It is almost the month of May and, for many in the second grade, this is a time of excitement and anticipation as First Communion dates approach. Throughout the year, students have studied and prepared for this holy sacrament in religion classes here at St. Benedict’s. Recently, however, the second grade read The Weight of a Mass: a Tale of Faith written by Josephine Nobisso and illustrated by Katalin Szegedi. For those not yet familiar with this book, it beautifully depicts the significance of the celebration of the Mass. The students enjoyed reading this book and related to the doubting baker as well as the young son standing up for his faith. As a class we completed an interdisciplinary activity of creating stained glass windows to match the final image in the book. To create the stained glass windows, students drew the Eucharist elevated above a golden chalice, representing the Blood of Christ. To create the “stained glass” appearance, the images of the chalice and Eucharist were surrounded by shades of blue tissue paper. The images now hang in our own classroom windows, as a reminder of the “weight of a Mass” and the importance of the Sacrament of Holy Communion for us all. We wish all of our students all the best and will continue to pray for them as they receive their First Communion!
Author: Katie Fair, 2nd Grade Teacher