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Meeting Jesus at the Movies: Cinema Divina for Teachers

One of the most spiritually powerful essays I have ever read is "To Fall in Love with the World: Individualism and Self-Transcendence in American Life" by John M. Staudenmeier, S.J. (Institute of Jesuit Studies, May 1994). The author asks: "How …

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Resources for Parents Who Want to View The Passion of the Christ with Their Teenage Children

Things to Remember Film is an art form, and many genres and subgenres exist within film. Comedy is a genre. Within that genre one could name romantic comedies, slapstick comedies, and dark comedies as subgenres. Before reading a piece of …

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Survival in Youth Ministry

In 1994 Saint Mary's Press published a book called Survival in Youth Ministry, by Robert J. McCarty, executive director of the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry. As youth ministry continues to mature in the United States, we would like …

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Contemporary Music, Ageless Wisdom: Using the Language of Teens to Speak the Gospel

It is no secret that teens are absolutely immersed in music. The question for those ministering to youth is, "Should we make a stance against the kinds of music kids are listening to or should we use their music to …

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Youth Prayer Habits

Through a grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc., the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill has established the National Study of Youth & Religion at the Odum Institute for Research and the Social Sciences. In there preliminary findings of existing …

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Wrestling with Diversity

How do we welcome non-Christians into our schools and our religion classrooms, and at the same time give witness to our own Christ-centered faith? How do we invite students to learn from and respect other faith traditions without sending the …

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Catholic Youth and the Bible: Moving from Biblical Literacy to Biblical Spirituality

Developing one's biblical literacy As a college student back in the mid-seventies, I was invited to be part of an ecumenical student Bible study. Born and raised Catholic, I don't think I had cracked open a Bible more than two …

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Finding God in Silence

If you are feeling unfulfilled in your prayer life, take heart. This author says sometimes all it takes to is to be silent and listen. IS YOUR PRAYER LIFE IN A RUT? Are there days when you feel like quitting …

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Five prayers Catholics can take to heart

The issue of prayer is not prayer; the issue of prayer is God. One cannot pray unless he has faith in his own ability to accost the infinite, merciful, eternal God. --Jewish Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, Man's Quest for God …

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A Note on Kneeling

IT WASN'T UNTIL I COULD NO LONGER kneel that I began to savor the lovely simplicity of this ancient act, and guess at its provenance, and savor its humility, and notice it not only in Mass but in many other …

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Meeting the Rhinoceros

Thomas Merton makes a valuable role model for the spiritual journey of the adolescent rhinoceros. At times even the most optimistic teacher may despair of the possibility of ever communicating meaningfully with adolescents. The significant number of developmental tasks facing …

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Ideas for Teaching Feminine Spirituality

In 1994, I started teaching a course on women's spirituality for seniors at Holy Names High School, an all-girls school in Oakland, California. Finding materials for such a class was a challenge. No textbooks or other resources existed that were …

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Leading Students to Hermitage:

Editor's note: A few months ago I met (by mail and phone) Sr. Mary Farrell, SC, who has taught at Saint Peter's High School in New Brunswick, New Jersey, for thirty-six years. Much of that time, she taught French and …

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Schoolwide Prayer in the Words of "Me"

What distinguishes a Catholic school from a public school? The obvious answer is that, at least potentially, a Catholic school is a faith community. Whether it is truly a faith community depends on more than the offering of religion courses, …

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