7th grade Mary Lesson
Opening prayer:
Hail Mary, full of grace.
Our Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen
10 min: Review themes from past lessons
15 min: Where do we get the Hail Mary? Did we make it up? All Christian faiths will say the Our Father because it is in the Bible; (Matt 6:9) but Catholics are really the only ones that pray the Hail Mary, or pray to Mary at all. Most other faiths actually think we made up the prayer; that it’s not biblically based. When we pray to Mary, we are essentially, saying, ‘Blessed Mary, you are living in the very presence of God, would you please take my request, my prayer, and put it before God who chose you to be the Mother of His Son?’
Let’s take a look….
Read Luke 1:26-56
(you might have to explain that the Good News translation that they are using, the words are translated differently – the Revised Standard Version (RSV) translation has the same
terminology as the prayer)
Verse 28: Hail Mary, full of Grace
The Lord is with you
Verse 42: Blessed are you among women
And blessed is the fruit of your womb.
Verse 43: Holy Mary, Mother of God
(As you can see the first part of the Hail Mary comes from the Bible, the second comes from our Tradition.)
Oral Tradition: Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen As Catholics we believe in eternal life. Therefore, just like you would ask your
Mom, Dad, grandparents, friends, etc… to pray for you we can call on the saints, angels, and the Holy Souls in Purgatory to pray for us. So why wouldn’t we also ask our Blessed Mother to pray for us? She is the closest to Jesus. Wouldn’t you think her prayers are pretty powerful? How can Jesus refuse His Mom?
The Bible is full of examples of intercessory prayer, both for the living and the dead. We can ask our loved ones to pray for us, and (assuming they are still in purgatory) we can pray for them that they will one day be in the presence of God and fully enjoy the wonders of Heaven.
Why can’t I just pray to Jesus and that’s it. Well, you can, but wouldn’t you rather have a whole bunch of people praying for you instead of just you? God has given us this beautiful Catholic family (Mary, the baptized people still on earth, the Holy Souls in purgatory, and the angels and saints), and this family is always there for us. That can be very comforting to know when bad things happen to us.
20-30 min Activity(s):
Mysteries of the Rosary
This activity is very versatile. You can take this activity as deep as time allows.
Timeline Activity
Each mystery represents part of Mary and Jesus’ life. Have the students put the mysteries in order of how they happened.
Mystery Activity
Place each mystery in the proper set, in order.
Bible Lookup
On the back of each mystery is a Bible verse that goes along with it. Have the students look each verse to learn more about the mystery.
Virtues/Gifts
Under each Bible verse is a virtue or gift that the mystery can teach us. Have the students discuss how that mystery can lead us deeper into the understanding of that virtue/gift.
Joyful Mysteries
The Annunciation The Visitation The Nativity The Presentation
Finding Jesus in the Temple Luminous Mysteries
The Baptism of Jesus Wedding at Cana
Proclamation of the Kingdom The Transfiguration
The Institution of the Eucharist Sorrowful Mysteries
Agony in the Garden Scourging at the Pillar Crowning of Thorns Carrying of the Cross The Crucifixion Glorious Mysteries
The Resurrection The Ascension Pentecost
Assumption of Mary Coronation of Mary
30 min Teach the Rosary
Make sure each student has a rosary and an instruction pamphlet. Pick a set of mysteries to say along with the rosary. Stop and explain the rosary as you go, don’t just “whip off” the Hail Mary’s and the Our Father’s. It is better to only say 5 Hail Mary’s per decade and teach them the mysteries than to go so fast that they aren’t following along.
Make sure you have the students offer up intentions. It might be helpful for you to first have them think about someone or something that they want to pray for and then have them go around the room and say it out loud. This will help to reinforce the power of intercessory prayer.
Begin the rosary explaining each part and what they should be doing. For ideas and suggestions see the Rosary pamphlet.
5 min Journal:
If Mary was next to you, what would you tell her? What would you say to her? What question would you ask her?
Feasts days to honor Mary:
January 1: Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God August 15: Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
December 8: Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary (Mass Thursday evening!)
Closing prayer:
Memorare
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.
Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.
