Here’s a discussion activity that can be used with several different theology subject areas.
Begin by having the students meet in groups of four and discuss the following questions one at a time:
What does the statement “faith is a contact with the mystery of God" mean to you? When have you experienced the mystery of God?
“To believe in Jesus Christ is to abandon ourselves to Christ.” How have you been able to live this challenge?
How would your faith be different in absence of the Church?
What does it mean for you to belong to the Body of Christ?
Call on one member of each group to come to the front of the class and form a panel. Ask each question again, calling on the panel members to summarize responses they discussed in their original groups.
Assign each of the following activities:
Read the parable of the weeds (Mt 13:24–30, 36–43) and the parable of the net (Mt 13:47–50). Write your own interpretation of these parables based on what they are saying about God’s judgment.
C. S. Lewis contrasted Heaven and hell using images like the one’s below. Create at least four more images of your own to contrast Heaven and hell.
Hell is . . . Heaven is . . .
an unending Church service without God God without a Church service
grey and so are its inhabitants full of colors and all colors of people
full of clocks and telephones full of only those possessions you gave
away on earth
sex without pleasure pleasure without sex.
Lewis also wrote, “The safest road to hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.” What does Lewis mean? Is he correct? Offer evidence one way or the other.
An oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines to words that have opposite meanings.
What might be some “Christian-themed oxymorons”? Have your students work in small groups to brainstorm some samples. You might award a winning group that comes up with the most examples. Or, just call on representatives from each group to share. For any confusing examples, the group members must explain why they came up with them. Here are some examples to get the class started:
Holy Hell
Righteous Sinner
Hell’s Angel
Minor Miracle
Lukewarm Christian
Ask your students: What factors help them to feel at home in a parish community? Put the students into small groups in order to help them identify more specifically what helps them feel at home or would help them feel at home in a parish. Write these prompts on the board for them to think about. (Not every group needs to address every question.)
How would you prefer to be invited into the parish?
How would like to be greeted when you arrive at church?
Whom would you like to see at church each week?
How would you like to participate?
Describe the ideal atmosphere of the building you worship in?
What type of music do you prefer at Mass?
What type of homily would you like?
What kind of activity or gathering after Mass would you like to attend?
What else do you suggest for making your parish more welcoming?
After students have spent time in small groups, ask them to identify welcoming attributes for a parish, and see how much the groups have in common. Challenge the students to bring some of these ideas to a staff member at their parish and to report back in writing on what happened in response.
Share a lesson the Church’s teaching on Purgatory. The following information is from Jesus Christ: Source of Our Salvation (2nd Edition). A short lesson follows the background information.
Background Information
Purgatory is name the Church gives to the final purification of those who die in God’s grace and friendship, but who need purification or cleansing to achieve the holiness necessary to enter heaven. From her beginnings, the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in solidarity with those who have died, especially during the celebration of the Eucharist. Other acts, such as helping the poor and works of penance, can be offered up for someone who is in Purgatory as well.
Catholic belief in the existence of Purgatory is based on biblical passages such as 2 Maccabees 12:39–46, which encourages those who are living to pray for the dead so that they may be released from their sins. In addition, Church Tradition has interpreted certain passages (see 1 Cor 3:15; 1 Pt 1:7) as referring to a place of a “cleansing fire” after death.
The doctrine of Purgatory and the process of purification make sense. To embrace an all-loving God, you must be free of any imperfection in your own capacity to love. Only a person who, before death, has been cleansed of sin or any punishment due for sins is pure enough to embrace an all-loving God completely and is thus ready for heaven. Sometimes, this cleansing can only be completed after death. It is both a joyful and a painful process. Those in Purgatory are happy that heaven awaits them, but the process of purgation might entail burning with sorrow and shame over sin and of great difficulty in giving up selfish attachments. However, when their purgation is complete, their suffering will end as they enter the bliss of heaven.
Lesson
Provide some art material (paper and drawing supplies). Have the students draw an image from your description that follows:
Imagine a ship or boat sailing in choppy waters. Jesus is at the helm, setting its course. Above the boat, cloudlike figures representing the faithful who have died and are present with God in heaven fill the boat’s sails with zephyrs of their prayers. The deck of the boat is crowded with sturdy folk working the oars. These are the living members of the Church whose shared efforts and prayer power the craft. Below deck are sleeping figures, representing the souls of those who have died (and who are in Purgatory) and are being supported and transported by the efforts and prayers of those on deck and those above the clouds. This image reminds us that all of us in the Church—living and dead—are in the same boat.
