Breakthrough! The Bible for Young Catholics helps Middle Schoolers to read and understand the Bible
- Bring a deeper understanding of the Catholic faith to young people with inserts that focus on Catholic Prayers and Catholic Teachings
- Young people can apply the lessons of the Bible to their lives with Pray It! Study It! Live It! articles
- Streamlined navigation enables Middle Schoolers to find passages quickly and easily
- Students can watch characters from the Bible come to life through imaginative interviews with key biblical people
- Empower young people to connect the Bible’s stories with their Catholic beliefs through the Catholic Connections articles
- Explain to students how God broke through in the major periods of biblical (salvation) history with a detailed historical time line
- Introductions to and facts about each of the books of the Bible will help young people understand the Bible in a more complete way
To see all the books in the series, click on the Components tab above.
Components
A visual Bible for a visual generation! Bold artwork, a clean design, and fresh content allow young teens between the ages of 10-13 to encounter Scripture like never before.
Breakthrough! The Bible for Young Catholics Leader Guide is the perfect tool to help lead your middle schoolers to a deeper understanding of
Breakthrough! The Bible for Young Catholics is filled with features to help introduce your middle school youth to the riches of Scripture. A key
Breakthrough! The Bible for Young Catholics, highlights what happens throughout salvation history between God and humanity. God breaks through and connects with human history, thereby establishing a relationship with humanity.
This Leader Guide helps Catholic middle school teachers, parish catechists, and youth ministers further engage the students in their exploration of the Bible.
This student activity booklet covers the same people as the Old Testament Leader Guide. Each biblical figure has a puzzle for the young person to work with that guarantees that they have the basics of the story down, encouraging them to read about each person.
This teaching activities manual helps Catholic middle school teachers, parish catechists, and youth ministers further engage the students in their exploration of the Bible. The special focus of this manual is the biblical people who have played important roles in salvation history. This manual provides a variety of ways to meet the needs of young people.
This student workbook covers the same people as the Teaching Activities Manual for Breakthrough! The Bible for Young Catholics. Each biblical figure has a puzzle for the young person to work with that guarantees that they have the basics of the story down, encouraging them to read about each person. A second page has a short introduction to the character that explains their place in salvation history. This page also contains reflection questions for the young people to consider as they make connections between this biblical figure and their own lives.
The New Testament series invites young adolescents to get to know Jesus through his varied qualities and gifts and during different times in his life.
The New Testament Activity Booklet contains worksheets that explore the life of Jesus and his teachings. Each worksheet contains a creative learning activity on one side that requires reading from the Gospels to complete.
Getting to Know Jesus invites young adolescents to get to know Jesus through his varied qualities and gifts and during different times in his life. Each chapter in the Getting to Know Jesus teaching activities manual includes an overview, key Scripture passages, related Breakthrough! articles, correlations between the life of Jesus and the lives of young adolescents, and activities that familiarize them with stories from the Gospels and Jesus himself.
The Getting to Know Jesus workbook contains 14 worksheets that explore the life of Jesus and his teachings.
Parish leaders have been requesting a Catholic Bible-study curriculum for middle school students, created specifically to fit their parish schedules. Saint Mary’s Press is pleased to respond to this need with the Great People of the Bible parish curriculum.
Parish leaders have been requesting a Catholic Bible-study curriculum for middle school students, created specifically to fit their parish schedules. Saint Mary’s Press is pleased to respond to this need with the Great People of the Bible parish curriculum.
Perfect for visual learners, the Breakthrough! posters feature key people from Breakthrough! The Bible for Young Catholics, GNT Translation. Each 11 x 17 poster features a large image of the biblical figure along with four or five facts central to that person's role in the Bible. Posters are laminated on the front for durability. Old Testament posters include: Adam and Eve, Abraham, David, Deborah, Ezra and Nehemiah, Isaiah, Moses, and Solomon.
Perfect for visual learners, the Breakthrough! posters feature key people from Breakthrough! The Bible for Young Catholics, GNT Translation. Each 11 x 17 poster features a large image of the biblical figure along with four or five facts central to that person's role in the Bible. Poster are laminated on the front for durability. New Testament posters include: Jesus the Christ, John the Baptist, Mary of Nazareth, Mary Magdalene, Paul, Peter, Priscilla and Aquila, and Timothy.
What people are saying about Breakthrough!
Love God bless everyone
Best Bible I've read so far thank you God bless everyone
Review by Demecio Vigil Jr., Gilcrest Co,80623
So glad you did this!
I've been using the Catholic Youth Bible with my middle school students for years, but it's a bit over their head at time. When SMP made the full Children's bible I was tempted to purchase that. I do have a couple on hand but I felt it was a bit too primary for middle school. Break Through (NABRE) is now perfect for this age group. The structure, formatting, pictures all of it is great. I had SMP send me a sample to make sure before we ordered new sets. I even ran it by several of my students. They loved it and were very glad to know that would be able to use it this next year.
Review by Pam Sprute, Villa Academy, Seattle, WA
I’ve been waiting for this Bible! I have used the Breakthrough! teaching activities manual, An Introduction to People of Faith, in my classes for eight years, and I’m excited to finally have an NABRE Bible to go along with it. My sixth- and seventh-grade students will appreciate the illustrations, the Live It!, Study It!, and Pray It! sections, and many of the other extra helps available to them. I will enjoy using the maps as well as the Catholic Connections sections to supplement my instruction.
