Main reflection: We are part of a community that grows when we are willing to change our attitude for the better—especially by being kind, forgiving, and peaceful.
👉Learning objectives
By the end of the lesson, children will be able to:
- Name one quality from Colossians 3 (mercy, kindness, humility, patience, forgiveness, love, peace, gratitude).
- Recognise that we can all change for the better and that Lent is a great time to start (e.g., by sharing, using kind words, not getting angry).
- Listen to a story that helps us reflect on how we can change our bad actions into better ones to feel better and consequently others will feel better too.
- Make a small Lenten promise for the coming week: One Mercy + One Forgive + One Thank You
Resources:
- PowerPoint
- Green paper leaves or circles/strips of plain white paper (Together we Grow activity)
- colours
Summary of session
- Introductory prayer
- Icebreaker – Change One Thing
- Story 1 – Bible story- Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1–10) and guided discussion
- Story 2 – The Rainbow Fish (Marcus Pfister) and guided discussion
- Game – Together We Grow
- Concluding Prayer
A – Opening prayer 🙏
Dear Jesus, Thank You for giving us friends and family. Help us to become kinder, more forgiving, and more loving each day. Show us how we can help everyone feel happy and included. Amen
B – Simple icebreaker: “Change One Thing” – 🟦
Children stand in a circle. Ask them to quietly change one small thing about themselves:
- fold sleeves
- untie and retie a lace
- tuck in shirt
- move a hair clip
The others need to guess what they changed in their appearance.
Then ask: Was it easy to notice? Was it easy to make a small change?
Explain: Sometimes small changes make a big difference. During Lent we try to change our behaviours too, little by little.
C – Story 1 (Bible story) Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1–10) Read from a children’s Bible or paraphrase.📖
Summary:
In the days of Jesus, there was a man called Zacchaeus. He collected taxes and he was dishonest and disliked by everyone. After meeting Jesus he changed. He decided to return the money he stole and help others. His community became happier because one person changed.
In brief re-tell the story with help from the students.
🌈 Discussion
- Why didn’t people like Zacchaeus? (he was dishonest and stole money)
- What changed him? (He discovered that Jesus still wanted to be his friend even though he knew that he wasn’t a good man).
- Was it easy for him to admit he was wrong? (No Zacchaeus did not want to think about the problems he was causing, but Jesus helped him to stop and reflect).
- How did his change help other people? (He decided to stop stealing money and give the money he stole back to the people and this made everyone happy).
- How can we change during Lent? (we could think of others more, help more at school and at home, say the truth, admit when one does something wrong).
D – Story 2 – The Rainbow Fish (by Marcus Pfister) 📖
The Rainbow Fish tells the story of a beautiful fish who has shimmering, colourful scales unlike any other fish in the ocean. Because he is so beautiful, the other fish admire him, but he becomes proud and selfish. He does not want to share his special scales with anyone.
One day, a little blue fish asks the Rainbow Fish if he will give him one of his beautiful scales. The Rainbow Fish rudely refuses. The other fish hear about this and stop playing with him. Although he is the most beautiful fish in the ocean, he becomes very lonely.
The Rainbow Fish asks a starfish for help, and the starfish sends him to a wise octopus. The octopus tells him that if he wants to be happy, he needs to share what is special about him with other fish.
At first, the Rainbow Fish doesn’t want to give any away. Eventually, however, he gives one of his scales to the little blue fish. Seeing how happy the little fish becomes makes the Rainbow Fish feel happy too. He then begins giving his scales to the other fish, one by one, with no regrets.
By the end, the Rainbow Fish has given away almost all his shiny scales. He is no longer the most beautiful fish in the ocean—but he is happy because he has friends and enjoys sharing with others.
In brief re-tell the story with help from the students.
🌈 Discuss the following questions.
- What did the Rainbow Fish have that made him so special? (beautiful and colourful scales)
- Did the beautiful scales alone make him happy? (No; special things alone do not automatically make us happy)
- What is more important: having lots of special things or having good friends? Why? Special things make you happy for a little while. Good friends make you happy forever.
