Engaging Faith

One way to increase devotion to the saints is by developing a relationship with one particular saint—your patron saint. This exercise will help your students to choose their own patron saint. Create a document based on the following material. Write your first and middle names here:___________________________________. Using a Catholic encyclopedia, or a book of saints, or an Internet site such as www.catholic.org/saints or http://saints.sqpn.com, list as many saints as you can find that share one of your names. Write your birthday and the date of your baptism here:_______________________. List those saints whose feast day is one of the dates written above. List as many hobbies or regular activities as you can think of that are important to you here:______________________________________________________. Find out if there are patron saints for those hobbies or activities. List them here. Now read the short biographies of the saints you have listed above until you find a story that inspires you. Write that saint’s name here:____________________. Begin your research into this saint’s life by finding the following information: Date and place of birth: Lifelong Catholic or convert?: Date and circumstance of death: Best known for: Virtues exhibited by this saint: Temptations or struggles faced by this saint:

Here’s an activity for your students when they return to school after Easter. Make copies of the Scripture Spiral. You can also make copies of the questions below to give to each student or read the questions one at a time as the students work to fill in the answers around the spiral. The last letter of one answer is also the first letter of the next answer. Questions What did the women take to Jesus’ tomb? (Lk 24:1) In Matthew’s Gospel, what was the angel doing on the stone? (Mt 28:3) Who did Mary Magdalene think Jesus was? (Jn 20:15) How did Peter get to the tomb? (Lk 24:12) In Mark’s original ending, what did the women say to Peter and the disciples about the message given to them by the angel at the empty tomb? (Mt 28:16) Where did the risen Jesus meet with his disciples? (Mt 28:16) What natural disaster accompanied the angel’s descent? (Mt 28:2) What was the village seven miles from Jerusalem where the two disciples were traveling when they met Jesus? (Lk 24:13) What day of the week was the empty tomb discovered? (Mk 16:2) How did Peter answer Jesus’ question “Do you love me?” (Jn 21:16) Jesus breathed on his disciples and promised he would send the Holy ______. (Jn 20:22) In Luke’s Gospel, who appeared to the women inside the empty tomb? (Lk 24:4) What did the women’s story of the empty tomb seem like to the Apostles? (Lk 24:11) What did the risen Jesus want to do when he met with his disciples in Jerusalem? (Lk 24:41) What was the name of the sea where Jesus revealed himself to seven disciples? (Jn 21:1) After the students have completed the Scripture Spiral tell them to use the circled letters on the spiral to answer the following question: What is the most important feast day in the Church Year? Answers: 1) spices; 2) sitting; 3) gardener; 4) ran; 5) nothing; 6) Galilee; 7) earthquake; 8) Emmaus; 9) Sunday; 10; Yes; 11) Spirit; 12) two men; 13) nonsense; 14) eat; 15) Tiberias; Bonus) Easter.

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