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Engaging Faith

Practical Lesson Ideas and Activities for Catholic Educators
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Prayer for Seniors in High School

Share the following prayer service from Marriage and Holy Orders: Your Call to Love and Serve with your students. It is especially appropriate for juniors preparing to be seniors and seniors at the time of graduation. The last semesters of high school are filled with planning for the next stage in life. Which college will you attend? Which career will you prepare for? What will it be like to leave family and friends at home? How will you grow in a personal and adult faith? These are only some of the questions to consider on a regular basis. Pray often for a smooth transition from high school. Keep Christ close to your heart as you make these important decisions. On several occasions, pray using the following format. Call to Prayer for Seniors in High School Pray the following words or choose some similar words of your own. Construct your prayer around some specific situations arising in your final months, weeks, and days as a senior in high school. Come, Holy Spirit. Be with me today in my studies. Improve my work habits. Help me to learn to relax when taking exams so that I am able to test to my potential. When I apply to colleges, allow me the chance to show the “real me” to those who make decisions. Come, Holy Spirit. Allow me to appreciate my friends. Give me a moment to see their goodness. Help me to be always faithful to these dear people I have grown up with since childhood. Always give me the opportunity to stay close to my friends, whether we are physically near or far apart. Come, Holy Spirit. Continue to inspire my teachers, counselors, and coaches who have inspired me. In these last days of high school, give me the courage to truly follow their lessons. Allow me the inspiration to thank them for their gifts with sincere appreciation. Come, Holy Spirit. Bless my parents and family. They are everything to me. They have modeled for me your life and love. Keep them healthy and happy for many more years. Come, Holy Spirit. Help me find my way to my loving Father through his Son. Share with me a sign of my calling. Give me good ears to listen to your voice. Give me the strength to follow your lead. Amen. Scripture Reading Slowly and prayerfully read the following Gospel passage from John 14:15-21. How is God with you now? How will you stay close to God after you graduate from high school? Listen carefully to Jesus’ words. A reading from the Gospel of John. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ. Reflection Questions for High School Seniors Read through the entire list of questions. Then go back and choose one question to spend time with in greater detail. Listen to what God is saying to you. Take notes in a notebook or prayer journal. Choose another question on a different occasion. Form your own questions having to do with your transition from high school. As your answers change, write your new answers. What are my goals for my senior year in high school? How can I better express my true self to my family and friends? To whom do I need to say I am sorry? Where do I see myself in five years? What are my God-given talents? How might I use my talents in a career? How can I show my family I appreciate their love and care? What do I need to do to learn to be more independent? How can I improve my faith-life? What can I do to be more active in the Church? What kind of Catholic will I be when I get out of high school? Who do I want to become? Act of Hope Pray an Act of Hope for your future life in college using these traditional words. O God, I hope with complete trust that you will give me, through the merits of Jesus Christ, all necessary graces in this world and everlasting life in the world to come, for this is what you have promised and you always keep your promises. Amen.

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Summer Reading Suggestion

The Catholic Spirit is an anthology of classical literature (including short stories and poems), art, film, and music that should be the theology department's recommendation for a summer reading list. Consider making a weekly assignment from the text that requires both reading and a written summary. The text includes questions for comprehension and understanding and an activity to accompany each reading. You may also consider assigning art, film, and music selections for completion over the summer break. A free online Teacher Guide and several other resources are also available. Check out the following section from Bl. John Henry Cardinal Newman. Connecting with God “March 7, 1848” from Meditations and Devotions John Henry Cardinal Newman Cor ad cor loquitor (Heart speaks unto heart). —Motto of John Henry Newman’s Cardinalate Author Background John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801–1899) is one of the giants of Catholic theology. He was trained to be an Anglican priest, but his reading of the Church Fathers and his experience of parish life led him to convert to Roman Catholicism. He also is one of the greatest prose writers of the nineteenth century and his works The Idea of a University, his autobiography, Apologia Pro Vita Sua, and his Grammar of Assent are classics of English and Christian literature. Newman was totally convinced that God spoke to him in the experiences of his daily life and that he had been called by God to do a specific mission for the Church. The following meditation summarizes much of his spiritual writing. Newman is currently being considered for canonization. Before the Reading Throughout Scripture, we are given examples of those who have been called by God to do some great work on his behalf. For example, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, the prophets, Zachary, the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, and the Apostles all had visions of angels or heard the voice of God that gave them specific tasks to assist in the building up of the Kingdom of God. In this classic meditation, Cardinal Newman shows how all of us have been called by God to do him a specific service. He points out how the essence of the life of grace is to listen always for his call and to never cease doing his will. “March 7, 1848” *God has created me to do him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission— I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told of it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught, I shall do good, I shall do his work. I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place while not intending it— if I do but keep His Commandments. Therefore, I will trust Him. Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him; if I am in sorrow my sorrow may serve Him. He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends. He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide my future from me—still He knows what He is about.* Reading for Comprehension What is the author’s mission in life? How does Newman serve God? Reading for Understanding How do you serve God? What great work do you feel destined for in your life? Activity As a spiritual exercise, turn your heart and mind to God and silently listen to the special call that he has for you and no other.

