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Engaging Faith

Practical Lesson Ideas and Activities for Catholic Educators
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Prayer Activity: Beauty in Diversity

Share a prayerful discussion that focuses on an appreciation for people of all races, creeds, colors, and beliefs. You need a Bible and a multi-colored soft koosh ball for the activity. Follow the directions below. Gather the students in a large circle (on the floor or in chairs). Remind the students to maintain a quiet atmosphere of prayer. Read with clarity and care the parable of the Good Samaritan: Luke 10:30-37. After the reading say: It would be drab to live in a world where people all looked and sounded alike. It would be drab to live in a world where people were all of the same nationality and culture. We need a variety of colors to brighten the world and our view of the world. A brightly-colored spring day certainly images more life than the plain gray of winter. (Hold up the multi-colored koosh ball.) Just as it is enjoyable to embrace a koosh ball because of its color and texture, so too we need to embrace a variety of colors and kinds of people that God has made. We are made in God’s image. We do not make God in our image. God created us to be unique among all others God offers wondrous variety. When the koosh ball is tossed to you, hold it and offer a prayer out loud. You may: offer a prayer of thanks for a person you know who has taught you about loving all people offer a prayer asking God’s help in being more merciful of others offer a prayer for a personal need or the need of someone you know to be more tolerant of all people. After each prayer, the group should respond, “Loving God, hear us.” Offer your own personal prayer. Then gently toss the ball to the person across from you. Continue in the same format until the end of the prayer time.

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Calling All High School Theology Teachers!

Looking forward to meeting with high school theology teachers this week at the annual Los Angeles Religious Education Congress! Stop by our booth and hear about and view our latest materials! If you would like to schedule a one-to-one meeting with Michael Amodei, Executive Editor of Adolescent Catechesis, please send an email to mamodei@nd.edu to reserve a time Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. See you in Anaheim! Take a look at our LA Congress specials!

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Guided Meditation: Temptation in the Desert