- Why wasn’t Rainbow Fish happy? (He did not have any friends because he refused to share)
- What changed? (He looked for good advice; he was told to share; when he shared he realised that it felt good to make others happy)
- How did sharing help everyone? (when we are generous with others we show that we care for each other and build friendships)
- Have you ever shared something special? How did it make you feel? Discuss. All this to become better versions of ourselves. More like Jesus.
Quick Colossians Connection Show or read simple words:
❤️ Kindness
🤲 Forgiveness
😊 Gentleness
💛 Patience
🙏 Thankfulness
Ask: If you could grow one of these this Lent, which would you choose and why?
Children simply answer aloud.
E – Practical Activity: Together We Grow 🟦
Things needed:
- green paper leaves or circles or strips of paper if it is easier to cut.
- colours
- large paper tree roughly drawn on a chart to hand in class.
- class glue or blue tack
Each child completes: “I will do more of this: __________.”
Examples:
- kindness (blue)
- sharing (red)
- patience (yellow)
- saying sorry (orange)
- helping (green)
If they are unable to write they can colour code instead. Give each virtue a colour. They then place/stick their leaf with their name onto the tree.
Explain: One leaf is lovely. Many leaves make a beautiful tree. One kind person helps.
Many kind people make the world a better place.
Real-life examples – brief discussion (5 minutes)
Use quick, child-friendly situations and let them answer:
- “If two kids want the same toy, what should our community do—snatch or take turns?”
- “If someone bumps you by accident, do we keep a grumpy face forever, or do we forgive and give a second chance?”
- “When someone says ‘Thank you’ for help, how does it make you feel?” (link to gratitude)
Remind them that if they want to be happy in class, like a big family, they all need to show respect to all even if you don’t like that person. This is what Jesus wants us to do because he does not pick his friends. He wants everyone to be his friend.
F – Closing reflection / prayer 🙏
Reflection line: “Peace in our hearts helps our community be together.”
Short prayer: DearJesus, help us love without asking for something in return. Help us forgive. Help us share what is special about us. Let your peace live in us. Amen.
This session was prepared by Ms Anne Marie Gatt, pastoral worker within the SDS team
Overall Reflection: You are part of Christ’s “one body,” and the community becomes healthier when people change, forgive, and help peace rule in their hearts.
👉 Learning objectives
By the end of the lesson, children will be able to:
- Understand the need to change from within to bring people closer together and that a community is strongest when everyone plays their part. (Icebreaker, Stories, Game)
- Choose a Colossians quality they want to grow in or improve on (mercy, patience, humility, forgiveness, love, peace, gratitude). (Stories)
- Explain how forgiveness supports community togetherness (bearing with one another; forgiving each other). (Stories)
- Commit to one practical action during the coming week that strengthens relationships in various communities. (Final activity)
Resources:
- PowerPoint
- A ball of string/wool (Game – Web of change)
Summary of session
- Introductory prayer
- A quick Icebreaker – The Ripple Effect
- Story 1 – Bible Story – The Good Samaritan and guided discussion
- Story 2 – Kung Fu Panda (DreamWorks Animation) and guided discussion
- Game – Web of Change
- Concluding Activity to take home – Be A Secret Angel
- Concluding Prayer
A – Opening prayer 🙏
Dear Jesus, help us change for the better. Help us be merciful and forgiving. Let the peace of Jesus fill our hearts. Help us speak and act in the name of Jesus. Amen.
B – A Quick Icebreaker – The Ripple Effect – 🟦
Aim: One small positive action can spread through a whole community.
How to Play – The Ripple Effect
- Make a circle – Children stand or sit together in a large circle.
- Start the ripple – One child smiles and shakes hands with the person next to them.
- Pass it on – Each child repeats the action with the next person until it travels around the whole circle.
- Notice what happens – Explain: “One small action can spread from person to person!”
- Try another ripple – Start again with a different positive action and watch it spread.
👍 a thumbs-up
👋 a wave
❤️ a hand-on-heart gesture
🤝 a high-five, if appropriate
For a large group, create 4–6 starting points at the same time. Have several children around the circle begin the action simultaneously. This makes the effect much more visible and means you don’t have to wait for 60 children one by one.
