As the days and weeks of 2015 near the end, you might consider joining with the city of South Bend, Indiana, the nearby home of Ave Maria Press, on the celebration of the city's 150 year anniversary. Similarly, 2015 is the 150 year anniversary of Ave Maria Press as well. As you may know, the Press is a ministry of the Congregation of Holy Cross and is located on the campus of the University of Notre Dame.
A study using the resources cited below is significant in that it highlights the year to year development of the Congregation of Holy Cross in the United States, and particularly in South Bend. The Congregation is unique in that it was founded as a family with three parts: priests, brothers, and sisters. There remains a large presence of Holy Cross all three--priests, brothers, and sisters--in and around South Bend, and especially at three colleges: the University of Notre Dame, Holy Cross College, and Saint Mary's College.
Peruse the resources below for yourself. Then take some time to share them with your students!
Ave Maria Press 150th Anniversary
Documentary: Sacred Mission-Civic Duty: The Holy Cross Family
As the weather turns from mild to severe, use this guided meditation to help your students reflect more deeply on Mark 4:35-31. After the students are quiet and settled, begin by saying “You are on the rough seas. Your boat is tossing and turning in the stormy waters. Think of the storms in your own life. Then . . .
Relax.
Quiet yourself in this space.
Enjoy the silence.
Let go of the distractions.
Breathe in.
Hold.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Hold.
Breathe out.
Be still.
Relax.
Let all your worries fly away.
Breathe in.
Hold.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Hold.
Breathe out.
Imagine . . .
What a great time you have had.
You and your friends have been following Jesus for days now.
You are dead tired, but still content as you find a place to rest in the boat.
Look around at the friends you have made.
Look at Jesus who is sitting at the stern.
How you admire him!
Feel the slow moving lull of the boat.
Relax as the waves gently lull the boat back and forth.
Back and forth.
Relax.
Some of your friend fall asleep.
Jesus falls asleep, too.
The boat keeps moving across the lake.
You think about the day.
Your mind is just wandering.
The wind starts blowing.
You can tell it is becoming harder to row now.
The current is choppy.
The sky is now black.
Take your turn with the oars.
Work hard.
Feel the storm approaching.
The waves begin to take the boat.
The water is coming in over the sides.
Everyone is working.
Someone yells out, “Wake up Jesus.
We need his help.
Now.”
Move towards Jesus.
Wake him up.
Jesus sits up and looks around.
He yells out, “Quiet” to the wind.
The wind stops.
Just like that, the water calms down and the wind disappears.
Jesus looks like he wants to go back to sleep.
What just happened?
Jesus looks at all of you and says,
“Why are you so terrified?
Why are you lacking in faith?”
A great awe overcomes you.
You wonder,
“Who is the man whom even the sea obeys?”
Sit with this wonderment.
Crawl back over to where Jesus is resting.
Approach him cautiously.
Ask him your question,
“Who are you that the sea obeys you?”
Listen to his answer.
Tell him about something in your life that is raging,
a storm in your world,
a situation that could use Jesus’ touch.
Be with him.
It is time to reenter this space.
Say good-bye for now.
Ask Jesus to lead your way to the rest of the day.
Say thank you.
Come back gently.
Open your eyes.
Remember.
Sit up.
This Guided Meditation was originally published in Encountering Jesus: 20 Guided Meditations on His Care and Compassion by Patty McCulloch.As the weather turns from mild to severe, use this guided meditation to help your students reflect more deeply on Mark 4:35-31. After the students are quiet and settled, begin by saying “You are on the rough seas. Your boat is tossing and turning in the stormy waters. Think of the storms in your own life. Then . . .
Relax.
Quiet yourself in this space.
Enjoy the silence.
Let go of the distractions.
Breathe in.
Hold.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Hold.
Breathe out.
Be still.
Relax.
Let all your worries fly away.
Breathe in.
Hold.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Hold.
Breathe out.
Imagine . . .
What a great time you have had.
You and your friends have been following Jesus for days now.
You are dead tired, but still content as you find a place to rest in the boat.
Look around at the friends you have made.
Look at Jesus who is sitting at the stern.
How you admire him!
Feel the slow moving lull of the boat.
Relax as the waves gently lull the boat back and forth.
Back and forth.
Relax.
Some of your friend fall asleep.
Jesus falls asleep, too.
The boat keeps moving across the lake.
You think about the day.
Your mind is just wandering.
The wind starts blowing.
You can tell it is becoming harder to row now.
The current is choppy.
The sky is now black.
Take your turn with the oars.
Work hard.
Feel the storm approaching.
The waves begin to take the boat.
The water is coming in over the sides.
Everyone is working.
Someone yells out, “Wake up Jesus.
We need his help.
Now.”
Move towards Jesus.
Wake him up.
Jesus sits up and looks around.
He yells out, “Quiet” to the wind.
The wind stops.
Just like that, the water calms down and the wind disappears.
Jesus looks like he wants to go back to sleep.
What just happened?
Jesus looks at all of you and says,
“Why are you so terrified?
Why are you lacking in faith?”
A great awe overcomes you.
You wonder,
“Who is the man whom even the sea obeys?”
Sit with this wonderment.
Crawl back over to where Jesus is resting.
