Discussion-Oriented
119 results
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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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Dear Millie and Mike
This handout provides several real-life situations that teens might encounter. Students are challenged to respond to the situations and give advice to other teens.
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The Socratic Seminar
This handout provides a set of guidelines and instructions to help students successfully participate in a Socratic seminar.
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What It Means to Be Human
This handout helps students list characteristics that come from society and from Jesus’ teachings that describe what it means to be human.
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The Narrow Door: A Guided Meditation
This guided meditation communicates the Gospel message of simple living in a way that engages the imagination and inspires young people to actively simplify their lives. This activity is an excerpt from the book Justice and Service Ideas for Ministry …
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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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Handout: Jesus and Forgiveness
Read the passage listed under “Forgiveness and Salvation,” and then read your assigned passages from Matthew, Mark and John, or Luke, and answer the questions as your teacher has directed, either in writing (on a separate sheet of paper) or …
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Called to Share the Mission of Jesus
Questions about how we can imitate Jesus’ example in the way we interact with others.
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Jesus and Forgiveness
Questions about Scripture verses that talk about forgiveness and salvation.
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The Message of Jesus
Read and discuss the meaning of the parable your group was assigned from the list below. Use this question to guide your discussion: What lesson was Jesus trying to teach about the Kingdom or about our relationship with the Kingdom …
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The I Am Sayings of Jesus
Choose three of the Scripture passages below to look up and read. After reading each one, discuss with your group what it says about Jesus’ identity. Write down a summary of your discussion below the saying.
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One of Us
Answer the following questions with your group that are related to the questions asked in the song “One of Us”. Your instructor will lead you through Part II. Use the following questions as prompts for taking notes in your notebook.
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Created in God’s Image
You will be guided through this handout, taking notes and answering questions as directed in your class.
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A Restless Heart
Read through the following questions and discuss your answers with your small group.
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Being versus Doing
A scripture passage from the Gospel of Luke about Martha and Mary is read along with a commentary, and is followed by large group discussion questions.
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Inspirations and Charisms Worksheet
A partially independent and partially group completed worksheet for students to fill out about the inspirations and charisms of a particular religious congregation or order.
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What Will God Call Me to Do
A reflection worksheet and class discussion on the video Gang Busters: One Man’s Mission to Stop Bullets by Creating Jobs.
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Roman Missal Overview
This resource is intended to assist you in preparing young people for the implementation of the new missal.
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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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Pray in Good Form
A worksheet, from "The Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth" Teacher Guide, to assist students in researching and presenting different prayer forms.
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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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Old Testament Themes and Images in John's Prologue
A worksheet on the Old Testament themes and images in the prologue of the Gospel of John.
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Exploring John's Christology
A worksheet where the critical questioning method is used to explore John’s Christology.
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Socratic Seminar Observation Form - Student
A student observation form for the Socratic seminar.
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Student Evaluation of the Socratic Seminar
A student evaluation sheet for the Socratic seminar.
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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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Using the Jigsaw Process
A resource on how to use the jigsaw process, with is a method where students share information and insights from different readings to create a larger picture.
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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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Justice Conversation Starters
A list of several conversation starters or self-reflection questions on the topic of justice.
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Dilemma Questions
A set of questions based on real-world situations and dilemmas that a person may be dealing with.
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Gospel Reflection on Sin and Salvation
A Gospel reflection on sin and salvation from "Christian Morality: Our Response to God's Love."
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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.
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An Examination of Conscience
This resource is part of the Living in Christ Series. It offers great reflection questions for going through an examination of conscience, dividing the questions into those referring to love of God, and those referring to love of neighbor. This …
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The Mystery of Suffering - PowerPoint
This PowerPoint is part of the Living in Christ Series. Rather than a philosophical or theological discussion of the mystery of suffering, this resource asks students to meditate and think about Jesus' example of suffering for people he loves.
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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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Being Human - PowerPoint
This PowerPoint is part of the Living in Christ Series. It asks students to reflect on what it means to be human and how Jesus models the way to live fully alive.
