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December2022 Ten Ten Resources Parent Newsletter

As December arrives, we find ourselves already in the second week of Advent - our time of preparation for the coming of Jesus at Christmas. Amidst all the busyness of getting ready for nativity plays and carol services, the fun of decorating trees, wrapping gifts, and no doubt plenty of pre-Christmas celebrating, Advent is a time to pause, reflect and get ready to welcome Jesus into our hearts.

This newsletter shares some of the content children will experience in school throughout December and suggests ways for you to engage with them about it. We hope and pray for blessings for you and your family as you prepare together for Jesus’ coming at Christmas.

Our Pilgrimage to the Manger: Prepare a Way!

The mini-series of Advent assemblies, Our Pilgrimage to the Manger, leads us to Bethlehem, the final stopping place at the end of the Ten Ten Year of Pilgrimage. You can find out more about preparing to welcome Jesus at Christmas in this article.

The assembly for the week commencing 5th December, ‘Prepare a Way!’ focuses on the many ways we can receive messages that lead us to God.

Children learn that the Advent Wreath itself holds special messages that help us to get to know more about God as well as being a focus for our Christmas preparations.

  • The circle – reminds us that God has no beginning and no end
  • Evergreen leaves – remind us that like the year-round green leaves of a Christmas Tree, God never changes
  • Five candles – provide a countdown for the four weeks of Advent and the celebration of Christmas Day
  • Purple – the liturgical colour representing prayer, penance, good works and sacrifice
  • Rose/pink (for the 3rd Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday) – the liturgical colour of joy
  • White (for Christmas Day) – the liturgical colour of purity to represent the life of Christ

In the Gospel for the Second Week of Advent, we hear an important message from John the Baptist. Perhaps you’d like to read it again with your child/ren:

Matthew 3: 1 - 12 (paraphrased)

A man called John the Baptist came with a message. He cried out to the people:

“Prepare for the Lord! Change your ways!”

John lived a simple life in the desert. He wore simple clothes made of camel hair with a leather belt and he ate the food he found in the desert.

People were interested in John, and they started to listen. Soon they wanted to change, just like John said, and John baptised them with water so they could start afresh.

People began to think that John was the special one they had been waiting for, but John said:

“There is someone coming after me who is far greater and more powerful than me. I baptise you with water, but He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.”

John tells the people they must get ready for the Lord and just like the people in the Gospel who listened to that message and decided to change, we too can think about the choices we make and decide to make a new start. Children learned that when we follow Jesus’ example in our words and actions, we become messengers too – spreading the message of God’s love!

In this penultimate assembly of the Ten Ten Year of Pilgrimage, children were reminded of one of the pilgrimage purposes children have been practising throughout: penance, which means saying sorry for bad choices that separate us from God and other people. Penance is a really good way of making a new start and getting our hearts ready for Jesus.

Why not…

Building on the theme of penance, you might like to talk about the Sacrament of Reconciliation as a family.
Look at the Pilgrimage Map and discuss which was your child’s favourite stopping place. Are there any stopping places you can help your child/ren find out more about?

Let’s Celebrate!

The final part of Our Pilgrimage to the Manger is a celebration! Gaudete Sunday reminds us that we are at the mid-point of our time of preparation and that Jesus is very near. We celebrate the Good News of Jesus and children are encouraged to spread that Good News through their words and actions, at Christmas and beyond.

Watch what the Pilgrimage Guides have to say at the end of this assembly and celebrate together with your child/ren the great achievement of completing the Ten Ten Year of Pilgrimage by singing together the Pilgrimage Song:

Prayer

Prayer

To conclude the Ten Ten Year of Pilgrimage, say together the following prayer:

Father God,

As our lifelong pilgrimage continues, may our journey be filled with prayer, penance, charity and solidarity.

With the help of your Holy Spirit, may our words and actions make us your witnesses throughout the world.

We ask this through Jesus our Lord.

Amen

Read on for some Advent themed prayer…

The Jesse Tree: From Creation to Christmas

If you haven’t already heard, Ten Ten are very excited about our very own Jesse Tree resource, created to be used in schools as the Daily Classroom Prayer throughout the season of Advent.

A Jesse Tree is traditionally used in Advent as a spiritual preparation for Jesus’ coming, using daily Bible readings that trace Jesus’ family tree. It’s called a Jesse Tree because, as the Bible tells us, Jesus is a descendant of King David, son of Jesse. There are daily symbols for different ancestors of Jesus, which can be hung on a tree – the Jesse Tree!

As well as the daily readings, prayers and symbols of our Jesse Tree resource that will be shared during the school week, there are also stories to hear and symbols to reveal on the weekends and in the final week of Advent, which falls during the Christmas holidays. So we are making it available for families to use at home too, as part of your Advent preparations for Christmas!

We hope that parents will share children’s excitement in discovering the daily stories about Jesus’ family tree. For more information on how to access this resource and ideas on how to lead the prayers, see this article.

As we prepare for Christmas, there are lots of things to do, whether we’re at school or at home. It’s easy to be so busy that we can almost forget what Advent is really about. Here at Ten Ten, we pray that The Jesse Tree: From Creation to Christmas can help your family to take a few minutes each day to remember, and to get ready to meet Jesus on Christmas Day.

Credits:

Created with images by Golden Age Photos - "Nativity scene with Joseph, Mary, and the Baby Jesus in a manger." • itsmejust - "Praying family. Man, woman and child."