Grade 4 Vocation Week

Vocation Prayer God, thank you for loving me. In Baptism you called me by name to live as your child. Help all your people to know their call in life. For your greater glory, raise up generous leaders to serve as priests, deacons, sisters, and brothers. Amen.

What is a vocation? God created us to love and serve Him. He has a special plan for all of us. This plan is our vocation.

Our Gifts The talents and gifts God gave us will help us to serve Him and do His will.

3 Vocations Priesthood Religious life Married life

Gifts and Our Vocation Brainstorm – Think of people you know or have heard of who are priests. Work with a partner to come up with words that describe that person. List them in a word web in your religion copybook Write About It – Write a paragraph stating how someone’s personality traits and/or gifts help them in their vocation. For example, if one of the words you used in your web is friendly, How is being friendly useful you when you’re priest? (see example on next slide) Done early? Under your paragraph draw a picture of the person you described.

Example Father Brian is a priest in my parish. He is friendly, funny and very smart. I think God made him this way to help him be such a great priest. For example, being friendly makes it easy to talk to Father Brian. You know he will always say hello and when you have a problem you’re not afraid to speak to him about it. He uses his gift of intelligence to help people understand hard questions about the Church and bring people closer to God. He is also funny so you always know that when you are around him you will be happy. Sometimes he even tells a funny joke at Mass. I really like Father Brian and I think God made him the way he is so people will grow closer to God by knowing him.

Recap Why did God create us? What are the 3 different vocations? How can our gifts help us in our vocations? God created us to love Him and serve Him. Following our vocations will bring us closer to God. Priesthood, Religious Life, Married Life The talents and gifts God gave us will help us to serve God and do His will.

Vocation Prayer God, thank you for loving me. In Baptism you called me by name to live as your child. Help all your people to know their call in life. For your greater glory, raise up generous leaders to serve as priests, deacons, sisters, and brothers. Amen.

Words to know Seminary – a school where a man studies to become a priest Ordain – to make someone a priest Beatified – considered blessed by the church, your are beatified before you are canonized a saint Relic - something that belonged to or touched a saint. It can be a piece of their bone or hair or an article of their clothing Diocese – a group of many parishes Apostolate – job you do for the Church

What do we know about Priests KWL

How does someone become a priest? Seminary – a college for priest At seminary you earn your degree and learn about the priesthood. The seminary in Philadelphia is called St. Charles Seminary Story of a seminarian

Deacons In the last year at seminary, the seminarian is ordained a deacon. Deacons can baptize, witness marriages, distribute Holy Communion, preach the homilies after the Gospel at Mass and they say the same prayers as priests do each day.

Who knows what the sacrament is called when a man is ordained priest Holy Orders – during this sacrament the Bishop lays his hands on the priest and says a special prayer making him a priest for life

Vows of Priesthood When a man becomes a priest he makes vows of chastity (won’t get married) and obedience (obey the rules of the Church). Some also make a vow of poverty ( to live a simple life, without lots of material things).

Bishops Some priests become Bishops. Bishops oversee a diocese, which are made up of many parishes. Our diocese is big, so it is called an Archdiocese. Archdiocese are run by Archbishops. Does anyone know the name of the Archbishop of Philadelphia? Archbishop Charles Chaput

Bishops Run Dioceses Confirmations Some are called Cardinals, whose job includes electing the new Pope.

Pope The Pope is a Bishop too. He is the Bishop of Rome. The Pope is the leader of the Catholic Church, and the voice of Christ on Earth. Who knows who our Pope is now? Pope Francis

Read the message of Pope Francis to young people? Discuss with a partner what this message means Write – How can you carry Jesus’ light to the world?

Vocation Prayer God, thank you for loving me. In Baptism you called me by name to live as your child. Help all your people to know their call in life. For your greater glory, raise up generous leaders to serve as priests, deacons, sisters, and brothers. Amen.

St. John Paul II Listen to the story of one of Church’s newest saints. Think about how St. John Paul II followed God’s plan for him.

Write About It – Why is St. John Paul II a great model for Catholics? How can you be more like Pope John Paul II?

Create Coat of Arms When he was first elected Pope, JPII made a Coat of Arms. A coat of arms is an arrangement of symbols that tells about someone’s ancestry or interests. Pope John Paul put on his coat of arms St. Peter’s Keys which symbolized Jesus’ gift to Saint Peter of the keys to Heaven and a big letter “M” because he loved Mary so much. Create your own Coat of Arms – On it draw and color symbols that represent you and your Catholic faith.

