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Engaging Faith

Practical Lesson Ideas and Activities for Catholic Educators
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St. Maria Goretti and Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha

St. Maria Goretti and Bl. Kateri Tekawitha together lived a total of 35 years. Their courages examples will no doubt live on forever. Each saint is honored in the month of July. Maria Goretti was born in 1890 in the village of Corinaldo, near Ancona, Italy. Her family was poor. When she was nine years old, Maria's father died while her mother was pregnanat with the family's sixth child. In order to survive they had to migrate as tenant farmers. Traveling with the Goretti's was a family friend, Serenelli, and his fourteen-year-old son Alesssandro, whose mother had also died.The two families came to share living spaced in an old barn divided into separate quarters. A statue of the Blessed Virgin was placed in the common area in the center. At age 12, Maria's job was to care for the younger children while the others worked in the fields. She didn't know how to read or write, but she had been taught the Gospels and the Catechism.Alessandro became sexually attracted to Maria. He threatened her with his advances, telling her he would kill her if she told anyone about them. One day he came in early from the fields and told Maria to come inside the house from the upstairs landing where she was sewing a shirt. Maria refused. Alessandro grabbed Maria and dragged her into the kitchen area. Covering herself, she told him he would go to Hell for what he was about to do. Alessandro took a sharpened knife and stabbed Maria fourteen times.She survived for about 24 hours. During that time she forgave Alessandro. "I want him to be with me in Heaven," she said.For the murder of Maria, Alessandro was sentenced to thirty years in prison. There, he had a vision of Maria handing him flowers. His heart was changed. The first thing he did when he was released was to visit Maria's mother and beg for her forgiveness. When Pope Pius XII canonized Maria in 1950, Alessandro was at St. Peter's Square in attendance. Her feast day is on July 6. Kateri Tekawitha was born in 1656 in an area which is now upstate Nw York. Her father was a Mohawk chieftain who had married her mother, Kahenta, an Algonquin, during the conequest of her tribe. What her father didn't know was that Kahenta was a Christian. She had been converted by the Jesuits and secretly prayed with a white Christian captive.Kateri's entire family died of smallpox when she was only four years old. The disease left Kateri's faced pocked, her eyesight poor, and her legs weakened. In a culture where marriage was a prime goal for a woman, Kateri was shunned by her people because of her appearance. She was treated harshly and forced to do much of the menial labor for the tribe.When her tribe allowed the Jesuit missionaries to preach to them, Kateri was attracted to the Gospel and was baptized. (Kateri means "Catherine.) Finally she was able to escape to Canada where she spent her last years helping the sick and elderly and living with other Catholics. She died at the age of 23.In a society and culture obsessed with outward bodily appearance and sex outside of marriage, Maria Goretti and Kateri Tekawitha represent the importance of inner beauty and moral decision-making. As St. Paul wrote, "The body, however, is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the the Lord is for the body" (1 Cor 6:13).As teens grow in their sexuality, they should be reminded that sexuality is a gift from God, that God gives them the powerful feelings that attract them to other people. Also, God gives us the self-control to be able to act on the choices that are right. Remind teens that our bodies are God's gift to us. They are meant to give glory to God, not to bring shame.Additional Lessons Present a lesson on chastity, drawing on the material in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2331-2359. Assign 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 for reading. Ask the students to consider how the description of the body as the temple of the Holy Spirit might affect the choices they make regarding their sexuality. Have the students prepare and enact role-plays that express attitudes of respect and care for their bodies and the bodies of others. Discussion Questions When was a time you feared for your life or physical safety? How was the situation resolved? How important is physical and outward appearance to people in your peer group? St. Paul wrote that the body is a "temple of the Holy Spirit." What does this mean to you?

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Prayer Experience: Away with Sin

