Author, teacher, colleague, and friend Michael Pennock is in home hospice care in Austin, Texas, suffering from stomach cancer. Mike called me today with thanks for all of the prayers and wishes of love and support he has received from you, his fellow teachers, and your school communities. Each wish has been forwarded to Mike and read to him by his loving wife, Carol. (If you would like to leave a new message for Mike, you may also do so in the comments section of this entry.)On behalf of everyone at Ave Maria Press, I thank you as well for your prayers for Mike.Today, he told me that he understands better how Pope John Paul II could describe dying as serene. While admitting that he feels scared, Mike said that being surrounded in love has been overwhelming.Thank you again! Please continue praying for Michael Pennock.
Life is uncertain and, in fact, may be very brief. If we compare it with eternity, we will clearly realize that it cannot be more than an instant.
A happy death of all the things of life is our principled concern. For if we attain that, it matters little if we lose all the rest. But if we do not attain that, nothing else will be of any value.Blessed Junipero Serra
As you approach the end of the school year, here is a fun and rewarding class session to engage your students in. What's Needed:
a copy of the bingo card described below for each student
award ribbons with attached blank cards
slips of paper with each person's name and a bowl to put them in
pens, markers, and crayons
arrangements for food and drink
Description:
To begin, have the class play a game of "People Bingo." Prepare a bingo card with at least 16 squares. Print a talent or skill in each square that the students might be able to share of demonstrate, for example:
recite a poem
do a fifteen-second handstand
sing the "Brady Bunch" theme song
French braid hair
introduce himself/herself in a language besides English
know the name of last season's Heisman Trophy winner
tell a (clean) joke
Give each person a bingo card prepared with items like those listed above. Tell them to get one signature for every square. A person can only share a another person's card one time. A signature on a particular square indicates that a person has that talent. Play until a person yells "bingo." To check if he or she is the winner, randomly call on some of the people who signed the card and ask them to demonstrate their skills. If all checks out, the person holding the card is the winner. If not, continue playing the game until someone else has bingo. After the game, pass out award ribbons with attached blank cards to each person. Have them draw a slip of paper with the name of a person in the class. then have them create a positive award for the person whose name they drew and write in on the card with the ribbon. The award should be related to the person's personality, contribution to the class, or talents (e.g., "Most Energetic" or "Most Helpful"). Arrange for some simple food and drink to share. As the students' eat and converse, call on each person to explain the award he or she is giving and then have them give it to that person.
Our dear friend and colleague Michael Pennock is gravely ill, suffering from stomach cancer. We ask that you and your students remember Mike in your prayers. In his 30 plus years of teaching high school theology, mostly at St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, Mike taught over 12,000 students. He continues to remember and cherish them all.
Prayer to Mary for the SickMary, health of the sick,Be at the bedside of all of the world's sick people, especially Michael Francis Pennock;
of those who are unconscious and dying;
of those who have begun their agony;
of those who have been abandoned
and hope for a cure;
of those who weep and cry out in pain;
of those who cannot receive care
because they have no money;
of those who ought to be resting
but are forced by poverty to work;
of those who seek vainly in their beds
for a less painful position;
of those who pass long night sleepless;
of those who are tormented
by the cares of a family in distress;
of those who must renounce
their most cherished plans for the future;
of those, above all,
who do not believe in a better life;
of those who rebel and curse God;
of those who do not know that Christ
suffered like them and for them.
Rabboni
Ask the students to reflect on the words of the "Hail Mary" as if they are hearing them for the first time. Quiet the room. Make sure the students sit with their backs straight, either on a chair or on the floor. Remind them that the first part of the prayer is contained in Scripture; the second part was added later as a formula of petition to Mary. Say: "As you hear the words, imagine you are hearing them for the first time. Let them sink in slowly so that you can reflect on their meaning. Play some background music (perhaps the "Ave Maria" or other Marian hymns). Then use the following script, praying each phrase of the Hail Mary in your own heart and slowly reading the reflections.
