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Engaging Faith

Practical Lesson Ideas and Activities for Catholic Educators
Archived - March 2019

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Three Rules for Living a Good Life by Lou Holtz

Lou Holtz, the Hall of Fame former Notre Dame coach, has written a new book Three Rules for Living a Good Life: A Game Plan for Graduation. The book provides a simple formula for success for young adults entering the workforce and moving toward committed relationships. Just for fun, take a look at ten famous Lou Holtz quotations. Ask your students to pick out a favorite and tell why they chose the one they did. 1. “Motivation is simple. Eliminate those who are not motivated.” 2. “If you’re bored with life—you don’t get up every morning with a burning desire to do things—you don’t have enough goals.” 3. “You were not born a winner, and you were not born a loser. You are what you make yourself to be.” 4. “Everyone needs something to do, someone to love, something to hope for, and something to believe in.” 5. “One thing is certain: there will be one thing that will dominate your life. I strongly suggest it be something you can be proud of.” 6. “Ability is what you are capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.” 7. “Without self-discipline, success is impossible. Period.” 8. “Virtually nothing is impossible in this world if you just put your mind to it and maintain a positive attitude.” 9. “Making a big life change is pretty scary. But you know what’s even scarier? Regret.” 10. “I can’t believe God put us on this earth to be ordinary.”

Researching Catholic Non-Violent Resisters of the 20th Century

During his 2015 address to Congress, Pope Francis spoke of four great Americans that stood as witnesses of the dignity of the human person and advocated for social justice for all: Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Day, and Thomas Merton (Address of the Holy Father, 2015).  In this spirt, encourage your students to follow the insights of Pope Francis and research lives of individuals from Catholic tradition that advocated for social justice and non-violence alternatives through their life and witness. Assign a presentation or short essay along with the research.   Rubric expectations might include: personal quotations, pictures, biographical information, and/or a summary of their advocacy work. (This might be a good activity to guide students in learning about digital literacy and the need of reference citations and clear supporting evidence to accurately illustrate the advocacy of the individual.)  For more creative settings invite the students to create a poster, PechaKucha, or find a series of song lyrics that connect with the mission and ministry of one of the following Catholic advocates to present for the class.  The following are some examples of Catholic individuals who advocated for human dignity and labored for a non-violent alternative throughout the American twentieth century (supply background information on each as needed): Nicholas Black Elk (1863-1950) Sr. Thea Bowman (1937-1990) Fr. Solanus Casey (1870-1957) Cesar Chavez (1927-1993) St. Marianne Cope (1838-1918) Dorothy Day, OblSB (1897-1980) Ms. Eileen Egan (1912-2000) Ms. Dolores Huerta (1930-) Fr. Emil Kapaun (1916-1951) Sr. Teresa Kearney (1875-1957) The Martyrs of La Paz, El Salvador (1980) Sr. Mary Angeline Teresa McCrory (1893-1984) Thomas “Fr. Louis” Merton, OCSO (1915-1968) Fr. Stanley Rother (1935-1981) Mother Soledad Sanjurjo Santos (1892-1973) Fr. Aloysius Schwartz (1930-1992) Ms. Eunice Kennedy Shriver (1921-2009) Ms. Mary Ann Wright (1921-2009) Ms. Rhoda Greer Wise (1888-1948) Fr. George B. Zabelka (1915-1992                                                     Submitted by Thomas Malewitz, Ph.D.                                                         St. Xavier High School Louisville, KY