Lead this guided meditation with your students at the beginning of Lent. It is based on the temptation of Jesus in the desert from Matthew 4:1-11 from Time with Jesus by Thomas F. Catucci. Quiet the students. Choose some instrumental background music as needed. Begin the reading. Pause briefly at every ellipse. Pause a bit longer at each line break. Pause a bit longer than that at each paragraph break.   And we pray: Loving God … We come to you with open heart as we meditate. We want to be confident of your love, but sometimes our doubt undermines our total trust. We pray today that you will deepen our faith so that we may rely on you more completely. We pray that your kingdom will unfold in our lives. That your kingdom may become real And that we too may be real.   With your eyes still closed. Take a slow journey. Travel to a place where you can be all alone. Where no one else would venture to intrude. A place where there are no distractions…nothing fancy…a place where you can think…and be still… With your eyes closed…see the emptiness around you…like a void. Feel the loneliness. Know how vulnerable you are…how unprotected…you are alone with nothing else around you And now with your eyes closed…look inside yourself and search for some kind of trust. In your solitude…can you find any kind of trust within you? Is there someone you trust in? What kind of trust is it? Who or what have you placed your trust in? What will protect you?   Be aware suddenly that there is someone else nearby and that are not alone. You look around…but you see no one…you are sure that someone is near…someone that you can’t see…yet you feel safe. So just rest and relax a moment and trust your feelings.   Feel the presence of the other person. Feel their goodness and gentleness. Feel the presence of this person’s incredible understanding and forgiveness. Feel the gentle softness of this love. This feeling is like drawing near to God. Know that God is with you…that Jesus is with you…even though you don’t see him. Know that God is with you in a special way right now. And rest in this loving presence of God. Rest and be at peace. Peace.   And still…even though you can’t see the Lord…know that he is near. Very near. Bur in a strange way you are still alone.   Quietly reflect by yourself what your real needs are. Think about what you really desire for yourself…not for anyone else….but something that you really crave and have decided that you want more than anything else.   In this quiet and lonely place…with your imagination…build a scene…like a movie…build a scene that represents how or when you are tempted to satisfy your own inner cravings and desires. Know that the needs of others will become unimportant…because your desires are stronger than theirs. Know that deep down…you want to have those cravings satisfied. Imagine what you must do for yourself to satisfy those longings…to get whatever you are aching for…knowing that no one will ever know what you are fully feeling. Perhaps it is as if you are controlled by your craving. But what you ache for.   And now you can feel the Lord…Jesus puts his gentle hand on your shoulder. The Lord whispers into your ear. And he tells you that he understands…he knows…because he is just as human as you.   And be at peace. Is there anything you want to say to Jesus? Anything you would like to?   And now Jesus tells you that he can offer you something better…he can offer you something more important. Be still and watch the picture that Jesus draws in your imagination…of something better that he can give…something better than what you crave. If you can depend upon the Lord…if you can trust… Jesus hands you a gift of hope…hope that will keep you strong. And healthy. Hope…it is now yours…part of you…forever. Is there anything you want to say to Jesus/ Anything you want to do?   And suddenly you are alone again…in that place of plainness. And with your eyes closed…look inside yourself and find a time when you were unsure. A time when you were fearful that things wouldn’t work out. That something wouldn’t be right. And with your eyes closed…paint that scene like in a movie…so that you stand in that situation again. Frozen in time so you can see it again…and feel it again. A time when you wanted to be sure that God would make everything perfect, but you had doubts. You weren’t sure. The doubts were too strong…you were tempted to give up…to despair. Feel how strong those fears and doubts can be…pressuring you.   But they won’t crush you. Because again you can feel the hand of Jesus on your shoulder. A quiet and gently whisper in your ear. And he asks you to trust…because if you let him…he can do wondrous things. And he stands in the mist of your scene…to show you…to give you just a brief glimpse of what could happen…how he would let it develop if he were given the chance.   Then he whispers in your hear how much he loves you and promises that in the end…he can have something wonderful happen. If you can trust….if you can let him be God…if you have faith.   And then Jesus hands you another gift. This is a gift of faith to keep you strong. And to keep you close to God. Close. Even in times when you have doubts…or are unsure. Faith to keep you strong….even when things are beyond your control. Faith. Is there anything you would like to say to the Lord? Anything you would like to do? Be at peace.   Once more…return to that place of plainness where you are alone…with no distractions. Alone. And with your eyes closed look inside yourself and find a feeling of weakness. That sense of being inadequate and not capable. That feeling you would never want anyone else to see. And if you could mask…or hide it...you would cover it with power. Just feel the need for power so that no one can ever see the weakness in you. Feel how secure you would be with that incredible power. But what kinds of power would you need? Power over others? Power to do without the support and approval of others? Power to get others’ attention? Power to control? Feel that power and what you could do with it. Paint a scene like in a movie where you can watch yourself with all that power. How does it feel?   Once again…you can feel the Lord’s hand on your sho9ulder….that familiar whisper in our ear…the quiet and gentle voice of God that can bring your scene to its later stages. And the Lord show you how power can ultimately hurt and control others so they are no longer fee and able to love. And the possible darkness of power. Power.   But Jesus wipes it away and whispers. Listen to the Lord tell you how the Father glories in your weakness…how admitting your weakness is good and makes you more human. How you can be more gentle. How weakness is not threatening to others but invites them to be closer. And how weakness and love work together to help each other to make our love strong. To make God strong…and it becomes your strength...love can be your strength. Loving strength. And the Lord hands you another gift…a gift of love. Squeeze that gift of love deeply to yourself so that it becomes part of you. And you can feel the strength of that divine love from God. And be at peace.   Know that you are filled with the gifts of God. His gift of hope…his gift of faith…and his incredible gift of love…and feel the divine strength radiating from within you. Giving you courage and giving you hope. Is there anything you would like to say to the Lord? Anything you would like to do?   Jesus promises you that he will always be with you…he will never leave you…even if you can’t see him…even if you can’t feel him. Always with you. And be at peace. Peace.   Filled with faith, hope, and love from God…slowly return here…still filled with the gifts from God. When you are ready you may open your eyes and reflect on all that you saw and felt…all that you have just experienced. And know the gifts God has given to you. And be at peace. Peace.

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Seat Warming Activity on Marriage

Last week was National Marriage Week. As a seat warming activity, have your students write answers to the following questions about marriage. The first set of questions is objective questions with the answers to be summarized from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The second set of questions is personal reflections. Objective Questions How is God the “author of marriage”? (see CCC 1602-1617) Why do some people choose virginity for the sake of God’s Kingdom? (see CCC, 1618-1620). How a Catholic marriage is typically celebrated? (see CCC 1621-1624) Who can be married in a Catholic wedding? (see CCC 1625-1637) What are the effects of the Sacrament of Matrimony? (see CCC 1638-1642) How are children to be viewed in marriage? (see CCC 1652-1654) What is meant by the “domestic church”? (see CCC 1655-1658)   Reflection Questions Do you think God destines a husband and wife for each other? How are you willing to place your bond with Christ before other bonds? What was your favorite wedding you ever attended? Why so? What importance should a couple contemplating marriage put on having a compatible religious life? What does the statement “authentic married love is caught up in the divine” mean to you? What is one important lesson you have learned from your parents? Describe one incident of joy, love, or forgiveness present in your family in the past week.

