As the school year nears a conclusion, lead your students in a variety of activities and presentations that highlight their maturation and help them to imagine their futures. Here are three ideas:
1. Your Freshman Self (about 20 minutes)
Ask the students to bring photos of themselves from when they were freshmen (or photos from two years prior). Ask them to pass their old photos around the room as you lead a discussion in which they described their “freshmen selves” in the third person. For example, “He had a hard time making friends” or “She thought she knew everything.” Continue building on the discussion to encourage the students to describe how they are different now from when the photo was taken.
2. On the Spot: Imaging Life’s Vocations (about 15 minutes)
Make a set of flash cards with numbers on them to represent five-year age intervals beginning at age 25 and ending at age 80 (e.g., 25, 30, 35, etc.). Briefly present a summary of the term vocation in terms of a call to marriage, family life, consecrated life, or priesthood and career as a job that expresses one’s talents and creativity. Choose a random student to come to the front of the room to be “on the spot.” Ask him or her to pick from the flash cards and to describe the career and vocation he or she imagines when actually that age. Call on other students to repeat the exercise.
3. Large Group Presentation: Maturity (about 20 minutes)
Lead a discussion on the meaning of maturity and what maturity entails. Offer the following descriptions (write them on the board). Then ask the teens to add other descriptions of maturity to the list:
A mature person has the ability to give as well as to receive.
A mature person is empathetic; can perceive how another person is feeling.
A mature person can establish and keep relationships with others.
A mature person is comfortable with himself or herself.
A mature person is emotionally, spiritually, and physically fit.
A mature person is able to meet his or her needs in a healthy way.
Prepare a lesson or part of a lesson that focuses on the theme of pastoral leadership and priesthood today, especially as it connects between teachings from the Pastoral Letters of the New Testament. Some qualities which make up a good priest are drawn from the Letter to Titus.
Overview
First Timothy, Second Timothy, and Titus are called “Pastoral Letters” because they were written by one pastor (shepherd) to two other pastors, Timothy and Titus. The differ from other New Testament letters—both those written by St. Paul and those attributed to him—in that they were addressed to individuals and give great advice on Church leadership. The Pastoral Letters assert that in order for one to be a priest or bishop, he must be a moral exemplar, other-centered, and be willing to undergo any kind of trial for the sake of the Gospel. First Timothy gives guidelines for those chosen to be bishops. Second Timothy describes the end of St. Paul’s ministry and is a reflection on his impending death. The Letter to Titus, the focus here, discusses the qualities necessary for being a good presbyter (priest).
Lesson
1. Define pastor as “shepherd.” Ask the students to identify images from the Gospels of Christ acting as a shepherd. Ask: Why would “shepherd” be an appropriate name for a leader of the early Church? (Jesus used the metaphor of a shepherd and the flock to describe the relationship to the Apostles and the Apostles’ relationship to the faithful.)
2. Ask the students to write a brief reflection on a priest in their life who has had a positive influence on them. What qualities did that person possess that made him a good religious leader? Allow about five to seven minutes for writing. Then call on volunteers to share their reflections with the class.
3. Refer the students to Titus 1:5-9. Relate this description of presbyters to the student’s reflections and to an understanding of a priest’s mission and ministry today.
Assignment
There are nine references from the Letter of Titus in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Write them on the board. Ask the students to work individually or with a partner to look up the references from Titus and from the Catechism and explain how each supports a particular teaching about priesthood.
Teaching
Reference from Titus
Reference from the Catechism
Eligibility for Holy Orders
Titus 1:5-9
CCC, 1577
Instructions for the appointment of presbyters
Titus 1:5
CCC, 1590
Self-mastery and renewal
Titus 2:1-6
CCC, 2342
Temperance
Titus 2:12
CCC, 1809
The return of Christ
Titus 2:13
CCC, 449, 1041, 1130, 1404, 2276, 2818
Christ’s work of Redemption
Titus 2:14
CCC, 802
Baptism as a requirement for God’s kingdom
Titus 3:5
CCC, 1215
Hope
Titus 3:6-7
CCC, 1817
The Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly outlines how the Holy Spirit is represented in names, titles, and symbols:
The proper name of the Holy Spirit
"Holy Spirit" is the proper name of the one whom we adore and glorify with the Father and Son. (691)
Titles of the Holy Spirit
Paragraphs 692-693 highlight many of the titles of the Holy Spirit including "Paraclete," the one used by Jesus.
