May is the month of Mary. Mary also has her own day dedicated to her in each and every week throughout the year. The tradition of honoring Mary on Saturday goes back to the very first Holy Saturday, the day that Jesus lay in the tomb. It was Mary who waited anxiously but faithfully on that day in anticipation of the Resurrection. At the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century, the practice of offering a special or votive Mass to Mary on Saturdays was included in the Roman Missal. The Second Vatican Council also supported this tradition.Catholics are called to do something special to honor Mary on Saturdays, especially during the Saturdays of May. This may include attending a Saturday morning Mass, doing a special work of charity, or praying the rosary.Recently, Pope Benedict XVI encouraged teens to learn the Latin text for key prayers, including the Hail Mary. Consider helping teens to memorize the Hail Mary in Latin. You may also wish to play a recording of Ave Maria to help them in their task. Hail Mary, full of grace,the Lord is with thee.Blessed art thou among womenand blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.Holy Mary, Mother of God,pray for us sinners nowand at the hour of our death. Amen.Ave, María, grátia plena,Dóminus tecum.Benedicta tu in muliéribus,et benedíctus fructus ventristui, Iesus.Sancta María, Mater Dei,ora pro nobis peccatoribusnunc et in hora mortis nostrae.Amen.
Directions: Each of the following events or stories is in only one Gospel. Have the students work either on their own or with a partner to read through the Gospels and identify the Gospel, chapter, and verse for each.
Jesus washes the feet of the Apostles at the Last Supper.
Jesus raises back to life the son of the widow Nain.
The wedding feast at Cana and the changing of water into wine.
The eight Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount.
A young man, who had his linen clothes torn away from in the Garden of Olives, runs away naked.
The parable of the Good Samaritan.
Jesus is laid in a manger at birth.
Jesus makes a charcoal fire on the seashore for the disciples and cooks fish and bread.
Jesus is crucified at nine o'clock in the morning.
Jesus tells Martha that her sister Mary has chosen the better part.
Jesus appears to the Apostles on a mountain in Galilee after he rises from the dead.
A star appears over the place of Jesus' birth.
The parable of the Prodigal or Lost Son.
This Gospel begins at Jesus' baptism when he is thirty years old.
Jesus tells the repentant criminal on the next cross: "Today you will be with me in paradise."
Jesus reads the thoughts of the woman at the well.
Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth who is pregnant with John the Baptist.
The parable of the two sons, one of whom who worked for his father even though he originally refused.
Jesus looks with love on a rich young man.
Peter is the first to enter Jesus' empty tomb.
Jesus weeps over Jerusalem before he cleanses the Temple.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph travel to Egypt to escape King Herod's death threat.
The parable of the ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom.
Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead after he has been lying four days in the tomb.
Zacchaeus, the tax collector, comes down from the sycamore tree and has Jesus stay with him.
Jesus saves the woman caught in adultery by saying, "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her."
Pontius Pilate orders guards to be placed at Jesus' tomb.
Jesus and the Twelve have their traveling expenses paid by a number of rich women.
Jesus carried his cross all by himself, with no help.
Vernonica wipes the face of Jesus while he is carrying the cross and receives an impression of his face on her veil.
Answers: 1. John 13:4-10; 2. Luke 7:11-17; 3. John 2:1-11; 4. Matthew 5:3-12; 5. Mark 14:51; 6. Luke 10: 29-37; 7. Luke 2:7; 8. John 21: 9; 9. Mark 15:25; 10. Luke 10:38-42; 11. Matthew 28:16; 12. Matthew 2:9; 13. Luke 15:11-32; 14. Mark 1: 9; 15. Luke 23: 43; 16. John 4:4-26; 17. Luke 1:39-45; 18. Matthew 21: 28-32; 19. Mark 10: 21; 20. John 20:1-6; 21. Luke 19:41; 22. Matthew 2:13-15; 23. Matthew 25:1-13; 24. John 11:1-44; 25. Luke 19:1-10; 26. John 8:7; 27. Matthew 27:63-66; 28. Luke 8:2-3; 29. John 19:17; 30. Not in any Gospel—legend.
