Loyola Press has put together some great activities related to the election of Pope Francis that you can use in your catechetical setting. They are: Find Your Pope Name Welcome Letter to the New Pope Pray for the Pope, Pray for the World Here, There, God is Everywhere! Here’s an interesting resource from the world of secular education seeking to use the election of the new Pope as a teachable moment. Here’s how a Catholic […]
As we approach the papal conclave, it is interesting to notice the coverage taking place. The media focuses on the political maneuvering taking place while Church spokespeople talk about prayer, discernment, and the movement of the Holy Spirit. Which is it? Both. We would be naive to think that there is no political maneuvering taking place among the cardinals at the conclave. At the same time, we would be just as naive to think that […]
We had a very enjoyable session last evening focusing on the Psalms. In case you missed it, here is what I had planned. The kids enjoyed the opening activity of describing the emotions portrayed in a series of pictures and selecting one that best described how they felt at the moment (they almost all selected the picture that represented being tired except for one very peppy young man who said, “I’m just happy to be […]
I’m on my way to Brooklyn, NY, for a presentation this evening, however, here’s my latest thinking about teaching the Sacraments of Initiation this Monday and tying it to the Old Testament. I plan to introduce the session by inviting the kids to say the Pledge of Allegiance and to talk about what it means to pledge one’s allegiance to someone or something (loyalty, obedience). I’ll use that as an opportunity to talk about how […]
Ask all of your students to stand up and, on the count of three, to point north. Inevitably, there is some confusion…not all have their bearings! Explain that we can rely on a compass to help us get a sense of direction. Make a simple home-made compass. You will need a magnet, a sewing needle, a shallow aluminum baking pan filled with water, and a small piece of Styrofoam (2 in. x 2 in.) Hold […]
Lent is a time for us to declare our independence from sins that have been impinging on our freedom and to declare our DEpendence on God! Prepare your own “parchment” to use as a Declaration of DEpendence. Here is a picture of one I prepared next to a replica of the real thing. Any sheet of white newsprint will do. The thinner the paper, the better. I like to use a sheet from an easel […]
My session on Monday evening focused on the Temple of Solomon and the question of where it is that we find the presence of God. After reading from our Finding God book about Solomon’s Temple and the placement of the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies, representing the presence of God in the midst of Israel, we read John 2: 13-22 in which Jesus cleanses the Temple and then claims, “destroy this […]
Last evening was my first opportunity to be with my 6th graders in the wake of the tragic massacre in Newtown, CT. I came prepared to spend some quality time touching on the subject with them and praying about it. Here is what happened: As I was setting up for class, one young lady arrived early as usual to help me distribute materials. She said, without provocation, “Well, I’m very upset.” I asked her about […]
I was honored to write a new course for the University of Dayton Virtual Learning Community for Faith Formation (VLCFF). It is called Bible Basics and the required text for the course is my book, The Bible Blueprint: A Catholic’s Guide to Understanding and Embracing God’s Word. Thanks to Richard Drabick, the Assistant Director of the Institute for Pastoral Initiatives for inviting me to write the course and to Sr. Angela Ann Zukowski, MHSH, the Director […]
Here’s the third installment of a summary of this past Monday’s session on Abraham and God’s plan for salvation. About a half-hour into the session, after prayer and reviewing the previous session (and a ton of Q & A!), I then arranged the kids in pairs and assigned them a passage about Abraham that they were to read in their Bibles and report on (using this worksheet). As I suspected, they were loathe to move […]
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