7 x 3

Joe Paprocki Junior High

I’m going to be tied up over the next few days so I thought I would use today to share what I’ll be teaching this coming Monday.

We have the third of our Confirmation Intensives. For this one, we are going to focus on the number SEVEN. Actually 7 x 3.

What do I mean by that? We will have the young people participate in 3 sessions that evening, focusing on the following:

  • the 7 deadly sins
  • the 7 virtues
  • the 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Each session will be about 30 minutes long. The goal is to point out the 7 deadly sins as obstacles that we face to truly following Jesus, and then to explore the 7 virtues and the 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit as the keys to overcoming these obstacles and living as a disciple of Christ.

The session on the deadly sins has the young people working on a maze (a Blackline Master) in which the 7 sins are defined along the way.

The session on the virtues will involve learning about each of the 7 virtues (from the text book) followed by an activity in which the young people stand in the middle of the room. On the walls are 7 posters/signs, each with one of the 7 virtues on it. Various scenarios will be read, one at a time, that describe someone using one of the virtues. The young people have to listen to the scenario and then choose which virtue they think it is describing and then go stand by that poster/sign. Volunteers can explain why they chose the virtue they chose and then the correct answer is given and the definition revisited.

Finally, the session on the 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit will involve having the young people read about the Gifts one at a time from the text. After each Gift is described, they will write on a small tag, the initials of someone they know personally who exemplifies that Gift of the Spirit. They will then place that tag on one of 7 Gifts of the Spirit “trees” (small branches placed in baskets and each labeled with one of the Gifts of the Spirit) that will be placed around the room.

I look forward to the opportunity to engage in these activities with the young people. I think it will be fun and substantive = ENGAGING!

I’ll post again Monday morning. Have a great weekend!

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About Joe Paprocki 2742 Articles
Joe Paprocki, DMin, is National Consultant for Faith Formation at Loyola Press, where, in addition to his traveling/speaking responsibilities, he works on the development team for faith formation curriculum resources including Finding God: Our Response to God’s Gifts and God’s Gift: Reconciliation and Eucharist. Joe has more than 35 years of experience in ministry and has presented keynotes, presentations, and workshops in more than 100 dioceses in North America. Joe is a frequent presenter at national conferences including the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, the Mid-Atlantic Congress, and the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership. He is the author of numerous books, including the best seller The Catechist’s Toolbox, A Church on the Move, Under the Influence of Jesus, and Called to Be Catholic—a bilingual, foundational supplemental program that helps young people know their faith and grow in their relationship with God. Joe is also the series editor for the Effective Catechetical Leader and blogs about his experiences in faith formation at www.catechistsjourney.com.

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