Never would I have ever thought that the importance of the Eucharist could be taught through the lens of poetry.
I always have in the back of my mind when teaching the Eucharist the significance of the sacrament as noted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church – 1324 The Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life.”
I have always struggled with how to teach the significance of the sacrament, that is, how to do it justice.
Previously in the schools that I have taught in that have siloed classrooms I would spend time in the Religious Education class covering the history of the Eucharist, the parts of the mass, vessels, vestments and postures – all interesting, but lacking the connection to the sacrament which clearly highlights the significance of it as “the source and summit of Christian life.”
However, in the past couple of weeks I have had a light bulb or two!!
At St Luke’s we have integrated subject areas, for the majority of 2018 Religious Education is integrated with English. We made a decision to teach the Eucharist extension unit (a two week unit) through the lens of poetry. This I believe (as we have found in the past couple of weeks) is the vehicle for the significance of the sacrament to be revealed to students.
Poetic devices such as imagery and symbolism were able to assist students to get straight to the centre, straight to the importance of the sacrament of the Eucharist. Through looking at the Eucharist students were able to see that the Eucharist is an action of Christ and the Church which reconciles, renews and builds up the Christian community.
Students were given a number of masterclasses focussing firstly on poetic devices, what are they? Identification of devices within poetry, how to analyse poetry and finally students were given (in small groups) a lesson on the Order of the Mass. Students were able to read the words said during mass, they were able to make annotations or highlight poetic devices found in the Order of the Mass. Students were able to see that through confession of sins we are reconciled with God, through listening to the Word of God students identified that this is an opportunity to be nourished and renewed spiritually and through communion, we become one with Christ and are nourished to go out into the community and spread the Good News.
The symbolism and imagery found within the Order of the Mass when added to the additional contents of the unit vessels, vestments and postures allows for deeper understanding of the sacrament. It is quite powerful!
Without a thorough understanding of the Religious Education curriculum, some could say that RE does not provide an opportunity for students to be creative – on this occasion, I am more than happy to push back and say that RE meets the students where they are at, and helps them to understand more fully their place within Gods plan.
I look forward to using the skills developed in the English curriculum to bring out a more detailed understanding for students in Religious Education.
If you have any questions, insights or suggestions please feel free to comment.
Julie