How and Why We Pray for Our Students

Jared Dees has just written a book entitled: 31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator.  I had the opportunity to review it and enjoyed it very much.  He has been generous and given a glimpse below from his book.  Enjoy!

How and Why We Pray for Our Students

 

Be honest, how often do you pray for your individual students as a religious educator? I don’t mean a general intention like, “Lord, bless my class.” I mean, how often do you offer the specific needs, dreams, and desires of individual students to God during prayer? I know I don’t do this enough, but it is a hugely important practice to incorporate into your daily or weekly prayer life.

 

As religious educators, we’re called not only to be leaders for our students, but more importantly, we’re called to be their servants. One way in which we can serve our students is to pray for them. It is all about the way we think about our role. If we look at ourselves like kings expecting our students to listen and obey our every bidding, then we will fail. Pope Benedict XVI described Jesus’ role as king in this way:

 

“As king he is servant, and as servant of God he is king” (Introduction to Christianity, 220).

 

We’re called to be servants. So even when the kids drive you crazy, remember we’re supposed to pray for everyone, even our enemies. “Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:45).

 

How to Pray for Our Students

 

So, how should we pray for our students with a servant’s heart? Try the following approaches:

 

1. Pray for students individually. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta said, “Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest you.” Pray for each student one person at a time. Go deeper into prayer for them. Think quality not quantity.

 

2. Use a seating chart or an attendance sheet. It is hard to naturally remember each student in prayer. Try using a seating chart or attendance sheet and check off the names as you pray.

 

3. Spread students out over a one-week or a one-month period. Pray for them all, but try praying for each person in groups of three or four students at a time and rotate through the list.

 

4. Ask them about their needs. When they offer something during in-class prayer intentions, take note of it. Repeat the prayer in your personal prayer time. Or ask them in a conversation what they have going on in their lives right now. It is a great way to get to know the students better and to know what God can do for them in their lives.

 

5. Get help from the saints. Turn to the saints and Mary to intercede on their behalf. Do you know any patron saints that connect with their needs? Ask for their prayers. By default, turn to Mary, Christ’s first teacher, to intercede on behalf of your students.

 

6. Close with an Our Father. We are united in this prayer as one family. He is the Father for you, me, and all of our students. That is why we pray for each other. We’re in a family together and we need each other’s help.

 

This article is adapted from “Day 13: Pray for Your Students” in 31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator now available at Amazon.com and AveMariaPress.com. 

 

Jared Dees is the creator of The Religion Teacher, a website sharing practical resources and teaching strategies for religious educators, and the author of 31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator. 

 

The End Is Near

Many programs are finishing up for the year in the next few weeks.  For those who still have a few weeks to go I wanted to share 3 things to consider to make sure you end this year on a high note:

1) Sometimes the catechist can feel discouraged by how distracted the kids seem to be during this time of year.  Keep up the great work and remember God still wants to use you to share the Gospel with your students.  You may be the only one they are hearing the “Good News” from in their lives.

2) Find the opportunities to share your words of wisdom and for your students to see that you love Christ and desire for them to also grow in their relationship with Him.

3) Continue to pray for your students and let them know that you will be keeping them in prayer.  Consider writing each student a note of encouragement that you give out on the last day of class.

 

What are you planning to help encourage and inspire your students as the year concludes?

 

How’s the heart ever going to know what is good if…

My friend Dr. Farey (head of Catechetical Formation, Course Director B.Div, and Course Director License in Catechetics at the Maryvale Institute in Birmingham, England) has a wonderful quote that is so pertinent to catechesis today:

“How is the heart ever going to know what is good if we don’t use our mind to inform the heart? Don’t let anyone say to you, ‘don’t worry about all that study, all you need is to get your heart united to Christ’. Yes, we need our hearts plunged in Christ… be led by Christ but let your mind be led by Christ through the Church so that your heart can follow what is actually good, and not just what is an awful lot of opinions of what must be good… The Catechism is there to help us.”

I often speak of formation in Christ (not merely information) needing to be at the heart of catechesis.  However, I could not agree more with the importance of assuring that in our catechesis in the Third Millennium needs to incorporate both the heart and the mind when passing on the deposit of faith.

Too often today people struggle to have their hearts follow what is actually good. At the risk of sounding judgemental, it appears that individuals allow the messages and ideas given by society to shape their understanding of life, liberty and even in the pursuit of Jesus.  Teaching the truths of the faith, especially the deposit of faith articulated in the Catechism, will help others see how these truths that are Godly and that are point to the good (which is from God).  Too often our society desires to revise what is good or form ones idea of God based on a more modern application of what is seen as good (because they believe that “they see it more clearly” then what the Bible says or what the Church would say).

The Catechism is such a gift to help us see the beauty and the unity of the faith articulated and drawing the reader toward the ture and ultimate good – God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

What do you think about Dr. Farey’s quote? I’d enjoy your insights and thoughts.

 

A New Year’s Resolution for Catechists

What can catechists resolve to do to begin this new year?  Even though it is not a “new year” in terms of programming, it is worth reflecting on what you can do to begin this year, 2013, anew.

Consider the following:

1. Resolve to daily pray for the students in your class and/or in your program.

2. Find ways to improve what you began at the beginning of the year (that could be fostering fellowship among the catechists, helping your students encounter different ways to pray, it could be collaborating more with fellow catechists, or maybe it’s making sure you take that time to prepare well for each class.

3. Resolve to cultivate your class/group of students/adults.  The more others know that you care and want to do your best to meet their needs the more they will feel a part of a faith filled parish community.

4. Take a few moments and recommit to what you began in August/September.  Being a catechist is more than a volunteer position, it is an apostolate where one is called to authentically pass on the Catholic Faith.  What a gift and a responsibility that God has called you to.  Make the second half of the year and the beginning of a new calendar year a blessed one!

What are your plans for the new year?

 

5 Steps to Being “Fishers of Men”

I was reading an article at the National Catholic Register which discussed keys to leading others to conversion.  We all want to lead others closer to Christ and His Church don’t we?  I know, for me, I desire to share Christ with others and help lead people closer to Him.  Fr. John McCloskey in his book Good News, Bad News: Evangelization, Conversion, and the Crisis of Faith speaks about the importance of personal relationships being at the heart of conversion “a gift of self by the evangelizer”, Father McCloskey says the best approach is a direct one.  Here are the 5 steps he recommends:

1) Ask a friend or family member if he or she has ever considered joining the Catholic Church;

2) Be prepared to answer questions about the faith (which will probably require some study of your own), but be confident that you almost certainly know more than your non-Catholic friend;

3) Engage friends by suggesting good Catholic books and readings (a “Catholic Lifetime Reading Plan” is appended to his book), while sharing the beauty of the liturgy;

4) Know that conversion often takes time and is ultimately God’s work, and

5) Follow up.

