We are happy to introduce a new Ave Maria Press High School Textbook Series. Check out some below with more information! Introducing the Series Schedule a Live Meeting to Hear an Overview of What’s New Join Our Ave Theology Teaches Facebook Page Sign Up for Classroom Resources* Must be a theology teacher at a Catholic high school
We are pleased to premier our new high school textbooks. We invite you to read about each new text and watch a short introductory video. If you and/or your theology department would like to set up a Zoom meeting with me in the coming weeks to run through the features and elements in both the Student Texts and Teacher's Manual, please sign up here! I look forward to hearing from you! Michael Amodei Curriculum Manager Executive Editor
Use this prayer from the diary of St. Faustina Kowalska to encourage students to meditate on their past, present, and future. This exercise can help students to learn to appreciate the blessings that surround them, to surrender the past to Jesus, and to entrust the future to his will. Begin by passing out handouts with the prayer printed on it. O My God, when I look into the future, I am frightened, but why plunge into the future? Only the present moment is precious to me, as the future may never enter my soul at all. It is no longer in my power to change, correct or add to the past; for neither sages nor prophets could do that. And so, what the past has embraced, I must entrust to God. O present moment, you belong to me, whole and entire. I desire to use you as best I can. And although I am weak and small, You grant me the grace of Your omnipotence. And so, trusting in your mercy, I walk through life like a little child, offering You each day this heart, burning with love for Your greater glory.” Excerpt from the Diary of St. Faustina Kowalska, Notebook 1, Section 2 Invite students to close their eyes and find a posture of prayer. Then read the prayer aloud, slowly and intentionally. Next, tell the students to silently read through the prayer a few more times, praying with the words and contemplating what they mean to them. Encourage them to think about the following questions (write on board): How does this prayer relate to your life today? What do you struggle to surrender to Jesus the most? Have you ever struggled to live in the present moment and to appreciate the blessings around you? Perhaps you find yourself constantly thinking about your past, weighed down by your wounds or regrets. Maybe you find that you are always looking ahead and waiting for what is to come, and this distracts you from the ways God is working in your life today. What are some practical ways you can learn to be grateful for this day? Maybe consider starting a gratitude journal, or documenting your blessings and joys through pictures on your phone. What does it mean to “walk through life like a little child?” Optional: Have the students meet in small groups to discuss the questions, write answers to the questions in their journals, or write a short essay on one or two of the questions. Megan Neuman is an Editorial Curriculum intern at Ave Maria Press. She is a senior English major at Franciscan University.
October is the “Month of the Holy Rosary.” Dedicate some time to have your students unearth some of the history and graces of the Holy Rosary during the month by answering the Student Questions and completeing the Student Assignment below. To begin share these fifteen promises to those who pray the Rosary. Whosoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary shall receive signal graces. I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary. The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell; it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies. It will cause good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and it will lift them to the desire of Eternal things. The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish. Whosoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its Sacred Mysteries, shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just, he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of Eternal Life. Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church. Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the Light of God and the plentitude of His Graces; at the moment of death, they shall participate in the Merits of the Saints in Paradise. I shall deliver from Purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary. The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of Glory in Heaven. You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary. All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities. I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire Celestial Court during life and at the hour of death. All who recite the Rosary are my sons, and brothers of my Only Son Jesus Christ. Devotion to my Rosary is a great sign of predestination. Student Questions When was the Rosary first prayed? Which saint is associated with its origins? Why? What do St. Dominic and Fr. Alan de Rupe have to do with the Fifteen Promises of the Rosary? Why is October the month of the Holy Rosary? When was this tradition established? Student Assignment Write a sentence for each of the fifteen promises explaining what you believe them to mean. After the students complete the assignment, discuss their response. See “Our Lady’s Fifteen Promises for Praying the Rosary Explained” for reference.
