Novena of Grace
2008 
Teacher materials
Theme: “Awaken, my people, Roll away the stone..”
“Then Jesus came to the tomb and said,
‘Take away the stone.’
He cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’
He came out and Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go’” John 11:39-45
All of these materials are based on the fabulous work of Tim
Malone and the
Dates:
8th graders &
K-7: March 4th -12-- The
8th graders will be leading prayer
on the intercom first thing in the morning. They will read a biblical passage, give a brief reflection on what it means to them and
then lead the school in reciting the
Novena Prayer, pausing in the middle for silent intentions. Please place the daily passage & prayer under
your camera so the students may pray along with the 8th graders.
Teacher Notes:
- Background: The Novena of Grace began in 1633
when the image of St. Francis Xavier appeared to a priest named Marcellus
Mastrilli. In the vision, St. Francis promised Mastrilli that all who ask
for prayers along with St. Francis (his intercession) for nine days would
receive whatever they ask for as long as it contributes to their
salvation. The Novena, which is placed during Lent, provides time for
reflection, asking for Xavier’s prayers combined with our own, opening our
lives to the Holy Spirit, feeling God’s graced presence in our lives,
renewing Christ’s transformation in our lives (Easter Resurrection).
(Notes based in the Ignatian Spirituality Center’s 2008 Novena of Grace
Booklet. See the Booklet for more details.)
- K-1: you may want the students to practice the following words with hand signals “loving” with the hand signals making the shape of a heart on their hearts and “Saint Francis” with praying hands and use a sign for “God.” These words are bold in the prayer for your SmartBoard. You could also make hand signals for the “to ask”- hands open for asking, “to seek”- hand above eyes as if seeking/searching, and “to knock”- pretend to knock at a door.
- 1-5: You could have the students simply read the Novena Prayer from the SmartBoard over the course of the week, adding in the hand signals described in K-1.
- K-8: In addition to the Novena prayer each day, there is:
1. A particular grace for the day
2. Which is tied to a biblical passage for the day
3. Several reflection questions
4. And then a list of Books that are on a cart behind the desk in the Library (Thanks you so much to Barb Cutler & Sr. Josie!!!) As soon as you are finished using a book, please have a student(s) return it to the library for another class to use.
Daily Novena Prayer on the intercom:
Leader: Saint Francis Xavier, you offer to be our friend
as we bring our deepest prayers to God, and so we pray:
All: Grace giving and Loving God,
we
join with our brother Saint Francis
to give You thanks and praise.
We ask that You help us live like Saint Francis did
loving so fully
those who are sick, forgotten, unknown or who feel alone.
We pray that our hearts will be united with You, God,
though all of our days.
And because You have told us to ask, to seek and to knock,
Once again with Saint Francis,
we come to You, God,
with our hopes and deepest wishes.
(stop for silent prayer)
Loving God, hear our prayers and answer us,
According to Your wisdom and loving kindness,
For You, God, make all things work together for good.
Amen.
Overview & Teacher Materials
Grace Day 1: God loves us so much!!!
The grace to rejoice in God’s
(abiding/eternal/everlasting) love.
·
On this day we celebrate the fact that God loves
us even more than our parents (as you parents know, parental love is at times
fallible). God’s love however is perfect, unwavering & unyielding.
o
o K-8
:
§
Who loves
you?
§
How do we
know someone loves us?
·
God loves
us even more: sacrificed own son, loves us like his own children but without
human mistakes and errors.
§
Does God
love us when we fail/make mistakes?
§
Does God
still love us even when we sin and turn away from him?
·
God’s
love is eternal & unwavering despite our own mistakes
§
How can
we love others like God loves us? (Be God & See God)
·
Picture
Book Suggestions: Held behind Library Desk: Love
o Just in case You Ever Wonder by Max Lucado (parent’s unconditional love)
o I’ll Promise I’ll Find You by Heather Patricia Ward (Parents/God always searches for us when we are lost) short
o No Matter What by Debi Gliori (unconditional love, even when “Little” turns into an alligator) nice & short!!
o Without You by Sarah Weeks (baby Penguin relies on dad for safety & protection) short
o I
love You Like Crazy Cakes by Rose Lewis (adoptive unconditional love)
o Always
my Dad by Sharon Dennis Wyeth
(fathers love though he is not always around)
o I’ll
Always Love You by Hans Wilhelm (boy will always love dog even when it
dies) short
o And many more!!
Grace Day 2: God forgives us when we
ask!!!
God invites us to forgiveness &
reconciliation; his forgiveness is infinite.
The grace to desire God’s healing
touch
- On
this day, we examine reconciliation and the fact that God loves us, even
when we fail. We don’t need to earn forgiveness, we simply need to ask
humbly for His grace and then believe in His healing. So much of the time,
the hardest part is forgiving ourselves. God’s grace is abundant; we are
often stingy when it comes to forgiving others or forgiving ourselves.
- K-8
- What does it mean to forgive?
- Why is it important to forgive
others?
- Why is it important to forgive
ourselves?
- What happens when we do not forgive?
- What does God and Jesus teach us
about forgiveness?
