Sacraments on the Fly - New Evangelizers

I used to teach sacraments to adults in RCIA, and to kids in Catechism class. With my current curriculum I don’t have specific lesson plans for sacraments.  Now sacramental content is woven into the wider lessons, and over the year a sacrament will get treated in four ways:

1. Each bit of Old Testament scripture that we cover which is relevant to one or more sacraments is connected to that sacrament on the spot: anointing, washing, sprinkling, miracle bread, miracle flesh, Passover, laying hands, etc. are discussed at least briefly in terms of foreshadowing one or more sacraments. Typically I make the kids figure out which ones (I rarely hand out answers).

2. In the New Testament, every miraculous thing Jesus or an Apostle does is connected to a sacrament, even it’s nothing more than observing that once again, a physical encounter is required with Jesus or an authorized agent in order to obtain particular graces or healing.

3. Time allowing, I also do something physical: run a skit, draw a picture, lay hands on a head, rub mud on eyes, grab a passing tassel, anything to put a visual stamp on the idea. By the time we get to Acts, an 11-year-old can tell me when I should lay hands on somebody.

4. I keep a stash of props in my bag. Hitting the rock with Moses’ rod,  smacking the Jordan with my coat, or pressing a rag to a kid’s forehead reinforces the physical, mediating nature of sacraments, even if I don’t explicitly say so every time. Again, by the time we get to Acts, the kids tell me about it.

One thing I like about teaching sacraments on the fly is that it’s virtually impossible for the children to not have a big picture of sacraments as extensions of phenomena that are integral to the warp and weft of Bible history.

Copyright 2014, Christian LeBlanc

Christian LeBlanc

Christian LeBlanc is a revert whose pre-Vatican II childhood was spent in South Louisiana, where he marinated in a Catholic universe and acquired a Catholic imagination. During his middle school years in South Carolina, Christian was catechized under the benevolent dictatorship of Sister Mary Alphonsus, who frequently admonished him using the nickname "Little Pagan." After four years of teaching Adult Ed and RCIA, he returned to Sr. Alphonsus' old classroom to teach Catechism himself. Married to Janet, the LeBlancs have five children and two grandsons. Christian and Janet belong to St. Mary's Parish in Greenville, South Carolina. Christian also posts at Amazing Catechists and his blog, Smaller Manhattans. He is the author of The Bible Tells Me So: A Year of Catechizing Directly from Scripture.