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Engaging Faith

Practical Lesson Ideas and Activities for Catholic Educators
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St. Paul Pantomimes

To help mark the Year of St. Paul, help your students learn more about the life and ministry of St. Paul by performing pantomimes on key Scripture scenes. Divide the class into small groups. Tell the groups to read together their suggested Scripture passage and then choose roles for their pantomime. Remind them that to pantomime a scene means to act it out without speaking. Everyone in the group should have a role. Listed below are the six scenes and notes for directionScene 1: Martyrdom of StephenRead: Acts 7:54-60Characters: Choose one person to be Stephen. The others are his persecutors. One of the persecutors is Saul.Pantomime: The persecutors visibly grind their teeth in anger against Stephen. Stephen looks to Heaven as if entranced by a vision. The persecutors cover their ears, rush towards him, and throw him down. They start to throw stones (wadded up paper) at him but their burdensome coats prevent good throws. The persecutors take off their coats (sweaters, jackets) and lay them at the feet of Saul. Then they continue their throws. Stephen kneels in prayer as if crying out to God for help before collapsing in death.Scene 2: Saul's Conversion and BaptismRead: Acts 9:1-19Characters: Saul, high priest, Ananias, a minister of Baptism, and the traveling companions of Saul. One person can hold the flashlight to represent the vision Saul had of Jesus.Pantomime: The high priest sends Saul on his way to persecute Christians. Saul and traveling companions march in single file on stage. The light from the flashlight blinds Saul and he falls to the ground. The traveling companions stand around him with their hands over their mouths, as if speechless. Saul gets up, acting blind, and is led by his companions to a corner of the stage. In a separate corner of the stage, Ananias lays on the ground as if sleeping. The person holding the flashlight shines it in Ananias's eyes, waking him up. Ananias tosses and turns before proceeding to the area where Saul is. Ananias puts his hands on Saul's forehead and immediately Saul can see. Ananias leads Saul to the minister of Baptism, who dips Saul backwards three times as if being immersed in water.Scene 3: Saul Visits JerusalemRead: Acts 9:23-30Characters: Saul, disciples who help Saul, disciples who are afraid of Saul, Barnabas, enemies of Saul.Pantomime: Depict enemies of Saul guarding the front of the stage to represent their guarding of the gates of Jerusalem. Show the disciples who help Saul boosting him on one person's back (like leap frog) as Saul sneaks quietly to the rear of the stage out of sight of the enemies. Saul creeps to a meeting with the disciples who are afraid. He offers a warm greeting, but they cringes at meeting with him. Barnabas puts his arm around Saul and shares positive testimony about Saul to those who are afraid. Saul and all of the disciples then move freely around the stage, as if preaching the Good News. Saul stops to debate again with some of the enemies.Scene 4: Paul's First Missionary JourneyRead: Acts 13:4-5; 44-47; 18:1-11Characters: Paul, Barnabas, Jewish people in synagogue, Gentiles on street corner.Pantomime: The scene is meant to represent a main occurrence in all of Paul's missionary efforts. It explains how Paul became known as the Apostles to the Gentiles. Depict Jewish people at prayer in a synagogue. Paul and Barnabas enter their space and visibly exhort the Good News about Jesus. The Jewish people ask them to leave. Paul and Barnabas then encounter Gentiles (depict doing common activities like tossing a ball or selling merchandise) on a "street corner." Paul and Barnabas find that the Gentiles are very attentive listeners of the Good News.Scene 5: Paul's Imprisonment at PhilippiRead: Acts 16:16-34Characters: Paul, Silas, slave fortune-teller, slave's owners, Roman authorities, jailers, a person holding a flashlight.Pantomime: Paul and Silas walk around the stage with hands extended, pausing occasionally as if preaching the Good News. All the while the fortune-teller and her slave owners follows the two. Depict her as if she is rubbing a crystal ball. Suddenly, Paul turns around and the fortune-teller kneels. Paul waves his hands over her to remove her evil spirit. The fortune-teller runs off praising God. The slave owners complain to the Roman authorities about what has happened. The Roman authorities take Paul and Silas by the arms and throw them in jail (perhaps behind a chair or desk). Jailer pace back and forth guarding Paul and Silas. Simulate an earthquake by shaking your arms and legs and moving the chair or desk away from Paul and Silas. The jailers flee but Paul and Silas do not leave the jail area. The flashlight holder shines the light in the eyes of the jailer. Paul and Silas begin to preach the Good News (hold up Bibles) to the jailers who have returned. The jailers act as if they are opening a cell with a key and release Paul and Silas.Scene 6: Paul in RomeRead: Acts 27;28:11-30Characters: Paul, other prisoners, sailor, jailers in Rome, citizens of RomePantomime: Depict Paul and other prisoners as if on a boat with one sailor in front. Chairs could be set up in rows two across to represent the boat. Simulate a storm and a shipwreck (chairs falling over). Skip to a scene in Rome where Paul is led by jailers into a jail cell. Paul can move as if hand and legs are loosely shackled. Show jailer allowing Paul to leave "cell," move freely around the stage (though still shackled), and preaching the Good News to the citizens of Rome.After the students have had a chance to practice, announce each scene. Have the students do the pantomime. Then have them read or paraphrase the Scripture passage they were depicting.