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The Parables of Jesus - PowerPoint
This PowerPoint is part of the Living in Christ Series. Students reflect on various Gospel parables through works of art that depict them. After viewing the art, students are asked to think about common themes.
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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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Portfolio Instruction
This resource is part of the Living in Christ Series. It offers instruction to students who must put together a portfolio of their readings, writings and assignments from lessons on Jesus and Christology.
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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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A Gallery Walk - Discussion Technique
This article is from the Living in Christ Series. It is an instructional article for teachers to learn how to administer a "Gallery Walk" discussion technique.
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Finding God and Being Found by God - PowerPoint
This PowerPoint is part of the Living in Christ Series. It is a great introduction to what God desires from humans and why God chooses to reveal Himself to us.
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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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God's Existence - PowerPoint
This PowerPoint is part of the Living in Christ Series. It offers discussion points for a classroom where students can talk about faith, doubt, and reliable resources to know of God's existence.
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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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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 …
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Paul: Persecutor of Christians
Saul was ravaging the church by entering house after house; dragging off both men and women . . . To prison. (Acts of the Apostles 8:3) Convinced that following the teachings of Jesus was wrong, Paul pursued the early Christians …
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Paul: Religious Zeal
I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. (Galatians 1:14) A tent maker by trade, Paul's Jewish name was Saul. But because Paul …
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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 …
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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 …
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National Bible Week: Daily Reading - A Gift to Me
A Gift to Me He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. (Mark 8:34) Throughout this Gospel, Mark shows …
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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 …
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Prayer: How Will You Know?
Reader 1: When do you decide how you will live? What goes into the thoughts that shape your dreams? Reader 2: For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, Reader 1: Do you know, at …
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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 …
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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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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. …
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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 …
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Presidents' Day
I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. (Genesis 12:2) These words from Genesis are the words spoken by God to Abraham, a …
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February 12: Abraham Lincoln's Birthday
Above all, my beloved, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your "Yes" be yes and your "No" be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. (James 5:12) We …
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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 …
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God's Work or My Work? What is Ministry to Teens?
It had been a very successful year for the youth ministry program in the parish. Young people where involved everywhere in the church, adult volunteers were both plentiful and dedicated, and young people were being transformed. But I was perplexed. …
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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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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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Be At Peace Among Yourselves
"Be at peace among yourselves." (1 Thessalonians 5:13) "None of us is alone in this world; each of us is a vital piece of the great mosaic of humanity as a whole." (Pope John Paul II, Israel-Palestine) Think About That …
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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 …
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Moral Decision Making and Real-Life Applications
If you have used the Saint Mary's Press textbook Growing in Christian Morality, then you're familiar with the LISTEN process for making moral decisions. The process is introduced in the textbook and is used throughout the companion student casebook. LISTEN …
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On the Frontier of Justice in Ghana
"Africa has been the land of hope, salvation, and redemption. Abraham had come to Africa, Joseph from slave to savior. It was the land of refuge for Jesus and helped to carry his cross. Will we continue to dismiss Africa …
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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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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 …
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Patch Adams - Movie Reflection
Patch Adams is a great movie to use with students! It is the fact-based story of Hunter "Patch" Adams, the founder of the Gesundheit Clinic. Robin Williams plays the lead character with grace and skill. Synopsis: After spending some time …
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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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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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Getting to the Heart of the Matter
Step 1: Look at the situation What exactly is happening? Why is it happening? Who is involved? What are their motives? How is it happening, that is, by what means or method? When and where is it happening? Step 2: …
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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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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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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 …
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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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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 …
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Community Service Courses:
This past semester, at the end of a year-long service program at a residential treatment center for emotionally disturbed youth, two students from my community service course wrote a poem to express the significance of their experiences. These are the …
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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 …
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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; …
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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 …
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Catholic Identity
For a couple of years, Saint Mary's Press sponsored a listserv discussion group online. Discussions on a variety of topics were pursued via e-mail. In this article I hope to summarize some of the highlights from postings on the timely …