My Faith Building Lesson
by Aryanna Sookoo
A FAITH BUILDING LESSON- “If you have Faith the size of a mustard seed nothing is impossible for you” Matthew 17:20.
FAITH is like planting a seed. The First Communion Class of St. Benedict’s RC La Romaine began their faith journey many months ago. They compared the growth of their faith to that of a seed which they planted and nurtured by providing conditions necessary for growth: soil rich in minerals, water, sunshine. They also weeded the soil and kept records in their journals pertinent to the growth of the seedling.
For most students, caring for their plant deepened their understanding of FAITH. When seedlings were distributed, students could not tell what plant they were given. Many guessed, was it a pepper seedling, a pea or an ochro? They eventually found out by planting and caring for the seedling. “Faith is evidence of things not seen”. Students were able to compare, that the preparation of the soil for the plant was similar to finding a place for Jesus in their hearts. Keeping the commandments was likened to keeping the soil free of weeds for the plant to grow well. Praying daily was similar to the daily watering of the plant and reading the scriptures was like the sunlight the plant was exposed to. It was fascinating to be a part of this faith journey and the excitement generated from this project. It was evident that the children understood that the nurturing of their faith opens their hearts to joy and happiness just like nurturing the plant allows it to blossom into the beautiful and awesome plant it was intended to be.
Student work example number 2:
WEEK 1
I got this seedling today. I have to transplant it, water it and watch it grow.
WEEK 3
My plant is growing, and will soon be ready to be transplanted.
WEEK 5
I put my plant in a nice big pot today. It is just over ten centimeters (10cm) tall. It has more leaves than week 1, and looks stronger every day.
WEEK 6
My plant is growing stronger and taller day by day. It takes a lot of work to look after this plant.
WEEK 8
I forgot to water my plant for a few days now… both the plant and I are very sad. I hope he will be okay. I will make sure to take better care of my plant in the future.
WEEK 10
I tried really hard. I watered my plant and we even gave it some fertilizer… and some extra love and care. My plant is stronger and healthier than before and is ready to bear fruit.
I got so excited when my plant started to flower that I forgot that my job was not yet complete. I stopped paying attention to it and thought it would be fine on its own… I stopped nurturing it, didn’t water it for some time and hardly visited the area I placed it.
By the time I remembered, the leaves had fallen off, the branches were drooping… my plant was dying
When mummy saw me crying, she explained that sometimes we lose our way and we need people to help us. We need their support and love to make our journey easier.
We called my uncle. He would sure know what to do and how to fix my plant. He would help me to take care of it.
Uncle Lyndon explained that we need to keep caring for the plant, even when we thought it could care for itself and even more when we thought it was not doing so well and even more when we thought it was dying.
He said with love and support and a dose of Faith, we could make anything possible
We tilled the soil, put egg shells and coal as fertilizer. We watered it, made sure there was the perfect amount of sunshine and we even talked to my plant.
Before long, tiny leaves reappeared. I felt like we were starting all over. I was excited and promised not to relax this time.
Ohhhhhh…… my uncle was so right.
Peppers grew and grew. And with every new fruit, I remembered how sad I was when I thought my plant had died and I was so very grateful to my family for helping and supporting me.
I picked my first peppers today. I was so proud and happy that with some love, dedication, hard work and Faith, we reaped the fruit. I knew exactly what I was going to do with these first peppers
Father Christian has helped me on my journey to making my First Communion. Through his love and dedication and with his guidance I love being a Catholic. I love going to weekend Mass, listening to his stories, receiving special blessings and getting a hug after Mass. I am going to give the first fruit I picked to Father Christian
Today is Saturday 1st February, 2020 and I made my First Holy Communion today. My family was there to witness this very special event. I feel so proud and I am so very blessed. My parents brought my plant to the altar as a gift. It shows that with love, nurturing, lots of help and Faith we can bloom, grow and bear fruit. I am leaving this gift with Father Christian because I want him to keep enjoying the peppers from my plant and I want him to remember me
Mummy says it is the same way we must nurture our Faith and relationship with God and even when we lose our way.
He will keep his angels around us to protect us to protect us and guide us back to Him. He has given us people to love and support us on this journey and he is always watching over us. He loves to see His children doing well and bearing fruit.
He loves to see us happy