Vocations Prayer God, thank you for loving me. In Baptism you called me by name to live as your child. Help all your people to know their call in life. For your greater glory, raise up generous leaders to serve as priests, deacons, sisters, and brothers. Amen.

Marriage

Why is marriage a vocation? When you enter into the sacrament of marriage you grow in holiness and help your husband or wife get to Heaven When you get married you promise to love your spouse forever. The promises you make on your wedding day are called vows.

Read About the Martin Family Video of the Martins Louis and Zelie Martin are best known as the parents of St. Therese, also known as the Little Flower, but through their holy marriage they led one another to sainthood. Louis was born in 1823 in France. When he was younger he hoped to become a priest. Instead, he grew up to become a watchmaker. Zelie Guerin was born in She, too, thought about becoming a religious, but eventually understood that it was not God’s will. She was a excellent sewer and opened successful lace-making shop. Louis and Zelie met in After three-months of dating, they felt that God was calling them to the vocation of marriage. After the first year of marriage they decided to start having children. Zelie gave birth to nine children! The family lived a comfortable lifestyle in France. They were happy, but went through some difficult times. Louis and Zelie suffered the loss of four children at an early age. However, they found lots of joy in their five daughters Marie, Pauline Leonie, Celine and the youngest Therese. Even through their hard times they continued to love each other and God. They had great faith in his plan for their family. The couple lived modestly, reached out to the poor and the needy, and taught their children to pray and put God first. St. Therese would later write: “God gave me a father and a mother who were more worthy of heaven than of earth.” Louis and Zelie were beatified in 2008, so they will soon be official saints just like their youngest daughter. If you visit the Carmelite Monastery in Philadelphia you can see their relics and the relic of their daughter St. Therese and learn more about their family.

Create a Venn Diagram Compare and Contrast the vocations of marriage and priesthood. - in copybook Write – what are ways a married person could help their spouse get to Heaven?

Recap How is marriage and priesthood similar? Why are they both vocations? How can married couples bring one another closer to God?

Vocations Prayer God, thank you for loving me. In Baptism you called me by name to live as your child. Help all your people to know their call in life. For your greater glory, raise up generous leaders to serve as priests, deacons, sisters, and brothers. Amen.

Religious Life God calls some people to religious life. Woman can become sisters or nuns. Men can become brothers or monks. Just like priests and married people, those who enter religious orders take vows.

Life as a Sister or Brother Different religious orders have different apostolate (jobs they do for the church) Different religious orders dedicate their lives to different things. Some religious orders teach children, others care for the sick, others dedicate their life fully to prayer, and others travel to different countries to spread the word of God or help the poor.

Elizabeth Ann Seton Elizabeth was the first American born saint. She was born in New York around the time of the American Revolution. She was a very wealthy girl, who loved to learn and read. She especially loved reading the Bible. When she was 19 years old she married William Seton and they had 5 children(Anna Marie, William, Catherine, Richard and Rebecca). Sadly, her husband William got very sick while her children were still young. Elizabeth, William and their oldest daughter traveled to Italy in hopes that medicine there and the nice weather would make William well. Unfortunately, William did not get well and he died while they were in Europe Elizabeth was comforted by her Italian friends who were Catholic. Elizabeth decided she wanted to be Catholic too. When she returned to the United States, and opened the very first Catholic School in Maryland. Elizabeth later decided that God was calling her to become a Sister. She started her own order known as the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph. Elizabeth and the Sisters dedicated their lives to educating children and the poor. Her youngest daughter Rebecca joined the order as well. Elizabeth died in 1821 and was buried in Maryland. The Sisters of Charity continued to grow after her death and the order still exists today. Elizabeth Ann Seton was canonized a saint in 1963.

Elizabeth Ann Seton What was Elizabeth’s vocation How did she do God’s work? Think about the saints that were discussed this week. Who was your favorite to learn about and why?

Answering God’s Call God doesn’t call on phones or yell over our noisy lives. We need to quiet down so we can hear him. When we pray, we are talking to God. If we keep praying He will help us discover the path He wants us to follow.

Recap What is a vocation? What are the 3 vocations we discussed this week? How can we determine what vocation God is calling us to?