Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical Spe Salvi (“Saved by Hope") has many applications to catechetical instruction, including offering a reminder that the Christian message is not only "informative" but also "performative," that is, "the Gospel is not merely a communication of things that can be known—it is one that makes things happen and is life-changing," Pope Benedict says. Released today, the encyclical teaches that it is in receiving God through Jesus Christ that we receive hope.Pope Benedict illustrates this point narrating the life of St. Josephine Bakhita, an African native who was sold and resold several times in slavery yet never gave up hope. Her spirit was free and her spirit eventually triumphed.A summary of today’s release of Spe Salvi is found at several news sources.A discussion of the informative vs. performative elements of catechesis with high school students was the subject of Daniel Mulhall’s article discussed below.Also note that a new Ave Maria Press book The Cross, Our Only Hope: Daily Reflections in the Holy Cross Tradition likewise claims boldy that the "Cross of Christ is our hope."
As part of a recent in-service day at Notre Dame, several high school theology teachers offered lesson plans to share. Presented below is another in a series of lessons that will be offered from time to time on the Engaging Faith blog.
By Joan Kruger
St. Ursula Academy
Cincinnati, OH
To help celebrate the start of Advent and the birth of a new Church Year, have the students search the Bible for a specific Scripture verse they can make their own. Here is one Scripture search engine that will help with the activity.
The idea is to look through various books of the Bible and find a verse from one of the books that corresponds with the month and day of their birth and also speaks to something particular about the person. For example: January 3=Genesis 1:3 “Then the Lord said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”
Some books will not have enough chapters to handle some of the later months, and some chapters don’t have enough verses for 31 days, so some students will have fewer verses available to them. Nevertheless, the results are always interesting!
After choosing their own Birthday Scripture, have the students make a piece of art to display the passage. They write it out in a decorative way and illustrate it in order to bring out the meaning. Of course, the book, chapter, and verse are included in a prominent place on the art piece.
The Birthday Scripture verses can be used to decorate the classroom, and we get to know people’s birthdays as we see their special Scripture verse.
You might also give extra credit if a student writes her Scripture verse on the test. This encourages the students to memorize a Scripture verse and make it their own.
It was just about one year ago in our semi-regular Engaging, Minds, Hearts & Hands newsletter that we asked Catholic theology teachers to share some of the challenges they face. We received several responses, including the following:
The greatest challenge we have is in helping the students understand that the work and activities that take place in theology class are probably some of the most important work they will ever do in forming their future.
—Barb Stanley, Notre Dame Preparatory School, Scottsdale, AZ
Every year my students come to school with the idea that their faith doesn't really matter or is somehow unrealted to peace, love, and justice. My challenge is to overcome indifference and lead them to see that without Christ and his Church, peace, love, and justice are doomed to fail.
—Jeff Lauer, Bishop Dwenger High School, Fort Wayne, IN
Teaching religion in an all-girls Catholic school does not guarantee that all the students will be Catholic. In fact, there are classes where less than half the class is Catholic, let alone an active Catholic. My challenge is this: how do you teach religion to someone who doesn't believe in the practice of your faith! I struggle every day.
—Sarach Glaser, Immaculate Conception Cathedral High School, Memphis,TN
In the same issue, Daniel S. Mulhall, current Assistant Secretary for Catechesis and Inculturation for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, and former high school theology teacher, wrote a lead article in which he asked the question: "When the students you teach finish four years of high school, would you rather they know what they Church teaches or believe what the Church teaches. He mentions that the most common answer he receives from teachers is "both." Dan then goes on to explore why both approaches are equally valid and important.
Our intention with this Engaging Faith blog is to provide a forum for Catholic high school theology to do as the banner says: Both share practical lesson ideas and comment on current events with other theology teachers. As we share information, read your comments, and provide a forum to exchange lesson plans and resources, we appreciate the chance to engage with you a discussion of the Catholic faith as you head off to the classroom each day to do the same with your teenage students.
To read Dan's entire article, "Which Way Do You Learn?" and more teacher responses to the the challenges they face teaching theology, please view the Fall, 2006 issue of Engaing Minds, Hearts & Hands at the same link above.
