Breakout 1: How to Read Scripture
An example of the four senses: The Temple.
Literal sense: the temple was the actual building that once stood in Jerusalem, in which the Israelite priests offered sacrifice, the people worshipped, and God dwelt in the Holy of Holies.
Allegorical sense: This temple of the Old Testament has even higher importance because God has used it as a sign to tell us about greater realities in the New Testament: Jesus and the Christian life. Allegorically, the temple points to Jesus, who said he was the true temple which would be destroyed and raised up in three days (Jn. 2:19-21). Just as the Jerusalem temple was the place of sacrifice for the Jews, so does Jesus body house the everlasting sacrifice on Calvary for all humanity.
The moral sense of the temple is found in the Christian, whose body is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). Just as the temple contained the awesome presence of God, so do the bodies of Christians hold the presence of the Holy Spirit by virtue of their Baptism.
Anagogical sense: the Jerusalem temple finds its eschatological meaning in the heavenly sanctuary, where God will dwell among us in our eternal home, as described in Book of Revelation (e.g., Rev. 21:22).
(Source: see this article for more information. See also CCC 116-118.)
Activity: use these worksheets and cut out pages 2-3 (print double sided, flip on the short edge). Use the info in the graphic above to write the “sense” name for each box on page 1.
Beginner variation. Going one story at a time, place the pieces of p. 2 onto p. 1. Then, flip them over and see if they match.
Intermediate variation: place the papers “senses-side-up” and try to explain each story’s key ideas in your own words.
Advanced variation: choose a scripture story and look for the four senses. If you’re not sure where to start, try the story of Abraham and Isaac (see Activity Book p. 59 for some ideas).
Breakout 2: Miracles of Jesus
Why miracles? CCC 547-550.
Choose at least four miracles of Jesus (one from each book of scripture) from this list. Read the miracle, and answer these questions.
Breakout 3: I Am the Truth
See A Family of Faith p. 115 of the Parent Book.