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Reflections on Christian Patriotism

Ask students to say aloud words or phrases that come immediately to them when you say the word “patriotism.” List the words on the board. Distribute a handout with the following quotations and questions.  Read the first quotation and have the students write their reflections on the questions that follow. Repeat the format for sections 2 and 3. Finally, ask the students to answer in writing the two “Final Items.” To conclude, ask the students to share their reflections either in small groups or with the whole class. 1. Quotation: “The virtue of patriotism means that as citizens we respect and honor our country, but our very love and loyalty make us examine carefully and regularly its role in world affairs asking that it live up to is full potential as an agent of peace with justice for all people” (U.S. Catholic Bishops, The Challenge of Peace, 1983, #327). What does it mean to “respect and honor our country”? to show “love and loyalty”? How do you do these things concretely? What specifically do you think we should be asking our country to do in order to “live up to its full potential as an agent of peace with justice for all people”? Is this constructive criticism a patriotic or unpatriotic act and why? 2. Quotation:  “To teach the ways of peace is not to weaken the nation’s will but to be concerned for the nation’s soul” (U.S. Catholic Bishops, The Challenge of Peace, 1983, #304). What do you think the bishops mean? Why are they concerned for our nation’s soul? Is it unpatriotic to have such concerns? Why or why not?   3. Quotation: Martin Luther King, Jr., was concerned about our nation’s soul at a similar time in our nation’s history (1956-1968). He helped to create the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, whose motto was “We have come to redeem the soul of America.” In 1967, he broke his silence about the Vietnam war and boldly proclaimed: “Never again will I be silent on an issue that is destroying the soul of our nation and destroying thousands and thousands of little children in Vietnam. . . . The time has come for a real prophecy, and I’m willing to go that road”(quoted in Road to Redemption). Do you think the soul of our nation is in jeopardy today? Why or why not?   Final Items What do you think you are being called to by these statements and questions? After thinking about all of this, briefly define your own understanding of Christian patriotism:

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Catholic Schools Week 2017

  The annual Catholic Schools Week, sponsored by the National Catholic Educational Association, begins on Monday January 29 and runs until Saturday, Feburary 4. This year's theme is “Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service.” Listed below are some resources that can help facilitate your planning: Explanatoin of the Theme Daily Themes 1000 Ideas for Catholic Schools Week from Pinterest Catholic Schools Week Logos

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Sharing News about a Religious Vocation

The discernment of a religious vocation for a young man or young woman is accompanied by prayer, questioning, and finally a decision. At some point the person tells his or her family of the choice to further prepare for the priesthood or religious life. In most cases, the person’s close family members have a sense of what he or she is leaning towards. Sometimes the decision catches some family members by surprise. Arrange for the students to form in groups of six and develop a role play where the person with the vocation has just come home with the news that they have been accepted into the seminary or into a preparation program for a religious community. Here are some suggested characters, though some can be changed. The person with the vocation Mom Dad The person’s 20 year old sister The person’s 15 year old brother Grandma (or Grandpa) Non-Catholic Aunt or Uncle After the groups have practiced their role plays, have them present them to the entire class. As follow-up, have the students write a response to this question: “How would your family respond if you told them you were planning a religious vocation?”

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Dialoguing Principles

Small group and full classroom discussions encourage sharing among your students. Though each lesson and activity uses slightly different dialogue techniques, some general methodological principles apply to all of them. The following principles, adapted from the work of Sr. Kieran Saywer, SSND. Pre-response Give everyone a chance to record his or her response in some way before asking any individual to respond orally. The pre-response might be written, drawn, shown with hand signals, or indicated by body positions. Make the pre-response easy by asking a very specific question with a concrete answer, by providing a sentence-starter to be completed, by giving a spread of answers to choose from. This technique gets everyone involved in answering the question, makes it clear that there is a spread of opinion on the answer rather than the one “right” response, and creates the need for an individual to examine a position contrary to other ideas being presented. Dialogue Starter  Make it easy to get the dialogue started by designated the first speaker, often in a humorous way; for example, the person with the curliest hair, the person with the next birthday, the person wearing the brightest clothing. Each person (in a small group) will then take a turn sharing. The starter designation usually creates a burst of laughter, thus further relaxing the group. Pass Option Tell the students that the sharing must always be done freely. If at any time, a student is asked a question he or she doesn’t know how to answer, nor does not want to answer in public, the student simply says “pass.” If students choose to respond, however, their answers should be as honest as possible. The pass option is, perhaps, the single most powerful technique in creating an atmosphere where open dialogue can happen. Given the choice of either answering honestly or passing, young people almost always want to answer. But the pass is always there as a safe and easy way out when thing get uncomfortable. It is imperative that the pass option be respected by the teacher and by all the students. Gradual Deepening Move the dialogue gradually from light, easy topics to more serious ones. The easier sharing teaches the technique and warms the students, thus facilitating deeper sharing. Listening Help your group see the important role of the listener in the dialogue process. A person is encouraged to share by sensing that someone is really listening. Everyone in the class or small group shares in the listening role. It is important for all the students to pay direct attention to the speaker, to respond facially to what is said, and to ask follow-up questions. The teacher should be especially present to each speaker; at the same time the teacher will need to be careful not to become the focus toward which all questions, answers, and comments are directed.

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