The Catholic High School Honor Roll, an independent project of the Acton Institute, an international research and educational organization, recently announced its best 50 secondary schools. From over 1,300 applicants, the Honor Roll, with consultation from a national advisory board comprised of Catholic college presidents and noted Catholic scholars, chose the honorees based on high academic standards, Catholic identity, and their preparation of students to actively engage the world.Here is a list of the top fifty schools. Other category leaders in academics, Catholic identity, and civic education are were also named.Also, please note a link to a news story on one of the honored schools, Bishop Machebeuf Catholic High School of Denver. and how the school superintendent in the Archdiocese of Denver has worked with other leaders to develop a plan to help maintain Catholic education for low income, urban children.
2007 Catholic High School Honor RollAlaskaHoly Rosary AcademyCaliforniaJ Serra Catholic High SchoolSaint Augustine AcademySaint Michael's Prepatory SchoolSierra Madre AcademyColoradoBishop Machebeuf Catholic High SchoolDelawareSalesianum SchoolFloridaArchbishop Edward A. McCarthy High SchoolBelen Jesuit Preparatory SchoolChristopher Columbus Catholic High SchoolSaint Thomas Aquinas High SchoolGeorgiaHoly Spirit Preparatory SchoolPinecrest AcademyIllinoisBrother Rice High SchoolIndianaSaint Joseph's High SchoolSaint Theodore Guerin High SchoolKentuckyHoly Angels AcademyMarylandMount de Sales AcademyThe Heights SchoolMichiganCatholic Central High SchoolNotre Dame Preparatory SchoolNouvel Catholic Central High SchoolWest Catholic High SchoolMinnesotaProvidence AcademyMissouriGateway AcademyNotre Dame Regional High SchoolNorth CarolinaCardinal Gibbons High SchoolSaint Thomas More AcademyNebraskaPius X Catholic High SchoolNew YorkAll Hallows High SchoolHoly Cross AcademyThe Montfort AcademyOhioCalvert High SchoolCardinal Stritch High SchoolOklahomaBishop McGuinness Catholic High SchoolPennsylvaniaAquinas AcademyQuigley Catholic High SchoolSaint Joseph High SchoolSouth CarolinaSaint Joseph's Catholic SchoolSouth DakotaO'Gorman High SchoolTennesseeSaint Cecillia AcademyTexasAntonian College Preparatory High SchoolBishop Thomas K. Gorman Catholic SchoolSacred Heart Catholic SchoolSaint Thomas High SchoolStrake Jesuit College PreparatoryThe Highlands SchoolVirginiaSeton SchoolWisconsinMcDonell Central Catholic High SchoolXavier High SchoolCongratulations to all of the honored schools!
The National Curriculum Framework for high school religion (see below) was developed by the United States Bishops' Committee on Catechesis, under the Department of Education. Work on the framework began in 2003. Both in 2005 and 2007 copies of the guidelines were sent to bishops, diocesan religious education offices, and publishing houses in the United States. The guidelines were then shared locally during each of these years while gathering feedback to return to the Committee on Catechesis. One change in the drafts between 2005 and final approval in 2007 was that the curriculum went from eight required courses or themes to six required courses with five suggested electives.While the final draft was approved at the recent Bishops' meeting, it has not yet been released to the public. As has been announced, the framework is Christ-centered. A preface from a final draft envisioned "a Christ-centered catechetical initiative that is intended to have the student encounter the living Lord as he is found in the Church, in the Word of God and in the sacramental life of the Church, most particularly, the Eucharist. In this encounter one also embraces the Christ who calls us to live out our faith in service to others and in the acceptance of his way as the norm four our life's activities. These guidelines also help insure that young people experience a comprehensive treatment of the Church's teaching even if they move from one location to another in the United States."The Ad Hoc Committee to Oversee the Use of the Catechism reviews catechetical materials to determine their conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It was formed in 1996. Archbishop Alfred Hughes wrote a summary of its work on the ten-year anniversary of the Ad Hoc Committe in 2006. That summary along with other archived Catechism Updates provide a good reference for the work of the bishops in the area of catechesis during that time.Yesterday's blog report led to a flurry of reactions, both on the blog and to my e-mail address. I appreciated all of the comments. A teacher from California wonders if the focus on Jesus Christ signals "a renewed effort at evangelization." Another e-mail from a long-time and soon-to-be retired teacher from Maryland said:"Religion is not a subject we merely study; it is a life we live. I find that the burden of handing on our traditions is relegated to the religion classroom rather than being witnessed to by the entire school faculty and staff . . .Schools must follow through on classroom learning with conversion and proclamation and service."Hopefully, with the grace of the Holy Spirit, our common efforts at catechesis will bear fruit. Certainly we all share a great responsibility for not only the teens who attend Catholic schools, but those they meet and engage in the diverse society they interact in. A favorite article by a young Catholic writer, Anna Nussaum, written as a high school senior in 2001, speaks to the challenges we face but also alludes to the great rewards at perserving at sharing the Good News of Jesus while providing teens with the language and axioms of faith that will last their lifetimes.
