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Vocabulary for Unit 1
This vocabulary list is part of the Living in Christ Series. Students may use it as a reference for key theological terms to know.
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Rubric for Final Performance Tasks for Unit 1
This rubric is part of the Living in Christ Series. It offers a guide for grading and assessing students who have completed projects regarding Jesus Christ as the manifestation of God's Love for humanity.
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Final Performance Task Options for Unit 1
This resource is part of the Living in Christ Series. It offers ideas for final assessment projects for students studying Christology, including revelation, the Church, and tradition.
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God in the Streets of NY
Jesus hits the streets of NY in a Eucharistic Procession. The monstrance, which is used to carry the Blessed Sacrament, is one of six that were blessed by Pope John II before his death to mark the celebration of the …
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Surprised by the Joyful Mysteries: They Taught Me to Say Yes
For years I fingered my rosary at night when I couldn't sleep, repeating my childhood prayers without thinking much about their meaning. I wasn't even fully aware of the "mysteries" I was supposed to be meditating on; I just wanted …
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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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For Love Is Stronger than Death: Handout
Reader A: But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, the disciples came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Reader B: The disciples …
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Handout 1: The Walk to Emmaus
Characters: narrator, Jesus, Cleopas, second disciple Narrator: That very same day, two of the disciples were on their way to a village called Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking over all that had happened. Now as they …
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Prayers for Reflecting on Christ's Passion
Before the Movie: Loving God, You sent your only Son to show us the way. As we recall and meditate on his crucifixion, help us to recognize the gift you place before us. On the cross Christ washed clean our …
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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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September 11: This Is How I Want to Remember the Twin Towers.
My God; My God, So much hate displayed in this moment's act, It was hard for me to bear. But then you sent your Son, Jesus, to cry with me, How calming was the feeling. Dear Jesus, teach me to …
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An Easter Reflection
I was living in Louisville, Kentucky, at the time my younger sister gave birth to her second child. I arrived at the hospital just shortly after she had the baby, and the nurses allowed me into the birthing room to …
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Jesus Makes the Perfect Host
A recent classroom interchange at a Catholic university, in a history class on American Catholicism: Student: Interesting you should bring up Communion today. I just had a long argument with my parents about it. Professor: What was the argument? Student: …
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Understanding New Approaches to the Gospels
The quest to trace the continuity between the Jesus of history and the Christ of faith is not new. It was the stuff of 18th-century Enlightenment debate and is still the topic of current scholarship. What does it mean to …
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A Christmas Legend: The Birth of Jesus and Gift Giving
Session Overview: This 2-hour session is designed to use role-playing skills for a presentation to an audience. Scripture: This session is based on Luke 2:1-20. Read the Scripture passage to the young people after the role-play, "Christmas Legend," has been …
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To Teach as Jesus Did: A Teacher's Reflections
"To teach as Jesus did." It's a phrase that must have been tucked away somewhere in my mind because it sprang to consciousness when I was asked to consider writing this article. "To teach as Jesus did." What an awesome …
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Lessons from an Inner-City Parish High School
Saint Paul High School in San Francisco, where I teach, is an inner-city parochial school. It is a school that, for all its shortcomings, has much to teach other Catholic secondary schools, precisely in view of the two attributes cited--namely, …
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Introductory Activities for Teaching Christology
Mimi McCaul, who teaches at La Salle High School in Pasadena, California, passes along to you some of the strategies she uses in the course Jesus of History, Christ of Faith. Thanks, Mimi! Introductory Activity On the first or second …
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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 …