The Road to Emmaus Craft for Catholic Kids

A couple years back, before we were doing Catechesis of the Good Shepherd with the kids on Monday mornings at St. Luke, we walked them through Bible Story Time – our version of Mass Prep for little ones. The kids would come in and get a craft to busy their hands while we waited for everyone to show up. (We’re all moms, so “on-time” means something different to each of us.)

When we first started the group and had this reading in 2014, I found one of my favorite Bible crafting sites. Not only did it have a great craft for this verse, it also inspired my Transfiguration craft, and a few others. The lovely background and popsicle-stick people can be found at CraftingtheWordofGod.com. I’d post a picture, but I’m too new to this to know if that’s ok!

But let’s back up, and do some good old Catholic research because our faith offers us a depth of knowledge that others just don’t. First, read the Gospel – and all the readings! – at usccb.org. I also want to suggest a proper St. Joseph Missal. Not only is it easier to read and re-read the passages, it comes with lovely commentary from people with far more theological backgrounds than me. Next, head on over to LoyolaPress.com. There, you’ll find commentary and family activity ideas. You might try searching your favorite priest, deacon (we watched this Mass today where my dad is the deacon, and my mom is the cantor.) or EWTN speaker on YouTube to get a great homily, too.

Even Wikipedia, this time, has some compelling information, including a quote from St. Gregory the Great that beings, “They did not, in fact, have faith in him, yet, they were talking about him.” Point number one, then, is that we have to have true faith in God. That means the virtue of faith, which is a gift from God. If you are only talking about Jesus, start praying and ask for the gift of faith. For us as Catholics, the source and summit of our faith, of course, is the Eucharist. If you can’t quite wrap your heart or head around the power and beauty of the Eucharist, pray for the gift of faith.

In the hopes of helping the kids understand Christ’s True Presence in craft form, our second craft for Bible Story Time for the third Sunday of Easter, was this cute little break apart host that you’re seeing in the pictures. After all, “He was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.” If the disciples recognized Christ in the “breaking of the bread,” we should, too. I had a 6-year-old when I created it, among other kids, and, after playing with it, she asked, “So Jesus pops out of the host?”

Obviously, the craft, then, was not a perfect explanation! But, that’s just more justification for moving to Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, where the children are offered deep, pondering questions to help start to understand Christ’s True Presence in the Eucharist in nearly every presentation. This craft, then, should just help you open the door to speak about the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ as the central belief in our faith.

If you print the Road to emmaus 3rd Sunday of Easter A outside host and Road to emmaus 3rd Sunday of Easter A back of host on tan construction paper, it will be just the right color. I’ve included the Jesus image I created (Road to emmaus 3rd Sunday of Easter A Jesus), but you can get nicer ones from Holy Heroes coloring pages, from the Ascension coloring page on CraftingtheWordofGod.com, and from TheCatholicKid.com. You just have to shrink them to fit.

Cut out the circles. Split the one with the line down the middle in half, and cut out whatever Jesus you choose. Then, it’s assembly time. That’s mostly up to the kids. The circle with the words goes on the back of the circle with the starburst (Road to emmaus 3rd Sunday of Easter A inside host). I suggest the kids color the starburst before gluing the two together or putting Jesus on top. Once they’ve colored it, which was most of my kids’ least favorite part, they can glue the starburst to the words, and Jesus on top of the starburst.

What remains is poking a small hole at least 1/4 up from the base of the combined circles, and that of the half-circles. Line up all of your holes, and help the kids put the brad through, securing it at the back. If you go too low with your holes, the brad will break the holes quickly. Now, the two halves can split open, and you can say over and over, “He was made know to them in the breaking of the bread.”

Happy Easer!