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Practical Lesson Ideas and Activities for Catholic Educators
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50 Top Catholic High Schools!

The Catholic High School Honor Roll, an independent project of the Acton Institute, an international research and educational organization, recently announced its best 50 secondary schools. From over 1,300 applicants, the Honor Roll, with consultation from a national advisory board comprised of Catholic college presidents and noted Catholic scholars, chose the honorees based on high academic standards, Catholic identity, and their preparation of students to actively engage the world.Here is a list of the top fifty schools. Other category leaders in academics, Catholic identity, and civic education are were also named.Also, please note a link to a news story on one of the honored schools, Bishop Machebeuf Catholic High School of Denver. and how the school superintendent in the Archdiocese of Denver has worked with other leaders to develop a plan to help maintain Catholic education for low income, urban children. 2007 Catholic High School Honor RollAlaskaHoly Rosary AcademyCaliforniaJ Serra Catholic High SchoolSaint Augustine AcademySaint Michael's Prepatory SchoolSierra Madre AcademyColoradoBishop Machebeuf Catholic High SchoolDelawareSalesianum SchoolFloridaArchbishop Edward A. McCarthy High SchoolBelen Jesuit Preparatory SchoolChristopher Columbus Catholic High SchoolSaint Thomas Aquinas High SchoolGeorgiaHoly Spirit Preparatory SchoolPinecrest AcademyIllinoisBrother Rice High SchoolIndianaSaint Joseph's High SchoolSaint Theodore Guerin High SchoolKentuckyHoly Angels AcademyMarylandMount de Sales AcademyThe Heights SchoolMichiganCatholic Central High SchoolNotre Dame Preparatory SchoolNouvel Catholic Central High SchoolWest Catholic High SchoolMinnesotaProvidence AcademyMissouriGateway AcademyNotre Dame Regional High SchoolNorth CarolinaCardinal Gibbons High SchoolSaint Thomas More AcademyNebraskaPius X Catholic High SchoolNew YorkAll Hallows High SchoolHoly Cross AcademyThe Montfort AcademyOhioCalvert High SchoolCardinal Stritch High SchoolOklahomaBishop McGuinness Catholic High SchoolPennsylvaniaAquinas AcademyQuigley Catholic High SchoolSaint Joseph High SchoolSouth CarolinaSaint Joseph's Catholic SchoolSouth DakotaO'Gorman High SchoolTennesseeSaint Cecillia AcademyTexasAntonian College Preparatory High SchoolBishop Thomas K. Gorman Catholic SchoolSacred Heart Catholic SchoolSaint Thomas High SchoolStrake Jesuit College PreparatoryThe Highlands SchoolVirginiaSeton SchoolWisconsinMcDonell Central Catholic High SchoolXavier High SchoolCongratulations to all of the honored schools!

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Sharing The Faith

The National Curriculum Framework for high school religion (see below) was developed by the United States Bishops' Committee on Catechesis, under the Department of Education. Work on the framework began in 2003. Both in 2005 and 2007 copies of the guidelines were sent to bishops, diocesan religious education offices, and publishing houses in the United States. The guidelines were then shared locally during each of these years while gathering feedback to return to the Committee on Catechesis. One change in the drafts between 2005 and final approval in 2007 was that the curriculum went from eight required courses or themes to six required courses with five suggested electives.While the final draft was approved at the recent Bishops' meeting, it has not yet been released to the public. As has been announced, the framework is Christ-centered. A preface from a final draft envisioned "a Christ-centered catechetical initiative that is intended to have the student encounter the living Lord as he is found in the Church, in the Word of God and in the sacramental life of the Church, most particularly, the Eucharist. In this encounter one also embraces the Christ who calls us to live out our faith in service to others and in the acceptance of his way as the norm four our life's activities. These guidelines also help insure that young people experience a comprehensive treatment of the Church's teaching even if they move from one location to another in the United States."The Ad Hoc Committee to Oversee the Use of the Catechism reviews catechetical materials to determine their conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It was formed in 1996. Archbishop Alfred Hughes wrote a summary of its work on the ten-year anniversary of the Ad Hoc Committe in 2006. That summary along with other archived Catechism Updates provide a good reference for the work of the bishops in the area of catechesis during that time.Yesterday's blog report led to a flurry of reactions, both on the blog and to my e-mail address. I appreciated all of the comments. A teacher from California wonders if the focus on Jesus Christ signals "a renewed effort at evangelization." Another e-mail from a long-time and soon-to-be retired teacher from Maryland said:"Religion is not a subject we merely study; it is a life we live. I find that the burden of handing on our traditions is relegated to the religion classroom rather than being witnessed to by the entire school faculty and staff . . .Schools must follow through on classroom learning with conversion and proclamation and service."Hopefully, with the grace of the Holy Spirit, our common efforts at catechesis will bear fruit. Certainly we all share a great responsibility for not only the teens who attend Catholic schools, but those they meet and engage in the diverse society they interact in. A favorite article by a young Catholic writer, Anna Nussaum, written as a high school senior in 2001, speaks to the challenges we face but also alludes to the great rewards at perserving at sharing the Good News of Jesus while providing teens with the language and axioms of faith that will last their lifetimes.