In this Year of Faith where so many in our culture have allowed the secular influences to dim their faith, let us seek to reach out and help witness to them the treasure and the blessing of a faith in Christ.

 

Catechist In-Service

Lisa Mladinich came to the Land of Oz this past Sunday and Monday to share how to not only be an amazing catechist but to help catechists and their students love Christ and His Church more fully and with great joy!  She spoke at two different parishes (mine being one of them) during their catechist in-service to begin the year.  She also spoke at a third parish about how to be an amazing catechist through sacramental preparation.

Her In-Service was broken up into two main parts.  The first 45 minutes was an exciting presentation about numerous aspects of being a faith-filled and empowered catechist.  During the second part of the in-service she was not only very practical but very engaging.  She had 60 catechists on their feet learning about ways to involve their students and engage their minds and hearts.

Lisa’s enthusiasm, excitement about the faith and her experience of engaging students as a catechist herself throughout the years captivated and motivated so many of my catechists.  A number of them came to me afterwards or over the next few days sharing that they really “got a lot” out of the in-service and they hoped to see her again in the future.

 

 

Practical Tips for Discerning A Vocation

How do you help others to discern their vocation?  We might think that it’s challenging to find opportunities to talk about one’s vocation, but I would encourage you to reconsider.  Weather you’re in a 3rd grade classroom, in an RCIA session or spending time with teens at a service project you can help those around you consider what God has for them in their lives.  Often the most missed opportunity is to encourage someone to consider the priesthood, religious life or marriage.  Ask them if they have thought about what God is calling them to do with their lives?  Encourage them to really pray about it and to talk with their parents, a priest, a role model in their life about it.  Helping others understand that God is calling them first and foremost to holiness and then more specifically to a vocation of marriage, religious life or holy orders.

God is calling each us us do something and he has great plans for us.  We want to help children, youth and adults be open to what God desires for them and what God is calling them to be.  Last January I posted the following suggestion and wanted to list them again.   Here are some great resources for helping people discern their vocation:

The Archdiocese of Kansas City has 10 suggestions in discerning a vocation.  They also have a good article on 20 signs that someone has a priestly vocati0n that is worth looking at.

Also, here are some great tips using each letter of the alphabet for parents to help foster the idea of vocation in the home and help foster a good foundation so that a person can discern their God given vocation.  Also, go to A Mother’s Rule of Life for some good reflection and input on how to foster your child’s vocation (Catechist can learn from this too).

Here are a few more good general resources:

National Catholic Register article by Matthew Warner: “Teach Your Kids to Help Save the World”

A Mom writes “Why I Encourage My Kids to Consider A Religious Vocation”

The Archdiocese of Boston has a great list of various Vocation Prayers (consider adopting one of them and praying it in your classroom or by giving it to your students.

The USCCB has some good videos.

What resources or tips do you have to recommend about helping others discern their vocation?

 

The Catechist: Irreplaceable

I recently gave a catechist retreat/In-Service to a group of catechists at a parish in the Archdiocese.  One of the things I shared with them is the importance of them bringing everything together.  It is not the textbook, the DVD, the music, the pictures or the great use of the powerpoint/smartboard you used that helped make your class a fruitful one.  Although helpful and very important in passing on the faith in a suitable manner to young people in the Third Millennium, nothing replaces the person of the catechist.  The catechist is the person who unites, organizes and links all the great tools available together in order that our Catholic Faith can be made known in the lives of their students.  Our Faith is full of life and has the potential to draw students into the life and mission of the Church.  It is the person of the catechist who is the linchpin, the crux, and central to helping students encounter Christ and the Gospel Message.

The National Directory of Catechesis says: “No number of attractive personal qualities, no amount of skill and training, and no level of scholarship of erudition can replace the power of God’s word communicated through a life lived in the Spirit (pg. 243).” A person who desires to grow in holiness and proclaim in word and deed a life rooted in Christ is irreplaceable in the ministry of Catechesis.

Come Holy Spirit lead us as catechists to radiate you through our teaching, and through our very being!  And students will be saying…Ahh see how they love Jesus…I want that too”.

 

3 Key Themes in Religious Education

Are there any key themes that should be a part of any classroom regardless of the topic of the day?  In 1973, the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops in their document “Basic Teachings For Catholic Religious Education” spoke of three themes which should “carry through all religious education” (pg. 3).  I would like to write more about this in the future but this is definitely a good start of what should be a part of one’s lesson during each class.

1. The Importance of Prayer

“This teaching will take place through experiences of prayer, through the examples of prayer, and through the learning of common prayers(pg. 3).”  Consider focusing on the following:
a. The example of prayer (how do you model prayer and draw your students into prayer as a catechist?)
b. learning common prayers (by memorization)
c. Experiences of prayer (opening and closing each session in prayer, praying with the Scriptures, prayer services, intercessory prayer, etc)

2. Participating in the Liturgy

The Bishops documents states, “Liturgy itself educates.  It teaches, it forms community, it forms the individual.  It makes possible worship of God and a social apostolate to men.  The Mass, the Church’s “great prayer,” is the highest, most noble form of the Church’s liturgy.  Effective instruction will therefore help every Christian participate actively in the Eucharistic celebration of his own witnessing faith community (pg. 4).”   Without  connecting students and adults to the liturgy we will struggle to draw people into participation and the very life of the Church.

3. Familiarity with the Holy Bible

At the heart of passing on the Faith is the use of the Scriptures.  The document goes on to say, “The Word of God is life giving.  It nourishes and inspires strengthens and sustains.  It is the primary source, with Tradition, of the Church teaching.”…The words of St. Paul should describe the Catholic students of religion: “From your infancy you have known the Sacred Scriptures, the sources of the wisdom which, through faith in Jesus Christ, leads to salvation (2 Tim. 3:15) (pg. 4-5).”  Using Scripture in the classroom to allow the students to become familiar with the Bible as well as showing them how God reveals His plan to us cannot be underestimated.

What themes would you add to this list?

 

Training or Formation?

“Catechesis aims to bring about in the believer an ever more mature faith in Jesus Christ, a deeper knowledge and love of his person and message, and a firm commitment to follow him.” (National Directory for Catechesis No. 19A)

I remember last year listening to a presentation about recruiting, training and forming volunteers.  The presenter, Bill Keimig, made some great points about the need to distinguish between catechist training and catechist formation.  He shared some interesting insights regarding the importance of leading catechists to being spiritually formed, i.e., our spiritual lives.  It is imperative that catechists have a foundation in the spiritual life if they are going to help make saints in the classroom.  Seeking to help students be saints is seeking to bring them to what Bill Keimig calls, “The joy of relationship”.  First and foremost the catechist must have a desire to grow in relationship with Christ.  It is also the aim of the catechist to foster a desire in students for this joy of relationship with God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.   The more we focus on it in our own lives the more students and those around us will see Christ working in and through us.  Granted it is the parents primary role to instill this desire in their children, but DRE’s and catechists must also foster this.

