Advent Lights · Week 1 · Grades 9–12
Guided Notes: St. Nicholas
- Name
- Date
- Class
Follow along as your teacher presents. Fill in each section when its slide is on the screen.
A thin record, a vast devotion
The secure facts about Nicholas fit in a sentence. He was blank 1 of Myra, a port in the Roman province of Lycia, in what is now Turkey, during the fourth century.
No writing of his survives, and no account from his own lifetime blank 2 him. The oldest surviving accounts of his life date from centuries after his death and mix memory with legend.
Devotion to him, however, is early and widespread. By the sixth century a church in blank 3 was dedicated to him, and he became one of the most venerated saints in both East and West.
A century of upheaval
Write what happened at each point.
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| c. 270 | Write your answer |
| 303 | Write your answer |
| 313 | Write your answer |
| 325 | Write your answer |
| c. 343 | Write your answer |
| 1087 | Write your answer |
| 1969 | Write your answer |
What the legends claim
The blank 4 stories share one pattern. A father too poor to provide dowries for his three daughters faces their ruin. Nicholas throws gold through the window at night, three times, and tries to remain unknown.
Three innocent men are condemned by a corrupt official. Nicholas, the blank 5 says, stops the execution and confronts the official. Sailors caught in a storm call on him and reach port.
In each story someone has no power, and a bishop spends his own wealth, standing or safety on their behalf. That is the portrait of a pastor the early blank 6 chose to hand on.
Apply it
A classmate says, “The gold story can’t be proven, so Nicholas is basically made up.” Which reply is most accurate? Circle one.
- A The Church has declared every story about him to be historical fact
- B Letters written by Nicholas himself confirm the story of the gold
- C Legends about saints are always invented and tell us nothing at all
- D His office as bishop of Myra is historical, while many details are tradition
Why is that the right answer?
Apply it
Which action today comes closest to the pattern of the gold story? Circle one.
- A Filming yourself handing food to a homeless person for your followers
- B Quietly covering a classmate’s trip fee through a teacher, with no name
- C Reposting a fundraiser so friends can see which causes you support
- D Donating to a charity that lists its givers’ names on a public page
Why is that the right answer?
Take a side
Nicholas is remembered for giving in secret. Resolved: a good deed that is posted online loses something essential.
My side: ☐ Agree ☐ Disagree
- In the gold story, who benefits from the secrecy: the giver, the family, or both?
- Can publicity serve the good, for example by inspiring others or raising more help?
- What happens to the dignity of the person helped when they appear in someone’s content?
- Jesus teaches both hidden giving (Matthew 6) and letting your light shine (Matthew 5). How do they fit together?
- Does motive change the worth of a deed if the person in need is helped either way?
My strongest reason, with evidence from the slides:
The best argument for the other side, and my response:
Let us pray
Father, you see what is done in secret.
Free us from the need to be noticed, and open our eyes to those in need.
Give us courage to defend anyone treated unjustly.
St. Nicholas, pray for us.
Amen.
My own prayer or intention:
Go and give quietly
Behind centuries of legend stands a pastor remembered for generosity that asked for nothing back. His feast day is December 6.
One thing I learned today:
One question I still have:
How could the example of St. Nicholas shape the way I live, online and offline?
Challenge: Before December 6, or within the next seven days, meet one real need anonymously. Tell no one and post nothing.