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 will begin our week by learning about the virtue of Responsibility (part of Justice).
Last week, we reviewed 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 also began to 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. Several weeks ago, we also learned about the three Theological Virtues: faith, hope, and charity. These gifts are also given to us in our Baptism.
This week, 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.
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 take a "deep dive" into each of the seven sacraments, beginning with Baptism!
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. (This lesson on Sin should be a review for 3rd grade, as it was covered in depth during 2nd grade sacramental prep).
Week 4: September 14-18, 2026
Humans are made in the image and likeness of God. I can 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!
Last week, we dove deeply into the three Theological Virtues (faith, hope, and charity), and that depth meant we did not get to our discussion about The Fall. We will return to it next week.
This week, in light of what we have explored about Creation, we will see how being made in God's image and likeness means that each person has dignity: they are worthy of honor and respect.
We will also explore the Two Great Commandments, through which Jesus summed up the Ten Commandments and all the Jewish Law (see Matthew 22:34-40).
Putting these two things together (dignity + The Two Great Commandments), we will read about the life of St. Pier Georgio Frassatti and then reflect on how we can love God and our neighbor.
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 explore the three Theological Virtues: Faith, Hope, and Charity. We will learn the definition of each, a symbol to remind us of the meaning, and how each virtue can help us become saints. (Yes, this was supposed to be a part of last week's lessons... but sometimes it's better to slow down and focus a little more than planned on a topic, because quality and depth is important!)
At the end of the week, we will review the story of The Fall (Genesis 3). Using a video produced by OpenLight Media, we will complete a note-booklet. We will also hear the prophecy "The Great Light", presented in the style of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.
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, KM 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.
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!"
We will begin our week together by looking at God's Name and the First Three Commandments - the Second Commandment reminds us that God's Name is holy and that we should act with Justice toward God by reverencing His Name.
We will end our week by exploring the three Theological Virtues: Faith, Hope, and Charity. We will learn the definition of each, a symbol to remind us of the meaning, and how each virtue can help us become saints.
Throughout the week, we will review 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.
*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 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".
We ended our week by talking about the Trinity and exploring the Apostles Creed:
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) teaches us and helps us be holy.
The Apostles Creed lists what we believe, passed down from the time of the twelve Apostles. All three Persons of the Trinity are named in the Creed.
*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.