Please do not misunderstand, catechist training is very important.  Knowledge of the faith enables us to draw the students into the mystery of Christ and God’s plan of salvation.  Catechists who are seeking to grow in their spiritual lives and seeking to be formed in their spiritual lives are going to succeed more than those who have great skills and tricks of the trade to make their classes fun and interactive.  The more we can engage students the better, however at the heart and center of our mission as catechists is drawing our students into that joy and love of relationship with Christ.

As we think about what we can do with our catechists this summer to help prepare them for teaching in the Fall.  Let us resolve as St. Maria Mazarello did to “make up our minds to become saints”.  Together with God’s grace and life in us we can do great things!  May God be with each one of you!

What do you do to train and form your volunteers?

 

Eye of Faith

No Ordinary Meal

This poster got me reflecting on how we catechize about the Eucharist and invisible things in general.  I think it is very common to want to connect the Eucharist to what we all know – a family meal.  Yes, in a certain sense it is like a family meal because we gather each Sunday to a a community of faith to participate in the Holy Mass.  However, it is much more: It is the Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross being made present.  As I’ve heard it said before “It’s the same old miracle that happens each time Mass is celebrated”.  This heavenly banquet is ever new and ever fresh.  We have the opportunity as Catholics and as catechists to live our earthly lives anticipating the pledge of our future glory (cf. CCC 1402-1405).  This is no ordinary reality happening at each Mass, but we’ve come so accustom to it and live in a culture that seeks to enliven the senses to no end that the divine exchange that occurs is often overlooked or taken for granted.

Catechetical Takaway

I just have one takaway that I’d like to share:

Seek to impress upon those you are catechizing that the God of the universe is constantly seeking to draw our hearts and minds into his reality of holiness and life.  The things of this world- the signs and symbols that this world offers and our Church uses are meant to connect us to what only the eyes of faith can see clearly (Cf. 1 Cor. 13:12).  It is no less real just visible through a different lens.

A Prayer for Faith

Lord Jesus, eternal and infallible Truth, since Thou hast said that Thou art really present in the holy Eucharist, I believe it firmly. Yes, this Host which I see, and which I am to receive, is not bread, but the living Body of Jesus Christ, God and Man: it is the God Whom the Angels adore in heaven; I believe it. I do not understand this Mystery, but I wish to believe it without seeking to penetrate it, that I may have the happiness of seeing and contemplating it one day in heaven. Strengthen it so lively, that I may honour Thee, love Thee, and receive Thee, as if I already beheld Thee.

 

Reflections of the Year Gone By

Over the last two weeks I’ve been collecting evaluations and having meetings about how things went this year.  I praise God for the many blessings from the year – how God worked through the little interactions with families, parents, kids and catechists and how He used teachable moments in the classroom, during our times of music, stations of the cross, reconciliation, etc.  Christ desires to draw us closer to Himself and I am grateful for the opportunity to reflect on the many gifts and blessings (seen and unseen) that occurred this year.

Reflecting and evaluating upon what can be improved in the future is also important.  The landscape of Religious Education is rapidly changing in many respects and if we don’t consider what we need to do to continually help our families and students grow in a way where they will come to know the Gospel more fully in order that their lives can be transformed.  Reaching out to parents and children who are over-scheduled, consumed with noise and distractions limiting their ability to seek God and encounter Him is a constant challenge.

Here are some things I’ve been reflecting upon:

1) How can catechists be trained so that they can seize the opportunities they have to draw students out of their busy world and give them the one thing that satisfies – Jesus Christ?

2) Are the resources we are providing catechists helping them to authentically pass on the faith and engage kids?

3) What tools and resources can be provided so as to help engage children more fully.

4) How can we involve parents more and help them be the primary educators of their children’s faith?  We don’t want to be a program where parents “outsource” faith formation to us.  We want to be a bridge and collaborate with them in order that they may be more empowered to pass on the faith to their children.

How about you?

What have you been reflecting at the end of your religious education year?

 

Personal Growth Suggestions for Summer

Most Religious Education and RCIA programs are coming to an end for the year.  Even though our time commitments may slow down in some respects we live in a busy world where finding time to slow down in challenging.  Many of us, myself included, could not imagine life before cell phones and the internet. Just 10 years ago people where functioning just fine without a cell phone (although they were around and people had them). The Internet was also around, but not as fast and not as many people functioning directly from it regarding their jobs, and personal endeavors.  It is more challenging than ever to find the time to sit down and just read and relax.  It is very important as catechist and as a disciple of Jesus that we take the time to read and grow in our faith.  This not only helps us grow spiritually but also in our knowledge and understanding of our beautiful faith.  I have listed some books worth reading.  It is not an exhaustive list but if you pick one or two of these books to read this summer I think you’ll find the time spend reading them abundantly refreshing and inspiring as you grow in your spiritual life and in your knowledge of the Faith.

Spiritual Life

A Heart Like His: Meditations on the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Fr. Thomas Williams

Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis De Sales

Story of a Soul by St. Therese

Time for God by Fr. Jacques Philippe

Prayer Primer by Fr. Thomas Dubay, S.M.                                                                                     

The Way of the Disciple by Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis

Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen

Heaven In Our Hands by Fr. Benedict Groeschel

In Conversation with God (7 volume set)  by Fr. Francis Fernandez

Heaven in Our Hands by Fr. Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R.

Appointment with God by Fr. Michael Scanlan

Five Loaves and Two Fish by Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan

Prayer For Beginners By Peter Kreeft (I was not a beginner when I read this and found it very helpful and insightful)

He Leadeth Me By Fr. Walter Ciszek, S.J.                                                                                                             

Knowledge and Understanding

The Lord by Fr. Ramano Guardini

To Know Christ Jesus by Frank Sheed

Signs of Life: 40 Catholic Customs and Their Biblical Roots by Dr. Scott Hahn

Swear to God: The Promise and Power of the Sacraments by Dr. Scott Hahn

Heaven, the Heart’s Deepest Longing by Peter Kreeft

Catholic For a Reason (4 volumes)

Back to Virtue by Peter Kreeft

Letters to a Young Catholic by George Weigel (this book is meant for adults)

What books are you hoping to read this summer? I pray you have a blessed summer filled with time to slow down, regroup and grow spiritually!

 

Live, Love and Work Different

Are You Intriguing?

Recently I watched a youtube recording of Matthew Kelly’s talk from the L.A. Congress 2012.  His talk was around an hour and in part of it he spoke about how Protestant faiths do a much better job of intriguing people or as I would say – drawing people in to “want more” (more of God) than Catholics do.  Matthew Kelly went on to ask “as Catholics do we intrigue anyone by our faith”?  In order to draw others into the Faith they have to see us live, love and work differently than what they see in the people around them.  Does our Catholic Faith and our life of holiness contribute significantly to making us “look different” in the way we live each day?  Do others experience the love of Christ in our daily actions?  And do we work in a different way than others – not that we have to work longer but do we work harder (not just half-hearted), do we work without complaining?  The more we do this the more we as Catholics will be intriguing to a world hungry for God.