Symbols of the Holy Spirit
Paragraphs 694-701 highlight the following symbols of the Holy Spirit: water, anointing, fire, cloud and light, the seal, the hand, the finger, and the dove.
Memory Game
Have the students work in pairs to study and remember some of the names, titles, and symbols of the Holy Spirit from these Catechism references. Have them create memory cards to help them remember the definitions. For each term/name, have them create two cards: one with the term, name, or symbol and the other with the definition. When they have finished making the cards, allow them to play a memory game with all the cards faced down on the desk. Students may turn over two cards per turn to match the term with its definition. If they make a match, they may keep the cards. The player with the most cards wins.
As you enter the final home stretch of the semester, take some time to review these eight Be-Attitudes for teachers developed by Sr. Kieran Sayer, SSND.
1. Be Prepared
Study the Teacher Manual carefully. Think through lesson plans, outline them, and prepare your own note cards for teaching them. Visualize each part of the lesson in your mind, "seeing" it step by step. You should clearly understand the purpose and expected outcome.
2. Be Yourself
Make the material your own. Think about it; pray about it; if possible, talk about it with other adults. Use the ideas in the Teacher Manual creatively--add your own examples, substitute other activities, shorten or lengthen sections. The lessons should come across to the students as yours, not as the Manual's.
3. Be Organized
Have a definite plan of action for each part of the lesson. Be especially clear about giving directions for discussion exercises and activities. Have all the materials ready for quick distribution.
4. Be Flexible
Be ready to adjust your well-organized plan at a moment's notice. Some activities may last longer or shorter than expected; some won't fit the mood of the class period; some won't work well for your or your students. Always have more material planned than you think you will need. Keep your eye on the clock; if you're running short of time, shorten or drop something--but, please, not the opportunity to pray with your students.
5. Be Open
Listen to what your students have to say, and encourage them to listen to one another. Accept their feelings and ideas even if you don't agree with them. Be ready at times to challenge them (always respectfully) on ideas and positions that are inconsistent, erroneous, or unclear.
6. Be Firm
Do not allow the students to be disrespectful of you or one another. Maintain an orderly, controlled atmosphere even during fun times. Let the students know that you expect adult contact from them.
7. Be Happy
Enjoy your students. Enjoy their nonsense and exuberance as well as their thoughtfulness and serious sharing. Let them know that you like being with them.
8. Be-lieve
Believe that you are not in this business alone, that God and the Church play active roles in this process of transmitting and sharing faith. Believe that God is involved in the lives of your students, that the action of God's grace precedes, accompanies, and follows all your efforts. Believe that the faith is alive in your school, and that the entire student body and faculty are helping in some way to transmit that faith to your students.
Lead a discussion or assign the following items for your students to work on individually or in small groups on the topic of how social media is used and can be used more effectively to evangelize and inspire others around the Gospel message.
Discuss or Write
1. Over the course of a day, about how many Scripture passages are posted on your social media feed?
2. How often do you read the Scripture that is posted?
3. How effective is social media as a forum for evangelization?
4. Copy and paste what you would consider an effective or inspiring social media post on God, faith, or religion? Tell why you find it so.
5. Read and summarize the article “Five Things Fulton Sheen Teaches Us about Social Media.” (Read about Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen here.)
6. Write a one-paragraph social media post on faith that you believe would be effective or inspiring for your peer group. Also, summarize the post with a 140-character tweet.
By Justin McClain
This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the watershed Vatican II declaration on religious freedom Dignitatis Humanae: On the Right of the Person and of Communities to Social and Civil Freedom in Matters Religious, promulgated by Blessed Pope Paul VI on December 7, 1965. Within these last fifty years, there has been some notable progress, yet likewise significant setbacks, in terms of religious liberty both in the United States and throughout the world. This polemical topic is one that merits discussion in the high school theology classroom, provided that it is both appropriate to the intellectual preparedness of the students’ grade level and applicably relevant within the course’s curricular framework. This possibility of the discussion of specifics regarding religious freedom is particularly due to the numerous implications at the cross-curricular intersection of theology and social studies, not to mention other academic fields when available.
