2022-23 April #1: Palm Sunday/Last Supper
“Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest”.
-Matthew 21:9
Tiny Treasures
Page 1:
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is the first day of Holy Week. It commemorates Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The church participants are given palm branches to reenact Jesus’ entry into the holy city. This day is also called Passion Sunday because the Passion of Christ gospel is read during mass.
Palms are a symbol of peace and victory and the use of a donkey instead of a horse represents the humble arrival of someone.
This is a great opportunity to encourage dramatic play with your littles. You can recreate the image like on the front of this booklet with the hobby horse, palm branches and saying “Hosana!” or do it on a smaller scale with figurine toys.
(source)
Page 2:
The Last Supper
During the Last Supper on Holy Thursday, Jesus and His apostles were celebrating the Jewish celebration of Passover. Two very important things happened during the Last Supper: Jesus established the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist and He began the institution of the priesthood. Holy Thursday is within Holy Week.
During this Passover meal, Jesus changes the bread and wine to His body and blood with the words, “Take this, all of you, and eat it, this is My Body which will be given up for you.” “Take this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice of my Blood, the Blood of the new and eternal covenant which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of me.”
During the Last Supper, Jesus washed the apostles’ feet. You can recreate this act of love by drawing names at home or at school to do this for one another. Or maybe do this with one student as an example.
Items you may need:
- a basin
- a small pitcher
- towel
Jn 13: 1-15 Read the gospel at this link for a full account of Jesus washing the apostles’ feet.
(source)
Growing in the Virtue of Faith:
Sometimes we know something to be true even if we cannot see it with our eyes. Talk with your littles about things that we know are true without seeing them.
- When you see a mom who is going to have baby, you know that there is a baby there.
- When you see Christmas or birthday presents, you know something special is inside.
Mary is the perfect example to live out our lives in the obedience of faith. Let’s ask Mary to help us grow in our virtue of faith.
Page 3:
Every Priest is Just Like Jesus:
Just like Jesus, the priest turns the bread and wine into Jesus’ body and blood during the mass.
Talk with your littles about:
- How are priests like Jesus?
- How are they not like Jesus?
Make a thank you card and give it to your parish priest, thanking him for being a priest!
St. Isidore
Isidore was born in Madrid to peasant farmers in the year 1070. His namesake was Archbishop Isidore of Seville, who is now known as St. Isidore of Seville.
Coming from a poor family, Isidore worked as a farmer at an early age for a wealthy landowner named, Juan de Vergas. Isidore worked this estate for the rest of his life.
Isidore was deeply religious and got up extra early every morning to go to Mass. If he was late for work because he went to Mass, an angel was seen plowing for him. Afterward, he would walk all day behind the plow and talk with God. He married a young woman as simple and pious as himself who also became a saint—Maria de la Cabeza. They set a wonderful example for married Catholics. Isidore and Maria were known for their love of the poor. Often, they brought food to them and prayed with them. More than once he fed hungry people with food that seemed to multiply miraculously.
Isidore and Maria had a son and they named him Illan. Legend has it that when Illan was a toddler, he fell into a deep well and there was no way to get him out. Isidore and Maria knelt together and joined hands in prayer and the well slowly filled, lifting Illan to the top so he could be saved. His mom and dad believed God had given them a miracle to save their son. In thanksgiving for the miracle, they vowed to remain celibate for the rest of their lives. Not long after, Illan died, but Isidore and Maria did not go back on their vows.
Isidore died on May 15, 1130. He was canonized a saint on March 12, 1622, by Pope Gregory XV. He is the patron saint of farmers and laborers. St. Isidore was canonized along with four other well-known saints: St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Francis Xavier and St. Philip Neri. St. Isidore is thus a part of the group known in Spain as the “Five Saints.”
St. Isidore’s body has been found to be incorrupt.
(source)
Page 4:
Jesus is in the Eucharist:
Complete the craft and talk to your littles about how Jesus is truly present in the bread and wine in the mass. We use our virtue of faith to believe this truth.