2 questions

1) What are characteristics of an authentic witness of Christian life (these characteristics are what the world finds “intriguing”)?

2) As catechists, how do you empower your students to be “intriguing” or how to you help your students witness their faith?

 

Fitting The Mold And The New Evangelization

Upcoming Symposium on the New Evangelization

Recently, the Vatican News Agency reported that the symposium on the New Evangelization will address “the necessity to revisit” those areas of the world “that have been evangelized maybe for 1000 years or 500 years and where the faith was once very strong” but where “now people are rather cold in the faith.”

It will also stress the need for this “new freshness” and “new ardor” to be communicated using new technology.

Cardinal Arinze believes that life in the Western world has “many other offers to the human person” which are “attracting” or even “distracting” people away from Christianity so that “the message of Christ can sometimes be forgotten, given a second place, put as a footnote.”

Eye Opening Quote:

“So someone has to come who has the enthusiasm of an evangelizer, who has the convincing power of a witness who lives with conviction what that witness is preaching” and who is also “ready to use modern methods to contact people.”

What Is Needed?

Three things Cardinal Arinze says are needed: 1) Enthusiasm 2) the convincing power of a witness and 3) one who will use modern methods to engage others and lead them closer to Christ and His Church.

As a catechist and as a lay member of the Body of Christ, I am called, you are called and the faithful are called to have these three qualities in order to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those they encounter in their everyday lives.

Many are confused about why it has to be “new” regarding evangelization.  It goes without saying that the Church as always evangelized and exists in order to evangelize.  However, what is need today is a “new ardor”, “new expressions” and “new methods” of proclaiming the message of Jesus Christ who is “the same yesterday, and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8).

Fleshing It Out

How have you “fleshed out” this new “ardor, expression and methods” of the New Evangelization?  I would be grateful if you took a moment and left a comment.

 

Teaching Prayerfully

The Gift of Prayer

Prayer is the life of the soul!  How are we drawing adults, parents, kids and youth into a life of prayer?  The Catechism is rich in what it says about prayer.

In paragraph 2560 it says:

“The wonder of prayer is revealed beside the well where we come seeking water: there Christ comes to meet every human being.  It is he who first seeks us and asks us for a drink.  Jesus thirsts; his asking arises from the depths of God’s desire for us.  Whether we realize it or not, prayer is the encounter of God’s thirst with ours.  God thirsts that we may thirst for him.”

Prayer and Catechesis

In many ministry settings prayer is seen too often as something to get out of the way (an attitude of “I know I should pray so let’s say a quick prayer and get on with the lesson of the day) instead of something that draws people into the mystery of Christ and a greater intimacy with Him.  It is essential in our catechetical settings to create an attitude of prayer that opens hearts.  Helping create an environment that draws souls into that relationship with Jesus is key if we are to lead adults and children into being truly disciples of Christ.

Not only is it important to lead people into prayer, but it will only occur if we ourselves are people of prayer; people who take time to foster a spiritual life and time for mental prayer.  Yes, it is great to pray at all times and make your whole day a prayer, but this is not sufficient.  We must be people who take time away from the busyness of jobs, social media that we are exposed to 24-7 and all our family responsibilities and be silent before God.  Taking time to pray and making prayer it a priority is necessary for our relationship with Christ as well as our success in ministry.  Catechists are then able to better engage and lead others into prayer if they themselves are people of prayer.

Practical Recommendations

I recently read a great article by Marianne Cuthbertson and Dr. Caroline Farey that gives wonderful recommendations for leading others into prayer in our catechetical settings.  Their numerous recommendations are exactly what we need to consider to allow our catechetical session to be times of grace and session soaked in prayer.

How do you help engage others in prayer in your catechetical sessions?  Let us be drawn into and help draw others into the “wonder of prayer”.

 

Evangelizing Catechesis

Love of Jesus or Knowledge (Church Teaching)?

Is it the love of Jesus that matters most to convey to this generation?  Is it to pass on what the Catechism says so they will “know” their faith?  Those in ministry have clear opinions about these questions.  Sometimes people say the content gets in the way of helping children, youth and adults encounter Jesus and know His love. Others assert “if they only knew the content they would live their faith better”.

Pope Paul VI was the first pope in history to talk about catechesis as being a means to evangelization (Evangelii Nuntiandi #44).  We are familiar to the notion of evangelization preceding catechesis but Paul VI saw catechesis being a means of evangelizing, of proclaiming the Good News of God’s love and abundant life.

As catechists and disciples of Christ our goal should be to bring about both a greater understanding and knowledge of the faith so that a greater love and acceptance of the Good News will be embraced and lived in the lives of those who receive it.  Our catechesis must be evangelistic in nature so that it is not merely “doctrine” that we are passing on but “life changing doctrine”.

Both Are Essential

The answer is both the love of Jesus and the knowledge of God plan of salvation (doctrine) are key to handing on the Faith.  Before Vatican II the emphasis tended to be placed on memorizing the content of the faith at the cost of the proclamation of the Good News of God’s love and Mercy.  After Vatican II the pendulum went the other way and the emphasis was on proclaiming the love of God and his great mercy and minimizing the content and the importance of knowing/learning it.  What we need is to unify the two by understanding that we are catechizing and proclaiming this life changing doctrine so as to draw the learning into a life-giving relationship with Jesus. Blessed John Paul II said it very well in Catechesi Tradendae when he said:

Catechesis aims therefore at developing understanding of the mystery of Christ in the light of God’s word, so that the whole of a person’s humanity is impregnated by that word. Changed by the working of grace into a new creature, the Christian thus sets himself to follow Christ and learns more and more within the Church to think like Him, to judge like Him, to act in conformity with His commandments, and to hope as He invites us to.

To put it more precisely: within the whole process of evangelization, the aim of catechesis is to be the teaching and maturation stage, that is to say, the period in which the Christian, having accepted by faith the person of Jesus Christ as the one Lord and having given Him complete adherence by sincere conversion of heart, endeavors to know better this Jesus to whom he has entrusted himself: to know His “mystery,” the kingdom of God proclaimed by Him, the requirements and promises contained in His Gospel message, and the paths that He has laid down for anyone who wishes to follow Him. (Paragraph 20)

The understanding of doctrine and the goal of bringing about a change (conversion) is the “aim of catechesis”.  Today we need both in order to authentically pass on the deposit of faith and all its riches.

Catechetical Takeaway

A few ideas on how to accomplish this are worth considering.

1) Always open your catechetical sessions in prayer – prayer that helps draw others into the Mystery of Christ.

