Peace be with you.
I want to share a little exercise that the Holy Spirit revealed to me to assist in teaching young children the effects of sin on them as individuals and the Church as a whole. I have used this exercise with the six children I am preparing for first Penance and first Communion and they enjoyed it and learned from it.
The more I have thought out this exercise, the more meanings I am finding. Please share meanings you might find too.
The exercise follows the layout of a bucket brigade to put out a fire. The students are lined up with a little space between them and told that they represent themselves, as individual Catholics, and the Church, as being part of the Mystical Body of Christ.
On one end of the line, the first student will dunk a bucket (you can use any item, but it should be a little bulky to make the exercise work better) in imaginary water. This represents our entry into the Church through our Baptism. Individually, as adopted children of God and collectively, once again, as part of the Mystical Body of Christ the Church. It also symbolizes our freedom from sin, allowing us to fully participate in the salvation process and to assist our brethren and the Church.
On the other end of the line, when the bucket arrives, the last student will pour it out upon an imaginary fire. This represents eternal life - being saved from eternal damnation. It also represents the power of Christs sacrifice over evil by showing how the baptismal waters, which gain their power to conquer death through the death and resurrection of Christ, overcomes the flames (death).
Let the students cycle through a few times. Have them pass the bucket from beginning to end. They should be arms-length or more apart and they are not allowed to move from the spot in which they begin.
To demonstrate the effects of sin:
Stop the cycle. Choose some students and tell them that they have committed venial sins. Venial sins wound us, so assign to them a handicap, such as having to stand on one leg, being blind, using one arm, etc . Start the cycle.
The students should have a more difficult time accomplishing the task, both as individuals and as a line (the Church). They should be able to see now how venial sins affect themselves and the Church.
Stop the cycle. Choose more students and tell them they have committed mortal sins. You should choose at least one who had already been chosen for the venial sins to make the point that venial sins pre-dispose us to mortal sin. Others should be chosen who had not been assigned venial sins to show that they are distinct, though related.
Those students who are chosen for the mortal sins are removed from the line completely. This symbolizes the effect of mortal sins on their spiritual life, created in Baptism. It kills it. But they do not yet go into the fire!
Start the cycle. You should have a line which is missing some people now and which still has people wounded by venial sins. The process should be considerably more difficult now to complete, illustrating the effect that both these types of sins have on the Church. The effect on the individuals should also be reiterated once more. Dead and wounded.
To demonstrate the salvation process:
This line also symbolizes the salvation process. It begins with baptism and ends with eternal life. The bucket travels from one end to the other through a process. A process wherein which each individual freely participates with the rest, relying upon and helping one another.
Before beginning the next cycle, ask the students who are handicapped and those whose sins have killed them what part of the salvation process restores them? Confession. Confession is the means by which those who have been wounded or killed come back and fully participate again! For those who are dead, emphasize that it is the ONLY way to come back. This can be illustrated by telling one student who is spiritually dead as a result of mortal sin that his physical body has also died, and so he must walk to the end of the line and go into the fire. Totally destroyed. Separated eternally from God and from his brethren (I would use myself for that example, since I want the kids thinking positively, but it is a preference call).
Now, the line should be fully restored to its original condition and should operate smoothly and effectively. Start the cycle.
There are several other symbolic things that this line can demonstrate with regards to the salvation process:
Praise be to God the Father. Praise be to our Lord Jesus Christ, His only Son. Praise be to the Holy Spirit.
God Bless,
P12
I want to share a little exercise that the Holy Spirit revealed to me to assist in teaching young children the effects of sin on them as individuals and the Church as a whole. I have used this exercise with the six children I am preparing for first Penance and first Communion and they enjoyed it and learned from it.
The more I have thought out this exercise, the more meanings I am finding. Please share meanings you might find too.
The exercise follows the layout of a bucket brigade to put out a fire. The students are lined up with a little space between them and told that they represent themselves, as individual Catholics, and the Church, as being part of the Mystical Body of Christ.
On one end of the line, the first student will dunk a bucket (you can use any item, but it should be a little bulky to make the exercise work better) in imaginary water. This represents our entry into the Church through our Baptism. Individually, as adopted children of God and collectively, once again, as part of the Mystical Body of Christ the Church. It also symbolizes our freedom from sin, allowing us to fully participate in the salvation process and to assist our brethren and the Church.
On the other end of the line, when the bucket arrives, the last student will pour it out upon an imaginary fire. This represents eternal life - being saved from eternal damnation. It also represents the power of Christs sacrifice over evil by showing how the baptismal waters, which gain their power to conquer death through the death and resurrection of Christ, overcomes the flames (death).
Let the students cycle through a few times. Have them pass the bucket from beginning to end. They should be arms-length or more apart and they are not allowed to move from the spot in which they begin.
To demonstrate the effects of sin:
Stop the cycle. Choose some students and tell them that they have committed venial sins. Venial sins wound us, so assign to them a handicap, such as having to stand on one leg, being blind, using one arm, etc . Start the cycle.
The students should have a more difficult time accomplishing the task, both as individuals and as a line (the Church). They should be able to see now how venial sins affect themselves and the Church.
Stop the cycle. Choose more students and tell them they have committed mortal sins. You should choose at least one who had already been chosen for the venial sins to make the point that venial sins pre-dispose us to mortal sin. Others should be chosen who had not been assigned venial sins to show that they are distinct, though related.
Those students who are chosen for the mortal sins are removed from the line completely. This symbolizes the effect of mortal sins on their spiritual life, created in Baptism. It kills it. But they do not yet go into the fire!
Start the cycle. You should have a line which is missing some people now and which still has people wounded by venial sins. The process should be considerably more difficult now to complete, illustrating the effect that both these types of sins have on the Church. The effect on the individuals should also be reiterated once more. Dead and wounded.
To demonstrate the salvation process:
This line also symbolizes the salvation process. It begins with baptism and ends with eternal life. The bucket travels from one end to the other through a process. A process wherein which each individual freely participates with the rest, relying upon and helping one another.
Before beginning the next cycle, ask the students who are handicapped and those whose sins have killed them what part of the salvation process restores them? Confession. Confession is the means by which those who have been wounded or killed come back and fully participate again! For those who are dead, emphasize that it is the ONLY way to come back. This can be illustrated by telling one student who is spiritually dead as a result of mortal sin that his physical body has also died, and so he must walk to the end of the line and go into the fire. Totally destroyed. Separated eternally from God and from his brethren (I would use myself for that example, since I want the kids thinking positively, but it is a preference call).
Now, the line should be fully restored to its original condition and should operate smoothly and effectively. Start the cycle.
There are several other symbolic things that this line can demonstrate with regards to the salvation process:
- The bucket can symbolize our prayers. We each contribute to a pot of prayers that is used to help all of us. This could be a lead-in to discussion on the communion of saints, intercessory prayer and even purgatory.
- Our participation in the process requires action. Works. It is not enough to simply believe that the fire will go out, we must take actions. These actions not only help us, but our brethren and the Church. Tell them how we did not create the water that we fill our buckets from. That water is a gift from God and it symbolizes our redemption, our justification and our entry into the salvation process. We can do nothing to make (earn) the water, it is solely there as a gift of God. We must not only accept the gift (faith alone), but we must participate in it (works). This can then be used to go into a more detailed discussion of faiths and works.
Praise be to God the Father. Praise be to our Lord Jesus Christ, His only Son. Praise be to the Holy Spirit.
God Bless,
P12