The following material encouraging high school students to investigate the possibilities for attending a Catholic College is from Marriage and Holy Orders: Your Call to Love and Serve. Share the information with the students and have them investigate information on Catholic colleges at the National Catholic College Admission Association.
There are over two hundred Catholic colleges in the United States. They have undergraduate enrollments of all sizes—from under 1,000 students to over 20,000 students. They are also located in every region of the country in urban, suburban, and rural areas. Some Catholic universities also have renowned medical and law schools and offer several other professional and graduate degrees. Besides these basic facts, there are some other reasons for you to consider attending a Catholic college. For example:
• Community environment. At a Catholic college you won’t be treated like a number. You will meet new friends of many different racial, religious, and socio-economic backgrounds. You will be supported by caring professors and staff.
• Moral environment. Don’t be fooled, students at Catholic colleges are not perfect and make their share of immoral choices. However, the policies of the institution itself will be geared to promote Christian morality (e.g., speaking out for the right to life for everyone, from the unborn to the aged and infirmed.)
• Global environment. One of the marks of the Church is that it is catholic or universal. The first universities were Catholic and connected to monasteries. There are Catholics and Catholic colleges worldwide and many of the Catholic colleges in the United States have excellent study abroad programs. Also, courses are taught from a global perspective where solidarity with the entire human race—especially the poor—is stressed.
• Faith environment. Whether it is a crucifix in a classroom, a priest or religious serving as a rector in a dorm, a required theology course, or the celebration of the sacraments on campus, a Catholic college offers the opportunity to continue to practice the faith you first learned in your family and will want to practice in your own life and family in the future.
Father Bernie O’Connor, OSFS, a Catholic college president, wrote that preparing students for life is the number one reason for a student to attend a Catholic college. He added: “We know what makes a successful marriage, we know what is required for a happy and productive career, we know what it takes to care for children, we know about the struggles of the elderly, the sick, the disabled, the forgotten.”
If you are not able to attend a Catholic college, most public colleges sponsor a Newman Club, named after John Henry Cardinal Newman who was raised in the Anglican Church of the early nineteenth century before converting to Catholicism at the age of forty-two. In the past, it was rare for Catholics to attend non-Catholic colleges. The first Newman Club was sponsored at the University of Pennsylvania in 1883, insisting that its members not become “clannish or narrow in a religious sense.” This motivation continues today as Newman Clubs have an inter-faith focus while including celebration of the sacraments, RCIA classes, and catechetical studies more specifically for their Catholic members.
The Easter Season is a time for students to deepen their relationship with Jesus. Here is a short activity from Catholic Essentials: An Overview of the Faith.
Christians are to imitate the values of Jesus in their own lives. Here are some of the things Jesus valued.
Conversion Commitment Service Community
Fellowship Forgiveness Healing Love
Leadership Reconciliation Trust Family Life
Jesus instituted the sacraments from his own life and values. Read the following Gospel passages. Determine which sacrament each one points to. Names some values of Jesus that each passage represents:
Matthew 3:13-17; 9:35-36; 16:15-16; 28:16-20
Mark 1:40-45; 8:22-26
Luke 7:36-50; 12: 8-12; 22: 14-20
John 2:1-11; 6:47-58; 16:5-16; 20:19-23
In her resource for religious education, Faith Facts for Young Catholics, Sr. Kieran Sawyer SSND offers five principles to guide the use of drills and games in the classroom. They are:1. Everyone Pays Attention. Learning games should be structured to keep every person engaged in the learning process. Everyone should be able to see and hear the entire activity. The team that is not "up" should be learning as well as the team that is. The persons not called on should be thinking along with the one who is. If the class should become unruly or disrespectful, stop the game, review the rules, and begin again. If that fails, change to a quiet activity.2. Every Minute Is Learning Time. Keep the mechanics of the game simple so that as much time as possible is spent in actual learning. Memorize the directions for the game in advance so that you are sure to now how to play it. Ask questions in such a way that they themselves are part of the learning process. Give clues to keep a game from bogging down when someone doesn't know the answer. Use time between