Catechesis: Grades 3 – 5

WE ENCOUNTER God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

• God’s everlasting love is revealed in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. 
• God gave human beings the special gift of free will, which means we can choose to do what is right or wrong. 
• God responded to the sin of the first humans with mercy and forgiveness. 
• A covenant is a special agreement or pledge.  God made a covenant of love with Noah, Abraham, Moses and to all people. 
• The Beatitudes describe how to live the way Jesus lived.  Jesus taught us the Beatitudes and showed us how to live them. 
• Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to help, guide and inspire us.

WE ARE FORMED in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

• The Catholic Church is a community of God’s people; Catholic Christians profess certain beliefs and have certain responsibilities that are different from other Christians. 
• The Church is a visible sign of the kingdom of God. 
• Catholics have a responsibility to bring the light of Christ to everyone and to be a servant to the world. 
• The work of the Church is to show love, peace and justice in the world. 
• Mary is a special model of holiness. 
• The Church Year celebrates Jesus as Savior of the world. It also honors Mary and all the saints, living and dead. 

WE RESPOND as disciples of Christ helping to build the Kingdom. 

• Being a good steward means that we respect all forms of life, especially human life, from birth to death. 
• We learn how to live a moral life from our families and from the Church. 
• The Ten Commandments, the Great Commandment, the Beatitudes and the teachings of the Church help us form and use our conscience. 
• Personal and social sin weakens or destroys our relationship with God and others. Very serious sins are called mortal sins; less serious sins are called venial sins. 
• Jesus gave the Church the power to forgive sin; Catholics celebrate God’s forgiveness in a special way through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. 
• The Church has laws that help us strengthen our relationship with God and the Church community; these laws are called “Precepts of the Church.” 
• Sunday is a holy day of obligation; that means Catholics are required by Church law to attend Mass and refrain from unnecessary work. 
• The Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy are ways we can show love for others, especially those in need. 
• Virtues are good habits which help us live as God wants us to live. 
• We call Faith, Hope and Charity (or Love) the “theological virtues;”  we call Prudence, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance the “cardinal virtues.” 
• We should show respect and care for the ways our bodies grow and work; we should show this same respect and care for other people’s bodies. 
• We should protect and nurture God’s gift of life from the beginning of life to the end. 
• It is important to think about what it means to live a moral life according to the way God wants us to live. 
• We should learn and pray: the Jesus Prayer, the Acts of Faith, Hope and Love and the Mysteries of the Rosary. 
• We should learn: the Seven Sacraments and the Beatitudes.