Discuss:
- What happened? – everyone was encouraged to copy the other by doing a positive action. BUT someone needs to start the spark.
- How did one action spread? – we tend to copy each other so we can be role models to each other, but also because when someone receives a good turn, they feel good inside and when we do a good turn, we also feel-good inside.
- Can kindness spread too? – yes, we can spread goodness around us with the actions that we do – every little helps.
Explain: Just like a ripple spreads across water, our actions spread through a community. We can spread kindness, encouragement, forgiveness and joy. Communities change one person at a time.
C – Story 1 – Bible story – The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37) – Read out from the Bible – Who is my neighbour? 📖
A short summary of the parable:
A man was attacked by robbers and left badly injured. A Jewish priest and a Levite saw him but passed by, while a Samaritan—someone from a group often disliked by the Jews—stopped, treated his wounds, and paid for his care. Jesus teaches that our neighbour is anyone in need, and commands us: “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:38)
Although others ignored the injured man, the Samaritan chose compassion.
His actions changed someone’s life—and challenged everyone’s attitudes.
Discussion
- What attitude needed changing in the people who ignored the injured man?
Poor knowledge of who your neighbour is blocks compassion and love. Jesus teaches us that we should help whoever needs your assistance, whether you like them or not because we are all sons and daughters of God.)
- Which good qualities (from Colossians) did the Samaritan show?
You can mention each one slowly and ask if this was shown (mercy, patience, humility, forgiveness, love, peace, gratitude).
– Mercy and love – he did not see a Jew but a person who was injured and needed immediate help.
– Forgiveness – Considering the friction between Jews and Samaritans, we can see the beginning of forgiveness when mercy replaces anger and revenge. Spiritual healing starts with forgiveness.
- Did the the Good Samaritan need courage?
He needed a lot of courage to do what in those days was not acceptable – deal with the Jews.
- How can we become Good Samaritans today?
By being willing to help those in need, irrelevant if they are people we don’t know or dislike, by understanding that we are all the same, no matter the race, nationality or religion, sharing the same needs to be loved and feel belonged.
D – Story Option 2 – Kung Fu Panda – (Change from good to better) 📖
Summary:
Po is a kind and enthusiastic panda who dreams of becoming a kung fu master, even though he lacks confidence and discipline. Unexpectedly, he is chosen to become the Dragon Warrior, but nobody believes he is capable of the task.
With the help of Master Shifu, Po begins to train. He meets the other students, the Furious Five, who are all very talented and special. At first, Po struggles and wants to give up, but he learns that becoming better requires patience, discipline, perseverance and personal effort. Shifu helps him discover his own strengths rather than trying to make him like someone else.
As Po grows in confidence and ability, he learns to believe in himself and face difficult challenges. Eventually, he confronts Tai Lung and uses everything he has learned to defeat him.
Po does not become a completely different person. Instead, he becomes a better version of himself. His journey shows that we can all grow and change when we are willing to accept help, work on ourselves, practise self-discipline and never give up.
We don’t have to become someone else to become better. We need to discover our strengths, work on our weaknesses and become the best version of ourselves.
Discussion: From Good to Better
Important point: Was Po a bad person at the beginning? – No. Po was kind, loving and enthusiastic. But he still had things he needed to work on. This is a very important connection with Lent: an ideal time for self-reflection on how to become better persons.
1. What was Po like at the beginning of the story? What did he need to change?
He lacked confidence; He wasn’t disciplined; He gave up easily; He didn’t believe in himself; He needed to learn patience and perseverance; He had to learn to control himself.
2. Did Po change because Shifu changed him, or because Po himself made an effort?
Both. Shifu helped Po by teaching, encouraging and challenging him, but Po had to practise and make the effort himself. Other people can help us, but nobody can change us if we don’t want to change.
3. Why was it important for Po not to try to become exactly like the Furious Five?
Because Po had his own strengths and talents. He needed to discover what made him special rather than trying to copy somebody else.
This can lead to: “Becoming a better person doesn’t mean becoming somebody else. It means becoming the best version of yourself.”
4. Can someone be a good person and still have things they need to change?
Yes. We can be kind and loving but still need to work on things like: impatience, anger, jealousy, selfishness, laziness, complaining, giving up, not listening, being unkind with our words
Being good doesn’t mean being perfect.