2) Share the topic of the day with enthusiasm and with conviction.  This will be noticed and those receiving it will be more inclined to be drawn into what you are proclaiming and sharing.

3)  Pray to the Holy Spirit (The Holy Spirit is the interior teacher).  Catechists are the instrument, the conduit, the mouthpiece helping others to know and love Christ.

4) Be faithful to proclaiming the Church’s teachings.  Proclaiming this life changing doctrine will lead others to the love of God and to encounter Him more fully.

How do you see catechesis being a means of evangelization?

 

Finding God

Where do we find God in our everyday lives as Catholics?  There are so many examples we could give on where we find God.  Loyola Press is even having a video contest to encourage Catholic Identity and Community building on where we find God in our lives.

The question of where do we find God brings me to an additional question:  What does God reveal about where to find Him?  Here are a few things the Catechism says:

~The world, and man, attest that they contain within themselves neither their first principle nor their final end, but rather that they participate in Being itself, which alone is without origin or end. Thus, in different ways, man can come to know that there exists a reality which is the first cause and final end of all things, a reality “that everyone calls God”.^{10 ”} (CCC #34)

~ “Man’s faculties make him capable of coming to a knowledge of the existence of a personal God. But for man to be able to enter into real intimacy with him, God willed both to reveal himself to man and to give him the grace of being able to welcome this revelation in faith. The proofs of God’s existence, however, can predispose one to faith and help one to see that faith is not opposed to reason.” (CCC #35)

~ “God, who creates and conserves all things by his Word, provides men with constant evidence of himself in created realities”  (CCC #54)

~ “Sacred Scripture and Sacred Scripture make up a single sacred deposit of the Word of God” (DV 10), in which, as in a mirror, the pilgrim Church contemplates God, the source of all her riches.  (CCC #97).

~“Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us,” is present in many ways to his Church:¹⁹⁷ in his word, in his Church’s prayer, “where two or three are gathered in my name,”¹⁹⁹ in the poor, the sick, and the imprisoned,¹⁹⁹ in the sacraments of which he is the author, in the sacrifice of the Mass, and in the person of the minister. But “he is present . . . most especially in the Eucharistic species.” (CCC 1373).   

When we ask our students questions like Where do you find God?, or Where to you experience Jesus in your daily life?, may we always remember that we want to link them back to what God has revealed.  We always want to connect them to some aspect Christian doctrine which is not stale and static but life giving and spirit filled.  God’s revelation and truth set us free (cf. Jn. 8:32) and gives us life (cf. Jn. 10:10).

 

Effective Evangelization

Is your catechesis evangelistic?  What does that even mean?  Well, it means a lot of things, but most importantly it means being a person to brings the light, joy, life and love of Jesus to others.  The heart of our catechesis to children, youth and adults must be evangelistic or it is not authentically Catholic/Christian.

How do I shine Jesus in my catechesis?  How do others encounter Jesus through my classes, presentations or by encountering me?  These are questions worth thinking about.  I found a compelling video clip by Fr. Robert Barron about Evangelization.  It’s a little academic, but it’s really good.  Take a couple minutes and check it out.

 

5 Ways To Evaluate Your Ministry

It’s is midway through the year.  Where does the time go?  I once heard it said that the days go slow but the years go fast.  I now understand this to an even greater degree with a 4,3 and 2 year old.  Time does seem in so many ways to fly by.  I thought halfway through the year it might be helpful to evaluate your ministry by considering the following:

1) How have you connected with your students?

2) Are you successfully getting through each lesson?  How well are your students retaining what you are covering?

3) Do you feel like you are engaging your students?

4) Are you helping your students grow in their friendship/relationship with God?

5) Are you looking to your DRE and veteran catechists for ideas and wisdom?

 

Continue throughout this year in the classroom to be aware of the ways you can assist your students as you proclaim this powerful and exciting “Good News” and  lead them to a more dynamic relationship with Christ!

 

Do you have any other things that would be good to consider when evaluating ones ministry mid-way through the year?

 

Do you like the textbook you are using?

In my experience of over 14 years in parish ministry, I find that catechetical textbooks are relied on too much by catechists and as a result limiting their effectiveness in the classroom.  Textbooks can be a valuable resource but they are a tool not the heart of the lesson.  It is the catechist who should use it as a tool.  Since most religious education classes meet for an hour and a half or less it is difficult to cover what the catechist manual recommends. In addition, I find that the concepts in chapters are often too scattered trying to cover too much.

What has your religious education program done in order to help better equip catechists to not only teach the lessons laid out in each chapter, but to help them have clarity and focus in each lesson?

Something I’ve done in in the last two parishes I’ve worked at is to help give catechists a clear focus to their lessons. I use a version of the ecclesial method (you can find it in Msgr. Francis Kelly’s book, The Mystery We Proclaim to help replicate God’s pedagogy – trying to give the students an understanding of what God has revealed and how to respond to it).  I outlined the chapters bringing a more focused understanding of what should be covered (noting the most important points). I also provide ideas and additional activities that support the content that is being covered.

I would love to hear from anyone that is seeking ways to help catechists better use their textbook.

 

Mary, God’s Masterpiece

Immaculate Mary, your praises we sing;
Who reignest in splendor with Jesus our King.
Ave, ave, ave, Maria! Ave, ave, Maria!

Last night our Family Formation students had class and discussed everything Marian.

My wife taught the 6th grade class and this is what she did for class:

1) She broke the kids up into 5 groups and they rotated to 5 different stations about Mary.

2) The 5 Stations explored the following:

1. Original Sin

2. What we as Catholics believe about Mary

3. Why wear a Scapular or Miraculous Medal

4. Developing a devotion to Mary in the Rosary

5. Marian Apparitions

3) After students spent time at each station they took a quiz reviewing what they learned at each station.

4) My wife shared that this not only helped them learn about Mary but it engaged them to a far greater degree than if they would have just talked about it with students sitting at their desks.

This brings me to a larger point regarding teaching on Mary.  I truly believe that by helping foster a devotion to Mary to your students it will draw them into their faith and increase their love for God and neighbor.  Mary is truly our model in faith and she draws us closer to Jesus.  It not only sounds good but it is true.  How many times have you heard people talk about their devotion to Mary as a way that had helped them grow in their faith?

Here are a few ways to help your students grow in their devotion to Mary thus leading them closer to Jesus:

 

1) Pray a decade of the Rosary as you begin or end class.  Consider picking one of the mysteries of the day (for example if you meet on Sundays or Wednesdays then choose one of the Glorious Mysteries to pray). Try to connect it to the lesson of the day or a way to ask Mary to bless your class.  I also pray at the end and offer it to Mary at the foot of the cross.

2) Point to Mary often in your teaching as a model of faith and response to God’s ways.  For example if you are talking about the Gifts of the Holy Spirit – point out how Mary shows us how to live them.

