Unit 1: God Gives Us Life and Love

Goals

• The children will come to appreciate everything and everyone as a gift from God.
• They will have a deeper understanding of Baptism and the Church.

Chapter 1: God Is the Giver of Gifts
The living God shares with each person the gift of human life and calls each one to eternal union. The children learn that their life is a sign of God's love and that they are led to a deeper awareness of God's presence in the love, beauty, and goodness of the other gifts given to them each day.

Chapter 2: Jesus Is God's Best Gift
The Father reveals his love for the human family in the gift of his Son. Jesus shows us how we can come into the fullness of our being and enjoy life with God forever. The children learn how they can begin to live in union with God, who has come to dwell among us.

Chapter 3: Jesus Lives in His Church
Baptism initiates us into a way of life that leads to personal fulfillment and to oneness with all peoples and with the Father, in and through Christ, together with the Holy Spirit. It joins us to the Church, a community of people who believe in Jesus and try to live together in love and unity under the leadership of our Holy Father, the pope. The children learn how Baptism opens their hearts to God's love and is the beginning of a new life. They learn that the Church proclaims and teaches God's Word, celebrates God's presence among us, and devotes itself to living in the power of God's love. They share in the mission of Christ as members of his Church.

Chapter 4: God Speaks to Us
We celebrate God's gifts by using them for others. The children review the main concepts of Unit 1. They participate in a celebration of their belonging to the Church community.