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Sunday, November 3, is the date for the end of Daylight Savings Time. We all like this “fall back” much better than the painful “spring forward” that happens in early March. If you forget and arrive at church an hour early for Sunday Mass, see this as an opportunity for prayer.
Tuesday, November 5, is election day in the United States. Make sure you’ve prayed about how you will vote and have informed your conscience according to Catholic teaching. While neither of the two major political parties espouse all our Catholic principles, it is still our duty as citizens to vote. Note that Pope Francis has recently said that we “must choose the lesser of two evils” in relation to this election. Find resources to help you form your conscience for faithful citizenship here.
November 3–9 is National Vocations Awareness Week (USA). This annual week-long celebration of the Catholic Church in the United States is dedicated to promoting vocations to the priesthood, diaconate, and consecrated life through prayer and education. It’s an opportunity for us to renew our prayers and support for those who are considering one of these vocations. Join us in praying for vocations:
God our Father,
we thank you for calling men and women to serve in your Son’s Kingdom as priests, deacons, and consecrated persons.
Send your Holy Spirit to help others to respond generously and courageously to your call.
May our community of faith support vocations of sacrificial love in our youth and young adults.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
Every week in the GROW newsletter, you will find helpful tips for teaching your Gospel Weeklies lesson, a reflection on the Sunday Gospel, and links to online resources.
Videos of Sunday’s Gospel (Mark 12:28b–34)
Use these videos as you discuss today’s Gospel. Please preview to make sure the videos are appropriate for your group:
• Holy Heroes
• Mark 12:28b–34
• Love God with Your Heart, Mind, and Soul Object Lesson
• Gospel Reading and Reflection for Kids
• Every Day Can Be a Sunday
Videos for All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day
• Saints | Catholic Central
• All Saints’ Day
• All Souls’ Day
• How Does the Catholic Church Declare Official Saints?
Jubilee 2025: Pilgrims of Hope Resources
• Jubilee 2025 activities, handouts, resources, and more
Seeds
Lesson Theme: Jesus tells us about God.
For this lesson, you will need crayons, copies of the story coloring page (one per child), and a Church Year calendar. We recommend that you separate pages 1–2 from 3–4 in advance. You should also put together one booklet in advance.
This past week we celebrated All Saints’ Day on November 1st. Since this Seeds lesson will talk about Jesus’ Great Commandment, you can tell the children that saints are people that followed Jesus most important rule and now live with him forever in Heaven. Invite a child to point to All Saints’ Day (November 1) on your Church Year calendar.
Teaching Guide
Parent Teaching Pages
Extending Activities
The Gospel at Home
Weekly Review Template
Word of the Week
Seasonal Resources
Videos
• Gospel Reflection and Saint of the Week with Miss Heidi
• Kid-Sized Lessons on the Sunday Gospel with Mrs. Cole (Bible Bag)
Promise
Lesson Theme: Jesus invites us to love.
For this lesson, you will need crayons, pencils, scissors, a Bible, and a Church Year calendar. We recommend that you separate pages 1–2 from 3–4 in advance. You should also put together one booklet in advance.
When you introduce or conclude the story of Saint Teresa of Calcutta (page 2), you may wish to ask the children if they remember which saint you talked about in last week’s lesson (Saint Francis of Assisi). Invite a child to point to All Saints’ Day (November 1) on your Church Year calendar. Explain that on this day, we celebrated all the saints in Heaven. It is a Holy Day of Obligation unless it falls on a Saturday or Monday. You may also talk about All Souls’ Day (November 2). On this day, we remember all those who have died. Invite the children to offer the names of people in their families, neighborhoods, and parish who have died. You might lead the children in a prayer that these people be welcomed into Heaven by God. You’ll continue to talk about saints in the next lesson.
Teaching Guide
Parent Teaching Pages
Extending Activities
The Gospel at Home
Weekly Review Template
Online Assessment
Word of the Week
Seasonal Resources
Videos
• Gospel Reflection and Saint of the Week with Miss Heidi
• Kid-Sized Lessons on the Sunday Gospel with Mrs. Cole (Bible Bag)
• Mother Teresa Story
Good News
Lesson Theme: Jesus’ law is love.
For this lesson, you will need a Bible, game markers, drawing paper, scissors, envelopes, crayons or markers, and a Church Year calendar. If your class time is limited, you may wish make copies of the Act of Love (see page 50 in the What the Church Believes and Teaches handbook) on drawing paper in advance.
You may wish to ask the children if they remember which saint you talked about in last week’s lesson (Saint Francis of Assisi). Invite a child to point to All Saints’ Day (November 1) on your Church Year calendar. Explain that on this day, we celebrate all the saints in Heaven. It is a Holy Day of Obligation unless it falls on a Saturday or Monday. You may also talk about All Souls’ Day (November 2). On this day, we remember all those who have died. Invite the children to offer the names of people in their families, neighborhoods, and parish who have died. You might lead the children in a prayer that these people be welcomed into Heaven by God. You’ll talk more about saints toward the end of the program year.
Teaching Guide
Parent Teaching Pages
The Gospel at Home
Weekly Review Template
Online Assessment
Seasonal Resources
Venture
Lesson Theme: Jesus asks us to love with all our hearts.
For this lesson, you will need pens or pencils, scissors, Bibles (one per child), and a Liturgical Year calendar.
Children this age are surrounded by rules that guide nearly every aspect of their lives. Jesus reminds us that the most important rules can be boiled down to two: love God and love your neighbor.
You ended last week’s session with a prayer related to the Mexican tradition of Día de los Muertos—the Day of the Dead—in honor our beloved dead. Invite the children to recall the ofrendas—photo or other memories—they brought or shared to honor a person in their lives who has died. Encourage them to pray for these loved ones throughout the month of November.
Teaching Guide
Parent Teaching Pages
The Gospel at Home
Weekly Review Template
Online Assessment
Seasonal Resources
Video
• The Creeds
Visions
Lesson Theme: Christians make God’s love visible in the world.
For this lesson, you will need pens or pencils, markers or colored pencils, notebook paper, and Bibles (one per young person).
This year marks the 23rd anniversary of the terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001. This week’s story is about a firefighter who lived the Great Commandment to love God and neighbor. It is an opportunity for the young people to consider how well they show God’s love to others and to answer the question: who is my neighbor? If time permits, have the young people complete the Gospel Review Crossword Puzzle on page 8.
Teaching Guide
Parent Teaching Pages
The Gospel at Home
Weekly Review Template
Online Assessment
Seasonal Resources
Video
• The Creeds
Prayer credit: © 2014, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Image credit: Suzanne Schroeter (CC BY-SA 2.0) via pixabay.com