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Choosing A Patron Saint

In the spirit of the month of All Saints, help your students to increase their devotion to the saints by developing a relationship with a particular saint—a patron saint. This exercise will help them to choose a patron saint. Exercise Write your first and middle names here:_____. Using a Catholic encyclopedia, or a book of saints, or an Internet site, list as many saints as you can find that share one of your names. Write your birthday and the date of your Baptism here:___. List those saints whose feast day is one of the dates written above. List as many hobbies or regular activities as you can think of that are important to you here:_________. Find out if there are patron saints for those hobbies or activities. List them here. Now read the short biographies of the saints you have listed above, until you find a story that inspires you. Write that saint’s name here:___. Begin your research into this saint’s life by finding the following information: Date and place of birth: Lifelong Catholic or convert?: Date and circumstance of death: Best known for: Virtues exhibited by this saint: Temptations or struggles faced by this saint: (This activity was taken from the Our Catholic Faith Teacher's Wraparound Edition.)

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Top Catholic High Schools 2008!

For the fifth year, 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. This year nearly 300 of the approximately 1,300 Catholic high schools completed the three detailed surveys that measure a school's adherence to the Church's educational mission. Each school also receives an evaluation to see how it compares to other schools nationwide.The best schools demonstrate a balanced excellence, which includes an active Catholic culture, sound college preparation and integration of Church teaching in all departments. These schools also display sound moral, catechetical and civic formation that prepares students for vocations in the world as political, religious, scientific, and business leaders .Here is a list of the top fifty schools. Other category leaders in academics, Catholic identity, and civic education are were also named.The news of Catholic High Schools being chosen for this honor is circulating through local and national media. Here is one story from the Indianpolis Star on the success of St. Theodore Guerin High School in Nobelsville, Indiana. Please feel free to use the comment section below to link other news stories as they appear on schools in your area.Congratulations to all!ArkansasHoly Rosary AcademyCaliforniaJ. Serra Catholic High SchoolSaint Augustine AcademySaint Joseph AcademySaint Michael's Prepatory SchoolColoradoBishop Machebeuf Catholic High SchoolDelawareSaint Thomas More Preparatory SchoolSalesianum SchoolFloridaArchbishop Edward A. McCarthy High SchoolBelen Jesuit Preparatory SchoolChristopher Columbus Catholic High SchoolGeorgiaHoly Spirit Preparatory SchoolPinecrest AcademyIllinoisBrother Rice High SchoolNorthridge Preparatory School for BoysThe Willows AcademyIndianaSaint Joseph's High SchoolSaint Theodore Guerin High SchoolKentuckyHoly Angels AcademyMassachusettsTrivium SchoolMarylandMount de Sales AcademyMichiganCatholic Central High SchoolFather Gabriel Richard High SchoolLake Michigan Catholic High SchoolNotre Dame Preparatory SchoolSaint Francis High SchoolWest Catholic High SchoolMinnesotaProvidence AcademyMissouriGateway AcademyNotre Dame Regional High SchoolNorth CarolinaSaint Thomas More AcademyNew YorkAll Hallows High SchoolCathedral Preparatory SeminaryThe Montfort AcademyOhioCardinal Stritch High SchoolPennsylvaniaAquinas AcademySaint Joseph High SchoolSouth CarolinaSaint Joseph's Catholic SchoolSouth DakotaO'Gorman High SchoolTennesseeKnoxville Catholic High SchoolSaint Cecilia AcademyTexasAntonian College Preparatory High SchoolBishop Thomas K. Gorman Catholic SchoolSaint Thomas High SchoolStrake Jesuit College PreparatoryThe Atonement AcademyThe Highlands SchoolWisconsinAquinas High SchoolMcDonell Central Catholic High SchoolXavier High School

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The "Both/And" Approach to Catechesis