In 2013, Janet Wigoff, chair of the Theology Department at Pope John Paul II High School in Royersford, Pennsylvania, developed the exceptionally noteworthy Religious Liberty and Catholicism in the United States: A Five-Day Mini-Unit (published by Ave Maria Press and available for free to teachers here as a PDF). In the couple of years since, there has been a heightened consideration of cases regarding religious liberty nationally, as we have seen in such scenarios as the situation surrounding the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in Indiana, threats to religious freedom in the District of Columbia, and other areas of concern. Meanwhile, internationally, there has been a marked increase in the violent persecution of Christians and other religious minorities in such areas as the Middle East, regions of the African continent, and parts of Asia.
High school theology teachers have ready access to plentiful resources for facilitating dialogue on matters related to religious liberty, whether from the perspective of the United States or the international community. However, it is vital to remember that proposed sources should be both objectively accurate and doctrinally sound, in order to ensure that students are provided with a fair portrayal of the breadth and significance of religious liberty. This latter point is particularly cogent since these students’ generation will one day have to defend true religious freedoms in the midst of the stark reality that, as Pope Francis affirmed at a June 2014 religious freedom conference (titled “International Religious Liberty and the Global Clash of Values”), “the persecution of Christians today is even more virulent than in the first centuries of the Church, and there are more Christian martyrs today than in that era.” Indeed, it is worthwhile to maintain insights into religious freedom in the face of both direct and indirect persecution, all the while juxtaposing such reflections with Christ’s words as they appear in John 15:20: “No slave is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” Ultimately, the Christian is called to evangelize in conjunction with the underpinnings of veritable religious liberty, in order to bring about a more peaceful society based on Jesus’ expectations as described in Matthew 5:14-16: "You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good dees and glorify your heavenly Father."
Please note the following resources that you can use to substantively enhance Liberty and Catholicism in the United States: A Five-Day Mini-Unit and the content of your lessons related to the key factors regarding rhetorical aspects of religious liberty in the third millennium.
Resources
Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs – Religious Freedom Project (provided by Georgetown University)
Cardinal Donald Wuerl Keynote Address – Religious Liberty in a Pluralistic Society (a YouTube video provided by the Berkley Center at Georgetown University, September 13, 2012)
Congress Urged to Act for Protection of Religious Freedom and Conscience Rights in the District of Columbia (provided by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, March 20, 2015)
Dignitatis Humanae: On the Right of the Person and of Communities to Social and Civil Freedom in Matters Religious (promulgated by Blessed Pope Paul VI, December 7, 1965)
The Freedom to Bear Witness (an address by Archbishop William Lori of the Archdiocese of Baltimore at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, November 15, 2014)
Indiana Bishops Respond to State Religious Freedom Restoration Act (a statement provided by the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, April 1, 2015)
Issues and Action: Religious Liberty (provided by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops)
Letters to President Obama and Congressional Leaders Concerning Religious Freedom Violations in the Middle East (provided by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, February 23, 2015)
Nigerian Bishops Visit Refugees in Cameroon Who Fled Boko Haram (provided by the Catholic Herald / Catholic News Service, March 24, 2015)
Persecution of Christians (provided by the Archdiocese of New York)
Pope Francis Addresses Religious Freedom Conference (provided by Vatican Radio, June 20, 2014)
Religious Freedom Under Assault (provided by the Archdiocese of Washington)
Silencing the Church’s Voice (by Cardinal Wuerl of the Archdiocese of Washington, March 2, 2015)
Mr. Justin McClain is a Theology teacher at Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville, Maryland.
We struggle to remain “awake” and alert at the time of Jesus’ agony. In that agony we discover our ability, because of God’s gift, to minister to the disciples and to Jesus. We then become empowered to minister to others in our lives. This meditation comes from Luke 22:39-46. Have your students find a comfortable place and close their eyes. Read the meditation. Pause slightly on each ellipse. Pause slightly longer on paragraph breaks. Total time: 11 minutes.
