Discussion-Oriented
80 results
Document
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.
Document
Roman Missal Overview
This resource is intended to assist you in preparing young people for the implementation of the new missal.
Document
Getting to Know Jesus
A partner activity on getting to know Jesus through Scriptural accounts of his miracles.
Document
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.
Document
The Gospel of John and Anti-Semitism
A group activity on the Gospel of John and anti-Semitism.
Document
Analyzing Artistic Depictions of the Book of Glory
A group activity where students analyze the artistic depictions of the Book of Glory.
Document
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.
Document
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.
Document
Using the Card Deal Method
An instructional guide for using the card deal method, from "Christian Morality: Our Response to God's Love."
Document
Red Card Green Card Process
The red card, green card process enables you to take a quick agree-or-disagree opinion poll to initiate discussion on a particular unit topic.
Document
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."
Document
Jigsaw Analysis of Primary Source Readings
A group activity dealing with the concept of human sexuality, from "Christian Morality: Our Response to God's Love."
Document
Unit 6 Preassessment Questions
A preassessment for Unit 6 of "Christian Morality: Our Response to God's Love."
Document
Martyrs in the Twentieth Century
A group discussion sheet on martyrs in the twentieth century, from "Christian Morality: Our Response to God's Love."
Document
Public Life and Faithful Citizenship
Group discussion questions, based on a reading assignment, on public life and faithful citizenship, from "Christian Morality: Our Response to God's Love."
Document
What is a Sin against the First and Second Commandment
A small group activity on sins against the first and second commandment, from "Christian Morality: Our Response to God's Love."
Document
Psalms of Praise
An activity dealing with the Psalms of Praise, from "Christian Morality: Our Response to God's Love."
Document
Determing the Elements of Human Acts
A worksheet on determining the elements of human acts from "Christian Morality: Our Response to God's Love."
Document
Survey Summary Life in Christ
A survey summary for "Christian Morality: Our Response to God's Love."
Document
Finding Salt and Light for the World
This worksheet is part of the Living in Christ Series. It helps students reflect on various gifts, skills and virtues they might posesses in order to discern specific ministries they might be good at.
Document
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.
Document
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.
Document
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.
Document
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.
Document
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.
Document
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.
Document
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.
Document
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.
Document
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.
Document
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.
Document
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".
Document
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.
Document
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.
Document
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.
Document
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.
Document
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 …
Document
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.
Document
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.
Document
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.
Document
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.
Document
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.
Document
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.
Document
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.
Document
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.
Document
Leadership Statements
This worksheet is part of the Living in Christ Series. It includes several statesments about leadership in the Bible, including who's called, what skills are necessary, and what it takes to be a good leader.
Document
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.
Document
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.
Document
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.
Document
Let Your Light Shine: An Overnight Retreat on Self-Esteem
This overnight retreat on self-esteem invites the young people to explore their own personal gifts and encourages them to share those abilities with others. The retreat emphasizes the light of Christ in our Life, the special people who bring us …
Article
Program aims to get youth excited about Bible
Young people in the diocese are getting excited about Scripture and it's all part of a national effort called "Yes! Youth Engaging Scripture." YES is a Catholic teen-to-teen Bible sharing concept and to date, some 1,800 young people have been …
Article
Leader's Guide for Coyote Meets Jesus
Stories are not just for young children. Everyone loves a good story and good storytelling is a useful tool for teaching. Using folktales as a teaching tool in a catechetical setting or a religion class can help teens understand the …
Article
Peace Creed
Writing a Peace Creed (15 minutes) 1. Tell the young people that as much as we might want peace to become a reality in our world, being a peacemaker takes a lot of hard work. The first steps are to …
Article
Family Relationships
Scripture Passage Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother"-- this is the first commandment with a promise: "so that it may be well with you and you may live long on …
Article
Word-Association Exercise: Afterlife
(30 minutes) Prior to this exercise, have the all participants (including the facilitator) bring to the session a personal symbol. This symbol should be an object from among the participant's personal belongings that acts as a reminder of a much …
Article
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 …
Article
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, …
Article
Reflection Exercise: My Least Answerable Questions
(5 minutes) 1. Introduce this exercise by reiterating the idea that death is mystery and that since the beginning of time, people of all ages, cultures, and races have asked tough questions about death. Jesus himself struggled with such questions. …
Article
The Power of Song
(25-35 minutes) Preparation Bring in a recording of an African American sacred song, or invite a local gospel choir or your school or parish choir to come in and perform such a song. A good resource for music is Lead …
Article
January 22: Saying Yes to Life
Preparation Bring in pictures of fetal development. 1. Present a scenario in which a girl like those in your group experiences a crisis pregnancy. Then list on the board a number of options, such as these: She can keep the …
Article
Advent: Saint Joseph and Jesus
This can be easily adapted to a video call. 1. Gather the group in a circle for a moment of silence. Light the candle and read these passages about Joseph in the Gospel of Matthew (1:18-21 and 2:13-15). Ask the …
Article
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? …
Article
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 …
Article
A Listening Session for Teens on the Mishandling of Sexual Abuse by Clergy
Materials Needed * a 3-by-5-inch index card for each young person * a pencil for each young person * prayer materials (Select one of the "Options for Ritual Actions" below.) * 3 readers for the closing prayer * handouts …
Article
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 …
Article
The Meal Ministry of Jesus
Ask the students to recall their favorite meal celebration. What made it so special? What was the occasion? Where were they? Who was present? What did they eat? What else happened there? Invite them to share with the class the …
Article
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 …
Article
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 …
Article
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 …
Article
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 …
Article
Helping Students Get the Most Out of Stories
For the past six years I have been researching the power of stories for communicating Catholic religious and moral values. At the same time, I have been experimenting with stories in my high school classroom (tenth- and twelfth-grade classes in …
Article
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 …
Article
Questions for God
In a course on faith that he teaches at De La Salle Academy in New York City, David Detje, FSC, uses the film Oh, God! to shake up the students' notions of what God is like. He has gotten some …
Article
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 …
Article
Kinds of Relationships
Margaret Kueberth, a religion teacher at the Catholic High School of Baltimore, passed on two of her exercises that can be used in a sexuality or lifestyles course. The first exercise, which can be made into a handout, serves as …
Article
The Mirror Has Two Faces
We live in a culture obsessed with sex, and our students soak up that message in music, television, and film. I am astounded at how explicit the sexual dynamics, innuendo, and situations in typical teen dramas (witness "Dawsons Creek," "Felicity," …
Article
A New Look at the Sower and the Seeds
This is the text of a reflection given at the opening prayer service of the school year. The concept is interesting and could work well in a classroom or retreat setting. Scattered them wildly about (see Matt. 13:1-53; Mark 4:1-34; …
Article
Praying the Psalms
Remember the television show from the late 80's called "Doogie Howser, M.D.?" At the end of every show, Doogie would sit down at his computer and write a 2 or 3 sentence "blurb" that perfectly summed up his day and …