As we began class on Monday, I pointed to the prayer center and asked, “Does anyone notice anything different?” After a short pause, one of the girls pointed to the purple cloth and said, “There’s purple for Advent.” I complimented her on being so observant and then asked, “So, what does the word Advent mean?” No one knew (or at least no one volunteered an answer!). Then, I gave an example. Our aide, Ben, had […]
I have to admit that for me, making “small talk” does not always come easy. When it comes to interacting socially with students, I’m not necessarily the “warm and fuzzy” type, at least not right off the bat. I’m professionally pleasant and cordial but it takes me a while to let my guard down and just be myself. Last night, I was pleasantly “disarmed” by one of the young people who asked at the outset, […]
Tonight is an opportunity to spend some time with the young people focusing on the notion of HOPE as we proceed through this first week of Advent. I picked up a few copies of the daily newspapers and will distribute sections to each of the young people, asking them to find a “bad news” story and to tear it out and prepare to describe it to the group. We’ll collect these stories on the table […]
One last thing to share about Monday evening’s class. I was sharing some ideas with the young people about how they can share their faith in practical ways. (I posted about this earlier). One of the suggestions I offered was to wear a sacramental such as a medal, a cross, a pin, or a scapular. As I was saying this, I glanced over at my aide, Ben, who is a high school sophomore. He started […]
In my last 2 posts, I shared how being open to the Holy Spirit can move one’s class in unexpected directions. Today, I can reveal what happens when one (namely ME!) is NOT open to the movement of the Holy Spirit! I like to use audiovisuals in my lessons. So, on Monday evening, I planned to show some segments of the DVD Peter and Paul – segments that would bring to life and complement the […]
So, after we spent some time in discussion and praying for their classmate Joe who had died suddenly last Friday (as I described yesterday), I transitioned the young people into a guided reflection. I had planned on doing the guided reflection first this week as opposed to saving it to the end of class. It turns out that this was probably a good thing since they were already in a prayerful state of mind. Thank […]
In many ways, last evening was a typical class. At the same time, it occurred to me just how much can take place in the 75 minutes we spend together! As a result, I have a lot I’d like to tell you about concerning last evening’s class, so I’ll spread it out over the next couple of days. First… As the young people were gathering, one of the young men asked, “Are we going to […]
Last week, a National Symposium on Adolescent Catechesis was held in Baltimore with 100 invited guests (academics, bishops, practicioners, and leaders of various disciplines related to adolescent catechesis). The goals of the symposium were: to identify factors that affect adolescent faith formation and their implications, to develop a common language that will help establish standards for effective adolescent catechesis and its assessment, to establish tools for addressing the creation of comprehensive youth faith formation programs. […]
As many of you know, I like to use a contemporary song (my “song of the week”) to snare the kids’ attention and introduce the theme of a particular class. This coming Monday, I’m going to focus on the role that Saint Paul played in changing the face of the Church and the world by proclaiming the Gospel to the Gentiles. For my song of the week, I’ve chosen John Mayer’s “Waiting on the World […]
It turns out the November is Religious Education Month in New England. This designation was decided upon by the New England Conference of Diocesan Directors of Religious Education. Its goal is to celebrate religious education beyond catechetical Sunday. All 12 New England dioceses participate in this month long celebration. Bravo! One of the twelve dioceses, Manchester, is featuring the stories of catechists. I came across this brief interview with a catechist named Jeanne C. Pinard […]
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