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Engaging Faith

Practical Lesson Ideas and Activities for Catholic Educators
Archived - February 2010
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Catholic Just War Theory Lesson Plan

What is Just War Theory? Just War Theory, often called just-war tradition or just war doctrine, is “a set of principles developed through the centuries by the Catholic Church that clearly outlines when a nation may ethically participate in a war…and sets clear limits on armed force once a war is engaged (Pennock, Catholic Social Teaching, p. 185) an important teaching of the Catholic Church. Based on the writings of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, the Church has set forth the following criteria for a “just war”: Principles to follow in entering a war: Just Cause – There must be real, lasting, grace and certain damage inflicted by an aggressor on a nation or community of nations. Legitimate Authority – The right to declare a war belongs to the people who legitimately represent the people of a certain nation. Comparative Justice – The rights and values involved in the conflict must be important enough to justify killing. Right Intention – The war must be waged with a commitment to post-war reconciliation and peace, not personal gain. Probability of Success – The odds of success should be compared to the likely cost of human life. Proportionality – The damage and costs of the war should be proportionate to the good expected. Last Resort – All peaceful efforts have been tried and exhausted before entering into war. Standards to follow in fighting: Immunity of Noncombatants – Civilians may not be the object of direct attack. Proportionality – Only the minimum force necessary to obtain military objectives is used. Right Intention – Leaders must keep in mind that only peace and justice is the aim of war. Catholic Just War Lesson Plan Objectives: SWBAT develop a criteria for a just war. SWBAT describe each criteria of a Just War. SWBAT critique their own idea of a just war based on Catholic Just War Doctrine. SWBAT apply just war theory to a modern conflict. SWBAT take a position on a modern conflict as a just or unjust war. Assessment: Debate Essay with supporting arguments Lesson plan: 1) Creating a Class Criteria Divide the class into groups of 4 and have them brainstorm criteria for a just war Have each group share their criteria and discuss as a class which criteria from each group will be use to create a master class-criteria. 2) Apply their criteria to a conflict they have studied in their social studies class. (e.g. based on what they know about the American Revolution, would the war be just based on their criteria?) 3) Provide the background to the Catholic just-war tradition Develop a lecture based on the material above. For some background (or to create handouts) see: Theological And Moral Perspectives On Today's Challenge Of Peac (USCCB) The Harvest Of Justice Is Sown In Peace "Just War" Doctrine according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church 4) Discuss the differences between Catholic just-war tradition and the criteria that the class created previously. What did we have in common? Does the just-war tradition add something we missed? 5) Have the students apply the criteria for a just war to a modern conflict. Conflicts could include the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and possible conflicts with North Korean, Iran, or Sudan. Have students research a specific conflict by giving them time in the computer lab or at home to develop a report. Or, create a lecture/PowerPoint with specific information for the students to use in applying the just-war tradition. 6) Debate the conflicts – is it a just war? Give students time to prepare their arguments based on the just war criteria. If there are no students on the opposing side, you should take them on in opposition. To keep students occupied who are not in the debate, have them complete a graphic organizer that directs them to list and/or critique arguments of each side. Afterwards give them the opportunity to ask questions. 7) Conclude the lesson with an essay assignment in which students must apply just-war tradition to the conflict of their choice.

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Brother André Bessette: First Holy Cross Saint!