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National Framework Approved

By a vote of 220-0 on Thursday, November 14, the U.S. Catholic Bishops approved the much-discussed National Curriculum Framework for religious instruction of high school youth.The framework has a strong Christological focus and roots each course in the life of Christ and the saving actions of the Paschal Mystery. There are six required courses in the new curriculum taking the students through the junior year of high school. There are also five options for electives in the senior year.Here is how the new course of study compares with a common course of study used in many high schools today (click on jpeg to increase its size):Plans are underway at Catholic publishing houses, including Ave Maria Press, to meet the textbook and resource needs of the new framework while continuing to provide resources to serve the variety of courses taught in Catholic high schools today. The new framework also provides the opportunity to cast materials for catechetical use in parish youth ministry and high school religious education programs.We are interested in your feedback on the new framework. Feel free to respond below or send an email to Michael Amodei, Executive Editor of Adolescent Curriculum.

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Giving Thanks

A stray letter was found at the post office a few years ago causing much worry and real concern. The letter, addressed to “Santa Claus, North Pole,” was not the problem. The date of the postmark—January 2—led to much discussion. “Santa never answered the poor child’s Christmas letter,” one worker worried. “I hope the little one hasn’t lost faith in Santa,” said another. As such letters are, this one was routed to the Chamber of Commerce where a staff was set up to respond. When the letter was opened, everyone in the office was in for quite a surprise. The child, a six-year old boy named Edward, had written not to ask for gifts but to thank Santa for all the presents he received on Christmas Day. The staff was heartened by Edward’s letter. Being thankful is a basic human response to all the good God has bestowed on us. St. Paul, for example, closed most of his letters with some expression of thankfulness: “In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thes 5:18). Many nations, cultures, and religions have reserved special days in the course of a year to offer thanks for God’s blessings. The Jewish people have two such festivals, one near the spring harvest (Pentecost) and the other in the fall (Tabernacles or Booths) to offer thanks. In the Middle Ages, a thanksgiving day was held in Germany, France, Holland, and England in conjunction with the Feast of St. Martin of Tours on November 11. The day began with Mass and continued with a dance, parade, and huge feast highlighted by the serving of wild goose. When the pilgrims settled in America, they remembered this day of thanksgiving. They decided to have a three-day feast in the autumn of 1621. There was plenty of food available. The native people brought deer. Lobsters, oysters, and fish were also plentiful. But the pilgrims remembered the goose they had once shared in Europe. According to historical accounts tinged with legend, "Governor Bradford sent four men on a folwing so that we might have a more special manner of rejoicing together.” The hunting party did find a few geese, but also many turkeys and ducks. Early in our nation’s history, Thanksgiving Day began to be celebrated regularly. During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln declared the fourth Thursday in November to be a national holiday. It has been celebrated on that day in the United States in all the years since, except for 1939 and 1940 when President Franklin Roosevelt changed Thanksgiving to the third Thursday to allow for more days of Christmas shopping. Public opinion demanded Thanksgiving be returned to its original day. Thanksgiving is not a holy day of obligation for Catholics, but many Catholics do attend a special family Mass on that day. Many parishes take up a collection of food products to benefit the poor. Some parishes even sponsor complete Thanksgiving meals for the homeless and homebound. Usually, the Gospel reading for the Thanksgiving Mass is the account, unique to Luke’s gospel, of Jesus’ healing of the ten Samaritan lepers. After the ten had showed themselves to a priest, as Jesus instructed, one former leper returned to Jesus, fell at his feet, and thanked him. Jesus response was: “Where are the other nine?” We, like the leper and the little boy who received all the Christmas gifts, have been abundantly gifted by God. In our Church, with the celebration of Eucharist (Greek for “thanksgiving”), every day is a day of thanks. Discussion Questions • What is your favorite Thanksgiving Day tradition? • When was a time you were surprised by someone who thanked you for something you did? • What are you most grateful for? Additional Lessons • Share more information on the Jewish autumn feast of Tabernacles or Booths. In Deuteronomy 16:13-15 it is described as a seven-day harvest festival. In Deuteronomy 26:1-11, each person was to offer a basket of harvest fruits while recalling in thanksgiving the saving actions of God. • Read and discuss in more detail Jesus’ cleansing of the ten lepers (Lk 17:11-19). • Provide information (considering inviting a guest speaker) about an agency that provides daily meals for the homeless. Share relevant details, including how many people are served, the number of families present, types of food needed, funding for the agency, etc. Encourage the students to volunteer as they are able to to serve the poor and homeless of your community.