Last week's National Symposium on Adolescent Catechesis was a series of fruitful presentations and discussions on the topic with catechetical leaders from a variety of perspectives (e.g., bishops, diocesan, academics, schools, parish, parents, publishers). In his presentation "Adolescent Catechesis: Where Are We Now and Going" Dr. Thomas Groome presented a map for forging ahead in this area. A main focus of his presentation was the need for a both/and approach to catechesis. Among the points Groome made:   In sum, catechsis is constituted by "transmission of the Gospelmessage and experience of Christian life" (GDC #87). There is a need to receive, deepen, and apass on the Gospel faith andto experience Christian living. Both kerygmatic and experiential. Literacy in Catholic faith should be both informative and performative. It requires both instruction and practice (especially of justice and compassion). In pedagogy the Church also urges the both/and approaches. This means that pedagogies that are both inductive—from life to Faith and deductive—from Faith to life must be utilized. A pedagogy that is both experiential and kerygmatic must promote "a correct correlation and interaction between profound human experiences and the revealed message" (GDC #153).   Groome summarized such pedagogy as "enabling people to bring their lives to their Faith and their Faith to their lives, with the intent of lived Catholic Faith; life to Faith to life. Reflection How does the "both/and" approach apply to your role in catechesis? What opportunites are you offering your students that are both informative and performative? How are the life experiences of your students incorporated to lessons of faith?

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Evangelizing and Catechizing Youth: What Can a Parish Do?

In the Fall Issue of the Engaging Mind, Hearts, and Hands newsletter, two articles were shared about the challenges of adolescent evangelization and catechesis especially in the venue of parish programs. Two perspectives are presented below. By Bryan Reising Director of Religious Education and Adult Faith Formation Diocese of New Ulm, Minnesota In 2007, 672,426 students attended Catholic high schools across the United States. In that same year, 732,917 public school students received religious education at some level. With 67,515,016 Catholics in the United States and around 20,000,000 more inactive Catholics, there are many more public school teens receiving no catechetical formation. How many receive no formation? According to the Census Bureau, there are about 33 million high school age students in the United States (public schools, charter schools, parochial schools, private schools, home schools, and dropouts). Catholics in general make up about 24% of the total population of the United States. This adds up to about 7.900,000 teens who are Catholic. According to this calculation, that means nearly 6,500,000 Catholic teens are receiving no faith formation at all! What can we do? How can we reach these teens and their parents? It is hopeful that in the years to come, more people will lend their expertise and creativity so that Catholic parishes can share the faith, invite more to the faith, and involve more with sharing the faith! In addition, parishes and dioceses need intentional planning for missionary outreach. In the meantime, here are some resources that may help: Evangelization Resources • Cultivation Ministries: This organization, headed by Frank Mercadante, helps to form youth ministry teams to reach out to more youth and to effectively minister to them. • Systematic Integral New Evangelization (SINE): This resource founded by the late Fr. Alfonso Navarro, MSpSC helps parishes and even entire dioceses to become more evangelizing. This is an excellent site to study ways to evangelize the Spanish-speaking teens. • LifeTeen: Life Teen is centered in the Eucharist. This popular program also features suggestions for catechetical sessions to be held after Sunday evening Mass. • TEC (Teens or Together Encounter Christ) is a weekend retreat experience for older adolescents and young adults designed to facilitate an experience Christ and his Paschal Mystery. • NET Ministries (National Evangelization Teams) is groups of young people who give retreats and portray the Gospel message through drama and music. They travel to many parishes and dioceses around the country. • RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adultis a process with roots in the early Church and made new again because of the Second Vatican Council. It is a process for those who are called to become Catholics culminating in the Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil. • Home Visitation: This is a ministry that more and more Catholic parishes are using to reach out to the lost, the Catholics we miss, and those without a church home. It also builds up ecumenical relations. The Diocese of Wheeling, West Virginia produced an excellent film: “Home Visitation: Building Relationships, Building the Kingdom” Don’t forget to use all of the media—print and otherwise—to get out the Word of God: newspapers, letters, mailings, phone calls, radio, billboards, television, the internet, text messaging, pod casting, and more ways in the future. Special mention in this area is directed to agencies that are providing beautiful and meaningful commercials to those Catholics we miss. The students in Catholic high schools usually receive five days a week of catechetical instruction. The public high school students receive catechetical formation from once a week during the school year to once a month if at all. There is real question about when and if publishers will provide materials that address the new doctrinal guidelines approved by the United States Bishops but that are also geared especially for teens in parish programs (see accompanying article). What can a parish do? The resources listed above are helpful and many publishers, including Ave Maria Press , do provide resources especially for the parish market. But we need more especially designed materials. I believe the potential for adolescent catechesis is great when considering those who do not go to Catholic high schools. For publishers, youth ministers, catechists, and parents, it takes a real commitment to ensure that the faith is being past on in an adequate manner. I believe there is a need to create curriculum that can be used in traditional and intergenerational religious education settings. I believe there is a need for catechist friendly manuals in order to help the catechist make the most out of teaching the faith. I believe parents need to have the tools for family activities to engage their teenage children with the faith. I believe community building and faith-building activities for and with youth can be useful when they are just hanging out. In addition, online resources and DVDs can be of service as more and more teens rely on technology for information. How about a Catholic Wikipedia? Let us continue the conversations and create new resources to reach out to our youth and provide good catechetical experiences! What Publishers Can Do to Enhance Catechesis for Non Catholic School Teens In various conversations throughout the course of the year, mainly with diocesan religious education leaders, we are often asked “what new catechetical programs we have in the pipeline for parish teens.” The question is a tricky one, especially with the inclusion of the word program in the question. In the mid 1990s Ave Maria Press published such a program, Developing Faith. It was intended as a catechetical centerpiece for parish youth ministry and a compliment to Confirmation preparation processes. It was created as twelve eight-week courses, complete with “Participant Books” for the teens and “Director’s Manuals” for the parish leaders. In the years Developing Faith was on the market, our research found fewer and fewer parishes that 1) employed trained youth ministers and 2) included a comprehensive catechetical component to their youth offerings. Many parishes had no youth program whatsoever. As Church leaders from many arenas (bishops, diocesan, scholarly, parish, publishers) undertake a serious discussion this coming week of the issue of Adolescent Catechesis, Ave Maria Press is committed to participating to the dialogue, assimilating the results, and readying to produce materials that will reach the many teens cited in the article by Bryan Reising. To this end, Ave Maria Press is publishing Catholic Essentials: An Overview of the Faith in 2009. It is outlined and written based on the Doctrinal Elements of a Curriculum Framework For the Development of Catechetical Materials For Young People pf High School Age produced and approved by the United States Catholic Bishops in 2007. Designed as a handbook for teens who attend both Catholic and non-Catholic high schools, it is accompanied by a manual with lessons for that also function for both schools and parish programs. Also, currently, on the Ave Maria Press website are specially designed lessons that distill current textbooks—all in conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church—for use in parish programs. Many of these lessons include references to current issues and contemporary news articles that allow catechists and youth ministers to develop lessons that are both engaging and comprehensive. Visit the Ave Maria Press Religious Education website and search for “Parish Religious Education Adaptations” (for example) under the links for each subject area/text.