Provide teens with a piece of drawing paper and some colored markers. Tell them to take your cues and write their responses to the following in graffiti-style on the paper. Tell them they will not have to share what they write, but that they should do this exercise in the spirit of prayer. Read each of the following cues, pausing between each to allow for writing.Prayer Cues Write the first name of someone from elementary school you once teased. Write a word or symbol to describe an argument you had with a parent. Write a word or symbol to describe a lie you once told or that was told to you. Write a word or symbol to remind you of an act of vandalism you once committed or was committed against you. Write a word or symbol to remind you of a time you once listened to gossip or told a rumor about someone else. Write three practical steps you can take to put an end to one area of sinfulness in your life. Ask the participants to close their books and put their pencils down. When it is silent, read from Paul's Letter to the Colossians:Away then with sinful, earthly things; deaden the evil desires lurking within you; have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust, and shameful desires; don't worship the good things of life, for that is idolatry. Now is the time to cast off and throw away all those rotten garments of anger, hatred, cursing, and dirty language. Don't tell lies to each other; it was your old life with all its wickedness that did that sort of thing; now it is dead and gone. You are living a brand new kind of life that is continually learning more and more of what is right, and trying constantly to be more and more like Christ who created this new life within you. Since you have been chosen by God who has given you this new kind of life, and because of his deep love and concern for you, you should practice tenderhearted mercy and kindness to others. don't worry about making a good impression on them but be ready to suffer quietly and patiently. Be gentle and ready to forgive; never hold grudges. Remember, the Lord forgave you so you must forgive others. Most of all, let love guide your life. Let the peace of heart which comes from Christ be always present in your hearts and lives, for this is your responsibility and privilege as members of his body. —Colossians 3:5, 8-10, 12-15Ask the teens to stand, take both hands of another person, and look the person in the eyes as they say the Confiteor from Mass. With your prompting, they should be able to join in:I confess to almighty God, and to you my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do; and I ask blessed Mary, ever Virgin, all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray to me to the Lord our God.

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Making New Friends

As teens begin a new school year, there will be many opportunities, some of them wasted, for making new friends. Hold a discussion on friendship and the ways to meet new friends. Ask teens to share some of the ways they have made new friends. Summarize and record their responses on a board. Then offer the following suggestions to complement their list: Be yourself. This is probably the most important rule. Think back to when you were a little kid: you didn't have to be a "phony," that is, pretend to be someone else in order to make friends. The same holds true today. When other people see you doing things like expressing your own beliefs in a classroom discussion, going out of the way to talk to all classmates (not just a certain few "cool" people), dressing the way you like, etc., they will know much of the real you before even having the chance to talk with you. Their expectations of you will be realistic: "What they see will be what they get." Ask someone to do things with you. Most people are "just waiting to be asked"—to play basketball, to study together, to go to a movie, to sit together at lunch. Take some initiative and invite someone you have never talked with to do something with you. The worst that can happen is that the person will say no. Participate. Try out for a team, audition for a play, join a club, volunteer your time for a service organization. When you participate in something you like or deem worthwhile you are likely to find other people with the same talents and interests. Friends are often drawn together because of these similarities. Communicate. One side of communication is to be a good listener. Friends listen to each other and carry on productive dialogue. This is different from a "shared monologue," in which two people trade off telling their stories without really paying attention to the other. Optional: Invite a teen who has been at the school (or youth group) for less than a year to talk about the transition he or she faced and how he or she went about meeting new friends. Ask the person to respond to the following questions: Could you tell us about someone who greeted you when you first arrived? How were you made to feel welcomed? What is something you learned about "making friends" in your first year at this school (or parish)? - For links. Paste the URL in between the "".

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Prayer Service: Becoming A Better Me

The following prayer service is intended to encourage teens to avoid alcohol and drugs and to treat their bodies in healthy ways. It is taken from Everybody's Problem: Addiction and Recover by Therese Borchard. 1. Light a candle and darken the prayer space. Tell the teens to enter the space and quietly stand around the candle. When all are present and silent, lead this prayer: Dear God,alcohol and drugs have hurt many people we know.We seek your help to encourage those affected by alcohol and drugsto seek a right course and become thepeople you intend them to be.We ask this prayer in the name of your Son,Jesus Christ.Amen.2. Say: "We all want to become a 'better me.' We all want to be healthy people in body, mind and spirit. With God's help, the help of others, and our own persistence, we can become the people God intends us to be. Take some time to write honest responses to the following questions (write on board or recite slowly): What discourages you from treating your body in a health way? What discourages you from developing your mind to its fullest potential? What discourages you from knowing God better and putting God first in your life?3. When everyone has completed the questions, have the teens recite the following prayer of Charles de Foucauld (make copies or project for everyone to see):Father,I abandon myself into your hands; do with me what you will.Whatever you may do, I thank you: I am ready for all, I accept all.Let only your will be done in me; and in all your creatures—I wish no more than this, O Lord.Into your hands I commend my soul; I offer it to you with all the love of my heart,without reserve, and with boundless confidence,for you are my Father.Amen. 4. Next, tell the teens to reflect and write responses to the following questions (write on board or recite slowly): What encourages you from treating your body in a health way? What encourages you from developing your mind to its fullest potential? What encourages you from knowing God better and putting God first in your life?5. For the final prayer, ask everyone to stand around the candle and recite the Our Father.

