January 6 Lesson PreK
**Remember to pray for your seminarian
** Please read about the Year of Mercy Saint:
St. Basil the Great (Corporal Works of Mercy) following this lesson
**Booklets for the Corporal/Spiritual Works of Mercy are included if needed
Welcome:



Play gathering music softly.
Have children play with play dough or put puzzles together
Encourage children to talk about themselves and to the others sitting nearby.

Announce that when the music gets softer the children should meet you in the prayer space
Prayer:



Have the children quiet themselves and “center” themselves to talk God.
Welcome the children. Ask: Have you ever been afraid? Did you know that “Don’t be afraid!”
is said by Jesus over and over again in the Bible? He really doesn’t want us to be afraid. He
wants us to trust him. Let’s pray:
Assist children with the Sign of the Cross
Jesus, when we start to feel afraid of something, we know that all
we have to do is remember you. You are always with us. Help us
trust that you will help us and protect us. Thank you!
Ask children if they have prayers to add
Amen

Assist children with the Sign of the Cross
Discovering:


Say: Today’s Scripture Story is about how important we are to God. It is called: Do Not Worry!
Jesus was talking to his friends. He said, “Do not worry about what you will eat. Don’t think
about what you are going to wear. Look at the birds. They don’t grow crops or try to store
food. God makes sure that they have enough to eat.” (Show picture of bird feeding her young)

Jesus kept talking. He said, “Look at the flowers that grow everywhere. They don’t worry about
making clothes. They are very beautiful, though. They are more beautiful than a king in fine
robes!” (Show the picture of the flowers)

Jesus told his friends, “Flowers do not last very long, but God takes care of them. If God takes
good care of flowers and birds, he will take good care of you. You are more important.”

Then Jesus said, “So, don’t ask one another, ‘What should we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or
‘What should we wear?’ God knows that you need these things,” Jesus said.

“Just be a good person. Then God will make sure that you have everything you need,” Jesus
said.

(Point at the pictures again) Say: We have seen some special things from God’s world. We
know that those things are special to God. What is more special than those things? (We are)

Say: If God takes care of those things, then he will take care of us!! Even though the world is
full of people for God to watch over, he has asked a special angel to stay with you and guide
you. That angel is called your Guardian Angel.

You can’t see your angel, but it is there. Your Guardian Angel is here to make sure that you are
kept safe. Your angel will also help you make good decisions. Angels have shown God that they
can be trusted to do the right thing.

You can ask your angel to pray to God for you. When you feel scared, ask your angel to help you
feel safe. When you are lonely, ask your angel to help you feel peaceful. When you wonder if
you are doing the right thing, ask your angel to help you to be a good person. And when your
deepest wish is that someone you love be kept safe, you can ask that of your Guardian Angel,
too.
Activity: Color the Guardian Angel Prayer
Materials: Copies of the Guardian Angel Prayer. Crayons or markers



Pass out copies of the Guardian Angel Prayer
Have children color and practice the prayer with them
Allow children to decorate
Sending/close:



Play music while children clean up and gather the things. As music gets softer they should join
you in prayer space.
Allow children to center themselves.
Explain that that it was a wonderful time to be with friends and teachers. Explain: God made
such beautiful things. (Show the pictures again) Here are the flowers. Does it need clothes?
No, it already has color and everything it needs because God made it so. God takes care of
everything. See the bird. God makes sure it has the food it needs. He knows every bird he
created. God takes good care of all his creatures. God takes care of everything. He also made

you and me. God says we are more important than the birds and flowers, so we know that God
will take very good care of us! God takes care of everything and everyone! Let us pray:
Practice the Sign of the Cross
Dear God, thank you for taking good care of us, your
children. Thank you for my Guardian Angel too.
(Pray the Guardian Angel prayer)
Amen


Complete with the Sign of the Cross (assist children if needed)
Pass out any information/ materials/projects needed for families
7:30 Dismiss Children at school’s main doors
From Loyola Press: Saint Basil the Great and Saint Gregory Nazianzen
Feast day January 2
Basil was educated in Caesarea, Constantinople, and Athens in the fourth century. He enjoyed
stimulating university life. There he met Gregory Nazianzen, a quiet, scholarly man. The two became
close friends.
Basil traveled through the East and studied monastic life. As a result, he formed his own monastic
group. Gregory joined him. From their discussions, Basil composed a rule of life for monks. He
allowed monks and nuns to operate hospitals and guesthouses and work outside the community. His
principles still influence Eastern monasticism.
The two friends lived the monastic life for only about five years. Then Gregory had to return home to
care for his father, who was a bishop. When Gregory got home, he was ordained a priest, although
he did not think himself worthy. He watched over his father’s diocese.
In 374, Basil was made bishop of Caesarea. The Church called on him to refute the Arian heresy,
which claimed that Jesus was not God. Emperor Valens promoted the heresy. Basil believed the
Church must remain independent of the emperor and boldly defended the Church. He preached
morning and evening to large crowds. When a famine struck, he gave his money to people who were
poor. He organized a soup kitchen and served the people himself. Basil even built a town, which
included a church, a hospital, and a guesthouse.
Basil continued to write for the Church and to clarify the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation.
When one town was falling away from the faith, Basil ordained Gregory bishop and sent him there.
Gregory went unhappily because he disliked conflict. The two friends were later reconciled.
For 30 years, Constantinople had been under the leadership of supporters of the Arian movement.
The bishops of the surrounding areas begged Gregory to come and restore the faith, and again he
went, dreading the task. Gregory made his house a church and preached on the Trinity. The people
called him “the theologian.”
Both Basil and Gregory were misunderstood, but in spite of this, they rebuilt the faith. Basil died at
age 49. Gregory resigned from Constantinople because of opposition and spent his last years
reading, writing his autobiography, and enjoying his gardens.
Suggestions


Show the students that the Church still defends the faith. The pope writes encyclicals. The
bishops publish pastoral statements. Bring in some of these publications and display.
Have the students write a personal act of faith on good paper and decorate the page them.