Script (based on Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2676-2677)
Hail Mary. (Pause.) God, through the messenger of Gabriel, greets Mary. A poor girl of an out-of-the-way village, Nazareth, Mary was probably an early adolescent when she heard this greeting. We are able to greet Mary in the same way and to exult in the same joy in Mary that God had for her.
Full of grace, the Lord is with thee. (Pause.) These two phrases are related. The reason Mary is full of grace is because the Lord is with her. The grace with which Mary is filled is the very life of God who is the source of all grace. Because she is full of grace, Mary is completely devoted to God who has come to dwell in her and whom she is about to bring into the world.
Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. (Pause.) These are the words with which Mary's cousin Elizabeth greets her. We join Elizabeth in greeting Mary this way. Elizabeth is the first of countless numbers of people from every generation who have called Mary "blessed." Mary is blessed because she believed and accepted for herself God's words to her. As the patriarch Abraham was the father of all believers, Mary has become the Mother of all the faithful, including a new generation of Gentile believers who are welcomed and received by her Son, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God. (Pause.) This beings the second movement of the prayer. Because she has given the world Jesus, Mary is the Mother of God. She is also our Mother as Jesus spoke from the cross to his beloved disciple John:" Behold your mother," Jesus said. We are deeply indebted to God for having given us Mary as our Mother. We, too, marvel with Elizabeth at this great gift, echoing her words: "And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" When we bring our prayer to Mary, like her, we give ourselves over to the will of God for ourselves. We say with Mary, "thy will be done."
Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour our death. (Pause.) We acknowledge ourselves as poor sinners as we reach out to our Mother of Mercy. We give ourselves to Mary, first for today, and with an eye to the future when we will entrust our lives to Mary at the hour of our death. We pray in the confidence that she will lead us to her Son, Jesus, in paradise.
Pope Benedict XVI is currently on a pilgrimage? across the Holy Land in which he is meeting with several political and religious leaders who are Muslim, Jewish, and Christian. On Monday he pleaded for the creation of a Palestinian homeland alongside of the state of Israel. Besides making sure your students are following this historic visit through the news, take some time to share this information on "Islam through a Catholic Lens" as excerpted from Exploring the Religions of Our World.
The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator in the first place, amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind’s judge on the last day (CCC, 841).
While visiting Morocco in August 1985, Pope John Paul II met a group of Muslim youth. There he said, “Dialogue between Christians and Muslims is today more necessary than ever.” The truth of this statement has not dissipated. As two religious traditions with a common heritage, dialogue between the faiths with the two largest numbers of adherents in the world is late in coming. Yet, as children of Abraham, along with the Jews, Catholics have more in common with Muslims than we may think.
In 1965, the Second Vatican Council instructed Catholics on the similarities between Catholics and Muslims. It said:
The church has also a high regard for the Muslims. They worship God, who is one, living and subsistent, merciful and almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has also spoken to people. They strive to submit themselves without reserve to the hidden decrees of God, just as Abraham submitted himself to God’s plan, to whose faith Muslims eagerly link their own. Although not acknowledging him as God, they venerate Jesus as a prophet, his virgin mother they also honor and even at times devoutly invoke. Further, they await the Day of Judgment and the reward of God following the resurrection of the dead. For this reason, they highly esteem an upright life and worship God, especially by way of prayer, alms, deeds, and fasting. (Nostra Aetate, 3)
There are also significant differences between Catholic and Muslim belief. One major difference is in the understanding of the nature of God. Though Muslims believe in one God, Catholics believe in one God who is in Three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is the central mystery of Christian faith, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. This unity of persons within the One God is foreign to Muslim understanding, which cannot conceive of God manifesting self in any way.
Of course, Catholics and Muslims also have a basic and essential difference in their understanding of Jesus. Catholics believe in the divinity of Christ and that he was at once both divine and human. Through the Paschal Mystery of his suffering, death, and resurrection, he won for mankind its redemption and salvation. Muslims do believe that Jesus existed; however, they do not acknowledge his divinity. Rather, they hold that Jesus was a prophet second only to Muhammad. More particularly, Muslims believe Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary but did not suffer a human death by crucifixion. Muslims believe that what seemed to be a crucifixion was an illusion created for some of Jesus’ enemies and that God raised Jesus to heaven.