- When we forgive others, we let God
work within us: we birth God into this world.
- How can we be more forgiving in our
lives?
- Picture Book Suggestions: Held behind
Library Desk: forgiveness & true friendship
- The
Friend by Sarah Stewart (little girl’s nanny plays with her &
stays with her until one day she sneaks down to the beach & then the
nanny saves her & forgives her) short
- Mr.
Lincoln’s Way by Patricia Polacco (principal teaches bully about
how to treat others & respecting differences through loving diverse
birds) ¾ & up -longer but fabulous
- Because
I Love You by Max Lucado (stone builder/father type will always
forgive & search for us when we stray) longer
- You
are Special by Max Lucado (wooden boy learns to forgive self by
loving self as God loves us & so black dots-put downs- no longer
stick) longer
- The
Crippled Lamb by Max
Lucado (crippled lamb saddened by limitation learns of God’s special
plan) medium length
- Papa,
Do You Love Me & Mama Do You Love Me by Barbara Joosse
(parent loves and forgves despite child’s poor (Hypothetical- what if?)
decisions) short
Grace Day 3: God wants all of us to be
free!
God invites us into
relationship-like a parent/child-wise elder/loving friend
Freedom comes from knowing that we
are fully loved & lovable
The grace to hear God’s call of
freedom – to be our true selves
- On
this day, we examine God’s call to a personal relationship like a
parent/child relationship, a wise elder/friend relationship, or a wise
best friend. Choose an image that would resonate with you & your grade
level. God’s invitation to relationship is constant. Often we do not hear
it because our lives are so busy or distracted by other messages –Having
things is more important than being, what we wear & look like is more
important than what we do. What does the Media tell us about what is
important? When we slow down and take time for prayer/listening, then we
hear the call, often like a whisper, yearning for our friendship. That is
why Lent and a Novena is so important. Taking time frees us to be in
relationship with God.
- K-8
- What does it mean to be a good
friend?
- What types of things do friends do?
- God calls us into a loving true friendship
with God.
- Why is it important to listen to
God?
- What messages do we hear that go
against God’s laws/rules/love?
- How can we build a stronger
friendship with God?
- Picture Book Suggestions: Held behind
Library Desk: God calls us to freedom through relationship and acceptance
- The
Big Box by Toni Morrison
(3 children are put in a box filled with the best things after the break
the rules but yearn for freedom) medium
- Quentin
Fenton Herter III by Amy
MacDonald (two boys both learn we are a balance of good & bad) medium
- Library
Lion by Michelle Knudsen (lion breaks rule in library for good
reason, is sent away but then the rule changes so he can return)
- The
Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein (Tree keeps giving as boy keeps
asking for more)
- Also see books re love &
friendship !!!!
Grace Day 4: God calls us to make good
decisions
The grace to know the difference between
right and wrong and to make life-giving choices
- On
this day, we examine how God calls us to act upon our faith. In others
words, if we value something, we will act. As Mother Theresa once said-
when you pray, pray with your feet.
This can be hard for several reasons: we may have bad habits that
are hard to break, we may feel confused about what is right and wrong; we
may know what is right but not have the courage to act, we may fear others
will make fun of us, or exclude us. But God gave us our conscience as a
guide. When we pray and listen, then we can have the courage to do the
right thing. God will always stand by our side, even if our so-called
“friends” will not. When we act as Christ did, then we create a little
piece of Heaven on earth. (Sr. Joyce Cox’s eschatology).
- K-8
- What does it mean to do the right
thing?
- How do we know what is right?
- What is our conscience?
- Can we say that a person is our
friend but then say mean things behind his/her back?
- Is that being a true friend?
- Is it fair that wee have so
much-homes, food, vacations, while others around the world or even in
our city starve?
- What is the right thing to do?
- Remind students & selves to
take time to pray, listen by turning off the TV & the noise- it is
OK to be bored!!
- Tie this to Lenten fasting in the
largest sense—fast from behaviors that hurt others, give up some things
to give money to Mombasa etc.
- Picture Book Suggestions: Held behind
Library Desk: God calls us to make good life-giving choices: listen to
what is right & be peacemakers
- The
Other Way to Listen by Byrd Baylor and Peter Parnall (learn to
listen by slowing down and getting to know something very well) medium
- Miss
Malarkey Leaves no Reader Behind by Judy Finchler & Kevin
O’Malley (teacher finds a perfect book for each child by listening to
his/her interests in order to help the school read 1000 books) medium
- Angels
Watching Over Me by Lynn Hodges & Sue Buchanan (angels follow
a girl throughout her day to keep her safe) – short -tie to conscience
- Knuffle
Bunny by Mo Willems (child leaves stuffed animal at Laundromat
& parents race back to hunt for it) short – right choices take time
& commitment
- Something
from Nothing by Phoebe Gilman (from blanket to coat to vest to
button to story- creative choices help others & build community)
short
- God’s
Quiet Things by Nancy Sweetland (boy finds God in nature by
slowing down to look & listen
- The
Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson (girl chooses to sit on fence
that divides 2 sides of the town white/black) medium