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Classrooms Ascending to the Cloud: Cloud Computing in Schools

Everybody's heading to the cloud these days. No, I'm not talking about the Ascension. I'm talking about the new home for most of your school files: the cloud. For teachers, especially those moving to a 1:1 laptop/tablet school environment, this is huge. The cloud will allow us to send and receive files easier, provide immediate feedback on projects, and work on various devices from various places. We won't have to worry about running back into school on the weekends because our work will be in the cloud. What Is the Cloud? Wikipedia defines cloud computing as "the delivery of computing and storage capacity as a service to a heterogeneous community of end-recipients." In other words, your files no longer need to live on your computer. You can access them on your desktop computer at home, your laptop at school, your iPad in the living room, or your iPhone while at the store. In fact, your computer doesn't even have to live on your computer. With new products like the Google Chromebook, your computer exists on another server, not on the actual device you hold in your hands. Our ubiquitous access to the Internet makes all this possible. How Can I Use the Cloud in the Classroom? As more and more students create presentations, videos, audio files, and other large files, it becomes increasingly difficult to send and receive via email. Cloud computing services (listed below) allow teachers to share folders with students so they can drop their projects into the folders for review. Teachers can then easily open the files and send back comments and feedback via the cloud for the students to collect. Also, we get many questions about how our PDF Site License eTextbook program (view webinar) works. Schools have used some form of cloud storage to distribute the PDF files to their students. Each school has their own preferences, but many of the options below have been used efficiently without the danger of the files being shared illegally. Where Can I Get Cloud Storage? There are a number of services that provide free and paid cloud storage services. Here are the most popular ones among schools. Dropbox Probably the most popular cloud storage service is Dropbox. They have seen incredible growth in the last year and their ease of use is hard to beat. Free Storage: 2GB (plus bonus storage for referrals)Paid Storage: $100/year for 50GB; $200/year for 100GBAccess: iPhone, iPad, PC, MAC, Linux, Android, Web Skydrive I've heard a few teachers share on Twitter and Google+ that students prefer SkyDrive as their favorite cloud storage platform. Though it lacks the integration on mobile devices that most business professionals enjoy, students seem to like it anyway. Free Storage: 7GBPaid Storage: $50/year for 100GB; $0.50/GBAccess: Windows, Mac, Web Google Drive The newest addition to the cloud storage services is Google Drive, which effectively eliminates Google Docs as a separate product. It is new, but powerful. With so many schools utilizing Google Docs already, Google Drive will become a natural fit in many places. The best part about Google Drive is that it maintains the collaborative editing features of Google Docs with the added ability to store any kind of file and easily access them via your desktop via a synching folder. Free Storage: 5GBPaid Storage: $30/year for 25GB; $60/year for 100GBAccess: Windows, Mac, web iCloud Apple made some changes recently to their cloud services combining them into one iCloud program, which works in the iOS 5 and X on the iPhone and iPad. There is also integration through iTunes on PCs and Macs. Currently the ability to share folders and edit collaboratively is not available. Free Storage: 5GBPaid Storage: 20GB for $40 and 50GB for $100Access: iPhone, iPad, Windows, Mac Amazon Cloud Drive Believe it or not, Amazon has a large business of providing digital storage to businesses. They also want a piece of the cloud computing game. For now it is mostly for purchasing MP3s, but don't rule them out for a future flip into general cloud storage. Free storage: 5 GBPaid Storage: $1/GB per year over 5GBAccess: Amazon MP3 Uploader/Downloader for music; Cloud play for Android What's your favorite cloud computing service? What are your students' favorite?

