The following is the first of a series in honor of HPR’s 125th anniversary, in which we will be republishing some of the earliest content from the days of The Homiletic Monthly & Catechist. In those days, the magazine included lessons for young CCD students, such as the piece below.
The Homiletic Monthly: Vol 1.1
65–72
Sunday School Lessons
Sunday School Lessons for the Catechist
Elementary Instructions for the Little Ones
God
I.
GOD CAN MAKE ALL THINGS THAT HE WILLS.
My dear children, when you were very small — indeed, many of you were hardly a few days old — you were taken to church to be baptized. The priest who baptized you marked you for the first time with the sign of the cross. Now, however, you have grown bigger, and you must certainly have seen already how your parents and other persons make the sign of the cross. Indeed, I believe that all, or the most of you, know how to make the sign of the cross. Make the sign of the cross. You have said: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. But who of you can tell me the meaning of these words? Who is God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost? Not one of you? Well, dear children, you cannot be blamed for this. You were up to the present too young to grasp this teaching, but now you are big enough and must learn to know about God the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And you would like to, wouldn’t you?
My dear children, so that you may learn about God, of whom your parents have often spoken to you, the good God Himself has sent me to you. He has commanded me to tell you all about Him, which you ought to know in order that you may become good people in this world and one day go to God in heaven. But you must be attentive whenever I speak to you about the good God. Yes, you must pay attention, for that is very pleasing to God, to me, to your parents, and to all good people. Nothing gives them greater pleasure than to see you attentive. So that you may not forget during the instruction that I am speaking to you of God Himself, you must during the lesson clasp your hands together.
When we make the sign of the cross we say the words: In the name of God the Father. My dear children, what kind of father do we speak of? Is it the father which each one of you has at home whom you can see, or is it another father? Ans: Another father. And where is this Father? In heaven. Yes, dear children, this Father is in heaven. That is why we call Him our Heavenly Father, to distinguish Him from our earthly fathers. And observe well that the Heavenly Father is not a man, like your fathers at home, but He is God Himself; therefore we say God the Father. Now, you know already that you have a Father in heaven and that this Father is God Himself. Whom have you in heaven? A Father. and who is this Father? God Himself. How may we, then, call Him God the Father? Listen, children. If at this moment all your fathers were to come here, would each of you at once know his own father? Oh, yes! You would only have to see the face, the height, and the clothes of your father, and one after the other would cry out: that is my father; that is my father, and so on.
Dear children, as you recognize your earthly fathers by the face or the clothes, or other qualities, so the good God, your Father heaven, has qualities by which we can know Him. These attributes — for so these qualities are called — which God alone possesses, and which are for us a never-ending source of pleasure, I will now teach you, so pay great attention.
The first attribute which God your Father in heaven has is that He can make all things that He wills. I will repeat it to you several times, and you must say it after me very distinctly. He can make all things that He wills. Now tell me, N., you only, what have I told you that God can do? That He can make all things that He wills. You tell me. N., and you too, N. Now tell me, all of you together, what is the first thing that I told you about God? That He can make all things that He wills. You must not forget this any more.
Perhaps some of you can tell me of something which God has made? What do we call the beautiful blue vault over our head? Heaven. And who made heaven? God. Yes, God made heaven.
Dear children, are we already in heaven, or what is the name of this place where we live? The earth. Now we have two objects which God has made — heaven and earth. Now tell me, what did you first learn about God? That He can make all things that He wills. Name something that God has made. Heaven and earth. Here, children, look at this little picture. Here we see the heavens. Do you see the blue and these clouds? This heaven is only painted with colors. Who made this heaven? The artist. And what did he require for that? Paints. Now, which heaven is the largest and most beautiful — that which God made or the artist? The one that God made. Now listen, my dear children: be surprised and astonished at the power and wonder of God. God made heaven and earth and everything that they contain out of nothing. He did not require anything to make them. Is this not wonderful? Out of what, then, did God make heaven and earth and all things? Out of nothing!
