O
Odell
Guest
Husband and I have a classs to teach second graders about the Holy Trinity. Any advise where we could get info/activities would be awesome. Thank you.
- Status
D
Della
Guest
If you are teaching through your parish, shouldn’t they have materials for you to use? If not, ask them. 
Also, Our Sunday Visitor Publshing has material for teaching children.
Also, Our Sunday Visitor Publshing has material for teaching children.
E
Em_in_FL
Guest
How about the basic example used by St. Patrick… the “lucky Irish clover”…
3 unique leaves, yet part of the same single clover.
:irish2:
B
BLB_Oregon
Guest
You can also explain it this way. Ask if they have a very good friend, someone who brings out the best in them. Ask if their mom and dad are like that…that is, you can’t really know one unless you know both.
Explain that understanding how the three Persons of God can be distinctly three and yet absolutely one is only difficult to us because we do not understand love very well yet. When we love as God intends us to, with God’s love instead of with our little human love, we become both more ourselves and more unified with the needs of those around us. We become more distinct, but more unique–more unmistakeably Jake and Maria and Brandon and Jessica–and yet more one with those we love, too.
We can see this in the lives of the saints. Each one is so different. That is because learning to love is how we become our unique selves.
Thus, the mystery of the Trinity isn’t just some fact we need to learn. It is a life we must learn to live. It is what Christianity is all about:
“I do not pray for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their word, that all may be one as you, Father, are in me, and I in you; I pray that they may be one in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me that they may be one, as we are one–I living in them, you living in me–that their unity may be complete. So shall the world know that you sent me, and that you loved them as you loved me.” John 17:20-23
This is also why those who do not know how to love cannot have Heaven, for to be in Heaven is to be absolutely abandoned to love. Eternity is the greatest happiness for those who love, and the greatest torture for those who will not. If you prefer sin instead of love, then that sin is something you hold on to. You hurt to lose it. The thing is, everything that is not love will burn away in eternity. When all that is burned away, the person who cannot love as God does, who cannot find joy in giving of themselves, is left with nothing.
What a great thing, though, if love is the center of all, as it will be in Heaven! No misunderstandings, no worrying about getting enough or who doesn’t like you or whether you’re good enough. You love everybody, everybody loves you, and nothing you ever experience is ruined by hurt feelings. Every smell, every taste, every sound, every sight can shine brightly and be enjoyed fully. You will be full of joy, praise, and thanksgiving for every good thing that comes from God.
And do you know what? That can start now. Think about it. If you are thankful, doesn’t the ice cream taste better? If you are getting along with your friends, when no one is worried about who gets the credit or who is the center of attention, aren’t all the games more fun? If you have nothing to feel guilty about, isn’t your heart light and carefree?
That is what Jesus meant when he said the Kingdom of God is at hand. Heaven is there, today, waiting for us to love and to join into it. The easiest sin is harder on us and hurts us more in the end than the hardest kind of love…we just have to believe that and let God convert us over to that way of seeing. Even when it is hard to love, we are never lost in love. We are always found. That is what living in the Trinity has to teach us.
I have asked first graders if they are going to be saints some day. A good fraction will say “no.” I say, oh, if you’re going to heaven, you can be certain that God is going to make you into a saint! I guarantee that you are going to love it! No saint ever looks back and says, “Oh, I would have enjoyed going on sinning awhile longer.” No, once they leave, they never want to go back. So since that is where you are going, and since it is better than where you are now, you may as well let God get started…today!
That is, after all, what a mystery is. It is something you only know by living it. The mystery of the Trinity can only be truly known by those who are one with God. To everyone else, it is only a puzzle.
Explain that understanding how the three Persons of God can be distinctly three and yet absolutely one is only difficult to us because we do not understand love very well yet. When we love as God intends us to, with God’s love instead of with our little human love, we become both more ourselves and more unified with the needs of those around us. We become more distinct, but more unique–more unmistakeably Jake and Maria and Brandon and Jessica–and yet more one with those we love, too.
We can see this in the lives of the saints. Each one is so different. That is because learning to love is how we become our unique selves.