Follow these directions for a short lesson and activity on Blesed Carlo Acutis, a Catholic teenager with a great deication to the Eucharist who is expected to be canonized in the near future. Explain a little bit about Bl. Carlo Acutis, an Italian teenager who died of leukemia in 2006. Although his parents were only nominally Catholic, Carlo had a supernatural love for the Eucharist. His love inspired him to use his talents with computers to create a website that catalogs every Eucharistic miracle in history. Divide students into small groups and have them open Bl. Carlo Acutis’ website on Eucharistic miracles. Ask the students to explore the website and select a Eucharistic miracle that they find particularly interesting. Regather and ask each group to share their chosen miracle with the class. This activity was created by Larisa Tuttle, a senior at the University of Dallas.
“Adoro te Devote” is a Eucharistic poem written by St. Thomas Aquinas and frequently used as a hymn in Eucharistic processions and other public acts of Eucharistic devotion. St. Thomas Aguinas is one of the greatest medieval poets (as well as theologians), but his stunning Latin poetry has become most accessible and well-known through Gerard Manley Hopkins’ translation of the poem, titled “Godhead Here in Hiding.” This exercise will introduce or better acquaint students with this classic poem while demonstrating that the Eucharist is the wellspring of the Catholic artistic imagination. Materials Copies of the Handout (see below) Recording of “Adoro te Devote” Instructions Have students follow along on the handout while you play a recording of the original Latin “Adoro te Devote.” Have students go around the room each reading a stanza of “Godhead Here in Hiding.” Discuss the following as a class: What is a line or image from the poem that stands out to you? (There doesn’t need to be an understandable reason why the line stands out, as beauty often catches us unawares!) What does it mean to be “lost in wonder” before the Eucharist? How should wonder affect the way that we participate in personal prayer, Mass, and Eucharistic Adoration? What does the second stanza teach us about transubstantiation? How should we respond to moments when we struggle to have Faith in Jesus’ real presence in the Eucharist? What was “the prayer of the dying thief?” How do we become like the dying thief at Mass? What is the story of Thomas and Jesus’ wounds? How can our faith in the Eucharist fulfill Jesus’ words, “Blessed are those who have not seen and still believe?” According to old legends, the pelican would pierce his own chest with his beak in time of famine so that his children could drink his own blood. Why does St. Thomas call Jesus a pelican? Handout [set in 2 columns] “Adoro te devote,” St. Thomas Aquinas Adoro te devote, latens Deitas, Quae sub his figuris vere latitas: Tibi se cor meum totum subjicit, Quia te contemplans totum deficit. Visus, tactus, gustus in te fallitur, Sed auditu solo tuto creditur: Credo quidquid dixit Dei Filius: Nil hoc verbo Veritátis verius. In Cruce latebat sola Deitas, At hic latet simul et humanitas: Ambo tamen credens atque confitens, Peto quod petivit latro paenitens. Plagas, sicut Thomas, non intueor: Deum tamen meum te confiteor: Fac me tibi semper magis credere, In te spem habere, te diligere. O memoriale mortis Domini, Panis vivus, vitam praestans homini, Praesta meae menti de te vivere, Et te illi semper dulce sapere. Pie pelicane, Jesu Domine, Me immundum munda tuo sanguine, Cujus una stilla salvum facere Totum mundum quit ab omni scelere. Jesu, quem velatum nunc aspicio, Oro fiat illud quod tam sitio: Ut te revelata cernens facie, Visu sim beatus tuae gloriae. “Godhead Here in Hiding,” Gerard Manley Hopkins Godhead here in hiding whom I do adore Masked by these bare shadows, shape and nothing more. See, Lord, at thy service low lies here a heart Lost, all lost in wonder at the God thou art. Seeing, touching, tasting are in thee deceived; How says trusty hearing? that shall be believed; What God's Son has told me, take for truth I do; Truth himself speaks truly or there's nothing true. On the cross thy godhead made no sign to men; Here thy very manhood steals from human ken: Both are my confession, both are my belief, And I pray the prayer made by the dying thief. I am not like Thomas, wounds I cannot see, But I plainly call thee Lord and God as he: This faith each day deeper be my holding of, Daily make me harder hope and dearer love. O thou, our reminder of the Crucified, Living Bread, the life of us for whom he died, Lend this life to me, then; feed and feast my mind, There be thou the sweetness man was meant to find. Like what tender tales tell of the Pelican, Bathe me, Jesus Lord, in what thy bosom ran-- Blood that but one drop of has the pow'r to win All the world forgiveness of its world of sin. Jesus whom I look at shrouded here below, I beseech thee, send me what I thirst for so, Some day to gaze on thee face to face in light And be blest forever with thy glory's sight. Larisa Tuttle, a 2024 Summer Editorial Curriculum intern for Ave Maria Press, is currently a senior at the University of Dallas where she is a double major in English and Theology.