Now I will tell you how it happened that God made heaven and earth and all that is within them. God only said: It shall be, and it was. At the word that God spoke everything was made. Is this not wonderful, dear children? If one of you should say there shall be a heaven, would there be one? Observe well, therefore, this quality, which God alone possesses: He can make all things that He wills. He made heaven and earth out of nothing. He only said it shall be, and it was. Tell me, N., what did God say when He made heaven and earth? It shall be, and it was. Now you tell me, N. and so on.
Now, I will tell you a little story. One beautiful day in the fall the village children were returning home from school. The road led them past a garden, where the trees were full of plums, red apples and pears. All children are very fond of eating fruit. You like to eat it, too, don’t you? Well, these children stood still when they reached the garden, admiring the luscious fruit on the trees. Some of them said: “Oh, isn’t that a lovely garden? I wish it belonged to my father!” One of the boys cried out: “That garden belongs to my father. He planted it.” He ran into the garden, and asked his father for some fruit. His father shook one of the trees and a lot of fine ripe plums fell down, which the boy picked up, and they ate them up greedily.
Now tell me, why was this boy so glad that this beautiful garden belonged to his father? Was it not because he knew that his father would give him some of the fruit? My dear children, heaven and earth. Look at them! How beautiful they are and how much good is to be found in them. To whom does heaven and earth belong? Who made them? God. And God, to whom all things belong, is your Father, who gives you lovingly good and beautiful things. What ought you to feel towards God your Father, who has such immeasurable power that He can make all things that He wills? A real happiness. Yes, dear children, you should have real happiness in God.
When you see heaven, earth, and all things beautiful and good that it contains, oh then take pleasure in all this, for you can truly say: God, who is my Father in heaven, made this. He is almighty. He can make all things that he wills.
The one who can give the best answer to the question I am going to ask will receive a little picture. N., make the sign of the cross. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. You say in the name of God the Father. What can you tell me about God the Father? That He can make all things that He wills. Name something that God has made. Heaven and earth. Out of what did God create heaven and earth? Out of nothing. What did God say when He created heaven and earth? It shall be, and it was. What should we have in God, who can make all things that He wills? A real happiness.
My dear children, as I cannot give each one of you a picture to-day, I will give you something else which will please you just as much — a little verse, in which what I have told you to-day about God is repeated briefly:
All the heaven and all the land
God created with one command.
Now all make the sign of the cross together. What could you tell me about God the Father? Mention something that God has made? Out of what did God create heaven and earth? What did God say when He created heaven and earth? What should we feel toward God because He can make all things that He wills? And now repeat once more the little verse.
69
II.
GOD CREATED THE SUN, THE MOON, AND THE STARS, THE GRASS, FLOWERS, TREES, AND ANIMALS, AND MAN AND ALL THINGS.
My dear children, I am sure you have not forgotten what I told you last time about God? Now, all together answer these questions.
Happiness, my dear children, the very greatest happiness should be yours, because you have a Father in heaven who has such power that He can make all things that He wills. And so that you can to-day be happy about God, I will tell you something very pleasing about Him. Look here, children, a moment, at what I am showing you. What is it? A watch. Are you pleased with this watch? Oh, yes, it is beautiful. The glittering silver, the clear glass, and the tiny hands please you greatly.
Yes, I guess you would be delighted if the watchmaker would make each one of you such a pretty one. Now, when you grow up this pleasure will probably be yours.
Let us contemplate the heavens. Let us see if we cannot find something there which shines much brighter than the silver of this watch. What do we call this great light in the heavens that shines so bright and warm? The sun. My dear children, this beautiful sun in the heavens has such a brilliant ray that we cannot look at it properly. Now, this was made by God. No man could have made it. What, then, did God create in the heavens? The sun.
When the beautiful, bright sun sets in the evening then it is night and dark. God has provided that we shall not be without any light at night. Also at night we see a beautiful, large light in the heavens, which, although it does not shine as brightly as the sun, still gives us a sweet, soft light. Who can tell me the name of this light? The moon. And God made the gentle moon too, dear children.
There are some nights when the moon does not shine at all, or only for a few hours. But there, again, God has provided us with other lights in the heavens when the moon does not shine.