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Another New Years' Day

Make a little friendly bet with your students. Ask them what comes first, New Year’s Day or Christmas? At least on the Church calendar (also called the liturgical year or Roman calendar), “New Year’s” is the Sunday closest to November 30. This is the first Sunday of Advent and the first Sunday of the Church Year. This year it is on December 2, over three weeks before Christmas Day! Unlike our January 1 New Year’s Day, there is no need for the Church to make a new resolution at the start of a new Church Year. Throughout every year the Church celebrates the unfolding story of our salvation told through the events in the life of Jesus Christ. Review with your students a chronology of the Church Year. The most important day of the Church Year is Easter Sunday. The other Sundays of the year share in importance; they are sometimes called “little Easters.” The Church Year is divided into major seasons. Advent is the beginning of the Church Year. It lasts about four weeks before Christmas, both anticipating Jesus’ Second Coming and remembering the preparations that took place the first time Christ entered the world as a human being. The Christmas season begins on December 25. In addition to Christmas Day, this seasons also celebrates the feast of the Holy Family, the Solemnity of the Mother of god, the feast of the Epiphany, and the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Next, the Church enters a period of “Ordinary Time” in which there is no special theme or focus in liturgies. Ordinary Time ends with Mardi Gras, the day before Ash Wednesday. Lent is the next major period of the Church Year. It begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts until Holy Thursday. Lent is a time of doing penance and renewing baptismal vows. The Easter Triduum (“three days”) bridges Lent and the Easter season. It includes the days of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. Easter is a moveable feast, tied with the Jewish Passover. It is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring. Hence it occurs sometime between March 22 and April 25. The Easter season follows this high holy day, lasting fifty days until Pentecost, the Sunday marking the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Church. Ordinary Time resumes after the Easter season and lasts until the end of November. The final day of the Church Year (November 25 in 2007) is the feast of Christ the King. This feast was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925 as a statement against the tide of nations ignoring their Christian roots to follow secular or worldly leaders and ideas. Christians acknowledge only one King, and that is Jesus Christ. In addition to the Sunday liturgies, the Church Year includes many other celebrations recalling events from the lives of Jesus, his Mother Mary, and the great Christian saints. These days are ranked in order of their importance from solemnities, to feasts, to memorials. Remind the students that the way to tell the chance of Church seasons is through the difference in colors worn by the priest and used to decorate the altar. They probably know that green is the color for Ordinary Time. Help them to recall that violet is worn for Advent and Lent, white for Easter, and red for Good Friday and the feasts of martyrs. Additional Lessons • The feast of Christ the King anticipates the Second Coming of Christ. Present the Church’s teaching on the creedal statement, “He will come again in glory.” (See Catechism of the Catholic Church, #668 668–677). • The establishment of Christ the King also called for an annual consecration of the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Uncover more of this devotion that originally began in the thirteenth century. Point out the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the Friday after the second Sunday after Pentecost. • Give each student a blank calendar showing all the days of the year. Have them shade in the seasons of the Church Year with the proper liturgical colors and print the names of as many Holy Days, Saints’ Days, and other holidays that they know. • Have the students read the parables in Matthew 13 telling them what the kingdom of God is like. Then ask them to use these images to help them write or draw their own parable telling what God’s kingdom is like. Allow time for the participants to share their ideas with the group.