Pray and reflect with St. Francis of Assisi’s “Prayer of Peace.” Begin by making a copy of and distributing the following prayer to the students. Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Invite the students to read the prayer to themselves, underlining or highlighting anything that stands out to them. Next, divide the students into small groups and ask them to share with one another what struck them about the prayer. Ask them to read the prayer together and then have a discussion. Use the following questions to guide their discussions. What stuck out to you from the prayer? Why? In what ways can you emulate the virtues portrayed in this prayer? What habits can you build in your day-to-day life to sow love, pardon, faith, hope, light, and joy? Are there any parts of the prayer that are difficult to read? Is anything hard to understand? What do you think St. Francis means when he says, “it is in dying that we are born to eternal life,” and how can you die to yourself in order to more fully love the Lord? If you are looking for more ways to encourage your students to pray this prayer, use some of the following activities: Print off the prayer and hang it in the classroom Pray this prayer to begin or end each class this week Encourage students to keep this prayer on their nightstand or in their mirror to pray at the start and end of each day Do an artistic activity! Grab some craft supplies and ask students to write the prayer – or their favorite line from the prayer – on the paper. Then decorate and hang them in a special place. Megan Neuman is an Editorial Curriculum intern at Ave Maria Press. She is a senior English major at Franciscan University.
Ask students to spend 30 minutes outside in a place they find beautiful. This could be a beach, the forest, a trail behind their house, a pond, or anywhere where they can experience nature. If there are woods or trails around your school, consider taking the class on a walk together. Otherwise, assign this as a homework activity. Once the students have found the place in nature that they will spend time in, they will complete the following activity. You may copy and prepare the following as a student handout: Look around you and take a few deep breaths. Slow your walking and remain silent. As you walk, follow the steps below to help you notice and admire the environment around you. Remember, this is not a race or a competition. Take your time. 1. As you look around, what do you see? List five things that catch your eye, taking time to really notice each of them. 2. What do you hear? Pause your walking and listen, listing four things that come to your attention. 3. What can you feel? Reach out and touch the bark of a tree or the sand beneath you. What does it feel like to your touch? List three feelings. 4. What can you smell? List two things that catch your attention. 5. What bodily sensations do you feel? Perhaps a shiver from the wind. Maybe your feet are beginning to ache. List one sensation that you notice within yourself, and then tend to it the best you can (such as putting on a jacket or taking a moment to rest). Now, take a moment to admire what you have noticed around you. What is beautiful about your surroundings? Is there anything that surprised you? Do you feel peace or clarity by taking a moment to connect with nature? Ask yourself how you see, feel, or hear God in the environment around you. What does he want to say to you? How has his glory and beauty been more revealed to you through his creation? When you are ready, say a prayer of thanksgiving, offering praise to God for his glorious creation. Remember, too, that you are a part of his creation, made good and beautiful in his eyes. As you pray, allow this reality to sink in, and thank him for the gift of life that he has given you. When students return to the classroom (either the next day with their completed homework assignments or after the class trip altogether), lead a class discussion, encouraging students to reflect on their experiences. Use the following questions and points to get started. ● Tell us about your experience in nature. How did it impact you? ● What location did you choose, and why? ● What was beautiful about the nature that you encountered? ● What did this experience make you feel? ● What did you notice first about the environment you were in? ● What surprised you? ● Was anything difficult about the exercise or experience? ● In your opinion, how are we as human beings connected to the rest of creation? Do we have any sort of responsibility to care for creation? In what ways can we practically do this? Megan Neuman is an Editorial Curriculum intern at Ave Maria Press. She is a senior English major at Franciscan University.