As Catholics engage in dialogue with Muslims, there are two things to remember from the point of view of Muslims. First, Muslims are acutely aware that most Catholics have an understanding of Muslims gleaned from the Western media. The negative images of Muslims connected with the events of September 11, 2001, and other terrorist attacks is a skewed view of the almost one billion Muslims in the world who subscribe to peaceful solutions and lifestyles. Second, Islam continues to react in many different ways in response to the Western colonialism of the seventeenth to twentieth centuries. Many Muslims believe that the fall of the great Islamic empires was due to their own religious laxity. For this reason, Muslims have attempted to purify their religion at least somewhat by isolating themselves from dialogue with other religions.
Effective dialogue between Catholics and Muslims begins at the starting point of common beliefs. The nature of one God, the heritage of peoples formed from Abraham, and the sharing of positive and peaceful human values is the best place to start. Another important area is the common struggle both religions have with some modern “isms” such as secularism, materialism, and racism. Family life is central to both Catholics and Muslims. Preserving religious values and practices while avoiding these creeping outside pressures and strategies to do so are worthy goals of discussion. Issues like systemic prejudice, poverty, and the care of the environment also form common concerns. As the Second Vatican Council asserted, “there must be a sincere effort on both sides to achieve mutual understanding” (Nostra Aetate, #3).
Review Questions
1. List some similarities between Catholics and Muslims.
2. Explain two major differences between Catholics and Muslims.
3. What are two areas of concern when Muslims engage in inter-religious dialogue with Catholics?
4. List some suggested areas of dialogue with Muslims
With the prom and graduation seasons approaching, teen drinking and alcohol abuse will be on the rise. Pray with your students for their commitment to live healthy and safe lives during these next few months and in the years ahead. Follow these directions:
1. Light a candle and darken the prayer space. Tell the students to enter the space quietly and stand around the candle. When all are present and silent, lead this prayer:
Dear God,
alcohol and drugs have hurt many people we know.
We seek your help to encourage them and ourselves
to seek a right course and become the people you intend for us to be.
We ask this prayer in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
2. Say: "We all want to be a 'better me.' We all want to be healthy people in body, mind, and spirit. With God's help, the help of others, and our own persistence we can become the people God intends us to be."
Have the students reflect on and then answer the following questions, preferably in writing.
What discourages you from treating your body in a healthy way?
What discourages you from developing your mind to its fullest potential?
What discourages you from knowing God better and putting God first in your life?
3. Call on volunteers to share their responses to the questions. Then recite together the following prayer of Charles de Foucald:
Father,
I abandon myself into your hands; do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you: I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only your will be done in me, and in all your creatures—
I wish no more than this, O Lord.
Into your hands I commend my soul; I offer it to you with all the love of my heart,
for I love you, Lord, and so need to give myself, to surrender myself into your
hands without reserve, and with boundless confidence,
for you are my Father.
Amen.
4. Tell the students to use the prayer as an inspiration to answer these questions:
What encourages you to treat your body in a healthy way?
What encourages you to develop your mind to its fullest potential?
What encourages you to know God better and to put God first in your life?
5. For the final prayer, ask the students to stand again around the candle and recite together the Our Father.
At Confirmation, the bishop anoints the forehead of the candidate with chrism and recites these important words: "Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit." Learn some more about the Holy Spirit from Scripture. Read the following passages from the Old and New Testaments and briefly state the main point of the passage.1. The Promise of the Holy Spirit in the Old and New Testaments
Isaiah 61:1-3, 6, 8-9
Ezekiel 36:24-28
Joel 2:23; 3:1-3
John 14:15-17
2. The Coming of the Holy Spirit
Acts 2:1-6
Acts 19: 1-6
Mark 1:9-11
3. The Role of the Holy Spirit
Romans 5:1-2, 5-8
Romans 8:14-17
4. The Gifts of the Holy Spirit
1 Corinthians 12:4-13
Galatians 5:16-25
5. Responsibility of Christians to the Holy Spirit
Ephesians 4:1-6
Matthew 16:24-27
John 14:23-26