Approach him cautiously.
Ask him your question,
“Who are you that the sea obeys you?”
Listen to his answer.
Tell him about something in your life that is raging,
a storm in your world,
a situation that could use Jesus’ touch.
Be with him.
It is time to reenter this space.
Say good-bye for now.
Ask Jesus to lead your way to the rest of the day.
Say thank you.
Come back gently.
Open your eyes.
Remember.
Sit up.
This Guided Meditation was originally published in Encountering Jesus: 20 Guided Meditations on His Care and Compassion by Patty McCulloch.
After St. Paul traveled the Roman empire as a missionary, converting many Gentiles to Christianity and establishing local churches, he would later be confronted by these new Christians with questions of faith and practice. Since he could not return to these areas right away, Paul would respond by letter.
Of the twenty-one letters or epistles in the New Testament, fourteen of the letters are either authored by or attributed to St. Paul. The letters addressed many of the issues of the early Church—for example, the second coming of Christ (Parousia), divisions in the Church, attitudes for worship—and others.
Have your students read and reflect on the following questions. When Scripture citations are listed, have them look them up and read them. Have them write their answers to the questions. Also, call on students to share their answers as part of a class discussion.
Questions
How do you imagine Christ’s second coming, the Parousia? Describe what you think would happen if Christ returned to the world today?
St. Paul says that Christians are not to live in darkness, but as “children of the light and children of the day” (1 Thess 5:5). How would you explain the meaning of these words to a new Christian today?
Apparently some Christians awaiting the Parousia had stopped working and were depending on others for food. How would you respond to people doing this? How does your response differ from the one offered in 2 Thessalonians 3:16-15?
Paul was critical of the Galatians for listening to bad advice and following the burdensome rules of the Jewish-Christian missionaries. Name someone you have accepted constructive criticism from? What was the advice he or she offered? What do you do to act on the advice?
In dealing with the Corinthians, Paul faced the problems of division in the Church. What are some factions in the Church today? What do you know about the issues, beliefs, or people they support?
In 1 Corinthians 1:27-34, Paul writes of the need for proper preparation before celebrating Eucharist. What attitude do you seek when you attend Mass? How do you prepare yourself to celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist?
Paul writes that our faith is worthless unless we believe that Christ is raised from the dead (1 Cor 15:14). Do you agree? Why is the resurrection the central belief of the Christian faith?
Being free from the law does not allow Christians to do whatever they want. St. Paul asks, “How can we who died to sin yet live in it?” (Rom 6:2). If you knew for sure you were going to heaven after you died, how would this change the way you lived?
St. Paul wrote: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31). When was a time you have found this to be true in your life?
At the conclusion of most of our school-wide communal prayers at Bishop McNamara High School (Forestville, Maryland), we readily request “Saint André Bessette, pray for us! Blessed Basil Moreau, pray for us!” These two holy men of God (the first a humble Holy Cross Brother and the second the devout founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross) are powerful intercessors to whom the members of our high school community have a deep devotion, as we likewise do to Saint Joseph and Our Lady of Sorrows, in keeping with the charism of Holy Cross. Is your Catholic school named for any particular saint(s), or does it otherwise have a devotion to particular saints and/or blesseds? If so, do your students ever ask why you communally and collectively invoke their intercession to God in heaven? Similarly, does your Catholic educational institution pray for those loved ones within your extended school community who have passed away?
November 1 and November 2 are two very special days in the liturgical life of the Church. On the one hand, we prayerfully ask the saints to intercede to God for us in a special way on All Saints’ Day (November 1), while on the other hand, we commemorate and pray for the souls of all of our faithful departed on All Souls’ Day (November 2). An interesting dynamic is that the latter of these two days likewise involves asking the saints in heaven to intercede to God for the dead whose souls might be in Purgatory. Beyond merely these two days, we can thus pray constantly throughout the year, although especially during the month of November.
The theology teacher has the ability to rely on All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day as key opportunities to explain to students why (and how) the Catholic Church advocates for both asking for the intercession of the saints and praying for the dead (whose souls could be in Purgatory). There are numerous commonly-occurring misconceptions regarding the Church’s teachings on these profound theological topics, and they deserve thorough clarification. Of particular note, both practices are based on the duality of the Deposit of Faith – Sacred Scripture (stemming from passages in both the Old Testament and the New Testament) and Sacred Tradition (having been Church practice for nearly two-thousand years [and even earlier if we consider the broader expanse of salvation history]). Since previous posts have focused on All Saints’ Day, below are some resources on All Souls’ Day in more particular terms, which the theology teacher can use for deepening his or her content knowledge, as well as to foster classroom discussions regarding the Church’s practice of praying for the dead. There are many resources available, but here are some prominent ones that can help guide your discussions especially throughout the month of November:
“All Saints and All Souls” by Fr. William Saunders (Courtesy of the Catholic Education Resource Center)
“All Souls’ Day” (Courtesy of the New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia)
“What Catholics Believe: 10 Truths about Purgatory” by Valerie Schmalz, writing for Catholic San Francisco (the publication of the Archdiocese of San Francisco)
The Section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church Regarding Purgatory (Paragraphs #1030-#1032)