Go on to emphasize that Purgatory is a transitional state of purification in which the imperfect person encounters the perfection of God. Emphasize that all people in Purgatory will eventually be in heaven. Invite the students to share in a class discussion some earthly experiences that might be considered purgatorial. Ask:
What are some experiences that, though painful, bring us closer to God or open our eyes to see God’s action in the world?
How might the popular slogan “No pain, no gain” be applied to Purgatory?
Suggest that the imperfect person would find a face-to-face encounter with the perfect God necessarily purging and therefore painful. In this purgatorial encounter, we quickly come to the realization that we have not chosen consistently for God and neighbor, a realization that is not only agonizing but purifying as well.
Recently the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments published a Letter to Bishops on the bread and wine for Eucharist. The letter became the stir of the internet as it was promoted as "The Church Bans Glutton-Free Hosts." In fact, the letter was a reiteration of current Church teaching. In any case, this issue may have an impact on liturgies at your school.
This is a good opportunity to review with your students the importance of the matter and form of the sacraments. The host, made of unleavened wheat bread, and the natural grape wine are the "matter" of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
More, in the sacraments, the Church uses elements from creation (such as water, bread, and wine) and human culture (such as washing or anointing) to make God’s grace available to us. The traditional physical element(s) and/or gesture(s) used in each sacrament are called the matter of the sacrament.
The celebration of each sacrament also involves solemnity. The traditional words said for each sacrament are called the form of the sacrament. When you hear these words, you know that the sacrament is taking place. God is truly present, filling you and others with his love and grace.
As far as the current announcement from the Vatican, this article "The Matter Matters: Unpacking the Vatican Guidelines on Bread and Wine for the Eucharist" is an excellent resource.
This is a question that is often confusing to Catholics who have grown up in the Roman Catholic Church. You may wish to share with them this response:
After the Eastern Schism in 1054, eastern churches no longer in union with Rome came to be known as Eastern Orthodox or simply “Orthodox Churches.” Eastern Churches that remained in union with Rome are called Eastern Catholic Churches, or often the “Eastern Church.” An easy way to remember is this: “If the name of the Eastern Church as “Orthodox” in its title, it is not in union with Rome.
Eastern Churches accept the pope as the leader of the Church. Eastern Churches are fully Catholic. While all the Eastern Churches accept the authority of the pope, they also have a great deal of autonomy in Church life. They are governed by a separate code, called the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. This code helps to preserve some traditions that differ from the Roman Catholic Church, including the ordination of married men to the priesthood. Eastern Churches worship with their own style liturgy. The Armenian, Byzantine, Coptic, Ethiopian, East Syrian (or Chaldean), West Syrian, and Maronite liturgical rites and certain other liturgical rites of local churches and religious orders have been recognized as authentic liturgical expressions within the Catholic Church. The three largest Eastern Churches are the Byzantine Ukranian Greek Catholic Church, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, and the Maronite Catholic Church.
Finally, what are "10 Frustrations Every Eastern Rite Catholic Understands"? This informative and fun article helps to answer that question!
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has announced the dates for the annual Fornight for Freedom, an occasion to pray, promote, and work for religious liberty. The year, the Fornight for Freedom will be held from June 21--the Feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More--to July 4, Independence Day. The USCCB has articles, documents, videos, prayers, and suggestions for Catholics to involve themselves in this effort at a special Fortnight for Freedom link on its homepage.
Prayer for the Protection of Religious Liberty
O God our Creator,
from your provident hand we have received
our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
You have called us as your people and given us
the right and the duty to worship you, the only true God,
and your Son, Jesus Christ.
Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit,
you call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world,
bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel
to every corner of society.
We ask you to bless us
in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty.
Give us the strength of mind and heart
to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened;
give us courage in making our voices heard
on behalf of the rights of your Church
and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.
Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father,
a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters
gathered in your Church
in this decisive hour in the history of our nation,
so that, with every trial withstood
and every danger overcome—
for the sake of our children, our grandchildren,
and all who come after us—
this great land will always be "one nation, under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