We celebrate the impending canonization of Brother André Bessette, the first saint of the Congregation of Holy Cross!   Originally rejected from pursuing religious life because of poor health, when Alfred Bessette finally reached the door of the Holy Cross Brothers in 1870 he came with a note from his pastor that read, “I am sending you a saint.”   Called Brother André, he could barely read or write. He was assigned as a porter at the Congregation’s College of Notre Dame in Montreal, manning the door, scrubbing the floor, and working in the garden. His other responsibilities were to welcome guests, find the guests they were visiting, wake up the students for school, and deliver the mail. Many years later Brother André joked: “At the end of my novitiate, my superiors showed me the door, and I stayed there for forty years.”   People soon realized that Brother André had the gift of healing. He would often heal people by touching them or rubbing their bodies with oil from a lamp burning in front of the statue of St. Joseph to whom he had a special devotion.   In 1904 he asked the Archbishop of Montreal if he could have permission to build a chapel to St. Joseph on the mountain near the college. The Archbishop asked, “Are you having visions of St. Joseph telling you to build a church for him?” Brother André responded: “I have only my great devotion to St. Joseph to guide me.”   Permission was granted as long as Brother André promised not to go into debt. Brother André put a small dish with a sign that read “Donations for St. Joseph” on a picnic table with a statue of St. Joseph at the top of the mountain. He collected nickel donations when he gave haircuts to the boys who lived at the college.   When he had a few hundred dollars, Brother André built a small 15’ x 18’ wood shelter to keep the growing number of pilgrims who came to him from getting wet. In 1924 construction began on a larger building, the oratory. The Great Depression interfered with the project, but Brother André, at ninety, was able to be carried up the mountain to see a statue of St. Joseph placed in the unfinished, unroofed basilica. When he died on January 6, 1937 nearly a million mourners filed by his coffin. The oratory was completed in 1955.     For his healing powers, the Church declared Brother André venerable in 1978. In 1982 Pope John Paul II beatified Brother André.   Early in the Lenten season of 2010, on February 19, Pope Benedict XVI, announced the formal canonization of Brother André will take place in Rome on October 17.   Join us in marking this joyful occasion for the Congregation of Holy Cross and all its ministries, including Ave Maria Press!    Quotations from Brother André  “It is with the smallest brushes that the artist paints the best paintings.”    “Put your self in God’s hands; he abandons no one.”    “Practice charity with your neighbor—and this doesn’t mean only to give money to the poor. There are many ways to practice charity. We could, for example, keep ourselves from examining our neighbor’s conscience. There is also visiting the sick, who often do not need money, but who need good advice to help them get closer to God.”    “When you say to God, Our Father, he has his ear right next to your lips.”    “There is so little distance between heaven and earth that God always hears us. Nothing but a thin veil separates us from God.”     (Quotations are excerpted from Brother André: Friend of the Suffering, Apostle of Saint Joseph by Jean-Guy Dubuc, Ave Maria Press, 2010)

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Old Testament Battles and Warriors Project

It is always a challenge to teach in ways that will grab the students’ attention. One way to do this in a course on the Scriptures is to highlight the warrior-heroes and battles of the Old Testament. This activity is especially useful if you teach at an all boy’s school. Assign students the following names of warriors of the Old Testament and have them create a report on them to present to the class.1. Joshua (Joshua 1:1-11; 5:13-6:27; 10:7-15)2. Caleb (Joshua 15:13-193. Ehud (Jgs 3:12-30) 4. Deborah (Jgs 4-5) 5. Gideon (Jgs 6-8)6. Jephthah (Jgs 11)7. Samson (Jgs 13-16) 8. Jonathan (1 Sm 14) 9. Saul (1 Sm 10-1210. David (1 Sm 17)11. David’s Warriors (2 Sm 23:8-39) 12. Joram (2 Kings 3) 13. Naaman (2 Kings 5) 14. Jehu (2 Kings 9) 15. Hezekiah (2 Kgs 18-20)16. Judith (Judith 8, 13) 17. Mattathias (1 Mc 2)18. Judas Maccabeus (1 Mc 3-5, 9) 19. Jonathan (1 Mc 9-13) 20. Simon (1 Mc 13) Give the students the following guidelines for the report: 1. Read the passage from Scripture about the warrior (including the footnotes). 2. Write summary of everything you can deduce from the Old Testament passage: unique qualities, reason for fighting, the enemies, their success of failure. 3. Describe whether they consider the warrior to have participated in “Miracle Warfare” (see below). In the Torah, “Divine Warfare” or “Miracle Warfare” was commonplace. Miracle Warfare is the idea, unique to the Israelites, that God will fight, not just with them, but for them against their enemies. Ask the students to decide whether or not they see this theology in action as they are doing their research. Does God literally fight on their behalf? If so, explain. *Note that studying these figures does not condone the evil of violence and war. You may also consider following up with a lesson on the Just-War Doctrine of the Catholic Church.

