Want to look back at what we learned earlier this year?
Welcome to the Class Archives, which contain the previous Weekly Updates. (For the previous Virtues of the Week, visit "Resources -> Virtues".)
Week 8: October 12-14, 2026
We receive the grace of the Holy Spirit through the sacraments.
We will begin our week by learning about the virtue of Responsibility (part of Justice).
Last week, we learned that a sacrament is a special sign given by Jesus Christ to give us grace. Grace is the free, undeserved help that God gives us to respond to His call; it is God's life in us.
We will explore the first sacrament that we receive, Baptism, and its effects: it washes away Original Sin, restores our friendship with God, and gives us sanctifying grace. We will look at the symbols of Baptism - the Sign of the Cross, Holy Water, and chrism - using a work from Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.
In Baptism, we also receive the three Theological Virtues: faith, hope, and charity. We will learn what each of these virtues is, and how we can grow in them.
Week 7: October 5-9, 2026
We receive the grace of the Holy Spirit through the sacraments.
We will begin our week by learning about our the virtue of Obedience (part of Justice).
A sacrament is a special sign given by Jesus Christ to give us grace. God uses something physical and from this world to do something supernatural from heaven. Jesus is present in the seven sacraments, especially in the Eucharist. The seven sacraments are:
Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist
Sacraments of Healing: Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick
Sacraments of Service: Matrimony, Holy Orders
Grace is the free, undeserved help that God gives us to respond to His call; it is God's life in us. Grace makes us God's adopted sons and daughters. There are two kinds of grace: sanctifying grace (given to us through the sacraments) and actual grace (the spiritual help in each moment to practice virtue and resist temptation). As with any gift, we must respond by using the grace God gives us to love and serve God and others. The Saints give us examples of how to use the graces God gives.
Over the next few weeks, we will spend time exploring Baptism and Reconciliation... especially as we prepare to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time!
Week 6: September 28 - October 2, 2026
Prayer is talking to and listening to God as our Father and friend.
We will begin our week by learning about our the virtue of Docility (part of Prudence).
This week is all about prayer:
what it is
how we talk to God
how God speaks to us and how we can hear His voice
how Mary and the saints pray for us
Each day, we will have an opportunity to pray: with the words Jesus taught us, with our own words, by listening for God's voice in our hearts and in Sacred Scripture, by praying the Rosary, by asking the intercession of the saints. This will prepare us to use these prayers and to learn others during our year together!
We will also get to start using Hallow at home as we learn to pray! (Details and log-in information coming home in a packet.)
Week 5: September 21-25, 2026
Sin broke our friendship with God - but God had a plan to restore it.
We will begin our week by learning about our first "daughter virtue" of Temperance: Orderliness.
The focus of this week is on God's plan for creation, the Fall and the aftermath, God's promise of a savior, and the definition of "sin".
God's Plan for Creation
God created the world out of love, and our of nothing ("ex nihilo"). Everything in creation is a gift from God, and is GOOD. God created the world as a home for us, and God continues to watch over and take care of creation. God took care of Adam and Eve (providing food, a special home) and gave them responsibilities in the Garden of Eden (to be stewards and to obey His one command).
God created us in His image and likeness: in the image and likeness of the Trinity, a communion of Persons, which means we are made for relationship. God created us to be in a relationship with Him - to know and love Him.
God created humans with a BODY and a SOUL (we are "embodied souls"). God also created humans "male" and "female". Men and women are different, and God created us this way as a part of His plan.
God created the visible things as well as the invisible things... including the Angels. Angels have souls, but no bodies. They are created to know, love, and serve God, just as human beings are. "Angel" means "messenger" - they serve as God's messengers.
The Fall, Its Aftermath, and the Promise of a Savior
In Genesis 3, we read the account of The Fall - when Adam and Eve said "no" to God and let their trust in Him die in their hearts (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 397). This broke their friendship with God. But God had a plan to restore this relationship: in Genesis 3:15, He promises a savior. We call this the "proto-evangelium" or "first Gospel" ("gospel" means "good news"). Jesus' name means "God saves".
*We watched a video from Openlight Media's "Education in Virtue" series, in the unit on the Kerygma, to help us explore The Fall and the consequences. Check out OpenLightMedia.com to learn more!
**We will hear the Prophecy of the Great Light as we reflect on God's promise of a Savior.
What is sin?
Sin is when we choose not to love God or our neighbor as ourself. It is not the same thing as temptation, accidents, and mistakes.
All sin is serious, but it can be distinguished by two degrees: Venail and Mortal.
Venial sin wounds our relationship with God.
Mortal sin breaks it by killing God's life of grace in us (the life of grace which was restored in our souls at Baptism).
For a sin to be "mortal", it must be:
Grave matter: the act itself must be a serious violation of God's law or the Ten Commandments, such as murder, adultery, or missing Sunday Mass without a serious reason;
Full knowledge: the person must know and understand that the action is sinful and gravely contrary to God's law before or during the act; and
Deliberate consent: the person must know and understand that the action is sinful and gravely contrary to God's law before or during the act. (See Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 1854-1864).
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is where our souls receive full healing from all sin, both venial and mortal.
Week 4: September 14-18, 2026
God created me to know, love, and serve Him. I show my love for God by loving others.
We will begin our week by learning about the cardinal virtue of Fortitude (and reviewing the other Cardinal Virtues). Note: Next week, we begin learning about the "daughter virtues" of the Four Cardinal Virtues!