By a vote of 220-0 on Thursday, November 14, the U.S. Catholic Bishops approved the much-discussed National Curriculum Framework for religious instruction of high school youth.The framework has a strong Christological focus and roots each course in the life of Christ and the saving actions of the Paschal Mystery. There are six required courses in the new curriculum taking the students through the junior year of high school. There are also five options for electives in the senior year.Here is how the new course of study compares with a common course of study used in many high schools today (click on jpeg to increase its size):Plans are underway at Catholic publishing houses, including Ave Maria Press, to meet the textbook and resource needs of the new framework while continuing to provide resources to serve the variety of courses taught in Catholic high schools today. The new framework also provides the opportunity to cast materials for catechetical use in parish youth ministry and high school religious education programs.We are interested in your feedback on the new framework. Feel free to respond below or send an email to Michael Amodei, Executive Editor of Adolescent Curriculum.
A stray letter was found at the post office a few years ago causing much worry and real concern. The letter, addressed to “Santa Claus, North Pole,” was not the problem. The date of the postmark—January 2—led to much discussion.
“Santa never answered the poor child’s Christmas letter,” one worker worried.
“I hope the little one hasn’t lost faith in Santa,” said another.
As such letters are, this one was routed to the Chamber of Commerce where a staff was set up to respond. When the letter was opened, everyone in the office was in for quite a surprise. The child, a six-year old boy named Edward, had written not to ask for gifts but to thank Santa for all the presents he received on Christmas Day. The staff was heartened by Edward’s letter.
Being thankful is a basic human response to all the good God has bestowed on us. St. Paul, for example, closed most of his letters with some expression of thankfulness: “In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thes 5:18).
Many nations, cultures, and religions have reserved special days in the course of a year to offer thanks for God’s blessings. The Jewish people have two such festivals, one near the spring harvest (Pentecost) and the other in the fall (Tabernacles or Booths) to offer thanks. In the Middle Ages, a thanksgiving day was held in Germany, France, Holland, and England in conjunction with the Feast of St. Martin of Tours on November 11. The day began with Mass and continued with a dance, parade, and huge feast highlighted by the serving of wild goose.
When the pilgrims settled in America, they remembered this day of thanksgiving. They decided to have a three-day feast in the autumn of 1621. There was plenty of food available. The native people brought deer. Lobsters, oysters, and fish were also plentiful. But the pilgrims remembered the goose they had once shared in Europe. According to historical accounts tinged with legend, "Governor Bradford sent four men on a folwing so that we might have a more special manner of rejoicing together.” The hunting party did find a few geese, but also many turkeys and ducks.
Early in our nation’s history, Thanksgiving Day began to be celebrated regularly. During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln declared the fourth Thursday in November to be a national holiday. It has been celebrated on that day in the United States in all the years since, except for 1939 and 1940 when President Franklin Roosevelt changed Thanksgiving to the third Thursday to allow for more days of Christmas shopping. Public opinion demanded Thanksgiving be returned to its original day.
Thanksgiving is not a holy day of obligation for Catholics, but many Catholics do attend a special family Mass on that day. Many parishes take up a collection of food products to benefit the poor. Some parishes even sponsor complete Thanksgiving meals for the homeless and homebound.
Usually, the Gospel reading for the Thanksgiving Mass is the account, unique to Luke’s gospel, of Jesus’ healing of the ten Samaritan lepers. After the ten had showed themselves to a priest, as Jesus instructed, one former leper returned to Jesus, fell at his feet, and thanked him. Jesus response was: “Where are the other nine?”
