This past weekend OLG second graders celebrated their First Reconciliation. We have spent much of the year reflecting on the many ways we are called to be the hands & feet of Jesus. We recognize that God created us to be like Jesus because we are made in the image and likeness of God. Sometimes, though, we make unloving choices that affect our relationships with each other and with God. We have learned that through the sacrament of Reconciliation God helps us to constantly be more like Jesus in our words, thoughts, and actions. Reconciliation allows us the opportunity to clean our hearts of unloving choices so we can better share God’s love in the world. As we celebrate Reconciliation, we remember that we are never alone in our journey to be more loving, more forgiving, and more Christ-like. God is always there to help us. We continue to look for ways to live out our call to share God’s love and mercy with others by offering forgiveness whenever and wherever it is needed.
Second graders will be taking all of their learnings about God’s loving forgiveness & mercy as we enter the Lenten season. We will be journeying through Lent with several activities. First, we will make Lenten Promises in which we have “given up” something in order to “make room” to do something that will help us be more like Jesus. Second, we will be doing a new type of prayer, called Lectio Divino (Divine Word) with the Sunday gospel readings. In Lectio Divino, we will listen to the reading three times: the first time, we will just listen and get familiar with the story; the second time we will listen for one part of the reading that stands out for us; the third time we will ask Jesus what He wants us to learn from the reading and how He wants us to be more like Him in the coming week. We will then draw an illustration of part of the gospel, and those illustrations will be displayed in the hallway, on large crosses, as a reminder of this prayerful Lenten season. Finally, we will be growing in our relationship with Jesus by learning the parts of the Mass. We will create hand signals to help remember the parts and order of the Rite of the Liturgy/Mass.
Other fun happenings in second grade include lots of learning about Japan! We will use informational and literary texts, as well as iPads, computers, and the Seattle Public Library website to learn about Japan, while also meeting the Common Core Standards for Language Arts. We will learn about the people of Japan, traditional Japanese houses, and Japanese writing (using characters instead of letters).
Second Graders are also journeying towards First Communion, when we will be fully welcomed to the table of the Lord. We ask for your prayers during this preparation time, that we might experience God in new ways and that we will always have the courage to share our special gifts with the world around us.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!