And we pray:
Almighty God in heaven …
There are times when our path seems confusing …
When the direction we take is uncertain … when the course we should choose is unclear …
We get confused because we’re not sure how things will work out …
Or what the future holds …
Or what we can do now to make things better later …
We try to trust in you …
We want to put our faith in you …
But what can be scary …. when we’re not certain of your will for us …
when we’re unsure of what is best …
As we meditate … send us your Holy Spirit to guide us … to teach us …
That we might learn deeper trust …
Deeper faith …
That we might act with greater love …
Greater hope …
With your eyes still closed …
Take a slow deep breath …
Let it fill you …
And again …another breath …
Slowly and deeply …
A breath which makes you lighter and lighter …
When you feel weightless …
Exhale the air slowly … silently …
Letting the air propel you … back in time …
Far away in the distance …
To ancient Israel … to the time of Jesus Christ …
It’s early evening …
You find yourself on a high knoll …
Overlooking a valley that leads to the walled city of Jerusalem …
ahead of you …
And in the bright moonlight you can make our the city’s silhouette …
With its towers … and angled stone buildings …
Squeezed together and protected by an enormous wall …
The night air is refreshing … a cool breeze gently twists and turns …
The sky is crowded with stars …while the moon casts long shadows …
But the city seems strangely quiet … eerie …
As if something important were about to happen …
Something that no one is prepared for …
From where you are on the knoll …
You can just make out a group of travelers …
Walking from Jerusalem …
In your direction on a dirt road …
You can see that they will soon come to a fork …
When they reach it they pause …
And one of the group motions the rest to follow him into a garden …
They move through the opening of the protective stone wall … through the
gate and into the garden … lush and peaceful … private … secluded …
And you join them there … walking with them through the old cluster of
Olive trees … trunks thick and twisted … rugged braches hanging low …
Most of the group sit under the outside edge of trees … huddled together …
their cloaks pulled close to their chins … staying warm … getting comfortable …
The oldest of the group … Peter … points out a solitary figure over to
one side … near a well …
Peter tells you how that man had been welcomed into Jerusalem with
cheering … earlier in the week …
He had talked about the end being near … about how everything would
change now … since he was coming into his kingdom …
Everyone thought he meant that he would lead a fight to get rid of the
Romans … but he didn’t …and the mood of the people began to change …
They aren’t cheering anymore …and the man has many powerful enemies
here in Jerusalem …
It’s getting confusing …
Then he talked about betrayal … the man said someone would
betray him … one of his best friends …how could a friend betray
another friend? …
Now we don’t know who to trust …
We got into an argument …we accused each other …
He tried to bring us together for the Passover meal … but now we suspect
each other …. we are angry …
Do you understand Peter? … Do you know what he is trying to say about
being betrayed by friends?
Sometimes our friends are really against us … when we think they are
supporting us…
They can turn against us … as if all they really cared about was themselves …
And we become disappointed with their selfishness … their greed …
And become so very angry at how they ruined everything …. And we feel like
we’ve lost all control …. And that we are at their mercy …
Has anything like that happened to you? …
Is there anything you would say to Peter? …
Anything you could do to comfort him, soothe his hurt feelings? …
Bring him peace …
Peace …
Another of the group … the one with reddish hair … Thomas tries to
explain to you how that man had said that everything would change …
now that he was leaving …
But he won’t take us with him … he is leaving us alone … with no way to
find him …
Thomas tells you about how he has come to depend on this man …
How he learned to trust him …
How he made plans … knowing that he would be part of those plans …
And now he says that is leaving … soon he’ll be gone … and all our plans
will be destroyed … all my dreams will vanish …
Do you understand Thomas? … Do you know what he is trying to say about
the fear of having our friends leave? …
Our hopes fade like the morning mist … and vanish …
And we are left alone … empty … with dry tears and deep sadness … we
want to sob … but we hurt too much … and are drained of all our
strength …
And we become fearful about how we will continue without them …
when nothing will ever be the same … and we know we will suffer terrible
loneliness when they’re gone …
Has that ever happened to you? ….
Is there anything you would like to say to Thomas? …
Is there any way you could comfort him? …
Bring him peace …
Peace …
And then the youngest calls out for your attention … a very young
teenager … John waves you over to him …
And he begins to tell you how he wanted to help the situation …
because he had insights …and he knew what to do …
But nobody would listen …
Nobody would pay attention to him … they just ignored him … because he
was the youngest … they thought he didn’t know anything … they took
him for granted … even though he was the only one that
really understood …
Nobody would give him credit or acknowledge him …
And John … with great frustration … suddenly crosses his arms over
his chest …
As if closing himself off … as if protecting himself from more hurt …
from being ignored …
Can you understand John? … Do you know what he is trying to say about
being ignored or not having your opinions respected? …
Think about how you feel when people won’t accept your knowledge or
experience … and you become very frustrated …
And they treat you as if you are insignificant …
Saying that you’ll know better when you get older …
And until then … they continue to treat you as if you were invisible …
Or maybe they pretend that they are listening or agreeing … but all they
time … they’re just trying to pacify you … because they think they have
the right answer in spite of you …
And you want to tell them how ignorant they are … but it wouldn’t matter …
because they surely wouldn’t listen to that either …
Has anything like that ever happened to you? …
Is there anything you could say to John? …
Is there any way you could comfort him? …
And be at peace …
Peace …
As the group becomes drowsy … yawning … falling asleep … snoring …
You slowly walk over to the solitary man … who is at a distance …
near the well …
As you quietly approach him from behind …
You notice that the heavy robe he wars is soaked with sweat …
his hair is dripping … stringy and matted …
He rubs his hands together … twisting and turning them in his anxiety …
His breathing is erratic … alternately deep and shallow …
breathing in gulps or sips …
You stand next to him …
He looks up with his bloodshot eyes … skin shining in the moonlight …
his lip trembling … and he begins to shiver …
Tears have streaked his face …
And he tells you that he is scared …
Scared ….
