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Gethsemane - Prayer Service
(15 minutes) Before the session have your students do the Reflection Exercise: My Least Answerable Questions. If you do not plan on reading the Scripture passage (Mark 14:32-42) yourself, use the break time to ask a young person to read …
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Prayer Service in Memory of Pope Saint John Paul II
Preparation For this prayer service you will need four candles, a presider, and two readers. The Summons to Prayer Presider: At the seventeenth World Youth Day, Pope John Paul II said to the young people: "When the light fades or …
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Back to School: Intentions for the Start of the School Year
Please respond "Lord hear our prayer" Let us pray for all Believers around the world and those who seek Christ, that they may receive blessings and open their hearts to God's word… We pray to the Lord For all experiencing …
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Lectio Divina: Praying with the Scriptures
The Scriptures is one of the greatest riches possessed by Christians. Often attributed to Saint Jerome, there is the saying that "ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of God". However, Catholics are often less comfortable and deft with Scripture than Protestant …
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Worldwide Prayer
Overview This outdoor prayer exercise is based on the belief that prayer is effective and blessings can travel like ripples all the way around the world. The young people form four small groups as part of a wider circle that …
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Our Hands, God's Hands
In this prayer service, students consider the power of our own hands as the hands God uses, as well as the work of God's hands. 1. To prepare for this prayer experience, place some oil in a bowl. Cover a …
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September 11: In Memory and In Hope: A Prayer Gathering
Materials Needed newsprint masking tape markers reflective music candles Preparation Prior to the beginning of the prayer service, set up several areas for small groups of five to seven people to cluster around. Each area should have a piece newsprint …
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September 11: In Memory and In Hope: A Liturgical Gathering
Materials Needed incense charcoal brazier or some type of container to hold burning incense candles Music Suggestions "Be Not Afraid," Bob Dufford, Gather Comprehensive (Chicago: GIA Publications, 1994), no. 608. "Grant Us Peace, Lord," Tony Alonso, Fresh As The Morning …
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A Prayer Invoking Peace
(For use before a meeting or gathering of youth workers.) Song "Give Us Your Peace," by Michael Mahler, Give Your Gifts: The New Songs (Chicago: GIA Publications, 2001). Leader: As we begin this meeting, let us begin with peace. Please …
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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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Burdened with Sin
Adapted from Psalm 65:2-3All of us sin. Virtue eludes us. As the psalmist says: "All flesh comes to God burdened with sin, overwhelmed with failings. Even so, God pardons human shortcomings." God, we do wrong in a million ways, some …
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Columbine High's Selfless Heroes
The stories of Columbine's heroes rise like a "tide of inspiration" for this Denver mother. Starting the third laundry load, I pause, puzzled by a pin on my daughter's t-shirt. At 14, she tosses shirts into the hamper with glad …
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Dance: An Awakening
Ms. Sawaya Lamb teaches dance at Judge Memorial Catholic High School in Salt Lake City, Utah. Mr. Wagoner, a former technical director at Judge Memorial Catholic High School, is now assistant principal at Saint Vincent School in Salt Lake City. …
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Litany of Forgiveness
Before the session, cut out each of the eight prayers and accompanying Scripture passages. Place each slip of paper in a separate small envelope and seal it. There are times at school, at home, at work, or in a group …
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Hands
Focusing Scripture I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands. (Isaiah 49:15–16) Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, "Now I have …
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Glorious Nature
Theme: Francis proclaimed, "We are sister and brother to animals and plants, water and soil, earth and sky." Just as we meet the dancer in her dance, the painter in his art, and the poet in her finely crafted words, so …
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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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Growing as a Faith Community
Over the past nine years as a campus minister and theology teacher at Saint John's Jesuit High School in Toledo, Ohio, I have witnessed and been part of the growth of our school toward the ideal of being a Christian …
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Stations of the Cross by Students: New Light on an Old Tradition
A pilgrimage is a journey to a sacred place, undertaken for a spiritual purpose. A pilgrimage in our modern age could take many forms. For the season of Lent last year, I invited my junior ethics classes to make a …
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All Is Beautiful Before Me
The following prayer service, sent to us by Cheryl Erb, RSM, author of our feature article in this issue, was prepared by the Racism Committee of the Sisters of Mercy of Cincinnati as a way of commemorating the quincentenary. For …
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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 …