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Praying for Peace

The following "Litany on the Nonviolence of Jesus" is written by James McGinnis and included in Activities for Catholic Social Teaching published by Ave Maria Press. Use the litany with your students along with the questions related to the Scripture passages on peace that accompany the litany.Litany on the Nonviolence of JesusJesus, you wept over Jerusalem and its disregard of Samaritans and lepers, and you weep today over the escalating violence of racism and hate in our own society and world. Jesus, in the face of escalating violence,Let us escalate love.Jesus, you wept over Jerusalem and its humiliating occupation by the Roman Empire, and you weep today over the escalating violence of terrorism and humiliating occupation in your Holy Land. Jesus, in the face of escalating violence,Let us escalate love.Jesus, you wept over Jerusalem and its exploitation of the poor, and you weep today over the escalating violence of poverty in our own society and world. Jesus, in the face of escalating violence, Let us escalate love.Jesus, you wept over Jerusalem and its disregard of women and children, and you weep today over escalating violence against women and children in our own society and world. Jesus, in the face of escalating violence, Let us escalate love.Jesus, you wept over Jerusalem and its deadly use of weapons of violence, and you weep today over the proliferation of the weapons of violence, from handguns to nuclear bombs, in our own society and world. Jesus, in the face of escalating violence, Let us escalate love.Jesus, you wept over Jerusalem where capital punishment was rampant, and you weep today over the escalating use of capital punishment in our own society. Jesus, in the face of escalating violence, Let us escalate love.Jesus, you wept over Jerusalem where the forces of domination were everywhere, and you weep today over the escalating domination—all the ‘isms—in our own society and world. Jesus, in the face of escalating violence, Let us escalate love. Scripture Passages on PeaceJohn 12:24John 15:12-13Ephesians 2:13-16Mark 8:35Matthew 5:44Luke 6:28Matthew 6:33Luke 6:37Matthew 5:38-39Luke 6:42Luke 6:29; Matthew 5:40-42Matthew 5:3-4, 7Luke 6:20-21, 24-25Matthew 5:5Matthew 5:9Matthew 5:10Questions1. Which of these Scripture passages challenges you most at this moment?2. Which most touches your heart and waht does it reveal about the things that make for peace?3. What is one thing you could specifically do to put this passage into practice?

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Gossip and Its Effect on the School Community

As part of a recent in-service day at Notre Dame, several high school theology teachers offered lesson plans to share. Presented below is the first of a series of lessons that will be offered from time to time on the Engaging Faith blog.   Adapted from a lesson By Cindy Teynor Tuscarawas Central Catholic High School New Philadelphia, Ohio One of the most difficult realties about high school life is the devastating effect of gossip upon students and staff. I have introduced a unit with the following information:       gossip:1. a person who chatters or repeats idle talk and rumors, especially about the private affairs of others. (Websters).   View a 15 minute portion of the movie The Spitfire Grill (Columbia Pictures, 1996, PG-13). Prior to viewing, present the following: Overview of the Film:Everyone in the grill is murmuring about Percy—who she is, where she's from, why she's there—but no one will talk to her directly. Eventually Percy calls out to Hannah, "Did I forget to mention that I've been to prison?" to cut their gossiping short. (Beware of language in the middle of the film when the ladies discuss overwhelming response to the "contest.") Teaching:Gossip is often the overlooked sin. Few people want to give it up because it's so much fun. God detests this destructive and hurtful habit and calls his children to speak only love and encouragement, not venomous gossip. ScriptureRead Proverbs 16:27–28: "A scoundrel is a furnace of evil, and on his lips there is a scorching fire. An intriguer sows discord, and a tablebearer separates bosom friends." Questions Answer the following questions: 1. Have you ever been told something that someone else said about you behind your back? Have you ever overheard a person say something they didn't want you to hear them say? 2. How did you feel when you heard this information? Did you do anything as a result of this information? 3. Have you ever said something about someone else that the person found out you said? How did you feel when you heard this information? Did you do anything as a result of this information? Essay Write a brief profile about each of the main characters of the film (Percy, Hannah, Eli, Joe, Nahum, Shelby, Effie, Gary, Claire, and Charlie. Describe what you learned about the character when you were first introduced to him or her. How did this character develop throughout the film? What did you learn from the characters' stories? Activity Give each student 20 pennies. Have them record each time and occasion during the course of one week when they gossiped about another. At the end of the week, have them return the number of pennies related to the times they have gossipped. Ask the students—both those who gave back many pennies and those who did not—what they learned from the activity.