3) Pray a Marian Litany (two examples below)

Litany to the Blessed Virgin Mary

Litany to Mary of Nazareth

May today’s Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception be a reminder of Mary’s Holiness and our call to help our students grow in their faith and model her!

 

Top 10 Requirements of Good Teaching

I posted this last year, but I think it’s worthwhile to re-post.  On appleseeds.org I found some great teaching tips by Richard Leblanc, Ph.D. from York University.  Although it is not directly about faith formation I think there are some real gems in what Dr. Leblanc says.

1. GOOD TEACHING is as much about passion as it is about reason. It’s about not only motivating students to learn, but teaching them how to learn, and doing so in a manner that is relevant, meaningful, and memorable. It’s about caring for your craft, having a passion for it, and conveying that passion to everyone, most importantly to your students.

2. GOOD TEACHING is about substance and training students as consumers of knowledge. It’s about doing your best to keep on top of your field, reading sources, inside and outside of your areas of expertise, and being at the leading edge as often as possible. But knowledge is not confined to scholarly journals. Good teaching is also about bridging the gap between theory and practice. It’s about leaving the ivory tower and immersing oneself in the field, talking to, consulting with, and assisting practitioners, and liaising with their communities.

3. GOOD TEACHING is about listening, questioning, being responsive, and remembering that each student and class is different. It’s about eliciting responses and developing the oral communication skills of the quiet students. It’s about pushing students to excel; at the same time, it’s about being human, respecting others, and being professional at all times.

4. GOOD TEACHING is about not always having a fixed agenda and being rigid, but being flexible, fluid, experimenting, and having the confidence to react and adjust to changing circumstances. It’s about getting only 10 percent of what you wanted to do in a class done and still feeling good. It’s about deviating from the course syllabus or lecture schedule easily when there is more and better learning elsewhere. Good teaching is about the creative balance between being an authoritarian dictator on the one hand and a pushover on the other. Good teachers migrate between these poles at all times, depending on the circumstances. They know where they need to be and when.

5. GOOD TEACHING is also about style. Should good teaching be entertaining? You bet! Does this mean that it lacks in substance? Not a chance! Effective teaching is not about being locked with both hands glued to a podium or having your eyes fixated on a slide projector while you drone on. Good teachers work the room and every student in it. They realize that they are conductors and the class is their orchestra. All students play different instruments and at varying proficiencies. A teacher’s job is to develop skills and make these instruments come to life as a coherent whole to make music.

6. GOOD TEACHING is about humor. This is very important. It’s about being self-deprecating and not taking yourself too seriously. It’s often about making innocuous jokes, mostly at your own expense, so that the ice breaks and students learn in a more relaxed atmosphere where you, like them, are human with your own share of faults and shortcomings.

7. GOOD TEACHING is about caring, nurturing, and developing minds and talents. It’s about devoting time, often invisible, to every student. It’s also about the thankless hours of grading, designing or redesigning courses, and preparing materials to further enhance instruction.

8. GOOD TEACHING is supported by strong and visionary leadership, and very tangible instructional support resources, personnel, and funds. Good teaching is continually reinforced by an overarching vision that transcends the entire organization from full professors to part-time instructors and is reflected in what is said, but more importantly by what is done.

9. GOOD TEACHING is about mentoring between senior and junior faculty, teamwork, and being recognized and promoted by one’s peers. Effective teaching should also be rewarded, and poor teaching needs to be remediated through training and development programs.

10. AT THE END OF THE DAY, good teaching is about having fun, experiencing pleasure and intrinsic rewards…like locking eyes with a student in the back row and seeing the synapses and neurons connecting, thoughts being formed, the person becoming better, and a smile cracking across a face as learning all of a sudden happens. It’s about the former student who says your course changed her life. It’s about another telling you that your course was the best one he’s ever taken. Good teachers practice their craft not for the money or because they have to, but because they truly enjoy it and because they want to. Good teachers couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

THE CORE
Association for Experiential Education
Schools & Colleges Professional Group Newsletter
Spring 1999, Vol. 2, # 1 (Electronic Version)

http://www.aee.org/prof&sig/core9921.html

Editor’s note: In 1998, professor Leblanc was awarded the Seymous Schulich Award for Teaching Excellence. His top ten requirements for good teaching was originally published in The Teaching Professor, Vol. 12, # 6, 1998.

What would you say are key teaching requirements?

 

Doctrine Matters

For many years, especially after the Second Vatican Council, there was a sense that doctrine doesn’t really matter but what matters is making sure everyone knows the love of Jesus.  While it is very true that we want to proclaim the wonderful news of God’s grace, love and mercy to the world we must also keep in mind that our doctrine in rooted in this very reality that God is love and sent His beloved Son to save us from sin and eternal separation from God.

I found a really good article that speaks of how doctrine does matter.  I hope you enjoy it.

DAVID G. BONAGURA, JR.

Critics never seem to tire of pitting the doctrines of the Catholic Church against her works of charity, as if the two were somehow mutually exclusive or even opposed.

A recent column in the Sunday New York Times rehashed this worn cliché: the author asserted that in his global travels he has encountered “two Catholic Churches.” One is “obsessed with dogma and rules and distracted from social justice;” the other is made of unheralded acts of charity and selflessness by religious missionaries and relief organizations. For this author the second church is clearly the right one; after all, “Jesus himself focused on the needy rather than dogma.”

This false dichotomy is at root an attack against faith, and it is nothing new. The Roman emperor Julian the Apostate despised Christianity and created his own religion as a rival; to win support from those impressed by genuine Christian charity he required his own priests to aid the poor. Thomas Jefferson, skeptical of religious mysteries, crafted his own version of the New Testament, which omitted all mention of miracles while showcasing Jesus’ good deeds. The New York Times‘ charge has the same objective: by alleging that dogma impedes charity, it offers subtle encouragement to see aid to the poor as the only kind of religion needful – for secularists.

Sacred Scripture proclaims that God is love, and Jesus specifically left one commandment: love one another. In his encyclical Caritas in Veritate Pope Benedict XVI calls love “God’s greatest gift to humanity,” and he places love at the center of the Church’s mission. Why not, then, dispense with all the doctrines of divine mysteries – and those rules about behavior and morality – and just love and do good works as each one sees fit?

To begin with, we had some experience of radically secular experiments in the twentieth century, and they weren’t pretty.

And besides, Jesus did not focus on the needy to the neglect of dogma. The opposite is the case: Jesus focused on the needy precisely because He was the true and living embodiment of dogma, which is nothing other than teachings about God. Jesus, called rabbi – teacher – from the beginning of His ministry through His resurrection from the dead, became man to teach that God is love of His very essence, and that we are to love in order to participate in God’s inner life. Doctrine (Church teachings) and dogma (definitive explanations of the content of revelation) are not dead letters that sap vitality from believers; rather they are intelligible formulations that express real, living mysteries. Doctrine breathes life into the Church and the souls of believers by articulating the many dimensions of the one reason for our being – God. Through its solid teaching about God, doctrine gives powerful impetus to good works.