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Using The Hunger Games as a Teaching Tool (Spoiler Alert)

Here’s a lesson to use with The Hunger Games—either the bestselling novel or the more recent hit film. The plot centers on a fictional dystopia and the story of sixteen-year-old Katniss who lives in District 12, a poor area of Panem with her mother and younger sister. Katniss supports her family with fresh meat that she gets with her bow and arrow just outside of an electric fence meant to keep her inside and wildlife outside. Every year, a male and female youth are randomly selected from each district to go to the Capitol to engage in the Hunger Games, a fight-to-the-death competition televised for the whole country, but especially for the entertainment of the well to do in the Capitol. When her sister is selected to fight, Katniss volunteers to take her place, and thus she travels to the Capitol with Peeta, the male from her district. The Hunger Games take over the rest of the story. Part of the appeal of this series to young people is its portrayal of teens in an adult world who are able to see past hypocrisy and understand people and things for what they are. They are also brave enough to risk their lives for one other and their loved ones. Ultimately, Katniss and Peeta challenge their national authorities by refusing to be controlled by the rules of the Hunger Games. Although the people in the book are not religious, many moral questions arise throughout the trilogy. You may want to discuss these issues in class related to the first book. Discussion Questions for The Hunger Games Katniss disobeys the law by going outside of her fenced-in district to find food for her family. Is this an example of breaking a just law or an example of disobeying an immoral law? How does District 12 resemble areas of the U.S. during this recession? What are some adjectives you would use to describe Katniss’ feelings for her sister, Prim? Would you take the place of a more vulnerable child (sister, brother, or other) if you were in the same situation as Katniss? Why or why not? Does Katniss display any of the theological or cardinal virtues? If so, how and when? What are some of the contradictions that Katniss and Peeta encounter when they go to the Capitol? Does any of the media attention given to the twenty-four contestants remind you of television today? Do you see tendencies towards non-violence among the twenty-four contestants? How would you describe the strategy that Katniss takes during the Hunger Games? How would you describe Peeta’s strategy? Does Katniss’ decision to pretend to fall in love with Peeta in order to encourage further support in the game, lying? Which contestants retain their humanity throughout the story? Do the rules of the game change the immorality of killing? Do the rules change the culpability of those who choose to kill? Was Katniss and Peeta’s final act in the games heroic, immoral, or smart? Does Katniss buy into the actions of the country’s government throughout the film? How is she able to recognize its faults having been surrounded by it since birth? The New York Times Education section has an article called “The Odds Ever in Your Favor: Ideas and Resources for Teaching ‘The Hunger Games,’” providing additional resources for using this book in class You may also with to share the commentary of Fr. Robert Barron on the Hunger Games from his Word on Fire site.

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Honoring Mary in the Month of May

Your students likely know that May is the month of Mary. Do they also know that Mary also has her own day dedicated to her in each and every week throughout the year? The tradition of honoring Mary on Saturdays goes back to the very first Holy Saturday, the day that Jesus lay in the tomb. It was Mary who waited anxiously but faithfully on that day in anticipation of the Resurrection. At the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century, the practice of offering a special votive Mass to Mary on Saturdays was included in the Roman Missal. The Second Vatican Council also supported this tradition. Catholics are called to do something special to honor Mary on Saturdays, especially during the Saturdays during May. This may include attending a Saturday morning Mass, doing a special work of charity, or praying the Rosary. Also, it is more than fitting that May, Mary's month, is also a time for the celebration of Mother's Day on the second Sunday of the month. Remind your students that just as they are called to honor their earthly mothers for life, nurture, and the love they have provided, so too they are to honor their heavenly Mother, Mary. Enrichment The Feast of the Visitation is celebrated on May 31. Have the students write a personal reflection of Mary's visit to Elizabeth as if they were present. Or, have them write a prayerful response to the Memorare from Luke 1:39-56.

