ACT in a way that helps you to become a disciple of Jesus.

Examination of Conscience

“How many things take the place of God in my life each day?”

Pope Francis

Faith Prayer & Examination of Conscience

Lord Jesus,You ask those who believe in youto give your Good News to others.

We pray that, with the help of the Holy Spirit,our words and actionswill help other people

to hear of You,to believe in You

to find the joy of knowing You.Amen

Examination of Conscience

Lord Jesus,You ask those who

believe in youto give your Good News

to others.

Do I show others that I believe in Jesus?

Do I give the Good News to other people?

Examination of Conscience

We pray that, with the help of the Holy Spirit,

our words and actions

Would people meeting me know that what I say has been inspired by the Holy Spirit?

Do my actions show God in the world to other people?

Examination of Conscience

other peoplewill hear of You,

will believe in You

Do other people know God because of me?

Do they hear of God in what I say?

Do they believe in him from what I do?

Examination of Conscience

and find the joy of knowing You.

How do I show others the beauty of God in the world?

Do I share the joy of having God as my friend?

Examination of Conscience

What could I do more of to share my faith?

How do I show my faith in school?

In what ways is my life at home filled with faith?

What do I do in my parish to show others I believe?

“How many things take the place of God in my life each day?”

Pope Francis

Actto be

Understanding

Can you remember all of the learning and reflection from this Gathering Point on the Gift of UNDERSTANDING?

What can you do with this gift?

Set yourself a target of one new way to show others that the Holy Spirit has given you the gift of UNDERSTANDING.

The Pope Francis challenge

Try to put into practice Pope Francis’ words:

“Let us ask Our Lady to teach us how to live out our faith in our daily lives and to make more room for the Lord “

Understanding