Vocabulary words for your littles:
- Chalice-gold cup used to hold the wine at mass.
- Host-round, white bread used at mass.
- Paten (not mentioned on pg.4, but is in photo on pg. 3)-gold plate used to hold the host at mass.
Social/Emotional Learning
Act of Faith Prayer:
O my God, I firmly believe
that you are one God in three divine Persons,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
I believe that your divine Son became man
and died for our sins and that he will come
to judge the living and the dead.
I believe these and all the truths
which the Holy Catholic Church teaches
because you have revealed them
who are eternal truth and wisdom,
who can neither deceive nor be deceived.
In this faith I intend to live and die.
Amen.
(source)
Prayers During Consecration:
When the priest elevates the host, the church participants say:
“My Lord and My God!”
When the priest elevates the chalice with wine, the church participants say:
“My Jesus, Mercy!”
By saying these short prayers during consecration, we are expressing our own belief that God is truly present in the bread and the wine.
- Even though your littles do not participate in receiving the Holy Eucharist, they can be united with the church in saying these little silent prayers.
(source), (John 20:28)
Days to Watch for
- April 2-Palm Sunday
- April 6-Holy Thursday (Last Supper)
- May 15-St. Isidore’s Feast Day
Extras
Our featured word for this booklet to indicate the page numbers is PALM. We chose this because palms were laid at Jesus’ feet as He entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Palm branches became symbolic of the victory of the faithful over the enemy.
Books + Imaginative Play
My Pop-Out Mass Kit Village Gift Importers
Unfold this 8.5″ x 11″ folded book to create an altar and find sturdy board cut outs of commonly used Catholic Mass items with stands. Teach your littles about the holy Mass! Includes Chalice, Communion Wafers, Crucifix, Thurible, and More!
The Weight of a Mass: A Tale of Faith (The Theological Virtues Trilogy) by: Josephine Nobisso
When a poor devout widow begs for a scrap of bread from a rich faithless baker, she promises to participate in the king’s wedding mass as payment for the baker’s generosity. The baker writes “One Mass” on a scrap of paper and places it on his scale to determine how much bread it is worth. To his and the entire town’s surprise, nothing in the shop, not even the gigantic wedding cakes made for the king, outweighs the simple piece of paper representing the true worth of a mass. Luminous old-world watercolor paintings grace the interior of the book and gold foil artwork lends an air of solemnity and sacred beauty to the story. This has been a best-selling children’s book since it was first published. It us often made into plays for catechises, or used in homilies, and read on YouTube, and on private sites and channels.
Because I Love You by: Max Lucado
Let this timeless story of a curious boy’s choice and a caring man’s sacrificial response help you make the infinite love of their Heavenly Father as real to your kids as your own love. Because they need to understand about Him what you have already learned–that everything God does throughout our lives, He does for one reason only, and for the best reason of all: “Because I Love You.”
The Handsome Little Cygnet by Mathew Mehan
A swan must waddle before a swan can fly!
Manhattan’s Central Park seems an unlikely place for a family of swans to raise their baby cygnet, but family life is full of surprises, happy mistakes, and mysterious joys. Join Father and Mother Swan and their Handsome Little Cygnet as they paddle through four beautifully illustrated seasons in Central Park. Smile a lot—and cry just a little—as you follow the journey of a baby swan who grows up to learn what and who he really is.
From best-selling author and illustrator team Matthew Mehan and John Folley, this wonderful and surprising revision of the Ugly Duckling will please the whole family with beautiful prose and page after page of lush watercolor illustrations. Even enjoy a seek-n-find in the back of the book, learning about the landmarks and wildlife of Central Park, among other amusing mysteries.
Digital Resources
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Don’t forget to check out our Teacher’s Guide for more information on how to use your booklets in the classroom!
And in case you need it again… here’s our Prayer Table Starter Guide.