We, like the leper and the little boy who received all the Christmas gifts, have been abundantly gifted by God. In our Church, with the celebration of Eucharist (Greek for “thanksgiving”), every day is a day of thanks.
Discussion Questions
• What is your favorite Thanksgiving Day tradition?
• When was a time you were surprised by someone who thanked you for something you did?
• What are you most grateful for?
Additional Lessons
• Share more information on the Jewish autumn feast of Tabernacles or Booths. In Deuteronomy 16:13-15 it is described as a seven-day harvest festival. In Deuteronomy 26:1-11, each person was to offer a basket of harvest fruits while recalling in thanksgiving the saving actions of God.
• Read and discuss in more detail Jesus’ cleansing of the ten lepers (Lk 17:11-19).
• Provide information (considering inviting a guest speaker) about an agency that provides daily meals for the homeless. Share relevant details, including how many people are served, the number of families present, types of food needed, funding for the agency, etc. Encourage the students to volunteer as they are able to to serve the poor and homeless of your community.
Make a little friendly bet with your students. Ask them what comes first, New Year’s Day or Christmas?
At least on the Church calendar (also called the liturgical year or Roman calendar), “New Year’s” is the Sunday closest to November 30. This is the first Sunday of Advent and the first Sunday of the Church Year. This year it is on December 2, over three weeks before Christmas Day!
Unlike our January 1 New Year’s Day, there is no need for the Church to make a new resolution at the start of a new Church Year. Throughout every year the Church celebrates the unfolding story of our salvation told through the events in the life of Jesus Christ. Review with your students a chronology of the Church Year.
The most important day of the Church Year is Easter Sunday. The other Sundays of the year share in importance; they are sometimes called “little Easters.”
The Church Year is divided into major seasons. Advent is the beginning of the Church Year. It lasts about four weeks before Christmas, both anticipating Jesus’ Second Coming and remembering the preparations that took place the first time Christ entered the world as a human being.
The Christmas season begins on December 25. In addition to Christmas Day, this seasons also celebrates the feast of the Holy Family, the Solemnity of the Mother of god, the feast of the Epiphany, and the feast of the Baptism of the Lord.
Next, the Church enters a period of “Ordinary Time” in which there is no special theme or focus in liturgies. Ordinary Time ends with Mardi Gras, the day before Ash Wednesday.
Lent is the next major period of the Church Year. It begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts until Holy Thursday. Lent is a time of doing penance and renewing baptismal vows. The Easter Triduum (“three days”) bridges Lent and the Easter season. It includes the days of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.
Easter is a moveable feast, tied with the Jewish Passover. It is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring. Hence it occurs sometime between March 22 and April 25. The Easter season follows this high holy day, lasting fifty days until Pentecost, the Sunday marking the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Church.
Ordinary Time resumes after the Easter season and lasts until the end of November. The final day of the Church Year (November 25 in 2007) is the feast of Christ the King. This feast was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925 as a statement against the tide of nations ignoring their Christian roots to follow secular or worldly leaders and ideas. Christians acknowledge only one King, and that is Jesus Christ.
In addition to the Sunday liturgies, the Church Year includes many other celebrations recalling events from the lives of Jesus, his Mother Mary, and the great Christian saints. These days are ranked in order of their importance from solemnities, to feasts, to memorials.
Remind the students that the way to tell the chance of Church seasons is through the difference in colors worn by the priest and used to decorate the altar. They probably know that green is the color for Ordinary Time. Help them to recall that violet is worn for Advent and Lent, white for Easter, and red for Good Friday and the feasts of martyrs.
Additional Lessons
• The feast of Christ the King anticipates the Second Coming of Christ. Present the Church’s teaching on the creedal statement, “He will come again in glory.” (See Catechism of the Catholic Church, #668 668–677).
• The establishment of Christ the King also called for an annual consecration of the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Uncover more of this devotion that originally began in the thirteenth century. Point out the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the Friday after the second Sunday after Pentecost.
• Give each student a blank calendar showing all the days of the year. Have them shade in the seasons of the Church Year with the proper liturgical colors and print the names of as many Holy Days, Saints’ Days, and other holidays that they know.
• Have the students read the parables in Matthew 13 telling them what the kingdom of God is like. Then ask them to use these images to help them write or draw their own parable telling what God’s kingdom is like. Allow time for the participants to share their ideas with the group.