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Learning More about Marriage

How well do you and your students know the history of the Sacrament of Matrimony? Use this True or False "test" from the Marriage and Holy Orders: Your Call to Love and Serve as a way to test yours and their knowledge. Answers follow at the bottom of this post.  A Brief History of MarriageMark each of the following statements T for true or F for false.• __ Marriage was never considered an institution established by God—that is, something natural and good on its own—until the second or third century AD.• Jesus restored the ideal of marriage—two people becoming one.• __ Christian marriage is modeled on the relationship between Christ and the Church.• From earliest days, the Church discouraged using the customs of local cultures—for example, exchange of rings, processions, bridal veils, dowries— in the celebration of Christian marriage.• __ In the fifth century, St. John Chrysostom taught that marriage is not an obstacle to salvation, that God established marriage for the procreation of children; and that marriage is a means of salvation for the couple.• According to St. Ambrose, marriage is good because God creates it and that it offers three good things: (1) the procreation of children; (2) the chastity of the couple and their mutual fidelity; (3) an indissoluble union.• __ By the Middle Ages the Christian wedding ceremony had become quite formal, requiring an exchange of vows, the presence of a priest and witnesses, and being performed in a church.• By the twelfth century, the Church formally recognized Marriage as a sacrament that endures until the death of a spouse .• __ The Second Vatican Council declared that the essential element of the sacrament is the exchange of rings.• __ In Christian marriage, a man and woman accept each other in permanent and exclusive union which is open to procreation.     For EnrichmentTo extend the discussion on marriage, share the following quote with the students. Have them write their responses and then share them with the large group.         Looking for love? Do you think you need to find your “soul mate” to have a good marriage? If that’s what you think, sorry, but you’re wrong. You’re never going to find your soul mate. Everyone you meet already has soul mates: a mom, a dad, a life-long friend. You get married, then, after years of loving, bearing and raising children, meeting challenges, you’ll have created your soul mate. What do you think? do you agree or disagree with the above statement?"Test" Answers(1) F: Marriage was always (from the beginning of creation) deemed a divinely established state; (2) T; (3) T; (4) F: In fact, the Church generally encouraged employing the customs of local cultures in the celebration of Christian marriage; (5) T; (6) F: The teachings are from St. Augustine not St. Ambrose; (7) T; (8) T; (9) F: Vatican Council II declared that the essential element of the sacrament is the couple’s mutual consent; (10) T.