rounds or games to study or review. Keep a supply of study cards and flash cards in a prominent place and encourage students to study them together before class and at breaks.3. Everyone Is a Winner. Learning games should be planned so that every student feels that he or she is succeeding. Avoid situations that always allows the brighter students to win. Avoid choosing sides in a way that would leave the slower student to be chosen last. Pay special attention to problem students, giving them extra clues, allowing them to shuffle cards, keep score, etc. Give reading roles to better readers who will not be embarrassed by mistakes. If a game is faltering because few people seem to know the answers, stop for a few minutes of review and study time, then resume the game, or switch to one that is less challenging.4. Everyone Works Together. While learning games need a certain amount of competition to be enjoyable, the focus should be on cooperative learning rather than competition. Build up team spirit with cheers, chants, and small rewards for the winners. Encourage teams to cheer for their teammates and for other teams. Give teams time to review together, which encourages the brighter students to help the slower students review the content. Switch teams often, trying to keep them balanced, and giving the students a chance to work with all of their classmates.5. Everyone Has Fun. Learning games should be fun for the teacher as well as the students. Keep a positive,k upbeat attitude. Use a game or two to live up a difficult or dull lesson, or to reward the class for especially good behavior. Don't play any one game too long. Once the class has become acquainted with several of the games, allow them to choose the one they want to play. Do not allow cheating, booing, or other unsportsmanlike activities.
This is the time of year when Christians and Jews share two important holy days and seasons: Easter and Passover. This year, Easter Sunday is on April 12. Passover is celebrated from April 9 to 15. On Good Friday, Catholics pray especially for their Jewish brothers and sisters. Use the opportunity to explain some of the common and different beliefs between Catholics and Jews. The following material is reprinted from
Exploring the Religions of the World by Nancy Clemmons, SNJM.
Relationship Between Catholics and Jews
The relationship between Catholics and Jews is unique indeed. Catholicism is rooted in Judaism historically, scripturally, liturgically, and theologically. No two religious traditions have so much in common. We both believe in one God (CCC, 228). We share Abraham as our father in faith, the first to believe in the one God (CCC, 72). We believe God has made multiple covenants with the Jewish people—with Noah, with Abraham, with Moses, with David—and that God has broken no covenant (CCC, 71). We know God has broken no promises. We affirm God’s revelation on Mount Sinai to Moses, then to the Jewish people, and then to all mankind (CCC, 72). We accept the Ten Commandments as a minimum guide for moral living (CCC, 1980). We pray the same psalms. We believe that God has spoken to us through the prophets. We accept the Hebrew Bible as the Word of God, and it is contained in the Old Testament. We know that at the end of time we will see that history has meaning, that there will be a final judgment, and that the world will be redeemed (CCC, 1060). Yet, those things that are common to both religious traditions are also the sources of our differences in the following areas.
Messiah
The most noted difference between Catholics and Jews is in the person of Jesus. Both agree Jesus was a historical figure. Jesus was born of a Jewish woman named Mary, raised in a traditional Jewish home in the Jewish homeland, was a charismatic itinerant preacher and wonder-worker, and died a criminal, crucified by Romans around 30 CE (AD). Here the commonalities end and the differences begin.
Jews still expect a Messiah or messianic age to come. Jews believe that the Messiah (“the anointed one”) will be a wise person who will reestablish the House of David and that he will bring about the messianic era when the “lion shall lie down with the lamb and swords shall be turned into plowshares.” Catholics believe the Messiah has already come in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. While Jews at the time of Jesus were looking for a Messiah who would be a warrior-king, a political figure, from the House of David, Jesus of Nazareth was a spiritual rather than a political figure. The coming of the Messiah is the inauguration of God’s reign on earth. It is a spiritual, moral reign rather than an earthly reign, for Christ’s kingdom is not of this world. The Gospel of Luke cites Jesus reading in the synagogue from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Lk 4: 18–21)
At the end of time, it will be revealed that Jesus was indeed the long-awaited Jewish Messiah and Redeemer for the entire world. For Christians, the end of time will be the Second Coming of the Messiah, while for Jews it will be the first coming.