5. Who are the people who help us become better people?
Parents, brothers and sisters, friends, teachers, coaches, religious counsellors, people who love us
They can encourage us, correct us, challenge us and help us recognise things we cannot see in ourselves. BUT. We have to make the choice ourselves.
6. If you were like Po, what is one thing you might need to work on in yourself?
Give the children some possibilities: “Being more patient?”; “Listening better?”; “Not giving up so easily?”; “Controlling my anger?”; “Being less selfish?”; “Being kinder with my words?”; “Having more courage?”; “Being more disciplined?”
All this to become better versions of ourselves. More like Jesus.
E – Game: Web of Change – 🟦
Materials: A ball of wool or string.
Instructions:
Game: Web of Change
- Make a circle – Children stand together in a circle.
- Start the web – One child holds the end of a ball of wool and says: “Our class becomes better when I… listen.”
- Pass it on – Holding onto the wool, the child throws the ball to someone else.
- Share an action – The next child names another positive action, such as “forgive” or “include someone.”
- Build the web – Keep passing the wool until a web connects everyone.
- Look at the web – By the end, the group has created a large web connecting everyone.
Guided Reflection:
- What happened as the web grew? (it became stronger)
- What would happen if one person lets go? (the web starts to fall apart)
- What does the web remind us of? (Explain that, like the web, a community is strongest when everyone plays their part. Each person’s choices/behaviours affect everyone else.)
F – Conclusion: Secret Angel Challenge – 🟦
Explain that during the week they can become a “Secret Angel.”
Without telling anyone, they can quietly carry out three acts of kindness for different people at home or school or both.
Examples:
- Help someone tidy up without being asked to.
- Encourage someone who is sad.
- Let someone go first.
- Share something.
- Say something kind (mean it).
Ask them to reflect on what the reactions were from the various people involved. Did they do the same to you or to others? Were they grateful? How did you feel doing them?
This could be discussed with their class teacher.
G – Closing Reflection 🙏
Invite children to close their eyes. Read slowly:
Dear Jesus, Thank You for never giving up on us. During Lent, help us become kinder, more forgiving, more patient, and more loving. (Pause for a moment of silence and reflection).
May the changes we make in our own hearts help our families, our school, and our community become places of peace. (Pause for a moment of silence and reflection).
Amen.
This session was created by Ms Anne Marie Gatt, pastoral worker within the SDS team
This session is intended to serve as a suggested guideline for Lenten Exercises in middle and senior schools. The session can be delivered as an 80-minute session or in two 40-minute sessions: the first would include the introduction and point number 1, while the second would resume with parts 2 and 3, and the conclusion.
Introduction: To Grow is to Change (15 minutes)
- The animator introduces the theme Growing Together and asks whether it is better to grow and succeed on our own. The initial answer may be “yes”, but they say: “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.”
Here, students are invited to vote and then asks an individual who thinks it is better to be alone, for example, to move a number of chairs from one side of the room to the other – until the animator starts adding the help of his classmates (with the aim of completing the work so that the point emerges).
- The animator states that growing – not alone but with others – is indeed a choice, but not ours: it is God’s idea. Therefore, Saint Paul says: “You are God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved.” God chose us first to be like Him: holy!
Here it is explained that the word “holy” means being “dedicated-to” and therefore being a “different” person – a hospital is a different building from another building because it is dedicated to the care of the sick; a football ground is different from any field because it is dedicated to playing football.
Therefore there is a connection between being different and being dedicated to something or someone, and asks, “But what are we dedicated to?”
- The animator explains that God is “Holy” meaning completely different from us human beings because we are creatures and He is the Creator, we are weak and He is perfect in His Love, etc., but during this Lent God is calling us to change for the good, so that we may become like Him, so that we may live according to the grace that His Holy Spirit gives us, and grow together (because growing alone it is impossible) in holiness as God is holy.
Here the quotation by John H Newman is shared: “To live is to change…”
1. Like a Treasure💰hidden in a Field
Perfection is found in communion with God and with human beings (25 minutes).
