Trust in love - questions and activities

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QUESTIONS

1. What use did the author have for the feather that Mary took from the angel?
2. What kind of worker do you think Joseph is from his description in the story?
3. Elizabeth and Mary both fell pregnant to glorify God. How did Elizabeth’s pregnancy bring glory to God’s goodness?
4. What do you think the author is inferring in the line ‘she found faith in the way the wheat grew and fell, in the sun’s orbit, in the way animals ate and slept’?
5. What passages in the article describe Mary and Joseph's feelings for each other? How do Mary and Joseph's feelings change throughout the article?

 

ACTIVITIES

Seeking God’s voice: God speaks to all of our hearts in unique ways. For St Joseph, God spoke through dreams. For Mary, God spoke through a physical visit from an angel. For St Elizabeth, God spoke through circumstances (muting her husband, allowing her to fall pregnant) and personal insight (when she calls out recognising Mary’s situation, before Mary tells her). Consider the times in your day-to-day activities when you feel a sense of peace, joy or wonder. What is it about these times that lifts your heart? Perhaps God is using these times to speak to you. What would you like to know from God? What would you like to hear Him say to you?

Seeing the face of an angel: Read the Annunciation in Luke 1:26-38. Knowing how much Mary loves and is united to God’s will, why do you think Mary was troubled or perplexed when the angel Gabriel told her she was favoured by God? Think about Mary’s expression at this moment in time. How would you describe her face, in light of the angel’s news? What kind of thoughts might she have been having?  Consider in particular the revelation in light of her relationship with Joseph. What kind of thoughts might she have been having? (Further reading - here's a writer imagining that scene in a modern context: https://www.australiancatholics.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=39138). How would you feel if you were in this situation? What would your reaction be? Why is Mary so revered by Catholics?

Dialoguing: Write a scene of dialogue between Mary and Joseph - it may be a 'first date', or the scene where Mary reveals to Joseph she's pregnant with God's child, or a scene from the Christmas story set in Bethlehem. Consider setting it in our time (see the article linked in the above activity for an example). What do they say to each other? How do they respond to each other? How do they show their feelings towards each other? How do they support each other?

Historical research and social considerations: Research the history of Jewish betrothal and marriage. How does it differ from our society’s or the Catholic sacramental idea of engagement and marriage today? Consider the kind of social challenges Mary and Joseph would have faced when Mary was betrothed to Joseph and then became pregnant by God?  What kind of social challenges could an unplanned pregnancy present for women today? Build a table comparing engagement and marriage now to betrothal and marriage back then.

Love and relationships today #1: Speak to your parents or an adult married couple who is significant to you about their 'betrothal' or engagement period. Did they face any challenges at that time? What doubts or anxieties did they have to overcome before they committed themselves to each other? What issues did they have to discuss with each other - e.g. the place of children, economic security (who will work and who will stay home), etc? How did that time shape their marriage as it is today? Put together a report, or video interview, sharing the couple's reflections.

Love and relationships today #2: Put together a local parish guide for couples seeking to get married. Include information about the process (hints here: https://www.australiancatholics.com.au/article/getting-married-in-the-catholic-church ) as well as an overview of some of the questions or issues that couples should be having conversations about before they get married (see some of those outlined in the questions above as examples). Include a passage about what makes a Catholic marriage special, and how couples today might be inspired by the example of Mary and Joseph.

FOR YOUNGER STUDENTS

Considering angels: Give students the outline of an angel. Ask students to close their eyes and listen, as you read the Annunciation in Luke 1:26-38. Ask students to consider what the angel looked like. Was the angel friendly? Was the angel bringing good news or bad news or boring news? Where did the angel come from, what makes you think that? Are there any words that stayed in their minds while you were reading? Have students write words for their answers on the wings of their angel. Students can then draw the angel’s facial expression, and decorate the angel using collage pieces (pompons, pipe cleaners, cut out shapes of coloured tissue paper, sequins etc.)

Jesus' parents: Ask the students to share what they know about Jesus' parents, Mary and Joseph. Put the words up on a board, then ask the students if they can come up with a 'Christmas Carol' verse about Mary and Joseph, using some of those words. You could give them a current Christmas tune (e.g. Jingle Bells or Silent Night) that they could put words to. The students might like to practice and perform their carol for the whole school ahead of Christmas.