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Michael Francis Pennock (1945-2009)

Michael Pennock, author, teacher, and dear friend of all of us at Ave Maria Press, passed away Wednesday evening in his home in Austin, Texas. His loving wife Carol, who Mike recently described as "my saint," was with him when he died. Mike had an aggressive and virulent form of stomach cancer that was only diagnosed in April.Carol said that just before he died, Mike lifted up his hand to her as if he were waving good-bye. She said he also had the "biggest smile" on his face.If I were Mike Pennock writing about someone as faithful to Christ, the Church, and his family as Mike Pennock was, I would note the appropriateness of Mike's passing on the birthday of St. John the Baptist, June 24. John was God's Herald, who came to the world to testify to Jesus Christ, the Light of the World.To the nearly 15,000 students Mike taught in the classroom at Moeller High School in Cincinnati and St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland and nearly two million more students who have used his textbooks over nearly thirty years, Mike has indeed been a herald of his Savior, Jesus Christ.As Mike has always done for the sixteen years I have worked with him as an editor, he was way ahead of himself on his latest projects. He had recently completed three textbooks that will soon be released to provide support for the United States Catholic Bishops' National Framework. In one of them, he wrote:If we imitate Jesus in his love for others, then we need not fear death. Jesus Christ wants us to befriend him in this life so we can live joyfully with him in eternity. This is not only the Good News of the Gospel; this is the greatest news we could possibly want to know. V. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. R. And let perpetual light shine upon them. V. May their souls and the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. R. Amen. Please address condolences to:Carol Pennock and Familyc/oAve Maria PressBox 428Notre Dame, IN 46556

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The Parish Priest in the Year of the Priest

Pope Benedict XVI recently announced that the year June 19, 2009 to June 19, 2010 would be the "Year of the Priest." One of the reasons for this declaration is that this year marks the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests. The information below, taken from the textbook Marriage and Holy Orders, can be shared with your students. Also assign the questions that follow for journaling or discussion.Some parishes are always considered “more desirable” than others, but for different reasons. For example, one priest may prefer an assignment in a parish with an upper-middle class socio-economic base because he knows that the parish’s ministries—including the outreach to the poor—will be more easily funded than in other parishes and he will be able to spend more time in the roles of preaching the Gospel, celebrating the sacraments, and counseling people. However, another priest may prefer a parish with a poorer economic base because of his preference for living and working directly with people who have great needs.Certainly the small parish at Ars, France, was not considered the most desirable of assignments when it was given to newly ordained Father Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney in 1818. The village had only forty houses, but four taverns. It was a farming community where people worked on Sunday and didn’t often go to church.Father John Vianney made himself at home in Ars. He regularly visited the people in their homes and helped them in difficult times. When one of the taverns went out of business. Father John helped the owner raise money to buy his own farm. Then he tore the tavern down. The townspeople noticed some other things about their new priest. He seemed to spend most of the night in prayer. He gave away all of his clothing and much of the furniture in the rectory to the poor and ate only two potatoes per day explaining “some devils can only be cast out by prayer and fasting.”But what Father John Vianney became best known for in Ars and well beyond was the advice and counsel he offered people who came to him for confession. During the last ten years of his life, he spent from sixteen to eighteen hours per day in the confessional. In 1855, over 20,000 pilgrims came to Ars for Father John to hear their confession. He would hear up to three hundred confessions per day, sometimes being able to tell what sins were being withheld by the penitent. John Vianney’s life was his parish. He said of his parishioners at Ars:My God, grant me the conversion of my parish. I am willing to suffer all my life whatsoever it may please you to lay upon me. Yes, even for a hundred years I am prepared to endure the sharpest pains; only let my people be converted.Parish priests today are under the patronage of Saint John Vianney. He was canonized in 1925. The ministry of the parish priest depends somewhat on the priest’s personal interests and skills, but will in any case demand much time preparing for and celebrating the sacraments. One of the most crucial responsibilities a priest has for teaching the people is his Sunday homily. The priest prays about this reflection on the theme of the Scripture readings with special attention to the Gospel message during the week leading up to Sunday. His words connect not only the theme of the Scripture, but also must relate it to events in the parish and in the worldwide Church. To be able to effectively do this, part of each day is set aside for personal prayer.Visiting the sick, visiting people in their homes, visiting children in a parish school or religious education program, and working with various parish committees and neighborhood organizations are all part of a priest’s daily ministry. He also helps to prepare catechumens for the sacraments and couples for marriage. He may counsel several couples who are having difficulties in their marriage. A required focus of ministry for all priests is paying special attention to the needs of the poor. When John Vianney was pastor in Ars in the years after the French Revolution, there were many young orphan girls wandering the streets as prostitutes. To combat this problem, Father John founded an orphanage across the road from the parish church. He would spend the noon hour at the orphanage offering catechetical instruction to the girls. Today, all Catholic parishes have formal and informal outreach to the poor. The pastor is often the one overseeing these efforts and he participates in them in a personal way as well.The life of a parish priest is not an easy one. But it is rewarding, with most of the tangible benefits coming from their proximity to the Eucharist and other sacraments, the emphasis on personal prayer, and their special connection with the parishioners. Father Stephen Rossetti writes:A consistent support and challenge for priests comes from the people of God. Their presence is an important way in which God is manifested to us. As we personally connect with the people whom we serve, we are affirmed, supported, challenged, and “stretched.”Assignment Describe a parish priest you know who has woven his life well within the entire faith community. How would you define a "desirable parish"?

