Directions

1. For this lesson, you may either use the instructions below to lead your students in prayer via video conference, or have parents guide their students in prayer at home. Give students an opportunity to quiet down and focus themselves. Have them close their eyes and remove distractions from their mind as best they can.
2. Say a short prayer asking the Holy Spirit to guide this time of prayer and meditation. For example: Come Holy Spirit, open our minds and our hearts to what Our Lord wants to say to us today. Give us ears to listen and help us to be open to receiving whatever Christ has for us. Help us to remove any distractions and allow us to come to know our Lord more deeply during this time of prayer.
3. Prepare to read the Gospel passage aloud once slowly. Tell the students to simply listen to the words this first time through, and especially for any word or phrase that jumps out at them. Ask them to write down that word or phrase after you finish reading. Give them 2-3 minutes of silence after you have completed reading it.
4. Prepare to read the passage a second time. Before you begin reading ask the students to really imagine the scene as best they can. Tell them to engage all their senses. For example:
   • What does it look like?
   • What colors do they see?
   • What are people wearing?
   • What does the ground look and feel like?
   • What do they smell?
   • What sounds do they hear?
   • What do the people and crowds look like?
   • What does Jesus look like? How does His voice sound?
   • What is the weather like? Sunny? Cloudy? Rainy? and so forth.
5. When you are done reading, ask them to write down one sensory image that stood out to them. Give them 2-3 minutes of silence after you have completed reading it.
6. Prepare to read the passage a third and final time. Before you begin, ask the students to imagine themselves as a particular person in the passage.
   • Are they a member of the crowd?
   • Are they one of the Apostles?
   • Are they a character in Jesus’ parable?
7. Ask them to listen for what Jesus is personally trying to tell them through this passage and write that down once you are finished reading. Give them a more extended period of silence after this third reading, perhaps 5-10 minutes.
8. Have students make a resolution to put into practice what they received in prayer. For example, will they:
   • go home that night and do something extra for their parents?
   • go to confession in the next week?
   • commit to spend extra time in prayer this week?
   • commit to doing some volunteer work?
   • perform a particular Work of Mercy?
   • pick a particular virtue to work on cultivating?
   • work on your relationship with a friend or family member?
9. Challenge them to pick something based on what they heard Christ say to them.
10. Close in a short prayer of thanksgiving.