Put on then … compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony (Col 3:12-17).
- The animator begins by saying that – they say – if you find a perfect community, don’t join it because you will ruin it – none of us is perfect!
Here, the quotation is presented in full: “To live is to change and to be perfect is to have changed often” – in other words even our relationships go through changes which are necessary.
- The animator shows a few pictures, each suggesting some form of “perfection” and asks students which picture they think best defines “perfection.”
A snowflake, a Swiss watch movement, Ronaldo’s overhead kick, Michelangelo’s Pietà, a flawless apple, a murmuration of birds, a Ferrari, a cappuccino, a sleeping newborn baby, and a spiral galaxy – are all valid suggestions.
- The animator says that when Jesus speaks about “perfection,” he says this to the rich young man: “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” (Mt 19:21).
Here it is explained that Jesus is making an invitation to us to communion with Him. He alone, as God, is truly perfect. Therefore, He also says: “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Jesus invites us not only to share our goods with others, but also to leave behind our own ideas of “perfection” and embrace the way He understands it. In this way, we find our true treasure in Jesus.
The animator hands the treasure template to the students and invites them to write their answers for the following reflective questions:
1. What is precious to you or in you? What do you need to learn to share more with others, especially with those who do not have or do not know?
2. Which of the qualities that Saint Paul mentions – qualities of Jesus – do you want to ask the Lord to help you grow in: mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness or patience?
2. Like the branches in the Vine🍇
The joy and peace in us when we participate in a community of faith (15 minutes).
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful (Col 3:15).
- The animator stresses that communion with Jesus is essential for us to bear the fruit of love, happiness, patience, kindness, gentleness, etc., and shows a biblical quotation from John 15:5,10-11.
Here, a formula is shown explaining the text: Vine-branches; Jesus-us; Commandments-joy and peace in us.
- The animator says that the opposite also applies: If we are filled with joy and peace within us, we will be able to live the Commandments better.
Here, students are invited to pray the following prayer prayed at Mass: Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil, graciously grant peace in our days, that, by the help of your mercy, we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
- The animator proposes that the peace of Christ continues to reach us in many ways, not least by our being active members within a community of faith. We do not have to go far because school can be one of them. (If the students are from a middle school, here there would be an opportunity to encourage them to continue attending adolescent meetings, etc.,).
Here it would be fitting for the students to hear a testimony from a young person about his growth within a community of believers. A recorded testimony works as well.
3. Like a City on a Hill⛰️
Our faith and maturity are seen through the witness we give and the mission we live (20 minutes).
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God (Col 3:16).
- The animator says that when we experience something true or authentic, good or delicious, beautiful or awesome (bringing examples for each one) we feel within us like a push to share it with others.
Here it can be said that a testimony such as the one we have just heard helps us in our faith – and the person who shared it with us knew that it was something too precious to keep for himself.
- The animator compares this process of “sharing” to one that can become “viral” and says that the community of believers grows precisely in this way: through the sharing that Jesus does with us – sharing that continues to be passed from one person to another until what Jesus wants to pass on to us reaches us through the sharing done with us by those who have first received it from Him.
Here he can connect with the phrase “come and see” which as an invitation from Jesus to the first disciples (John 1:38-39), becomes an invitation from the disciples for others to come to know Jesus (John 1:46).
- The animator admits that “we” lack such light (faith!), let alone the ability to show it to others. He says that the words, “come and see” were also used by people who did not believe that Jesus could make a difference in people’s lives..
Here, after a brief explanation that Jesus wept in the face of their lack of faith, students could be invited to participate in a prayer activity like Heavy Stone (which helps them make an expression of faith). The students can come forward one by one while “Come and See” is played.
Conclusion: Growing together means growing in harmony with God and with one another (5 minutes).
Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Col 3:17).
- The animator explains that if Babel reminds us that when we work alone, individually or together but without God, we become confused and no longer understand ourselves and one another, the event of Pentecost is the opposite: the more we are together in the name of God, the more we will be in harmony, and we can make our lives a gift for so many others.
This could be an opportunity to launch a missionary initiative.
This session was created by Mr Matthew Gauci, pastoral worker within the SDS team