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.
Can you imagine forgiving someone who struck you over the head with a baseball bat, nearly gouging out your eye?
Can you imagine recommending the person who injured you for the highest honor in his field?
Can you imagine offering a eulogy at the funeral of the man you struck with the bat?
This story really played out on the baseball field in 1965 when Juan Marichal of the San Francisco Giants attacked John Roseboro of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the middle of a game. You can read about the incident here.
Ask your students the questions posed above and briefly introduce the incident. Then play a twenty-two minute video documentary that explains what happened to Juan Marichal and John Roseboro in the years that followed.
After the video, write the following questions on the board for discussion or journal writing:
What is your reaction to the video?
How do you feel about John Roseboro?
How would you feel about Juan Marichal?
What did you learn about forgiveness and reconciliation from this story?
Create a worsheet from the material below. Use it as a short activity to begin or end a class period.
Read these Gospel passages to find out more about Jesus. Write an explanation to each yes or no answer for the following questions:
· Did Jesus have a best friend? (see Matthew 17:1–2)
· Did Jesus have women friends? (see Luke 8:1–3)
· Did Jesus ever get in trouble? (see John 2:13–17)
· Did Jesus have any fun? (see John 2:1–2)
· Was Jesus ever confused or depressed? (see Mark 14:32–35)
· Did Jesus ever get bothered by his friends? (see Mark 10:13–14)
· Did Jesus ever have disagreements with his parents? (see John 2:15)
· Did Jesus hang out with the “in” crowd? (see Matthew 9:9–13)
· Did Jesus get along with everybody? (see Matthew 22:15–22)
· Did Jesus ever get stressed out? (see Mark 3:7–12)
What did you find most surprising about Jesus from this exercise?
Share the list of Catholic colleges in this year’s Men’s and Women’s NCAA Basketball Tournaments. As an assignment, have the students explore each college’s website and make a list of one interesting fact they discovered about each school.
Men’s Tournament
College
Seed
Founded
Sponsor
Location
Website
Dusquesne
11 E
1878
Congregation of Holy Spirit
Pittsburgh, PA
www.duq.edu
Saint Mary’s
5 W
1862
Christian Brothers
Moraga, CA
www.stmarys-ca.edu
Dayton
7 W
1850
Marianist
Dayton, OH
www.udayton.edu
Marquette
2 S
1881
Society of Jesus (Jesuits)
Milwaukee, WI
www.marquette.edu
Gonzaga
5 MW
1887
Society of Jesus (Jesuits)
Spokane, WA
www.gonzaga.edu
Creighton
3 MW
1878
Society of Jesus (Jesuits)
Omaha, NE
www.creighton.edu
Saint Peter’s
15 MW
1872
Society of Jesus (Jesuits)
Jersey City, NJ
www.saintpeters.edu
Women’s Tournament
College
Seed
Founded
Sponsor
Location
Website
Sacred Heart
16 (1)
1963
Diocese of Bridgeport
Bridgeport, CT
www.sacredheart.edu
Fairfield
13 (1)
1942
Society of Jesus (Jesuits)
Fairfield, CT
www.fairfield.edu
Marquette
10 (1)
1881
Society of Jesus (Jesuits)
Milwaukee, WI
www.marquette.edu
Notre Dame
2 (1)
1842
Congregation of Holy Cross
Notre Dame, IN
www.nd.edu
Gonzaga
4 (4)
1887
Society of Jesus (Jesuits)
Spokane, WA
www.gonzaga.edu
Holy Cross
16 (2)
1843
Society of Jesus (Jesuits)
Worcester, MA
www.holycross.edu
Portland
13 (2)
1922
Congregation of Holy Cross
Portland, OR
www.up.edu
Creighton
7 (2)
1878
Society of Jesus (Jesuits)
Omaha, NE
www.creighton.edu
As a Lenten project, provide twelve-to fourteen-inch wooden crosses from a craft story to each student. Have the students design their crosses in the following way (share directions with students):
At the bottom of the vertical beam, engrave a passage from the Passion narrative in Mark 14—16.
At the top of the vertical beam, draw an image or affix an image you have collected of Jesus, the Suffering Servant.
On the horizontal beam, depict with an image or quotation that extends across the beam some of the sufferings of the contemporary world that Christ has redeemed.
In honor of Catholic Schools Week 2024 share these photos with your students and have them finish the captions!
My name is Billy. I am sitting in the middle of the photo. Let me tell you why I don’t have my school uniform on today.
Of all the kids in our class, can you believe ________ has turned out to be the most successful? ________ is pictured ____ from the left in the ______row from the top. _________ is known today for ______________.
They talk about class size today? Can you believe we had ____ students in our fourth grade class?
“Rhonda was pretty smart. But sometimes she just _______.”
Photo Credit: St. Paul Catholic School
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops offer an abridged article on marriage entitled Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan. Make copies of the article for each student. Ask them to read through the article and then go back a second time and underline the six sentences that begin with “Marriage is . . . “. These are the sentences from the USCCB article:
Marriage is a natural institution established by God the Creator.
Marriage is not merely a private institution.
Marriage is important for the upbringing of the next generation, and therefore it is important for society.
Marriage is meant to be a lifelong covenantal union, which divorce claims to break.
Marriage is a vocation, or divine call, as necessary and valuable to the Church as other vocations.
Marriage is a school of gratitude, in which husband and wife are thankful for the gift of each other.
Clarify each of these statements in a class discussion. Call on students to share their own ideas on what each statement means and examples of how they have witnessed these statements being lived out in marriages they are familiar with (e.g., parents, grandparents, neighbors).
Next, on the back of the handout, ask students to write three of their own statements beginning with “Marriage is . . . “ When complete, continue with the discussion based on some of the examples the students came up with.
In December 1531, a beautiful woman appeared to an Indigenous farmer named Juan Diego outside of Mexico City. Over the next few visits this woman, who Juan Diego eventually learned was the Virgin Mary, asked him to petition his bishop to build a church. She also told Juan Diego to bring roses to the bishop, though it was not the season for roses. When he did as she instructed and opened his tilma before the bishop the roses dropped to the floor and an image of Our Lady appeared on his cloak.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has named the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12 as a day of solidarity with immigrants and refugees.
Have the students work together to print the following prayer developed by Catholic Relief Services on a large sheet of butcher paper. Pin the prayer on a wall in the classroom.
Hail Mary, Lady of Peace, we pray for the peace in our world; make us peacemakers.
Hail Mary, Friend of Common People, unite us across economic lines; together let us raise up the cause of the oppressed.
Hail Mary, Mother of Mexico, help us both appreciate Latin America’s culture and work to end its poverty.
Hail Mary, Mother of the Infant Jesus, we pray for all children who are victims of war and hunger; let us stand for them.
Hail Mary, Wife of the Carpenter, Joseph, we pray for the rights of hardworking laborers in all the world; let their dignity be recognized.
Hail Mary, Woman of All Generations, move us to speak for the elderly who lack adequate health care and shelter.
Hail Mary, Homeless Mother, we pray for those without homes; let us advocate for affordable housing.
Hail Mary, Lady of All Colors, show us how to love all people by challenging racism and discrimination.
Hail Mary, Mother of Our World, make us global citizens, working for justice and well-being in all the world.
Amen
Next, share a link to Native Land Digital. Have the students check in on the site and locate the native people that once resided on the land where their ancestors first came to this country. Provide colored markers and have the students print the name of the indigenous people from their ancestral land on the prayer poster.
When everyone has printed a place, pray the prayer together with the class.
