Engaging Faith

Here we are again with our tenth annual look at Catholic colleges who have qualified for the NCAA Men’s and Women’s basketball tournaments, also known as “March Madness.” The exercise is an interesting one because many of your students are familiar with filling out brackets for an NCAA pool and you can use the current nature and popularity of the event to teach something about the traditions of the Catholic colleges participating, their founding religious community, a namesake saint, and much more. To begin, pass out a printable bracket sheet (one for the men’s tournament and one for the women’s tournament) and ask the students to circle each of the Catholic college. Then have them “rank” the Catholic colleges according to the number they were seeded in the tournament (there will be some ties). You might also pass out a blank map of the United States and have the students locate the Catholic colleges by location. Finally, have the student’s research and name the sponsoring Catholic religious congregation for each college. Here are the keys to the exercises listed above. Catholic Colleges in the Men’s Tournament South Villanova West Holy Cross Saint Joseph’s East Providence Notre Dame Xavier Midwest Iona Seton Hall Gonzaga Dayton Rankings of Catholic Colleges in the Men’s Tournament (seeding in parenthesis) Seton Hall (8 Bridgeport) Xavier (2 East) Notre Dame (6 East) Seton Hall (6 Midwest) Dayton 7 (Midwest) Saint Joseph’s (8 West) Providence (9 East) Gonzaga (11 Midwest) Iona (13 Midwest) Holy Cross (16 West) Locations of Catholic Colleges in the Men’s Tournament Pennsylvania Villanova Saint Joseph’s Massachusetts Holy Cross Rhode Island Providence Indiana Notre Dame Ohio Xavier Dayton New York Iona New Jersey Seton Hall Washington Gonzaga Sponsoring Religious Congregations of Catholic Colleges in the Men’s Tournament Order of Saint Augustine (Augustinians) Villanova Society of Jesus (Jesuits) Saint Joseph’s Holy Cross Xavier Gonzaga Dominicans Providence Congregation of Holy Cross Notre Dame Marianists Dayton Congregation of Christian Brothers Iona Diocesan Sponsored Seton Hall Catholic Colleges in the Women’s Tournament Bridgeport Seton Hall Duquesne Dallas St. John’s DePaul St. Bonaventure Sioux Falls None Lexington Notre Dame San Francisco Iona Rankings of Catholic Colleges in the Women’s Tournament (seeding in parenthesis) Notre Dame (1 Lexington) Seton Hall (8 Bridgeport) Duquesne (9 Bridgeport) St. John’s (8 Dallas) St. Bonaventure (10 Dallas) San Francisco (13 Lexington) Iona (15 Lexington) Locations of Catholic Colleges in the Women’s Tournament New Jersey Seton Hall Pennsylvania Duquesne Illinois DePaul New York St. Bonaventure Iona Indiana Notre Dame California San Francisco Sponsoring Religious Congregations of Catholic Colleges in the Women’s Tournament Diocesan Sponsored Seton Hall Congregation of the Holy Spirit Duquesne Vincentians DePaul Franciscans St. Bonaventure Congregation of Holy Cross Notre Dame Society of Jesus (Jesuits) San Francisco Congregation of Christian Brothers Iona

Here are directions for a class prayer service for the poor. You will need a shoebox and slips of paper with the following Scripture reference, one per slip. Make enough slips so that each student has his or her own. It’s okay to repeat the Scripture references. Students should also have copies of their own bibles and a pencil. If possible, meet in a chapel for prayer. If not possible, dim the lights in your classroom to create a more suitable atmosphere for prayer. Scripture Passages Proverbs 13:7 Proverbs 14:21 Proverbs 19:1 Proverbs 22:2 Proverbs 28:27 Sirach 7:32 Sirach 13:21 Sirach 29:8 Sirach 31:8 Amos 2:7 1 Samuel 2:7 Matthew 5:3 Matthew 19:21 Luke 12:15 Directions Label the shoe box with the words “For the Poor” and place it in the center of the prayer space. When all are assembled, say: Secular society focuses on the “beautiful people” and selling an idyllic lifestyle where women are elegant and sensual and men are ruggedly handsome. Billions of dollars are spent each year to promote this persona which includes the sale or products. Meanwhile, a poor box in a neighborhood parish takes in only a couple of hundred dollars or less on average. (Continue telling about a parish poor box: how the money is used and at least one personal story of a poor person or family who was aided by the parish.) We all know people who are poor in one way or another: financially, emotionally, spiritually. Some of these people may be your peers. I am going to pass out to you a prayer slip with a Scripture passage on it. Look up the passage in your bible and see how the words speak about people who are poor. When you get your slip, read the passage quietly and reflect on its meaning. Write the name of a person you would like to pray for on the back of the slip. Pray for someone who, unlike those targeted by the advertising industry and popular media, might never attract any attention. Pass out a prayer slip to each student. Allow about five minutes for reflection. Then call for everyone’s attention in a common area. Call on a good reader to read aloud Luke 21:1-4 (The Poor Widow’s Contribution). Next say: I’m going to pass the poor box (shoe box) around the room. When it reaches you share a short prayer for the person whom you named on your slip. You can pray for the person by name (“For James and his troubles at home, we pray…”) or without naming him or her (“For my friend who is not getting along with her parents, we pray…”). Your response will be “Lord, hear us.” Or, when it is your turn, you can share an insight you gained from your Scripture passage. Choose one person to begin the prayer by passing him or her the poor box. After everyone has shared, collect the poor box and offer a final, closing prayer for all the poor of the world or play a song with lyrics that speak of paying special attention to the needs of the poor.

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