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St. Luke's Masterpiece

A masterpiece is the work of an artist. It is the product of a large dream and years of toil.A masterpiece is not limited to paintings or sculptures. It can be a Grammy-winning album or an Oscar-winning performance, or a perfect game pitched in baseball.St. Luke was a member of the early Church. He wasn't one of the Apostles. In fact, he most likely never met Jesus. Rather, he was a traveling companion of St. Paul and, as Paul described him, a "beloved physician" (Col 4:14). Luke may have been with Paul at the very end of his life (2 Tm 4:11).The life work or masterpiece for Luke came in the area of writing.Luke's goal was to write a history and life of Jesus and an account of the formation of the Church. This was a different approach than the other evangelists took; their concerns were less biographical and more written accounts of faith.Luke's finished product was one literary work with two parts. The first is easy to recognize; it is the Gospel of Luke. The second part of Luke's work is the Acts of the Apostles. Both the Gospel of Luke and Acts have a common prologue addressing the material to "Theophilus."As any complete biography would, Luke includes information about the very beginning of Jesus' life, including the announcement of his birth, his Mother's preparations, the birth (in a cave), the presentation at the Temple, and another visit to the Temple when Jesus was twelve years old. Most of this information is unique to Luke's Gospel.Luke was a polished writer. He wrote in Greek and his work was for a Gentile audience. An example of this is the way he took great pains to explain the Jewish laws that Matthew did not have to explain for his Jewish audience. Matthew took the genealogy from Jesus to Abraham, the father of the Jewish faith. Luke extended the genealogy all the way to Adam, the father of the human race.Luke's Gospel (and Acts, as well) is arranged around a journey. Whereas Mark's Gospel takes only one chapter to tell of Jesus' travels from Galilee to Jerusalem, Luke takes ten, from 9:51 to 19:40. During this journey, he introduces many teaching's of Jesus, most of them addressed only to the Apostles.The Holy Spirit is also very prominent in Luke. The Spirit is present at Jesus' baptism, leads Jesus to the desert, and returns him to Galilee. When Jesus reads the scroll of the prophet Isaiah in the synagogue, it is the Spirit who identifies him as the Messiah, God's Chosen One.There is no clear information about the end of Luke's life, though early Church tradition holds that he wrote his Gospel in Greece and died at the age of 84. One thing that is clear is that he was a person who accomplished what he set out to do, the task he outlined in the very first verses of his Gospel:Many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and ministers of the word have handed them down to us. I too have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may realize the certainty for the teachings you have received (Luke 1:1-4).St. Luke's Feast Day is October 18.Discussion1. What do you hope will be your life masterpiece?2. If you could know one thing about Jesus' hidden years (ages 13 to 30)what would it be?3. How are you welcoming to people both within and outside of the Church?Assignments Ask the students to imagine that they have been assigned to write a definitive account of Jesus' life. Tell them to write down the ten most important events from the life of Jesus (miracles, parables, teachings, etc.) that would have to go into the story, ranking them from 1 to 10. When they have finished, compare several of the lists. Read a teaching or parable unique to the Gospel of Luke (e.g., the Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15). With the participants, discuss how the story you read fits in with Luke's overall themes and objectives.

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