Thus in the Christian tradition helping the needy is not done for its own sake, but propter Deum, for God’s sake; this is the ultimate motivation for the heroic work of those missionaries who so impressed the Times‘ columnist. Had Jesus not taught so, love would have no direction, and aid for the poor might have never crossed tribal lines. To take just one example, the modern belief of universal equality of all human beings regardless of sex or ethnicity – now espoused by secularists and believers alike – leans heavily on St. Paul: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3: 28).

Jesus did not focus on the needy to the neglect of dogma.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that dogma and the spiritual life have a symbiotic relationship. “Dogmas are lights along the path of faith; they illuminate it and make it secure. Conversely, if our life is upright, our intellect and heart will be open to welcome the light shed by the dogmas of faith.” Without the teaching of the Church, works of charity – the fruits of the spiritual life – lose the security of truth; in the words of Benedict, they degenerate into “sentimentality,” and actually risk harming those in need of help. By the same token meditation on the living mysteries explained through dogmas can inspire us to greater heights of charity.

In his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, Benedict explained that “Christian charity is first of all the simple response to immediate needs and specific situations: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked,” and so on. What distinguishes Christian charity from ordinary social work is the additional communication of what Benedict calls “humanity” and “heartfelt concern,” a response to the spiritual needs of the poor. In order to provide this, charity workers require a “formation of the heart” that stems from “that encounter with God in Christ which awakens their love and opens their spirits to others.” Their love of neighbor then becomes “a consequence deriving from their faith, a faith which becomes active through love.”

Pope John Paul II compared faith and reason to “two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth.” The same can be said of doctrine and works of charity: they are two wings on which the soul comes to know and communicate the love of God. Dogma and rules do not distract the Church from social justice; they allow social justice to flourish by pointing it towards its proper and ultimate end.

---

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

David G. Bonagura, Jr. “Doctrine Matters.” The Catholic Thing (September 10, 2010).

THE AUTHOR

David G. Bonagura, Jr. is an associate editor of The University Bookman.

Copyright © 2010 The Catholic Thing

 

10 Abundant Sources of Life

Ever have one of those days where you need to be reminded of those sources of life that draw us toward Christ and help us be open to all that God has for us in the spiritual life?  The Evangelical Catholic, a website that focuses on ministering to college students, lists these 10 sources.  I believe the following sources are also worth keeping in mind for anyone doing ministry in the Church and very much in the ministry of catechesis.  My comments are in brackets.

Interior Conversion

Interior Conversion occurs each time we turn from self-will to God’s will. Initial conversion is when one surrenders to God for the first time. Catholic theologians often refer to this as making “the fundamental option.” [The General Directory for Catechesis refers to it as the initial conversion.  Conversion, however, should be ongoing and occur daily.]

Christian Discipleship

To follow Jesus in true discipleship is a costly endeavor, involving self-denial in the deepest level of one’s being.  [I like the way George Weigel said it: "Because it is in Mary's fiat --"Be it done unto me according to your word" (Luke 1:38) - that we discover the pattern or form of all Christian discipleship".]

Devotion to the Scriptures

“It is especially necessary that listening to the word of God should become a life-giving encounter, in the ancient and ever valid tradition of lectio divina, which draws from the Biblical text the living word which questions, directs, and shapes our lives” (Novo Millennio Ineunte).  [Scripture is at the heart of catechesis - when we echo Christ in His person and His message it should be rooted in Scripture.]

Obedience to Christ through the Church

The various evangelical movements of the Church’s history have a shared experience of testing and trial at the hands of Church authorities. An evangelical Catholic finds God’s presence and guidance in such trials. [The Church exists to proclaim the Gospel whole and entire by guarding the deposit of faith and being faithful to it.  Obedience to the Church is obedience to Christ.]

Communion of the Saints

We are part of the Body of Christ, which extends back to Christ and the apostles. Together, in heaven and on Earth, we are working for the healing and salvation of the world.  [The saints show us how holiness and perfect charity is possible.  They also show us how to live for Christ and do His will.]

A Sacramental Life

While all the Sacraments are there for us at key moments in our journey, the Eucharistic celebration is the source and summit of an evangelical Catholic life. [The sacraments give us God's very life.  They are "moments in our journey" but they are also far more significant than that alone.  Nothing is more significant than tapping into God's very life in order to live as one who is sufficient only in Christ and not in oneself.  The Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist are ways we can continually grow in grace and holiness as well as tapping into the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation.]

A Prayerful Life

God speaks to us in his Word; we speak to him in prayer. To be Christ’s disciple means to follow his example of seeking his Father in prayer. This dialogue of word and prayer is at the heart of a relationship with God.  [The 4th section of the Catechism is prayer and this testifies to the significance of prayer being key to the Christian life.  One cannot grow without prayer.]

A Spirit-Filled Life

The Holy Spirit is the great gift of the Father, made possible to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus. The presence of the Holy Spirit within us is so remarkable that Jesus said it was better that he go so that the Spirit could come.  [Without the Holy Spirit we could not be faithful to the commandments and living life in God's grace.]

An Ascetic Life

Asceticism is the practice of self-denial — the training by which our spirit gains mastery over our body and our union with God increases.  [Jesus and the saints show us the importance of our walk in discipleship.  It needs to be cultivated through practices of self-denial (penance).]

A Disciplined Life

To facilitate living the type of spirituality we have outlined, it is helpful to follow a guide, or commitment, for daily living — a practice that has a long and honored place in Catholic spirituality.  [Consider the daily Mass readings as a guide for daily living or meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary of the day, going to daily Mass or a certain amount of personal prayer time to be a guide/commitment for daily living).]

I think each of these “sources” can be “wellsprings of grace” in the life of a disciple.  These sources lead us to that abundant life promised by Christ.

Would you add anything that you believe would be considered sources of abundant life?

 

Room For Change

Like Change?

Change is not easy for people.  Even in a world that is in a constant state of change it is difficult to experience, especially when we have become so accustom to the way things are.  Are you looking forward, indifferent or are hesitant to the new changes of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal?

Seeing the Mass with New Eyes

Almost all diocese across the country have had numerous workshops to discuss the changes which are bringing a sense of renewal in general to the Liturgy.  Hopefully the faithful everywhere have come to a greater awareness of the beauty and the depth of the Mass.  I just recently gave a talk to parents about the Mass in general and hope that it brought a greater sense of all that is going on at Mass and how we are truly engaging in something heavenly and supernatural at Mass.  My talk was not so much about the upcoming changes as it was to focus on the wonder of the Mass and how it makes present the events of Calvary. Participating in the Mass is the closest we come to heaven this side of it.