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Ash Wednesday Journal Reflection

For Ash Wednesday, share the following journal reflection on the Temptation of Jesus from Luke 4:1–13.   Prelude Refer to the shema in Deuteronomy 6:4–5. Point out that each of the temptations of Jesus is a temptation against the shema. Likewise, each reply from Jesus comes from Deuteronomy.   First Temptation  Ask a student to read Luke 4:1–4. Explain that the first temptation is to the quick fix, the easy answer, the instant gratification. It’s Veruca Salt screaming at Willie Wonka, “I want it NOW!” The response of Jesus tells us to have patience, to reject the easy fix, and to discover how to rely on God.  Have students respond in their journals to the following:    In what ways do I seek instant gratification?  In what areas of my life do I need to learn patience and self-control?   Second Temptation  Ask a student to read Luke 4:5–8.  Tell the class that the second temptation is to power and wealth over and rejects our loving God.  Have the students respond in their journals to the following:   In what ways do I lord it over others? Put others down?   Third Temptation  Ask a third student to read Luke 4:9–12. Help the students see that the third temptation is to fame, or to glory. Jesus responds to the devil with humility. Have the students respond in their journals to the following:    What temptations to fame come my way via TV, videos, advertising?  How does the way I spend my money—on clothes, makeup, or whatever—lead me to succumb to this temptation?   Conclusion Finally, have the students respond in their journals to this question: “To which temptation do you give in to the most?” Tell students that their answer will give them a starting point their Lenten penance—and for their own dying to sin and rising to a new way of living This lesson is drawn from Catholic Essentials: An Overview of the Faith.  

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Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes Lesson Plan Ideas

February 11 is the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes who appeared to St. Bernadette Soubirous in on February 11, 1858 in Lourdes, France. Young Bernadette was gathering wood near a grotto when she heard a noise and felt a gust of wind. She turned and “something white in the shape of a girl.” She immediately knelt to pray the rosary before the Blessed Virgin disappeared. Bernadette witnessed many more visions at the grotto and the event grew in great popularity to become one of the most traveled to pilgrimage sites for Catholics. The feast day is a great opportunity to explore this devotion that is very important to many Catholics around the world.   Resources on the Web Background Information on Our Lady of Lourdes • Video of Fr. Jim Martin about St. Bernadette from “Who Cares About the Saints?” http://sqpn.com/2009/02/11/feast-of-our-lady-of-lourdes/ (YouTube Video) • Webpage including history, readings, prayers, etc.: http://www.wf-f.org/OurLadyofLourdes.html • American Catholic article: http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/saint.aspx?id=1288 • Catholic Online has detailed descriptions of each of the apparitions as well as background information on St. Bernadette: http://www.catholic.org/clife/mary/lourdes1.php • For a list of full movies including The Song of Bernadette (1943), visit: http://www.ignatius.com/Videos/bernadette/ Prayers for the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes: • Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes: http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/novena/lourdes.htm Reference Books: • Mary: A History of Doctrine and Devotion by Hilda Graef, pp. 343-344, 347-356. http://www.avemariapress.com/itemdetail.cfm?nItemid=990           Lesson Plan Objectives: • Students will be able to recognize images of Our Lady of Lourdes. • Students will be able to describe the story of Our Lady of Lourdes. • Students will be able to illustrate the story of Our Lady of Lourdes. • Students will be able to pray a novena or other prayers for the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. Assessment: • Create a storyboard visual representation of Our Lady of Lourdes Teaching Approaches:       1. Type a Google Image search (http://images.google.com) for the phrase Our Lady of Lourdes. Show the students the common features found in pictures and replicas of grottos of Our Lady of Lourdes: Mary clothed in white with a blue shawl, St. Bernadette kneeling in prayer, one or both holding rosaries in hands of prayer, Mary’s halo reading “I am the Immaculate Conception,” a mix of stone and greenery, Mary standing in a small alcove. Note that the images express the descriptions given by St. Bernadette.           2. Provide students with a background to the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes in an appropriate format: video, audio, copied text, or an invitation to explore websites on their own. See “Background Information on Our Lady of Lourdes” above.           3. Ask students to answer the following questions individually then discuss them as a class:       How would you describe St. Bernadette Soubirous? How did St. Bernadette encounter Mary? With what name did Mary reveal herself? Why do you think this even became so popular? 4. Based on the information that they viewed or read and the pictures that they have seen, have the students create a story board production of a movie trailer for the apparition of Our Lady of Lourdes. For an example of a story board see: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/7217001/Movie-production-storyboard-example or http://cfbstaff.cfbisd.edu/paciottib/Video_Production/Module3-2.html.   5. To bring the lesson to a close, ask the students to pray together the following prayer. You might also challenge them to pray a novena (see above) in the evenings or in the mornings before school.         Prayer to Our Lady of Lourdes               O ever-Immaculate Virgin, Mother of Mercy, health of the sick, refuge of sinners, comforter of the afflicted, you know my wants, my troubles, my sufferings; look with mercy on me.       By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes, you were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary, whence you dispense your favors; and already many sufferers have obtained the cure of their infirmities, both spiritual and corporal.  I come, therefore, with complete confidence to implore your maternal intercession. Obtain, O loving Mother, the grant of my requests. Through gratitude for your favors, I will endeavor to imitate your virtues, that I may one day share your glory. Amen. Source: http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/prayers/Lourdes.html        

