Year 9 Religion Task 2 Term 2
THE MATER DEI ROSARY
Learning Outcomes:
- Students understand that God offers salvation through Christ who models how to live in a truly human way.
- Students know and appreciate the values of Christ and those of his Gospels as the basis for living out the Christian mission in the world.
Mater Dei is Latin for “Mother of God”, the title given to Mary because she was the virgin mother of Jesus, the second person of the Blessed Trinity. The Greek version of this great title is Theotokos literally meaning “God Bearer”.
Because Mary is part of the communion of saints and so close to Jesus, Catholics ask her to intercede to God for them.
(a) What does “intercede” mean?
(b) Use it in a sentence in a context different to the one above.
The best known Marian prayer (prayer to Mary) is the “Hail Mary”. The first half of the “Hail Mary” is taken from the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel.
Research the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel to write down and reference the verses from the Good News Bible that are used in the first half of the “Hail Mary”. Note the difference in the words used in this translation of the Bible to those used in the traditional prayer.
The Mater Dei Prayer is also a Marian prayer, one that asks Mary to pray for us and to help us live the Gospel values of her Son, Jesus.
What are the “Gospel values of Jesus” that we should try to live?
The angel Gabriel told Mary the Lord was with her and she was “full of grace” (translated as “greatly blessed” in the Good News Bible, Luke 1:20), meaning she was filled with the Holy Spirit. Catholics believe Mary was filled with the Holy Spirit from the moment of her conception in the womb of her mother (St Anne, according to tradition) and was kept free from all sin in readiness for her role as the mother of Jesus. This belief is called the “Immaculate Conception”.
(a) What does “Immaculate” mean?
(b) Use it in a sentence in a context different to the one above.
(c ) What does “Conception” mean?
There are 22 references to Mary in the four Gospels and the book of Acts according to the subject index in the back of the Good News Bible p. 1741. Interestingly, Mark’s Gospel mentions Mary only once and then only in passing as to where Jesus came from. On the other hand, St Luke’s Gospel and his book of Acts give Mary much more significance with a total of 13 mentions often in connection with the Holy Spirit.
In a three column table
(a) Use the Subject Index to research the 13 references to Mary the mother of Jesus in Luke’s Gospel and in Acts
(b) List down those references which mention or are connected with the work of the Holy Spirit.
(c ) Briefly describe the action of the Holy Spirit in each case listed above.
There are a number of Feast Days in the Liturgical Calendar dedicated to Mary. Page 76 of the student resource has a list of major Feast Days of Mary
Which Marian Feast do you consider Mater Dei College should celebrate before all others. Give reasons for your choice including the qualities of Mary that can be emphasized by celebrating the feast. You may research and suggest Marian Feasts other than listed on p. 76.
A Marian practice of Catholics is the praying of the Rosary. Page 25 of the student resource summarises information about this ancient devotion.
Research the history of the Rosary and record some information about its origins (beginnings).
There are different versions of the Rosary. The Servite Rosary, for instance, consists of 7 ‘decades’ each of 7 Hail Marys with each decade reflecting on one of the traditional “Sorrows of Mary”, that is, The Prophecy of Simeon, The flight into Egypt, The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple, The Meeting with Jesus on the Way to the Cross, The Crucifixion, The Taking down of the Body of Jesus from the Cross, The Burial of Jesus.
Why is the Rosary called “Rosary”.
The Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries are very old but the Mysteries of Light (refer Student Resource p. 25) are new, having been proposed by Pope John Paul II only a couple of years ago. The Mysteries of Light reflect on events in the public life of Jesus.
You are asked to ‘design’ a new set of Mysteries of the Rosary that can be reflected on whilst praying the Rosary. Choose five events from the Gospel of Mark to be called The Spiritual Mysteries. As the name suggest the events for the five decades should illustrate the possibility of the Holy Spirit working in our lives (the many references to Mark’s Gospel in the Student Resource would be a good place to start). They should be different to the existing twenty decades listed on page 25. Give reasons for each choice and why you think they might be relevant to a Year 9 student trying to live the Gospel values at Mater Dei College.The rosary is prayed daily by many Catholics. It is a well loved family prayer. It is traditionally used at the vigil for the dead (when standing watch with the deceased the night before the funeral.
Suggest times and occasions when members of the Mater Dei Community might use the Rosary giving reasons why. Also suggest any changes you would make to the structure of the rosary for use at Mater Dei and why.
ASSESSMENT RUBRIC
L / S / H / V4. Students understand that God offers salvation through Christ who models how to live in a truly human way. / The student attempts parts 6 and 9 / The student attempts parts 6 and 9 and is able suggest events from the life of Jesus as told by Mark / The student attempts part 6 and gives good reasons for following Mary’s example. The student also attempts part 9 and explains well the relevance of the chosen events from the life of Jesus as told by Mark / The student attempts part 6 and gives very good reasons for following Mary’s example. The student also attempts part 9 and explains very well the relevance of the chosen events from the life of Jesus as told by Mark
7. Students know and appreciate the values of Christ and those of his Gospels as the basis for living out the Christian mission in the world. / The student attempts parts 3 and 9 / The student attempts parts 3 and 9 and is able to list some values that are in line with the teachings of Jesus / The student attempts part 3 and is able to list some values that are in properly Gospel values making reference to them in part 9 / The student attempts part 3 and is able to give a substantial list of Gospel values and align them with the events of Jesus life chosen for part 9.