Picture Study on the Parables

"...the parables constitute the heart of Jesus' preaching." -Pope Benedict XVI

The parables are stories told straight from the Teacher Himself. The parables teach us about the Kingdom of God and His Heart for the world.

These are the stories our kids need to know.

The parables have been so valuable in Christian tradition that there are plentiful artworks depicting them.

We've chosen 12 of the best.

This picture study includes:

• 12 high-quality, UV-coated 8.5x11 prints of sacred art of each parable
• A parent booklet explaining the importance of picture studies and how to do one with your children
• An open-and-go catechesis for each parable, teaching truths about God and His Church from the painting itself.
• Discussion questions to help the child engage with the painting.
• Prompts for prayer and Scripture reading.

Spend just 15 minutes with each painting to give your child a comprehensive experience of the parables that will not only expand their minds but also their hearts.

This resource has the Imprimatur from Bishop William Medley of the Diocese of Owensboro.

The Catholic Church has long-upheld sacred art as an important aspect of one's Christian life, upbringing, and devotion. For, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church says:

Genuine sacred art draws man to adoration, to prayer, and to the love of God (CCC 2502).

Art grants us a myriad of opportunities to expand not only the minds of our children, but also their hearts. Pioneer of home education Charlotte Mason wrote of the student:

His education should furnish him with whole galleries of mental pictures, pictures by great artists old and new … in fact, every child should leave school with at least a couple of hundred pictures by great masters hanging permanently in the halls of his imagination … he should go forth well furnished because imagination has the property of magical expansion, the more it holds the more it will hold. (Mason 43)

When these ideals are applied to evangelizing and catechizing our children, they take on an even greater profundity. For when the child’s imagination grows in tandem with his life of prayer, his Christian imagination expands, leading him to the wellsprings of mental prayer, meditation, and contemplation.

If you're looking for art appreciation support that helps cultivate the child's Catholic worldview and prayer life, this study is for you.

Artwork by Mary Claire of 12th and Blossom.