Nothing has seemed to work out the way he wanted it …
His friends seem to have forgotten everything he said to them about
the kingdom …
They fight and quarrel … argue over who is the greatest …
Money and possessions are more important than anything …
He had hoped to change people’s hearts … end fighting and cruelty …
establish God’s justice … usher in God’s return to his world … this world …
And now … at the end … hoping to find healing love in the hearts of those
around him … he instead finds overwhelming sin …
And he wonders if he has done something wrong … he fears he has
failed miserably …
He’s afraid he is a disappointment to his heavenly Father …
And there is no time left to change things …
And he would rather have another chance … or more time …
But his only choice seems to be to pay the price for all the sin that remains …
to suffer for those who still sin … to take that sin upon himself and
destroy it by letting his own life be destroyed …
He has to die …
“If only there were another way,” he says …
“Some way other than suffering because of others …
Bearing all the pain that they have caused …
Suffering the refection even of those who claim to love me …
My friends abandon me when I need them most …
I don’t think that I am strong enough to endure all that” …
And Jesus begins to sob … his hands shaking, hiding his face …
as if he were humiliated to have you see him at this
difficult hour of his life …
You can hear him murmur that there is no other way … and that somehow
he will just have to trust … to surrender to the Father … to trust that
God the Father can make sense of whatever seems confusing …
Then he looks up … exhausted … bone weary … hand trembling …
He extends his hand to you … silently … waiting … hoping …
Is there anything you would like to say to the Lord? …
Is there anything you can do for him? …
Can you bring him peace? …
Peace …
Know that you’ll have to let go …
You’ll have to let Jesus continue on his own …
To fulfill the mystery of his earthly life as the Father has led him … alone …
But know that he continues on with the gift of your spirit …
your caring and concern …
Know that you have an incredible ability to comfort others …
to give people strength … because of what you have endured yourself …
Bring that gift of caring for others with you … and with stillness in your
heart … return back here …
Leave the garden at the Mount of Olives …
And return here …
Knowing that you are not alone …
Knowing that you are with others …
Others with the same ability
Able to offer you the kind of caring and support that you need from them …
And be at peace …
When you are ready you may open your eyes …
But please don’t speak to anyone …
Or distract anyone from reflecting on the power they have to comfort
people in their time of need …
In their time of need …
Their need for you.
Originally published in Time With Jesus: Twenty Guided Meditations for Youth by Thomas F. Catucci.
As Holy Week approaches for 2015, the Passion of Christ is more present in our midst than ever. Around the world, Christians have been martyred in recent months, weeks, and days. Share several articles that detail news coverage of the events, prayers offered on the martyrs' behalf, and prayers for all persecuted Christians. After your students read each article, ask them to offer comment. If possible, have them write comments or prayers online directly below the article. If not possible, have them label their comments according to each article they have read and turn them in to you. Finally, have the students write their own prayers for these contemporary Christian martyrs and for peace in the world.
Here are a few recent articles to help you begin. Search other Catholic, Christian, and general news sites for other articles to further this activity.
1. A Testimony Which Cries Out
2. Two church bombings in Pakistan; Pope, bishops lament persecution of Christians
3. Names of 21 Christian Martyrs
4. Pope Francis Offers Mass for 21 Christian Martyrs
5. Palm Sunday Prayer to Remember Christian Martyrs
6. United States Catholic Bishops Call for Prayer Amidst Persecution and Violence Against Christians
7. Address by Bishop James D. Conley of the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska.