Review by Susie Benkert, St. Joseph’s Catholic School Greenville
Breakthrough! The Bible for Young Catholics (NABRE) is an excellent classroom or parish resource. This Bible is not only accessible for young Catholics, but it also invites them to encounter Scripture in exciting and meaningful ways. Each book of the Bible contains an introduction, sidebars, and illustrations to engage readers and really bring God’s Word to life. In addition, multiple resources such as maps, topical guides, and discipleship challenges allow readers to make personal connections to the text and motivate them to not just read about faith but to live it. The Breakthrough! Bible is the perfect way to introduce young people to the Word of God—by stimulating their minds and inspiring their hearts.
Review by Megan Moore, Director of Faith Formation, Saint Mary Catholic Church, Waverly, IA
There is much to be excited about with the new Saint Mary’s Press Breakthrough! The Bible for Young Catholics (NABRE).
Every year I begin eighth-grade classes with an overview of salvation history. The awesome time line presented in this Bible will tremendously enhance these lessons.
A challenge in reading and teaching the Bible is to help it come alive, and I believe this edition has accomplished that task by using colorful time lines, maps, and pictures, as well as an appropriate reading level. Footnotes, cross-references, and the glossary are resourceful tools to enhance everyone’s knowledge of God, his Son Jesus, and the working of the Holy Spirit throughout time.
The thought-provoking additions to this Bible, such as Catholic Connections, Live It!, and Pray It!, help make reading and studying the Bible relevant to the adolescent reader. A great job has been done in including so much additional information about each book, such as Headlines, Did You Know?, and Important Themes.
Review by Mrs. Sandra Hartfiel, 7th & 8th grade Theology teacher, St. John Paul II Catholic School
There are several features in the new Breakthrough! The Bible for Young Catholics (NABRE) that will be helpfully utilized by our middle school youth, in particular the Live It!, Study It!, and Pray It! boxes. The Bible is sometimes very complicated and can be overwhelming to anyone, especially preteens and teenagers, who have so many distractions available to them. Being able to read the Live It! box helps to apply this story of long ago to the here and now, and can help the kids see what better questions they could ask themselves or what better ways they could respond in different situations. Study It! is a nonthreatening, concise, and easy way for the youth to be guided into deeper contemplation of the verses, and may create an interest in reading even further into the story than they originally were going to do. Pray It! is great to give the youth an actual prayer that relates to the book in the Bible they are reading, and also ties into situations they may be experiencing in their own life right now.
The artwork in the Breakthrough! Bible is wonderfully done and very eye catching. Of course including maps depicting journeys and the names of those places noted in the Bible is another great way to involve the youth in the actual story. These places really exist, even if they are now called something different, and that draws the reader in to a deeper level. The Make It Stick! feature, with Bible verses to look up when you are feeling a certain way to help you work things out or reinforce how you are feeling, is a great idea! Not only does this make it easier to find a particular verse, it also shows that there are several different places in the Bible where things are mentioned that are similar to how you are feeling right now or that have a situation that is the same as yours and can offer guidance.
Review by Kelly Ramsdell, Pastoral Assistant For Youth Ministry (grades 5-8), St. John the Baptist Church
Breakthrough! The Bible for Young Catholics (NABRE) from Saint Mary’s Press is a treasure trove of inspiration and innovation. The artwork is imaginative and modern, and the character-by-character approach helps students personally connect to these people of faith and their stories. The layout of the introductory pages, the map appendix, and the introduction to each book of the Bible help students clearly see the “big picture” of salvation history. I always tell my students that Scripture is God’s “love letter” to us. The underlying vision of Breakthrough! is that God is always striving to have a relationship with us—to “break through” into our lives. The Live It! Study It! Pray It! and Catholic Connections articles reinforce that God is constantly involved in our everyday lives. The articles explain in easy-to-understand terms how these “old” stories of our faith have value and relevance in life’s daily ups and downs. Scripture is presented as God’s way of communicating this love, teaching us how to be better missionary disciples and bringing us closer together as children in God’s family, the Church.
The Breakthrough! Bible also does an excellent job of giving relevant, age-appropriate introductory and historical material in bite-sized chunks. The creative “Bible People Encounters” and “Bible Events” pages help students zero in on individual characters in chronological order throughout Scripture. I can easily see how lesson plans, in-class activities, and long-term projects could be supported and supplemented with the introductory and appendix material! This makes it easy and fun for me to streamline my lessons. I love how the beautiful artwork, colorful maps, helpful supplemental articles, and well-organized and engaging layout of this Bible make the Scriptures come alive for the reader, no matter their age!
Review by Jenni Justus, theology department, Marist School, Atlanta, GA
Orders
Breakthrough! (hardcover)
The Bible for Young Catholics, GNT Translation
Hardcover
$41.95
Available in digital:
Old Testament Activity Booklet for Breakthrough!
The Bible for Young Catholics, GNT Translation
$11.95
Teaching Activities Manual for Breakthrough! The Bible for Young Catholics
An Introduction to People of Faith
$29.25
Student Activity Workbook for Breakthrough! The Bible for Young Catholics
An Introduction to People of Faith
$13.50
New Testament Activity Booklet for Breakthrough!
The Bible for Young Catholics, GNT Translation
$11.95
Teaching Activities Manual for Breakthrough! The Bible for Young Catholics
Getting to Know Jesus
$18.75
Student Activity Workbook for Breakthrough! The Bible for Young Catholics
Getting to Know Jesus
$10.50
