The title of this religious education series for primary schools is Grow in Love. The Christian Tradition teaches us that God is the source of all love. The first Letter of St John states this very clearly: ‘God is love’ (1 Jh 4:8). Therefore, where there is love, there is God. Children experience the love of God through the love of their parents, families and others. Throughout this series we will help the children to come to a deeper understanding of the reality of God’s love in their lives: to know that God loves them unconditionally, that there is neither beginning nor end to the love of God, and that human love is only a hint of what God’s love is like.
The Gospel according to John helps us to see the implications of depth of God’s love for the world: ‘For God loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life’ (Jn 3:16). The love of God is made pre-eminently visible in the person of Jesus Christ. In his encyclical Deus Caristas Est, Pope Benedict XVI referred to Jesus as ‘the incarnate love of God’. By reaching out in love to people – and especially to those on the margins – Jesus brought the love of God the the world. This love eventually took him to the Cross, an act described as ‘love in its most radical farm’ (Deus Caritas Est, no. 12).
So, what is our response to this incomprehensible, self-giving love?The Grow in Love series aims to help children to see how they can respond to God’s love through love: by doing acts of love that mirror the actions of Jesus. They can show respect for God, for themselves, for one another and for all creation. We teach the children that, through the grace of God’s Spirit which we receive in Baptism, we are enabled to become witnesses to the love of God in the world by living as disciples of Jesus Christ.
To view a sample of the Grow in Love Teacher’s Manual, click here
To view a sample of the Grow in Love Pupil’s Book, click here
To view The Pedagogical Approach to Grow in Love, click here
To view Using Grow in Love in the Classroom, click here
To view Program Components, click here