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Jesus and Prayer

Review with the students several occasions when Jesus prayer. Choose six readers to read aloud the specific Gospel references listed below when as you briefly provide background on each occasion. When and How Jesus Prayed 1. Jesus prayed when preparing for something important. (Luke 6:12-13) 2. Jesus offered prayers of praise. (Luke 10:21) 3. Jesus prayed in thanksgiving. (John 11:41-43) 4. Jesus petitioned his Father for man things. (Luke 22:31-32) 5. Jesus prayed from Scripture. (Mark 15:34) 6. Jesus prayed at the time of his Death. (Luke 22:34; 41-42; 46) Jesus Teaches about Prayer Instruct the students to read each Gospel passage below and summarize Jesus' teaching on prayer in their own words. Also ask them to rate how difficult it is for them to follow this teaching using this scale: 1—very difficult; 2—difficult; 3—somewhat difficult; 4—no problem at all. 1. Read Matthew 6:6-8 Summarize: Rate: 1-2-3-4 2. Read Luke 11:9-13 Summarize: Rate: 1-2-3-4 3. Read Matthew 21:21-22 Summarize: Rate: 1-2-3-4 4. Read Luke 11:5-8 Summarize: Rate: 1-2-3-4 5. Read Mark 11:25 Summarize: Rate: 1-2-3-4 6. Read Matthew 11:18-20 Summarize: Rate: 1-2-3-4 Summary The teaching of Jesus presented in Number 1 is to keep your prayers short. Some people thinking by heaping on a lot of words, their prayers will be more effective. But Jesus says it is better to keep your prayers short and to the point. A second teaching is to pray with childlike simplicity. Jesus said to pray as if you were a child dependent on a parent for all your needs. He reminded us of the Father's great love which surpasses the love of any earthly parent. Third, Jesus teaches us to pray with faith. God always answers each petition, giving an answer that is ultimately good for us. Sometimes, as with a young child begging for an unneeded toy, the answer is "no." Fourth, be persistent with your prayer. We are to keep petitioning God for all our needs, as illustrated in the story of the person who visits a friend at an ungodly hour of the night. The message is simple. God cannot resist the petitions of a persistent pray-er. Besides private prayer, Jesus encourages us to pray with others, to the point that he promises to be present when "two or three are gathered in my name." He also instructs the entire of faith to come together and celebrate Eucharist. Finally, Jesus says to pray with a forgiving heart. He says that whatever we ask for in prayer will be given to us, provided that we forgive anyone with whom we have a grievance.

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Native American Teens Make Video to Show Who They Are

National Public Radio recently featured the video “More Than That." A group of Lakota teenagers on South Dakota’s Rosebud Sioux Reservation created this video (with the help of their teachers) to challenge the culture’s stereotypes about Native Americans which they claim focus on poverty, alcoholism, and violence. The Lakota students responded negatively to a “20/20” news magazine report that focused on these areas on the nearby Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, prompting them to take action. The title of their video, “More Than That,” contradicts the stereotypes and says “we are so much more than that.” The students’ video has received over 46,000 hits on YouTube in December of 2011. They have also been invited to Washington, DC for a conference and will be lobbying their South Dakota congressional representatives. The video is about two-and-one-half minutes long and not only challenges stereotypes but does so in a very honest and powerful teenage way. You might use it as a model for student projects, as the focus of a prayer reflection and discussion, or as part of a presentation on racism in a Catholic Social Teaching course.

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Why Did Jesus Have to Die?

The question “Why did Jesus have to die?” is often asked, especially during this Holy Week. The answer can be looked at from three perspectives with three different questions. Share these with your students in a brief presentation. First, “Why did Jesus’ accept his death?” The answer can be found in several places in Scripture (e.g., Jn 8:21–30; 12:23–24; 16:7–11). Jesus does what is pleasing to the Father. He is like the grain of wheat that must die in order to bring new life. Jesus desires to return to the Father. At Gethsemane on the night before he died, Jesus voices his fears about pain and death. He does not want to die, but he will accept pain and death if it is the Father’s will (Lk 22:41–42). The second question is “Why did some people wish to put Jesus to death?” These reasons vary from greed (Judas), to political expediency (Pilate), to false obedience to superiors (the soldiers who arrested Jesus and carried out his crucifixion). Finally, the third perspective is “Why did God the Father permit Jesus to die?” This question is best answered in Hebrews 5:7–10: "In the days when [Jesus] was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, declared by God high priest according to the order of Melchizedek." In other words, God’s motivation for allowing Jesus to die was Salvation for all humankind. All three of these plans and motivations (Jesus’, his opponent’s, and God the Father’s) worked together to form one plan of salvation. Salvation is the permanent union between God and all who love God.

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