Thus, the mystery of the Trinity isn’t just some fact we need to learn. It is a life we must learn to live. It is what Christianity is all about:
“I do not pray for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their word, that all may be one as you, Father, are in me, and I in you; I pray that they may be one in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me that they may be one, as we are one–I living in them, you living in me–that their unity may be complete. So shall the world know that you sent me, and that you loved them as you loved me.” John 17:20-23
This is also why those who do not know how to love cannot have Heaven, for to be in Heaven is to be absolutely abandoned to love. Eternity is the greatest happiness for those who love, and the greatest torture for those who will not. If you prefer sin instead of love, then that sin is something you hold on to. You hurt to lose it. The thing is, everything that is not love will burn away in eternity. When all that is burned away, the person who cannot love as God does, who cannot find joy in giving of themselves, is left with nothing.
What a great thing, though, if love is the center of all, as it will be in Heaven! No misunderstandings, no worrying about getting enough or who doesn’t like you or whether you’re good enough. You love everybody, everybody loves you, and nothing you ever experience is ruined by hurt feelings. Every smell, every taste, every sound, every sight can shine brightly and be enjoyed fully. You will be full of joy, praise, and thanksgiving for every good thing that comes from God.
And do you know what? That can start now. Think about it. If you are thankful, doesn’t the ice cream taste better? If you are getting along with your friends, when no one is worried about who gets the credit or who is the center of attention, aren’t all the games more fun? If you have nothing to feel guilty about, isn’t your heart light and carefree?
That is what Jesus meant when he said the Kingdom of God is at hand. Heaven is there, today, waiting for us to love and to join into it. The easiest sin is harder on us and hurts us more in the end than the hardest kind of love…we just have to believe that and let God convert us over to that way of seeing. Even when it is hard to love, we are never lost in love. We are always found. That is what living in the Trinity has to teach us.
I have asked first graders if they are going to be saints some day. A good fraction will say “no.” I say, oh, if you’re going to heaven, you can be certain that God is going to make you into a saint! I guarantee that you are going to love it! No saint ever looks back and says, “Oh, I would have enjoyed going on sinning awhile longer.” No, once they leave, they never want to go back. So since that is where you are going, and since it is better than where you are now, you may as well let God get started…today!
That is, after all, what a mystery is. It is something you only know by living it. The mystery of the Trinity can only be truly known by those who are one with God. To everyone else, it is only a puzzle.
M
Maria3m
Guest
I agree with using St. Patrick & his clover explanation for this age group.
L
LynnieLew
Guest
We also used this along with a little song:
One God
Three Persons
God the Father
God the Son
God the Hooooly Ghost!
Of course, I can’t really explain how it sounds on here…
It is just a fun, snappy number for repitition.
D
DVIN_CKS
Guest
Along with a three leaf clover, I also used a big three wick candle.
The candle was impressive because it gives off light and heat, and a nice scent (the candle I used was scented). I explained that all three wicks were separate and each gave off its own light and heat, but all three wicks constituted the ONE candle. The kids could see real quick that the three wicks represented the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit while at the same time it was still just one candle. They could also see how each wick contributed to the candle’s purpose… giving off light, heat and scent.
I liked using the candle because so often we teach that Jesus is the “light of the world” and we use candles in liturgy to bring this point home.
P.S. The kids also thought it was cool to sit in the dark and then watch me bring the corner of the room to light by lighting the wicks.
Good luck!
The candle was impressive because it gives off light and heat, and a nice scent (the candle I used was scented). I explained that all three wicks were separate and each gave off its own light and heat, but all three wicks constituted the ONE candle. The kids could see real quick that the three wicks represented the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit while at the same time it was still just one candle. They could also see how each wick contributed to the candle’s purpose… giving off light, heat and scent.
I liked using the candle because so often we teach that Jesus is the “light of the world” and we use candles in liturgy to bring this point home.
P.S. The kids also thought it was cool to sit in the dark and then watch me bring the corner of the room to light by lighting the wicks.
Good luck!
D
DVIN_CKS
Guest
I forgot to mention the other thing that the kids like…we made “Trinity bracelets”.
Take three pieces of colored string (three different colors) and ask the kids to have their parents help them braid the strings to make a bracelet. Tell them to wear their Trinity bracelets to class the following week. Ask them what would happen if they took one string away and tried to braid? Answer: You wouldn’t have a braid. This exercise points out that the three strings must be intertwined to produce the bracelet. Having three different colors shows how each strand compliments the other two and is part of the whole.