Incarnation
Jesus is something else besides the Messiah, the Anointed One of God (CCC, 453). Jesus is God. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14). God became one of us in Jesus. At Jesus’ conception, the human nature of Jesus was perfectly united with the divine nature of the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity (CCC, 479). Jesus is not part human and part divine. Rather, Jesus is truly God and truly human (CCC, 480). God became one of us in Jesus to bring about our salvation, to reconcile us to God. This is the doctrine of the Incarnation.
Jews expect the coming Messiah to be a human being, anointed by God, but not divine. Jews see no reason for a mediator between them and God. Each person has the power within to reconcile, to make right, with God.
However, the doctrine of the Incarnation is not totally foreign to Jews. Both Jews and Christians believe the Word of God was present at creation, for God spoke, and it came to be. While for Christians the Word became Incarnate in the Person of Jesus, for Jews, the Word became Incarnate in a book. These are not the same or even similar doctrines. Rather, they both say that God is present to us through something concrete. For Christians, the tangible is Jesus, who is truly God and truly human. For Jews, the tangible is the Torah. It, too, has a divine and a human nature. The words of Torah make God present in the midst of the human reader.
Scripture
To Catholics, God’s inspired word in Scripture is contained in more than the Hebrew Bible. All Christians accept also the New Testament as revealed scripture. While Jews accept the New Testament as documents written, for the most part, by first-century Jews, they do not accept the New Testament as revealed by God. Christians commonly believe that the Old Testament is the same as the Hebrew Bible, though that is not exactly true. The Church included seven books (1 and 2 Maccabees, Judith, Tobit, Baruch, Sirach, and Wisdom), which were mostly written in Greek after 300 CE, not included in the Hebrew Bible B.C. (CE). These seven books are referred to as deuterocanonical—“second canon”—to show that they are not accepted in the Jewish canon.
The word “testament” means “covenant.” So, while Christians could say that their scriptures are made up of the Old Covenant and New Covenant, as noted above, God made multiple covenants with the Jewish people, the most important of which is the covenant on Mount Sinai. God does not break covenants. God’s covenants are eternal. Jesus did not enter human history to render the Old Covenant void.
Liturgy
There are striking similarities between the annual Passover meal of the Jews and the daily Eucharistic celebration of Catholics, also known as the Mass or the Lord’s Supper. In each there are readings from scripture, the offering, blessing, and fracturing of unleavened bread, as well as the offering, blessing, and consuming of wine. Even the beginning of the blessings can be similar. Jews pray, “Blessed are you, King of the universe,” and Catholics pray, “Blessed are you, God of all creation.”
Holy Thursday and Passover
There is a connection also between Easter and Passover. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke report that the Last Supper was a Passover meal. The Passover is in commemoration of the Jewish exodus from Egypt. In this historical event, Jewish slaves in Egypt were brought to freedom through the leadership of Moses. After many attempts to get the pharaoh to release the slaves through the use of plagues, it was the last plague that caused the release. In the last plague, the first-born son would be slain. To avoid the killing of the first-born son, the Jews were to slaughter an unblemished lamb and mark the post and lintel of their dwelling with the blood of the lamb. The angel of death would “pass over” any dwelling that was marked with blood. The death of first-born sons was too much for the pharaoh, and he let the Jews go free. Christians see Jesus as the Lamb of God who was slain and whose blood released believers from the slavery of sin to freedom in Christ Jesus.
Pentecost and Shavuot
The Christian feast of Pentecost and the Jewish fest of Shavuot are related. In fact, Shavuot is known also as Pentecost. While Shavuot means “weeks,” referring to seven weeks after Passover, the name Pentecost refers to fifty days after Passover. Shavuot began as a spring harvest feast, but it is better known as a celebration of when God gave the Torah and the Mosaic Law to the Jews through Moses. This momentous occasion on Mount Sinai is when the Jews became a covenantal people. When the first followers of Jesus were celebrating Shavuot/Pentecost in Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit came upon them. They, too, became a people. Pentecost is sometimes known as the “birthday of the Church.” In accepting Jesus, the Mosaic Law was not nullified, but fulfilled.
Assignment
Research four areas in which Jews and Catholics are in agreement.
What are some other topics that can further Jewish-Catholic dialogue in a positive way.