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Catechesis with Persons with Special Needs

Soeren Palumbo, now a junior at the University of Notre Dame, delivered a powerful testimony of love for his sister, Olivia, prior to his high school graduation in 2007. Soeren spoke out against the use of "retard" as a word that both teens and adults use disrespectfully toward people with disabilities. His reminder to treat all people with dignity and respect is an important one. Check out a tape of his speech:       The National Directory for Catechesis shares the following guidelines for providing catechesis for persons with special needs:   Catechesis for persons with disabilities must be adapted in content and method to their particular situations. Specialized catechesis should help them interpret the meaning of their lives and give witness to Christ's presence in the local community in ways they can understand and appreciate. "Great care should be taken to avoid further isolation of persons with disabilities through these programs which, as far as possible, should be integrated with normal catechetical activities of the parish" (quoting Pastoral Statement of U.S. Catholic Bishops on Persons with Disabilities, no. 16) Catechetical efforts should be promoted by diocesan staffs and parish committees that include persons with disabilities.

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Relaxation Techniques for Prayer

Encourage your students to learn these relaxation techniques for prayer. Take some time during a class period or other gathering to allow them to practice these three steps. Consider providing a religious icon or image for them to observe and contemplate on during this time.  1. Awareness of Your SensesAssume a comfortable position. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Hold it momentarily, and then let it go. Relax your body. Begin with your neck muscles, then your shoulders, your chest and your back, your arm and legs. Be aware of the clothing on your shoulders, on your back. Become aware of your legs. Let the tension of your legs leave through your feet. Become aware of your hands. Easily bend your fingers back and forth. Repeat this pattern of awareness. Take a deep breath. Relax the neck muscles, the shoulders, the trunk of your body, your arms, your legs. Feel the heat or coolness of the room. Dwell for a moment on the part of your body that is most tense. For example, relax the forehead, the jaw, the neck. Let your arms and legs rest. Come to a total stillness. You are now ready to pray. 2. Breathing Take a relaxing position. Let the tension drain from your body. Now focus on breathing through your nose. Observe your breathing. Feel the air as it comes in and goes out. Don't try to control your breathing. Just observe it for a few quiet, peaceful moments. Be aware of how it comes in to fill your lungs and how it goes out of your nostrils. After a short time observing your breathing, begin to count your breaths silently. Count "one" as you inhale. Count "and" as you exhale. Count "two" as you breathe in again; "and" as you exhale. Continue to count to 15 or 20. You are now ready for prayer. 3. Listening Take a comfortable position. Close your eyes. Relax the tension in your body. Feel the tightness drain from your face, your neck, your shoulders, your arms, your legs. Feel the air on your skin. Be aware of each breath that you take in and let out. Block your ears with your thumbs. Listen to each breath as you take it in and let it out. After ten breaths, let your hands reset on your lap. Now be attentive to all the sounds around you. Hear them all: the sounds near to you and the ones in the distance. Listen to the sounds, big and little, blend together. Continue with this exercise as you ready yourself for prayer.

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