Discussion-Oriented
Showing 1–63 of 63 results. View 24 per page
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Friendship and Forgiveness Prayer Space
An activity, including a discussion and a craft, on forgiving friends and family members, based on The Catholic Children’s Bible featured story “Jesus Teaches Us to Forgive”, Matthew 18:21–35.
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Practicing Prophecy
An activity where students are given the opportunity to imitate the prophetic model by observing the world around them and attempting to interpret injustices.
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Symbol Interviews
A series of interview questions that students can ask married couples about symbols and marriage.
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Remembering My Confirmation
A worksheet where students are asked to interview several adults about their Confirmation experiences.
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Getting to Know Jesus
A partner activity on getting to know Jesus through Scriptural accounts of his miracles.
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Getting to Know Mary, from Section 3 Part 1 of "Jesus Christ: God's Love Made Visible"
A partner activity where Scripture passages are used to get to know Mary.
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The Gospel of John and Anti-Semitism
A group activity on the Gospel of John and anti-Semitism.
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Analyzing Artistic Depictions of the Book of Glory
A group activity where students analyze the artistic depictions of the Book of Glory.
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A Preassessment of My Knowledge of the Sacraments of Holy Orders and Matrimony
The leader’s copy of several preassessment questions and answers used to gauge students’ knowledge of the Sacraments of Holy Orders and Matrimony.
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If I Ruled the World
A worksheet that asks students to think about how they would solve different social justice issues if they ruled the world.
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Introspect and Interview
A worksheet on introspect and knowledge gained from interviews on important life issues including abortion, in vitro fertilization, stem-cell research, euthanasia, the death penalty, and immigration.
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Life in the Holy Spirit
A number of real-world scenarios that deal with the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit and the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
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The Meaning of Redemption (II)
A set of discussion questions centered around the meaning of Redemption: a matter of unconditional love, from "The Sacraments: Encounters with Christ."
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Sacramental Symbols in Scripture
A listing of scripture passages and complementary discussion questions from “The Sacraments: Encounters with Christ.”
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Preassessment
The Leader’s Guide for a preassessment of students’ knowledge of the Sacraments.
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Story Critique
Guidelines for critiquing “What is My Story?” from “The Sacraments: Encounters with Christ.”
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What Is My Story?
An activity based on reflecting on moments in your life in which you faced a significant challenge, from “The Sacraments: Encounters with Christ.”
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Scripture Readings for Celebrating the Rite of Marriage
A list of Scripture readings that can be included in celebrating the Rite of Marriage, from "Christian Morality: Our Response to God's Love."
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Sharing in the Ministry of Jesus: Priest, Prophet, and King
This activity is part of the Living in Christ Series. Groups of students can answer questions about Jesus as Priest, Prophet or King and reflect on models and characteristics of these distinct but related ministries.
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Reflection Questions: The Call to Holiness
This activity is part of the Living in Christ Series. Students can reflect on what it means to be holy and how to grow in holiness through these series of questions.
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The Prodigal Son A Story of Conversion
This worksheet is part of the Living in Christ Series. Students can reflect on and answer questions about the conversion of the Prodigal Son.
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Heroes of Prayer
This activity is part of the Living in Christ Series. Students are asked to research and answer questions about a "Hero of Prayer", including doubt they experienced and prayers they used.
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Music and Liturgy
This activity is part of the Living in Christ Series. Students can reflect on various songs and pieces of music in the liturgy to come to a greater understanding.
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Reflections on Suffering
This activity is part of the Living in Christ Series. Students can reflect on their experiences of and response to suffering through this series of though-provoking questions.
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Redemptive Suffering in the Ministry of Jesus
This worksheet is part of the Living in Christ Series. Students must look up various scripture passages referring to Jesus' suffering and answer questions about the scenario and the significance of redemptive suffering.
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Common Beliefs about Suffering
This activity allows students to reflect on a series of questions about human suffering and God's participation in it. They can agree or disagree with various statements of commonly held beliefs about suffering.
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Why We Go to Mass Reflection and Discussion Questions
This activity is part of the Living in Christ Series. Students are asked to reflect on and discuss the significance of the Mass through these questions.
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Visual Meditation on the Ascension
This activity is part of the Living in Christ Series. Students may reflect on images of Jesus' Ascension and answer these questions.
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Redemptive Love in The Spitfire Grill
This worksheet is part of the Living in Christ Series. Students can answer questions about the themes and characters in the movie, "The Spitfire Grill".
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The Miracles of Jesus
This activity is part of the Living in Christ Series. Students can work in groups to look up passages of some of Jesus' miracles and reflect on them together.
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Reading the Parables
This activity is part of the Living in Christ Series. Students must look up some of Jesus' parables and answer questions about the analogy and imagery used and the message being given about the Kingdom of God.
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Symbols of Baptism
This activity is part of the Living in Christ Series. It invites students to reflect on the significance of key symbols used in baptism.
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The Baptism of Jesus
This activity is part of the Living in Christ Series. Students can read the account of Jesus' baptism and answer questions about it.
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Interview Questions about Your Baptism
This activity is part of the Living in Christ Series. Students ask the provided to questions to adults who can tell them about the details of that student's baptism. A reflection on the significance of the sacrament is done at …
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The Parable of Juan and the Fishbowl Reflection
This activity is part of the Living in Christ Series. Students can answer basic, advanced, and highly reflective questions about the story.
