Teaching Catholic Kids August 2007

It's not about Harry ... it's about Jesus

Exciting things are happening at Our Sunday Visitor. A great deal of work by our staff has resulted in the release of Nancy Carpentier Brown’s The Mystery of Harry Potter: A Catholic Family Guide. It is a wonderful little book, and it reveals how our awesome

 

faith informs not an either/or, black or white, this is right/this is wrong perspective on the world, but rightly reflects the mystery, the gray matter, the both/and of real life. After all, it’s not about Harry; it’s about Jesus Christ and how He would have us envision His world, as messy and confusing as it sometimes can be. Our faith informs that vision. Brown’s method of doing just that can be applied to situations in life that go way beyond the world of Hogwarts.

Also, visit our special Harry Potter pages by clicking here»

 In this month’s issue of Teaching Catholic Kids, let’s take a look at how our faith informs our outlook and challenge ourselves to live our faith deeper still!

This month on TCK

Our Feature Article this month is an excerpt from The Mystery of Harry Potter»

Activity One focuses on Catholic virtues. Click here»

Activity Two focuses on "reverence," with an activity from The Big Book of Family Gatherings by Judy Dantzer. Click here to download»

For our Teacher Pattern, remind students that they are "lights for Jesus" with this activity from Making Things Right by Jeannine Timko Leichner. Click here»

Soul Food for Teachers this month is a short quote from St. Francis of Assisi» 

Catechist's Know-How is "Children in Crisis" by Mary Lou Rosien»

Prayer

Prayer
Dear God, St. Paul tells us that our kindness should be know to all. People should know we are Christians by how kind we are. It takes courage to be kind all the time, Lord. I need Your help to do this. Kindness means sharing my time and my things. Kindness means not calling names and not talking behind others’ backs. Kindness means pointing out what is good in others. Lord, help me to be kind.

(Adapted from Kelley Renz’s God Listens to Our Children: Kids’ Prayers for Every Day of the Liturgical Year, 2006. Encourage your parents to order copies for their children.)