Helping Your Students

What are you doing in your Religious Education, Youth Ministry and Adult Faith Formation to help individuals prepare for the changes?  Many resources have been printed and made available to help various age groups understand the changes and be ready for them in Advent.  Here are a few ideas for the various age groups to consider:

Adults:

~ A series of presentations on the changes for the parish.

~ Resources published in the Bulletin and made available on your parish website.

Elementary and Youth:

~ 30 minute lessons on the specific changes that will happen (I’m especially doing this with 4th – 6th graders).

~ Taking lesson plans and connecting them with the changes.  For example when the lesson plan mentions the Creed take that opportunity to discuss the changes in wording. Or when you do a lesson on Reconciliation take that opportunity to discuss why the changes in the penitential rite.

~ Learning Stations:  We recently had an enrichment session at our parish for 1st – 6th graders about the changes.  We set up 6 learning stations where students and parents spent 10 minutes at each station focusing on some aspect of the Mass (4 stations related to the changes and the other two were intended to give a greater appreciation of the Mass)  They walked away with something from each station.

~ Aim to mention the Mass and how it is central to our life and worship as Catholic Christians.  What a great opportunity to dive more deeply into the Mass and why it is so important to us as Catholics.  St. Bernard said “you will gain more from one single Mass than you would from distributing all your goods to the poor or making pilgrimages to all the most holy shrines in Christendom.”

Opportunity Knocks

Don’t miss this opportunity to talk about something ever ancient yet ever new.  I’ll repeat what has been said by many for the last 2 years about these changes: It gives us a great opportunity, a unique moment to really emphasize and help those we catechize not only become aware of why the changes but how the Mass continues to be our strength, life and source of life giving grace for the faithful.

 

The Holy Weapon For The Ages: The Rosary

Our Lady of the Holy Rosary

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.  This feast day was originally called the Feast of Our Lady of Victory.  I love the title of Our Lady of Victory.  St. Therese constantly mentioned this title of Our Lady in Story of a Soul.  Pope Clement XI changed the feast day to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, because it was in fact the power of praying the Rosary that the Christians won the battle over the mighty Turkish Army.

Our Lady has continually shared with the faithful to pray the Rosary for penance and conversion.  In addition Pope’s and holy men and women have not only encouraged devotion to Mary through the Rosary but also testified to its power.

Empowering Students

As Catechists we cannot underestimate the value to praying the Rosary and passing this devotion onto the next generation.  Here are some ways to help students foster devotion to the Holy Rosary:

1) Open your class by praying a decade of the Rosary.  Or pray it at the end of class by offering up the petitions of the students as well as offering up that particular days lesson asking Mary to draw us closer to Jesus helping each of the students live out their faith.

2) Instead of taking time to do a craft or watching a video that takes up 20 minutes of class time, pray the Rosary.  Helping students learn how to meditate on the beautiful mysteries of the Rosary is an invaluable lesson.

3) Give examples of how students can pray the Rosary throughout their lives (e.g., on their way to and from school, before they begin doing their homework, at the end of the day, while traveling on a trip, etc.).  The Rosary is a source of strength and consolation in times of worry and struggle as well as times of thanksgiving and praise to God for His many blessings.

Contemplating the Face of Christ

I want to close with something Blessed John Paul II said during the recitation of the Angelus in 2002:

The Rosary is a way of contemplating the face of Christ seeing him – we may say – with the eyes of Mary. For this reason, it is a prayer that drawing upon the core of the Gospel is in full accord with the inspiration of the Second Vatican Council and very much in keeping with the direction I gave in the Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio ineunte: the Church has to launch out “into the deep” in the new millennium beginning with the contemplation of the face of Christ.

Therefore, I wish to suggest the recitation of the Rosary to individuals, families and Christian communities. To give force to this invitation, I am preparing a document which will help to rediscover the beauty and depth of this prayer.

I wish once again to entrust the great cause of peace to the praying of the Rosary. We are facing an international situation that is full of tensions, at times threatening to explode. In some parts of the world, where the confrontation is harsher – I think particularly of the suffering land of Christ – we can realize that, even though they are necessary, political efforts are worth little if one remains exacerbated in his mind and no one cares to demonstrate a new disposition of heart in the hope of reviving the struggle and effort of dialogue. 

Who but God alone can infuse such sentiments? It is more necessary than ever that from every part of the earth prayer for peace be made to Him. In this perspective, the Rosary turns out to be the form of prayer most needed. It builds peace because, while it appeals to the grace of God, it sows in the one praying it the seed of good from which we can expect the fruit of justice and solidarity for personal and community life.

I am thinking of nations and also of families. How much peace would flow into family relationships if the family would begin again to pray the Rosary.

How do you promote and foster devotion?

How else would you encourage students to pray the Rosary?  How do you foster devotion to the Holy Rosary?

 

 

 

Top Ten “To-Do’s” with Primaries (1st – 3rd Graders)

I found the following filed away and I just pulled it out and thought it would be worth sharing.

Top Ten “To-Do’s” with Primaries

By Kelly Renz

1. Show great reverence for the Bible, the church space, God’s name, etc.
2. Use images kids can identify with to understand faith terms.
3. use the senses and employ multi-sensory teaching.
4. Get kids – and yourself- moving.
5. Ask lots of questions; lead them to think, consider, analyze, compare.
6. Talk frequently about emotions; it helps them apply their own experience.
7. Be inclusive; draw in every student, even the most shy.
8. Be joyful and enthusiastic about your faith; it will be contagious!
9. Recognize good behavior often; never shame or belittle.
10. Never assume they know how to pray; expose them over and over to all forms of prayer.

The one caveat I would say is number 6.  It is great to apply things to their own experiences but primary age kids love hard and fast rules and facts so be sure to tap them into what is true and what God wants them to know about Himself.

Would you add anything to the list?

 

Blog Recommendation

 

 

 

 

Lisa Mladnich has a blog on patheos.com called Be An Amazing Catechist that I highly recommend.  It has great articles especially for catechist who are teaching the faith in a classroom setting.  I encourage you to check out this great resources that will encourage, inspire and empower you!  She just came out with a new resource on sacramental preparation that I will be reviewing soon (when I get a chance).

 

Biblical Catechists

Do you ever have the tendency to say more than less?  I know I do.  I admire those who can speak to the heart of the matter and no more.  Here are a few biblical catechists who did just that.  I have much to learn from them.  The following 3 saints give us a glimpse of catechizing so profoundly in just a few words.

Mary – The first catechist gives a great job description of a disciple of Jesus: “Do whatever He tells you” (John 2:5)

John the Baptist – “Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29) and “He must increase and I must decrease” (John 3:30)

 

Elizabeth -  “Hail Mary, full of grace” (Luke 1:28) and “Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, ‘Most blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.  And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me’?” (Luke 1: 41-43)

 

May these saints help us this coming year to aspire to share the Good News with the humility, patients and charity they exemplified.  May we heed their words and come back to them regularly.