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Catholic Schools Week 2010: Celebrating Innovative Leadership

It is fitting that in the days just prior to the start of Catholic Schools Week, the Church celebrates the lives of two founders of religious communities who have been dedicated to educating boys and girls in Catholic high schools that flourish to this day. Interestingly, if you were to choose one word to describe the educational philosophies of St. Angela Merici (January 27) and Bl. Basil Moreau (January 20) it might be innovative. St. Angela lived in the early sixteenth century in Italy. When she was fifty-six years old Pope Clement VII asked Angela to take charge of a nursing order of sisters. She told the pope “no.” The reason? She had observed an even more pressing need in her hometown of Brescia. The girls of the Brescia had little or none formal education. Angela wanted to help, but according to the times, unmarried women could not be teachers. Nuns were highly educated but they were not allowed to leave the convent. She thought of a new way. She brought together several unmarried women who had been members with Angela in the Third Order Franciscans. They met for prayer and classes while living in their own homes. These women went out into the streets to find and offer education to poor girls. Eventually Angela agreed to the pope’s new request to formalize this new approach. Angela’s Company of St. Ursuline, or Ursulines, was the first group of women to work outside of the cloister and the first teaching order of women in the Church. The Ursuline tradition has been strong in the United States. Ursuline Academy in New Orleans began in 1727 and is the oldest girls’ school in the country. There are several other Ursuline academies that continue to foster: Spiritual formation and faith development Respect for the uniqueness of the individual Development of the whole person Development of a nurturing community spirit Commitment to Peacemaking Serviam (I will serve) as a lived reality St. Angela Merici once said, “If according to times and needs you should be obliged to make fresh rules and change certain things, do it with prudence and good advice.” Ursuline schools in the United States have continued to be homes for many “firsts” including offering the first classes for female African-American slaves, for free women of color, and for Native Americans. Bl. Basil Moreau was ordained a priest in 1821 and founded the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1841 in France. The Holy Cross sponsor 14 high schools in the United States. Fr. Moreau’s educational goal was to prepare students to be both productive citizens while at the same time imbuing them with Catholic values and a Catholic worldview. He believed that the “mind must not be cultivated at the expense of the heart” and that teachers should both prepare “useful citizens for society” while at the same time doing their “utmost to prepare citizens for eternal life.” He sought out top-level teachers and trained them to be even better. He wrote textbooks and teacher manuals and documents on Christian education, unheard of for his time. In his homily commemorating Basil Moreau’s beatification in 2007, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington D.C. described Bl. Basil as a patron of religious education. Moreau constantly reminded educators that education is a balance between heart and mind and between faith and knowledge. His attitude is continually reflected in values common to Holy Cross schools throughout the world: The school’s primary purpose is the leading of young people towards being true Christians. The school is a community and family.  The school serves a diverse population. The school approaches its responsibilities with a world-wide perspective. The school views itself as part of the mission of the local diocesan Church. The school’s mission includes helping students gain the best education possible by secular standards. The school’s mission includes helping students become active and informed citizens. As you celebrate Catholic Schools Week in the tradition of your own high school—be it Ursuline, Holy Cross, or of the charism of any other religious community or local diocese or parish—pray to St. Angela Merici and Bl. Basil Moreau and ask for their intervention for your students and your ministry as a teacher. Teacher’s Reflection You will effect more by kind words and a courteous manner than by anger or sharp rebuke, which should never be used except in necessity. —St. Angela Merici       Zealous teachers know that all students are equally important to God and that their duty is to work for each with the same devotion, watchfulness, and perseverance. Teachers who have drawn such gentleness from Jesus Christ will be blessed and happy. They will truly be the most important people in their school, and they will cause Jesus Christ to be the important person there. —Bl. Basil Moreau Prayer for Our Children Lord, help our children to know the road you have chosen for them: May they give you glory and attain salvation. sustain them with your strength, and let them not be satisfied with easy goals. Enlighten us, their [teachers], that we may help them to recognize their calling in life and respond to it generously. May we put no obstacle in the way of your inner guidance. —The Pope’s Family Prayer Book  

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