What is it that twinkles so at night in the heavens, like thousands and thousands of little lamps? The stars. Yes, the stars. Now, dear children, we have found already three objects in the heavens which God has made — the sun, the moon, and the stars. Now tell me, what did God create in the heavens? The sun, the moon and the stars.* [# Now question them individually.]
Now we will look at the earth upon which we live, and see if we cannot find there something beautiful and gladdening. My dear children, you have different dresses to wear; you have other garments, some of which you wear in winter and others for the summer-time. Well, our good God gives the earth, so to say, two dresses. In the winter the earth is covered with snow, as if clad in a white dress. But in the spring time, when the snow melts, tell me, does the earth remain white? Does it not get a beautiful green dress? And what do we call that lovely green that covers the mountains and valleys, the gardens and fields with a green dress? The grass. Right. What beautiful thing has God created on the earth? The grass. Which dress do you like the best, dear children-that which has only one color or that which is made of many colors? Certainly the one made of pretty bright colors pleases you the most. Now see, dear children, God gives you this pleasure every year.
What does God make to grow in the gardens and fields which gives you such lovely red, blue, white and other colors? Flowers. Yes, the flowers, with their beautiful colors and sweet perfume. God has made them to grow out of the earth to give you pleasure.
I once overheard several children saying: “We like apples, pears, and cherries, and all the lovely berries.” Now, I think it is the same with you; or perhaps you don’t like fruit? Children, where does the fruit grow? On the trees. Well, children, the trees which bear such good fruit, God created them too. Oh, how good God is to us, to give us so many pleasures.
Now tell me: What did God create in the heavens? The sun, the moon, and the stars.
And what on the earth? The grass, flowers, and trees.
Now children, this is not nearly all that God has created upon the earth, nor the most beautiful and the best.
There are still more beautiful and better things in the world. The grass, flowers and the trees, they cannot move about, but must always remain in the same place. Can you mention something that can move about and run and jump? Animals. Oh! how many beautiful animals there are on the earth! All these animals, listen and remember, God made for us for our pleasure and for our use.
There is still something more beautiful and better than the animals, and who this is you must already know. Are we animals? What are we, then? Men. Are we not more than the animals too?
Oh, surely man is the best of all creatures of God of earth. Now listen how God made the first man. After God had created heaven and earth, the sun, moon, and stars, the grass, flowers, trees, and animals, God took some moist earth and formed therefrom a beautiful human body. But the body lay on the earth quite stiff and dead. Then God breathed a soul into it, and man lived. God called him Adam, and made him lord of all the earth. What did God create in the heavens?
What did He create on the earth? Grass, flowers, trees, animals, and man. And there are, my dear children, thousands and thousands of things which God has created, but which we cannot enumerate. Therefore we say briefly, God has made all things. What did God create in the heavens? The sun, moon, and stars. And what on the earth? The grass, flowers, trees, animals, man, and all things.
Now, I will tell you a little story. One evening as it was getting dark, a mother with her two children was returning home after working in the fields. They saw on the table a lamp burning. George said, surprised: “There was no one at home. Who could have lighted the lamp?”
“Oh,” said Mamie, “who else but papa? I guess he got home from the town before us.”
The children looked and found him, to their great delight, in the next room.
The next day parents and children raked the hay in the big field. The sun was shining bright and warm, and the children showed their gladness at it.
“Now, children,” said their father, “yesterday you guessed right who had lighted the lamp in the sitting-room. Now, when you see this glorious light above there in the heavens, the beautiful sun, do you ask yourselves who lighted it? Dear children, could you answer this question? Who made this glorious light in the heavens which we call the sun?”
Then Mamie answered: “Oh, I know! God made it to shine. The smallest oil lamp cannot light itself. There must therefore be some one who gave light to the sun!”
“That is it,” said George gayly. “God made all things. The sun, moon, and stars, the grass, flowers, trees, animals, man, and all things which we see around us are His work.”
Then he added the following verse, which you ought to learn too:
As soon as God said, “There shall be light,”
Light came, and divided day from night.”
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