We are continuing our exploration of Creation by learning about Original Justice.
Humans were created "very good" (Genesis 1); God created us by breathing His life in us (Genesis 2) and calls us to share in His divine life - the life of grace. In Sacred Scripture, we discover that "God created everything for man; man was created to know, love, and serve God" (CCC 358). In the beginning, Adam and Eve lived in friendship with God. They also lived in harmony with each other, with creation, and within themselves. We call this "Original Justice" (like last week, when we talked about Original Unity, when we use "Original", we are referring to the time before The Fall).
We also hear in Scripture of the Ten Commandments. In the Gospels, we read that Jesus summed up the Ten Commandments (and all the other parts of the Jewish Law) into two "Great Commandments": You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, all your strength, and your neighbor as yourself (see Matthew 22:34-40). When asked "Who is my neighbor?", Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan to help us understand that EVERYONE is my neighbor.
In the lives of Jesus and the saints, we see that we love God by loving our neighbor, not just by praying and talking+listening to God. Our love is how people know that we are disciples - followers of God.
Week 3: September 8-11, 2026
God created the world out of love and it is good.
We will begin our week by learning about the cardinal virtue of Temperance (and reviewing Justice and Prudence). We will also talk about Mary's birthday (Tuesday's feast day) as we review the Liturgical Calendar + Colors.
This week, we will continue to explore Creation as we learn about Original Unity. Guided again by Ruah Wood's "Theology of the Body" curriculum, Revealed, we will see why giving gifts leads to happiness and explain why Adam was so happy when God created Eve. We will also recall the story, The Quiltmaker's Gift, as we explore how the quiltmaker helped the king find happiness; then, we will identify one person who has helped us on our journey toward becoming a saint.
Our week together will be short and sweet, since it is a 4-day week and Miss Bosse will be at a Professional Development class on Friday. While she's gone, 2D will learn about Mary's Sorrowful Heart (the Church's monthly devotion for September) by reading a book and doing a coloring page. Mary's Sorrowful Heart reminds us that she understands when we are sad, and that she wants to comfort us as any mother wants to comfort her children, if we turn to her in prayer.
*Learn more about Ruah Woods and their "Theology of the Body" curriculum: https://www.ruahwoodsinstitute.org/theology-of-the-body-curriculum/
Week 2: August 29-September 4, 2026
God created the world out of love and it is good.
This week, we will look at the Liturgical Calendar of the Church year, using a work from the Atrium. We will identify the season we are in right now: Ordinary Time. We will also learn a song to help us remember the four main colors of the Liturgical Year and what they represent:
"Purple and green, red and white, are the colors of the year.
Purple and green, red and white, remind us of the Light.
Purple is for preparation, White is for celebration,
Green is for the growing time, Red is for Pentecost!"
Throughout the week, we will explore the story of Creation. Guided by the activities created through Ruah Wood's "Theology of the Body" curriculum, Revealed, we will identify the gifts God gave on each day of creation and hear that God's creation is GOOD (Genesis 1). We will also identify that humans are separate from the rest of creation and that humans are God's most special gift of creation.
Then, we will identify the gifts God gave us individually to share with others while also explaining how human persons are alike. Lastly, we will identify the Eucharist as a gift that Jesus gives us at every Mass and explain one way we can individually give a selfless gift to others like Jesus did. (Tip: Ask your child to share with you what they chose as a way they could give a selfless gift to others.)
*Learn more about Ruah Woods and their "Theology of the Body" curriculum: https://www.ruahwoodsinstitute.org/theology-of-the-body-curriculum/
Week 1: August 24-28, 2026
God created. Sin destroyed. Jesus saves. We respond.
This week, we continued to practice the Kerygma - the kernel of the story of our salvation.
We also learned about the cardinal virtue of Justice and discussed our Religion Class Rules: ROCS (see "General Info: Class Expectations & Consequences").
We talked about the Scriptures before hearing the Parable of the Good Shepherd (a CGS presentation).
The Bible is a collection of books (73 total). All together, it tells the story of salvation.
Each book is inspired by God, through the Holy Spirit, written down by human authors.
The Bible is divided into two sections: The Old Testament (before Jesus' birth) and the New Testament (Jesus' birth and the first Christians).
We hear the Scriptures at Mass during the Liturgy of the Word.
We then talked about the Trinity:
The Trinity is a mystery revealed to us in the Scriptures - three distinct Persons, yet one God.
We heard the story of Jesus' Baptism (Matthew 3:16-17) where we hear that God is the Father, Jesus is the Son, and the Holy Spirit (represented by the dove) helps us be holy.
*In the Catholic faith, a mystery is a truth about God that we can only know through God's revelation/help. Unlike a mystery in literature, a "mystery of faith" is not something to be solved, but something that can be pondered for the rest of our lives.
We ended our week by talking about prayer, a way we respond to God:
Jesus taught us how to pray when He taught His disciples the Our Father.
Prayer is a conversation between us and God - we speak to Him, and listen to Him - which helps us grow in our relationship with Him. God speaks to us through words, memories, feelings, and songs.
The four types of prayer are 1) adoration/blessing, when we tell God we love Him; 2) contrition, when we tell God we are sorry for the things we do wrong; 3) thanksgiving, when we thank God for the good things we have; and 4) petition, when we ask God for things we or others need.
God answers our prayer petitions with a "yes", a "not yet", or a "no, I have something better".