In this week’s Gospel passage, Jesus teaches the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount. The Beatitudes provide a road map to sainthood for the faithful follower of Jesus. Though we may gain little reward in this life by following Christ’s teaching, our victory comes in the end and is nothing short of the Kingdom of God itself. Students will learn about sainthood and how to look to the saints of Heaven as examples of holiness.
Have your students read the Gospel passage, or read it aloud to your students, and then answer the focus questions.
Review and discuss the answers when they have completed the focus questions.
Next, have your students read about the Solemnity of All Saints.
Then, arrange students into groups of three or four. Have each group complete the Lives of the Saints Activity. Each group should choose two saints and look up their biographies either online or in a lives of the saints book.
Have each group choose one of the saints they studied, stand and briefly present their findings, specifically how that saint loved and served God and how the saint loved and served others.
From a mountain. This is the beginning of Jesus’ most famous teaching, the Sermon on the Mount.
The blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the clean of heart, the peacemakers, and those who are persecuted for Christ’s sake. Their reward is the Kingdom of Heaven,comfort, the land, satisfaction, mercy, seeing God, being a child of God, and the Kingdom of Heaven.
They must be marked with God’s seal. They come from all of the tribes of Israel.
The saints in Heaven. They are praising and worshipping God. They came from every nation and people on the earth.
The Beatitudes teach us how to be saints, how to be like Christ. By living the Beatitudes, we are faithfully living the Christian life and seeking holiness.
Directions
Read the Gospel passage aloud to your students as they follow along. Then discuss the focus and reflection questions with them as a class.
Then, read aloud to your students, or have them read on their own, the Solemnity of All Saints.
Next, arrange students into groups of three or four. Have each group complete the Lives of the Saints Activity. Each group should choose a saint and look up his or her story either online or in a lives of the saints book. A list of saints’ biographies can be found at the following link: SophiaOnline.org/SaintCards.
Afterwards, you may choose to have each group choose one of the saints they studied and briefly present their findings.