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Using the Lectionary to Understand How God’s Ancient Promises Are Fulfilled in Jesus
This activity is part of the Living in Christ Series. Students can use this handout to explore some Old Testament prophecies that find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
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Redemptive Love: Simon Birch
This activity is part of the Living in Christ Series. Students watching the movie "Simon Birch" can use this handout to follow along and reflect on major themes in the film.
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Where Have Jesus, Mary, the Apostles, Disciples, and Others Modeled the Ways to Discipleship?
This activity is part of the Living in Christ Series. Students are asked to reflect on the discipleship modeled by Jesus, Mary, the Apostles, and others.
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Definitions and Application of Theological Terms
This activity is part of the Living in Christ Series. Students can use this chart to fill in the definiton of various terms, then find a practical application for their life.
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Cross the Line
This article is part of the Living in Christ Series. It introduces a method of classroom discussion that is interactive and a part of the bodily-kinesthetic learning method. Students move to indicate their responses to various questions.
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Learning About Learning
This worksheet is part of the Living in Christ Series. It asks students to reflect on their responses, likes, and dislikes to new learning methods.
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The Ascension of Jesus
This worksheet is part of the Living in Christ Series. Students can read the account of Jesus' Ascension and answer questions about it.
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Sprint Through Salvation History Scriptural Passages
This activity is part of the Living in Christ Series. Students are asked to explore the Bible for key events in the Old and New Testaments in Salvation History.
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Etymology and Understanding
This activity is part of the Living in Christ Series. Students define, associate, and find similaries among various words that a teacher or catechist assigns, in order to see the root and relationship between them.
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Interview Questions: Personal Relationship with Jesus
This activity is part of the Living in Christ Series. Students are to interview an adult in their life whom they know that has a personal relationship with Jesus.
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Who Does the Movie Say Killed Jesus?
Much of the controversy about The Passion of the Christ centers around one question: Who killed Jesus? The Anti-Defamation League feels the movie lays the blame at the feet of the Jews. Mel Gibson, the movie's director, producer and cowriter, …
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A New Rock: Adaptations for Home Use
These activities are easily adapted for family members at home. When gathered for a meal, or for the specific purpose of these activities, family members can do one activity, a couple, or all of them, depending on the amount of time …
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Frequently Asked Questions About the Pope
What is the pope? The pope is the bishop of the Church of Rome, Italy. Because of the importance of Rome, Tradition recognizes the pope as the supreme pastor of all Christians. Why is the Church of Rome so important? …
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A Christian Response to Violence, Part 2:
Pacifism: "We No Longer Learn War" How can we apply Jesus’ command to love our enemies when our whole nation has been attacked? Over the centuries, how Christians have attempted to apply Jesus’ teachings on violence to their lives has …
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A Christian Response to Violence, Part 1:
In the wake of the 11 September terrorist attacks, many people are calling for military retaliation against whatever group or country is ultimately found to be responsible. The desire to strike back at those who hurt us is understandable, but …
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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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Curriculum Integration in Service Programs
How can you begin working toward curriculum integration with your service program? Consider the following principles as a good guide. Connections Get to know the curriculum in other content areas. Study the program of studies of your school. Look at …
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Processing Service Experiences
I have been involved with our school's service-learning program for over ten years as a classroom teacher. Because the program is integrated fully in the religion, English, and social studies curriculum, we have made a commitment to processing the material …
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The Color Purple
A CAUTIONARY NOTE: One of the criticisms of The Color Purple is that it depicts the men in the story as primarily abusive. Also, this movie is PG-13, mostly because of the violence and strong language. We recommend the movie …
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Sacraments Outside the Box
I'm sure that one of the first things you did when you returned to school in September was to check your faculty mailbox. Most schools have a bank of neatly labeled cubbyholes. Get an image in your mind's eye: some …
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Six Ways to be Truly Catholic
I always thought that I would have made a great archbishop in Salzburg during the time of Mozart. But instead I'm the archbishop of Milwaukee in the time of rock 'n' roll. That's the way life turns out. We live …
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Using Literature in Theology Classes
Editor's note: The author of our feature article, Kathleen Hodapp, was one of the participants in last summer's workshop "The Catholic High School As Faith Community," held here in Winona, Minnesota, as well as on the East Coast and the …
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Service and Justice
We are standing on the brink, and our bishops are urging us to jump. Many of us don't know where we'll end up, and we aren't sure whether we'll land in one piece. Yet the sense of urgency is building, …
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A One-Day Retreat on Service in the Inner City
Our sophomore class day retreat focuses on finding spirituality in the inner city. It is a kind of "urban plunge" experience within a spiritual framework, and students go on this retreat during the same semester that they take a social …
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Building Faith Community in the High School
In a workshop entitled "The Catholic High School as Faith Community," religion teachers, campus ministers, and school administrators discussed, among many things, the obstacles they face in trying to build faith community in their school. One obstacle they addressed was …
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Expect Much, Praise Much, Be Present to Them
Course materials, such as the high school religion textbooks and teacher's manuals published by Saint Mary's Press, are a significant ingredient in the education of our young people. But we all know that the most important factor in a student's …