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Being Human through the Lens of Bruce Almighty

On October 11, Ave Maria Press hosted its Fourth Annual Teacher Enrichment Day at Notre Dame. The teachers in attendance participated in a lesson plan exchange. Periodically we will be highlighting some of those lessons on the Engaging Faith blog. This lesson connects the content of Chapter 1 of Your Life in Christ to various themes found within the film Bruce Almighty. The students are assigned Chapter 1 before watching the film. They are asked to write responses to four of the seven questions that follow. They are also required to highlight in red type any quotations they use from the textbook. The film can be assigned to watch at home or all or parts of it can be shown in class   Questions 1. In the beginning of the film, Bruce blames God for his lousy life. On pp. 26-27 of Your Life in Christ the book offers eight tips for remembering what it means to be "human" (and not either God or a robot). Choose four of these "tips" and give examples from Bruce's life (at the beginning) as to how he was not accepting of those aspects of being human. 2. When Bruce's life starts falling apart, Grace tries to give him proper perspective. Using all you've learned about grace, how does the character Grace reflect God's grace? Use examples from throughout the whole movie. State at least five examples. (Grace is defined in the text as: "A free and unearned favor from God, infused into our souls at Baptism, that adopts us into God's family and helps us to live as God's children.") 3. There's a theological pun early on in the movie when Bruce comes to "Omni Presents." It is based on a major doctrine about how we experience God. See if you can figure out the play on words, and then explain the actual meaning of the theological term. (Reference: Catechism of the Catholic Church 232–256). 4. In the film, Bruce grants everyone everything they as for and chaos ensues. Then, when Bruce asks God about how to answer prayers, God responds with another question: "Since when do people know what they REALLY want?" God is suggesting here that perhaps people ask for the wrong things in prayer. Read pages 39–40 of the text under the section "Humans Are Wounded by Sin." Using scenes from the movie as examples, answer: "Why is it a good thing that God does not grant us everything we ask for or want?" 5. Read the section on page 38, "The Social Nature of Humans." The quote on page 38 from Frederick Buechner—"The life that I touch for good or ill will touch another life, and that in turn another, until who knows where the trembling stops or in what far place and time my touch will be felt. Our lives are linked. No man is an island"—reflects a lesson that Bruce had to learn. Do you think that he learns this lesson by the end of the movie? If so, give examples. If not, move on to another question! Use words from the text such as community, common good and solidarity. 6. Read pages 33–35 of the text under the heading "Our Spirital Nature." This section exmphasizes how the God-given gifts of an ability to think and love, and use of our free will in a responsible way call us to good moral behavior. In the movie, Bruce says: "How do you make someone love you without effecting free will?" and God responds "Welcome to my life!" Give some examples from the film that illustrates this teaching. Be sure to state which points from the chapter you are focusing on in your answer. 7. Toward the end of the film, when Bruce is in heaven, God invites him to pray. Instead of praying that Grace will love him, he prays for something else. What part of the text in the section "Humans Are Made in the Divine Image" (pages 28-31) does this selflessness of Bruce reflect?   This lesson was submitted anonymously. If the teacher who created the lesson would send me an e-mail I will be glad to credit you and your school!

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Living and Dying on Death Row

On October 11, Ave Maria Press hosted its Fourth Annual Teacher Enrichment Day at Notre Dame. The teachers in attendance participated in a lesson plan exchange. Periodically we will be highlighting some of those lessons on the Engaging Faith blog. This lesson is for a Catholic Social Justice class. It features the article "Living and Dying on Death Row: An Eyewitness Account" by Joseph Ross, a former volunteer chapter at the Indiana State Prison.It is important that the students follow the directions listed below in order. Discussion of the issue of the death penalty can proceed and follow the reading of the article. Directions 1. Before reading the article, answer the following question: "What are your ideas/feelings about the death penalty? Be as specific and thorough as possible.2. Now go ahead and read the article.3. Related to the death penalty, what is your reaction to the following statements: "Every person, without exception is redeemed by Christ." "The way we treat others reflects our relationship with God."4. Look up and read the following passages from the Gospel of Matthew. Write your reaction to each passage in relation to the article and the topic of the death penalty. Matthew 5:38-48 Matthew 6:7-15 Matthew 18: 12-22 Matthew 25:31-46 This lesson was shared by Elise Hilton of Muskegon Catholic High School, Muskegon Michigan.

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