9C – The Eucharist and the Church’s Year

If you are not familiar with Catholic churches you may want to take a quick tour first (10 mins).

• Here is an quick (kids’ cartoon) reminder of what happened at the Last Supper
• The Mass – Catholic Central (9.17mins)
• The Catholic Holy Mass explained (6.08)
• Eucharist 101 – Catholic Central (7.23 mins)
• What is the Real Presence? (2:01 mins)
  Catholic Kids Homilies
• Sacraments 101: Eucharist (how we receive it) – Busted halo (4.45mins)
• Catholic Encyclopaedia on the Eucharist.
• The Eucharist is the central act of Catholic celebration. A brief look at its role, music, the structure and the changes over time.

This section explores the Church’s various feasts and season including the different colours and symbols associated with the liturgical cycle.

• The Liturgical Year  – Catholic Central (7.16mins)
• Detailed information about how the Church’s year is calculated.

Jesus was a Jew. His religious practices and rituals were Jewish. Many of the holy days we hear about in the Bible are part of Jewish life today.  Celebrating the Sabbath (Shabbat) is the high point of every week.

• What is Shabbat? (2.53mins)

Other holy days are:

• Passover: The Passover Seder – What to Expect? (3.57) Passover story of the four sons (4.07)
• Purim: What is Purim? – Bimbam (5.04) The Purim Story in 4 minutes (4.08)
• Simchat Torah: Endings and beginnings: Explaining Simchat Torah
• Hanukkah: What is Hanukkah? – Bimbam (3.51mins)
• Rosh Hashanah: What is Rosh Hashanah? – Bimbam (4.17)
• Yom Kippur: What is Yom Kippur? -Bimbam (3.39mins)
• Shavuot: What is Shavuot? (4.08)
• Tisha B’av: What is Tisha B’av? The Jewish Day of Mourning
• Sukkot: The Lego Sukkot Movie (4.13)

Lent is the 40 day preparation for Easter. Holy Week leads us to the most important liturgical feast The Easter Vigil which celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus.

• Ash Wednesday – Catholic Central (1.01mins)
• Ash Wednesday Quiz!
• Lent – Catholic Central (7.31 mins)
• Q&A “All about Lent“.
• Lent is a time to think about how we treat our world, others and ourselves, and to ask questions about our lives. Where are you going in your life? The spirit of Lent is to give, pray and fast.

Holy Week

• Holy Week in 3 Minutes (2.49 mins!)
• The Catholic Encyclopaedia explores  Holy Week.
• The Palm Sunday story
• What is the Triduum? Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil
• Good Friday – Catholic Central (2.56 mins)

The significance of the days of Holy Week are explained. Including Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday.

Easter is the greatest feast in the Christian calendar. On this Sunday, Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

• Easter Traditions – Catholic Central (2.56 mins)
• What are Catholic Easter traditions?
• The date of Easter changes each year. This explains how the date is calculated.

Advent is the time of preparation for Christmas when we celebrated ‘God her amongst us’. Jesus.

• Reflection on Advent – Faith central (1.30mins)
• Consideration of the symbolism, historical origin, duration and rituals of Advent.
• The Jesse Tree is a way to tell the Story of God in the Old Testament, and to connect the Advent Season with the faithfulness of God across 4,000 years of history.

Christmas

• Christmas is a big celebration in our society.  It has a Christian origin as the celebration of the ‘Christ’ Mass, thanksgiving for Emmanuel ‘God with us’.
• Symbols of Christmas – Catholic Central (7.16mins)
• Traditions of Christmas in France and Canada across the centuries.

Explanations of some of the major liturgical feasts of the year.

Pentecost

• Pentecost– Catholic Central (1.46mins)
• The Catholic Encyclopaedia explains Pentecost.

Trinity Sunday

• Trinity Sunday falls on the Sunday after the feast of Pentecost.  It celebrates the mystery of the Trinity.

Corpus Christi

• The Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) is celebrated in New Zealand on the Sunday after Trinity Sunday rather than the Thursday.

Transfiguration

• The feast of the Transfiguration is the culmination of Jesus’ ministry on earth and focuses our attention on his Godliness.

The Ascension (of Jesus)

• Forty days after the Resurrection, Jesus ascended to heaven.

The Assumption (of Mary) and the Annunciation

• Mary in 2 minutes!

Other feasts

• All Saints Day  is the day the Church calls to mind all named and unnamed Saints
• All Souls Day is the day when we particularly remember those who have died.
• St Patrick’s Day – Catholic Central (3.17)

• A Quizlet on Te Reo Māori for the Eucharist and Church Year
• A Quizlet on general vocabulary for the Eucharist and Church Year