It is God's own hand which has guided everything, and He it is whom we must thank above all. Hence I beg you to unite your thanks with ours in order that we may draw down more abundant blessings from heaven upon our owrk, and above all, not stop their flow by want of gratitude. --Blessed Basil Moreau, founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross
"Hail Mary, full of grace." These words were spoken by the angel Gabriel to Marry to announce the birth of Jesus. This meditation will place your students in the role of Mary: listening to the angel, responding and trying to understand. Arrange a quiet place for prayer. Allow some time for the students to relax and focus. Then begin by reading the meditation. Pause between lines. Allow a longer time for reflection on when the words are printed in bold face. You may choose to accompany the prayer with appropriate instrumental music. This meditation was written by Patty McCulloch and was originally published in Encountering Jesus: 20 Meditations on His Care and Compassion. Quiet yourself. Relax. Feel yourself just letting go of everything. Breathe in. Hold. Breathe out. Breath in. Hold. Breathe out. Let go. Totally relax. Breathe in. Hold. Breathe out. Breathe in. Hold. Breathe out. Imagine . . . You are in your home. You are a young girl. Engaged to be married. You are doing some housework. Picture this in your mind. See yourself doing chores. Imagine your wedding. Suddenly you feel a presence. It is hard to describe. You are not afraid but very calm and at peace. Be with this feeling. "Mary," you hear your name and look around. You walk outside to see who is there. "Mary, don't be afraid." You seem something in the yard. Go over there. The voice continues. "Rejoice, O highly favored daughter. The Lord is with you, blessed are you among women." Listen to these words. Repeat them in your mind. What do they mean? Could this voice be an angel? You hear, "Don't be afraid, really. You are his favorite. You shall conceive and bear a son and give him the name Jesus. Great will be his dignity and he will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father. He will rule over the house of Jacob forever and his reign will be without end." Answer, "How can this be since I do not know man?" Hear the angel say, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you." Be with these words. What do they mean to you? Then the angel tells you something amazing about your older relative. "Elizabeth, your cousin, who was thought to be sterile, has conceived in her old age." She is not in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible with God." How are you feeling? What do those last words really mean, "nothing is impossible with God?" Respond to the angel, "I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be done to me as you say." Feel the angel leave you. Repeat the angel's words to yourself. "I am the Lord's servant. Let it be done to me as you say." What do these words mean for your life? Breathe in, let it be done. Breathe out, to me. Breathe in, let it be done. Breathe out, to me. Let the words just come naturally as you continue to breathes. Ask Jesus what meaning these words have for your own life. Then slowly come back to this place. What do you want to remember from this meditation? What does God want you to remember from this meditation? Open your eyes. Slowly get up.
The search for happiness is a universal human quest. Although our deepest desires for happiness can only be fulfilled by God in Heaven, there are steps that Christians can take to experience more joy here in this lifetime. Pope Francis recently addressed this quest by offering his own “Top Ten Secrets to Happiness.” Use the Pope’s list as a segue for a lesson on the same topic. But don’t share the Pope’s list until the end of the lesson. Here are some suggested steps: Put your students in pairs and assign each pair to develop their own “Top Ten Secrets to Happiness.” List the ideas that students came up with on the board, putting checks next to tips that are most frequently suggested. Invite students to explain their thoughts more clearly if you or other students look puzzled by some of their suggestions. If two or more ideas are very similar, group them together. Then ask students to identify which, if any, of their ideas do they think would also be on Pope Francis’ “top ten secrets to happiness.” Engage in conversation as the students select or reject some of their own ideas, saying things like, “Don’t you think the Pope might appreciate good sportsmanship or dislike hypocrisy?” Finally, display Pope Francis’ “Top 10 Secrets for Happiness.” Go over the list with the students and ask them to come up with ways that the Pope’s ideas could translate into their own lives and concerns.
In the end though, Catholic education is not about being “socially useful.” Nor is it about good “values.” The values language of social science is too thin to satisfy the human soul, and too bland for the people of Christian character and courage God wants us to be. Catholic education is about making saints; about growing the seeds of virtue and truth. Anything less cheats our students of their dignity --Charles J. Chaput O.F.M. Cap, Archbishop of Philadelphia As part of a formation day for teachers of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on the Feasts of All Saints, Archbishop Chaput released a pastoral letter on Catholic education and faith formation, entitled "Equpping Saints." Read the entire document here.