Take three pieces of colored string (three different colors) and ask the kids to have their parents help them braid the strings to make a bracelet. Tell them to wear their Trinity bracelets to class the following week. Ask them what would happen if they took one string away and tried to braid? Answer: You wouldn’t have a braid. This exercise points out that the three strings must be intertwined to produce the bracelet. Having three different colors shows how each strand compliments the other two and is part of the whole.
R
Rob_s_Wife
Guest
I suggest you purchase the book St. Patrick’s Summer: A Children’s Adventure Catechism by Marigold Hunt.
M
Maria3m
Guest
We hang out in the same places, Martha.
Gotta love Tomie dePaola’s, Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland.
C
ctc
Guest
I really like this idea of the candel and plan to use this tomorrow when I teach my first graders. Thank you for sharing this!
G
geovet
Guest
I have learned a very simple method to understand the trinity. Great for kids. Again very simple, but look at Neopolitan ice cream. Three flavors natures, all needed to make the whole of one.
O
OutinChgoburbs
Guest
I was told this today by my second grader while we reviewed for her religion test tomorrow: “Three persons, one God, no problem. They tell you about shamrocks and triangles, but it’s better to just not think about it, and know it’s true.” Best explanation of apriori I’ve heard in a long time.
S
smallcat
Guest
Two analogies I like:
An egg: three parts (yolk, white, shell) but one whole
Water: three phases (steam/gas, liquid, ice) but one substance. This may be hard for 2nd graders if they don’t know that steam is water in the gaseous phase.
An egg: three parts (yolk, white, shell) but one whole
Water: three phases (steam/gas, liquid, ice) but one substance. This may be hard for 2nd graders if they don’t know that steam is water in the gaseous phase.
R
Rob_s_Wife
Guest
here’s another good book about it.
A Picture of God, 3 in 1
apple peel
apple flesh
apple core
**Very good and timely as it’s apple season!
**
A Picture of God, 3 in 1
apple peel
apple flesh
apple core
**Very good and timely as it’s apple season!
**
U
udoc89
Guest
Out of the mouths of babes!
M
Mimi
Guest
Rob’s Wife beat me to it with 3 in 1. I saw this book almost 20 yrs ago when we were homeschooling and should’ve bought it then. Oh well; guess I can still get it and save it for future grandkiddies!
I saw a tv show where neo-pagans were doing some kind of solstice dance/celebration. A man stepped to the center of the circle, held up an apple & sliced it around its equator saying (something like): “ee the star shape and the five points which is
our symbol!”
So Christians aren’t the only ones who use the apple to explain things, but of course, we do have the Truth.
God bless and happy autumn,
Mimi
I saw a tv show where neo-pagans were doing some kind of solstice dance/celebration. A man stepped to the center of the circle, held up an apple & sliced it around its equator saying (something like): “ee the star shape and the five points which is
our symbol!”
So Christians aren’t the only ones who use the apple to explain things, but of course, we do have the Truth.
God bless and happy autumn,
Mimi
M
Mimi
Guest
Did a quick search for pagan symbols and found this:
The cross is a remarkable shape. Usually just two intersecting lines, the symbol is used in mathematics, it stops people parking their cars at the road side, and stops people at international border checkpoints. It’s a kiss at the bottom of a love letter and it’s a vote for a politician. A death cross in financial terms means a situation where long-term and short-term averages converge. The cross is used extensively in black magic and in innumerable religions.
The cross is a remarkable shape. Usually just two intersecting lines, the symbol is used in mathematics, it stops people parking their cars at the road side, and stops people at international border checkpoints. It’s a kiss at the bottom of a love letter and it’s a vote for a politician. A death cross in financial terms means a situation where long-term and short-term averages converge. The cross is used extensively in black magic and in innumerable religions.
Code:
I think this is a very good reason to always use or wear the crucifix (cross with corpus of Christ on it) instead of just a plain cross. These days it makes it clear that one is a Christian and not wearing some kind of pagan symbol, hmm?
Nothing on this page about 5 points of something or other.
Mimi- Status